After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 14

After all that commotion, Ruan Yubai’s once resolute goal of becoming a major antagonist had completely vanished. With tears welling in her eyes, she fled in a panic. Forget being a villain she was more like a pitiful soul who had been thoroughly bullied.

The female lead, Qing Ling, was just too much!

Biting her pillow, Ruan Yubai tossed and turned on the soft bed, covering her face with her hands. Even though no marks remained, she could still feel the phantom imprints of Qing Ling’s slightly calloused fingers pinching her cheeks.

Was it really necessary?

They weren’t even remotely close to falling in love, yet the female lead was already treating her rival with the ruthless efficiency of autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Right now, Ruan Yubai was still technically Qing Ling’s fiancée, and this was how she was being treated. What would happen once their engagement was called off?

Would she even survive?

Burrowing under the covers, Ruan Yubai let out a despairing sigh: “A little kindness begets gratitude, but too much breeds resentment. Marriage, marriage it only ends in enmity.”

This simply wouldn’t do.

With that thought, Ruan Yubai rolled over abruptly, switched on the bedroom light, and stared gloomily at her full-length mirror.

Look at this, a face that’s a face, a waist that’s a waist, legs that are legs, and a rear that’s a rear. Isn’t she quite attractive?

Not to mention, when she leaned forward, there was a soft, full, teardrop shape that even she felt the urge to touch.

Other Omegas always seemed to adore her, hugging and nuzzling her while saying how sweet she smelled. So why did the female lead despise her so much? What did she lack compared to the male lead?

A fluffy shawl draped over the chairback sent tiny fibers floating into the air. When one tickled her nose, Ruan Yubai couldn’t help but sneeze, her earlier bravado instantly deflated. Slumping into the chair, she felt disgruntled.

Alright, if the female lead wanted an evenly matched love-hate relationship, Ruan Yubai probably couldn’t meet that expectation. No wonder Qing Ling looked down on her.

On the top shelf of her bookcase sat a thick, beautifully bound album containing records of every academic achievement since her enrollment. Many saw it as a symbol of pride and capability, but for Ruan Yubai, it was destined to gather dust.

Brushing off the layer of fine dust, she reluctantly opened the Laureus Academy transcript. Tapping her name printed in elegant gold leaf, she winced at the pitiful grades listed beside it.

If she hadn’t studied hard, she could at least play it off as being a cool, rebellious slacker. The problem was, she had genuinely put in the effort, almost to the point of “hanging her hair from the beam and stabbing her thigh with an awl” to stay awake.

The female lead would undoubtedly admire a top student. In comparison, a side character like her was nothing more than an extra, just filling space.

Dejectedly, Ruan Yubai closed the album and lay back down, reminding herself to stay calm. She needed to find a clever way to break free from this melodramatic plot while staying on her villainous path, so she’d never have to meddle in the messy affairs between the male and female leads again.

Closing her eyes, Ruan Yubai began counting sheep, as every insomniac does.

One wolf in sheep’s clothing, two wolves in sheep’s clothing, three wolves in sheep’s clothing eighteen Qing Lings in sheep’s clothing!

Ruan Yubai threw off the covers and sat up, angrily flinging the pillow aside.

That blind idiot of a female lead actually saw her as a love rival!

How ridiculous. Did Qing Ling think everyone had as poor taste as she did? Just because Ruan Yubai claimed to like the male lead, she actually believed it?

Ruan Yubai knew perfectly well that she should stay calm and understood that having the female lead see her as a love rival would actually benefit her original plan to play the villain. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel furious.

After tossing and turning several times, Ruan Yubai ended up buried in her blankets, sulking as she gnawed on the corner of the quilt. Tears of frustration and resentment nearly welled up in her eyes.

Everything else aside, Qing Ling had actually pinched her and so hard at that! Her gaze had been icy cold, as if she wanted to devour her alive.

If it weren’t for this godforsaken cliché plot, who would bother going after the young lady? She could have long been a cozy, happy couple with Sister Lin Yi, living the carefree life!

Even though the gummy candies Sister Lin Yi gave her sometimes didn’t suit her taste, they were still a thousand times better than that cold-hearted female lead!

At this thought, Ruan Yubai scrambled out of bed again, stomped over to the wardrobe, and dug out the leftover worm-shaped gummies from her school uniform pocket. She stuffed them into her mouth, chewed and swallowed them in a few quick bites, then flopped back onto the bed and finally drifted off into a hazy sleep.

Damn female lead!

When she woke up the next morning, the unpleasant aftertaste of the gummies still lingered in her mouth. Frowning, she headed to the bathroom to wash up. Staring at her reflection in the mirror with a mouthful of toothpaste foam, she imagined the pristine water in her cup as the cold-hearted young lady and spat it out viciously.

If she ever bothered with the female lead again, she wasn’t human, she was a pig!

Suddenly, the long-dormant cliché novel began to heat up. Even when splashed with water, the text remained dry, and several highlighted plot lines instantly flew out.

【Lately, Qing Ling had been working tirelessly day and night in the lab, her already pale complexion growing even more sickly. Her usual icy demeanor had softened slightly, and the noble young lady now carried a pitiable, fragile beauty that tugged at the heartstrings. Watching silently from the corner, Ruan Yubai saw it all and grew anxious. Though she knew the other was working hard for Nan Zhu Di, she couldn’t suppress her own feelings of concern. Taking advantage of the early morning before classes, she quietly approached the secluded lab and asked worriedly, “Senior Ling, are you okay?”】

Ruan Yubai: “…”

Ruan Yubai: “I may not be human, but you, novel author, are truly something else!”

Thus, twenty minutes before the first morning class at Laureus Academy, early arrivals were treated to the rare sight of a pig charging forward with unstoppable momentum.

Transformed from a lazy fish into a pink pig, Ruan Yubai stormed up to the lab door. But before she could even kick it open, she collided head-on with an Alpha who had just stepped out.

It was Nan Zhu Ge, reeking of cigarette smoke.

“Are you blind, you idiot? I’ll f—” Nan Zhu Ge’s panicked curse was cut short when he realized who she was. He swallowed the rest of his words and forced a knowing smile, winking suggestively. “How about it, Little Sister Ruan?”

Ruan Yubai was also taken aback by the sudden encounter. At first, she didn’t grasp what he meant, but as her mind caught up and connected his words, her anger flared instantly.

Nan Zhu Ge, Nan Zhudi, these two brothers, each more disgusting than the other. When reading the novel, she hadn’t felt so repulsed, trapped by the third-person perspective.

Ugh!

Nan Zhuge, seeing she hadn’t reacted, mistakenly thought she was captivated by his domineering aura and tried to press closer, his thick cigarette smells nearly nauseating.

“The first class is mecha practice, starting in ten minutes.” A cool voice cut in, breaking the tense atmosphere between them. “If I remember correctly, your student number is one?”

Nan Zhuge, who had been about to ask the girl for her contact info, froze, thanked her, and fled without looking back.

The order for mecha drills was by student number, and Nan Zhuge was number one meaning he’d be the first to go up.

Damn it, he cursed his lousy student number inwardly. He’d always prided himself on being a top-tier “number one,” but never before had he wished so badly to tack a string of zeros behind it.

Goddamn number one!

While Nan Zhuge was freaking out, Ruan Yubai, left standing to the side, wasn’t faring much better. The sarcastic lines she’d planned to deliver for the plot stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t bring herself to thank the female lead for stepping in either.

As Qing Ling started to approach, a bizarre sentence slipped out of Ruan Yubai’s mouth: “Ms. Qing, you’re pretty great.”

Ruan Yubai: …

Ruan Yubai: Aaaaaaah! I’m going to sew shut this cursed mouth of mine that even crows would scorn!

Qing Ling, casually holding her white lab coat, raised an eyebrow slightly. “Thank you?”

Ruan Yubai, looking miserable: Wuwuwu, no need to thank me.

Still, the words broke the awkward silence. Noticing the increasingly strong medicinal scent on Qing Ling, Ruan Yubai couldn’t help but click her tongue. “Is progress not going well?”

“It’ll get done.” Qing Ling seemed to unconsciously shift, blocking the girl’s curious gaze into the lab. After locking the door, she casually ruffled Ruan Yubai’s hair. “Don’t worry.”

Ruan Yubai: …Oh, if the female lead isn’t worried about the male lead, then of course I don’t need to worry either.

Qing Ling had already stored her wrist terminal. Under the morning light, her clear, beautiful eyes looked surprisingly gentle. “I’ll walk you back. Don’t you have exams coming up soon?”

“No, our class doesn’t have complicated mecha practice like that.” At this, Ruan Yubai remembered something and looked up to ask, “Do you still go to the simulation training field to practice every day?”

Qing Ling glanced at her in mild surprise, as if not expecting her to pay attention to such details. Her tone held a hint of amusement as she replied, “My training field is pretty empty. Want to join me?”

This was progressing much more smoothly than expected. Ruan Yubai hadn’t even asked, and the female lead had already invited her.

She nodded hastily, thinking that even a random clip would suffice as proof for Lin Yi. Her earlier anger had mostly faded, and another thought occurred to her. “I’ve been messaging you on your terminal, why don’t you ever reply?”

Even a single period would’ve been enough! Their message history was sparse to begin with, and a closer look showed it was all Ruan Yubai’s own messages. How embarrassing.

“Which number did you send to?” Qing Ling circled her wrist, quickly tapped a few times, and explained, “I don’t usually check my terminal much. The number I exchanged with you at home before got leaked, so I saved all my important contacts in the backup number. If you want to reach me in the future, send messages there.”

Ruan Yubai was initially a bit confused, but when she suddenly recalled the unexpected call at the café before the semester started, she understood what had happened. Furious and embarrassed, her entire body flushed a bright red, boiling over like a cooked shrimp.

To be honest, Qing Ling herself didn’t overthink it as much as Ruan Yubai did and casually added, “I heard from your father about your grades. Actually, your aptitude isn’t bad. Even though your current rating is B…”

However, Ruan Yubai’s thoughts were still tangled in the past “oral fixation” memories, and her little brain wasn’t exactly thinking pure thoughts. Hearing the female lead’s calm voice, she assumed the other was mocking her figure.

Heads may roll, blood may spill, but Ruan Yubai’s pride in her measurements shall not be insulted!

Who’s a B? You’re the B! Your whole family is B!

“I’m a C!” Ruan Yubaistopped walking, unusually enraged.

Thrown off by this interruption, even the female lead was momentarily stunned: “But I heard you were a B.”

Ruan Yubai could tolerate being seen as a romantic rival, but that didn’t mean the female lead could slander her size.

This was defamation blatant, shameless defamation!

By then, the two had already entered the teaching building. Class F and Class A were on different floors. Ruan Yubai had initially intended to wave politely and say goodbye, but this little incident ignited a blazing fury within her.

She had to prove her true worth!

So, before Qing Ling could even grasp what the other was referring to, the girl grabbed her hand and abruptly pressed it against herself.

The early morning sunlight wasn’t too harsh, filtering through the clean glass windows of the corridor in a soft, pale gold hue. Every speck of dust in the air drifted down silently, gently brushing past Ruan Yubai’s fine, soft hair, her delicate ears flushed pink, her slender white neck, the slight opening of her collar revealing a small section of collarbone, and the gentle curve beneath her light blue uniform, a half-moon, tenderly arched.

Like the moon shattered in the stillness of a midnight pond, breaking the lonely surface of the water, bending into a shimmering shape, incredibly delicate and soft, rebounding gently at the edge of the moonlight.

The final resting place for that speck of dust was the back of Qing Ling’s hand.

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