Transmigrated Before the Scum A Tortured the Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 27
Hearing her request, Xu Jinzhao immediately bent down and picked up the pen.
The fountain pen was slightly cool, lacking the warmth it should have retained from being held and used.
Having read “Jiao Jiao,” named after the Omega’s childhood name, Xu Jinzhao knew that Song Jiao’s body temperature was lower than average, and her hands and feet were always cold.
She walked towards Song Jiao with the pen.
The Omega kept her eyes on Xu Jinzhao’s movements, noticing a subtle adjustment in the Alpha’s hand, with the pen tip facing her own palm and the other end pointing outward, her fingers holding the lower cap.
She handed the pen over, almost close enough to Song Jiao’s hand, at an angle that allowed Song Jiao to easily grip the non-slip part and continue writing.
As a result, they were now very close, close enough for Song Jiao to smell the faint fragrance emanating from her.
It wasn’t the citrus scent of pheromones, but rather the fragrance of bath gel or shampoo.
The Omega thought it smelled quite nice and decided to add the brand to her list of potential conversation topics for tomorrow.
With a gentle movement of her fingers, Song Jiao took the pen that the Alpha had thoughtfully handed to her.
It was worth mentioning that this was only a few centimeters away from holding hands.
Song Jiao had never been interested in forming friendships with anyone, but she was good at observing and knew that ordinary friends didn’t engage in much formality.
Therefore, the Omega didn’t say thank you, but looked up at the Alpha before she let go, offering a small smile.
Song Jiao had performed many kinds of smiles—joyful, admiring, relieved, mocking… and now, a grateful smile.
She knew how to adjust her facial expressions to convey the corresponding emotion, which had almost become second nature to her.
But this was Song Jiao’s first time performing with the intention of offering friendship—
Not to receive, but to give.
There was a big difference. She didn’t just want Xu Jinzhao’s one-sided affection, nor just a companion.
Song Jiao wanted to try a closer interaction. She didn’t understand the emotional mechanics, but she could imitate the external expressions.
And even in Song Jiao’s understanding, true friendship wasn’t something one-sided, but should be cultivated by both parties.
First give, then receive.
This was a bit unfamiliar and unsettling for Song Jiao. She didn’t need to put her hand to her chest to feel her heart beating vividly.
The Alpha showed a clear moment of surprise, which flashed across her beautiful face.
But what followed was an excessively friendly smile, far surpassing the scale of Song Jiao’s own offering.
Perfect, Song Jiao thought.
One small step for her, one giant leap for the other.
If Xu Jinzhao was always so generous, returning her kindness in double measure, her goal might be achieved soon.
Xu Jinzhao also thought it was perfect.
After the mental torment of not accepting [Xu Jinzhao]’s identity over the weekend, she had finally accepted reality.
She possessed everything that belonged to [Xu Jinzhao], even though these things were forced upon her by fate, and the negatives far outweighed the positives. Xu Jinzhao didn’t like it, but she was helpless.
The decision to help Song Jiao was her own, not a mandatory task or a request from the Omega.
People had to take responsibility for their decisions.
Xu Jinzhao had already allowed herself to wallow in pain once, and the result was sinking deeper, losing all courage, and becoming an alcoholic wreck.
The lingering pain of the wound was still there, and Xu Jinzhao couldn’t make the same mistake again.
Besides, she now carried not only her own burden but also the difficult fate of another girl.
[Xu Jinzhao]’s past was disgusting, but since she had become [Xu Jinzhao], she had to play this bad hand as best she could.
And if that was the goal, wasn’t the current situation developing in a positive direction?
Song Jiao was less resistant towards her, willing to tell her about her estrus cycle, discuss music with her, act close to her in public, and cook breakfast for her.
The crystal ball and flowers that the Omega had given her were still on her bedside table upstairs.
This was a level of favor that [Xu Jinzhao] had never been able to obtain, no matter what methods she used.
Xu Jinzhao believed she had found the right approach.
She let go of the pen and looked at the laptop’s power cord, which Song Jiao had brought but not plugged in.
Having just received [Song Jiao’s grateful smile ×1], Xu Jinzhao’s confidence was at an all-time high, and without asking Song Jiao if she needed help, she plugged in the power cord for her.
Song Jiao, who had prepared the next interaction, watched as Xu Jinzhao took the initiative: “…”
She began to consider the possibility of dropping the pen again without being obvious.
Xu Jinzhao had already returned to her seat, satisfied, but her eyes couldn’t focus on the big cats on the TV screen.
She hesitated about whether to chat with Song Jiao but felt it might disturb her.
Unexpectedly, Song Jiao broke the silence first.
“Aunt Li’s cooking is really good.”
Aunt Li had finished washing the dishes and wiped the countertop clean.
She came out of the kitchen and saw the two women in the living room. The TV was now playing a milk powder commercial, and the Alpha was sitting cross-legged, facing the Omega, with a broad smile.
They were physically quite far apart, each occupying a corner of the sofa, but the atmosphere of their conversation was very harmonious.
Aunt Li tiptoed away, not wanting to disturb them, and quietly returned to her room.
There was something unusual about this household. When she cleaned the upstairs rooms, Aunt Li discovered that the two women had separate bedrooms, and each bed only had one set of bedding.
But now, their relationship didn’t seem particularly cold?
Song Jiao thought the day had gone perfectly.
At 11 PM, she took a hot shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, dried her hair, and prepared to end the perfect day with a comfortable sleep.
Before leaving the bathroom, Song Jiao stopped.
She went back, unscrewed the cap at the bottom of the wall-mounted shelf, and pulled out the short knife hidden inside.
Song Jiao flicked the blade open, and the narrow steel reflected her face. The determination and hostility from a few days ago were gone.
She folded the switchblade.
Leaving the bathroom, the Omega retrieved other sharp objects hidden in various corners of the room and placed them all in the bedside drawer.
Song Jiao could sense that the person she wanted to befriend was well-mannered and had a strong sense of morality.
The Alpha had strong principles, and although she showed a strange kind of favoritism and tolerance towards her, she also maintained clear boundaries.
Xu Jinzhao wouldn’t do anything beyond normal AO interactions, and even before Song Jiao took the initiative to show goodwill, she had restrained herself, keeping her distance.
Now, Song Jiao didn’t need to hide her self-defense weapons in various places, constantly changing their positions, worrying about [Xu Jinzhao] finding them and becoming suspicious.
At least in this house, Song Jiao had nothing to worry about. She had regained the sense of security she had lost three years ago.
Next door, Xu Jinzhao turned on the night light.
She rolled onto the bed, sinking her cheek into the soft pillow, the warm yellow light reflected in her eyes.
Still lying on her side, Xu Jinzhao reached for the crystal ball on the bedside table, shaking it to make it snow inside.
The Alpha’s fingertip tapped the kitten, feigning indifference, through the glass.
“Good night.”
Both women on the second floor had a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, until breakfast was finished, Song Jiao’s mood was still good.
Aunt Li had stewed ribs early in the morning and prepared the dough. When Song Jiao came downstairs, she quickly rolled it out, cut it, stretched it, and cooked it, topping it with the rich and fragrant rib sauce.
But after eating most of the noodles, seeing the clock’s minute hand pointing to 7:20, Xu Jinzhao still hadn’t come down.
Song Jiao started to feel less good.
At 7:30, she said to Aunt Li, “I’m leaving first. Please tell Xu Jinzhao when she gets up.”
The Omega’s voice carried a hint of disappointment and a little resentment that she herself didn’t notice.
These emotions were too subtle for Aunt Li to detect, and she nodded in agreement.
When the sleeping beauty finally woke up and enjoyed the delicious rib noodles that Aunt Li had served, she heard, “Mrs. Song asked me to tell you that she left first.”
Xu Jinzhao picked up a noodle coated in sauce, stunned, “Huh?”
She didn’t understand why Song Jiao had asked Aunt Li to pass on this message, and after thinking about it, couldn’t find anything unusual.
Xu Jinzhao wasn’t sure and asked, “Was there anything else? How did she look?”
Aunt Li shook her head, “No, just that. She looked normal, nothing special.”
Xu Jinzhao was relieved. It seemed like just a polite goodbye, that was fine.
These noodles were really delicious!
After spending a day at home yesterday, feeling bored and like an empty-nester, Xu Jinzhao decided to go out today.
Juzhou, the provincial capital of Changnan Province, was a city with two distinct sides, a stark contrast. It was nestled among mountains and rivers, with the Cang River flowing from west to east through its land.
The older part of the city, on the north bank of the river, had better preserved ancient architecture and many former residences of modern celebrities.
The south bank, on the other hand, was increasingly modern, with steel and concrete high-rises forming a vast urban forest.
Juzhou’s bustling downtown area was on the south bank, while the Xu Group’s building was located on the north bank.
The area surrounding the Xu Group’s skyscraper was the liveliest part of the north bank, almost entirely driven by the company’s influence.
Considering that the Xu family’s old mansion was in the northern suburbs, Xu Jinzhao suspected that the old man was reluctant to move out, so he had the company building built on the north bank for his own convenience.
Although the south bank’s overall style was very modern, it still had many architecturally interesting buildings and creatively designed public spaces.
In [Xu Jinzhao]’s memories, the south bank stadium had a very interesting appearance, with four nearly 80-meter-tall pure black steel frames supporting its roof, both rugged and wild.
Xu Jinzhao was very interested in this uniquely shaped stadium.
There was a large shopping center near the south bank stadium, so she didn’t plan to go home for lunch and decided to find a restaurant there. Before leaving, she told Aunt Li not to prepare lunch for her.
Xu Jinzhao had now adopted a “take it easy” attitude.
With [Xu Jinzhao]’s honeymoon coming to an end, she decided to enjoy the remaining days instead of worrying about the future.
What could she accomplish in five days?
It certainly wasn’t enough time to become an experienced professional.
So why waste time on anxiety?
After visiting the stadium, Xu Jinzhao went to the shopping mall to browse.
It was undeniable that the Xu family was deeply rooted in Juzhou. Xu Jinzhao belatedly realized from her memories that this commercial complex was also an Xu family project.
Feeling tired from walking, she bought a drink and sat on a bench. The mall’s first floor had a public piano, and occasionally, passersby would sit down and play.
Her phone rang in her pocket. Xu Jinzhao thought it would be Song Jiao, but when she took it out, she saw that it was Jiang Chao again.
She answered the phone, saying, “Hello.”
Jiang Chao said, “Oh, you’re calm this time?”
Xu Jinzhao said, “Why are you talking so much? I’ll hang up if you don’t have anything important.”
Although she said that, she didn’t actually hang up.
Xu Jinzhao had confirmed again last night when she was going through her contacts that the original owner’s social circle was mostly filled with Alpha trash, both men and women, whose behavior and style were highly consistent with [Xu Jinzhao].
By the “autumn fragrance effect,” Jiang Chao stood out.
A playboy second-generation rich kid, known for his promiscuity, never made false promises, and those who dated him knew where they stood, and they always parted amicably.
He was also the only one of [Xu Jinzhao]’s friends in the original “Jiao Jiao” who had felt sympathy for Song Jiao.
Others either coveted his friend’s wife or thought [Xu Jinzhao]’s actions were justified, but only Jiang Chao had shown something close to empathy.
[Jiang Chao remembered that Song Jiao used to be a very vibrant and beautiful Omega.
Although her beauty remained, and even became more alluring with age, Jiang Chao felt that the Omega’s eyes were lifeless. He shuddered, feeling a chill in his heart.]
[What exactly had Xu Jinzhao done to his wife to turn a living person into this?]
[Jiang Chao realized that the conflict between Xu Jinzhao and Song Jiao was far more complex than she had described.]
In “Jiao Jiao,” where everyone was a villain, Jiang Chao, who was only labeled as having a questionable private life, was considered relatively clean.
Looking around, Xu Jinzhao realized that she had almost no one to talk to except Song Jiao.
Yesterday, when she received Jiang Chao’s call, Song Jiao had just left, and the feeling of loneliness wasn’t as strong, as she had other things to worry about.
But now, after spending the morning alone and receiving this call, even though it wasn’t from the person she most wanted to talk to, Xu Jinzhao vaguely hoped to have a casual chat.
“I actually have something to tell you. You spend your evenings with your wife, but you have time during the day, right?”
Xu Jinzhao couldn’t think of anything important he could say. She had already stood up and casually asked, “What is it?”
Jiang Chao mistakenly thought that Xu Jinzhao still wasn’t interested in meeting in person and, not wanting to ask a third time, said directly:
“Your dad’s godson, Xu Yanhe, is back from Fengbei. I saw him having dinner with the Qin family’s second daughter a few days ago.”
Xu Yanhe.
This name made Xu Jinzhao stop in her tracks.
“Jiao Jiao” focused on Song Jiao’s perspective, and she only met this person a few times in the original story.
Xu Yanhe made his first appearance in the scene where Song Jiao was taken by [Xu Jinzhao] to Xu Boyang’s birthday banquet.
He was a gentle-looking Alpha, slightly older than Xu Jinzhao.
Song Jiao’s inner thoughts were brief: [Xu Yanhe’s eyes had a wolfish quality.]
[Xu Jinzhao]’s current memories showed that her relationship with Xu Yanhe was average. She thought Xu Yanhe was bland and didn’t think much of this godbrother.
Xu Jinzhao asked, “And then?”
Jiang Chao said, “And then he kissed the Qin family’s daughter. Me and the Third Brother saw it with our own eyes.”
“Are they dating?”
Jiang Chao was speechless, “It wasn’t CPR! I’m saying, he’s trying to be like Lin Yang. Qin Lingyue isn’t easy to deal with either. Your dad gave him a lot of power, sis, I think you should be careful.”
Lin Yang was Qin Lingyue’s father, a son-in-law who had married into the Qin family and abused his wife and daughter. He used to be a prominent figure in Juzhou.
Jiang Chao’s implication was clear.
Qin Lingyue was a ruthless character, and Xu Yanhe’s intentions probably weren’t with the Qin family, but rather to strengthen himself through marriage and take what belonged to Xu’s biological daughter.
Jiang Chao was probably right. In the original story, Xu Yanhe did cause a lot of trouble.
“Jiao Jiao” focused on Song Jiao, who couldn’t even leave the house at that time, but [Xu Jinzhao] became extremely agitated and violently abused Song Jiao to vent her emotions.
Later, when the storm subsided, [Xu Jinzhao] apologized to Song Jiao, blaming Xu Yanhe, and the scene where she took Song Jiao out for dinner happened after this incident.
But the original story didn’t mention how Xu Yanhe caused trouble or how it was resolved, so Xu Jinzhao didn’t know.
Now, Jiang Chao had at least given her a clue: Xu Yanhe was getting close to the Qin family’s second daughter.
Xu Jinzhao said, “Thank you for telling me, this is important, I’ll be careful.”
Her sincere thanks surprised Jiang Chao on the other end of the phone.
He had called his childhood friend out of a sense of obligation, thinking, “I saw it, I should tell her.”
[Xu Jinzhao]’s personality was arrogant and irritable, and they rarely contacted each other after growing up, mostly just seeing each other at gatherings.
It wasn’t convenient to talk at Qin Lingyue’s party the other day, and she didn’t come out yesterday, so Jiang Chao had to tell her over the phone today.
He had expected [Xu Jinzhao] to dismiss him with a “got it” or express disdain for the lowly Xu Yanhe.
Xu Jinzhao’s serious and grateful attitude surprised him and made him happy that his warning was taken seriously.
He laughed, “Hey, don’t mention it.”
The friendship that had faded with age seemed to have been rekindled.
After the last class of the afternoon, Song Jiao packed up her books and prepared to go home.
As soon as she reached the parking lot, her phone vibrated twice.
Song Jiao opened the text message from an acquaintance.
Yu: [The “Changnan Home Hearing Rumors” section has another post spreading rumors about you.]
Changnan Home was a private website established by former Changnan University students. The site’s administrators were current students, who would step down upon graduation and hand over the reins to others.
Many students frequented the site for entertainment, and most sections were relatively harmless. However, the “Hearing Rumors” section, accessible only with an invitation code, was notorious for its malicious and chaotic content.
Another message arrived on her phone.
Yu: [Since the site admins don’t care, we might as well shut the whole thing down.]
This was an indirect way of saying that Yu had once again crashed the site. The Changnan Home admins’ deletion of posts was arbitrary, and the complaint system was unreliable. Song Jiao knew that Yu must have disabled the site.
She sent a text message in reply: [Thank you. I have some other ideas. I’ll email you with the details tonight.]
Song Jiao did have some bold and avant-garde ideas that, if executed properly, could potentially yield considerable profits.
Yu was a capricious genius, and Song Jiao’s association with her was based on her talent. She could handle minor issues in her field for Song Jiao.
Now, it seemed that Yu’s usefulness went beyond that.
Song Jiao put away her phone. It was time to go home. It was 5:30 PM, close to the start of the Omega’s self-imposed “personal friendship time” for the day.
It was worth noting that yesterday’s friendship time began at 7:30 PM and lasted for three hours.
Song Jiao believed in planning ahead and was confident that she could finalize her plans during the drive home.
She turned the car key and started thinking.
Firstly, someone who didn’t get out of bed until 7:30 AM didn’t deserve a gift today.
Not even a blade of dogtail grass.
Arriving home, Song Jiao parked the car in the backyard garage and quickly walked towards the front porch, using her fingerprint to unlock the door.
The TV in the living room was playing a loud infomercial: “Don’t pay 998, don’t pay 198!”
Song Jiao took off her coat, hung it on the coat rack, and slowly changed into slippers, but still didn’t hear the greeting she was expecting.
She walked past the entryway, and the Alpha’s voice came from the kitchen: “I give up. I just don’t have the talent.”
The Omega stopped and changed direction.
Xu Jinzhao felt that she would never learn how to make hand-pulled noodles.
She kneaded the broken noodles together, lamenting, “Aunt Li, can these noodles be saved?”
Seeing Aunt Li pull noodles this morning had piqued Xu Jinzhao’s interest.
After returning home in the afternoon, she asked Aunt Li to teach her, confident that it would be easy since it looked so simple!
It wasn’t like the noodle masters’ fancy techniques, just rolling out the dough, cutting it, and stretching it.
Xu Jinzhao’s brain: I got this.
Her hands: You got nothing.
Aunt Li smiled, “Next time, I’ll knead the dough, and you can pull it.”
Xu Jinzhao: “Oh, forget it.”
What was the point? It was no different from using store-bought seasoning to make cold potato salad.
Washing her hands, Xu Jinzhao took off her apron and walked out of the kitchen, dejected, and saw the beautiful Omega standing nearby.
She perked up, “You’re back!”
However, Song Jiao’s attitude was cold. She simply nodded and turned away.
Something was off, Xu Jinzhao thought.
After all, they had a good conversation last night, even though it started a bit awkwardly.
Why was she acting like a cat that had lost interest in playing, turning away and suddenly ignoring her?
Intuition told Xu Jinzhao that something was definitely wrong.
After turning away, Song Jiao actually regretted it.
On the drive home, she had planned to give Xu Jinzhao a smile upon entering and casually ask:
“Why didn’t you come downstairs to eat with me this morning?”
But things didn’t go as planned, just like Xu Jinzhao didn’t greet her at the door.
Even Song Jiao’s own emotions had taken a strange turn.
She couldn’t muster a smile and even acted rudely after the Alpha greeted her.
Song Jiao realized that making friends was more difficult and unpredictable than she had imagined.
But she decided to rectify her mistake.
Turning back to face the Alpha, the Omega’s eyes miraculously became moist and pitiful.
She looked like a wronged child seeking understanding and comfort, pleading softly.
“Can you take me to school tomorrow… my wrist hurts, it’s really painful.”
Author’s Note:
About cats:
Did you know that some cunning cats will pretend to be sick to get attention?
About freedom:
[First day of school]
Jiao Jiao: I’m free! Running, jumping, adults should control their own time!
[Second day]
Jiao Jiao: Take me, sis.
About self-defense:
[Before]
Jiao Jiao: Severe fear of insufficient firepower, I have weapons hidden everywhere in this house.
[Now]
Jiao Jiao: I guess I can just leave it by the bed? I probably won’t need it.
Please feel free to speculate about the [future] in the comments section. XD
*To avoid further mechanical explanations in the main text, I’ll mention here that in Song Jiao’s logic, “partner” and “friend” are not interchangeable. The former doesn’t require any emotional investment from her and is an easily formed relationship.