I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 25

Students sitting next to Qin Yuzhen during exams often felt immense pressure from her presence. During Chinese exams, this pressure wasn’t too overwhelming, but during math exams, sitting beside Qin Yuzhen was nothing short of torture.

This math test was quite challenging. Since it was an exam, Qin Yuzhen didn’t use her mental calculator this time and instead worked through the problems on scratch paper. Even so, her speed was still astonishingly fast, with minimal scribbles on the paper—most of it was done through mental calculations.

Coincidentally, the proctor for this exam was Old Qian. After sitting at the podium for just over ten minutes, he couldn’t resist coming down to glance at Qin Yuzhen’s paper.

Her problem-solving speed was lightning-fast. By the time she had finished the entire first section, some students had barely completed the first page.

Old Qian had also contributed to setting this exam, and seeing Qin Yuzhen blaze through it so effortlessly left him feeling somewhat defeated. He glanced around—thankfully, the other students were progressing at a normal pace, offering his fragile heart a small measure of comfort.

The student next to Qin Yuzhen stole a glance at her, beads of cold sweat forming on their forehead, their confidence shaken. Qin Yuzhen had deliberately minimized the sound and movement of flipping her paper, yet many still noticed—especially since the proctor standing right beside her made it all too obvious.

During both exams, teachers had paused to watch her, leaving many curious about just who Qin Yuzhen was.

Rong Xi looked up at Qin Yuzhen’s back. Though all she could see was her silhouette, she could still sense an aura of unshakable composure radiating from her.

Qin Yuzhen herself wasn’t particularly proud of her speed and accuracy. She had spent five hundred years in the system space—if you counted the time spent in smaller worlds, it was impossible to calculate just how long she had lived.

Repeating the same things over and over again, even the slowest learner could eventually master them—take Ji Changyin, for example.

“What does Ji Changyin have to do with this?”

“Isn’t she just dumb?”

“Ah…”

“You really should be scrapped—eavesdropping on my thoughts and still not backing me up.” Qin Yuzhen snorted.

System: “…”

“Back when we got ambushed, Ji Changyin was still missing. By the time we return, she might not even be back yet—she won’t know you got tricked,” the system consoled. “She won’t laugh at you.”

Ji Changyin was Qin Yuzhen’s colleague and sworn rival. The two clashed every time they met, though it was usually just verbal sparring—they had never actually fought. In the system space, there was even a poll about them:

“If Ji Changyin and Xianyu fought, who would win?”

The votes were split fifty-fifty.

Qin Yuzhen narrowed her eyes and stabbed her scratch paper with extra force, her writing speeding up even more—clearly not comforted by the system’s words.

With over half an hour left after finishing the math test, Qin Yuzhen yawned, propped her chin on her hand, and skimmed through her paper. She had initially planned to sit until the end, but eventually, she just slumped onto the desk.

Everyone who could see her: “…”

Rong Xi, still working on the final problem, frowned slightly. She had thought her own speed was impressive—who knew Qin Yuzhen had already finished!

When the bell rang, Qin Yuzhen jolted awake. She rubbed her neck and stretched lazily.

“Did you sleep well?” Old Qian glanced at Qin Yuzhen and collected the exam papers.

“Not really, it was too hard.”

Old Qian: “…”

When Qin Yuzhen returned to her seat, Rong Xi was still there.

“What answer did you get for the last part of the final question?”

“Three answers.”

“Ah? I only got two.” Rong Xi sighed.

“Not like mine’s necessarily correct.” Qin Yuzhen tossed her pencil case onto the desk.

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen’s face. “Your expression says otherwise.”

“Want me to carry you back to your seat?”

“No, it’s so close. I can get there myself.”

“Then be careful.”

“Mm.” Just as Rong Xi was about to leave, a few boys rushed in boisterously.

“Come on, Qin Yuzhen, arm wrestle! We just made a bet—if I lose, I’ll treat you to meals for a week!”

Qin Yuzhen was speechless. Even after just finishing an exam, they could still remember something like this.

“I’ll join too. I’ll cover snacks for a week.”

“Tch, fine.” Qin Yuzhen didn’t mind.

Rong Xi decided not to leave. When Liang Xuzhou returned, he found his seat completely surrounded. Pei Jingyue’s seat was also taken, but she didn’t mind—she just wanted to watch the show.

Qin Yuzhen effortlessly defeated three boys in a row, each of them wearing an expression of existential crisis after wrestling her.

“Damn, Old Liang, now I finally get why you lost.”

“Heh.” Liang Xuzhou chuckled.

“Anyone else?” Qin Yuzhen smiled. “Next week’s drinks, snacks, and lunches are all covered. Nice.”

“Bring it on!”

…

The next class after the exam was a self-study session. When Old Wang walked in, he noticed most of the boys in the class looked utterly drained.

“Math was tough, huh?” Old Wang remarked casually.

Suddenly remembering they’d even taken a math exam, the boys looked even more devastated.

That day, Qin Yuzhen became the psychological shadow of every boy in the class.

When it was time for dinner, Old Wang had originally planned to have one of the boys carry Rong Xi downstairs—until he saw Qin Yuzhen automatically walk over and pick her up.

The boys: “…”

The cafeteria was crowded, and Qin Yuzhen carrying Rong Xi became quite the sight.

Rong Xi wrapped her arms around Qin Yuzhen’s neck. Normally, she didn’t mind being stared at, but now…

The boys who witnessed Qin Yuzhen carrying Rong Xi down three flights of stairs: “…”

Gu Su was taken aback when she saw Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi. Qin Yuzhen carefully placed Rong Xi into her wheelchair.

“Rong Xi, are you okay?” Gu Su came over.

“I’m fine, just can’t walk much for a while.” Rong Xi smiled.

Qin Yuzhen wheeled Rong Xi straight to the cafeteria, where someone had already prepared their meals. Gu Su brought her own food and sat with them.

“Where’s your hair clip?” Gu Su asked offhandedly.

Rong Xi froze, touching her hair. She stiffened.

“I…” Panic flickered in her eyes as she glanced at Qin Yuzhen. She’d only worn it for a few days—how could it be gone already? It must have fallen off when she fell. With so many people on the stairs, someone must have picked it up or stepped on it.

Pearls and jade leaves were fragile things.

“At least your leg’s still intact,” Qin Yuzhen said.

Rong Xi pressed her lips together, still feeling down.

“Should I go buy you another one of the same?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

“It’s not the same…” Rong Xi poked at her food.

“Eat properly.”

Rong Xi took a deep breath, her eyes slightly red.

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“If you don’t eat, I’ll get angry. Later, you’ll have to crawl back to the third floor by yourself, okay?”

Rong Xi lowered her head and silently continued eating.

“System, find it for me.”

“Tsk,” the system replied.

After scanning the entire school, the system reported, “It’s still in the international class building, but the leaf is already broken.”

“Got it,” Qin Yuzhen responded.

After escorting Rong Xi back to the classroom, Qin Yuzhen left again.

It was her first time entering the international class building, which housed not only the three grades of international classes but also activity rooms.

Following the system’s directions, Qin Yuzhen found the fallen item on the floor. As she descended the stairs with it, she ran into Ye Yunshen, who was coming up. Their eyes met.

“What are you doing here?”

“What’s it to you?” Qin Yuzhen asked, puzzled.

Ye Yunshen glared coldly at her, but Qin Yuzhen walked past him without sparing another glance.

This male lead must have something wrong with his brain.

By the time Qin Yuzhen returned to class, evening self-study had already begun. The English teacher, who was lenient toward well-behaved, high-achieving students, didn’t reprimand her for being late.

The system thinks Qin Yuzhen’s self-awareness isn’t exactly clear either.

Rong Xi glanced at her curiously.

When class ended, Rong Xi received a small bag tossed her way by Qin Yuzhen. She froze for a moment upon seeing its contents.

Qin Yuzhen watched as Rong Xi hopped over to her again.

“Aren’t you usually so concerned about your image?”

“You went looking for it?” Rong Xi asked, stunned. She never expected Qin Yuzhen to do something like this.

Qin Yuzhen propped her chin on her hand. “Buying another one is too expensive. Didn’t feel like it.”

Rong Xi wasn’t upset—finding the lost item was far harder than buying a new one.

“Thank you. I promise I won’t lose it again.”

“Go back to your seat. Isn’t standing here tiring?”

“Not really,” Rong Xi said.

“She’s not concerned about you. She just finds you annoying,” Liang Xuzhou interjected from the side.

Rong Xi: “…”

She glanced at Qin Yuzhen. Though she hated to admit it, that might actually be the case.

The two exchanged a look before Rong Xi silently hopped back to her seat.

Qin Yuzhen turned to Liang Xuzhou. “You understand me pretty well. A kindred spirit, huh?”

“Wouldn’t dare,” he replied.

Qin Yuzhen scoffed lightly.

That evening, when Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi returned home, Rong’s mother was there.

“How did you manage to fall down the stairs?” Rong’s mother asked, looking at her daughter.

“There were too many people on the stairs,” Rong Xi said. “Maybe I wasn’t steady on my feet either.”

“Did you check the surveillance footage?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

Rong Xi glanced at her. “Isn’t that too much trouble?”

“What if it was intentional?” Qin Yuzhen turned to Rong’s mother. “Better to take a look.”

“Mm,” Rong’s mother nodded. “There was that stalker bothering you before. What if this time it’s someone else…”

By the time Rong Xi and Qin Yuzhen finished showering and came downstairs, the surveillance footage had already been retrieved.

The three of them sat on the sofa and played the recording.

The footage showed the exam ending, the stairway crowded with people. Rong Xi, holding her books, had been descending cautiously along the wall.

Halfway down the stairs, Rongxi suddenly leaned backward and tumbled down the steps. She fell straight through the narrow gap between the crowd and the wall.