I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 27

The results of the monthly exams were all released by noon the day after the final test, and the school had already swiftly posted the honor roll on the bulletin board of the senior high school building.

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi returned from lunch to find a crowd gathered in front of the honor roll, the hallway buzzing with excitement. Rong Xi took a deep breath.

“Rong Xi, you’re second this time,” someone happened to turn around and smiled at her. “That’s amazing! You’re seven or eight points ahead of third place.”

Rong Xi’s heart skipped a beat. “Who’s first?”

“Oh, Qin Yuzhen. Never seen that name before. Is she the new girl in your class? She’s insane—full marks in math and science. Totally inhuman, especially with how hard the test was.”

Rong Xi: “…”

Qin Yuzhen chuckled. “Do I look human to you?”

The person froze, glanced at Qin Yuzhen, seemed to realize what was happening, and awkwardly smiled. “I meant it as a compliment.”

“I know. Thanks for the praise.” Qin Yuzhen gave a gentle smile.

The person blushed, mumbled a greeting, and quickly slipped away.

Qin Yuzhen finally managed to pull Rong Xi through the crowd.

Their names sat at the very top of the science rankings, side by side.

Qin Yuzhen: Math 150, Chinese 142, English 146, Science 300, Total 738.
Rong Xi: Math 148, Chinese 140, English 145, Science 289, Total 722.

Rong Xi pressed her lips together. A gap of over ten points—and she’d scored lower in every single subject. She took another deep breath and looked up at Qin Yuzhen.

“Little sister, don’t forget—starting tomorrow,” Qin Yuzhen reminded her.

“I know.” Rong Xi sighed, her face ashen. “Does it really have to be a whole month?”

“A bet’s a bet, little sister.” Qin Yuzhen’s voice was sweet.

Qin Yuzhen spotted Liang Xuzhou’s name somewhere in the teens. She raised an eyebrow, understanding his intentions all too well. Too bad—he was bound to be disappointed.

As she carried Rong Xi upstairs, Qin Yuzhen noticed two people walking up with stacks of papers. She glanced over and recognized the handwriting on one of them.

“Host, that’s your essay,” the system chimed in.

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“Why would they copy my essay?”

Rong Xi also looked over. “Our school prints high-scoring essays after every exam and distributes them to the whole grade.”

“Tch.” Qin Yuzhen sighed. “Even the heavens won’t let me stay low-key.”

Rong Xi: “…”

When they returned to the classroom, the entire class turned to stare.

“Qin Yuzhen, you’ve been holding out on us! Full marks in science? That last chemistry question was brutal.”

“I thought the physics section was even worse.”

“Physics was never meant for humans anyway.”

…

Everyone chattered away, complaining about the exam. Qin Yuzhen set Rong Xi down and returned to her seat.

Liang Xuzhou was still leaning against the wall, watching her.

“You did pretty well this time,” Qin Yuzhen said. “See? Sitting next to me motivates you to study harder.”

Liang Xuzhou: “…”

Liang Xuzhou snorted coldly. His scores—140 in math, 138 in Chinese, 139 in English, and 285 in science—added up to a total of 702, which was actually quite good. However, the thought of being thirty points behind Qin Yuzhen made him extremely unhappy.

The answer sheets were quickly distributed by the class representatives, along with the top ten exemplary essays from each class. The desk was soon piled high with papers. Qin Yuzhen tidied up her things and picked out Rong Xi’s essay to read. She had scored 60 points on her essay, while Rong Xi had gotten 58.

Rong Xi’s handwriting was also beautiful—neat and delicate, just like that of a well-behaved girl.

Seeing the score, Qin Yuzhen smiled, knowing Rong Xi would probably be upset again.

“What on earth is this?” Liang Xuzhou paused for a couple of seconds when he saw Qin Yuzhen’s essay—after all, it was marked with a bold “60.” Full marks were rare in the grade, as teachers usually deducted points to keep students humble. But after reading Qin Yuzhen’s content, he was left speechless.

Many others in the class also noticed.

“Is this… classical Chinese?”

“Seems like it…”

“Damn, that’s insane. This is what the world of the elite looks like.”

When the papers were handed out, Rong Xi’s first instinct was to look for Qin Yuzhen’s essay to see her score. Initially, she felt a bit indignant about the 60 points, but after reading what Qin Yuzhen had written, she fell silent.

Truly, the world of the elite.

Understanding Qin Yuzhen’s essay alone took a long time—some of the phrasing and word usage were unfamiliar, and there were even obscure characters no one recognized. Some students pulled out ancient Chinese dictionaries, while others simply gave up.

When the Chinese teacher walked in and saw the scene, she could easily guess what was happening. She sighed in admiration, “Qin Yuzhen’s essay this time is truly remarkable. The grading teacher spent half an hour just to understand it. An 800-word piece without a single mistake—normally, we don’t give full marks for essays in our own exams, but this one was just too impressive. It would’ve been unfair not to give it full marks.”

“Oh, and Qin Yuzhen, prepare yourself. Barring any surprises, you’ll be giving a speech at the monthly exam summary meeting in a few days,” the Chinese teacher said with a smile.

Qin Yuzhen: ???

“Host, look—the chance to show off you wanted.”

Qin Yuzhen hoped for some unexpected mishap, but her homeroom teacher also notified her after class to prepare a speech, asking her to share her study methods. Share what? How to sleep in class?

“Impressive. Keep up the good work,” Old Wang said to Qin Yuzhen, his face beaming. “All the teachers in our school have high hopes for you.”

“Yes, teacher. I’ll do my best to win the top honors and bring glory to our school.”

“Such big talk,” the physics teacher chimed in as he walked by, glancing at Qin Yuzhen with a smile. “That sounds just like you.”

“One must have dreams.”

“Careful not to crash,” the physics teacher teased.

“I never crash.”

“Alright, off you go.” Old Wang handed Qin Yuzhen a snack. “Class is about to start. We’ll rearrange seats during the homeroom period—you’ll be sitting with Rong Xi. Make sure you don’t chat during class.”

“Thank you, teacher. Don’t worry—if Rong Xi tries to talk to me, I’ll ignore her,” Qin Yuzhen said.

“Rong Xi doesn’t talk in class,” the physics teacher interjected pointedly.

Qin Yuzhen had thick skin and pretended not to hear. Smiling, she greeted the two teachers, then grabbed her snacks and slipped out the door, making her way to Rong Xi’s side. “The class meeting is about seat changes. You and I are desk mates now.”

Rong Xi: “…”

“How wonderful. Now I can chat with my little sister often.” Qin Yuzhen gently patted Rong Xi’s head. “That expression—are you crying from joy?”

“No, I’m utterly devastated,” Rong Xi replied tersely.

“It’s not that bad.” Qin Yuzhen returned to her seat.

Liang Xuzhou, upon hearing the news, couldn’t help but clap three times. “Fantastic! I’m finally escaping this living hell. I’ll set off firecrackers when I get home.”

“I wonder how the seating will be arranged. You wouldn’t end up sitting behind me, would you?” Qin Yuzhen shot him a glance.

Liang Xuzhou thought for a moment, calculating his ranking this time. It seemed entirely possible. He suddenly fell silent.

The class meeting was the last period in the afternoon.

Old Wang projected the new seating chart onto the screen. Everyone searched for their spots, murmuring among themselves. Coincidentally—or perhaps not—Liang Xuzhou ended up right behind Qin Yuzhou. He wanted to scream, “Life isn’t worth it!” Why couldn’t he escape Qin Yuzhen?

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi were seated in the middle of the first row—the spot with the best view. Unfortunately, it was also the least convenient for sleeping. Both Qin Yuzhen and Liang Xuzhou fell into silence.

“That spot… can you even sleep in class there?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

“This is all your fault,” Liang Xuzhou sighed. “Can we volunteer to sit in the back?”

“And when the teacher asks why, you’ll say it’s because you want to sleep?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at him.

The two sighed again. In the end, there was no way out—they had to accept their fate and move. Rong Xi, due to her mobility issues, had her desk moved for her. She watched as Qin Yuzhen sat down beside her, her expression still tinged with reluctance.

“You don’t want to be my desk mate?” Rong Xi asked, a little hurt. She hadn’t even cried yet.

“I’m just upset that this spot isn’t good for sleeping,” Qin Yuzhen said.

Rong Xi stared at her in disbelief. “How can you sleep in class?”

“If I’m tired, why shouldn’t I sleep?” Qin Yuzhen countered.

“You’re really shameless about this, aren’t you?”

Qin Yuzhen noticed Old Wang standing beside her desk and fell silent for three seconds before flashing an obedient smile. “It’s not that I sleep—it’s just that since I’m tall, I have to lean on the desk so I don’t block the students behind me.”

“Don’t worry, the ones behind you are all taller. They won’t be blocked,” Old Wang said. “You can sit up straight in class without any issues. Keep your back straight.”

Qin Yuzhen turned to look and nearly gasped. In her column, every other student was a boy—and, as luck would have it, most of the tallest boys in the class were in that very column. The other columns had a more balanced mix of boys and girls.

How did these people manage to test so coincidentally when the seating was based on rankings? The system cackled gleefully in her mind, and even Rong Xi couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Teacher, actually, Liang Xuzhou is the one who likes to sleep in class. I’m usually very attentive,” Qin Yuzhen said.

Liang Xuzhou: “???”

Rong Xi: What a masterful deflection.

“Liang Xuzhou, you did well this time. Keep it up—don’t think about slacking off and moving to the back to sleep,” Old Wang said, fixing him with a look.

Liang Xuzhou: “…”

Liang Xuzhou glanced at Qin Yuzhen ahead, who had already retreated into obscurity, successfully evading Old Wang’s targeting.

“He’s sitting behind you,” Rong Xi whispered as she leaned closer to Qin Yuzhen.

“So?”

“If it were me, I might kick you.”

Qin Yuzhen stared at Rong Xi for a moment before smiling. “I’ll make sure to chat with you a lot more tomorrow.”