Transmigrated into a Historical GL Novel as the Scumbag Heroine - Chapter 3

The onlookers had expected a dramatic scene, but the troublemakers chickened out before anything even began. Losing interest, the crowd quickly dispersed.

Qiu Luo unconsciously glanced at Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu cast a faint look in her direction, her expression unreadable. Without a word, she turned and left with her young maid.

Qiu Erlang was dragged aside by his sister, protesting, “Sis, why’d you stop me? I was about to stick up for you!”

Qiu Luo sighed. “Stick up for me how? By throwing a tantrum and making a scene? Besides, the shopkeeper wasn’t wrong—I did eat a bit too much.”

Her stomach was uncomfortably full.

Qiu Erlang scratched his head. “Well, what else could I do? We don’t have money. Next time you get cravings and wanna dine and dash, at least bring me along—I might be able to hold them off so you don’t get beat up.”

He knew it was wrong to dine and dash, which was why he had never done it himself.

But wasn’t his sister clearly out of her mind today? What else could a younger brother do—stay behind to work off her debt?

He wouldn’t mind, but he doubted the restaurant would even want him.

Qiu Luo gave up trying to explain. How could she tell her unlucky little brother that she wasn’t there to scam a free meal—she could afford to pay?

“You guys go back to the village first. I want to walk around some more.”

She needed to quickly exchange a banknote for coins—she didn’t want to get caught in a situation like this again, where even having money wasn’t enough if she couldn’t use it.

“You’re still hungry?” Qiu Erlang stared at her, wide-eyed.

Qiu Luo twitched at the corner of her mouth. “I’m full. I’m looking for work. There’s no rice left at home—if I don’t earn something, what are we going to eat?”

Only then did Qiu Erlang relax. He and Qiu Shuang headed home, but not before warning Qiu Luo not to try the dine-and-dash trick again.

Qiu Luo half-heartedly waved them off and watched them disappear into the distance.

Then she turned and entered a small bookshop. The original owner of this body was a scholar and dressed like a poor student, so buying books wouldn’t raise any suspicions.

“Looking for something to read, miss?” The bookstore was small, run by the owner himself. Seeing her dressed so plainly, his enthusiasm quickly faded.

She looked like she had no money—probably would try to haggle down the price on used books like all the other penniless scholars.

“I’d like two poetry collections,” Qiu Luo said.

She still remembered a scene from the original novel: after passing the county-level exam, the original Qiu Luo had tried to attend the banquet hosted by the county school in hopes of earning a spot to study there.

But entry required drawing lots and composing poetry on the spot.

The original owner had no quick wit and couldn’t even come up with a single line. She didn’t even make it past the entrance and became a laughingstock.

Qiu Luo had no intention of taking the imperial exams—she didn’t know enough about how they worked in ancient times—but she did want to attend the banquet.

Because the county magistrate’s daughter—the major antagonist in the book—would be there. At that banquet, she not only schemed against Cheng Yu but also exposed the “one night” between the original Qiu Luo and Cheng Yu, tying them together in scandal.

Qiu Luo had already deviated from the original plot—she hadn’t clung to Cheng Yu and they weren’t engaged—but she didn’t believe that would stop the county magistrate’s daughter from blowing things up anyway.

Rather than wait for trouble to find her, she preferred to meet it head-on. Maybe this could be her chance to sever all ties with Cheng Yu once and for all.

Stay away from the heroine, stay out of the drama, and live a carefree life—isn’t that the dream?

For now, the priority was figuring out how poetry worked in this era. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even make it inside—just like in the book—and the antagonist would have free rein to sling mud at her.

Although she was a STEM student, how hard could writing poetry be? …Hopefully not too hard.

Not long after, Qiu Luo walked out of the bookstore with two poetry collections in hand and a dazed expression on her face. Maybe… it was hard.

With poetry books in hand and silver in her pocket, her thoughts were still on verse composition—until she reached her home, and all she could think about was money.

They were dirt poor.

A thatched cottage, a collapsed mud wall, a creaky wooden gate—it was just as the novel described: impoverished and bare.

Even if she could avoid the heroine, a good life still required money.

Qiu Erlang saw her return and immediately noticed the two books in her hand. “Sis, you borrowed books to copy? Didn’t you say all professions are inferior except studying? Why are you thinking about making money now?”

He had no issue with her studying hard. But studying alone wasn’t enough—people still needed to eat. What was the point of clinging to ideals when they were starving? She was like a stubborn log that just wouldn’t see reason.

Qiu Luo looked around the courtyard, put the books away, and said earnestly, “Erlang, I’ve figured it out. Studying or not doesn’t matter as much. What really matters is money. Don’t you think we should find a way to earn some?”

It was just the two of them relying on each other. Since they’d have to stick together no matter what, she might as well recruit her unlucky brother to her side.

Qiu Erlang pouted. “Find a way? I think about that all the time! But it’s not like money just falls from the sky. We don’t have capital for business—we can’t even afford seeds, so our few acres are just overrun with weeds.”

Farming?

Qiu Luo raised an eyebrow. She had forgotten that the original owner’s parents left them some farmland. But both siblings were lazy and unskilled—neither had managed to do anything with it.

“If we did have some capital, what kind of business would you start?” she asked, surprised that her brother even had ambitions.

The moment she asked, Qiu Erlang perked up. “If I had money, I’d open a big restaurant! Eat and drink well every day!”

“A restaurant? You know how to cook?”

“Nope, but we could hire cooks!”

“Do you know how to keep accounts?”

“Nope, but we can hire a bookkeeper too!”

“Can you brew wine?”

“Nope, but we can buy it from others!”

Qiu Luo: “…”

“Forget it. Better not think too much.” Clearly, he was all ambition and no substance—just wanted to be a hands-off boss. That’s a quick way to lose everything.

Qiu Erlang shrugged. “Can’t a guy dream a little?”

Qiu Luo rolled her eyes. “So, you do know it’s a dream. Think about how to farm instead—at least we’d grow some crops and not starve.”

The siblings brainstormed for a while but didn’t come up with anything useful.

For now, they lived day-to-day off the silver Qiu Luo had exchanged—no income, only expenses. Qiu Luo was so stressed her brows were permanently furrowed.

Soon, the day of the exam results arrived. Qiu Luo stayed home, buried in worry. The teacher appreciation banquet was the next day, and she still hadn’t figured out how to compose a decent poem.

By noon, Qiu Erlang came running home, excited and breathless. “Sis, you passed! You’re a xiucai now! You can find me a rich brother-in-law—boohoohoo!”

Qiu Luo remained calm. The original Qiu Luo had this one merit—years of hard study had finally paid off with a xiucai title.

Unfortunately, she had then lost all motivation, climbed her way into the Cheng family, and gotten a taste of sudden wealth. With a bit of status and money, her heart grew greedy—and crooked.

Eventually, she tried to seize the Cheng family’s assets but failed miserably and landed herself in jail.

The next day, Qiu Luo arrived at the county school, already rehearsing how to respond if the antagonist tried to expose her and Cheng Yu.

Should she… just deny it?

That way, she could stay out of it altogether. Besides, the heroine clearly didn’t want her to take responsibility and even tried to throw silver at her to make a clean break. Denying it seemed like the perfect solution.

Resolved, Qiu Luo stepped forward. The gatekeeper noticed her brand-new xiucai robe and waved her right in—she was obviously one of the newly passed scholars.

Qiu Luo was momentarily stunned. Weren’t they supposed to draw lots and compose poetry? Just like that, she was let in? That wasn’t how it went in the book…

She didn’t know that in the original timeline, the original Qiu Luo had already been engaged to Cheng Yu by now and showed up to the banquet in a luxurious outfit from the Cheng family’s tailor shop. Because she hadn’t worn her scholar’s robe, she had been stopped at the door.

Inside, people gave Qiu Luo a cursory glance. Seeing she wasn’t one of the top scorers and didn’t look familiar, they ignored her.

Once everyone had arrived, Master Liang of the county school cleared his throat and announced, “In addition to our new scholars, we’ve invited the top scorers from the past two years—Lu Jiaojiao and Cheng Yu.”

Lu Jiaojiao had topped the county exam two years ago and was now preparing for the prefectural-level exam—the next step to becoming a juren (provincial-level imperial examination).

Cheng Yu had topped last year’s exam. But unlike Lu Jiaojiao, she hadn’t pursued the exam route. Instead, she inherited the family business and entered the world of commerce.

Their appearance instantly drew everyone’s attention. Lu Jiaojiao, the magistrate’s daughter, had power. Cheng Yu, the wealthiest man’s daughter, had money.

In terms of talent, they were equally matched. In looks, Lu Jiaojiao fell slightly short—her features weren’t as refined as Cheng Yu’s.

Qiu Luo watched quietly, thinking: The male lead should show up any minute now—this year’s top scorer, Shen Yanding.

According to the book, Lu Jiaojiao had schemed against Cheng Yu repeatedly, all because of Shen Yanding.

Because she liked Shen Yanding… and he liked Cheng Yu.

A faint sense of anticipation stirred in Qiu Luo’s heart. Reading it in a book was one thing—but watching it unfold in person? Now this was exciting.