I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 46

Qin Yuzhen fell silent for two seconds. What Liang Xuzhou said didn’t seem entirely unreasonable.

But still…

“Classmates should be kind to each other. If you have any issues with me, you can just say it. Why treat me like this?” Qin Yuzhen retorted with righteous indignation.

Liang Xuzhou: What kind of troll logic is this?

“If the two of you have a problem with each other, don’t drag innocent bystanders into it, alright?” Liang Xuzhou added, “If you really can’t help it, go bother someone else—just not me.”

“When did we ever have a problem? Why are you trying to stir up trouble?” Qin Yuzhen shot Liang Xuzhou a look. “Sigh, all I wanted was a simple ‘good morning’…”

“Why do you look so aggrieved?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” Qin Yuzhen said. “Never mind. I didn’t realize you had such strong opinions about me.”

With that, she turned her head away.

Liang Xuzhou felt like he was the one who should be aggrieved, yet somehow, he was being painted as the villain. He glanced sideways and saw his deskmate giving him an accusatory look before shaking his head in disapproval.

“It’s just a ‘good morning.’ Was that really necessary?”

Liang Xuzhou: ???

“Don’t let Qin Yuzhen fool you,” Liang Xuzhou said.

“What’s there to fool? Qin Yuzhen clearly doesn’t have a scheming bone in her body. She just wanted a ‘good morning,’ and asking you was probably just a joke. How could you say they’re having a conflict?”

Liang Xuzhou: …

“I think you’re beyond saving,” Liang Xuzhou said.

“You’re the one beyond saving,” his deskmate shot back. “You’re definitely the type who’ll struggle to find a girlfriend in the future.”

“Like you’d have any luck either,” Liang Xuzhou scoffed.

“Actually, a girl confessed to me before! I turned her down to focus on my studies—she was really cute, too!”

“Maybe she got the wrong person, or you’re just delusional.” Liang Xuzhou flipped open his textbook.

“Liang Xuzhou, do you want to fight?!” His deskmate slammed the desk.

Liang Xuzhou chuckled.

“Lao Liang, you’re getting worse and worse.”

“Compared to Qin Yuzhen, I’m nowhere near as bad.”

“Why do you keep dragging her into everything? Just because she scored higher than you doesn’t mean you should be jealous.”

Liang Xuzhou took a deep breath and decided to stop talking. If this continued, he might actually die from frustration.

One day, I’ll make everyone see Qin Yuzhen’s terrifying true nature.

He glared at the back of Qin Yuzhen’s head, narrowing his eyes.

Then, as if sensing his gaze, Qin Yuzhen suddenly turned around. Liang Xuzhou flinched, jerking backward—his earlier murderous aura instantly replaced with sheer awkwardness.

Qin Yuzhen smirked at him disdainfully before turning back around.

Liang Xuzhou: …

Does she have eyes on the back of her head or something?

The system made an estimate: Qin Yuzhen would probably last until the end of morning self-study before talking to Rong Xi. Rong Xi, on the other hand, would likely hold out longer.

Normally, Rong Xi would focus entirely on reading during morning self-study, but today, her mind kept wandering. She felt… unsettled, as if she couldn’t help but glance in Qin Yuzhen’s direction.

Meanwhile, Qin Yuzhen was already on the verge of falling asleep.

Rong Xi couldn’t help but glance at Qin Yuzhen, who was lying on the desk with her eyes closed, a book propped up—probably trying to hide her face, though the effort was pretty much pointless.

Anyone walking in would immediately notice Qin Yuzhen sprawled across the desk.

When the English teacher entered, she was about to reprimand Qin Yuzhen, only to hear a string of fluent English spilling from her mouth, as if she were reciting something.

English teacher: “…”

“Get up. It’s early in the morning.” The teacher rapped her knuckles on the desk.

Qin Yuzhen sighed and sat up.

“You still need to pay attention to your attitude toward studying,” the teacher said. “Even if your grades are good.”

“Teacher, I know. Don’t worry.” Qin Yuzhen nodded in agreement. “I don’t even know why I ended up lying down while reciting.”

“Then tell me, what were you reciting just now?”

“An article from The Economist.”

English teacher: “…”

A long silence stretched between them before the teacher finally walked away.

Rong Xi had been keeping an eye on Qin Yuzhen’s situation the whole time. Seeing the English teacher defeated, she couldn’t help but sigh. Suddenly, she found herself missing the days when Qin Yuzhen had to stand in the back as punishment. Back then, she had actually been worried about her. Now? Now she’d love nothing more than to see her standing at the back again.

Hearing Rong Xi’s sigh, Qin Yuzhen instinctively looked over. Their eyes met for a brief moment before both of them deliberately looked away.

When class ended, Rong Xi handed in her homework and said in a deliberately sweet voice, “Sister, are you mad at me?”

System: Wrong move? This little sister isn’t holding up well—how could she not resist? It was convinced that if Rong Xi had just held out a little longer, the slacker (Qin Yuzhen) would’ve cracked first.

“Little sister, what are you talking about? Why would I be mad at you?” Qin Yuzhen felt smug.

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“Didn’t you also not talk to me?”

“If you don’t talk to me first, what am I supposed to say?”

“If you don’t talk to me first, what am I supposed to say?”

Liang Xuzhou, sitting behind them: ??? What’s wrong with these two?

“Sister, want to go get water together?”

“Sure.” Qin Yuzhen pulled out her water bottle.

The two of them walked out together.

System: Confirmed—they’re literal children. If they held hands on the way out, it’d be even more like elementary schoolers.

Liang Xuzhou: The happiness is yours. The suffering is mine alone.

Though Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi had resumed normal conversation, there was still something off about their interactions. Yet, neither could quite pinpoint what it was.

“The math competition is next Saturday,” Rong Xi said. “The registration fee was due yesterday—I paid for you.”

“Oh.” Qin Yuzhen replied.

Rong Xi glanced at her. “Can you even get a perfect score in this kind of competition?”

“Who knows?”

Hearing Qin Yuzhen’s breezy tone, Rong Xi knew that even if she didn’t get full marks, she wouldn’t be far off.

“At the very least, you’ll definitely do better than Huo Yaoxu.”

“Ah.” Rong Xi sighed.

Qin Yuzhen screwed the cap back on her bottle and looked at her. “Why are you sighing for no reason?”

“I’m just not good enough to be your rival.”

“Who said Huo Yaoxu was my rival?” Qin Yuzhen scoffed. “He’s not worthy.”

“Then am I worthy, sister?” Rong Xi blinked.

Qin Yuzhen studied her for a moment. “You already are.”

“Is that so?” Rong Xi was slightly surprised.

“Yes.” Qin Yuzhen nodded.

Rong Xi laughed, feeling lighthearted. Though she knew Qin Yuzhen’s words likely carried hidden meaning, she was still happy—at the very least, she must have given Qin Yuzhen a headache.

Rong Xi felt as though she had finally grasped Qin Yuzhen’s weak spot. On her way back from the break room, her steps were noticeably lighter, practically spelling out “in a good mood” on her face.

Qin Yuzhen was speechless. She couldn’t understand what Rong Xi was so happy about.

“Host,” the system called out.

“What?”

“There’s a plot point coming up soon,” the system said.

“Hmm?” Qin Yuzhen responded. “If you have something to say, say it outright. Don’t beat around the bush.”

System: “…”

“Tsk. Rong Xi treats you like this, yet you’re still so gentle with her. I’ve been with you for so long—centuries!—and yet you treat me like this…” The system affected a whiny tone.

“Speak properly!” Qin Yuzhen frowned. “Are you malfunctioning or something?”

“When she talks like this, you say, ‘Okay, okay.’ When I talk like this, you say I’m malfunctioning.”

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“Are you going to tell me or not?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at Rong Xi in the distance. “She’s a pretty, adorable little sister. What are you?”

“Tch.” The system scoffed. “Around the third of next month, Rong Xi and the male lead will be locked in a room together, and their relationship will deepen. Barring any surprises, you’ll be recording a show that day.”

“So you’d better stay far away and not interfere with their bonding time,” the system continued, pulling up Qin Yuzhen’s emotional monitoring interface. It was slightly surprised—it had expected Qin Yuzhen to be displeased, but the graph remained steady, showing no signs of rising.

“Locked in school?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

“Yep.”

“The door lock suddenly broke, and they were stuck together for a whole class period.” The system chuckled.

“You’re so creepy,” Qin Yuzhen remarked. “Which door lock in the school broke?”

“Not telling,” the system said. “Why? I thought you didn’t care?”

“Tsk.”

“What’s wrong?” Rong Xi turned to look at Qin Yuzhen.

Qin Yuzhen rubbed her fingers together. “Nothing.”

The third of next month was still a while away—no need to rush.

“You’re obviously thinking about something.”

“Not thinking about anything.” Qin Yuzhen stuffed her hands in her pockets. “By the way, the time’s up. You can talk normally now.”

“Sis, what are you talking about? I’ve been speaking normally this whole time~” Rong Xi blinked her big, innocent eyes, looking like a naive child.

Qin Yuzhen placed her hands on Rong Xi’s shoulders and pushed her forward, preventing her from turning back.

“Sis, what are you doing? This is uncomfortable~”

“Sis, do you dislike me now?”

“…”

Qin Yuzhen covered Rong Xi’s mouth just as Ye Yunshen, who happened to be passing by the building, glanced over. He took in Qin Yuzhen’s expressionless face and the way Rong Xi was slapping at her hand, his expression darkening. He had been about to step in, but a teacher called him away.

Once they were back in the classroom, Qin Yuzhen finally released Rong Xi. She hadn’t used much force, and even while covering her mouth, Rong Xi had kept chattering away.

“Rong Xi.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you trying to annoy me to death so you can get a new sister?” Qin Yuzhen said.

“Sister, what are you talking about? I would never have such bad intentions.”

“Who knows?” Qin Yuzhen gave Rong Xi a look, thoroughly convinced that she had such ulterior motives.

Before she could say anything else, Rong Xi sighed again: “Sister…”

“You really do find me annoying.”

Qin Yuzhen: “…”