Scum A with a Sweet Black Lotus O – Chapter 165
by Little PandaShe and Her · Side CP
Fu Lingfeng x Wen Wan (End)
For the rest of our lives, a promise is made.
The light ahead turned from red to green.
“We’ll talk when we get back.”
“Alright.”
During the time Fu Lingfeng set aside her work to be by her side, Wen Wan’s mood had indeed improved.
The time she spent overthinking had decreased, but she wasn’t completely better.
Her perennially unconfident nature, combined with the effects of her pregnancy hormones, caused her to occasionally worry about personal gains and losses.
Everything happening before her was too ideal, exactly what she had always dreamed of. Could it all be fake? Not real at all, but merely her own fantasy?
Fu Lingfeng cared about her now, but with so many opportunities over the past five years, why did she have to wait until this moment to change? Was she concerned about her, or about the child in her belly?
Perhaps the child was the turning point for everything. In that case, was the choice to keep her back then right or wrong?
Round and round her thoughts went.
Most of the time, Wen Wan could eventually regulate her emotions. She was used to enduring and believed she hid it extremely well, but perhaps Fu Lingfeng had discovered it after all.
And so, today’s banquet came to be.
Knowing that Jiang Siyu would also be there, Fu Lingfeng had made thorough preparations in advance. Unexpectedly, an accident still occurred—though it might have been a blessing in disguise, pushing things in a positive direction.
…When was the first time she saw her wife?
“Abroad.”
Since they had returned to Rong City and their marriage was still ongoing, not yet divorced, they went back to the Fu family home this time.
Closing the bedroom door, Fu Lingfeng laid bare that last little secret, the Alpha’s voice slightly hoarse.
“When you were 19, and I was 21.”
Fu Lingfeng was now 27, soon to be 28 after the New Year. Their marriage had lasted for over five years, having wed when Fu Lingfeng was 22.
This age was indeed a bit early for a family heir focused on expanding their career; it could be considered an early marriage. Thinking back now, it seemed everything might have been foreshadowed.
Therefore, at this moment, Wen Wan seemed somewhat prepared, not appearing overly surprised.
“Where?”
“Meiwosen Park in F City, D Country. The place where you studied abroad.” Fu Lingfeng looked up at the Omega. “I lived there for a while.”
Connecting these few elements, Wen Wan quickly recalled a piece of her past.
When she was 19, she had been in a minor car accident. It wasn’t serious, but a hematoma1 in her head was pressing on her retina2, causing her vision to be blurry for a period.
The extent was no less than having a thousand-degree myopia3; she couldn’t distinguish between a person and an animal even if a face was right in front of her.
She wasn’t exactly cheerful back then, but her personality was more lively than it was now. She couldn’t see the lesson plans at school clearly and had temporarily taken a leave of absence. But she didn’t want to face the dark and reddish blotches in her room all day, so she often went out for walks.
Pigeons4 often gathered to feed around the fountain in a nearby park, and Wen Wan would go to feed them from time to time.
Even though she couldn’t see clearly, the feeling of soft feathers still enveloped her.
She remembered that for a period, she would often encounter a person in the afternoon.
She couldn’t make out the person’s appearance, only that she was a female Alpha. The other person was very silent, occasionally sitting on the bench under the camphor tree5 opposite the fountain, and would sit there for an entire afternoon.
She seemed to be in a bad mood, wasn’t easy to get along with, and probably had some troubles she couldn’t speak of to others.
Initially, the two had no interaction at all. Wen Wan would come to feed the pigeons as usual and occasionally sit and rest nearby.
Her doctor said that getting more exercise, walking outdoors, and soaking up some sun might be good for her vision recovery—there might not have been much scientific basis for it, but Wen Wan obediently did as she was told.
One time, all the nearby benches were occupied. Perhaps due to the Alpha’s intimidating aura, the spot next to her was always empty. Wen Wan hesitated for a moment before walking over.
“May I sit here?”
“As you wish.” The voice was a bit hoarse, and cold.
But we’re just strangers, Wen Wan didn’t mind. The pigeons by the fountain were about to take flight again. Perhaps it was the warmth of the sun on her skin that made Wen Wan let down her guard and become bolder.
“Do you want to feed the pigeons?” Wen Wan suddenly asked.
Even though she couldn’t see the Alpha’s face, she knew from the blurry movements that the person was now turning to look at her. She offered some of the grains in her hand.
“I have a little left here, you can take it all. Feeding small animals might make you feel a bit better~”
A long moment passed.
She’s probably looking at me, but Wen Wan waited and waited for a reply. Just as she was about to retract her hand.
“Thanks.” The Alpha’s voice was still a bit hoarse.
And her?
She seemed a little happy because her kindness had helped someone. She even smiled at the colored blob before her. “You’re welcome.”
The next day.
Wen Wan met her again. With the previous successful experience, she invited the other again. This time, the other person’s hesitation was much shorter.
The two of them would spend about ten minutes together each day, feeding pigeons the whole time. They rarely spoke, or rather, it was mostly Wen Wan who did the talking, as that Alpha said very, very little.
But the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Until a week later, when the other person initiated a conversation for the only time. “I won’t be coming anymore starting tomorrow.”
The hoarse voice seemed to have improved a lot.
“Ah?” Wen Wan was a little surprised, but the young her seemed to already understand this kind of parting.
Besides, their interactions weren’t deep at all. She thought for a moment and said, “Goodbye.”
The colored blob in front of her looked at her again. “You—”
“Wen Wan.”
Not far away, a classmate who was also from her home country was calling her. Wen Wan waved to greet them and then turned back. “What were you about to say?”
“Nothing,” the Alpha said. “Goodbye.”
Wen Wan had met many good people in her life, and this reticent Alpha was just one of them.
Wen Wan only treated this as a small interlude, forgotten after it passed. Years later, it would take some rummaging through her memories to find it. Now that Fu Lingfeng brought up this old matter—
“That Alpha was you?!”
“Yes.”
“But your voices are completely different!” Wen Wan was confused. “She spoke even less than you.”
“During that time, I had already completed all my courses at the university. While waiting for graduation, I was about to take over the company’s affairs completely… Actually, I had been learning to adapt since high school, but it was still somewhat difficult to take full charge.”
Fu Lingfeng paused. This wasn’t a smooth experience. Compared to her high school romance, this period could be better described as a dark chapter in Fu Lingfeng’s glorious resume.
“I had some issues with my mentality. It just so happened there was a partnership to discuss abroad, so I went to relax a bit while handling it. The pressure was too great, and my nerves were strung too tight. My vocal cords also developed some minor problems, so my voice didn’t sound good.”
It suddenly dawned on Wen Wan. “So you didn’t want to talk back then not because you didn’t want to, but because you thought your voice sounded… unpleasant?”
The extremely prideful Fu Lingfeng: “…Yes.”
Since it was all out in the open, Wen Wan was then forced to stand in Fu Lingfeng’s perspective and hear a completely different narrative.
Back then, she came to feed the pigeons every day, and Fu Lingfeng had noticed this Omega’s presence.
In the Alpha’s eyes, this Omega was soft and warm. Light fell upon her, white doves surrounded her, and she seemed to be shrouded in a layer of sacred purity.
Until one day, this pure whiteness walked up to her, as if to warm her as well.
Including the time Fu Lingfeng didn’t reply for a good while—at that moment, she was looking at Wen Wan’s outstretched hand.
Fair and slender.
By the time she came back to her senses and said thank you, the moment the other person poured the grain into her hand, it was indeed warm and soft, even more wonderful than imagined. It was as if the anxiety that had coiled around her heart for days was gradually smoothed away.
Every day after that, Wen Wan thought they were just strangers who happened to feed pigeons together, but in reality, Fu Lingfeng was watching her the entire time.
“On the last day, I wanted to ask for your name.”
“But you didn’t ask in the end.”
“Right.” The Alpha smiled. “Because I already knew.” A classmate had called out her name beforehand.
After returning to the country, Fu Lingfeng threw herself into her busy work, and the two had no further contact until the Wen family overextended themselves and ran into problems with their cash flow.
“I chose to take advantage of the situation.” Fu Lingfeng confessed frankly.
“You investigated me after you went back?!”
“Yes.” The Alpha’s eyes were dark and scorching, gazing straight into the depths of Wen Wan’s, unflinching and unevasive, filled with a dominance and possessiveness that she had never shown in the past.
All of this astounded Wen Wan. If Jiang Siyu hadn’t just reminded her—
“Fu Lingfeng is proud and arrogant. Even dating is a hassle to her, like she’s being dragged to her execution. How could she possibly be forced into marrying someone? Impossible.”
“You should go back and ask her. Who knows when she might have set her sights on you… Tsk, it’s such a pity for a good-tempered person like you to be with a simple-minded6 Alpha who only thinks about making money.”
“Why should you feel inferior? That Fu creature should be burning tall incense7 to have gotten you. What a shame. If you were an Alpha, I might have considered you.”
Of course, these latter words, spoken as if a great favor was being bestowed by Miss Jiang, didn’t need to be relayed to Fu Lingfeng.
Miss Jiang’s attitude was too haughty, and it had even affected Wen Wan who was talking to her. That was why she had suddenly asked that question in the car on the way back, mustering all her courage at that moment.
She never expected to actually get such an unforeseen answer.
Right now.
She had thought it was just a chance encounter, to be forgotten afterward, but she didn’t realize that their two overlapping “goodbyes” held completely different meanings.
Hers was a subconscious courtesy; the other person, however, truly wanted to “see her again.”
Past memories were brought up again, with Fu Lingfeng’s face right in front of her… The feeling was magical. Not only did the blurry colored blob from her memory suddenly have a face, but the entire cause-and-effect chain had been overturned. She was the one who had been coveted in this marriage all along.
Wen Wan: “Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I thought you knew,” Fu Lingfeng said. If you didn’t know it was me, why would you have agreed to the marriage proposal after only meeting me two or three times?
Wen Wan: “…”
Her eyes had been bad back then. Later, after they got better, she had truly agreed just because the other person was good-looking.
But the final answer still gave Fu Lingfeng her heart’s desire.
With all the causes and consequences revealed, the divorce crisis no longer existed. Hearing Fu Lingfeng mention this past herself, a thread of sweetness bloomed in Wen Wan’s heart, yet also a bit of panic.
“Actually, I’m not that great. At least, I’m definitely not as good as you imagine. And so many years have passed…”
Time and marriage had changed Wen Wan a lot. Fu Lingfeng immediately moved to soothe her emotions. “It’s all my fault.”
If only she had explained everything clearly sooner, if only she had paid more attention to her wife’s emotions on a daily basis…
The her in Fu Lingfeng’s description was too, too good. So good that the current her felt she couldn’t possibly measure up, even causing her to worry about losing it all.
“Fu Lingfeng, what if I can’t go back to the way I was when I was nineteen…”
“I will be with you.”
Fu Lingfeng cut in, pulling the person into her arms, using her own scent to soothe the Omega’s instinctual trembling. “We are both growing. No one can go back to how they were in the past. I am the same.”
The Omega looked up at her, and Fu Lingfeng asked again, “And what am I like in Wanwan’s eyes?”
Wen Wan paused for a moment, then honestly listed a bunch of the other’s good qualities. Fu Lingfeng seemed to listen intently and even helped to add more.
“Low EQ, excessively proud, disrespectful. Oh, and a friend once called me a dumb#ss.”
Wen Wan then recalled the harsh words Fu Lingfeng had once said herself. The lingering dark clouds of anxiety in her heart suddenly dissipated, revealing a few rays of sunshine, and she started to laugh. “Who talks about themselves like that?”
“No, I actually think she was right,” the Alpha’s lips fell in a dense, fine shower of kisses. “That is the truth.”
Fu Lingfeng used her pheromones to soothe her.
“If only you had said it earlier…” Wen Wan still couldn’t quite let go.
“There is no ‘earlier’.”
In contrast, Fu Lingfeng was a complete realist. “At 21, I was busy taking over the company and would have had even less time to spend with you, let alone take care of your emotions.”
“And even earlier—as an undifferentiated high school student, my personality was even worse. I can’t even imagine her dating you. Not to mention a more important point…”
“What?” Wen Wan asked, following her lead.
“Wanwan is two years younger than me, right? You should have been in middle school then? Even though I am indeed a beast, I’m afraid it would have been hard to make a move.” There seemed to be a deep meaning in Fu Lingfeng’s eyes.
“…”
Even Wen Wan herself felt embarrassed. At 15, in middle school… Her family was quite strict, and she was quite timid. All her focus would have been on her studies back then.
If a 17-year-old Fu Lingfeng had suddenly appeared before her with a cold face, she probably would have been scared, thinking she was a senior coming to collect protection money.
Thinking about it this way, even Wen Wan herself was amused. And thinking about how Fu Lingfeng had just been disdaining her younger selves, she laughed even harder.
Her sorrow gradually faded away.
“So—” Fu Lingfeng’s eyes were deep. “There are no ifs, no ‘earlier’. I am who I am.”
They were married. Although they had gone through some hardships and setbacks, the final outcome was good. The misunderstanding was cleared up, there was no divorce, and Wen Wan was carrying a child in her belly.
A child born from the crystallization of their love.
—22 and 20 years old, meeting the right person at the right time.
“What’s past is past. From now on, I will always be by your side. For the rest of our lives, we will always be together, with our child.”
In the gaps between kisses, Fu Lingfeng said, “Let’s work hard together. Time cannot be turned back, but we can strive to make the future better.”
In the past, they both looked at each other through rose-tinted glasses. Now, they had torn away that final membrane, revealing two imperfect individuals, truly embracing and kissing.
Perhaps it wasn’t as perfect as the past, but this was the initial reality. From now on, they would also think of better aspects, walking hand in hand into the future.
Wen Wan was also moved.
“Okay.”
The Alpha’s voice was hoarse, like that spring when she was nineteen, yet perhaps even hoarser, tinged with a rising tide of passion. “Wanwan, I can’t do it alone. You have to be with me.”
“Okay…”
“A little more effort…”
The pheromones spread, and Wen Wan was led along, until—
“Wait, that’s not right… Fu Lingfeng, what on earth are you putting effort into?!!”
The Omega’s questioning voice was delicate and soft, before being swallowed up again.
“Be good~”
“The ba-, the baby…”
“I know, I won’t hurt the baby. I’m not that much of a beast… okay, maybe just a little…”
And then she was kissed until she was utterly bewildered and dazed, her mind in a fog. Wen Wan heard Fu Lingfeng ask again.
“Wanwan, what exactly did Jiang Siyu say to you?”
Wen Wan’s rationality was almost gone. The last shred of it made her hold on to her will to survive. “Mmm… Miss Jiang is a good person…”
Alright, maybe not that much of it was left.
Fu Lingfeng’s offensive grew even more ferocious—
“Is she better or am I better?”
“Wanwan, you are my wife now… Just who is that Jiang Siyu’s rival now!”
…
On the other side, Jiang Siyu, who had just returned to her newly bought villa after the banquet, suddenly sneezed.
“Did you catch a cold, Young Miss?” someone immediately asked with concern.
The much-admired Miss Jiang waved her hand casually, confident and certain, a lazy weariness in the corners of her exquisite eyes. “Someone’s probably talking about me behind my back again. How boring.”
“Tsk, that Fu Lingfeng isn’t much of a person, but her taste in picking a wife is top-notch. She got lucky.”
A night passed.
Last night at the Fu family home, Wen Wan and Fu Lingfeng had slept in the same bed after a long time. The embryo in her womb, soothed by the Alpha’s pheromones, was exceptionally well-behaved. When she woke up, Wen Wan felt very refreshed.
Everyone in the Fu family was present. Although Wen Wan felt a bit awkward after the whole divorce drama, she still greeted everyone. They all had a tacit understanding and didn’t mention it.
“Where’s Lingfeng?” Wen Wan asked a servant below, who, by a stroke of luck, was the same one she had spoken to when she left the Fu family home.
To her surprise, Fu Lingfeng hadn’t gone to work yet. She was currently planting a tree. Wen Wan went over to take a look and saw Fu Lingfeng planting a tree.
It was a small sapling.
The Alpha’s clothes were stained with a bit of mud. At first glance, she really looked like a gardener, but when she turned around, that beautiful face was still as eye-catching as ever. “I’ve asked someone to put a swing chair here. In a few years, we can enjoy the cool shade here. The child can also come here to play after they’re born, on the condition that they don’t cause trouble.”
This was her fulfilling last night’s promise.
And Wen Wan would always come before the child.
Wen Wan nodded. “Okay.” After a thought, she added, “Lower your head.”
The Alpha didn’t know why, but the Omega’s voice was so soft and gentle, it was impossible to resist.
This was her wife, after all. They still had a marriage certificate, stamped and legally binding. She had no desire to resist anyway.
Fu Lingfeng obediently bent her head, her posture as submissive as a tamed lion.
Even though they were both Alphas, females and males had fundamental biological differences.
Females were always a degree softer than males.
At this moment, as Fu Lingfeng lowered her head, her side profile looked extremely soft, the lines of her cheeks gentle, lacking the sharpness she had when commanding the business world, and not as fierce as she was in bed. There was a silent allure, allowing the other person to do as they pleased with her.
Of course, that was only for her wife, her Omega.
Wen Wan suppressed the sudden profane urge that rose in her heart and simply raised her hand to gently brush the Alpha’s cheek. “You’ve got a little mud here.”
The Alpha didn’t care about this small matter that slightly marred her beauty, only staring at Wen Wan the whole time. “Is it clean now?”
“It’s clean.”
Wen Wan withdrew her hand and noticed that the Alpha seemed a little dissatisfied? Although Fu Lingfeng’s emotional fluctuations were rare, and she mostly wore a stoic expression, as someone who had been by her side for years, Wen Wan could still sense a bit of it.
Is she dissatisfied that it ended so quickly?
This time, Wen Wan decided to ignore it.
The nine o’clock morning sun in late autumn was just right, not scorching, but warm. Wen Wan was less than three months pregnant, her belly not showing at all. Standing and walking a little was not tiring and was also good for her health.
She spoke, slowly stating her purpose, “I want to go out and work.”
“My pregnancy is still in its early stages. Doing some clerical work shouldn’t have too much of an impact. My academic qualifications are decent too. Also, I want to get in touch with the outside world more, which will be good for my emotional state. If I keep myself busy…”
Afraid of being rejected, Wen Wan habitually rattled on. Fu Lingfeng nodded directly before she even finished.
“You can.”
The Omega’s watery eyes lit up, and a smile appeared. “Thank you.”
But Fu Lingfeng shook her head. “You have always been able to decide your own actions. You don’t need to report to me.”
Perhaps because she was in a good mood, Wen Wan asked a couple more questions. “So when are you going back to the company?”
Fu Lingfeng: “I’m not going.”
“?”
“I used to think about getting all my work done early, so I could be like Madam Fu and take my dad on a trip around the world.”
The past busyness was to free up time for the future, but that method was clearly unsuccessful. Not only did it neglect the marriage, it also neglected her wife’s feelings, even pushing her wife further and further away, nearly ending in divorce.
Fortunately, it was just a crisis, resolved in time.
And then, Fu Lingfeng had an epiphany.
“Then I discovered that work is endless. Instead of trying to compress the schedule, it’s better to just dump everything onto the next person.”
“…”
That’s not an epiphany, that’s just straight up slacking off!!
“I think Ah Yun is doing a great job now.”
“…”
Wen Wan silently mourned for her younger sister-in-law again. “Then what will you do during this time?”
“Stay at home and wait for you to come back.” Fu Lingfeng gazed at the Omega.
She didn’t have to work today. The Alpha’s long hair fell naturally, slightly curly. The light dyed it, making those eyes that always seemed overly deep and inscrutable flow with a lighter shade, revealing a rare, lingering tenderness.
What was more unchanged was her seriousness. “Wanwan, I also want to try and see what your past life tasted like.”
That’s not good.
Wen Wan was about to say so subconsciously, to place all one’s emotions on another person… but saying so seemed like complaining that Fu Lingfeng had done wrong in the past.
Although she hadn’t managed her marriage very well, she also understood that a relationship couldn’t withstand the constant rehashing of bad things. The fragmented beautiful moments would be replaced by trivial matters.
And then it would be a complete mess8.
“It won’t be for too long.” Fu Lingfeng seemed to have sensed Wen Wan’s inner thoughts and added an explanation, “Just for the duration of your pregnancy. It’ll be very quick, I promise.”
Receiving the Alpha’s promise, Wen Wan also breathed a sigh of relief, once again placated. The Alpha had approached at some point and reached out her hand—
Oh, so I was crying again.
Wen Wan let the Alpha wipe away the tear that had welled up in the corner of her eye.
This time.
Under the sun, it was no longer sad and suppressive. The Omega’s eyes were brimming with a smile, as if she had returned to the carefree nineteen-year-old her, able to openly reveal all her emotions in front of the other person.
“Okay.”
Fu Lingfeng smiled too. “Then it’s a promise.”
…
…
—From this day forward, they would both step forward, in a completely new direction.
The author has something to say:
Ahhh, damn it, Jinjiang9 can’t display the special symbol with an 11 in a circle. My OCD is killing me!!!
The elder sister’s extra ends here~ 【Writing any more would make it way too long, although it’s already very long (in tears)】
In my initial conception, it was supposed to be much more angsty, but I couldn’t bring myself to be ruthless, my heart softened. It’s a relatively open ending. I still feel it’s best to stop here. Everyone is trying to become better. Combined with the main text and the occasional mention in Fu Chaoyun’s extras, you can fill in the blanks. The future is good~
Next up is Xiao Zhao’s part. This part is very short, extremely short. It can be finished in a day or two.
P.S. There’s a novel in my column with a similar ‘crematorium10‘ plot called 《Searing Passion》. As a main story, the ‘burning’ will be much more intense… (probably?) You can add it to your collection if you’re interested, but it’s basically confirmed to be a 2024 project _(:з”∠)_
Footnotes
- A localized collection of blood outside of blood vessels, essentially a severe bruise. A hematoma in the head, or intracranial hematoma, can exert pressure on the brain and surrounding structures.
- The layer of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eyeball. The retina’s function is to convert light into neural signals and send them to the brain for visual recognition.
- The medical term for nearsightedness. “Degrees” in this context refer to diopters, a unit of measurement for optical power. A prescription of -10.00 diopters (or 1000 degrees) is considered extremely high myopia, meaning the person can only see clearly within a few inches of their face.
- In many cultures, pigeons or doves are symbols of peace, love, and fidelity.
- 香樟树 | xiāngzhāng shù | The Camphor tree is an evergreen known for its strong, pleasant aroma. Its wood is often used for making chests and furniture because the scent repels insects.
- 单细胞生物 | dān xìbāo shēngwù | Lit. single-celled organism. A modern slang term for someone who is simple-minded or thinks in a very straightforward way.
- 烧高香 | shāo gāo xiāng | To burn tall sticks of incense at a temple is an act of deep gratitude to the deities. Figuratively, it means to be incredibly fortunate or blessed.
- 一地鸡毛 | yī dì jī máo | Lit. a floor full of chicken feathers. An idiom describing a life full of trivial, messy, and insignificant troubles.
- 绿江 | Lǜjiāng | Lit. Green River. This is the nickname for Jinjiang Literature City (jjwxc.net), one of the largest online literature websites in China.
- 火葬场 | huǒzàngchǎng | Lit. crematorium. A very popular web novel trope, especially in romance. It describes a plot where one character (often the male lead) deeply wrongs the other and must go through extreme emotional suffering (get “cremated”) to earn forgiveness.
What a read!