I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 37

The day after the sports meet, everyone returned to their studies as if yesterday’s unrestrained fun had been just a dream.

Of course, Qin Yuzhen remained as lazy as ever, though at least she stopped sleeping in class now that she was seated in the front row.

The joint examination for the six cities was a big deal for the teachers. Before the actual test, the school had conducted several mock exams in preparation.

To this, Qin Yuzhen could only say: …

Naturally, Qin Yuzhen’s exam results were consistently flawless—perfect scores in science and math, and even a full mark in English once.

Rong Xi used to marvel at Qin Yuzhen’s grades, but by now, she had grown completely numb to it.

Liang Xuzhou was also numb. He desperately wished everyone would forget about the bet he had made with Qin Yuzhen, yet every day, someone would ask him if he was ready to start speaking in a pinched voice.

Now, he could only hope for a miracle.

The day before the exam, Old Wang even held a proper class meeting to help everyone adjust their mindset. Qin Yuzhen also received a notification about the show—she had passed the preliminary round and advanced to the initial selection. The first episode would be recorded on the Monday after the monthly exam.

“Host, you’re not planning to fake being sick again, are you?” the system asked.

“I’ll just ask for leave directly,” Qin Yuzhen mused, rubbing her chin. “I just need to convince Old Wang.”

“But what about Rong Xi? She’ll definitely ask, and you won’t be able to hide it.”

“I’ll just brush it off,” Qin Yuzhen said.

The system: …

“The question is, can you actually brush it off?” It might have worked before, but now… the system wasn’t so sure.

Qin Yuzhen didn’t respond. She knew it was a bit tricky now—after all, the girl had grown sharper.

For this exam, Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi were in the same testing room, both on the fourth floor. One sat at the very front of the classroom, the other at the very back. Qin Yuzhen’s seat was against the wall in the last row.

The joint exam strictly followed the schedule of the national college entrance exam, and early submission was still not allowed.

Thanks to her speech last time, practically the entire grade knew her. Even the proctors gave her a few extra glances when she walked in.

Qin Yuzhen took her seat and propped her chin on her hand.

For this battle for first place, everyone pinned their hopes on Qin Yuzhen. After all, for students from schools of similar caliber, it was both frustrating and embarrassing to see the same person dominate the city’s top spot year after year.

“Hey, genius, good luck,” the girl in front of her whispered, turning around briefly.

“Mm,” Qin Yuzhen nodded. “You too.”

“Host, I won’t disturb you. Focus on the exam.”

“It’s just a joint exam. Why are you so nervous?” Qin Yuzhen was speechless.

“Because you’re the hope of the entire village,” the system replied before promptly falling silent—something it rarely did so quickly.

The Chinese exam papers were handed out. Qin Yuzhen skimmed through the questions.

Compared to the last test, this one was noticeably easier. She glanced at the essay prompt, which centered around the keyword “words” without much additional guidance. Qin Yuzhen twirled her pen, pondered for a few seconds, then flipped back to the first page and began answering.

Her speed was as fast as ever, each stroke deliberate and steady, radiating calm confidence.

This time, she opted for a blend of classical and vernacular Chinese in her essay. She prided herself on the ornate language, substantial content, and tight adherence to the topic. After finishing, she skimmed through it and inwardly exclaimed, “What a masterpiece!”

The system wanted to criticize several times but held back, remembering Qin Yuzhen was still in the middle of an exam.

Why was there someone who could both take an exam and boast about themselves at the same time?

Qin Yuzhen glanced over her paper briefly before flopping down to sleep.

The classmate sitting next to her: “…”

Somehow, the pressure felt even greater now.

Qin Yuzhen slept soundly, her breathing steady. When the invigilator passed by, they paused for three seconds, initially thinking she was just resting her eyes. Who would have guessed she had actually fallen asleep—and stayed that way until it was time to hand in the papers?

When Rong Xi slipped over to Qin Yuzhen’s side, she immediately noticed her just-woken-up demeanor.

“You didn’t even check your answers?”

“What’s there to check?” Qin Yuzhen yawned.

Rong Xi stared at her. “What if you accidentally wrote a wrong character or something? You’d lose points.”

“Overthinking it. The exam’s over—no point dwelling on it now. Let’s go.”

Rong Xi trailed behind Qin Yuzhen. “How can you be so carefree?”

“It’s just an exam, isn’t it?” Qin Yuzhen stuffed her hands into her pockets.

“Well, true…” Rong Xi shot her a glance. “But, Sister, if you end up scoring lower than Huo Yaoxu, could you really swallow that?”

“Of course I’ll score higher than him. Mark my words.” Qin Yuzhen ruffled Rong Xi’s hair. “You should aim higher too. Even if you can’t beat me, at least outscore Huo Yaoxu.”

Rong Xi: “…”

By the time they returned to the classroom, some were already reviewing. A few had even gathered around Qin Yuzhen’s seat, waiting to ask questions. The moment she walked in, they swarmed her.

“Big shot, I still don’t quite get this part of the question.”

“Old Qin, this one here…”

Qin Yuzhen felt exhausted. Rong Xi was also surrounded by a crowd.

“Big shot, here, have some water.” Someone opened a bottle and placed it on Qin Yuzhen’s desk.

“Quite thoughtful, aren’t you?”

“Of course. After all, I have a lot to ask—this one, this one, and this one… Oh, and I’m not too sure about this either.” The person flipped noisily through their paper. “Just give me a little hint.”

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

When Old Qian entered and saw everyone discussing questions, he didn’t interfere. If they were helping each other, he was happy to take it easy.

After dealing with everyone, Qin Yuzhen let out a long sigh and gulped down some water.

Thankfully, since they were all from the advanced class, most of them were quick learners. A couple of pointers were usually enough for them to grasp the problem. Only one or two were particularly difficult—so difficult that Qin Yuzhen suspected they were deliberately tormenting her.

“Sister, explain this one to me.” Rong Xi sidled up and handed her paper over.

“Ask Old Qian.”

“Sister, you explain things to others but not to me. Do you have some kind of grudge against me?” Rong Xi sighed, her eyes drooping slightly.

“You’re the death of me.” Qin Yuzhen smirked, skimmed the paper, and began explaining in a hushed voice.

“Got it now?”

“Not really…”

Qin Yuzhen went over it again. “Now?”

“This part…”

“Little sister, if you really can’t figure it out, I suggest you just give up. After all, the exact same question won’t appear again—no need to obsess over it.” Qin Yuzhen flashed a benevolent smile.

“Sis, you have no patience at all. Fine, I won’t ask anymore.” Rong Xi pulled her test paper back.

Just as Qin Yuzhen was about to speak, Old Qian walked up to their desks.

“What’s the problem? You still don’t get it after several explanations? Let me see?”

Rong Xi: “…”

Old Qian dutifully explained it once more: “Any part you still don’t understand?”

“I get it now.” Rong Xi felt mentally exhausted. Tilting her head, she caught Qin Yuzhen looking at her with an amused smirk.

“What bad intentions could Xi Xi possibly have? Xi Xi just wants to talk to her sister more, that’s all,” Rong Xi said.

Qin Yuzhen averted her gaze. “I need to study now. Stop bothering me.”

“Sure thing, sis,” Rong Xi replied smugly.

Noticing Rong Xi’s smug expression, Qin Yuzhen frowned slightly. This wouldn’t do. If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before Rong Xi started acting all high and mighty over her. She needed to do something to maintain her authority as the elder sister.

Though she appeared to be studying, Qin Yuzhen was actually preoccupied with this issue until the afternoon math exam.

This math test was difficult—even harder than the last one. During the exam, one student snapped their pen out of frustration.

Qin Yuzhen maintained her usual problem-solving speed, though she used slightly more scratch paper than before. After finishing the last question, she set down her pen and glanced around. Many of her classmates looked ashen-faced.

She yawned and slumped onto the desk again.

Rong Xi secretly turned around to look. Seeing Qin Yuzhen already asleep, she sighed inwardly as she glanced at her own paper. It was challenging but manageable—just not easy.

Lately, she had been putting in 200% effort into her studies to compete with Qin Yuzhen.

When the papers were collected, one girl in the exam room burst into tears, casting an even gloomier atmosphere over the room.

“This test was way too hard! What kind of nonsense was that?”

“Damn, seriously. Weren’t joint exams supposed to be easier?”

“Who told you that?”

“Who even wrote this test?”

“I’m done, I’m done, I’m done. I only managed the first part of the last two big questions.”

“Same here.”

…

Everyone glanced at Qin Yuzhen, who was carelessly packing her pencil case. The only thought in their minds was, “She’s not human.”

“Sis, what do I do? I didn’t finish,” Rong Xi pouted. “I had no idea how to approach the last parts of the last two questions.”

“Most people couldn’t do them either. It’s fine,” Qin Yuzhen said, hands in her pockets.

“Did you think the test was hard?”

“It was alright.” Qin Yuzhen knew the difficulty had increased, but she still uttered those three words with effortless calm.

Pei Jingyue had been heading to the restroom after the exam but stopped upon hearing Qin Yuzhen’s remark, staring at her for a moment. “Not human.”

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“Can you still get a perfect score?”

“Probably,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

“Not human,” Rong Xi said, her tone a mix of disdain and envy.

Qin Yuzhen looked down at Rong Xi and tugged her braid. “Is that any way to talk to your sister?”