Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jiang Jinhuang’s lips were tightly pursed. After a long moment, she knocked lightly and pushed open the kitchen door.

In the kitchen, Ye Qing was heating water in a large pot. Seeing Jiang Jinhuang, she asked, “Why are you here? The water’s almost ready. I’ll bring it to you soon.”

Jiang Jinhuang lowered her gaze, silent. She looked at the faint glow of the oil lamp, its dim light illuminating only the stove, much like her and her sister’s current situation—a flicker of light surrounded by darkness.

As if making a firm decision, Jiang Jinhuang suppressed her discomfort and took two steps toward Ye Qing. She gently tugged Ye Qing’s sleeve, softening her voice. “Ye Qing, are you mad at Yangyang? She didn’t mean it. If you’re still upset, I can keep you company tonight. Just please don’t hold it against Yangyang. She was just scared from before, not targeting you.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, but Ye Qing felt uneasy. This wasn’t like Jiang Jinhuang—she was only doing this to protect herself and her sister.

Ye Qing looked at her calmly. “You don’t need to act this way or try to please me. I said you don’t have to keep me company, and I won’t do anything inappropriate to you. I won’t sell Yangyang either. Go rest.”

Ye Qing pulled her sleeve from Jiang Jinhuang’s grasp. She knew Jiang Jinhuang wouldn’t believe her words now, but time would prove her sincerity. At least Jiang Jinhuang’s favorability hadn’t dropped, or all her efforts would’ve been for nothing.

Seeing Ye Qing’s calm expression, unlike the angry, abusive outbursts of the past, Jiang Jinhuang relaxed slightly.

But she didn’t leave. Instead, she stayed by Ye Qing’s side. “Then I’ll keep you company for a bit.”

Ye Qing knew Jiang Jinhuang was worried she’d hold a grudge against Yangyang over the earlier incident. But how could she? The little one was innocent. If anyone was to blame, it was the original owner for scaring her. Ye Qing couldn’t be mad at a child.

“If you want to stay, stay,” Ye Qing said, seeing Jiang Jinhuang’s insistence. The kitchen fell quiet.

Ye Qing wasn’t talkative to begin with, and with a -150 favorability, she was even more cautious. Everything she said could be misunderstood, so it was better to stay silent and prove through actions that she’d changed, that she was no longer the abusive scum from before.

Jiang Jinhuang’s thoughts were tangled. Seeing Ye Qing’s silence, she assumed Ye Qing was still upset despite saying otherwise.

Her brows furrowed slightly, worrying about tomorrow. Ye Qing said they’d leave Linzhou then. If Ye Qing refused to take her and her sister because of tonight, what would they do?

Without money or food, without Ye Qing, she and her sister would be at a dead end.

Jiang Jinhuang took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and made a resolute decision. She stepped behind Ye Qing, her trembling hands reaching around Ye Qing’s waist, hugging her from behind. “Ye… Ye Qing, it’s cold tonight. Let me keep you company.”

Ye Qing sighed, guessing Jiang Jinhuang had misunderstood again. She gently patted the hands around her waist, trying to reassure her. “You don’t need to. Don’t overthink. I’m not mad at Yangyang, and I won’t abandon you two. Let go—the water’s boiling.”

Jiang Jinhuang hadn’t expected another rejection. In just a few days, Ye Qing had turned her down multiple times.

On one hand, she was relieved. Though she’d brought it up often, she was never ready and deeply repelled by the idea. She disliked Qianyuan as a group, especially someone like Ye Qing.

On the other hand, she was humiliated. A尚书’s daughter, repeatedly lowering herself to offer intimacy—it was shameful for someone raised on poetry and propriety. She never imagined she’d fall so low.

She even feared that if Ye Qing didn’t sleep with her, she might abandon her and Yangyang tomorrow.

Her heart was a mess, but she couldn’t voice these thoughts. She released Ye Qing’s waist and stood there, dazed.

Ye Qing sealed the stove’s fire to let it die out, then filled a wooden basin with hot water, mixing in cold water from the jar until the temperature was just right.

Turning with the basin, she saw Jiang Jinhuang still standing there, lost in thought. Ye Qing smiled helplessly. “Let’s go. The water’s ready. Wipe Yangyang’s face.”

Snapping back, Jiang Jinhuang saw Ye Qing’s smile but found it odd. From what she knew, Ye Qing’s behavior these past few days was abnormal.

Either Ye Qing had gone mad, or she was plotting something. Jiang Jinhuang leaned toward the latter. What was Ye Qing planning?

She’d been pondering this but had no answers. She only knew Ye Qing was dangerous now, yet she and her sister had to keep dealing with her to survive. Only then could they escape to the south. Without Ye Qing, they’d die faster.

Once they reached a place without famine, she might find a way to contact her family for rescue. It would be a long process, and Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t sure she could endure it.

But she had to hold on. If she fell, Yangyang would surely die.

“Okay.” Jiang Jinhuang followed Ye Qing out of the kitchen, keeping her expression neutral.

Ye Qing carried the water to their room, set the basin on the table, and said, “Wash up and rest early. We’re definitely leaving tomorrow.”

“Alright, you rest well too,” Jiang Jinhuang said with a smile, knowing she couldn’t afford to fall out with Ye Qing.

Ye Qing stepped back subtly. With such low favorability, Jiang Jinhuang likely wished she’d drop dead. Her smile was forced, and Ye Qing knew it.

Though she’d done some things these past few days, they couldn’t undo the original owner’s harm.

Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t an ordinary girl. Raised on books and reason, the more she tolerated Ye Qing, the deeper her resentment. She probably had a mental list of grudges, explaining the low favorability.

Ye Qing rubbed her brow. The road ahead was long, and the prettier and more sensible a woman, the more dangerous.

She nodded to Jiang Jinhuang and the little one, then left their room.