After Backstabbing The Villain, The System Allowed Me To Enter The Book Again - Chapter 33

Qi Yi pushed up his glasses and looked at the red number floating on his math test paper—142. Not surprising, nothing unexpected. But this time, what did catch him off guard was someone else.

He thought for a moment. As Shen Huaixin’s beloved—and… ambiguous partner—he ought to congratulate her to show goodwill. So he pulled out his phone.

Shen Huaixin’s phone buzzed. On the screen appeared—

Contact: Su Zihan: Congratulations, you did well this time.

So it was “Su Zihan contact”! She politely replied with a “thank you,” then after a pause, asked how Su Zihan had been lately. Seeing her grades slip, she worried that the incident of walking out last time might have affected the heroine’s state.

Su Zihan contact: I’m fine.

Shen Huaixin let out a breath. She had just typed, that’s good, when the system’s warning popped up. Helplessly, she changed it to a cool: Oh, that’s too bad.

Su Zihan contact: ……
Su Zihan contact: Are you jealous?

Shen Huaixin’s hand shook, almost dropping the phone. Qi Yi might be straight-laced, but sending a message like this to a pursuer—didn’t he realize how ambiguous it was?

Qi Yi held his phone, waiting five minutes. From initial confidence, to doubt, to replaying in his head Zihan’s recording of Huaixin’s devil-may-care words. But his little test sank like a stone—no reply at all, not even a shy retort.

“……”

He stared at the screen as if he could pierce the glass, trying to read her expression and feelings through that one short question.

As he thought about how she grew more dazzling by the day, an inexplicable restlessness filled his chest. Maybe he shouldn’t just sit and wait.

He stood up, feet moving on their own toward her classroom. Everyone in the corridor looked at him. Seeing the faint blush on his face and his anxious heart, it was strange—why did it feel like they all knew about his confession before he even said a word? Only his beloved remained clueless—or perhaps, was playing hard to get.

Suddenly, Qi Yi stopped, breath catching at the scene before him.

An unremarkable boy—he recalled the kid sat behind Shen Huaixin—stood there, face burning red, eyes filled with pure affection and pleading. His hands fidgeted, first clasping together nervously, then pressing straight down along his thighs like a soldier at attention.

He and Shen Huaixin stood under the shade of a tree. A small crowd of classmates had gathered nearby, whispering in anticipation.

Qi Yi hadn’t expected someone to get ahead of him. Startled, he quickly shifted his gaze to Huaixin’s face. She stood with arms crossed, her calm expression making it clear she’d already guessed his intent, waiting politely for him to speak.

What surprised Qi Yi more was that though her chin was raised with pride, her eyes were gentle. Though the boy stammered and faltered, she didn’t rush him, instead waited with unusual patience for the spilling of his heart.

It was respect, carved into her very bones.

From her face, Qi Yi could already read the outcome. She would surely turn him down, no doubt about that. But her demeanor made him worry—would she treat him the same way someday, despite her confessed feelings for him?

“I… I like you, Shen Huaixin.” The boy’s fingers picked nervously at his jeans. “Ever since that day when you weren’t wearing makeup, I realized you were actually really pretty, and… and also…”

Huaixin didn’t mind his stutter. She nodded with a soft “Mm,” signaling she was listening.

“One time, I saw you come in through the back door, walking past my desk. My eraser fell to the ground. I thought you’d just step over it, but you bent down, picked it up, brushed off the dust, and put it back on my desk. Then I thought, you’re not that bad… at least not like the rumors say, that you’re awful at everything…”

Huaixin blinked, eyes lifting to the sky, searching her memory. After a moment, she vaguely recalled the incident. But it had been so trivial she hadn’t given it a second thought.

She said, “Just a reflex.”

The boy went on: “Anyway, I… I want to ask… will you be my girlfriend?”

Huaixin paused for a few seconds.

Qi Yi knew this was her way of softening the rejection, to avoid making the scene too harsh. Still, his heart rose with the other boy’s, waiting for her reply.

“Sorry.”

The judgment fell as expected—no surprise deviation. Qi Yi quietly exhaled in relief, then shifted to lean against a nearby pillar, watching.

The boy lowered his head. After a while: “Then… can we at least be good friends?”

Qi Yi saw Huaixin’s head start to nod, then jerk back as if yanked by invisible strings. Instead, she lifted her chin, haughty:

“Sorry, I only take little brothers.”

The boy’s face fell. He didn’t even say goodbye, just turned and left. The surrounding classmates shook their heads.

“Look how stuck-up she is, no respect at all.”
“Yeah, yeah. His taste is awful, look at her attitude…”

Even as a rival, Qi Yi thought her response was too much. Yet, he also felt an odd relief—at least she still had her spoiled princess temper. Otherwise, she’d only attract more… bees and butterflies. Realizing his own thoughts, he shook his head, wondering if he’d really been bewitched. Normally, he’d be repelled by behavior like this.

Huaixin sighed, about to leave, when she saw him walking toward her, sunlight at his back. Without glasses, his delicate features looked even more refined, his expression warm, his uniform neat—just like the campus idol admired by many girls.

Qi Yi got straight to the point: “You shouldn’t have answered like that.”

“You’re here to defend him?” Huaixin had been searching for a way to apologize. Seeing her crush show up with a reprimand gave her the perfect excuse. Instantly her spirits lifted, eyes sparkling. “You’re right! I was rude, disrespectful, low-class! I’ll go apologize immediately!”

“……”

Qi Yi thought she almost looked… happy? Did she like being scolded by him? Still, it proved she wasn’t rotten at the core—just mischievous—and she was willing to change for him.

“No need, no need.” He couldn’t help but laugh, lips quirking. “It’s enough that you realize it. And I’m not here to scold you…”

“Then what for?”

“It’s…”

Qi Yi glanced around. A crowd had gathered, craning their necks, faces lit with gossip, some even pulling out their phones to stream live.

“It’s…” He swallowed nervously.

“Mm-hmm.” Huaixin nodded, earnest.

“…that you did well this time. I can see you’re finally motivated. As your classmate, I’m glad.”

Huaixin laughed: “That’s all? Thanks. But I still don’t understand a lot. I’ll have to trouble the great Qi, the study god, to teach me in the future.”

He nodded slightly.

She thought the conversation over and started to leave, but noticing his downcast eyes and tight lips, asked, “Anything else?”

“Mm.”

It must be something important, she thought, since he looked so conflicted. She straightened up, waiting intently. His ears reddened as he cleared his throat.

“You…”

The crowd grew, encircling them like a whirlpool, waiting for the center—Qi Yi—to stir up waves.

“…what university do you plan to apply to?” After all that inner struggle, this was what he asked.

“…Huh?” Huaixin blinked, confused.

When he didn’t elaborate, she offered the safest answer: “I haven’t decided yet. For now, I’ll aim for first-tier.”

But she knew this world wouldn’t survive until the college entrance exam. This mock test would be the last major exam for the seniors. Afterward, the concept of the gaokao itself might vanish.

Nearby, a girl put down her phone. “I thought Qi Yi was going to confess. What a letdown.”
“I told you, he and Su Zihan are the real match. You guys are shipping the wrong couple.”
“But didn’t you think his expression was suspicious? Just like that last boy who confessed.”
“Who knows. Probably just your imagination.”

When she finished answering, Qi Yi seemed even more downcast. Huaixin reflected on her response but didn’t think it was wrong.

Puzzled, she still chose to respect it.

Qi Yi looked around, sighed, nodded at her, and left. Huaixin was left scratching her head.

Really? All that build-up, such a scene, just to ask about future schools? She had to admire him—truly a top student, with studies on the brain even at a time like this.

As she turned, she nearly jumped. Somehow, dozens of classmates had crowded around. No wonder Qi Yi had hesitated so much. She chuckled. Fang Xiaozheng squeezed through and came up to her.

“What a shame. I thought Qi Yi was about to confess…”

Huaixin: “? When? Was Su Zihan here just now?”

Fang Xiaozheng: “???”

Night fell.

Huaixin was about to drift off in good spirits when she suddenly remembered something. She grabbed her phone, flipping through the photos she’d taken earlier, searching for Shen Chumo’s rank.

15th place in the whole school—just a few spots behind Su Zihan. Despite his glaring weakness in Chinese, his strength in other subjects had pulled his score up.

She stared at his Chinese score of 89 for a moment, then sent him a message.

Huaixin: Thanks to the study god’s guidance, my grades improved this time!
Huaixin: Can I ask what you wrote for your essay? If you don’t want to say, that’s fine 🙂

Her phone buzzed, but Shen Chumo didn’t notice. Eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed, he turned restlessly in bed.

Black mist filled the basement, seeping through the cracks of the door, into the air, into the ground—everywhere.

The nightmare continued.

A heavy slap struck his face, the curse repeating what he tried so hard to ignore:
“You’re a monster. You’re not my brother!”
“My real brother—you killed him!”