When the Scumbag A Got the Dog-Licking Script - Chapter 22

As Yu Jinzhao descended the stairs, she bumped into Pei Daowan. She instinctively smiled and greeted, “Good morning, Miss Pei!”

Pei Daowan nodded slightly in acknowledgment, her peripheral vision tracking Yu Jinzhao’s figure as she brushed past. Only when Yu Jinzhao had completely disappeared from sight did Pei Daowan abruptly turn around.

As if sensing Pei Daowan’s gaze, Yu Jinzhao stopped and turned back as well. “What’s wrong?”

Pei Daowan pressed her lips together, leaving a pale, tooth-marked line. She honestly didn’t know why she had turned around just then. By the time she realized it, she was already staring at Yu Jinzhao.

Under Yu Jinzhao’s questioning gaze, Pei Daowan felt a sudden awkwardness. Why did I do something so impulsive?

“Nothing, I just… you seem different today.”

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment excuse. Pei Daowan genuinely felt that Yu Jinzhao was different today.

Previously, Yu Jinzhao’s demeanor had been composed and reserved, making her difficult to read. Only occasionally would a hint of melancholy slip through.

But now, she seemed to radiate light, impossible to ignore—like a sword drawn from its sheath, whereas before she had been a blade gathering dust.

Yu Jinzhao laughed, a laugh tinged with arrogance, strikingly different from her usual smile. Without hesitation, she admitted,

“Yes, I suddenly realized some things. I need to look forward.”

Hearing this, Pei Daowan couldn’t help but wonder what “looking forward” meant. Was it accepting the reality of being in a strange world, or accepting that she had become someone else?

Yu Jinzhao was in high spirits, and now that she was certain Pei Daowan was her only ally, she freely shared her past.

“Actually, before coming here, I had just experienced a failed startup and was over three million in debt. When I quit my job, I was a bit naive, relying on my intelligence and determined to strike out on my own. I partnered with some friends, but entrepreneurship isn’t as simple as it seems. The early stages went smoothly, but by the third year, our funding chain collapsed, and we lost a lot of money. I was pretty down during that time, but before I could wallow for long, I ended up here.”

Pei Daowan listened intently, her eyes unblinking, even leaning forward involuntarily. The System had never mentioned any of this.

“Funding chain collapsed?”

“Yeah, one of the partners ran off with the money, fled overseas, and we couldn’t get it back. I tried to get a loan, but it was just a drop in the bucket. I was on the verge of bankruptcy, and still owed over three million.”

Yu Jinzhao hadn’t expected to speak so easily about this today. The incident had been a thorn in her side, the first major setback of her life.

Her mother could have helped her repay the debt, but Yu Jinzhao’s pride wouldn’t let her ask for assistance. She refused to accept her mother’s charity, leaving her to struggle alone.

During that time, her mental state deteriorated. Friends hesitated to speak to her, and her actions became somewhat reckless.

Looking back now, she realized how young and naive she had been.

Pei Daowan’s sharp mind immediately grasped the core of the problem. Only someone Yu Jinzhao deeply trusted could have absconded with the funds.

Just as Yu Jinzhao thought their conversation was ending and Pei Daowan was about to leave for work—after all, she was holding her car keys and heading for the door—Pei Daowan suddenly asked, “Do you hate her?”

Yu Jinzhao paused, considering the question carefully. She nodded, then shook her head. “At first, I hated her fiercely. We’d grown up together, and I even had a secret crush on her in middle school. I trusted her completely, entrusting her with everything, only for her to betray me. It would be a lie to say I didn’t hate her then. But now, I don’t hate her anymore. After all, hatred solves nothing, and I bear some responsibility myself.”

In middle school, Yu Jinzhao’s heart first stirred with romantic feelings. Like her two mothers, she discovered she was attracted to girls. At that time, the person she spent the most time with was her childhood friend.

Her friend was gentle, beautiful, academically superior, and universally popular. Yu Jinzhao had no reason not to like her.

Young people often mistake admiration for love, especially when they don’t think things through. Encouraged by her friends, Yu Jinzhao launched a passionate pursuit.

Her friend, focused on her studies, initially refused, saying they would be together if they both got into the same university. Yu Jinzhao didn’t disappoint, and they both enrolled in the same institution.

On the day they received their acceptance letters, her friend confessed her feelings. At that moment, Yu Jinzhao suddenly grew calm. She realized she had never truly distinguished between admiration and love; she didn’t genuinely love her friend.

So she rejected her. Her friend didn’t say another word, and both acted as if the confession had never happened. After graduation, they started their own businesses, their lives intertwined like family rather than lovers.

But somewhere along the way, their relationship changed. Yu Jinzhao couldn’t pinpoint when it happened. She had been so absorbed in her career that she overlooked her friend’s repeated pleas, ultimately leading to the breakdown.

Perhaps if I had handled things better back then, none of this would have happened, Yu Jinzhao thought, sighing softly. But that’s all in the past. If I could do it over, I’d handle things much better.

Pei Daowan stood backlit, her expression hidden in shadow. Yu Jinzhao could only see a small patch of darkness beneath her eyelashes, half her figure veiled in shadow.

In a calm voice, Pei Daowan said, “I understand,” and turned to leave.

Yu Jinzhao watched Pei Daowan’s retreating figure before snapping back to reality and sitting down at the dining table to eat. Pei Daowan always left half an hour earlier than her. Yu Jinzhao never knew where she went and had never asked.

But now, she couldn’t help wondering: if she woke up half an hour earlier tomorrow, could she have breakfast with Pei Daowan?

Pei Daowan drove with a slightly heavy foot, her gaze sharp and fixed on the road ahead. In the passenger seat beside her, the System trembled.

It wasn’t that the System hadn’t wanted to tell Yu Jinzhao about her business failure; it was simply that the Host had never asked. And the System dared not speak out of turn.

Now it was damned if it spoke and damned if it didn’t.

As they neared their destination, Pei Daowan composed herself, pinching the bridge of her nose to shake off her distraction and focus on the present. She needed to stop dwelling on Yu Jinzhao.

Glancing at the System huddled in the corner, she said flatly, “Tonight, when we get back, I want to hear everything about Yu Jinzhao and that man. You can organize your explanation properly and tell me everything.”

She added with emphasis, “Every single detail!”

The final words were spoken with a barely suppressed fury, leaving the System no choice but to nod timidly, too afraid to utter another word.

The day had felt unusually long to Pei Daowan. Despite dealing with tasks familiar from her past life, she now felt stretched thin, a discomfort she attributed entirely to the System.

Why didn’t it tell me about such crucial information? she thought. If I’d known, I could have understood Yu Jinzhao better, built a stronger connection, and made her more compliant.

Distracted and restless, Pei Daowan abandoned her work. The newly established company had few critical tasks but a mountain of trivial matters, leaving her increasingly irritable.

Worse still, her plans had stalled due to a simple reason: lack of funds.

“Qingyi, come here.”

Hearing his name called, Liu Qingyi immediately put down his work. “Sister, did you need me?”

“How’s the project progressing?”

Liu Qingyi glanced at the report in his hand. “The initial stages are mostly on track. Our main bottleneck now is funding. We need more capital to continue the research.”

“How much funding will we need to take the project from implementation to completion?”

“With sufficient funding, it could take as little as a year or as long as three. We’ll need at least fifty million.”

After delivering this figure, Liu Qingyi stole a glance at Pei Daowan’s expression. Seeing no reaction, he continued, “This is just a preliminary estimate. We might need to invest even more later…”

Liu Qingyi had never imagined Pei Daowan would launch such an ambitious project right away. He had unwavering faith in her abilities and had always felt that her talents were wasted in the Pei Family.

But…

Securing funding wouldn’t be easy. This was a conservative estimate; the actual costs could easily exceed it. Still, he had unwavering confidence in the project. If successfully implemented, it would truly transform people’s lives.

“Don’t worry about the money. I’ll figure something out. Especially when it comes to research and development, don’t be stingy. We need to offer competitive salaries and respect to attract top talent.”

“Got it, Sis! You can count on me. I’ve already spoken with HR to ensure we recruit the best people.”

Seeing that Pei Daowan didn’t seem worried about funding, Liu Qingyi couldn’t resist stepping closer and asking in a hushed voice, “Sis, are you going to ask Yu Jinzhao for investment?”

Pei Daowan seemed to smile, though the expression was subtle and difficult for Liu Qingyi to decipher. A month ago, Liu Qingyi would never have dared to ask such a question.

But recently, Pei Daowan had shown no aversion to Yu Jinzhao’s name. On the rare occasions when Liu Qingyi spoke ill of Yu Jinzhao, Pei Daowan would even interrupt her, leaving Liu Qingyi utterly shocked.

Pei Daowan didn’t intend to keep it from Liu Qingyi. “Well… I am considering it, but not under the Yu Family’s name. I’d rather have Yu Jinzhao invest personally.”

What’s the difference?!

Liu Qingyi mentally scoffed, sticking out his tongue. “I hope Yu Jinzhao isn’t the type to blindly follow the Yu Family’s orders. What era are we living in? Why are they still clinging to those outdated traditions?”

Pei Daowan’s smile this time was more pronounced, her lips curving slightly and a hint of indulgence flickering in her eyes. “Yu Jinzhao isn’t like that.”

Hearing Pei Daowan defend Yu Jinzhao again, Liu Qingyi felt a pang of jealousy. How long have they even known each other? How could Sister Pei’s feelings have shifted so quickly? He hadn’t forgotten that Yu Jinzhao had been the one to forcefully take what she wanted in the first place.

“Hmph, Sister Pei, have you heard the saying: ‘If an Alpha can be trusted, pigs will fly.'”

Pei Daowan’s eyes twinkled with amusement, her thoughts drifting to the fact that Yu Jinzhao wasn’t even an Alpha from this world. Even if she were, what could her current weakened glands possibly do?

At that moment, Pei Daowan couldn’t have imagined that her current actions would one day come back to haunt her.

“Hmph, ever since my ex-Alpha got a government job, she became a completely different person. She kept spouting nonsense about how Omegas should just stay home and raise families. What a load of bull! I dumped her ass right then and there. Sister, when it comes to Alphas, younger is better. You should see the university town near my place after work—those are real Alphas, bursting with youthful energy. They’re nothing like the Alphas you see around here.”

Pei Daowan chuckled and nodded. “Yu Jinzhao isn’t old either. She’s in her twenties, in the prime of her life.” Meanwhile, Pei Daowan had already lived two lifetimes.

“Hmph, so what? Alphas past their prime are just unwanted. My next partner will be fresh out of high school, just turned eighteen.”

As Liu Qingyi continued to chatter in her ear, Pei Daowan closed her laptop. She wanted to go home early tonight.

“Alright, I’m heading out. If there’s nothing else, you should go too. Weren’t you planning to check out the university town Alphas? Don’t keep them waiting.”

Liu Qingyi’s round eyes suddenly widened slightly. Something was off. Sister Pei had always been a workaholic, but lately she’d been going home on time and even spacing out occasionally—behavior completely unlike her usual self.

“Sister, are you living with Yu Jinzhao now?”

“Yes, we’re living south of the Yangtze River.”

Liu Qingyi immediately tensed up. “How is that guy? Has he been disrespectful to you?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. First, she wouldn’t dare. Second, she couldn’t. Most importantly, she wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Seeing Liu Qingyi’s still skeptical expression, Pei Daowan sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. The original Yu Jinzhao’s reputation had been so terrible that even Qingyi, who had never met her, had such a negative impression.

“I’ll bring you to meet her sometime when we have the chance.”

Hearing this, Liu Qingyi perked up, rolling up his sleeves and silently clenching his fists, eager to test her. “Sister, don’t worry. I’m a professional at spotting trash. Just leave it to me.”

Pei Daowan wasn’t particularly keen on sharing Yu Jinzhao with others. She was no longer the person she used to be, and she preferred to keep this Yu Jinzhao to herself for now. Knowing her alone was enough.

She yawned lightly, brushed off the topic, gathered her things, and left work.