I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 38

“Sis, it hurts.” Rong Xi’s eyes welled up with tears, looking pitiful.

Qin Yuzhen smoothed her hair a couple of times before withdrawing her hand. “Such a delicate little thing.”

“Well, I am delicate—what can I do about it?” Rong Xi blurted out, then immediately realized how inappropriate that sounded. But seeing Qin Yuzhen’s indifferent reaction, she quickly changed the subject.

Standing not far away, Ye Yunshen frowned slightly as he watched the two. From his perspective, Qin Yuzhen had inexplicably yanked Rong Xi’s braid, and only after Rong Xi was on the verge of tears, pleading for mercy, did she finally let go.

How cruel. How could she bully someone like that?

Ye Yunshen marveled at Qin Yuzhen’s kindness—despite being so mean, Rong Xi still played with her.

“Host, the male lead is watching you and Rong Xi. Seems like he’s conjuring up some strange assumptions,” the system noted, detecting the odd expression on Ye Yunshen’s face.

“Oh.” Qin Yuzhen didn’t bother turning around. “Let him look. It’s been a month since the plot started, and he’s done nothing. This male lead is useless anyway.”

System: ???

“Host, and whose fault is that?” the system retorted, exasperated.

“He could at least show some initiative.”

System: …

After the math exam, the entire class was drained.

“Who knows if tomorrow’s science and English papers will be hard?”

“Hard to say, but they probably will be.”

“Big shot Qin, how’d you do?”

“Not bad,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

“I’m crying—can you spare some brain cells for me?”

“Dream on. Wake up.” Qin Yuzhen leaned against the desk.

“I’ve already given up. As long as I score higher than Old Li, I’m good. I don’t wanna wear a skirt, haha.”

“I’ll definitely score higher than you. Do you know what I’ve been through this past month? Studying day and night, giving up games—I’ve suffered!”

The two of them bantered back and forth, lightening the mood in the classroom.

When Liang Xuzhou walked in, his expression was grim. “Did you solve the last problem?”

“Yeah.”

Liang Xuzhou sighed. Sometimes, you just had to admit defeat.

“You didn’t?”

“Only halfway. Ran out of time, and there wasn’t enough space on the answer sheet anyway.” He rubbed his temples.

Rong Xi stared at Liang Xuzhou for a moment. “Oh no. What if I score even lower than Liang Xuzhou this time?”

Liang Xuzhou: ???

“Why does that sound so insulting?” He frowned at Rong Xi.

“Sis, look at him—he’s being mean to me.” Rong Xi immediately tattled.

Liang Xuzhou: …

“You know what they say—’Keep good men company, and you’ll be one of them.'” Though Liang Xuzhou hadn’t been close to Rong Xi before, he had a general impression of her—nothing like this.

“Oh? You noticed I’ve been corrupted by Rong Xi? Is it that obvious?”

“Hmph.” Liang Xuzhou scoffed.

“Let’s go eat.” Qin Yuzhen tugged Rong Xi toward the door. “‘Keep good men company, and you’ll be one of them’—but if you hang around fools too long, you’ll turn into one too.”

Liang Xuzhou: ???

“Qin Yuzhen, I’d say that counts as a personal attack.”

“I wasn’t talking about you.” Qin Yuzhen turned back, feigning confusion. “Why are you inserting yourself into the conversation?”

“Damn it!” Liang Xuzhou slammed his pencil case down, stuffed his meal card into his pocket, and stormed off. “Goodbye.”

Rong Xi couldn’t help but giggle.

The two walked along the path, surrounded by faces clouded with gloom.

“Everyone’s morale is really low,” Qin Yuzhen remarked with a sigh.

“Well, it is midterm exams, and there’s competition from six cities,” Rong Xi replied. “But things should get better after lunch. Food brings happiness.”

“So how much are you planning to eat later?”

“I feel like I need three big bowls to soothe the pain in my heart, but I probably won’t be able to finish that much,” Rong Xi sighed.

Qin Yuzhen ruffled Rong Xi’s hair. “Shaving your head would have the same effect. Isn’t it said that hair is the source of three thousand worries? Just cut it short.”

“No way!” Rong Xi immediately covered her head. “Don’t even think about it.”

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Huo Yaoxu sent another message. Qin Yuzhen couldn’t understand why this person seemed to have nothing better to do.

Huo Yaoxu: Sis, did you solve the last question in the final section?

Qin Yuzhen: Isn’t that something anyone with hands could do? What, couldn’t you solve it?

Huo Yaoxu: I have hands.

“Sis, who are you chatting with?” Rong Xi noticed Qin Yuzhen’s slightly cold expression.

“An annoying kid.”

“Huh?” Rong Xi was taken aback. “Sis, your social circle is quite broad.”

“Not really.” Qin Yuzhen glanced at Huo Yaoxu’s follow-up message and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

Rong Xi noticed the gesture and realized the person on the other end wasn’t important, which instantly lifted her mood. “Sis, when you don’t reply to my messages, is that on purpose too?”

“Have I ever ignored your messages?” Qin Yuzhen shot her a look. “Don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Sis, why are you being mean to me again?”

Ye Yunshen, who happened to be walking behind them: ???

“Rong Xi.”
“Hmm?”

“Do you actually enjoy this?” Qin Yuzhen asked seriously.

Rong Xi smiled. “Of course not. I think it’s embarrassing.” Though once you get used to it, it’s kind of fun.

“Xi Xi, is she bullying you?”

Rong Xi blinked at Ye Yunshen, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. “No…”

“I heard everything. You were crying in the hallway earlier.”

“Ah?” Rong Xi was stunned. “No, we were just joking around.”

“Xi Xi, you’re too kind.” Ye Yunshen glared at Qin Yuzhen. “Aren’t you going too far? The Rong family was generous enough to let you stay, and you still bully Xi Xi in private?”

Rong Xi’s expression darkened. “She’s not bullying me, really. We were just joking. Besides, the Rong family is her home too. Sis—”

Qin Yuzhen glanced at the flustered Rong Xi, then at Ye Yunshen.

This male lead has quite the imagination. Is this what they call the protagonist’s initiative?

“If your brain isn’t working properly due to some mental stimulation, I suggest seeking medical attention immediately,” Qin Yuzhen said coolly. “Could you stop interrupting our queue? Or are you trying to cut in line?”

Ye Yunshen froze, his face turning green.

At the mention of “cutting in line,” many people nearby shot sharp glances over. Nothing is more infuriating than someone trying to skip the queue when you’re waiting for food.

“Master Ye, I hope you can be a decent person and go to the back of the line, alright?” Qin Yuzhen said flatly.

Ye Yunshen: “…”

Ye Yunshen took a deep breath.

“Xixi, if she bullies you, you must tell me.”

“I’m not being bullied.” Rong Xi sounded somewhat irritated.

“Tsk, didn’t I tell you not to use those cutesy nicknames? What’s with the intimacy?” Qin Yuzhen shot a cold glance at Ye Yunshen. “Do you know your behavior could be considered sexual harassment?”

As more and more people turned to look their way, Ye Yunshen had no choice but to leave.

Truth be told, Ye Yunshen was considered one of the most popular guys in school, with many admirers. But because of Qin Yuzhen’s recent high-profile actions, she had completely stolen his spotlight.

Compared to a face everyone had seen for nearly three years, astonishingly high test scores were far more eye-catching, and an unconventional speech resonated more deeply with people.

Ye Yunshen’s protagonist halo was already beginning to dim.

The system was extremely anxious about this, and seeing Qin Yuzhen remain utterly unfazed only made it more frantic.

“Host… what will happen if you end up stealing the protagonist’s halo?” the system asked. In previous normal missions, the host had always been the female lead, so this situation had never occurred before.

Qin Yuzhen fell silent for a moment. “There have been precedents before, right? I think the book’s genre might change—like turning into a no-romance story? The world would only collapse if the male lead dies, right?”

System: “…”

“Who told you that?”

“Didn’t the main system collaborate with other parallel worlds before?” Qin Yuzhen tapped the table. “I think that tasker despised the male lead and refused to complete the romance plotline, so the mission world turned into a no-romance book. After she started dating a female tasker in that world, the genre shifted to GL.”

“Tsk, they really know how to play,” Qin Yuzhen remarked with admiration.

System: “…”

“I forgot the name, but I think her surname was Song?”

“But since she was a collaborator, maybe she had special privileges?”

“I’m the slacker here! I should have even more privileges, okay?” Qin Yuzhen snorted. “Can you stop nitpicking me all the time? Instead of wasting time on that, why don’t you try contacting the main system more often? You haven’t even handled your own tasks properly, yet you’re busy policing me.”

System: “…”

On their way back after lunch, Qin Yuzhen activated the halo mode again. The halos above everyone’s heads looked like tiny nightlights—though the one above Rong Xi’s head was more like an 8,000-watt floodlight.

Qin Yuzhen’s halo had also grown much brighter than before, nearly rivaling the male lead’s.

“What are you looking at?”

“The scenery,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

“What scenery is there on my head?”

“Messy scenery.”

Rong Xi immediately touched her head. “Is my hair not combed properly?”

“It’s fine. I was just teasing you.”

Rong Xi: “…”

“Tsk, sis, you’re so annoying.”

“Get used to it.” Qin Yuzhen reached out and ruffled Rong Xi’s hair. “There, now it’s messy scenery.”

“Qin Yuzhen!”

…

The next two exams were even harder than the first. After they ended, the entire building was filled with groans.

“I’m done for. I don’t think I’ll even score 120 in English this time.”

“That’s still good. I’d be thanking the heavens if I hit 110.”

“I estimated my science score—240 at most, no higher.”

“Don’t lie, you’re definitely getting over 280.”

“Yeah, keep dreaming.”

“I barely understood some of the listening questions. Even the listening section was brutal this time.”

The classroom was noisy and chaotic. Rong Xi sat at her desk, motionless, her gaze vacant. Even when she sensed Qin Yuzhen sit down beside her, she didn’t spare a glance.

“Tch, did you do poorly? Think you passed?”

Rong Xi finally moved, shooting Qin Yuzhen a frosty glare.