I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 26

Although there were two surveillance cameras, neither angle revealed how Rong Xi actually fell—everything below her neck was obscured.

However, Qin Yuzhen had the system record the faces of everyone present to identify if there were any malicious male or female side characters involved. This particular incident likely didn’t exist in the original novel.

“Seems like they’re all just bystanders, but the protagonist’s aura might shift later. After all… the butterfly effect. One small change from you could lead to a chain reaction altering many things,” the system remarked.

“Forcing me to take the blame,” Qin Yuzhen muttered. She rewatched the footage several times, frowning slightly. “Never mind. It might not even be a person’s fault—maybe the plot is just forcibly correcting itself.”

Honestly, the fact that Rong Xi only scraped her leg without fracturing anything or hitting her head was already thanks to the protagonist’s halo protecting her, considering she fell down seven or eight steps.

“It was probably just my own carelessness,” Rong Xi said cautiously.

“Be more careful when walking in the future,” Rong’s mother said with a frown.

“Mm.” Rong Xi nodded.

Qin Yuzhen rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“Can’t see anything, right?” Rong Xi asked again.

“Can’t see anything,” Qin Yuzhen replied, though she still saved the footage.

“Honestly, I don’t think anyone would push me on purpose. How many truly bad people are there in the world?” Rong Xi sighed in relief. “Besides, I feel like I get along pretty well with everyone at school.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Rong’s mother said, glancing pointedly at Qin Yuzhen as she spoke.

Rong Xi noticed her mother’s gaze and stiffened, choosing not to respond. Qin Yuzhen was aware of the look but pretended not to see it.

Back in her room, Qin Yuzhen leaned against the sofa, motionless.

“Host, are you upset?” the system asked. Though it doubted someone like Qin Yuzhen could be easily hurt, one never knew—some task-takers even snapped unexpectedly these days.

“Why would I be upset?” Qin Yuzhen countered. “Pull up the surveillance from last Sunday—the day we ran into the male lead at the neighborhood entrance. Check if he came to the Rong residence.”

“Okay.” The system didn’t understand why Qin Yuzhen suddenly wanted to check this but obediently complied.

Qin Yuzhen toyed with a cup, not drinking from it, just spinning it idly.

“He did come to the Rong residence, but there’s no indoor surveillance, so I can’t observe his actions or hear what he said to Rong’s mother. Still, this is all outside the original plot. The storyline has already deviated by sixty percent,” the system sighed.

“Mm.” Qin Yuzhen could guess what they had discussed. After all, the male lead, who had barely interacted with her before, suddenly treated her with wariness—whereas his attitude on the sports field had been normal.

Qin Yuzhen chuckled. It was no wonder the original character had turned dark. Who could remain unaffected when treated like this by their own mother? The word “mother” always carried a special emotional weight.

The system wasn’t surprised by someone like Rong’s mother—it had seen all kinds of parents.

Qin Yuzhen didn’t care either. She had no interest in competing for favor, indifferent to whether Rong’s mother liked her or not. If Rong’s mother genuinely cared for Rong Xi, that was fine. But if there was more to it…

Qin Yuzhen flipped the cup upside down onto the table, startling the daydreaming system with the sound. It couldn’t understand what madness Qin Yuzhen was up to now.

After Rong Xi returned to her room, her mother’s words weighed heavily on her heart. Though she often complained that Qin Yuzhen was annoying, she knew Qin Yuzhen wasn’t a bad person—just someone with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Why did her mother dislike Qin Yuzhen so much? She couldn’t figure it out. After all, Qin Yuzhen was her biological daughter.

Rong Xi glanced at her leg. Normally, the wound would hurt once the anesthesia wore off, but she felt nothing at all. She gently touched it—just the usual sensation of skin. It almost felt like she’d recover completely in less than a week.

She pulled out the small pouch Qin Yuzhen had tossed to her earlier from her pocket, fiddled with it, then hopped over to the walk-in closet and placed it inside the prettiest little box she had.

The next morning, Rong Xi went to school with heavy dark circles under her eyes. Qin Yuzhen stared at her for a long moment.

“Didn’t sleep well?” Qin Yuzhen tossed both their backpacks onto the passenger seat, then picked Rong Xi up and placed her in the car. The auntie who usually helped carry Rong Xi had already stretched out her arms, only to find Qin Yuzhen moving so smoothly that no assistance was needed.

“Yeah,” Rong Xi nodded.

Qin Yuzhen glanced at Rong Xi’s leg. “Does the wound hurt?” She had used an item card—there was no way it should hurt.

“No, just insomnia.”

“What’s a little brat like you overthinking for?” Qin Yuzhen grumbled.

Rong Xi: “…”

Rong Xi turned her head to look at Qin Yuzhen, studying her for a long time. Qin Yuzhen looked refreshed, clearly having slept soundly. If even the person involved didn’t care, why was she so bothered?

Another day of exams. Finishing the last question of the science section left Qin Yuzhen feeling invigorated—she only wished she could leave early. She stretched lazily, locking eyes with the teacher at the podium.

Even under scrutiny, she completed her stretch before flopping onto the desk.

The teacher shook his head, his expression one of resigned disappointment.

High school teachers graded at lightning speed. By evening self-study, the math scores were already out. When Old Qian walked in with the answer sheets, the class instantly fell silent.

Most students had already compared answers, so they had a rough idea of their scores.

Qin Yuzhen propped her chin on her hand. Liang Xuzhou shot her a glance.

“Class rep, come hand these out,” Old Qian cleared his throat. “This test was indeed difficult, but two students in our class scored exceptionally high. The only perfect score in the grade is from our class, and another with 148 came in second. Third place, with 144, is from the class next door.”

The class erupted in murmurs, guessing who the top scorers were. As the papers were distributed, students whispered and checked each other’s results.

“Only six scored above 140. Eight of the top ten in math are from our class—not bad, standard performance. However, five of you scored around 110. The test was hard, but 110 is unacceptable.” Old Qian eyed a few students. “Our class secured 33 spots for the math competition. The list will be posted later. Training sessions are on Saturday evenings.”

Qin Yuzhen suddenly realized that classes would start this Saturday. Having classes on Saturday was bad enough, especially since they ended in the afternoon, but now the competition training was going to last until evening? Another evening session?

She looked at the perfect-score math test in her hand and suddenly felt that the 150 points weren’t so sweet anymore.

Liang Xuzhou held his 140-point test. This time, he had actually tried his best, hoping to surpass Qin Yuzhen and crush her momentum. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect… Now he regretted it. Maybe scoring lower would have been better.

“Alright, we’ll go over the test in a bit. Qin Yuzhen, bring your answer sheet up here.”

Qin Yuzhen handed in her test. As she passed Rong Xi, she glanced at her. Rong Xi seemed downcast, staring at her 148-point test—just one answer short on the last sub-question of the final problem. She bit her lip, agonizing over that single missing point.

Old Qian placed the answer sheet under the projector. “Look at this answer sheet, everyone. Just look at it! So neat, so clear! You should all learn from this.”

Qin Yuzhen had heard plenty of flattery before, but such simple, earnest praise was rare—and it was always the same few phrases.

After class, Qin Yuzhen slipped over to Old Qian’s side. “Can I skip that training thing? I don’t think I need it.”

“Bold,” someone passing by remarked, though without malice—more like admiration and envy.

“It’s not entirely out of the question,” Old Qian said, glancing at Rong Xi. “But don’t you usually leave with Rong Xi?”

Hearing her name, Rong Xi looked up, confused.

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“Actually, her injury will be healed in a few days. She’ll be able to run and jump just fine—she won’t need me,” Qin Yuzhen said. “Someone else can take my spot. I’ll still participate in the competition as usual.”

“Fine,” Old Qian nodded, having no objections. Making Qin Yuzhen attend the training would indeed be a waste.

Satisfied, Qin Yuzhen stepped down from the podium. As she passed Rong Xi, she ruffled her hair. “Don’t forget our bet.”

Rong Xi: “…”

Rong Xi smoothed her hair, on the verge of tears.

This was why people should think twice before acting—otherwise, they might end up regretting it.

The thought of having to speak in that affected voice once all the grades were finalized made her shudder. Rong Xi took a deep breath, trying to console herself. It wasn’t certain she’d do worse than Qin Yuzhen—after all, her essays were strong. She usually scored around 55 out of 60, and now she was only two points behind.

After school, Rong Xi was unusually quiet.

As Qin Yuzhen carried her downstairs, she noticed Rong Xi spacing out.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing at all,” Rong Xi said, then immediately realized something was off.

The two locked eyes.

Rong Xi silently covered her face with her right hand, unsurprised when she heard Qin Yuzhen stifling laughter.

She had been mentally rehearsing how to speak in that exaggerated tone—and it had slipped out.

“Stop laughing!” Rong Xi punched Qin Yuzhen’s shoulder.

“How tyrannical of you. What’s wrong with me laughing? Don’t hit me, or I might drop you,” Qin Yuzhen teased, giving a little bounce.

Rong Xi immediately clung tighter to Qin Yuzhen’s neck. For a moment, she felt like she was flying—though not very high. “You’re the worst!”

“Tsk, you were much cuter when you said it like that earlier.”

Rong Xi snorted lightly. “It’s not certain yet who will win or lose.”

“Little sister, I just love how stubborn your mouth is.” Qin Yuzhen didn’t hold back this time and burst into laughter.