After Biting the Female Lead, the Vicious Female Supporting Character Turned Alpha [Transmigration] - Chapter 8: 008
In Dorm 506, Shi Qingfan was organizing the Sports Day registration forms. All boarding students, except for Jiang Xuenian, had signed up for Sports Day.
Gong Linglang was snacking and Browse Weibo, her mouth still complaining about Jiang Xuenian.
“Jiang Xuenian is really something else. Qingfan, promise me, don’t be soft-hearted with her, no matter who else you’re soft-hearted with. People like Jiang Xuenian are selfish and heartless. Sports Day is a big deal, fighting for class honor, and she’s the only one not participating.”
Each class had a fixed number of participants. Students first chose the events they were interested in. If the number of applicants exceeded the limit, it would be decided by grades, with higher-scoring students staying. If an event had insufficient participants, someone would need to fill the spot.
For track and field events like the 2000-meter and 3000-meter races, the number of applicants was often insufficient, requiring the homeroom teacher and class cadres to motivate students to volunteer.
Shi Qingfan finished organizing the list. As expected, no one had signed up for the 2000-meter and 3000-meter track events.
Each class needed at least one person to sign up for each of these two events. Since no boarding students had, they would see if any day students signed up tomorrow.
Shi Qingfan gave no response, but Gong Linglang continued to chatter on her own for a long time. “Hey! Qingfan, someone posted your photos on Weibo again! And it’s on the trending topics!”
Gong Linglang excitedly walked over with her phone, showing Shi Qingfan the Weibo page.
Shi Qingfan glanced at it and realized it was from a few days ago when she and Jiang Xuenian were going back to school and were photographed on the bus.
The person who posted the photos two days ago was an ordinary individual with no exposure channels, so not many people noticed. Just now, the Weibo topic #TheMostBeautifulPersonYou’veEverSeen# trended. A popular influencer reposted the Weibo, and netizens who saw Shi Qingfan’s photos immediately got excited, searching everywhere to ask who the girl in the picture was and which school she attended.
Shi Qingfan’s St. Lyceum Academy uniform was not hard to recognize. Soon, someone mentioned St. Lyceum Academy’s name, and some even knew Shi Qingfan’s class and other information.
This wasn’t the first time Gong Linglang had seen this happen.
In the past, when school was on holiday, Shi Qingfan usually didn’t go home. Gong Linglang, fearing she’d be bored alone at school, would invite her out to shop. After every shopping trip, Shi Qingfan’s absolutely stunning, unfiltered candid photos would appear on Weibo, and big influencers would repost them every time, making it onto the trending topics several times.
During that period, entertainment companies called the school daily, wanting to sign Shi Qingfan as a celebrity. Some even traveled specifically from cities hundreds of miles away to meet Shi Qingfan through the principal’s connections, sincerely inviting her to join their company, offering contracts that were very generous for a newcomer.
However, Shi Qingfan had no interest in being a celebrity and rejected all offers.
“Qingfan, if you became a celebrity, you’d definitely be the top of the top,” Gong Linglang said, covering her face and fantasizing. “Wouldn’t that mean you could get me anyone’s autograph I wanted?”
“Have you finished your exercise book?” Shi Qingfan asked.
“Not yet…” Gong Linglang guiltily put her phone away.
St. Lyceum Academy did not allow students to bring cell phones to school. Gong Linglang, fearing her parents would confiscate her phone after her grades came out, gritted her teeth and brought her phone to school when she returned from holiday.
The school didn’t provide charging areas. Gong Linglang’s phone only had just over fifty percent battery when she brought it, and it would automatically shut down after a short time of use, which was why Shi Qingfan hadn’t bothered her.
But she talked too much.
“Go write it now.”
Gong Linglang slunk off to work on her exercise book.
Shi Qingfan was about to take a shower when a hurried knock suddenly sounded. Shi Qingfan walked to the door and opened it, only to see Jiang Xuenian wrapped in a white towel standing outside, trembling slightly, with foam still on her neck, shoulders, and collarbones.
“My dorm’s water heater is broken. Can I borrow your dorm’s bathroom?”
The autumn evening was chilly. Jiang Xuenian’s face was pale from the cold, a tiny mole on her nose, and her voice trembled as she spoke.
“You can.” Shi Qingfan stepped aside to let Jiang Xuenian in, then closed the door.
Shi Qingfan: “Follow me.”
Their conversation was quick. Gong Linglang heard Jiang Xuenian’s voice and, turning to look, only caught a glimpse of Jiang Xuenian’s towel as she followed Shi Qingfan into the bathroom.
Gong Linglang: “!!!” *How are they so fast? So fast I didn’t even have time to stop them!*
Gong Linglang immediately stopped writing her exercise book, walked to the bathroom door, and pressed her ear against it, listening for any sounds inside. If Jiang Xuenian bullied Shi Qingfan, she would break down the door.
Inside the bathroom, Shi Qingfan turned on the heater and helped Jiang Xuenian adjust the water heater temperature.
Jiang Xuenian, clutching her towel, stood behind Shi Qingfan, watching Shi Qingfan’s slender fingers press the buttons. In two or three movements, she turned on the shower. “Is forty degrees okay?”
Shi Qingfan’s face was hazy in the mist. Jiang Xuenian was momentarily dazed but quickly snapped back, covering it well. “Forty degrees is fine, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Shi Qingfan said, then turned and pulled open the bathroom door. Gong Linglang reacted too slowly and stumbled. Thankfully, she quickly grabbed the doorframe, otherwise, she would have fallen.
“What are you doing here?” Shi Qingfan stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door.
Gong Linglang, clutching her pounding chest, sat back down and said, “I was afraid Jiang Xuenian would bully you, so I wanted to listen to what you were saying so I could rush in and save you in time.”
“What did you hear?” Shi Qingfan asked.
Gong Linglang: “…” The soundproofing was too good; she heard nothing.
“I’m going to write my exercise book now!”
The dorm fell silent again.
Shi Qingfan remembered the foam on Jiang Xuenian when she came in. She walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, took out a brand new towel, and brought it to the bathroom for Jiang Xuenian.
“Knock, knock!” The sound of knuckles tapping glass was exceptionally clear.
Jiang Xuenian initially thought she misheard until it sounded again. “Please come in.”
Shi Qingfan pushed the door open. Without looking inside, she hung the towel on the rack according to memory. “New towel.”
She then retreated and closed the bathroom door.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Xuenian walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair. The white mist that had followed Shi Qingfan out earlier instantly dissipated.
“Thank you. I’ll return the towel after I wash it.”
“Mm.”
Gong Linglang, watching them talk from the side, was displeased. They were supposed to be enemies, so why was Shi Qingfan always so soft-hearted with Jiang Xuenian?
“Oh, isn’t that Jiang Xuenian? Why do you have to come to our dorm just to take a shower? Don’t you have a bathroom in your own dorm?” Gong Linglang said with a mocking face, as if Jiang Xuenian wasn’t there to borrow the bathroom to shower, but to take advantage.
Gong Linglang was Shi Qingfan’s childhood friend. If Jiang Xuenian wanted to be friends with Shi Qingfan, she first had to pass Gong Linglang’s hurdle. Otherwise, with Gong Linglang obstructing them, Shi Qingfan would definitely choose Gong Linglang between her childhood friend and this vicious female supporting character.
Jiang Xuenian seemed unbothered, gently saying, “My bathroom’s water heater is broken.”
Gong Linglang felt like her punch had landed on cotton. She choked for a moment and said, “If it’s broken, go fix it. Don’t you know water costs a lot?”
“Qingfan’s scholarship is gone because of you, and you’re still coming here to use her water.”
Jiang Xuenian paused at Gong Linglang’s words. With an apologetic expression, she said to Shi Qingfan, “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t lost my memory, I definitely could have helped prove your innocence.”
“Hey! Stop pretending, okay? ‘Help Qingfan prove her innocence’? You’re the one who ruined her innocence!”
“Linglang.” Shi Qingfan frowned slightly.
“I know, I know, I won’t say anymore, alright?” Gong Linglang rolled her eyes at Jiang Xuenian and turned back to work on her exercise book.
Jiang Xuenian said to Shi Qingfan, “What I said is true. I found a diary at home, and it records the origin of the note. Actually, I wrote that note.”
Shi Qingfan’s clear, cold eyes rippled slightly, and her slender eyelashes trembled. “You wrote it?”
“Bragging without evidence!” Gong Linglang didn’t turn her head, muttering angrily as she wrote, “With your ugly handwriting, how could it possibly be the same as Qingfan’s?”
Jiang Xuenian said, “Actually, the notebook you lost a month ago is with me. To write in exactly the same handwriting as yours, I practiced three to four hours every day.”
“No way! Your grades aren’t much better than mine. You have the perseverance to practice handwriting for three to four hours every day?”
Gong Linglang turned around, her face full of disbelief.
“My diary only recorded these things. After I fainted, I lost many memories, and I don’t know why I did it. Doing so brought me no benefit at all.”
Gong Linglang pouted. “Amnesia, what a great excuse.”
“If I hadn’t lost my memory, I would definitely be able to write in Shi Qingfan’s handwriting. Then, if I just demonstrated it in front of Teacher Tan, I could prove Shi Qingfan’s innocence.”
“Anyway, I’m very sorry for causing you trouble. I’ll try my best to figure out something about the scholarship. You two rest. I’m going back to my dorm. See you tomorrow.” Jiang Xuenian left a pile of reasons that sounded ridiculous but not impossible, then turned and left 506, returning to 508 across the hall.
After Jiang Xuenian left, Gong Linglang couldn’t help but walk up to Shi Qingfan and say, “Qingfan, you didn’t actually believe Jiang Xuenian’s story, did you? She’s just purely bad, jealous of your beauty and good grades, which is why she came up with that scheme to frame you.”
“Mmm,” Shi Qingfan mumbled distractedly.
Gong Linglang saw Shi Qingfan’s expression and knew that Shi Qingfan was at least eighty or ninety percent convinced. She sighed in frustration, like iron that couldn’t be forged into steel, and took out her phone, which had little battery left, to message her childhood friends in other schools.
Gong Linglang created a small group chat without Shi Qingfan and posted what had happened recently, along with Jiang Xuenian’s recent claims.
Gong Linglang: *What do you guys think Jiang Xuenian is trying to do?*
Tang Xiuran: *What’s Jiang Xuenian’s usual personality like? Is she sociable? Does she have a presence in class?*
Gong Linglang: *Personality-wise, everyone says she’s a bit extreme. Sometimes she’ll inexplicably give people dirty looks. No one really wants to be friends with her. It feels like she doesn’t think much of us either. Let’s put it this way, Jiang Xuenian’s presence in class is basically zero. She’s almost invisible.*
Jiang Feichen: *I have a bold idea, don’t know if I should say it…*
Tang Xiuran: *What idea? Let’s hear it.*
Gong Linglang: *How bold???*
Jiang Feichen: *Suppose Jiang Xuenian really lost her memory. A person’s personality and preferences are hard to change. If she liked you before her memory loss, she would still have a good impression of you after her memory loss. The same goes if she disliked you.*
Jiang Feichen: *You said Jiang Xuenian kept apologizing to Qingfan, and even said she could prove Qingfan’s innocence if she hadn’t lost her memory. It’s very possible that she wanted to help Qingfan explain even before losing her memory, but she didn’t expect to faint and lose her memory, which led to Qingfan being identified by the school as assisting in cheating.*
Gong Linglang: *No, no! She’s the one who reported Qingfan for helping me cheat! If she had good intentions, why didn’t she just do nothing? Harming someone and then helping to explain for them, what’s all this trouble for?*
Tang Xiuran: *Hmm… do you think Jiang Xuenian might like Qingfan?*
Gong Linglang: *??? What are you talking about? Jiang Xuenian likes Qingfan??? Hahahaha, the probability of Jiang Xuenian liking Qingfan is the same as Qingfan becoming a celebrity, okay?*
Jiang Feichen: *Linglang, I kind of feel that way too. You just said Jiang Xuenian is quiet, has no presence in class, and has a twisted personality. She likes Qingfan, but she herself is so ordinary. To be with Qingfan, ordinary methods definitely wouldn’t work.*
Jiang Feichen: *Maybe Jiang Xuenian slandering Qingfan for assisting in cheating was just to get Qingfan’s attention, and then after achieving her goal, she’d help Qingfan explain. Isn’t that like a hero saving the day?… Alright, I can’t keep this up.*
Tang Xiuran: *Jiang Xuenian is too strange. Linglang, is there an error in the information you gave us?*
Gong Linglang: *How could there be! A lot of it was her exact words, okay?!*
Jiang Feichen: *Jiang Xuenian is like a ticking time bomb around Qingfan. Who knows when she’ll explode. Linglang, keep an eye on Jiang Xuenian at school. If anything happens, tell us, and we’ll discuss it in the group.*
Gong Linglang: *…My phone is about to turn off automatically. The school has no charging spots T_T*
Tang Xiuran: *I’ll have someone send you a new one tomorrow, plus ten original batteries.*
Tang Xiuran’s family had shares in St. Lyceum Academy; they were the school’s second-largest shareholder. The vice-principal of St. Lyceum Academy also had the surname Tang, and was a distant cousin of Tang Xiuran.
Gong Linglang: *Ahhhh, Ran Bao, I love you!!!! Heaven knows how miserable life is without a phone!*
The three of them set a daily communication time. Gong Linglang changed the group name to “Jiang Xuenian Behavior Research Group” and eagerly prepared to study Jiang Xuenian tomorrow.
Shi Qingfan came out of the shower and saw Gong Linglang sitting, her face full of excitement. She said, “When you finish your exercise book, go take a shower.”
The highly motivated Gong Linglang immediately deflated. “I’ll shower later. I’ll finish this right away.” *Idealism defeated by reality.*
The next day, Jiang Xuenian, still unaware that she was about to be thoroughly researched, woke up and prepared to go to morning self-study.
After washing up and changing into her school uniform, she went out and coincidentally met Shi Qingfan and Gong Linglang.
Jiang Xuenian immediately brightened her smile. “Good morning.”
Shi Qingfan nodded slightly. “Good morning.”
Gong Linglang stood beside Shi Qingfan, her eyes practically glued to Jiang Xuenian, trying to discern anything abnormal about her.
However, Jiang Xuenian was too normal, abnormally normal—kind, gentle, polite, considerate, and… eager to help.
During morning self-study, Shi Qingfan collected all the day students’ Sports Day registration intentions. Still, no one had signed up for the 2000-meter or 3000-meter track events.
Shi Qingfan stood at the podium and asked, “Does anyone want to volunteer to participate in Sports Day? You don’t need to win honor for the class; participation is what matters.”
No one in the audience raised a hand or stood up.
Gong Linglang really wanted to raise her hand, but her physical condition was genuinely poor. She would get out of breath just from walking too much, let alone running.
“If no one volunteers, I’ll have to assign participants.”
“I’ll run,” Jiang Xuenian suddenly stood up and said.
Instantly, the entire class’s attention was drawn to Jiang Xuenian’s words, and they looked over.
“Grandstanding,” someone whispered under their breath.
Shi Qingfan nodded at Jiang Xuenian and asked again, “Are there any other sign-ups?”
Still no response.
Every Sports Day was a challenge for Shi Qingfan because the 2000-meter and 3000-meter races couldn’t be run by the same person. She could only sign up for one, fill in a random name for the other, and then forfeit during the race.
This time was different. Jiang Xuenian had voluntarily taken on one event for her.