A Max-Level Film Queen Takes on the Scumbag Alpha Script [Transmigration] - Chapter 45

Since she was harassed by Jiang Yu for money over the phone last time, Jiang Baihe had directly switched to a new contact method. This not only cut off contact with the original scumbag Alpha’s social network but also distanced her from the original’s friends and relatives.

Afraid of appearing too heartless, Jiang Baihe had only kept the mother’s phone number, just in case something happened and someone needed to be reached. However, as she stared at the number now, her face betrayed a hint of internal conflict and hesitation, unsure whether she should answer.

Before transmigrating into the book, Jiang Baihe had grown up in an orphanage and never met her biological parents; she had been cared for by the orphanage director. With many abandoned children and high expenses, the director had struggled for years just to maintain the basic standard of living at the facility. Accustomed to hardship, Jiang Baihe knew the importance of money from a young age. That was why, at sixteen, she accepted an invitation from a major director to join the industry. She knew the entertainment circle could help her earn enough money to ease the director’s burden and improve the lives of the other children.

Since coming here, Jiang Baihe had remained unsure of how to interact with the original Alpha’s family. On one hand, in the original novel, this family—especially the brother who led the original host astray—had all moved against Yan Shu, and their ultimate fates were quite grim. On the other hand, she was afraid that too much contact would lead those close to the body to realize that the person inside had changed.

Staring at the incessantly ringing phone and sensing Yan Shu’s occasionally curious glances, Jiang Baihe gritted her teeth and finally pressed “Accept.” She opened her mouth, but her voice was stuck in her throat. After several attempts, she finally managed to utter a title she rarely used: “Mom.”

The voice on the other end was a gentle female voice, sounding soft and delicate. Jiang Baihe lowered her eyes, listening to her talk while recalling the Jiang family’s background in the original book.

The Jiang family was essentially “nouveau riche.” Their status in City A wasn’t high—they were middle-class at best and couldn’t compare to the local aristocratic families. Her current parents were a typical AO match, and she had a Beta brother, Jiang Yu, a few years older than her, who had recently taken over much of the family business but had always been asking her for money.

In the original story, the snobbish father, upon learning of her marriage to Yan Shu, would frequently come knocking, asking Yan Shu to help invest in several Jiang family projects. Meanwhile, Jiang Yu had led the original host into a gambling addiction, eventually falling into a pit of debt.

However, since transmigrating, Jiang Baihe had cut off many of these ties and had even had a fight with Jiang Yu previously. Consequently, she hadn’t been pestered by the Jiangs yet; this was the first call she had received from them.

The woman on the phone first asked after Jiang Baihe’s well-being. Jiang Baihe responded casually, wanting her to quickly state the purpose of the call. After a few minutes of small talk, the woman finally showed her hand: “It’s almost the New Year; shouldn’t you come back and visit?”

Jiang Baihe: “…”

Twirling her hair with her fingers, she looked up and made an excuse: “I’ve been busy lately, I don’t have much time.”

The woman on the phone issued a few playful scoldings. Jiang Baihe, knowing her intent and not wanting to hear more, simply said she would find a time to return and hurriedly hung up.

Beside her, although Yan Shu couldn’t hear the conversation, she could guess a few things from Jiang Baihe’s responses. She pursed her lips and asked, “Are they urging you to go home for the New Year?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Baihe muttered. “The New Year is such a hassle, so many people looking for you. I’m planning to go back tomorrow to take a look.”

“Alright, I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Baihe hesitated upon hearing Yan Shu’s words. She saw that Yan Shu’s expression was indifferent and remembered that whenever the Jiang family was mentioned before, Yan Shu seemed to lose interest. She guessed Yan Shu didn’t have a good impression of the Jiangs. Furthermore, Jiang Baihe was already nervous about going back herself, fearing they would notice something was wrong—let alone bringing Yan Shu along.

So, Jiang Baihe said, “Next time. I’ll go back tomorrow to see how things are, and we can go together when we have time.” She laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Besides, Yan Yan, have you forgotten the Sihai banquet tomorrow?”

Yan Shu froze slightly. Tomorrow was December 31st, the last day of the year. Following tradition, the senior management would have a dinner to reflect on the past and look to the future. In short, she had to attend; it was unavoidable. Thinking of this, Yan Shu eventually nodded, completely unaware of Jiang Baihe’s little maneuver. After all, there were many days before the New Year; it didn’t have to be tomorrow.

The payment was made, and the items were wrapped. Jiang Baihe prepared to leave, but saw Yan Shu standing still. She nudged Yan Shu with her elbow and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yan Shu looked up, pointed at a tea set they had just looked at, and told the clerk, “Please wrap this up for me.”

Jiang Baihe blinked and shook her head with a smile, assuming Yan Shu had finally taken a liking to the tea set and was buying it for her grandmother. She was about to swipe her card to pay, but this time, she was stopped.

She looked at Yan Shu, only to hear her say softly, “This is a first-meeting gift for the Jiang family.”

So, according to your logic from earlier, this time it’s my turn to pay.

Hearing this, Jiang Baihe was momentarily stunned. She looked at the person before her, seeing the seriousness on Yan Shu’s face, and couldn’t help but burst into a laugh. She said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

The cold wind howled, and the days grew colder. On another workday, Yan Shu woke up early as usual to go to Sihai, while Jiang Baihe, who was on vacation, slept until noon. It wasn’t until the sun slowly rose from behind the clouds that she climbed out of her warm bed.

Auntie Chen had left food on the dining table; she just needed to pop it in the microwave. However, Jiang Baihe didn’t eat immediately. Instead, she called her bodyguard and asked her to come pick her up at 4:00 PM. She had originally intended to go to the Jiang house alone, but considering Jiang Yu might be there, she decided to be safe and bring a bodyguard along.

She spent the afternoon at home, and once the bodyguard arrived on time, Jiang Baihe packed her things and took the tea set Yan Shu had prepared. The Jiang family lived in another district of City A, some distance from the center. Since it wasn’t rush hour yet, traffic was light, and they arrived at the neighborhood gate in under an hour.

The neighborhood was full of trees and had a beautiful environment; though not quite as grand as the villas at Shallow Water Bay, it was still a rare luxury residential area in City A. As they arrived, memories of the original host surfaced. Jiang Baihe directed the bodyguard through the winding paths, finally reaching a detached villa that felt both familiar and strange.

On the large lawn of the house, a woman was busy working. Jiang Baihe got out of the car, squinted her eyes for a moment, and then called out hesitantly: “Auntie Meng.”

“Oh! Miss, you’re back!” Auntie Meng had been a maid for the Jiang family for many years and had watched the two siblings grow up. Hearing her voice, she immediately looked over and welcomed her with a look of joy.

“Mhm.”

After taking the items from the car, Jiang Baihe followed Auntie Meng into the house. Before entering, she glanced at the bodyguard, who tactfully twirled her car keys and slipped away, vanishing from sight.

The closer she got to the door, the more anxious Jiang Baihe felt. Finally, she let out a breath and decided to follow the old method of “taking things as they come.” Just as she prepared herself mentally, an exquisitely dressed woman walked out of the house with hurried steps, followed by two men—her nominal father and brother.

However, unlike her mother’s visible joy, the two men behind her had stiff smiles that faltered when they saw Jiang Baihe had come alone. Jiang Yu’s face went cold instantly.

“Just you?”

Hearing her father’s question and sensing the sudden shift in attitude, Jiang Baihe’s heart sank slightly. She saw through their thoughts immediately; they likely assumed Yan Shu was coming with her, which explained the welcoming posture from moments ago. Consequently, the sliver of joy she had felt evaporated. Jiang Baihe reverted to a lazy demeanor and retorted, “If only half of me came back, I’m afraid I’d scare you.”

Everyone: “…”

Being stung by Jiang Baihe’s remark, Jiang Yu rolled his eyes and asked impatiently, “Where’s President Yan? Why didn’t she come with you?”

“Do you think she’s like you, idling around all day with no work to do?”

“You!”

Seeing the siblings about to start an argument, the mother quickly intervened: “Alright, alright, she’s finally come home for once, let’s say less.”

“Hmph.” Jiang Yu waved his hand and ignored Jiang Baihe, heading inside on his own. The father also became cold and indifferent—in this house, only the mother and Auntie Meng were truly happy to see her.

But this was fine, Jiang Baihe comforted herself. This situation was advantageous for her; she only had to deal with the mother and ensure she didn’t notice anything strange.

Knowing Yan Shu hadn’t followed, the father asked a few perfunctory questions and went back to his study on the excuse of business. In fact, the original host had been quite a mess, causing the father no small amount of headaches, so the relationship between father and daughter was poor. If it weren’t for her marriage to Yan Shu, he wouldn’t bother with her at all.

Relieved, Jiang Baihe hurried to the room she used to live in before moving out. The mother brought in a fruit plate and asked kindly about her life. Initially, Jiang Baihe felt a bit awkward—she rarely had such intimate conversations with elders. Even with the orphanage director, there were too many children for her to receive much individual pampering. Seeing the mother’s genuine concern, Jiang Baihe relaxed and chatted patiently.

“You really… have changed so much.” Looking at the well-spoken Jiang Baihe, the mother couldn’t help but sigh, her eyes full of both satisfaction and a touch of sorrow.

This simple sentence made Jiang Baihe, who was eating a grape, cough slightly. She used the worn-out excuse: “People grow up, after all.” Afraid the mother would say more provocative things, Jiang Baihe quickly changed the subject: “Mom, I’m hungry, can we eat soon?”

The mother looked at the clock—it was already 6:00 PM. She stood up and said gently, “Alright, I’ll go tell Auntie Meng to get dinner ready.”

“Mm-hmm.”

After seeing her mother out, Jiang Baihe let out a sigh of relief. She thought she’d finish dinner and make an excuse to leave immediately to avoid the discomfort. However, she didn’t realize that real trouble was waiting for her at the dining table.

As Jiang Baihe was picking bones out of her fish, her father spoke from the head of the table: “Baihe, the company has set its sights on a big project recently. See if you can ask Yan Shu for some help.”

Jiang Baihe didn’t want to get involved but couldn’t refuse directly, so she said flatly, “Fine. Give me the proposal later, and I’ll let Little President Yan take a look when I get back.”

Her father’s hand on his chopsticks tightened. He frowned and said dissatisfied, “We’re family; it’s just a matter of a word from you.”

Jiang Baihe sneered and looked down without responding. No proposal, yet they wanted to trap a white wolf with empty hands and have her coax Yan Shu into throwing money at them? Did they really think money was that easy to earn?

Seeing Jiang Baihe’s cynical look, her father slammed his chopsticks onto the table: “What kind of attitude is that?!”

“My attitude is whatever yours is.” Jiang Baihe unhurriedly wiped her mouth with a tissue and stood up. “I’m full. Since I have nothing better to do, I’m going for a walk.”

Not wanting to argue further, she ignored her mother’s calls and walked out. The night wind was cool, clearing her head. Seeing her leave the house, the bodyguard emerged from nowhere and followed at a short distance. Jiang Baihe turned and thanked her, then relaxed and wandered around.

Aside from the scene at the dinner table, the meeting with the Jiangs hadn’t been pleasant, but at least it hadn’t been disastrous; the “exposure” she feared hadn’t happened. After a turn around the neighborhood, she began to walk back, intending to say goodbye to her mother and go home.

However, she met a roadblock on the way back. She looked up lazily at Jiang Yu, who had his arm out to stop her. “Something up?”

“Are you really together with President Yan?”

Her eyes flickered, and Jiang Baihe intentionally put on a blustering, fearful look: “Well, obviously!”

Seeing the tension in her eyes, Jiang Yu thought he had caught her—he knew it! Jiang Baihe was just using Yan Shu’s name to act high and mighty. How could someone as lofty as Yan Shu look at his arrogant and incompetent sister? No wonder Yan Shu didn’t come back with her today. That scene at the table was likely because Jiang Baihe knew she couldn’t persuade Yan Shu and didn’t want to lose face.

With this in mind, Jiang Yu’s expression became much more amicable: “Do you want Yan Shu to listen to you from now on?”

Jiang Baihe looked at him suspiciously. “You have a way?”

“Naturally.”

Seeing the fish finally take the bait, Jiang Baihe’s eyes flashed. Finally, she gritted her teeth and looked at Jiang Yu with feigned determination: “Fine! You help me handle Yan Shu, and in the future, I’ll handle the money for you!”

Sihai Group

Yan Shu lowered her head, revealing a large area of fair, smooth skin on her neck. Behind her, Ai Ya lined up the position and finally slapped a band-aid-like thing onto her gland.

“Done.” Ai Ya clapped her hands with satisfaction and sat back in her chair.

Yan Shu tilted her head left and right. The sensation of something stuck to her neck was uncomfortable, but she soon adjusted. She raised an eyebrow and touched the spot. “What is this?”

She had been processing files when Ai Ya burst in without explanation, shouting for her to lower her head. Fortunately, Yan Shu trusted Ai Ya, so she let her proceed. But now that it was done, she wanted to know what was going on.

“Ah, it’s a new type of suppressant patch.”

The pen in Yan Shu’s hand paused on the contract, leaving a dark ink blot. She looked up in surprise. “A suppressant patch?”

What was this new thing? Currently, the pheromone market only had sprays or injections; she had never seen a suppressant in the form of a band-aid.

Seeing the perennially cold Yan Shu show surprise, Ai Ya gestured excitedly: “Yes, exactly the kind of suppressant you’re thinking of, but I’ve optimized it into a portable patch form. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Remember when I discussed things with experts in Hawaii? This is what we were researching…”

When it came to her field of expertise, Ai Ya began a long lecture, covering everything from research goals to results and how the product worked, peppered with technical terms Yan Shu didn’t understand. Fortunately, Yan Shu was excellent at catching the main point. After Ai Ya finished, she asked, “So, it’s equivalent to the effect of a normal suppressant?”

“Exactly,” Ai Ya snapped her fingers and laughed. “It’s been through multiple clinical trials; the effect is top-notch. This will be a great innovation in the field of pheromones. The paperwork is being processed; once the permits are out, we plan to launch the product within six months.”

She pushed a small box toward Yan Shu, containing dozens of similar patches. “Here, this is an ‘advance version’ I specifically kept for you. You won’t have to worry about your pheromones being uncontrollable anymore.”

Yan Shu accepted the items without hesitation, then stared at Ai Ya for a long time—long enough to make Ai Ya’s skin crawl—before she spoke with a light laugh: “Sometimes, I really want to know what goes on in that brain of yours.”

She didn’t know how Ai Ya thought of this. Sprays and injections had been the standard for half a century, and most recent innovations focused on scents; this was the first time someone had simplified the delivery. Compared to sprays or needles, these patches were much easier to carry. If this hit the market, it would certainly shake the industry.

Yan Shu envisioned the future for a moment, her mind running through several promotional plans, though she didn’t speak them aloud, believing Ai Ya would do it better.

As they were chatting about the product, the phone on the desk vibrated. Yan Shu’s attention was drawn to it, and she picked it up to take a look. She still had a faint smile on her face, but upon seeing the words on the screen, her expression changed slightly.

Ai Ya noticed the change immediately. “What happened? You look terrible.”

Yan Shu rubbed the bridge of her nose, hesitating. “The bodyguard sent a message saying Jiang Yu is talking to Baihe about joining forces.”

Ai Ya: ???

Instantly sitting bolt upright, Ai Ya asked in shock, “Really? Do you believe it?”

Yan Shu looked up. “What do you think?”

Ai Ya cupped her face and clicked her tongue. “If I didn’t know your compatibility was 100%, I’d believe it. But with that result, she definitely won’t move against you.”

Yan Shu was silent, then sighed. “I can’t see through her.” At times distant, at times close; she didn’t know what Jiang Baihe was thinking.

“If you can’t see through her, then test her. There’s an opportunity right in front of you today.”

Yan Shu looked at Ai Ya, who smiled back, then crooked her finger and began whispering in Yan Shu’s ear.

Having finally gained Jiang Yu’s trust, Jiang Baihe declined her mother’s plea to stay and got in the car to head home. She leaned against the back seat, twirling her phone like a pen, thinking about how to handle the situation.

Jiang Yu coming to find her was a bit surprising, but it didn’t deviate from the original plot. What she was more curious about was who was standing behind Jiang Yu; after all, he wouldn’t have the guts to move against Yan Shu alone. She ran through a list of names in her head and quickly narrowed it down to a few people.

She planned to discuss it with Yan Shu when she got home, seeing if they could set a trap to catch everyone involved in one go. As she was thinking, her phone rang. A flash of joy crossed her face, assuming it was Yan Shu calling her, but a closer look showed it was Jin Wen.

She clicked “Accept” in confusion. Jin Wen, usually so steady, spoke to her with a voice that sounded a bit overwhelmed: “Hello, is this Miss Jiang?”

“It’s me, Assistant Jin. Did something happen?”

“Cough, well, are you free to come to ‘Sihai Guest’? President Yan… she’s drunk.”