Scumbag A's Plan to Save the Heroine - Chapter 33

“What chocolate?” Zhi Qiu asked, puzzled.

After the System repeated itself a few times, she finally recalled a plot point from her previous life involving Song Rang. Realizing what it meant, she pressed further, “Are you saying Ruan Ye encountered Qi Chenchen earlier than expected?”

The Truth System nodded vigorously, its agitation palpable. This anxiety manifested in the wheelchair, which suddenly began to shake violently despite its earlier stability.

At that moment, a pair of icy hands gripped the wheelchair’s wheels, instantly halting its frantic movements.

The constant shaking had caused some of the undried medicine to splash onto Zhi Qiu’s clothes.

Ruan Ye, thinking it was just the wind, frowned slightly and glanced worriedly at the wound. But under the influence of her severe germaphobia, she could only temporarily set aside the medicine, rise, and head back to her room to fetch cleaning supplies.

Ruan Ye’s departure brought a sigh of relief from both Zhi Qiu and the Truth System. If Ruan Ye had lingered and questioned further, Zhi Qiu would have struggled to explain the situation without resorting to lies.

Given a second chance, Zhi Qiu vowed never to deceive Ruan Ye again, even with so-called “white lies.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhi Qiu slowly maneuvered her wheelchair to where her backpack lay on the floor. She picked it up and checked its contents.

Textbooks, stationery, a flashlight, foundation, and that chocolate bar.

Apart from the chocolate bar, which had appeared in the original plot, nothing seemed out of place. Zhi Qiu idly turned the foundation bottle in her hand, her fingers brushing against a label on the bottom. She squinted, rubbing her fingers over the raised letters.

Qi Chenchen’s premature appearance had completely baffled the Truth System. The more it pondered, the more absurd and chaotic its theories became. Finally, it exploded in frustration: “What’s going on here? Qi Chenchen wasn’t supposed to appear until much later! Even if the plot has been accelerated, Ruan Ye hasn’t grown into a top-tier designer yet! How can she unveil her own dress at the ball to humiliate Song Rang and Fu Jin Yan? This crucial plot point can’t just vanish!”

In truth, the System’s analysis was correct.

The plot of this novel was remarkably simple: a classic “underdog rises to glory” narrative. The female lead endures humiliation in her youth, only to later prove the adage, “Never underestimate the potential of a young person.”

Qi Chenchen was Ruan Ye’s last hope for exposing Song Rang’s true nature. She had provided evidence of Song Rang’s secret communications with fans, illegal fundraising, manipulation of trending topics, and smear campaigns against his rivals. Now, Ruan Ye had encountered her ahead of schedule.

There were plenty of clues to follow, but if one approached the situation based on the book’s plot—poisoned by empiricism—everything would seem utterly nonsensical, leaving one completely bewildered.

The Truth System had already given up analyzing the situation, clutching its fragile little heart and lying flat to slack off. Only Zhi Qiu remained deep in thought.

The premature move.

Qi Chenchen’s early appearance.

Everything seemed to be accelerating forward.

The bedroom door opened.

A girl with a cute bun hairstyle and a relatively fresh school uniform emerged, her expression unusually detached. She carried an alcohol spray and bleach. In her haste, she hadn’t noticed the corner of a chocolate wrapper peeking out from her pocket.

Ruan Ye grabbed the corner of Zhi Qiu’s orange-stained shirt, intending to clean it, but before she could kneel down, the serious-faced girl in the wheelchair gripped her hand.

“Ruan Ye, why are you carrying a stick? And is this foundation yours too?”

The girl crouching on the ground froze for a moment, only realizing what Zhi Qiu had asked after a beat. For some reason, Ruan Ye instinctively chose to lie, explaining in a natural tone, “I live alone and feel unsafe. The streets here are so dark at night, so I carry a flashlight and a stick for protection. As for the foundation, I’m an Omega. The first Omega elective at Noadon is a makeup class, and foundation is essential for us. You’re an Alpha, so you wouldn’t understand.”

A flawless lie.

An impeccable explanation.

Ruan Ye had answered Zhi Qiu’s questions clearly and logically, but she had deliberately obscured the main point: why she had attacked without warning in the hallway.

Perhaps she didn’t trust Zhi Qiu, or perhaps she feared being exposed for who she truly was. Whatever the reason, she chose to evade the truth once again.

But this time, Zhi Qiu already knew the answer in her heart.

The girl in the wheelchair sighed softly. Instead of reacting with anger or pressing for more answers, she gently released Ruan Ye’s hand and tucked the half-visible bag of chocolate protruding from the girl’s pocket back inside.

After answering the question, Ruan Ye continued applying the medicine. This time, the wheelchair remained still, but her hands trembled uncontrollably, spilling the medicinal liquid everywhere. Her once pristine clothes were now stained beyond recognition, resembling tie-dyed fabric from a dyeing workshop.

Ruan Ye frowned deeply, silently clenching her left fist until her fingernails dug into her palm. She had a self-destructive tendency that surfaced in varying degrees when she was anxious or agitated.

In a fit of frustration, she reached for the bottle of cleaner she had just grabbed.

A searing heat.

Her icy hand was enveloped by a pair of warm, strong hands. Ruan Ye froze, and the bottle of cleaner, now only one-fifth full, slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

Only then did she realize what had happened and look up at Zhi Qiu.

Zhi Qiu’s hands were much like Zhi Qiu herself: outwardly delicate and fragile, seemingly too weak to lift anything heavy, yet always burning hot, as if capable of igniting a bonfire atop a snow-capped mountain, a beacon against millennia of solitude.

Ruan Ye tried to pull away, expecting Zhi Qiu to release her hand with gentlemanly restraint, just as she had during their accidental touch at noon. But…

Not this time.

Her hand was held tightly in another’s grasp.

This was the unwavering choice of a gentle soul.

So hot.

For a moment, Zhi Qiu couldn’t tell if it was the wheelchair that was burning or if she herself was on fire. The coolness from the hand she held didn’t temper the heat; instead, it seemed to ignite even more warmth. Scalding heat surged through her veins, spreading throughout her body, her face flushing alarmingly red.

This was the person she had longed for with all her heart.

Zhi Qiu clung tightly to that perpetually icy hand, her mind consumed by a single thought. Never before had she felt such an overwhelming urge to completely envelop this person, to warm them thoroughly, to shield them beneath her own wings. The impulse to confess her feelings and solidify their relationship grew stronger with each passing moment.

In the silence, the person in the wheelchair, face flushed crimson, stammered, “Ruan Ye, I li—”

Thump! The door crashed open with a dull thud.

In her haste to apply the medicine, Zhi Qiu had only loosely closed the door. A gentle push would have been enough to enter, but this reckless collision sent the door slamming against the wall, the violent recoil jarring the intruder’s arm.

A sudden crash abruptly interrupted Zhi Qiu’s confession.

Ruan Ye’s eyes darted away in panic, struggling to free her hand from Zhi Qiu’s tight grip. She glanced up at the person standing in the doorway.

In truth, she had sensed it all along. She was too sensitive; from the day they met, she could faintly discern the hidden feelings beneath Zhi Qiu’s casual words. But…

She wasn’t ready to face it yet.

As this thought crossed her mind, the light in Ruan Ye’s eyes dimmed. Forcing herself to regain composure, she broke the silence in the room, her voice tinged with urgency and a hint of relief.

“Brother Song Rang, you’re here!”