I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 34

Cong Mian had invited four people to hang out, and with the addition of family member “Rong Xi,” there were six in total. The group met up at the square, with only Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi being high school seniors while the others were Cong Mian’s classmates.

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi weren’t very familiar with Cong Mian’s three classmates, but thanks to Cong Mian’s introductions, they quickly warmed up to each other.

“Senior, Cong Mian talks about you all the time.”

“Oh? What does she say?” Qin Yuzhen asked curiously.

“That you’re beautiful and smart. I used to wonder just how beautiful you could be, but now that I’ve seen you, it’s true—you’re really stunning. No wonder she mentions you every day.” The girl looked at Qin Yuzhen with genuine admiration in her eyes.

Cong Mian smiled sheepishly and shot a glare at the speaker—though it carried no real intimidation.

Qin Yuzhen chuckled. “But she’s never praised me to my face before.”

“Senior, you’re super gorgeous,” Cong Mian immediately chimed in. “And Senior Rong Xi is beautiful too.”

“Mhm.” Cong Mian’s classmate nodded enthusiastically. “They say pretty girls stick together. Now I’m a pretty girl too.”

“You always were,” Qin Yuzhen said.

The girl covered her mouth and giggled. “I think so too.”

Mutual compliments to strengthen bonds.

“Senior Rong Xi, why aren’t you saying anything?” Cong Mian asked.

“She’s shy,” Qin Yuzhen answered.

Rong Xi nodded. The main reason was that she didn’t want to speak in her cutesy voice in front of these juniors just yet. Only the seniors knew about her bet with Qin Yuzhen, and she wasn’t ready to embarrass herself in front of the sophomores.

The six of them headed to a hot pot restaurant where Cong Mian had reserved a private room in advance, so they could eat as soon as they arrived.

“Wait, I’m sure I booked a private room,” Cong Mian frowned, looking at the table in the main dining area.

“Sorry, but another group just arrived and took the room.”

“But I reserved it, and I’m not late. How could you give it to someone else?” Cong Mian was clearly displeased.

“The main dining area is just as good,” the waiter said.

“Then why didn’t you seat that other group out here?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the waiter. Some people really thought younger kids were easy to fool.

“Maybe we should just sit here. It’s fine,” one of Cong Mian’s classmates whispered. “It’s just a bit noisier.”

“Yeah, better to avoid trouble. They’re not going to kick the other group out of the room anyway.”

“If you don’t want this table, I can give it to someone else. There are quite a few people waiting in line,” the waiter pressed. “Please decide quickly.”

“Every restaurant has a waitlist these days… Let’s just eat here.”

“Tch.” Qin Yuzhen tapped the table. “Call your manager over. No, better yet—contact the mall management. Little sister, make the call.”

“Okay.” Rong Xi nodded and pulled out her phone to find the number for the Rong family’s assistant.

Qin Yuzhen shot the waiter a look. “Never seen such terrible business practices.”

Cong Mian’s classmates fell silent, watching Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi.

“Hello, Uncle Wang? I’m at the mall on Shengjia Road, at XX Hot Pot.” Rong Xi glanced at the waiter again.

“Could you help me contact the mall management department? We originally booked a private room here, but the staff gave it to someone else without notifying us. They even said we could take it or leave it with the seats in the main hall—probably because they thought they could bully us since we’re all minors,” Rong Xi continued.

“Okay, got it.” Rong Xi hung up the phone. “Thanks for your help.”

Qin Yuzhen glanced at the time.

“Is this too much trouble?” Cong Mian asked.

“Not at all,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “The Rong family owns this mall. It’s only natural to report an issue here.”

Though, in truth, her reason for calling had nothing to do with the Rong family—it was purely because the princess couldn’t stand being wronged.

The waiter finally realized something was off and hurried to fetch the manager.

Qin Yuzhen asked, “Are you guys hungry?”

“Not really. I had breakfast at ten.”

“Same.”

“Honestly, I’m kind of enjoying this.”

The mall management team arrived quickly, offering apologies and assurances that they would handle the situation.

The manager looked ashen-faced. Most people would’ve let it slide, but who knew these girls would be so particular? They hadn’t taken Qin Yuzhen’s group seriously—and certainly hadn’t expected two of them to be from the Rong family. This time, they’d kicked an iron plate.

The manager proposed various compensations, but Qin Yuzhen refused.

“Give the seats to someone else. We don’t want them anymore.” Qin Yuzhen gave the manager a cold look. “Let’s go.”

No one objected, and they all followed Qin Yuzhen out.

“So, where should we eat now?”

“Assistant Wang arranged another place for us,” Rong Xi said. “It’s not far—also hot pot.”

“Nice, hehe.”

“So satisfying.”

“Yeah! If we’d just sat in the main hall like that waiter said, it would’ve ruined the mood.”

“Last time I went out to eat, the waiter was so rude. When they were adding ingredients, they splashed broth on me, but I didn’t dare say anything—just because I seemed easy to push around.”

The group chatted and laughed, their bond strengthened by the earlier confrontation.

“Host, what if this mall wasn’t owned by the Rong family? Wouldn’t that have been an embarrassing failure?” the system asked.

“Even if it wasn’t, given the Rong family’s status, they could’ve gotten any mall to handle this,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “Besides, even as a regular customer, I could’ve just called to complain.”

The six of them spent two hours eating hot pot. When they left, Cong Mian frowned slightly at the bill. “Senior, did you ask them to give me a discount?”

“Hmm?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the bill—just over five hundred yuan.

“No.”

Cong Mian gave her a sidelong look. She remembered this place being quite expensive.

“Really, no,” Qin Yuzhen insisted.

“Senior, do I look stupid to you?”

Qin Yuzhen sighed. “It’s not over your budget, so don’t worry. You didn’t lose out.”

“Actually, it’s fine. I have enough in my savings for one meal.” Cong Mian stuffed the bill into her bag.

“I can’t let one meal bankrupt you. Besides, I was the one who insisted on leaving—my actions shouldn’t cost you.” Qin Yuzhen had considered paying outright, but she knew Cong Mian wouldn’t have liked that.

Rong Xi grabbed Qin Yuzhen’s wrist: “Where are we going later?”

“I don’t know.” Qin Yuzhen glanced at Cong Mian.

“We usually just buy a cup of milk tea each, then walk around and look at clothes and accessories… Would you guys find that boring?”

“Not at all.” Rong Xi shook her head.

“Oh, right. I was going to give you the gift during dinner, but I forgot because of the earlier distraction.” Qin Yuzhen took something out of her bag and handed it to Cong Mian. She had chosen a fountain pen, while Rong Xi had picked out a bracelet.

“Thank you, senior.” Cong Mian took it and opened it for a look. “It’s so pretty! What’s this?”

“Just a random birthday greeting I wrote.” Qin Yuzhen said.

Cong Mian unfolded it: “Wow.”

The three other girls nearby also leaned in to look.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“Senior Qin, you’re really amazing.”

“Oh, Senior Qin! We also saw that classical Chinese essay you wrote last time—it was incredible!”

“Not really, not that impressive.” Qin Yuzhen replied modestly, though her forehead might as well have been stamped with the words “Yes, I am.”

Rong Xi shot her a glance: So fake.

Cong Mian read the birthday greeting twice before carefully folding it back up and tucking it into her bag. She then opened the bracelet from Rong Xi, showered it with praise, and put it on her wrist.

“Jealous.” Rong Xi tugged at Qin Yuzhen’s wrist. “Sis, will you write me a New Year’s greeting?”

“No.”

“Hmph.” Rong Xi pinched Qin Yuzhen’s wrist hard in protest.

The six of them went to buy milk tea and then started shopping around the mall.

Cong Mian had been worried that Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi wouldn’t enjoy themselves, given the vast difference in their family backgrounds—they might look down on the cheap accessories in the stores, priced at just ten or twenty yuan. That’s why she had specifically booked a private dining room earlier, afraid they wouldn’t like the main hall.

However, the two turned out to be much more down-to-earth than she expected, though they still stood out in the crowd.

“This is actually quite cute.” Qin Yuzhen picked up a pair of earrings.

“I think so too.” Rong Xi casually tossed them into the little basket. “This one’s nice too.”

“Wait, I don’t even have pierced ears. What would I do with these?” Rong Xi stared at the items in the basket.

“You can get them pierced after high school.” Qin Yuzhen said.

“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Rong Xi frowned.

“Not really.” For Qin Yuzhen, it was “no big deal.” In fact, “I could just poke a hole in your ear right now with these earrings.”

Rong Xi took two steps back: “No, thanks.”

“This suits you.” Qin Yuzhen picked up a hat with ears and plopped it onto Rong Xi’s head.

“Isn’t it a bit too childish?” Rong Xi checked herself in the mirror.

“Not really.” Qin Yuzhen rubbed her chin before tossing the hat into the basket. “Buy it.”

“Why don’t you get one for yourself?”

“I don’t like wearing hats.” Qin Yuzhen said. “Besides, it looks better on you.”

Nearby, Cong Mian also tried on a hat, but after a glance, she took it off and set it aside.

When they left the accessory store, Rong Xi was carrying two more bags. “Sis, you take them. I don’t want to hold them.”

“No, most of it is yours. Carry your own stuff.” Qin Yuzhen refused.

“You carried stuff for Gu Shi last time.” Rong Xi stared at Qin Yuzhen, her face full of accusation.

“Why do you always compare yourself to her?” Qin Yuzhen couldn’t understand.

“It’s not that I want to compare myself to her, it’s just that you’re too biased, sis.” Rong Xi pouted, sounding aggrieved.

Qin Yuzhen took the bag from Rong Xi’s hand, and Rong Xi’s face immediately lit up with a smile—her mood shifting in just a second.

“Pushing your luck.”

“Hehe.” Rong Xi was in high spirits, her steps light and cheerful.

System: “Tsk tsk.”