Today I Will Also Be the Male Protagonist’s Rival - Chapter 54

Huo Shu went home.

She turned on the light, and the warm orange glow filled the small apartment.

Putting down her schoolbag, she sat at her desk.

Looking around, she saw the pink curtains, pink bedsheets—even Su Yu had once said she didn’t expect her to like pink this much.

Su Yu…

Thinking of her, Huo Shu’s nose suddenly stung. She flopped onto the bed, her sobs quiet but trembling, tears soaking into the pillow.

After all, she was human, with emotions and desires. How could some of Su Yu’s actions have left her completely unmoved?

But today, reality had made her see everything clearly.

She and Su Yu had never been from the same world, from the very beginning.

She was born into a single-parent family, raised by her mother alone, who had high hopes for her. She was destined to study hard, get into a good university, and then repay her mother.

But Su Yu’s world was chaotic and fierce, nothing like hers.

She bit her lip. Her refusal today must have embarrassed Su Yu in front of everyone—it probably made her angry.

Perhaps from now on, they would never see each other again.

Su Yu, I’m sorry.

Scalding tears slid from the corners of her eyes. She bit her lip, making no sound, and buried her face in the pillow.

Bzzz—

Her phone vibrated.

Huo Shu sniffled, her eyes still red as she looked at the screen.

In the class WeChat group, someone had tagged her.

[Huo Shu, Huo Shu, Chen Jiamin is transferring schools. Let’s have a meal together?]

[We’ve all agreed already, just waiting on you. Coming or not?]

[Come with us, Huo Shu.]

Chen Jiamin?

Huo Shu thought of the quiet girl from their class. They weren’t very close, but since she was leaving, it wouldn’t feel right to ignore it completely. After a moment of thought, she replied: [Okay.]

After turning off her phone, she sniffled, took her pajamas, and went out of her room.

Huo’s mother glanced at her and noticed something was wrong. Seeing her tear-streaked face, she grabbed her daughter’s hand in a panic. “Huo Huo, what happened? Tell Mom—who bullied you?”

“No…”

She sniffled and choked out, “It’s just… a girl from our class is transferring schools, so I felt a little sad.”

Huo’s mother let out a breath of relief, not suspecting anything else. She patted her daughter’s head. “I thought something serious happened. Crying like this, honestly…”

“Alright, go shower. Come out for dinner when you’re done.”

“Mm.”

Saturday morning.

Huo Shu followed the address to the restaurant.

Most of the class was already there. The atmosphere was a bit sad because of the farewell. They ate and drank together, and afterward, someone suggested going to KTV to lighten the mood.

Huo Shu had never been to one in her life. She shook her head to refuse, but seeing how excited everyone else was, she sighed and resigned herself to going along.

They booked a private room, and even the usually quiet boys and girls from their science class let loose and sang at the top of their lungs.

Huo Shu sat in a corner of the sofa. Petite in build, she wasn’t wearing her school uniform today—just a small pink dress. Her long hair fell loosely around her shoulders, her pale and delicate face not exactly strikingly beautiful, but in a science class, she was still one of the rare pretty ones.

A few boys stole glances in her direction as they chatted, deliberately making noise to draw her attention.

Huo Shu wasn’t in the mood. She lowered her head and nibbled on snacks.

Bang!

The door was shoved open. Two girls who had just gone to the bathroom came back in, speaking in a hushed, mysterious tone. “Guess what we just saw outside?”

“Su Yu! The Su Yu from our class—she’s in a fight! Looks like they’ve even got sticks. We didn’t dare keep watching and ran back right away. Isn’t that terrifying?”

“What?”

“Come on, let’s go see.”

“If we’d known Su Yu was here, we would’ve invited her too.”

At this age, students were curious about everything, especially something exciting like this.

Once they spoke, the group rushed out like a swarm.

Huo Shu clenched her hands, hesitated, but followed them out in the end.

She was just going to have a look. That didn’t mean anything.

Yes, that was all.

At the end of the hallway, a girl stood with her body slightly bent, pale fingers gripping an iron rod. She weighed it in her hand twice, her voice carrying a playful edge. “Interesting. A few little brats think they’re some kind of gangster?”

“Extortion and blackmail? How old are you? And you’re already out here pretending to be mobsters?”

The three boys shoved to the ground looked no older than fourteen or fifteen—they should still be in middle school.

Hearing this, each of them grit their teeth.

“Just wait—when we call our people, you’re finished. Who do you think you are, trying to boss us around?”

“Pah! You’re just a girl. Who’s afraid of you?”

“Go ahead, hit me if you dare!”

Su Yu gave a short, derisive laugh, her expression dripping with contempt.

These scrappy little kids really thought they were grown-ups, running around extorting people?

“Not afraid?”

She tilted her head, smiling.

“O-of course not. What, trying to scare kids?”

“Y-yeah… If you’ve got the guts, hit us.”

Su Yu’s face turned cold. She suddenly gripped the iron rod tightly and swung it hard toward them.

The boys were startled. One of them went cold all over—the iron rod stopped just short of his cheek. He could even feel the rush of air from its swing.

“You… you really dared to swing? What if someone died?”

“A-are you crazy? You’re insane.”

The boys scrambled to their feet, fear stark in their eyes.

This girl—she really dared to hit people.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you all acting like kings of the world just now?”

Su Yu curled her lips into a smile and stepped closer. “What? Scared already? That was just a warm-up.”

“Warm-up?”

The boys glanced at each other, suddenly stammering.

The girl gave a soft “Mm,” and stepped closer. The chill of the iron rod in her hand was nothing compared to the cold in her eyes. “What? Scared now?”

“When you were extorting your classmates before, did you ever think they might be scared?”

“Of course, I’ve never been the type to waste time reasoning with people. There’s nothing a good beating can’t solve. If there is, then two beatings will do the trick!”

She weighed the iron rod in her hand again, smiling. “You’d better not dodge. My aim might not be very good—if I accidentally hit you… well, that wouldn’t be so nice.”

The boys beside her burst out laughing.

“Yu-jie, what’s the point in talking to them? A bunch of snot-nosed brats acting like gangsters—can’t believe you’ve been this patient. Just hurry up and teach them a lesson.”

“Oh, right—leave them one arm. They’re still students, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah—leave the right hand, so they can still do their homework.”

The group of tall, broad-shouldered boys were dressed nothing like high school students. Their casual banter made it clear they held the three in complete contempt.

The little punks were now utterly panicked.

They were only used to throwing their weight around at school—never had they seen a scene like this. Compared to these ruthless types, they really were just children who hadn’t grown up.

“Jie-jie, we’re sorry, we were wrong.”

“Please, Jie-jie, let us go just this once. We won’t ever do it again.”

“We apologize, Jie-jie, we apologize.”

Su Yu toyed with the iron rod and lifted her gaze. “Apologize?”

“Mm, mm, mm!”

“Alright.”

She waved a hand and beckoned behind her. “Bring the little girl over.”

“Got it.”

From behind them, a little girl walked out. She was wearing a fluffy princess dress, her long hair falling to her waist. Her eyes were red, and she looked pitiful.

“Jie-jie…”

She took small, quick steps toward Su Yu, tugging lightly at her clothes and whispering, “I’m scared.”

“Jiang Yi, we’re sorry. We shouldn’t have bullied you just now.”

“Sorry—we won’t do it again.”

“Yes, please forgive us.”

The three boys, faces flushed, had been thoroughly taught a lesson. They’d just experienced firsthand the helplessness of being bullied.

Jiang Yi blinked, finding it hard to believe such words would come from them. After a pause, she said, “Then don’t bully anyone again.”

“Of course.”

“Promise we won’t.”

Su Yu curled her lips and tossed the iron rod aside. “Alright, get out of here.”

The boys, in tears, hurried away.

She clicked her tongue and turned her head lazily. “Kids like that just need a good beating. Find out what school they’re from—don’t let this kind of thing happen again.”

“Got it.”

“Seriously, those little brats are just asking for trouble.”

“Alright, they’re gone now.”

Jiang Yi tilted her head up at her, then suddenly threw herself into Su Yu’s arms with a delighted cry. “Jie-jie, you’re amazing!”

The girl was only fourteen or fifteen, young and soft-featured, clean and sweet-looking—the type that made people like her instantly.

Su Yu froze for a moment, then patted her head casually. “Alright, don’t come to places like this anymore. You’re still young.”

“Jie-jie, what’s your name?”

“Su Yu.”

She answered carelessly.

A sudden burst of noise came from nearby, followed by a gaze that locked onto her.

Su Yu looked up.

Among a group of classmates, Huo Shu was watching her, her expression a little complicated.

The girl was wearing a pink dress today, making her skin look even whiter and more delicate. When she lifted her eyes, her gaze was cool and distant, as if there was suddenly space between them. But her eyes were still as pure as ever—one glance was enough to pull someone in.

Su Yu’s heart softened, and longing surged like a tide. Pressing her lips together, she started to walk away.

“Jie-jie…”

Jiang Yi clung to her, sounding pitiful. “Where are you going?”

Su Yu rubbed her brow, remembering the nuisance still hanging on her.

“I’m going to talk to a friend. Stay here for now.”

“Jie-jie…”

Su Yu’s face darkened. “Be good!”

Jiang Yi gave a small “Oh” and nodded.

“I’m not feeling well, so I’ll head back first. You guys have fun.”

Huo Shu bit her lip, murmured something to the person next to her, and turned to leave.

“A-Shu…”

Su Yu’s expression shifted. She circled past the crowd and went after her.

That little girl’s feelings were sensitive—what if she misunderstood and ended up crying alone somewhere again?

Huo Shu started walking, then broke into a run, almost fleeing the KTV. Her eyes were slightly red.

She couldn’t describe the feeling—when she saw Su Yu holding someone else, it was like a bottle of mixed spices had tipped over in her heart.

Bittersweet, sour, salty, all at once.

She bit her lip, and only after stepping outside did she feel herself relax slightly. Her nose prickled.

In the end, Su Yu wasn’t really her anything. She had no obligation to act a certain way.

But… she just couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

A hoarse voice came from beside her, tinged with guilt. “Huo Huo, be good, don’t cry. It hurts me to see you cry.”