Strategy to Conquer the Vicious Female Supporting Character [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 30

According to Qi Lin’s original plan, ten minutes between classes should’ve been more than enough time to find Situ Lan and set a time to meet that afternoon.

However, when the bell for the first morning class rang, Qi Lin was still panting as she ran toward her classroom at the bottom of the Liberal Arts Building.

…She hadn’t expected to be delayed that long by Miss Situ.

All that time had been spent just standing there in a daze.

Qi Lin would have to figure out what exactly was going on between Teacher Lin and Situ Lan later. Catching her breath, she walked to the doorway of Class Thirteen and called out, “Reporting in.”

The first period was Chinese. The original homeroom teacher had also taught Chinese, but now a new male teacher had taken over. When he turned his head and saw her, he visibly froze for a moment before saying, “Come in,” and continuing his lecture.

He had probably recognized her as Hua Xiyu, the very reason he’d been assigned to this class in the first place.

Sure enough, as soon as the Chinese class ended, the new homeroom teacher called Qi Lin into the office. After asking about her health, he tactfully expressed his hope that she wouldn’t let that previous incident affect her studies.

“You’re already in your second year of high school now. After choosing your track, you should have clearer goals,” the teacher said. “I’ve looked over your past academic record. It seems like you’re still having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new school year’s rhythm? Don’t rush yourself, take things step by step. If you work steadily during your second and third years, getting into a top university shouldn’t be a problem.”

The new homeroom teacher’s talk was both timely and genuinely reassuring.

Qi Lin mentally gave him credit for that.

Faced with a serious, responsible, and polite teacher like him, Qi Lin naturally nodded obediently, replying with the occasional “Mm” and “Okay.”

The teacher let out a sigh of relief. He’d heard rumors that she was a troublemaker, but seeing her in person, this soft and cute girl, he was momentarily stunned.

The situation in Class Thirteen really wasn’t great. Because of restrictions on university major choices, students who qualified for the science track generally avoided liberal arts. These days, liberal arts classes were practically synonymous with “underachievers,” and this regular track liberal arts class was even worse, the academic atmosphere was completely lackluster.

He wasn’t the type of teacher who just coasted by; he wanted to accomplish something, to truly teach and nurture capable students. But after spending a week with Class Thirteen, he’d been suffering daily headaches because of them.

Now that the matter concerning Hua Xiyu had finally been resolved, it was one rare thing he could feel genuinely relieved about.

“If you run into any difficulties, remember to come to me right away. I’ll do my best to help you,” the homeroom teacher reminded Qi Lin before dismissing her. “I’ve already taken up part of your break time. The next class is about to start, so you’d better head back.”

“It’s fine…” Qi Lin smiled a little awkwardly. “Okay.”

When the third period ended, at the school cafeteria,

Qi Lin waited for Situ Lan at the entrance.

Miss Situ’s expression wasn’t pleasant; upon seeing Qi Lin, her face grew even darker. Clearly, she was still affected by what Qi Lin had said that morning.

A pretty girl had suddenly shown up in front of Situ Lan, wanting to talk about her fiancé, what could she possibly be after?

To show off? To sow discord? To act pitiful?

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t something that would make her happy.

Still, Miss Situ’s manners remained impeccable. After all, everything was still uncertain right now, and if this girl really wanted to make a scene, Situ Lan had plenty of ways to deal with her properly.

Since they were already at the cafeteria, they might as well talk while eating. Situ Lan swiped her card to pay for both of them and silently carried her tray off to find an empty seat.

Qi Lin, still fumbling in her uniform pocket for her own meal card: “…”

Miss Situ, sulking while still remembering to look after her,

…Wasn’t this way too similar to her teacher Ji?!

[Qi Lin: 403, I have a very serious question.]

[403: Please speak, OWO?]

[Qi Lin: In the same novel world, it’s not possible for more than one person to have fragments of Huaixu’s spirit, right?]

[403: Eh?! Of course not! If multiple unawakened spirit fragments existed in the same world, it would cause severe negative interference with the original world’s energy field! That could only happen in extremely high-level planes! But Host, within my jurisdiction, such advanced worlds simply don’t exist…]

Qi Lin patted her chest, thank goodness, thank goodness. If there really had been more than one person, she might’ve gone insane.

…So who exactly was it?!

After all, a fragment of someone’s spirit was only a part of Ji Huaixu. Although Qi Lin felt a sense of familiarity, it was hard to make a definite conclusion at first glance.

The students lining up behind her were starting to get impatient, so Qi Lin quickly apologized, picked up her tray, and went to find Situ Lan.

Miss Situ had chosen a seat tucked away in a corner. It was still early, before the cafeteria’s busiest time, so there were only a few students scattered around. It was the perfect place to have a private conversation.

By the time Qi Lin arrived, Situ Lan had already begun eating, her manners elegant and composed. Qi Lin sat across from her, trying to figure out how to start, when Situ Lan spoke in a calm, detached tone,

“You can eat something first before talking. I’m not in a hurry.”

Qi Lin: “…”

…Was that her way of asking if she was hungry?

Was the young lady being… a little tsundere?

Qi Lin didn’t touch her food. After hesitating, she finally began, stammering slightly, “L-let me introduce myself first. My name is Hua Xiyu, I’m in Class 13 of Grade 11… During summer break, I happened to meet Young Master Murong once while taking make-up lessons…”

The tip of Situ Lan’s chopsticks hit the edge of her tray with a crisp clink.

“Met once”? What kind of meeting was that supposed to be?

Qi Lin kept her head lowered and continued, “That time, I saw a boy without an umbrella getting drenched in the rain. I lived nearby, so I lent him mine. Later, I found out that boy was Young Master Murong…”

“Other than that, I really can’t think of any other connection I have with him…” Qi Lin’s voice trembled with a hint of sobbing. “But not long after I met him, a lot of students suddenly started picking fights with me for no reason. No matter what I did, there were people mocking and insulting me, and even accusing me of stealing from them…”

Qi Lin pulled down her cotton mask, revealing the large patch of gauze covering her face. “Even my former homeroom teacher beat me up like this. I had to be hospitalized…”

She looked up, tears welling in her eyes. “And all of this… was because they said they were acting on Young Master Murong’s orders.”

“I really don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know what I did wrong. I don’t even know how I offended Young Master Murong…” Qi Lin covered her face and began crying softly. “So I came to you… You’re his fiancée. I was hoping you could help me. If I really did something wrong, I’ll do everything I can to fix it, to make amends! I just… can’t take this anymore…”

Situ Lan: “…”

This… was completely different from anything she had imagined.

Even with her face wrapped in bandages, it wasn’t hard to tell that this was a very beautiful girl. There was no reason for her to injure herself so badly just to tell a lie like this. And the way she cried, so pitifully, it was hard not to believe her.

At least she wasn’t some scheming mistress or homewrecker. Situ Lan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But still, she couldn’t help feeling puzzled, why would Murong Shuyan target a girl like this?

“Miss Hua Xiyu,” Situ Lan said, “how can you be sure that the people behind all this were acting under Shuyan’s orders?”

Of course, she believed her fiancé would never do such a thing.

Qi Lin: “…”

This wasn’t going how she expected.

Wasn’t the “vicious supporting female lead” supposed to lose all reason and composure the moment the male lead was involved? Why was Miss Situ so calm, so rational, and why did she immediately ask the most critical question?

Qi Lin had wanted to say that she heard those people talking, saying that once they “taught Hua Xiyu a lesson,” Young Master Murong would reward them, but if she said that, Situ Lan could easily argue that she must have misheard. Situ Lan would definitely defend the male lead.

Qi Lin even thought about asking Murong Shuyan to confront them directly, but first of all, what right did she have to demand that Miss Situ do something so baseless? Situ Lan could easily think along the lines of, “Oh, so that’s your real goal, little vixen? Trying to use me as an excuse to meet my fiancé?”

Qi Lin felt like her brain was acting up again. It hurt.

The female supporting characters in her previous world had been far too weak, barely anyone could last more than three moves. The strongest “vicious” female supporting character had long since been won over by her, and everything after that went smoothly. That habitual confidence had carried over into this world. Her former homeroom teacher hadn’t been a problem, and dealing with Principal Wang had taken little effort. Who would have thought she’d stumble right here, in front of Situ Lan?

In the end, she had simply been too impatient. She wanted to take advantage of resolving the previous issue to push forward and deal with the male lead as well, but she hadn’t prepared enough. She didn’t even have a shred of solid evidence.

When she confronted her former homeroom teacher, in order to keep Principal Wang from realizing that the person behind everything was Murong Shuyan, so she wouldn’t hold back out of concern, Qi Lin had deliberately been vague, merely saying “that person.”

If only she’d said the name outright! She could have cleaned up the recording later if needed!

Seeing Qi Lin struggling to speak, Situ Lan began to understand. Maybe this girl had been too shaken up, so much that she’d believed any rumor she heard.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with Murong Shuyan.

Since that was the case, Situ Lan no longer felt the need to rush. Calmly, she opened the small lunch box she’d brought with her and took out a piece of dessert to eat.

The moment Qi Lin saw that dessert, her expression shifted strangely. Without thinking, she blurted out, “Miss Situ, did you make that yourself?”

Situ Lan paused.

Everyone who’d seen her desserts before always assumed they were made by her family’s chef. After all, as the eldest daughter of the prestigious Situ family, she wasn’t exactly the type whose “delicate fingers would ever touch spring water.” But Qi Lin had recognized it at a glance?

“Mm.” Situ Lan nodded. “How did you—”

“Can I have a taste?” Qi Lin cut her off mid-sentence.

Situ Lan: “…”

Being interrupted so abruptly, Situ Lan felt a little offended at first. But when she saw Qi Lin’s eyes, wide and fixed on her, full of urgency and an emotion she couldn’t quite read, against her better judgment, she nodded.

Qi Lin immediately took a piece of the dessert from the box and popped it into her mouth.

There was no mistake. That was the most familiar taste in the world.

The Miss Situ standing before her… was the holder of Ji Huaixu’s spiritual fragment.

…Wait a second.

Last time it was tea. This time it’s dessert.
Why is it that every time she recognizes her wife, it’s always through eating or drinking?!