After Backstabbing The Villain, The System Allowed Me To Enter The Book Again - Chapter 11

Shen Chumo opened his phone and reviewed the conversation he had with Shen Huaixin. He then tapped on her profile picture several times. He remembered the image clearly, but it was too blurry to tell exactly where it came from; a few leaves in the background were indistinguishable.

He browsed her Moments feed, and the first post was a new one: a photo of her with a boy in an empty classroom. The boy was tall and slender, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, casually adjusting his collar. Even though his head was slightly bowed, his high nose bridge and fair skin were faintly visible, suggesting he was quite good-looking.

…A friend of his sister? He had only seen the three female friends at home before.

Shen Chumo observed carefully and found a hint of familiarity in the boy’s refined figure—it was indeed the same boy playing Romeo in her previous Moments post. The problem was: where was Juliet?

Feeling the need to catch up on the play, he thought for a moment and politely replied: All going well.

Su Zihan had clearly noticed that more classmates were now paying attention to her as she walked through campus. Previously, they might have glanced at her briefly, but now she could sense their whispered comments.

The escalating school beauty competition wasn’t her intention, but once she got involved, it developed beyond her control. Combined with Shen Huaixin’s arrogant demeanor, if she were allowed to win, Su Zihan, though not outwardly showing it, would certainly feel uncomfortable.

However, at least when it came to Shen Huaixin’s talent, she still had confidence.

When she reached her classroom, Qi Yi greeted her with a nod, which slightly improved her mood. She quickly walked to her desk and sat down. No sooner had she sat than a young, clear voice spoke with subtle concern:

“Zihan, I saw Shen Huaixin rehearsing yesterday. Her performance is singing.”

“How did she sing?”

Su Zihan asked casually. Qi Yi slightly lowered his head, resting his fingers on his chin, as if lost in thought. After a moment, he responded earnestly:

“Very free.”

After saying this, Qi Yi fell silent. The unclosed line of his jaw still carried the weight of the words, a way to annotate the feeling that had lingered in his mind, though it remained almost unbelievable.

“Yes, free,” Qi Yi nodded, repeating himself. “Her singing gives me the feeling of breaking free from constraints.”

Perhaps because high school had been so harsh, buried in endless exercises, or because the complexities of wealthy families had forced her to mature early—or perhaps it was simply her nature. But for someone like him, constrained by rules and routines, how could he not empathize?

Qi Yi never thought he would one day empathize with a seemingly frivolous rich girl like Shen Huaixin, and he shook his head with a bit of amusement, softening his tone:

“Based solely on the performance, she is a strong competitor. We can’t take it lightly.”

Qi Yi didn’t think he or Su Zihan would lose. Compared to a pure singing performance, most classmates preferred shows with a storyline. Their act had props and story, plus some popular elements that young people liked—its effect would not be lacking.

He noticed that after he finished evaluating Shen Huaixin, Su Zihan’s expression showed slight disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to argue but then swallowed her words, merely raising her chin slightly, a mix of pride and disdain.

“Anyway, you’ll help me,” she said, her tone laced with displeasure and reserved judgment.

The young man nodded as usual, naturally.

The tutor, dressed in professional attire with black-framed glasses, tapped her fountain pen on the book, marking the key points. Looking up at Shen Chumo, she saw he had already started working on problems, thinking fluidly as if guided by some divine assistance. She sighed, half impressed by how effortless it was to teach him, half feeling a premonition that she might soon be out of work.

“Chumo, your progress is truly beyond my expectations. I rarely teach a student as smart as you,” the tutor said, leaning back and sipping her tea, sincere in her praise.

Shen Chumo only cared about one thing: “When can I go to school?”

“I’ll suggest to your parents that you start school early. It’s a pity you haven’t been studying long; otherwise, a few more years could have prepared you to enter Jingbei High,” she said.

He blinked, expressionless, unaware of the country’s most sought-after high school.

“Teacher, have you heard of Romeo and Juliet?”

“Of course, it’s a world classic and required reading. It’s about the children of two feuding families who fall in love, face opposition, and ultimately die for their love.”

Shen Chumo heard “language arts” again and mimicked the tutor’s usual expression of confusion, rubbing his temple, full of questions:

“What’s a feuding family? Why do they die for love? And why do they fall in love?”

The tutor glanced at the time and curbed the tangent: “Well, you’ll understand once you read it. Let’s get back to the textbook. Which problem were we on?”

After a day of study, Shen Chumo eagerly searched for keywords and opened a movie adaptation of the classic play. It was nearly two hours long, but he sped it up threefold, compressing the viewing time to 50 minutes. Yet the long and incomprehensible dialogues bored him. He kept tapping the screen, checking how slowly the progress bar crawled.

Everyone’s actions seemed inexplicable, and the most foolish were the main characters. Their queue to commit suicide left him utterly baffled. He marveled at the depth of literature, how absurdity, satire, and dark humor could teach people to stay rational and cherish life.

However, when he sent his insights to Shen Huaixin on the way home, all he received was a string of ellipses, which online usually indicated speechlessness or “hard to describe.”

Shen Huaixin: What do you think love is?

Shen Chumo recalled the actions of the main characters and felt goosebumps. From this play, love seemed like a trap that clouds the mind and should be avoided; physiologically, it was the transmission of neurotransmitters—dopamine, s3x hormones, and other chemicals.

Again, he received a long string of ellipses and a long “typing…” notification.

Shen Huaixin: Indeed, it’s foolish, also a chemical process in the brain, but not the whole picture. I think it’s both sweet and painful, confining yet delightful, extremely complex and abstract. Hearing others talk won’t help; you have to experience it yourself, like “a thousand Hamlets in a thousand minds.”

Shen Chumo: Then forget it.

Shen Huaixin smiled at his reply, thinking of the villain’s ending. She didn’t know whether Shen Chumo had feelings for Su Zihan. If he did, the taste of love he would experience might never be sweet.

For him, love was indeed almost nonexistent. Yet to steer the story toward the desired outcome, Shen Huaixin still had to play the villain, working to earn his favor for the female lead.

Once the overall direction was clear, she stuck to the plan of “earning the villain’s favor for the heroine.” At home, she ignored Shen Chumo as usual, maintaining a cold demeanor while doing her homework. Messages like “study with me, genius!” or “amazing!” filled her phone, leaving Shen Chumo surprised.

In the living room, Shen Chumo kept glancing at her room, touching his ears, slightly flushed. He hadn’t realized his sister thought so highly of him, but it felt good.

At that moment, the housekeeper delivered a package. He went to check, noticing the label was all in Shen Huaixin’s name. Lately, she had received many deliveries, secretly hiding them in the wine cellar, thinking no one knew—but Shen Chumo, always at home, had explored every corner. He even knew about his father’s private stash hidden in an antique vase on the top shelf.

Shen Huaixin came out and quickly organized the packages while their parents were not home. Shen Chumo went to help: “Sister, why did you buy so much survival food?”

“Camping.”

“Camping needs ropes, chainsaws, and axes?”

Shen Huaixin paused, glancing at him: “Better safe than sorry.”

And indeed, “better safe than sorry.” Their family was perfectly capable of handling things without these, but if anything changed with her parents’ fate, having extra supplies could help. Even if Shen Chumo ever went dark and became extremely powerful, having a few items might still be useful.

“Can I come?” Shen Chumo asked eagerly.

“As you wish, but it’s dangerous—prepare yourself mentally.”

“Are there wild animals?”

Shen Huaixin considered for a moment, spreading her fingers to scare him: “Worse than beasts—mutated monsters, corrupted spirits, and swirling…”

[System: Spoiler Alert!]

Shen Huaixin stopped, shrugging. In the original story, after Shen Chumo went dark, the world was practically ruined. People never knew when they’d be contaminated, turning into mindless monsters. This wasn’t her intentionally scaring him—it was the future he himself caused.

Shen Chumo froze. “Will you be in danger?”

“Don’t worry. If I face danger, I’ll push you out first to block it. Smart, right?” she teased, lifting her head playfully.

She wasn’t lying—the original story was exactly like that. Consider it a precaution.

Shen Chumo relaxed. “Then you’ll be safe.”

Shen Huaixin’s heart skipped a beat at his words. She lowered her eyes, smiling softly.

“Will Mom and Dad come too?” he asked.

“No, they’ll probably only see you to here,” Shen Huaixin briefly dropped her act and softened her voice. “The rest of the way, you have to…”

[System: Spoiler Alert!]

“…learn to take care of yourself during camping, pay attention to—”

[System: OOC Warning!]

“Damn, can I finish one sentence? Two interruptions! Who’s responsible if I choke?” Shen Huaixin cursed angrily.

“Sister, I don’t think I interrupted you?” Shen Chumo blinked.

…She forgot she had cursed in her mind. Shen Huaixin rubbed her forehead, sighed, and patted his shoulder, letting him figure it out himself.

At dinner, after swallowing his food, Shen Chumo looked at his parents: “Can I go camping with Sister?”

Shen Huaixin nearly choked on her rice, quickly correcting: “It’s a school autumn outing! Ah, yes, that’s what he means. Next week, but he hasn’t officially enrolled yet, so I think…”

“That’s good,” Shen Mother said, smiling, giving Shen Chumo a piece of meat and speaking softly, “The driver can take you there, perfect for getting to know your classmates.”

She then served soup to Shen Huaixin, reminding her: “You must take good care of Chumo.”

“…Okay, I’ll watch over him.”

Shen Huaixin sighed outwardly, pretending to be reluctant while agreeing.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to attend the outing—seeing peers, scenery, and playing age-appropriate games would help his mental and physical health, correcting the story trajectory. Staying home all day would bore him.

But there was one problem: in the original story, when Shen Chumo arrived at the outing location, standing by the river and enjoying the scenery, a force pushed him into the raging river.