Chapter 3: You Could Also Go to the Gambling Den

Transmigrated, certainly—but how was she supposed to live from now on?

Most people would panic upon arriving in an unfamiliar world. Yu An was no exception.

She’d even pinched herself earlier, while Liu Huaixu was leading her along, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Yep. It hurts. Not a dream.

Since she was here, she might as well settle in. Yu An had always been easygoing.

Besides, easygoing or not, it wouldn’t have mattered—she probably couldn’t return to her old life anyway.

Thinking of that old life… there wasn’t much she was attached to.

Except her sprint times from the city meet…

Orphaned young, Yu An had been raised by her grandmother. The old woman had barely gotten her from a tiny mountain village to the big city—hadn’t even had time to enjoy the fruits of it—before passing away.

Yu An had exceptional athletic instincts and attended the Sports Institute. In her two years of college, apart from the necessary socializing, what mattered most was the sprint record she took such pride in.

But thinking about it now… that record didn’t seem worth missing either.

By the time she finished these thoughts and came back to herself, she was standing in this somewhat dilapidated courtyard.

Two earthen rooms, two chickens, and a modest vegetable garden.

Liu Huaixu was bent over planting, as if she hadn’t been the one to say those words earlier.

But Yu An had heard them perfectly clearly—and been thoroughly shocked by them.

She didn’t know what Liu Huaixu had been like in the original novel, but by the standards of ancient society, a wife wouldn’t talk like that… would she?

So Yu An asked again, unwilling to let it go: “You… what did you just say?”

“I… go to a brothel?”

She’d heard perfectly well and was asking anyway. Liu Huaixu was visibly getting irritated. She set the seeds back in her basket, raised her head, and said flatly, “Right. You could also go to the gambling den.”

Then she bent down and went back to planting cabbage.

Yu An had no choice but to accept reality: she had transmigrated into a scumbag, so everyone regarded her with hostility.

Well—perhaps not everyone. That Miss Cao clearly looked at her differently.

But Yu An considered herself a person of sound principles. Never mind whether she and Liu Huaixu had feelings for each other—cheating was wrong, plain and simple. Let alone cheating with that many people.

One planted vegetables; the other sank deep into thought.

After a good while, Liu Huaixu finished with the cabbage and was about to go light the stove for dinner when she saw Yu An still standing there.

Passing by, Liu Huaixu didn’t spare her so much as a glance.

Liu Huaixu wasn’t very strong, and carrying a full bucket of water was a strain. As she tottered through the doorway, she spilled the water.

That water had been hauled back with the help of Wu Qiuqiu’s older brother, Wu Da—just one bucket every two days. Now that she’d spilled it, she was too embarrassed to ask Wu Da again. Resigned to her fate, she took up the bucket and headed back out.

This time, as she passed Yu An, a thread of emotion surfaced in Liu Huaixu: loathing.

A Alpha, of all things—yet utterly unreliable.

Apart from squandering the family fortune, it was wine, women, and carousing.

There wasn’t a Omega or Beta she didn’t dare make a pass at.

So all these years, the family’s money had gone either to paying off her gambling debts or compensating the Alpha of whatever wife she’d offended.

Liu Huaixu had once held out hope for her. Now, she held out none at all.

The empty bucket was easy enough to lift, and Liu Huaixu reached the gate in a few strides.

Only Yu An and the two chickens were left in the yard.

Only after Liu Huaixu was well out the gate did Yu An snap to her senses and hurry after her.

Liu Huaixu, burdened by the bucket, wasn’t walking fast. Yu An caught up in a few bounds, bucket in one hand, the other grabbing Liu Huaixu’s sleeve. “Where are you going?”

Liu Huaixu slapped the hand off her sleeve, disgust plain in her eyes, her tone icy. “To fetch water.”

Yu An didn’t know how wives in this world interacted, but Liu Huaixu had just rescued her from disaster—surely there was some feeling between them. Maybe Liu Huaixu was just angry.

Or maybe she was simply one of those cold-outside, warm-inside people.

Yu An couldn’t really be blamed for overthinking it—that N/P farming novel’s protagonist was written to be adored by all who met her, conquering one heart after another, each devotee utterly devoted in return.

Even without finishing the book, she’d understood the blurb perfectly.

The protagonist was absolutely the author’s darling—no matter what she did, forgiveness followed.

So right now, she figured that as long as she behaved herself, even an angry Liu Huaixu would have some regard for old times.

Besides, this was her chance to prove herself. After all, Liu Huaixu was the only person she could rely on.

She knew nothing about this world; everything depended on Liu Huaixu. Mending their relationship was what mattered most.

Author’s-darling halo or not, she didn’t care—she just wanted to live a little more comfortably.

Hearing Yu An’s words, Liu Huaixu could scarcely believe her ears. She froze for a beat—but her grip on the bucket didn’t loosen.

“Give it to me. I’m plenty strong—it’ll be far easier than struggling like that.”

Yu An had seen how Liu Huaixu had struggled with the bucket just now, and assumed that after this offer, Liu Huaixu would hand it over.

She had to admit it: Yu An didn’t quite understand her situation yet.

The novel… was smut. The focus was all on the protagonist conquering one beauty after another. And since Yu An hadn’t finished it, she had no idea just how… awkward her current position really was.

Thinking that simply reforming—unlike the original protagonist—would earn her a different look from people? Clearly, she was mistaken.

Guardedness crept onto Liu Huaixu’s face, and she clutched the wooden bucket tighter. “There’s no money left in this house. And don’t you dare get ideas about those two chickens.”

The family had once kept six chickens, all raised back when Old Madam Yu was alive. After the old madam passed, Yu An only grew worse.

Before, her faults had been mere frivolity—legs turning to lead at the sight of any pretty Omega. After the old madam died, she took up gambling and began frequenting brothels on top of it.

When Yu An’s parents were alive, the Yu family had been a first-class household with dozens of mu of good farmland. After they died, the good land dwindled year by year, and the Yus slipped from first-class household to third.

Liu Huaixu knew Yu An had been running to the Village Head’s house these past days under the pretext of “aiding impoverished households.” The Yus weren’t quite impoverished yet—but if Yu An kept carrying on like this, they soon would be.

From a dozen-odd mu of good fields down to a dozen-odd mu of poor ones—Yu An had managed that in just three years.

The remaining dozen-odd mu of poor land wouldn’t fund her squandering for long.

A few days ago, Yu An had wanted to sell off all the chickens; Liu Huaixu had managed to save two. The eggs these two laid barely covered daily eating, let alone anything to trade for money.

“I wasn’t going to sell the chickens. I just wanted to help…”

Liu Huaixu stared her down, not believing a word.

“I mean it. Keep them and they’ll lay eggs. Sold, they’re hardly worth anything.”

Yu An had no grasp of prices in this society, but surely two chickens weren’t worth much anywhere?

That was how she meant it—but the words landed very differently in Liu Huaixu’s ears. She took it to mean Yu An considered the two chickens worthless, and thus hadn’t bothered trying to sell them.

“Move aside. I’m going to fetch water.”

Liu Huaixu sidestepped, meaning to slip past—but her foot came down wrong, caught on a stone, and she lurched toward the ground. Just as she braced for the fall, a force at her waist yanked her upright.

It was Yu An.

They were suddenly very close, and that faint, elusive cold fragrance on Liu Huaixu kept drifting straight into Yu An’s nose.

“What is that scent? You smell so good.”

The words tumbled out of Yu An before she could stop them. The scent was simply lovely, and she only wanted to know what it was—so she asked. The instant the question left her mouth, a hot, stinging pain cracked across her face.

They sprang apart. A faint flush rode Liu Huaixu’s cheeks as she bit her lip, staring at Yu An in disbelief.

“You degenerate!”

“Huh??”

Yu An covered her cheek, dazed for a good long while. Liu Huaixu gradually collected herself; the flush faded, but the disgust on her face couldn’t be hidden—and she no longer bothered trying.

Fine, Yu An being scatterbrained on a normal day was one thing—now she was even entertaining ideas about her?

Their marriage had been arranged by Old Madam Yu, who simply wanted someone who could keep Yu An in line someday. Liu Huaixu had been raised by the old madam since childhood, several years older than Yu An—the old madam had trusted her with that role, and Liu Huaixu didn’t want to fail the kindness of being raised by her.

In the beginning, Liu Huaixu had wanted to build a proper life with her too—but Yu An was hopeless mud that no wall could hold. So from their wedding day to now, Liu Huaixu had never harbored a single feeling for her.

Yu An, for her part, had tried once or twice—but every time, Liu Huaixu’s cold face scared her off.

Never once had she been as bold as she’d just been.

Faced with Liu Huaixu’s reaction, Yu An was baffled—hurt, even. “You slapped me, and you’re the one getting fierce?”

Seeing that Yu An didn’t grasp how improper her behavior had been, Liu Huaixu came back to herself.

Right. This person had always been shameless. Even knowing full well that Liu Huaixu felt nothing for her, the base nature of a Alpha kept her convinced that Liu Huaixu was simply her possession.

“You want to fetch water? Then go fetch it.”

Liu Huaixu dropped the bucket, turned, and headed back toward the house, not deigning to say another word.

Bucket acquired, Yu An still felt rather wronged.

What was the big deal about asking what scent it was? She’d only asked because it smelled nice.

This woman really was petty.

Bucket in hand, Yu An had no idea where to fetch water—and didn’t dare go back and ask Liu Huaixu, terrified of angering her again.

She wandered aimlessly for ages before spotting someone else carrying a bucket, and trailed leisurely behind them all the way to the river.

Yu An had never known what her current face looked like. At the river, she peered into the water and found it much like her own—just with a few more traces of dash and spirit.

But… it surely wasn’t scandalous enough that the men and women washing clothes downstream couldn’t stop staring?

Yu An was into women, so when the women stared, it didn’t feel all that strange. But when the men stared… it was very strange.

Especially since those men were so effeminate. They didn’t exactly wear powder and rouge, but their postures and voices were perfectly camp—one or two of them were even more feminine than the women beside them.

It was seeing this scene that finally made Yu An understand why Liu Huaixu had been so angry.

She had landed in an ancient ABO world.

Meaning that, strictly speaking, she and Liu Huaixu were two different sexes.

Alpha and Omega.

So that scent just now—that had been… Liu Huaixu’s pheromones?

No wonder Liu Huaixu had been so furious.

Having worked it all out, Yu An resolved to go home and apologize properly. She was new here, after all—staying on people’s good side was essential.

Once her bucket was full to the brim, Yu An set off for home—only to be blocked by a woman dressed to rival the flowers.

The woman leaned lightly against her, sloshing some water out of the freshly filled bucket. Yu An frowned and opened her mouth to speak, when that cloying voice purred: “Husband Yu~ You said you’d come calling today, and here I’ve waited and waited without so much as a glimpse of you.”

Hu-Husband Yu???

What kind of bizarre way was that to address someone?

She was a woman, whatever else she was.

Even if she was a Alpha, she was a female Alpha, right?

Though the woman’s voice and manner of address made her scalp prickle, Yu An kept her composure. “Ma’am, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

She might have been better off saying nothing. At those words, the woman’s eyes reddened instantly, squeezing out two tears on cue.

The riverbank was far from deserted, and everyone there was a gossip-loving Omega. Their intimate posture had long since been seen by all.

The Omega washing clothes downstream stopped to cluck and chatter.

“Isn’t that Widow Cui? The Yu family’s Alpha is seducing widows now too?”

“Oh, who’s to say? Maybe Widow Cui seduced her.” That voice came from the exceptionally effeminate male Omega Yu An had noticed earlier. Having said it, he even tittered behind his hand, eyes locked unblinking on Yu An.

The chatter reached Yu An’s ears, and at last she understood the situation.

The woman before her was, in the original novel… the widow from the east end of the village.

Her character setting: a top-grade female Omega—skilled in bed and hopelessly clingy!