“What?! Everyone Except Me Is a Villain (GL) - Chapter 11

Jin Buning pulled out her phone, pretending to reply to someone’s message while quietly speaking to the system in her mind.
“Can’t you just run a direct scan?”

The screen in front of her flickered, and a new line of text appeared:

Information: Physical contact is required to identify the source of the problem.

Jin Buning found the message odd. She hesitated for a moment, then scooped up some rice with a disposable spoon and grabbed it with her hand.

Information: Detection started. Please maintain sufficient contact with the subject.

Apparently, touching it directly with her hand counted as “sufficient contact.” The system’s logic was always a little strange though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what, exactly, felt off about it. She didn’t have time to think too deeply, either; other students were already staring, a few even raising their phones to take pictures. They clearly couldn’t figure out what on earth she was doing.

Information: Detection complete. Would you like to view the results?

A progress bar appeared on the screen. Jin Buning was about to say “yes,” but the sound of camera shutters clicking nearby made her pause. After a brief thought, she set the lump of rice on the table and shaped it into a small triangle.

The onlookers flinched.

With her expression cold and serious, the triangle looked disturbingly like a funeral offering, and the bright red sauce dripping from her rice bowl made it seem as though she were conducting a ritual sacrifice.

The crowd fell silent. Even those who didn’t believe in superstitions couldn’t help feeling uneasy. It looked for all the world like she was honoring the dead and everyone suddenly decided that provoking her might be a bad idea.

Jin Buning wasn’t smiling. When she smiled, she looked bright and warm, but without that expression, she was pure, chilling beauty. The tension in the air was so thick that she pressed her palms together, bowed slightly toward the rice, and said clearly:

“View the results.”

Text instantly filled her screen again long strings of unreadable data.

“Can you speak human language?” she muttered.

The system’s screen trembled once more and converted the data into plain text:

Analysis: Contains Devil Pepper.
Risk of stomach pain after one bite: 99%.
Risk of death after three bites: 50%.
Risk of death after five bites: 90%.

Her eyes widened. Devil Pepper a locally grown plant famous in Paradise City. It could be used as a condiment, but even the locals rarely dared to eat it straight. It was so infamous that hospitals had dedicated stomach departments specifically for people who’d tried the challenge and ended up needing treatment.

She hadn’t expected that someone would use it against her, a mere side character. Whether it was revenge from the story’s antagonist or a grudge from the Zhen family’s enemies, she couldn’t tell.

The students’ whispers buzzed around her, some even typing out live commentary to share with others. After a short pause, Jin Buning picked up her spoon again and took a bite.

The moment it hit her tongue, her entire face turned red. She dropped the spoon and bolted toward the restroom.

“Ha! Did you see that? She totally fell for it!”
“Really? Let me see the video!”

The culprit, a smug male student, held up his phone and replayed the clip of Jin Buning fleeing in tears and coughing. He didn’t notice the silence falling over the crowd until a calm voice spoke from behind him.

“Not bad. The shot’s pretty clear.”

The boy beamed, pleased with the compliment. But the silence around him grew heavier. When he finally turned, he saw Jin Buning standing right behind him. She wasn’t smiling—and when she didn’t smile, her beauty turned sharp enough to cut.

“W-What are you doing?” he stammered.

“Nothing,” she said lightly. “Just sending this evidence to my father. Maybe he can help your family go bankrupt.”

Her voice was gentle, but her words were lethal. She took the phone, recorded his face up close, then deleted the video entirely before walking away.

No one in the cafeteria dared to breathe. From that moment on, no matter how much anyone hated the Zhen family, no one would dare to touch Jin Buning directly.

Information: Zhen Xier’s favorability toward you +5. Current favorability: -90.

The notification tone chimed unexpectedly. Jin Buning froze and glanced around for Zhen Xier, but the crowd was thick, and it was clear that Zhen Xier didn’t want to be noticed probably hiding in some corner, eating her metaphorical popcorn.

Then came the nausea. It wasn’t an act she had truly eaten that bite of Devil Pepper, and her stomach now felt as though it were on fire. She forced herself to walk calmly toward the infirmary.

Although it was a school facility, it catered to the children of the powerful, and its equipment rivaled a private clinic. Jin Buning needed a few specific herbs to mix into a makeshift version of a cultivator’s healing pill otherwise, she might actually die of stomach pain today.

The pain worsened with every step, and she could barely keep her composure when she finally reached the infirmary. She pushed open the door, ready to call for the nurse only to freeze.

Inside, the school nurse was kneeling on the floor, gazing up at a seductive woman with visible adoration.

Jin Buning blinked, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. She instinctively wanted to back out, but before she could, the woman turned and their eyes met.

It was her again.

Xu Yixin.

Her future “best friend.”

Jin Buning hadn’t expected to meet her this soon.

“Oh, aren’t you the junior who came with Xier earlier? Back already?” Xu Yixin asked lazily, kicking the dazed nurse’s leg. The nurse scrambled up, pretending nothing had happened.

“I’d like to buy a few doses of medicine,” Jin Buning said.

“Do you have a teacher’s prescription slip? If not, I can’t give you anything.”

The nurse’s tone was stern, as though she hadn’t just been on her knees a moment ago.

Jin Buning almost thought she was the crazy one, but she remembered clearly what Xu Yixin was capable of her manipulation skills were terrifying. Apparently, she’d been at school since day one.

“I don’t have a slip, but I really need it,” Jin Buning said, unwilling to involve Teacher Dong or reveal that she could concoct medicine herself.

“No prescription, no drugs,” the nurse replied, unmoved. “If I gave medicine to every student who asked, what kind of clinic would this be?”

Jin Buning sighed, checking the nurse’s favorability score negative 999. Of course. Every one of the villain’s lackeys hated her by default.

“Don’t be so harsh, Cousin,” Xu Yixin finally spoke up, her tone soft and sweet. “She looks really uncomfortable. Just let her rest for a bit.”

The nurse’s attitude instantly melted. “Well, since you’re vouching for her, Xinxin, she can stay.”

She pointed to a bed by the wall.

Jin Buning hesitated. This was how she’d first gotten entangled with Xu Yixin repaying too many favors, one after another. But things needed to change. She didn’t want to be bound by another person’s charity.

Unfortunately, her stomach twisted violently, leaving her no choice. She whispered her thanks and lay down on the bed. Her HP dropped to 30. The system’s stats made one thing clear: Devil Pepper was no joke. Her body was drenched in cold sweat, and she barely registered the passage of time.

Suddenly, Xu Yixin’s face appeared right above her. Startled, Jin Buning forgot her pain. Before she could speak, Xu Yixin pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh. My cousin just fell asleep.”

Sure enough, the nurse was snoring softly in a chair. But Jin Buning couldn’t understand why the secrecy? Why act so suspiciously?

“Um… what are you trying to do?” she asked warily.

Xu Yixin smiled, twirling a small key in front of her eyes. “The medicine cabinet key. Tell me what you need I’ll get it for you.”

Jin Buning was tempted, but only a little. Xu Yixin never did anything for free. She loved money and power, openly declaring her ambition to become the richest person alive. Every move she made was calculated and every time, she appeared just when Jin Buning needed her most, forcing her to bend.

The pain spiked again, and Jin Buning clutched her stomach. “What do you want in return?”

Xu Yixin’s smile deepened. “I want a chance.”

“A chance for what?”

“To live with you.”

Her tone was soft and sweet, every word brushing against Jin Buning’s ear like silk. For a fleeting moment, Jin Buning almost said yes.