I Don't Want to Be the Villainess Anymore - Chapter 7

Rong Xi glanced down at the lollipop in her hand, unsure whether Qin Yuzhen had genuinely meant to give it to her or if she had simply wanted to throw it at her. Given Qin Yuzhen’s personality, she thought the latter was more likely.

She stuffed the lollipop into her pocket and took her seat.

Pei Jingyue shot Rong Xi a look and snorted softly. “She was just giving you something to eat, yet you’re acting like you’ve been bullied.”

Qin Yuzhen fiddled with the candy wrapper. “Maybe she was just startled.”

She suspected Rong Xi had misunderstood her intentions, but for the sake of her own image, she wasn’t about to explain it to Pei Jingyue.

Pei Jingyue scoffed again. Hearing the class bell, she quickly stuffed her snacks into her pocket and glanced at the math teacher, who had just walked in. “Be careful. Old Qian loves calling people up to solve problems. Since you’re new, there’s a ninety percent chance he’ll pick you.”

“Got it.” Qin Yuzhen nodded.

According to the original plot, the math teacher would indeed call her up to solve a problem. But now that she was sitting here, the storyline wouldn’t follow its original path. She wondered just how terrifying this math teacher was—even Liang Xuzhou had sat up straight, abandoning his nap.

“I heard your class has a new student. Where are they? Let me see.” Old Qian scanned the room.

Qin Yuzhen silently raised her hand.

“Qin Yuzhen, right?”

“Yes.” Qin Yuzhen nodded.

“Alright, then today’s problem will be solved by your deskmate.” Old Qian declared.

Liang Xuzhou, who had been zoning out, froze for a moment, thinking he’d misheard. He turned to look at Qin Yuzhen, then up at Old Qian, pointing at himself in disbelief.

“Yes, you. Hurry up and come here.” Old Qian said impatiently. “A class is only forty-five minutes long. How much time are you going to waste?”

The whole class was stunned. Qin Yuzhen smiled gently, her triumph hidden beneath the surface.

“Host, you’re so mean,” the system teased.

“A senior in high school sleeping through class every day? He needs some motivation to study,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

Besides, she was pretty sure Liang Xuzhou could solve the problem—though once he was at the blackboard, he stood there motionless.

Old Qian crossed his arms and stood beside Liang Xuzhou. “Don’t know how? I just taught this yesterday! Take your book and stand at the back.”

Qin Yuzhen picked up her pen and chuckled softly. Liang Xuzhou shot her a glare as he returned to his seat, yanking his book out with a loud thud.

“Who are you throwing a tantrum at?” Old Qian snapped. “You don’t even know the answer, yet you have the nerve to act up? Don’t want to listen? Then go stand outside.”

Liang Xuzhou: “…”

Qin Yuzhen coughed lightly, struggling to suppress her laughter.

“Host, you’re really terrible.”

“He’s the one who made the noise. What does that have to do with me?” Qin Yuzhen finished writing the problem and set her pen down.

“Then Liang Xuzhou’s deskmate, explain this problem.”

Qin Yuzhen looked up, startled: ???

“Didn’t I tell you to activate the low-profile card for me?”

The system stayed silent.

Qin Yuzhen gritted her teeth—this system was definitely doing it on purpose. She stood up.

At the front of the class, Rong Xi turned to look at her, concern flickering in her eyes.

Pei Jingyue stealthily tried to pass her notebook over, but Old Qian shot her a glare, forcing her to pull it back.

Qin Yuzhen finally began to speak.

She had initially thought she wouldn’t be called on, so she had only written down brief steps.

After she finished speaking, Old Qian’s expression finally softened a bit.

As Qin Yuzhen sat down, she noticed Rong Xi letting out a relieved sigh.

She was curious about what kind of image she held in Rong Xi’s mind.

“Do you even need to ask? She definitely thinks you’re not a good person,” the system chimed in.

Qin Yuzhen: “…”

“Are you rebelling? Not letting me use item cards and now randomly reading my thoughts?” Qin Yuzhen tapped her pen against the notebook.

“Just teasing you a little.”

Qin Yuzhen ignored it. Liang Xuzhou had been standing at the door for twenty minutes before Old Qian finally let him in.

Liang Xuzhou was clearly unhappy but suppressed his temper and placed his book neatly on the desk.

“Are you the reincarnation of a jinx?”

“If you weren’t slouching and acting suspicious, why would the teacher notice you? What does that have to do with me?” Qin Yuzhen replied nonchalantly. “If you’d been paying attention in class, none of this would’ve happened. Instead of reflecting on yourself, you just blame others.”

Liang Xuzhou gritted his teeth. He narrowed his eyes, a strong suspicion forming that all the misfortunes he’d encountered today were somehow connected to Qin Yuzhen. But without proof, he could only hope for a seat change soon—anything to get away from her.

After class, Rong Xi lingered nearby. “Want to go fill our water bottles?”

“Sure.” Qin Yuzhen nodded. Her cup was the same style as Rong Xi’s, just a different color. She glanced back at Pei Jingyue and asked, “You coming?”

Pei Jingyue immediately shook her head and turned back around.

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi left the classroom together.

Rong Xi clutched her cup and glanced at Qin Yuzhen. “I was really startled when the teacher called on you earlier.”

“Startled? Thought I wouldn’t be able to answer?” Qin Yuzhen shot her a probing look.

“No…” Rong Xi sensed the danger in this topic.

Just as Qin Yuzhen was about to speak, she noticed two boys ahead holding cups—clearly filled with hot water—while another boy rushed out of the men’s restroom and bumped into one of them.

As the water from the cup was about to splash onto a girl in front of them, Qin Yuzhen reacted swiftly, stepping forward and pulling the girl out of harm’s way. The girl, caught off guard, stumbled into Qin Yuzhen’s arms from the momentum.

The water spilled onto the floor, splashing onto the shoes of those nearby.

The three boys, seeing what had happened, quickly apologized before hurrying off.

“Thank you,” the girl Qin Yuzhen had saved murmured, stepping back with a flushed face.

“No problem.”

The girl glanced up at Qin Yuzhen, said another quiet “thank you,” then looked at Rong Xi before quickly walking away.

“Host, did you save her just because she’s pretty?” the system asked.

“I’m just kindhearted,” Qin Yuzhen replied, pleased.

Rong Xi followed behind her. “That’s Gu Shi from the humanities advanced class.”

“Isn’t the humanities class downstairs?” Qin Yuzhen asked casually as they entered the water room.

“Maybe she came up to see someone.”

Qin Yuzhen glanced at Rong Xi. “You know her?”

“We were in the same class before the arts and sciences split. The Gu and Rong families are also on good terms,” Rong Xi explained before muttering under her breath, “I don’t really like her, though.”

“Why?”

“No reason,” Rong Xi replied after screwing the cap back on the water bottle.

Qin Yuzhen didn’t press further. It was normal for Rong Xi to dislike Gu Shi—after all, in the novel, Gu Shi was also one of the villainesses, though not on the same side as Qin Yuzhen.

The science class had more boys, and during breaks, they usually crowded the railings like a flock of crows, only dispersing when the discipline director came to yell at them. The hallway was packed, but Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi leisurely made their way through the crowd back to their classroom.

“System, what’s Gu Shi’s character setting?”

“Uh… I can’t check right now, Host. There’s another glitch—your permissions were suddenly revoked.”

Qin Yuzhen: ???

“It’s not related to the main system space,” the System quickly added, seeing Qin Yuzhen’s darkening expression.

Qin Yuzhen felt like she could punch through the window beside her right now.

“What’s wrong?” Rong Xi noticed her expression and asked cautiously.

“Nothing.”

When they reached the classroom, Qin Yuzhen found an extra bottle of milk on her desk.

“Gu Shi from the humanities class came by earlier and left that for you,” Pei Jingyue explained when she saw her return.

“Got it.” Qin Yuzhen nodded and glanced at Rong Xi. “What’s with that look?”

“No look.” Rong Xi turned her back on Qin Yuzhen, sulking as she returned to her seat.

“Teenage girls these days are so hard to understand,” Qin Yuzhen muttered as she popped open the milk.

“Why would Gu Shi give you milk for no reason?”

“I did her a favor. Consider it a thank-you gift.” Qin Yuzhen took a sip and noticed Rong Xi glancing back at her—though she quickly turned away when caught. “Is there some kind of grudge between Gu Shi and Rong Xi?”

“It’s normal. They’re both popular, but they just don’t get along,” Pei Jingyue said offhandedly.

Qin Yuzhen doubted Rong Xi, as the protagonist, would dislike Gu Shi for something so trivial. There had to be more to it.

Perhaps because Qin Yuzhen had accepted Gu Shi’s milk—an act so unforgivable—Rong Xi didn’t speak to her again until lunchtime, when she reluctantly came over to ask her to go to the cafeteria together.

“I’ll take you this once. Next time, go by yourself,” Rong Xi said flatly, as if trying to sound tough.

“Okay,” Qin Yuzhen replied indifferently.

Rong Xi looked up at her, eyes filled with accusation.

“Hi, Rong Xi! If you’re busy, you can go ahead. I’ll keep her company.” Gu Shi suddenly appeared from somewhere, hands clasped behind her back as she leaned slightly toward Qin Yuzhen. “I felt like just a bottle of milk wasn’t enough to thank her, so I wanted to treat her to lunch.”

Gu Shi was petite, with a cute, doll-like appearance. She smiled sweetly at Qin Yuzhen, and the System knew she wouldn’t be able to resist.

Sure enough, Qin Yuzhen nodded without much thought. “No need to treat me. I didn’t do much.”

Gu Shi’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed Qin Yuzhen’s arm. “So you’re saying yes? I asked around and found out your name is Qin Yuzhen. Can I call you Zhenzhen?”

Rong Xi: ???

“From the moment I first saw you, I’ve liked you so much. Sorry if I’m being a bit too forward—I hope you don’t dislike me.” Gu Shu loosened her grip, cheeks flushing with slight embarrassment as she spoke.

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen.

Qin Yuzhen smiled gently before responding with three simple words: “How could I?”