After Being Transmigrated into a Cannon Fodder Scum Alpha - Chapter 31

When Yun Qi returned to the hall, she subconsciously searched the crowd for Kong Ying. She frowned upon seeing her standing with members of the military.

The man in uniform beside Kong Ying also noticed Yun Qi’s gaze and gave her a smile that was far from friendly.

Back when she received the plot, Yun Qi was somewhat confused by the relationship between the military and the original host. It was understandable for others to hate her, but the military had been picking on her from the very beginning for no apparent reason. At first, she thought they simply disapproved of her actions, but after reflecting on it, she realized they never missed an opportunity to trip her up, as if there were a deep-seated grudge.

The Grand Duke returned a brilliant smile and then stopped paying attention to Kong Ying and her group.

Nuannuan was Yun Ye’s second child. Her personality was just like her mother’s—very lively, not shy around strangers, and currently being passed around and teased by other elders.

“So cute. I wish I could have such a lovely granddaughter someday.” A noblewoman said to Bai Mingshu while holding Nuannuan, her eyes drifting toward the Alpha beside her—an acquaintance of Yun Qi’s, Fang Qing.

Not many people knew what had happened at the Miles Hotel. Yun Xiaoyue had also been reminded by Yun Qi afterward not to speak of that night.

Fang Qing pretended not to understand her mother’s hint, standing aside with a polite smile. She froze for a moment when she saw Yun Qi and Lin Chen arrive, but quickly regained her composure and greeted them.

“How wonderful, she looks like someone blessed with good fortune.” Madam Fang said, taking Lin Chen’s hand. Her eldest son was never to be found, so she couldn’t even nag him. Her younger daughter played dumb every day; she clearly knew her mother wanted a granddaughter, but she always feigned ignorance to brush it off.

Yun Qi was not much older than her younger daughter, yet Lin Chen was already having a second child, while Qing’er didn’t even have someone she liked.

As for Lin Chen’s past experiences in the Ducal Mansion, everyone present tactfully refrained from mentioning them.

Madam Fang and Bai Mingshu had been best friends since school and remained very close to this day. Therefore, Yun Qi adopted the posture of a respectful junior toward her, which made Madam Fang like Yun Qi even more.

She had heard the rumors about Yun Qi, but she didn’t take them to heart. What was wrong with a young person being a bit arrogant? Besides, she felt Yun Qi’s attitude toward her elders was quite good.

After a moment’s thought, she took off a bracelet she was wearing and gave it to Lin Chen.

“Consider this a meeting gift for the baby.” The bracelet was composed of top-grade Gulf pearls and a few diamonds, shining brilliantly under the lights.

Lin Chen glanced at Yun Qi. Seeing no reaction, she accepted it with a shallow smile. The contrast between the Omega’s fair wrist and the black Gulf pearls made her wrist look even more slender.

Madam Fang smiled even more happily after Lin Chen accepted it; she hoped to borrow some of Lin Chen’s “luck” so she could hold a granddaughter soon.

Lin Chen, meanwhile, sensed two gazes. She “inadvertently” shifted her line of sight and found her “dear sister” staring at her—or rather, staring at her wrist. So, she lifted her wrist even more happily to look at the bracelet while listening to Madam Fang tell its story.

Lin Jue stood beside Lin Yaoyao, looking even weaker; perhaps her mother was missing her from the afterlife.

The other gaze came from Kong Ying. She was looking at Lin Chen with a pained, reproachful expression—the same look as years ago, as if Lin Chen were doing something degenerate. It was unclear what Lin Yaoyao had told her this time.

But none of that had anything to do with her now.

Yun Qi noticed that Lin Chen seemed much happier than before. Is an Omega’s love for jewelry simply innate? Lin Chen hadn’t seemed to wear any jewelry before, and Yun Qi had never given her any.

‘I should buy some when we get back. It would be a loss of face if the Duchess wore nothing, especially now that she’s pregnant.’

Then Yun Qi was pulled away by her cousin.

While the elders chatted about children, the peers talked about business or politics. Although Yun Ye brought Yun Qi into the conversation, she didn’t interject. Her current persona was that of a cynical playboy, an arrogant young Duke interested only in pleasure.

What caught Yun Qi’s attention was an Alpha beside her cousin mentioning that several minor nobles in the Empire had died recently due to “pheromone loss of control.” This made her instinctively think of the man who looked like Lin Chen, whom she saw while investigating Milo’s death.

Come to think of it, after Lin Chen and Mu Yu meet, there is a period where Imperial nobles die one after another. It is very similar to the current situation. These few dead Alphas might truly be related to Mu Yu’s faction, but the numbers are small and the impact hasn’t spread wide yet.

As they chatted, Yun Ye turned the topic toward Yun Qi, telling her to restrain herself. Those dead Alphas were people who usually liked using drugs for “excitement.” He knew Yun Qi occasionally liked to use drugs while playing around as well. The other “sisters” also began to lecture their disobedient “brother.” Yun Qi noted that these were all people she usually went out with.

While Yun Qi was humbly listening to Yun Ye’s teachings, a commotion broke out on the Omega side. Yun Qi vaguely heard Lin Chen’s name and left after giving Yun Ye a quick word.

When she arrived, she found the source of the disturbance was an Alpha she disliked—Kong Ying. This was an Omega gathering, yet Kong Ying was the only Alpha standing there, attempting to grab her Omega’s hand.

Seeing Yun Qi, Kong Ying grew even angrier.

“You clearly weren’t like this before! And now? For status and position, you married such a person.” Kong Ying looked at Yun Qi with loathing. “Everyone here knows how she treated you after the wedding, yet you still refuse to repent. Yaoyao went to comfort you, and you vented your anger on her.”

Hearing about the past, the other Omegas felt a bit awkward. They had gossiped about Lin Chen behind her back, and some had even talked about where the Grand Duke went to play right in front of her. However, seeing the change in the Grand Duke’s attitude toward Lin Chen, they had tactfully stopped mentioning the past.

But this Alpha sounded like she had some history with Lin Chen. They sensed they might get to taste some of Yun Qi’s “tea”—the green variety.

“It has nothing to do with you. I am not familiar with you.” Seeing Yun Qi arrive, Lin Chen walked behind her, letting Yun Qi block Kong Ying.

Yun Qi didn’t speak. She wanted to hear what other “interesting” things this Alpha could say and how much more she could be insulted. Yun Qi’s indifferent attitude seemed to infuriate Kong Ying further.

“I hope you can see your own heart clearly and not be blinded by superficial prosperity,” she said to Lin Chen.

“Marrying me at least has more of a future than marrying you, doesn’t it? An Alpha who got in by relying on an Omega.” Yun Qi looked at Lin Yaoyao.

The other Omegas’ gazes shifted to Lin Yaoyao, making her grit her teeth inwardly. When Kong Ying mentioned her name, she realized something bad might happen.

Under everyone’s gaze, she had no choice but to explain, “Sister Kong and my sister were university classmates. They just had some misunderstandings back then.”

“There was no misunderstanding. I simply misjudged her. She has always been this kind of person.” Yun Qi’s mocking gaze made Kong Ying look embarrassed.

“My apologies, Professor Kong has the ability to enter on her own merit.” The man in uniform from earlier walked over. “But how would a Grand Duke who only knows how to eat, drink, and play know about Professor Kong’s achievements in pheromone research over the past few years?”

“Why should I care?” The Grand Duke looked maliciously at the two Alphas. “Aren’t these things everywhere? Oh, right, I forgot the military can’t even scrape together enough money for meals. How could they have money to buy pheromone regulators? You can only go crawling to the research institutes, hoping they’ll give you a discount—or better yet, give it to you for free, right?”

It was public knowledge that the military was short on funds; it was also public knowledge that Yun Qi was wealthy.

“I heard the military can’t even afford settlement fees lately. You wouldn’t be trying to find someone to ‘extort’ my partner just to get some money, would you?” Yun Qi mockingly patted her chest and gave the man in uniform a critical look.

‘I can bully Lin Chen later, but since these two ran into me, of course I’m going to clap back on the spot. The original host isn’t a pushover.’

[Indeed.] The system’s voice was a bit low.

‘Little Scum, do you… dislike them?’ Yun Qi felt a hint of anger in its voice.

[As if. I’m thrilled to see you getting trashed.]

‘Dog.’ Yun Qi felt silly for worrying about the system.

At the very least, she couldn’t let others link Lin Chen and Kong Ying to an affair. Gossip is a lethal thing. In her past life, Yun Qi had seen rumors and cyberbullying break a healthy, sunny boy, leaving a wall full of awards without an owner. Once irreparable consequences are caused, those people hide in the shadows again, pretending nothing happened, or join the “righteous” crowd to cyberbully someone else. They don’t care who is right or wrong; they just want to vent their emotions in the chaos.

The Omegas present compared Yun Qi and Kong Ying. Kong Ying wasn’t as good-looking as Yun Qi, and because she was suppressing her anger, her face looked somewhat distorted, ruining her original softness. Furthermore, Lin Chen showed great resistance toward Kong Ying, which didn’t look like an affair at all.

Since the Grand Duke showed no desire to link Lin Chen with that Alpha, they weren’t so tactless as to spread rumors. As for the man in uniform’s words, they disliked them very much. They didn’t know who Kong Ying was or what achievements she had, so were they also people who “only knew how to eat, drink, and play”?

The Grand Duke had come to find Lin Chen because of the trouble involving her partner. What was wrong with these two Alphas, running into an Omega gathering as if Alphas could just come and go as they pleased?

The man in uniform seemed to want to get physical, but he was quickly stopped by another Alpha who came over. She apologized to Yun Qi and then, amidst Yun Qi’s sneers, dragged the two defiant people away.

“Don’t embarrass me.” The Grand Duke leaned close to the Omega and whispered in a harsh tone.

The Omega clung to her partner, bringing her face close to the Alpha’s.

“I know. They’re the ones who came looking for trouble for no reason.” Lin Chen drawled, her tone a bit coquettish.

The warm breath hit her ear, making Yun Qi shiver involuntarily. “I’ll deal with you when we get back.”

After leaving a stern remark, Yun Qi walked away, though she looked a bit like she was fleeing.