Scum A with a Sweet Black Lotus O – Chapter 145
by Little PandaFlowers in the Mirror (6)
Fu Chaoyun and Pei Xuezhi were together!
Most of their time after getting together was filled with romance and sweetness. Of course, there were occasional minor troubles.
For example, those who, unafraid of societal judgment and moral constraints, would come to snatch away a beloved1.
It was at times like these that the differences between Fu Chaoyun and Pei Xuezhi became even more apparent—
Fu Chaoyun had always had extremely good luck since she was young. Apart from that one time she confessed to Pei Xuezhi, her life story contained almost no failures or setbacks.
Pei Xuezhi was the exact opposite.
Even though she was also exceptionally outstanding, not in the least inferior to Fu Chaoyun, all sorts of self-important fools would always bump into her. They could, of course, offer various appropriate and suitable reasons, but upon careful examination, these reasons were utterly foolish.
They came when she was single, and they came after she was in a relationship.
Without exception, Pei Xuezhi dealt with them all swiftly. Seeing that this quantitative change didn’t lead to a qualitative change and trigger a relationship crisis, Fu Chaoyun couldn’t help but tease, “It’s like they’re deliberately sending themselves over for Zhizhi to slap their faces2.”
Pei Xuezhi glanced at her lover, her expression very calm, as if she had truly grown accustomed to such things long ago.
Fu Chaoyun was still laughing when Pei Xuezhi shot her a look.
Annoying flies constantly buzzing around were indeed quite bothersome. Compared to Pei Xuezhi, who was always being picked on, Fu Chaoyun had a much more peaceful time, as if trouble was naturally inclined to avoid her.
Naturally, Fu Chaoyun also lent a hand in resolving these troubles. At this moment, she thought for a bit and suddenly spoke.
“Zhizhi.”
“What is it?” Pei Xuezhi turned her head.
“Give me your hand.”
Pei Xuezhi had just raised her hand when it was grasped by the other. An Alpha’s body temperature was on the higher side, and those eyes, so close, were incredibly bright and clear.
“I’ll share my luck with Zhizhi, then there won’t be so much chattering anymore~”
The warmth traveled along her palm, like a lingering kiss, leaving behind a melting warmth.
Pei Xuezhi stared into Fu Chaoyun’s eyes and suddenly smiled, like a snow-laden branch in winter suddenly bursting into a myriad of blossoms.
The rarer it was, the more cherished it became.
She only heard the incredibly beautiful woman before her part her red lips slightly:
“Mm, I accept it.”
…
Very touching.
But as it turned out, the luck Fu Chaoyun shared was useless. Pei Xuezhi was still being picked on.
Endlessly.
However, there seemed to be an indescribable feeling. Every time someone picked a fight with Pei Xuezhi, it was as if… hmm… she became a bit stronger?
It was very strange.
Time slowly flowed by.
Pei Xuezhi still hadn’t differentiated, whether as an Alpha or an Omega, or even just an ordinary Beta.
Hidden thoughts began to stir faintly in the shadows. Even though Fu Chaoyun showed nothing from beginning to end, with ABO being the foundation of this world, Pei Xuezhi, unable to complete her differentiation, was, to some extent, an “inferior product.”
Their relationship was stable, so the schemes to break them up escalated.
One time.
An Omega directly used pheromones from a susceptible period outbreak to seduce Fu Chaoyun. Fu Chaoyun didn’t fall for it, but Pei Xuezhi fainted.
Before Fu Chaoyun returned home, she cleaned off the Omega scent she had inadvertently picked up—even though the other person hadn’t touched her, it had spread through the air, yet a tiny bit still lingered. The moment Pei Xuezhi smelled it, she fainted.
At first, her body became weak, like a precursor to differentiation, but this differentiation never came to fruition. All hospital test results showed: Pei Xuezhi’s body was weakening.
For this, the Fu family even brought in specialist doctors from all over the world and from various fields, but they were all helpless. The doctors even found it peculiar.
“We’ve used various instruments and methods but can’t find the cause of Ms. Pei’s coma. However, we can confirm it’s not Sleeping Beauty Sickness3, nor is she in a differentiation phase. Her organs are starting to show signs of rejection. If this situation continues—”
The doctor regretfully and sadly gave a conclusion, “She will die.”
Fu Chaoyun, and indeed the Fu family behind her, exhausted all the best resources, but Pei Xuezhi’s condition still showed no signs of improvement.
She was like a night-blooming cereus4 at midnight.
Blooming hastily in the night, then suddenly wilting before the morning sun rose. Both its blooming and fading were spectacular, a limited-time efflorescence.
The longer she remained in a coma, the thinner she became. Her originally cool-toned fair skin now had a pallor, not quite deathly, but anyone could see her condition was worsening.
Throughout this process, Fu Chaoyun stayed by her side, never leaving.
The love of youth might not have been as long-term as one might imagine, but it was passionate, without regrets, enough to burn everything down!
At this moment, Fu Chaoyun sat beside Pei Xuezhi, holding her lover’s hand, gently brushing it against her own face, as if the other person were still awake and caressing her.
As the one who was awake, Fu Chaoyun hadn’t had an easy time either. Compared to physical exhaustion, it was more of a high-pressure mental strain. A string was pulled taut, constantly on the verge of falling off a cliff. The slightest misstep, and it would be a bottomless abyss!
“Zhizhi.”
Her voice was hoarse, like the dryness of someone who hadn’t spoken for a long time, a winding lake dried to its last drop of water. “Since Zhizhi said I’m Heaven’s favored daughter, with off-the-charts luck… then let me give all my luck to Zhizhi. I hope—”
“Zhizhi can get better soon~”
After speaking, she waited for a while but still saw no movement.
Fu Chaoyun let out a soft laugh, naturally no longer joyful, but rather like a sneer directed at herself.
Because of her constant vigil during this period, she seemed to have dimmed somewhat, no longer appearing as flamboyant and dazzling as when they first met.
Those words had no basis, yet she was unwilling to accept it.
Still unwilling.
Fu Chaoyun moved closer, as if to kiss her, but in the end, her lips only restrainedly, delicately kissed her lover’s fingertips. Her voice was as soft as if coaxing a disobedient child.
“I’ll transfer all my luck to you, as long as Zhizhi can get better.”
As long as you can get better, she is willing to do anything.
Willing to pay any price.
—At this moment, she prayed to the gods.
After a while, there were other matters to attend to. Fu Chaoyun went out for a bit and didn’t see that Pei Xuezhi’s hand, which had been lying on the bed for a long time and had been kissed by Fu Chaoyun… moved slightly.
Two hours later, after finishing her tasks, when Fu Chaoyun returned to the hospital room, she found that Pei Xuezhi was awake.
She was leaning against the headboard, wearing a standard hospital gown. Her already fair skin was now so pale and thin it seemed translucent enough to show her blood vessels. Even her once vibrant lips had turned a soft pink. The contrasting paleness only accentuated the blackness of her hair and eyes.
Yet, it also revealed a thin frailty that shouldn’t have appeared on Pei Xuezhi.
Pei Xuezhi looked up at her, and instantly, the Alpha was reflected in her eyes.
The gaze looking over was so clear, as if she were still the “Pei Xuezhi” the other was most familiar with from the past.
“You’re here.”
—Long time no see.
Had Heaven heard her prayers?
For a moment, there was an even stronger feeling of it being a lifetime ago. Fu Chaoyun even wanted to cry.
She should have quickly gone to Pei Xuezhi’s side, but when she actually took a step, she felt her whole body trembling. Even so, she still walked firmly towards her lover.
“Mm,” Fu Chaoyun responded to the other’s words, asking as if it were a normal greeting, “How are you feeling?”
“It’s not differentiation.” Pei Xuezhi, however, glossed over this and directly switched to another topic. Due to her physical weakness, her voice was also a couple of notches lower. “I cannot differentiate.”
Fu Chaoyun stroked her hair, just like usual, her voice gentle and coaxing, “Didn’t I say it before? I don’t care about these things.”
Pei Xuezhi pressed down on her hand.
Her condition wasn’t good right now, so Fu Chaoyun didn’t struggle at all, only fearing she might hurt the other.
Her eyes were dark yet bright, like stars hanging high in the night sky. “It’s not just a matter of not being able to differentiate…”
Pei Xuezhi suddenly spoke very clearly.
“Fu Chaoyun, I am not from this world.”
Fu Chaoyun had seen many grand scenes since she was young. She looked dazzling, but in reality, her emotional fluctuations weren’t many, and she had long since mastered the ability to remain calm.
But now, hearing this unexpectedly, she couldn’t control her nervousness.
Pei Xuezhi continued: “The public security bureau can’t find any record of my life because I essentially appeared out of thin air… How can someone who never existed in the first place leave any traces?”
There had been faint signs of all this, but they both had a tacit understanding, until this moment when Pei Xuezhi herself pierced through this layer of paper5.
Fear?
Yes.
It wasn’t fear that Pei Xuezhi wasn’t from this world, but rather, since the other person came from another world… did that mean she would always have to leave? Or rather… could she not be kept here?
The sudden weakness of her body, the undiagnosable cause of illness… these were all precursors.
Fu Chaoyun had always been a gentle person, but right now, her grip on Pei Xuezhi’s hand tightened continuously, actually causing some pain. A hint of crazed obsession even appeared in her beautiful, clear eyes.
Pei Xuezhi began to tell her story.
Her story was actually very simple; all her personality traits and habits had traceable origins—
In another world, she was born into a wealthy family and should have lived a life of splendor and riches. However, her parents died young, and in her early years, she was even lost and wandering outside until she was found and brought back at the age of eight. She then followed the head of the family, the Old Master, who was more imposing than affectionate. At the same time, the Old Master managed numerous affairs and there were always times when he couldn’t attend to everything. Yet, even so, she was still envied by countless people, regarded as a thorn in their side6, who schemed against each other and even backstabbed.
Those people were also called her “relatives.”
The so-called wealthy families looked like a profusion of flowers and brocade7, but once you peeled off the outer shell, it was just a pile of muck.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that when people came to provoke Pei Xuezhi earlier, no matter what outrageous things they said, Pei Xuezhi’s reaction was always very cold.
She had seen it all before; those tricks were merely a case of a great sorcerer meeting a minor one8.
Having grown up in such an environment, Pei Xuezhi developed such a personality.
Compared to Fu Chaoyun, who also came from a wealthy family, her upbringing was much more arduous. She encountered countless risks, big and small, along the way, but the outcome was always good; she would eventually turn danger into safety.
Yet, even so, the process was not easy, and it would inevitably leave some scars.
Suddenly encountering the kind of living environment in the Fu family, Pei Xuezhi found it novel. But she had to admit, she was also somewhat envious. However, her personality had already formed, and she always found it very difficult to truly integrate.
No matter how many dangers there were, Pei Xuezhi recounted them in a very calm tone.
This was the first time Pei Xuezhi had truly revealed her past to Fu Chaoyun. Fu Chaoyun listened quietly throughout, a faint, lingering pain spreading in her heart.
But she knew that Pei Xuezhi wasn’t saying these things to share her vulnerability and seek comfort; she was simply stating them.
Thinking about it more pessimistically, it was a bit like, she was giving her last words…
—Couldn’t think about it anymore!
After finishing, Pei Xuezhi looked at Fu Chaoyun again. Fu Chaoyun feigned a relaxed tone, “Zhizhi’s experiences sound like those of a female protagonist in a revenge novel.”
Female protagonist of a revenge novel?
Pei Xuezhi revealed a smile—in the past, her smiles were rare, but since getting together with Fu Chaoyun, they had become increasingly frequent.
If that were really the case, she would indeed ruthlessly retaliate against their insidious schemes, more than doubling the retribution!
“I might have to go back,” Pei Xuezhi said to Fu Chaoyun.
Fu Chaoyun looked at her.
“You’ve always been the one taking care of me. I really want you to also taste what it’s like to live under someone else’s roof…”
As if thinking of something interesting, a smile appeared on Pei Xuezhi’s snow-white face, yet it was also fragile.
“Once Jiejie makes me angry, how about I just don’t give you food? Or more seriously, kick you out of the house and let you fend for yourself?”
“I’m willing,” Fu Chaoyun said quickly, tears already welling in her eyes. “I’m willing to do all of it.”
Pei Xuezhi smiled again. “Then I wouldn’t be able to bear it.”
She stopped looking into Fu Chaoyun’s eyes, turned her head away, and continued speaking as if to herself.
“Let’s just forget it.”
Fu Chaoyun: “How can you?!”
“Shh—listen to me. The living environment on my side isn’t that good. It’s not suitable for you to go there, and even less suitable for dating. Besides, I don’t have that much time to spend with you. I still have many revenges to enact. How could someone as selfish and petty as me be content otherwise? So I definitely have to go back…”
She was uncharacteristically talkative, which made one feel even more uneasy.
Fu Chaoyun realized once again that Pei Xuezhi’s awakening this time might not be an improvement, but rather, things had gotten worse.
A final resurgence of energy before death9.
“I’m willing, I’m willing… I won’t blame you…” She kept repeating words of agreement, but uncontrollably, as she rambled on, Pei Xuezhi’s breath still grew weaker.
The so-called “going back” was just a cruel yet well-intentioned excuse.
Honey coating the blade of a knife.
The proud Alpha finally cried, whimpering continuously, like a pitiful kitten, not at all imposing.
“Can’t Zhizhi stay for me?”
She was finally selfish for once.
Pei Xuezhi’s beautiful eyes were half-closed, looking less bright.
—”Maybe next time.”
She wanted to say that, but the Alpha in front of her was just too pitiful, so pitiful that she couldn’t help but soften.
“Alright,” Pei Xuezhi smiled, no longer her usual cool and distant self, revealing a hint of tender warmth. “If it’s possible.”
…Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible.
Finally, she leaned close to Fu Chaoyun’s ear and prayed, “Next time I see Jiejie, I want to become an Omega.”
Fu Chaoyun was free and unrestrained.
For her, whether she herself was an Alpha or an Omega didn’t really matter; gender wouldn’t affect her personality.
Compared to Fu Chaoyun, Pei Xuezhi had more dark facets to her personality and stronger possessiveness.
As an Alpha, she could certainly mark Fu Chaoyun if Fu Chaoyun were an Omega, but that would be a way of binding their relationship initiated by her. She hoped more for the other person to offer it willingly!
Moreover, Fu Chaoyun wouldn’t necessarily become an Omega.
Then…
It would be better for her to become an Omega.
Using herself, her body, as bait, setting a trap, allowing the other to wantonly leave the mark of a future partner on her, adding another lock to this relationship.
At first glance, she seemed like weak prey, but in reality, she was turning continuous water into invisible chains, embracing the other as the mark was made, thoroughly binding herself to that person, becoming inseparable!
The plan was well-devised.
Unfortunately…
Unfortunately, none of it was possible…
Even though she knew it was impossible, Pei Xuezhi still held on until Fu Chaoyun said “alright” before collapsing again.
Then came the suddenly flashing red lights, an all-night rescue effort. This flowers in the mirror, moon in the water affair seemed destined for only one ending: “leaving.”
Fu Chaoyun hoped that everything Pei Xuezhi said was true.
While her lover’s departure was heartbreaking and unbearable, compared to being separated by two worlds, she still hoped the other person was “living” well in another world.
The result was unexpected, better than anyone had anticipated.
Pei Xuezhi was saved. This time, it wasn’t a final resurgence; her body was indeed getting better day by day.
Amidst Fu Chaoyun’s constant anxiety, Pei Xuezhi was indeed recovering in a positive direction.
That day, she was still lying in bed, bathed in bright sunlight. The deathly pallor on her face had faded, revealing a lively vitality.
“Jiejie, congratulations.”
—She stayed.
Also…
Pei Xuezhi had a second sentence, almost inaudible, yet it was still caught by both their ears.
“Congratulate me.”
The “delirious” words spoken during her “critical illness” were tacitly left unmentioned by both. Pei Xuezhi had willingly stayed in this world; for this, her lover needed to feel no apology.
However, there was one regret: Pei Xuezhi still hadn’t differentiated. She could neither mark nor be marked.
She was still an ordinary person.
Just like the character setup of a female protagonist in a revenge novel, with every setback, the protagonist would become a bit stronger.
Pei Xuezhi also didn’t mention going back again—compared to the obsession of returning for revenge, she actually just didn’t want her lover to worry.
At the same time, after her return this time, the number of people looking for trouble with Pei Xuezhi gradually decreased. Instead of nitpicking, those people seemed to see more of her shining qualities. The one being scrutinized, instead, became Fu Chaoyun.
Regarding this, Fu Chaoyun didn’t mind and even smiled, “It’s my turn to bear it now.”
The Alpha suddenly put on a worried expression.
Deliberately.
Fu Chaoyun said, “More and more people can see Zhizhi’s excellence. I’m so scared.”
“Scared of what?” Pei Xuezhi glanced at her.
“Scared they’ll come to fight with me for Zhizhi.”
Her mouth full of glib and flippant words finally coaxed a sweet kiss from Pei Xuezhi.
But gradually, the original joke seemed to be turning into reality.
When the two stood together, everyone’s gaze gradually fell on Pei Xuezhi first.
The light on Fu Chaoyun, who was originally dazzling, brilliant, and incomparably resplendent, seemed to dim all at once. She began to become lost in the crowd.
Many people noticed. Fu Chaoyun didn’t care and even said, “Simplicity is the true essence of life.”
Pei Xuezhi was not a fickle10 person and wouldn’t separate from Fu Chaoyun because of this.
But if all this was still acceptable, a situation worse than her radiance being stolen appeared—
Fu Chaoyun’s health was deteriorating.
Now, the one experiencing a life-and-death crisis was Fu Chaoyun, and the one worrying and anxious was Pei Xuezhi.
What followed was a reenactment of the world’s events; Pei Xuezhi experienced all of Fu Chaoyun’s past emotions.
But this time, no miracle occurred.
One day.
A voice calling itself the “World’s Will” awakened Pei Xuezhi, who was keeping vigil in the room:
“Ahhh, how could such an oversight occur?! The self-repair actually failed? Luck was even transferred? And to an other-dimensional entity??? How did things turn out like this, ahhhhh!!”
“…Huh, can you… hear me…?”
The voice on the other side seemed embarrassed for a moment, coughed twice quickly, as if trying to maintain its last shred of dignity, and then said sternly, “Anyway, you can’t go on like this! The world is starting to collapse!!”
Pei Xuezhi didn’t care about the other party’s petty thoughts.
This voice sounded quite immature and had suddenly appeared in Pei Xuezhi’s head, which also seemed very strange.
It was said earlier that Pei Xuezhi was a cold and selfish person. Apart from what she cared about, she didn’t care whether anything else lived or died.
Similarly.
She also didn’t care at all whether the world collapsed or not. All she cared about was Fu Chaoyun’s life or death.
The amount of information revealed in those few leaked sentences earlier was extraordinary…
Everything had its omens. She wasn’t a fool; she had faintly guessed the signs before. She had willingly stayed, but what was the price for staying and possessing a healthy body?
…She didn’t dare to think about it.
It was just that Fu Chaoyun didn’t want to pierce this layer of paper, so she played along, until today, when things completely erupted, and the superficial peace could no longer be maintained.
Pei Xuezhi only needed to turn her head to see Fu Chaoyun on the hospital bed, exceptionally weak. The Alpha was extremely thin, no longer showing her former sun-like radiance and liveliness.
Thus, Pei Xuezhi, who had always been cautious, didn’t even try to verify the identity of that voice. Perhaps it was a case of trying anything in a desperate situation11, or perhaps she simply didn’t care anymore.
As long as there was the slightest possibility, even if it meant defying world opinion and turning everything upside down, she would carry it out.
And so.
Pei Xuezhi spoke, “What do I need to do?”
…
…
It had always been said, she was inherently a selfish person. It was just that now, within the scope of this selfishness, within the “self,” there was also Fu Chaoyun.
Unrelated to anything else.
Only this, and nothing more.
Footnotes
- 横刀夺爱 | héng dāo duó ài | Literally “to wield a knife horizontally to seize love.” An idiom meaning to steal someone’s lover or spouse, often forcefully or unscrupulously.
- 打脸 | dǎ liǎn | Literally “to slap face.” A popular slang term meaning to be proven wrong, especially in a humiliating way, or to have one’s actions backfire, causing embarrassment.
- 睡美人症 | shuì měirén zhèng | Sleeping Beauty Sickness. Likely referring to Kleine-Levin Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by recurring episodes of excessive sleep and altered behavior.
- 昙花 | tánhuā | Epiphyllum, also known as night-blooming cereus or queen of the night. It’s a type of cactus flower famous for blooming beautifully for only a single night, symbolizing ephemeral beauty or a short-lived, brilliant moment.
- 捅破窗户纸 | tǒng pò chuānghuzhǐ | Literally “to poke through the window paper.” An idiom meaning to reveal a secret or to speak openly about something that was previously unstated or only hinted at. Window paper was historically used in China instead of glass.
- 眼中钉 | yǎnzhōngdīng | Literally “a nail in the eye.” An idiom meaning a thorn in one’s side; someone who is hated or considered a major nuisance.
- 花团锦簇 | huātuánjǐncù | Literally “clusters of flowers and piles of brocade.” An idiom describing something richly ornamented, splendid, or flourishing on the surface.
- 大巫见小巫 | dà wū jiàn xiǎo wū | Literally “a great shaman meets a lesser shaman.” An idiom meaning to pale in comparison; to be dwarfed by something far more impressive or serious.
- 回光返照 | huí guāng fǎn zhào | Literally “the light reflecting back before setting” (like the sun briefly flaring before sunset). An idiom meaning a final burst of energy or consciousness before death; a last flicker of life; a brief improvement before the end.
- 三心二意 | sānxīn’èryì | Literally “three hearts, two minds.” An idiom meaning to be of two minds; undecided; fickle; half-hearted.
- 病急乱投医 | bìng jí luàn tóu yī | Literally “when critically ill, one randomly seeks any doctor.” An idiom meaning to try anything in a desperate situation, to clutch at straws when in dire straits.
This chapter just hurts damn 😭