Scum A with a Sweet Black Lotus O – Chapter 114
by Little PandaOld Photo Album
Thanks to Fu Chaoyun’s interruption, Pei Xuezhi’s original nervousness eased considerably.
There were no bad people in the Fu family.
—Oh, except for the Scum A from her past life who usurped the nest1.
The two Alphas were a bit lacking in expression, but they weren’t the type to make things difficult for others.
Pei Xuezhi had known this point long ago.
But in her past life, she had no feelings for the Scum A; she had been forced into marrying into the Fu family, unwilling and resentful, so naturally, she wouldn’t have spent any effort on the other party’s family members.
This time, she truly felt the warmth of being in this home.
At the dining table, the meal was enjoyed by all, host and guest alike. They didn’t pull Pei Xuezhi aside asking endless questions2, turning this visit into something like a census.
A family at the Fu’s level no longer needed to expand their influence through their children’s marriages, and Madam Fu had given her two daughters autonomy in their marriages; whether good or bad, the future consequences were theirs alone to bear.
After lunch, Gu Huaiyi extended an invitation, “Xiao Xue, would you like to see Ah Yun’s old photos?”
“May I?”
Pei Xuezhi had to admit, she was somewhat tempted.
Gu Huaiyi smiled warmly, “Of course.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
This situation was more of a gathering for the Omegas; Wen Wan accompanied them too. It wasn’t appropriate for the two Alphas to participate, but Fu Chaoyun shamelessly tagged along, sauntering over to follow them.
“What are you doing here?” Father Gu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“I want to look too.” Fu Chaoyun was full of righteous indignation. “Lemme see, lemme see!3“
Pei Xuezhi’s face flushed slightly. How they acted at home or outside was one thing, but making a scene in front of the elders was truly a bit embarrassing.
Seeing the young couple seemingly unable to be apart for even a moment, Wen Wan was also smiling, somewhat envious, yet also a little downcast. “We’re just borrowing her for a little while, we’ll return her to you completely intact very soon.”
“You said it yourself, Sister-in-law. You’d better keep a close eye on her for me, don’t lose her!”
Wen Wan laughed heartily, the gloom in her eyes fading somewhat, becoming bright and dazzling.
The commotion over here wasn’t small; even Fu Lingfeng, busy with work, looked up.
In her memory, her wife “Wanwan” had always been gentle and soft, her smiles faint, like an orchid blooming in the shadows.
Not dazzling, yet possessing its own subtle fragrance drifting in the dark4.
Back then, she had been attracted precisely by this subtle fragrance.
Right, “Wanwan” was a pet name she had secretly given her, known only to Fu Lingfeng herself.
But now, she was smiling so radiantly, as if recklessly displaying her beauty without reservation.
Previously, both before and after their marriage, Wanwan had smiled at her like this. But now, when she showed such a smile again, it was while standing beside someone else.
How long had it been since she smiled at her like that?
For a moment, Fu Lingfeng felt somewhat dazed. But when their eyes met, Wen Wan’s smile retracted instantly, returning to her proper and polite demeanor.
She must have noticed her, yet her gaze shifted away, not looking in this direction.
Fu Lingfeng sensed something was slightly off and made a mental note of it. Once she finished the matters at hand, she could retire early and accompany Wanwan.
Children would have to wait a bit longer, but she was currently grooming her younger sister below; when the time came, she would just dump the work onto her, like Madam Fu had done.
It should… be very soon, right?
Over there, they were chatting and laughing. Soon, Madam Fu also spoke up, pulling Fu Chaoyun back.
The three Omegas went up to the study on the second floor to look at the photo albums.
Pei Xuezhi had lived in the Fu family villa for a period in the past, so she was quite familiar with the layout.
But she couldn’t reveal that now, so she let Gu Huaiyi lead her to the second floor.
The Fu family had thick stacks of photo albums, several volumes.
Madam Fu’s, Gu Huaiyi’s, the two children’s, family reunions, even large group photos with extended family members…
Gu Huaiyi took out the albums belonging to the two children of the family and handed them to Wen Wan and Pei Xuezhi respectively.
Wen Wan smiled and said, “Let’s look at Ah Yun’s first.”
Having been married into the Fu family for nearly three years, she had seen the family’s old photo albums before, so she naturally yielded this opportunity to Pei Xuezhi.
Pei Xuezhi smiled back at her gratefully.
Being careless in her past life, this was also the first time Pei Xuezhi had seen Fu Chaoyun’s childhood photos.
As the old photos were turned over one by one, Gu Huaiyi’s gentle voice occasionally sounded beside them, narrating.
“This is Ah Yun’s full-month photo. She was a full-term baby, born healthy and robust. Her eyes were especially bright, and her baby hair was fuller than other babies’.”
“This one is when Ah Yun was three. We took her to the old family house in the countryside. She was bold enough to tease someone else’s chicks and was almost pecked by the guarding rooster nearby. Lingfeng had to find someone to save her. Afterwards, she was scared to tears. Look at this expression, she cried so miserably back then.”
“This is from Ah Yun’s kindergarten arts performance. She was probably just over five at the time. She didn’t want to jump around, so she wore a green outfit and played a tree on the side. Already knew how to slack off at such a young age. But when it came time for the group photo, all the kids wanted to crowd around her.”
Speaking of this, Gu Huaiyi chuckled lightly, “Ah Yun has always been very popular since she was little.”
Pei Xuezhi looked at the several photos on that page. The Fu family had always been wealthy, so they had quite a few photos preserved.
The performance costumes from over a decade ago were somewhat ugly by today’s standards, especially since Fu Chaoyun was playing a lush green tree. However, even with the photo quality and pixels of that time, one could still see that the five-year-old Fu Chaoyun was the prettiest among the children!
Her cheeks still had baby fat that hadn’t faded, fair skin and red lips, bright eyes. Because she was young and hadn’t fully grown, her eyes looked especially large and bright. The kindergarten teacher had even dotted a red mark on her forehead. With short arms and legs, she looked like a little glutinous rice ball.
In one particular photo, the children were all squeezing towards Fu Chaoyun, crowding her so much that her originally fair face turned a little red. When the picture was taken, a bolder child was even trying to kiss her directly.
This exact moment was captured.
Pei Xuezhi pointed at the little Fu Chaoyun with a look of horror in the picture, “This one, did they manage to kiss her?”
Gu Huaiyi and Wen Wan both looked at Pei Xuezhi, the amusement in their eyes seeing through everything.
“I asked the same question back then,” Wen Wan said. Seeing Pei Xuezhi’s earnest expression, she didn’t hide it, “Dad said no.”
Even Gu Huaiyi laughed more cheerfully, “Not only did they not kiss her, but Ah Yun noticed, dodged backwards, but being a clumsy kid, she fell and even got a bump on her head.”
Protecting herself quite well at such a young age.
But it was probably also due to good upbringing at home.
Thinking this, Pei Xuezhi asked again, “And then?”
“And then, little Ah Yun hadn’t even reacted yet when the other child got scared and started crying first, very loudly. But then Ah Yun cried even louder than her, which scared the other kid into forgetting to cry, just staring at her.”
Pei Xuezhi, who had just felt a flicker of pity: “…”
Truly Fu Chaoyun, the same no matter the age.
Gu Huaiyi recalled, “Later, that child was brought over by their parents to apologize. The child said they just liked little Ah Yun too much at the time. Xiao Xue, guess how little Ah Yun responded back then?”
Pei Xuezhi mentally substituted Fu Chaoyun’s recent ways of rejecting people, “She didn’t like her?”
“A bit more specific.”
Gu Huaiyi said, “Ah Yun sighed, the meaning at the time was something like ‘No way, you’re not even as good-looking as me, and besides—'”
“Besides?”
Not just Pei Xuezhi, even Wen Wan beside her perked up her ears. She hadn’t heard this part before, and her little sister-in-law’s childhood embarrassments were just too amusing!
“Besides, you’re too dumb. I like smart kids. But you should probably just give up, don’t bother trying anymore.”
—Maybe you could try to become less dumb, but looks aren’t something you can work hard on, ducky~
Wen Wan: “Hahahaha!”
Pei Xuezhi: “……….”
Such clear standards at such a young age.
As she got a bit older, Fu Chaoyun’s amusing anecdotes continued, though slightly fewer than when she was younger.
At the same time, her features gradually matured, becoming increasingly striking. Before differentiation5, Fu Chaoyun was practically an ultimate weapon in school, captivating everyone regardless of gender!
Pei Xuezhi discovered that the Fu Chaoyun in Gu Huaiyi’s memories largely matched the personality of the current Fu Chaoyun.
The Fu parents were very good people; in her memories of the past life, they had also implicitly tried to dissuade Fu Chaoyun. Therefore, the personality-altered scumbag from the past life couldn’t be called “Fu Chaoyun”.
The one she knew now was the original version!
But.
Compared to what she saw now, combined with these old photos, the young Fu Chaoyun mentioned by Gu Huaiyi seemed even more outstanding and dazzling.
In school, wherever she went, she was surrounded by friends, an incredibly flamboyant presence. She wasn’t just someone who buried her head in books6; being late, sleeping in class… she did it all, yet she excelled in everything—play, studies, arts, and sports—winning countless awards, hailed as an academic god7.
Her level of excellence even surpassed her older sister, Fu Lingfeng!
Yet the Fu Chaoyun she saw now, while still outstanding, seemed to have all her brilliance veiled by a layer, concealing her radiance, making her seem not quite so eye-catching.
If Fu Chaoyun didn’t actively reveal it, aside from her face, there seemed to be nothing particularly special about her.
Why was that?
Along with these thoughts, strange images once again flooded Pei Xuezhi’s mind.
It shouldn’t be like this… without that scum occupying Fu Chaoyun’s body…
From high school through university and even into adulthood, it felt as if a “Pei Xuezhi” had always been by the side of that more dazzling “Fu Chaoyun,” never leaving, accompanying her step by step…
But whether in this life or the last, regardless of which Fu Chaoyun, she should have only met her after starting university. Back then, she was still in Jiang City. She hadn’t experienced her high school years, so why were the images in her head so clear?
Just then, Gu Huaiyi happened to be talking about her high school period, “Although Ah Yun was a bit mischievous, she understood the important principles and always made us feel very reassured, right up until her second year of high school.”
“What happened in the second year?”
Gu Huaiyi’s train of thought seemed to stutter for a moment. He frowned slightly before continuing.
“Some shortsighted competitors were talking nonsense in front of Ah Yun. That day, Ah Yun was riding at the stables, and in a fit of anger, she accidentally fell off the horse. When she woke up later, her personality had changed. She became lazy, somewhat extreme in temperament, and at the same time, her grades plummeted8. Many of the friends who used to surround her also drifted away.”
Second year of high school?
Was that when that scum occupied this body?
Pei Xuezhi wondered, but then heard Gu Huaiyi say, “Ah Yun’s differentiation period started a bit earlier than usual. Normal people differentiate after turning eighteen, but she already showed signs in her second year of high school, likely an Alpha.”
“Before that, Lingfeng, being a bit older than her, had already differentiated into an Alpha. There were rumors9 outside saying that if both children were Alphas, they would fight over the inheritance. That was probably the reason…”
“Neither Ah Zi nor I care about these things. Children will make their own way in life10. And Lingfeng, though she appears cold on the outside, has always cared deeply for this younger sister since childhood, even more than Ah Zi. When they were little, Lingfeng even helped sign some parent signatures on her test papers. How could she possibly distance herself from her sister over just a few words like that?”
“I’m not asking Ah Yun to achieve great things in the future, but she doesn’t need to sacrifice herself like this to maintain our family ties.”
There was no reply from inside the room.
Meanwhile, Fu Chaoyun and Fu Lingfeng were right at the door.
Fu Chaoyun had been the first one unable to sit still and wanted to come up. Madam Fu had initially tested her younger daughter’s homework for a while to delay her, but she herself was thinking about her own sweet Omega and couldn’t quite maintain her composure, so she let her go up to disrupt things.
Fu Lingfeng, however, had put down her busy work, looked up, and said coolly, “I’ll go pick them up too.”
They just hadn’t expected to hear such explosive words as soon as they arrived.
The two Alphas looked at each other.
Fu Lingfeng looked at Fu Chaoyun opposite her. She spoke, her posture casual, her aura powerful, “You want the power I hold?”
LP: With the context, Lingfeng would gladly dump everything to Yunyun
Footnotes
- 鸠占鹊巢 | jiū zhàn què cháo | Lit. “the turtledove occupies the magpie’s nest”; Meaning: To wrongfully take over someone else’s position or property.
- 问东问西 | wèn dōng wèn xī | Lit. “ask east ask west”; Meaning: To ask all sorts of questions, often excessively.
- 康康 | kāng kāng | Internet slang derived from 看看 (kànkan), meaning “let me see” or “take a look”.
- 暗香浮动 | àn xiāng fú dòng | Lit. “dark fragrance floats and moves”; Evokes a sense of subtle, alluring scent.
- 分化 | fēnhuà | Differentiation; In ABO context, refers to the process where individuals manifest their secondary gender (Alpha, Beta, or Omega), typically during puberty or young adulthood.
- 死读书 | sǐ dú shū | Lit. “dead reading”; To study rigidly without understanding or application, bookish.
- 学神 | xué shén | Lit. “study god”; Slang for an exceptionally brilliant student, academic prodigy.
- 一落千丈 | yī luò qiān zhàng | Lit. “drop a thousand zhang (a unit of length)”; Meaning: To suffer a sudden, sharp decline.
- 嚼舌根 | jiáo shé gēn | Lit. “chew the root of the tongue”; Meaning: To gossip, spread rumors.
- 儿孙自有儿孙福 | ér sūn zì yǒu ér sūn fú | Lit. “children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren’s fortune”; Meaning: Future generations will manage on their own, don’t worry excessively about them. (The text uses 缘 yuan/fate instead of 福 fu/fortune, but the meaning is similar).
More time for work, less time for her wife….