After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 9

The next day, when Bibiba walked into the classroom, she immediately spotted her listless friend, Ruan Yubai.

Sprawled across the desk like a salted fish pancake, Ruan Yubai lay face down. Her fair, delicate skin made the dark circles under her eyes even more pronounced, and her soft, fine hair cascaded over her shoulders. An aura of utter despair seemed to radiate from her very core.

Bibiba instantly understood. She hurried over and whispered, “How many assignments do you still have left to finish?”

Ruan Yubai’s sorrowful vibe didn’t stand out at all in Class F, where everyone exuded a similar air of gloom. Their homework remained pristine and untouched, as pure as the day it was handed out.

“I finished them all,” Ruan Yubai said, sitting up and shoving her friend, who wore a teasing grin. “Years of singlehood have honed my speed did you think I was joking?”

Bibiba, also single, instantly deflated. But then, as if struck by inspiration, her eyes lit up. “Single? Have you forgotten about Qing Ling? Girl, you’re in the perfect position to get close to her. My future of luxury and fine dining depends entirely on you!”

Before Ruan Yubai could respond, the previously lifeless classmates suddenly sprang to life, forgetting all about their homework. They swarmed around, buzzing with curiosity. “Qing Ling? Are you talking about the young lady from the Qing family?”

Just like in the novels, Ruan Yubai hadn’t made her engagement to Qing Ling public. It wasn’t out of insecurity or kindness she simply wanted to wait until the male and female leads were deeply in love before making a grand entrance, stirring up the kind of drama only a clichéd antagonist could muster.

Only when the female lead was weeping uncontrollably, clutching her legs and singing the Pikachu song, would Ruan Yubai reluctantly agree to call off the engagement.

At the thought, a smirk tugged at Ruan Yubai’s lips. She shot her friend a warning glare. Bibiba, who had been on the verge of spilling the beans, rubbed her nose and swallowed her words.

Meanwhile, the Class F students chattered excitedly.

“Holy crap, full marks in Interstellar History, Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Manual Mecha Modeling? Can you believe it? This is the first time in Laureus Academy’s history! The top student in Class A was completely dumbfounded.”

“I heard the proctor was grading her answers as she went. Damn, she finished faster than they could mark the papers!”

“Why are you all focused on that boring stuff? During her physical strength test, I had my buddy sneak me half a recording. My god, her elegance, what does ‘a single sword chills fourteen realms’ mean? I finally get it now. Just one word: perfection. Her form was so mesmerizing I didn’t even notice my dad showing up. He ended up confiscating the tape. Ugh, and I was just starting to savor it. Now that’s what I call a peerless beauty truly worthy of the Qing family’s young lady.”

“Enough already,” Bibiba cut in, unable to hold back her scoff as the exaggerations grew wilder. “Stop bragging nonsense. Have you even finished copying your homework?”

Instantly, the previously animated classmate straightened up with a solemn expression. “Though I may be an academic failure, I am a righteous and dignified one. I never copy homework.”

Not that he could even if he tried.

“And I’d never use a parasite during the mecha exam, either.”

Who knows what kind of petri dish was used to cultivate those parasites on exam day, as soon as they were unwrapped, they all turned into sludge.

He wore an expression brimming with righteousness, as if the light of justice were shining upon the earth: “Loving beauty is the nature of every Loreth student! What’s wrong with that? It’s your mind that’s filthy!”

Bibiba couldn’t even be bothered to engage with him: “Oh, please. And you got half a reel of video tape? You must’ve stolen a pirated copy, right?”

Some mysterious individual had actually used a light-brain’s recording function to copy a video of Miss Qing’s evaluation and, spotting a business opportunity, made several copies to sell.

To be honest, since Qing Ling had already arrived at Loreth, she had no intention of hiding anymore. If nothing else, in a few months, during the mecha battles, her presence would inevitably be seen. The reason so many people were willing to spend interstellar credits to buy the video now was simply because Qing Ling’s image had been shrouded in mystery for so many years, making everyone itch with curiosity.

A student who belatedly caught on slapped their thigh and exclaimed, “The person who recorded this video is a true genius!”

The unassuming business prodigy, Ruan Yubai, took a sip of water, keeping her achievements to herself.

Last night, after listening to the female lead’s words, Ruan Yubai was on the verge of turning to the dark side.

Lying in bed, she rubbed her stomach indignantly. All the warm feelings from their late-night snack had vanished without a trace. She vowed to endure hardships and never again feel any sympathy for the female lead.

Step one of being a villain: the video operation was in motion.

Thinking about how her little treasury had happily grown this morning, Ruan Yubai perked up a bit. She snorted and retorted, “What perfect score? History has essay questions. Even if Qing Ling were the reincarnation of Shakespeare, she couldn’t get a perfect score, she lost a full five points!”

Of course, even so, Qing Ling was still the undisputed top student since the school’s founding, leaving the second-place finisher light-years behind. And that teacher who nitpicked every little thing about Qing Ling would later pester her daily to become his final disciple and an outstanding historian.

Under the intense scrutiny of everyone around her, the usually lazy Ruan Yubai was suddenly full of energy, reciting melodramatic novels as if she had memorized them backward: “Besides, how could the exam graders possibly be slower than Qing Ling? It’s just that there was a disagreement among a few graders over one subjective question, which led to such rumors.”

Naturally, since the final decision gave the points to the female lead, Ruan Yubai wouldn’t bring it up again.

As her words landed, the previously noisy classroom fell into complete silence. Ruan Yubai smiled confidently, reverting to her lazy self, feeling as though she had reached the pinnacle of life under everyone’s admiration.

It was Bibiba who broke the silence first: “Xiao Bai, how do you know so many inside details?”

Ruan Yubai’s isolation from the world was well-known to everyone. She was always clueless when asked, and her life consisted of eating, sleeping, and reading novels. Why would she suddenly know so many details?

The classmate sitting behind her, who knew best about this Beta’s lazy nature, hesitated for a long time before cautiously asking, “Ruan, you’re not in love with Miss Qing, are you?”

Ruan Yubai: ????????

Ruan Yubai: When I send out this many question marks, it’s not because I have a problem, it’s because I suspect you have a problem.

Unfortunately, the classmate behind him didn’t understand the confusion swirling in Ruan Yu’s mind, while the others, convinced they had uncovered the truth, began comforting the “salted fish.”

“Your dedication is truly touching. It seems the power of love is indeed great not only can it change a person, but it can even transform a salted fish.”

“I never expected Bai Bai to fall for such a goddess. Ah, my brother has no chance at all now.”

“Don’t worry, Xiao Ruan. When it’s time to queue for the confession number, I’ll gladly give you my spot and make room for you.”

“Old Ruan, don’t be upset. The young lady is like a flower on a high peak being rejected by her is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Ruan Yubai had only been stunned for a moment, never imagining the conversation would veer so far off track. He immediately retorted, “When did I confess and get rejected?”

“Right, right,” the class monitor, a gentle and pretty Omega, said sympathetically as she patted the “salted fish’s” head. “The kid hasn’t even confessed yet. How can you say he has no chance?”

Ten minutes ago, Ruan Yubai had been fervently denying: “I’m not, I didn’t, you’re talking nonsense!”

Ten minutes later, Ruan Yubai slumped against the wall in resignation: “Ok, fine, whatever you say.”

Amid the laughter and chatter, the class bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats as the F-class homeroom teacher walked in, followed by another person.

“How was everyone’s break? Did you manage to finish the traffic planning assignment I assigned?”

Instantly, many students guiltily lowered their heads except for Ruan Yubai, whose eyes lit up as he looked over.

The boy behind the teacher wore glasses, with hair of medium length that obscured most of his features. Though not particularly short, his hunched posture made him seem utterly unremarkable.

By all accounts, he shouldn’t have drawn anyone’s attention, just an ordinary Beta.

But Ruan Yubai knew very well: this was no simple character. This was Nan Zhudi.

The strongest Alpha in the galaxy, with more disguises than hairs on his head, posing as a Beta, the rebellious male lead destined for a love-hate relationship with the female lead, he had finally appeared!

Sure enough, the next moment, Ruan Yubai saw this seemingly unremarkable boy push up his glasses and say, “Nan Zhudi, Beta.”

An Alpha pretending to be a Beta his voice had to be low.

Then, amid a smattering of unenthusiastic applause, he slowly made his way to the back of the classroom, hung his dull gray backpack on his seat, sat down, and turned to gaze out the window.

The second-to-last row by the window solidifying his unparalleled status as the male lead!

The homeroom teacher clapped her hands and raised her voice. “Why is everyone so listless? Our classmate Nan here is an A+ level student in terms of mental power. He only ended up in our F-class because he forgot to flip his exam paper during the first history test. You should all learn from him.”

Upon hearing this, every student in F-class collectively gasped in disbelief, their mouths agape: A+ level? Even among the top students in A-class, few could achieve that. Even the young lady of the Qing family only had an A-level. What kind of background did this guy have? An Alpha even exclaimed with genuine admiration, “This guy is a Beta stronger than an Alpha so damn impressive, bro.”

Ruan Yubai squinted his pale eyes: Here he comes, the contrast king who builds up before the grand reveal! He’s striding in with his lackeys, ready to conquer his way to the top!

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