After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Bent by the Villainess (GL) - Chapter 2

A week later, Xia Chuci stood in front of the school’s bulletin board, her head aching.

The school had posted a critical notice about Su Yiming’s “bullying a classmate” misconduct, and next to the notice was Su Yiming’s handwritten self-criticism.

This was less of a self-criticism and more of a death warrant!

Xia Chuci silently recited the Tao Te Ching a few times, devoutly repenting for the misdeeds of the original heroine. The small, mournful person in her heart didn’t forget to drag out the author of this book, “Xu Ming Huang Gua” (Life-Prolonging Cucumber), for a severe beating.

She really couldn’t understand the strange thought process of this friend of hers. The original Xia Chuci’s looks, EQ, and IQ were not outstanding, so how did she manage to make a bunch of men fall madly in love with her, to the point of slashing their own thighs for her? Even a melodramatic Mary Sue story should at least follow some normal logic.

Why, as a wonderful young person who was doted on by a childhood sweetheart, graduated from a prestigious school, and whose biological parents had distinguished status, couldn’t she just live a stable life? Why did she have to fight the major villain for a man? She was purely seeking death.

The major villain, before she turned evil, was also a proper, upright goddess. What unforgivable sin did she commit in her past life to be arranged such a tragic fate?

At this moment, Xia Chuci seriously suspected that Xu Ming Huang Gua was actually a bitter female loser deep down, resenting the rich, the beautiful, and the talented. Could it be that she befriended herself because she was too mediocre?

Hiss~ That hurts!

“Chuci, this is Su Yiming’s deserved punishment. Don’t feel so sorry for her. To be so sad and distressed upon seeing the person who hurt you punished, you are just too kind and don’t know how to protect yourself,” Zhao Wenyang said, interrupting Xia Chuci’s thoughts.

Uh… Bro, which eye of yours saw me feeling sad for the major villain? I’m sad for myself!

Xia Chuci put away the dejected look on her face and said, “Mm, I’m fine. Let’s hurry up and go.”

With that, she gently pushed away his hand that reached out to support her and turned to walk towards the teaching building.

Overthinking wouldn’t help. She could only take things one step at a time. Since she couldn’t cling to the villain’s thigh yet, she could only avoid the major villain for now. She would only plan the grand project of building good favor after becoming a VIP.

However, as the saying goes: Adversaries often cross paths. Murphy’s Law is never absent. What she feared most was what happened.

Su Yiming walked towards her, clutching books in both hands. Students on both sides of the corridor were whispering and looking sideways, watching the spectacle. Every single one of them seemed to be itching to clap and shout, “Fight! Fight!”

Xia Chuci was a little flustered. This crisis came too suddenly, and she hadn’t figured out how to face the major villain.

Another saying goes: In a narrow path, the brave win; when the brave meet, the wise win. Xia Chuci had already lost a lot in terms of aura, so it seemed she could only rely on wit.

Xia Chuci hid behind Zhao Wenyang, lowered her head and eyes, and trembled slightly, looking fragile and helpless.

Everyone: …

What a massive, flourishing white lotus.

Xia Chuci muttered internally: What do you know? This is called pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.

Zhao Wenyang, however, fell for this act completely. While comforting the “frightened” Xia Chuci, he adjusted his stance, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, Su Yiming walked past them with an expressionless face and steady, unhurried steps, not even sparing them a glance.

This is the legendary true major villain!

A novice heroine at this stage wasn’t worthy of being noticed by the major villain. For a noble lady like Su Yiming, she had seen plenty of small-fry who clung to the powerful. Paying attention to such a minor character would simply lower her own standing.

Xia Chuci’s eyes went wide. She grumbled indignantly in her head: Arrogance is a sickness, I’ll cure you so you’re obedient sooner or later, hmph! Underestimating the heroine will cost you dearly!

Ahem, underestimating the major villain is also very costly~

They neither engaged in sarcastic verbal sparring nor resorted to physical fights and hair-pulling. The onlookers expressed their disappointment and scattered.

The class bell rang, and Zhao Wenyang pulled Xia Chuci into the classroom to wait for the teacher.

Because of the small incident earlier, Xia Chuci tried several times but still couldn’t settle down to listen attentively. The teacher’s words of wisdom and guidance went in one ear and out the other.

Bored, she turned her head and glanced at Zhao Wenyang beside her. He was concentrating fully on the lecture and taking notes meticulously—a genuine good student.

However, when she thought about this guy’s ending in the original work, a hint of sympathy and bitterness appeared in Xia Chuci’s expression.

Xia Chuci tapped the system: “System, are you there?”

System: [This system is online 24 hours a day to provide you with personalized service]

Xia Chuci: “What is the ‘Reader Enjoyment Level’ that was given as a new user gift before?”

System: [Reader Enjoyment Level represents the degree of recognition of the work. The higher the enjoyment level, the more classic the work is considered.]

Xia Chuci: “Then how do I earn enjoyment level?”

System: [There is no single standard for Reader Enjoyment Level. The platform dynamically scores and updates it in real-time based on readers’ subjective feelings, subscription numbers, collection volume, positive/negative comments, and other factors.]

Xia Chuci rolled her eyes: “I don’t understand. Just tell me what I need to do.”

System: [1. Modify plot holes, change the idiotic plot, and elevate the heroine’s style; 2. Fill in the gaps, complete the storylines in the original work that were left unresolved; 3. Avoid readers’ pet peeves and satisfy readers’ preferences; 4. Ensure the major villain Su Yiming survives until the end.]

Xia Chuci: “The first three items are reasonable, but what does that last one mean? Does it mean I, a dignified major heroine, have to moonlight as a bodyguard for the major villain?”

System: [Defeating the major villain is an indispensable part of the main plot, the climax of the entire story, and a crucial link in setting off the relationship between the male and female leads. Therefore, the major villain must survive until the end to ensure the completeness and readability of the work.]

Xia Chuci: …

In other words, she not only had to pay the “Xu Ming Huang Gua” an IQ tax but also had to carry a shovel herself and diligently help her fill the plot holes, facing the yellow earth with her back to the sky.

Who did she offend to end up with such a rotten friend!

This broken platform isn’t any good either. Knowing that she feared and dreaded the major villain’s actions after she turns evil, it even held back a trick, guarding against her using the heroine’s cheat to nip the major villain in the bud.

Xia Chuci was embarrassed: It’s unnecessary. Actually, I can’t defeat the major villain with my bare hands!

For now, the only option is the path of ‘reformation by influence.’ She hopes that after the major villain turns evil, she will remember this past friendship and show mercy.

Additionally, what gave Xia Chuci a massive headache was that she was neither a writer nor an editor and knew nothing about the preferences of the vast number of readers. It was extremely difficult to cater to the readers’ tastes. Moreover, this watery novel was full of pet peeves, and she herself couldn’t remember many of the plots. Avoiding those pet peeves was even harder.

You should at least give me some pre-job training! Being thrown into this situation is going to cause trouble!

After class, Zhao Wenyang went to the student council office for duty, and Xia Chuci stayed behind to copy notes.

Suddenly, a voice came from above her head: “I waited downstairs for over ten minutes and didn’t see you. Turns out you were diligently writing in the classroom.”

Xia Chuci looked up and saw a man with a handsome face, a slight hint of arrogance in his eyes, and dressed in a bespoke suit. His lips were slightly curved, watching her, and she could vaguely make out a hint of appreciation deep in his eyes. This was the male lead of the book, Gu Xin.

To avoid an OOC (Out of Character) warning, she feigned surprise and a loss for words: “Senior, why are you here?”

Gu Xin was two years older than Xia Chuci, a senior this year. He had few classes and spent most of his time interning at his family’s company. He wouldn’t usually come to school unless there was a specific reason.

He handed her an exquisite invitation card and said, “Next Saturday is Miaomiao’s 18th birthday. The family is hosting an adult coming-of-age banquet for her. She wants to invite you and specifically told me to hand the invitation card to you personally, afraid you wouldn’t come.”

A debutante ball for a rich young lady would be attended by dignitaries and powerful figures. In the original work, it was from this banquet that Xia Chuci began to enter high society, paving the way for a series of Cinderella Rises stories. However, it was also the starting point for the major villain to regard her as an enemy.

Therefore, adhering to the principle of ‘less is more,’ Xia Chuci decided to decline, but before she could speak, the familiar notification sound rang in her mind:

[Beep—OOC warning! The heroine would not actively refuse the male lead’s invitation.]

It made sense. At this time, the male and female leads were not yet a couple, and a very important go-between that allowed the heroine and male lead to pair up was the male lead’s younger sister.

Gu Miao couldn’t stand Su Yiming’s cold and arrogant demeanor, and Su Yiming also looked down on Gu Miao’s spoiled princess tantrums. They mutually disliked each other.

Xia Chuci, by her heroic act of “saving a cat at the risk of her own safety,” successfully gained Gu Miao’s favor. Compared to Su Yiming, a candidate for a commercial marriage, Gu Miao preferred Xia Chuci, who was always trying to please her, to be her sister-in-law.

The original Xia Chuci used this ‘divine assist’ to learn all about Gu Xin’s preferences, character, and habits, which allowed her to open up her cheats and capture the male lead.

Gu Miao’s debutante ball was a crucial event for Xia Chuci to curry favor with this ally. It was related to the important plot of ‘catching the wealthy bachelor’ later on. As the heroine, how could she possibly decline? How naive!

Xia Chuci silently swallowed the words of refusal she hadn’t spoken, took the invitation card, and promised to be there on time.

Gu Xin misinterpreted her hesitation as worry about the dress for the banquet. After all, Xia Chuci was currently just a poor student who had to work part-time to afford tuition and living expenses. An evening gown was expensive, something her financial situation couldn’t afford.

He comforted her, “You don’t need to feel burdened. I’ll arrange a driver to pick you up next Saturday, and Miaomiao has already prepared an evening dress for you. You don’t need to worry about anything when you arrive. You are Miaomiao’s invited honorable guest; others wouldn’t dare do anything to you.”

Bullshit! No open aggression, but plenty of hidden attacks.

“Mm, I know. Thank you, Senior.” Xia Chuci routinely put on a demure and pure facade, reluctantly watching the senior leave.

Speaking of which, even if it wasn’t to curry favor with the major villain, she had to quickly eliminate the OOC. She really couldn’t stand the original heroine’s affected persona.

Since it was a birthday, a birthday gift was indispensable. This posed a great challenge for Xia Chuci.

People of Gu Miao’s status and background would definitely receive expensive gifts. To prepare a decent gift, even if Xia Chuci took out all her living expenses, it probably wouldn’t be enough for a fraction of the cost.

But giving a cheap gift would be too embarrassing. Since she couldn’t match the price, the only option was to cater to her preferences.

Besides, a golden spoon-born young lady like Gu Miao often cared less about the monetary value of the gift and more about the sentiment behind it.