Accidentally Marking The Vicious Female Lead After Transmigrating Into A Period Novel - Chapter 6

At the dinner table, Li Can peeked surreptitiously at Lin Yishu from time to time, a behavior quickly noticed by Li Yan.

Li Yan patted her sister’s leg under the table, signaling her to eat properly and stop acting like a thief.

To her surprise, Li Can leaned in close, clutching a snowy white steamed bun. In a voice meant only for the two of them, she whispered, “Sis, look at how elegantly Sister Yishu eats. I’ve never seen anyone eat so gracefully before.”

Li Yan couldn’t help but turn her head to look.

Lin Yishu did indeed possess an extraordinary aura. Even at such a low wooden table, her back remained ramrod straight. Her movements with the chopsticks were methodical and unhurried, she chewed slowly and maintained a calm composure, clearly a habit cultivated since childhood.

The dim light in the room didn’t diminish her elegance instead, it draped her in a hazy veil, making even her shadow on the table evoke a sense of refined beauty.

Li Yan felt a flicker of curiosity. What kind of environment did Lin Yishu live in before this?

After dinner, Lin Yishu tried to wash the dishes, but she was once again stopped by a warm and insistent Li Chunmei.

“Don’t move, Yishu, stay right there! You’re a guest in this house; how could we let you wash dishes? A-Can, go on, wash the bowls.”

As Li Can chirped an “Okay” and got to work, Li Chunmei noticed the dirty leather shoes still on Lin Yishu’s feet. Her brow furrowed. “Yanyan, go grab the cotton-padded shoes from the back. See if there’s a pair Yishu can wear.”

Li Yan brought out all the cotton shoes in the house, both new and old.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Li Chunmei had just finished making new shoes for the sisters. Combined with the old pairs Li Yan had outgrown and passed down to Li Can, they had a decent surplus.

Li Yan initially wanted to give her own new pair to Lin Yishu, but after comparing the sizes, she awkwardly pulled them back.

“Forget it, Yishu. For now, just make do with Yanyan’s old shoes,” Li Chunmei said. “They’re a bit worn, but I’ve washed them clean. It’s still ten days until the New Year. I’ll rush to make you a new pair in the meantime.”

Lin Yishu didn’t understand why they were being so kind to her. Knowing she hadn’t done anything to deserve such generosity, she waved her hand in refusal. “No need, really. I’ll just stick with my leather shoes.”

Li Chunmei disagreed. “It’s too cold. Leather shoes can’t get you through winter. It’s okay today, but it’ll get even colder when it snows in a couple of days. Listen to your Auntie, it’s just a pair of shoes, no trouble at all. I can have them finished in two days tops.”

Lin Yishu stopped refusing. Pressing her lips together, she whispered, “Thank you, Auntie.”

When the sky turned pitch black, someone knocked at the Li family door.

“Youth Yang? What brings you here so late?” Xu Xiufen, who was sitting near the door stitching insoles, was the first to see the visitor.

“Grandma Xu, I came to borrow something. Sorry to disturb you,” the visitor said in a thin, low voice.

Xu Xiufen looked at her, sighed inwardly, and set down her work to welcome her in.

Inside, Li Yan and the others had finished their conversation and headed toward the door. Lin Yishu felt her feet warming up instantly inside the thick cotton shoes. She looked down at the shoes, crude in appearance but incredibly warm and curiously wiggled her toes.

Suddenly, someone bumped her shoulder. Lin Yishu looked up to find Li Yan staring at her.

Li Yan had felt like she was forgetting something all evening. It wasn’t until she saw the shoes that she finally remembered.

“Didn’t you say you sprained your ankle? That’s why I had to carry you,” Li Yan said, staring at the ground. It was hard to tell if she was looking at the ugly shoes that used to be hers or trying to verify if the “injury” was real. “Looking at you now, your foot doesn’t seem sprained at all.”

Lin Yishu secretly laughed at how slow Li Yan’s reaction was, but her face remained composed. “It’s much better after a nap,” she replied nonchalantly. “Maybe it wasn’t serious, or maybe I’m just good at pushing through the pain.”

Li Yan was skeptical. Is that really it?

Then, she caught a fleeting, mischievous glint in Lin Yishu’s eyes and realized she had been played.

“What? I was tired!” Lin Yishu said, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Lots of people collapse after their first time. I’m plenty strong already.”

Li Yan’s eyes widened in shock. She frantically looked around.

Fortunately, the third person in the room, Ms. Li Chunmei, had just stepped over the threshold and was distracted by the visitor outside. She hadn’t heard the exchange.

Relieved, Li Yan stammered awkwardly, “The way you… the way you word things is way too ambiguous…”

Lin Yishu’s face instantly flushed a deep pink. Her watery eyes glared at Li Yan. “You… you’re the one with the dirty mind!”

With that, she ignored Li Yan and hurried out the door.

Li Yan scratched her head, following behind. She was the one using suggestive language, how did I become the villain?

As soon as Lin Yishu stepped out, she caught a faint woody scent, like a tree drenched in morning dew, refreshing and tranquil. She looked at the person standing at the door.

The girl had a delicate, pale face and a slightly frail build. She stood with her head down, her presence so quiet that one might not even notice her if they weren’t looking closely.

The scent was coming from her.

Lin Yishu hadn’t expected to encounter another Omega here. In modern society, while many people manifested a second gender, Betas still made up the majority of the population. For instance, everyone in the Li family except for Li Yan was a regular Beta.

Because they were Betas, they couldn’t smell the fragrance, nor could they sense the undercurrents between her and Li Yan. But now, a second one had appeared.

It seemed Xili Village wasn’t as simple as it looked. For a moment, Lin Yishu even felt a spark of anticipation for the arrival of the so-called “Male Lead.”

[Xiaoxue! Dammit, those people must have bullied Xiaoxue again!]

The system, which had been silent nearly all day, suddenly burst to life with agitated emotions.

Lin Yishu’s brow twitched. She asked inwardly, “You know her?”

[Of course I…! Well, not ‘know’ her, I just know of her…] The system began to stammer, its guilt obvious to anyone.

Lin Yishu huffed internally. She knew the system was hiding something from her.

[She’s a key character, too. You have to get on her good side,] the system added.

Pretending not to notice anything suspicious, Lin Yishu humored it: “Fine. Since she’s a key character, of course I’ll get along with her.”

The system was overjoyed. [Really?]

“Of course,” Lin Yishu replied flatly. Then, she ignored the system and focused on the girl.

Under the gaze of the family, Yang Xueying gave a constrained smile and asked weakly, “Grandma Xu, Auntie Li, I was wondering if I could borrow some Gentian Violet?”

Li Chunmei looked at the timid girl, her brow furrowing. “Did they bully you again?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the girl shook her head like a rattle, looking like a startled rabbit. “No, no! I just accidentally tripped. It’s nothing.”

Li Chunmei turned to fetch the medicine. When she handed it over, she couldn’t help but add, “If people are bullying you, you have to speak up. The production team and the commune will handle it. If you don’t say anything, no one knows, and it’s hard for anyone to help. Understand?”

The girl’s eyes seemed rimmed with red, but she just silently took the medicine and didn’t say another word.

Li Chunmei wanted to say more, but seeing her like that, she didn’t know where to start. She changed the subject. “Most of the youths at the station are going home for the New Year, right? Have they not left yet?”

Yang Xueying kept her head down. “Yes. Except for me, everyone else is going back. They’re packing now and plan to leave tomorrow.”

“All of them?” Li Chunmei was surprised. She expected many to leave, but not everyone. “Even the ones from your batch?”

Yang Xueying nodded silently.

After two years of rural service, “Sent down Youths” were allowed to return home for the Spring Festival. She was part of the last batch to arrive at Xili Village, and this was her second New Year here.

Two years wasn’t a long time, but everyone missed home. The other youths in her batch had been ecstatic since the commune gave them permission to visit their families.

A look of loneliness crossed Yang Xueying’s face. Of course she missed home, but there was no longer a place for her there. Even if she went back, what would be the point? Since her family hadn’t even mentioned her returning, she preferred to stay.

Seeing her sadness, Li Chunmei thought for a moment and said, “How about this? Come spend the New Year with us. The youth station will be cold and lonely by yourself. Come to Auntie’s house, and we’ll make dumplings together! We’ll have a lively New Year!”

Yang Xueying’s face finally brightened, her eyes sparkling. “Is that… is that okay?”

“Of course it is! I’ll handle things with the production team!” Li Chunmei declared decisively.

After Yang Xueying left, Lin Yishu watched her receding figure, lost in thought. What kind of ‘key character’ is she? How will she affect my life? For better or for worse?

She didn’t bother asking the system; her gut told her she wouldn’t get a straight answer anyway.

“Sis, Sister Yishu, what are you two standing here staring at? She’s long gone,” Li Can asked, emerging from the kitchen after finishing the dishes.

Lin Yishu snapped out of it and realized someone was standing right next to her. Sure enough, Li Yan was also staring outside.

Lin Yishu felt a wave of inexplicable irritability. She glanced sideways at Li Yan and said sharply, “What are you looking at? Do you like her?”

Li Yan had just looked away and nearly choked on her own saliva. “What are you talking about? Cough… Of course not!”

She had only been staring because Lin Yishu was staring. She was just curious! How did she get dragged into this?

“Hmph. You’d better not.”

Li Yan watched as Lin Yishu turned and walked away, her cold back facing her. She felt like she was looking at one of those arrogant, “tsundere” little black cats from her previous life on campus.