After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Marked by the Beautiful Mad Villain - Chapter 26

On the last day of the unified examinations, a thin, continuous drizzle was falling.

The campus was permeated with a damp, humid heat. Fine silk-like threads of rain pierced through layers of green leaves, landing on the stone tiles and splashing into tiny patterns like water fireworks.

The gentle chime signaling the end of the final exam rang out. A tide of people surged out of the various classrooms, and the teaching building instantly became noisy.

Su Mi walked against the flow of people in the corridor, arriving at the door of Xu Nanqiao’s classroom. After waiting only a moment, she saw Xu Nanqiao walking out.

The moment they met, Su Mi hooked her arm into Xu Nanqiao’s and asked happily, “How did you do, Top Scholar Xu?”

Xu Nanqiao was very confident: “I’m fine, of course. What about you? Did you perform as usual?”

Su Mi raised her eyebrows, mimicking Xu Nanqiao’s tone, and said spiritedly, “I’m fine too, obviously. After all~ I had such a good teacher tutoring me.”

She looked at Xu Nanqiao with a beaming smile: “No plans later, right? I’m treating you to hotpot!”

To prepare for the exams, she hadn’t eaten anywhere further than 500 meters away from the Academy for over a month.

Although the cafeteria at Loran Academy had a rich variety of dishes and even offered the option to pay extra for custom meals, she couldn’t help getting tired of it eventually. After all, no matter how good school food was, it was never as fragrant as food from outside.

Su Mi was in high spirits as she pulled Xu Nanqiao forward, turning her head back to complain about the final big question of the elective exam.

She spoke vividly, so as they turned the corner toward the stairs, she failed to notice someone coming from the other side and accidentally collided with them head-on.

“Susu!”

Xu Nanqiao quickly grabbed her, and though Su Mi staggered, she narrowly avoided falling.

The girl in front was not so lucky; she fell to the ground, letting out a thin, soft cry of pain.

Once Su Mi regained her footing, she immediately knelt down to hold the girl’s arm. “Are you okay, classmate?”

The girl with long black hair looked up. She was sitting on the ground in a “duck sit” position, her figure frail. The small face she tilted upward was fair, and her eyes were brimming with tears.

The moment they saw each other’s faces clearly, both were stunned.

The girl who had been knocked down was actually Ren Yue.

She was also in this examination district.

Su Mi remembered that she had already deleted Ren Yue’s contact information. Suddenly, she felt a bit guilty.

She blinked, intending to pretend nothing was wrong while helping her up, but then she saw Ren Yue’s nose twitch, and several large teardrops immediately fell from her glistening eyes.

Ren Yue’s crying came unexpectedly and seemed to lack any specific emotion.

She took an exquisite handkerchief from her side pocket and covered her eyes, taking quite a while to stop the tears. With her eyes red, she looked at the two of them: “I’m sorry… it was just a little painful, so I couldn’t help crying.”

Su Mi said repeatedly, “No, no, no, I’m the one who is sorry. I was talking and didn’t look where I was going and knocked you over. I’m really sorry.”

Xu Nanqiao also spoke up with concern: “Does it hurt a lot, classmate? Is there a problem? Shall we take you to the infirmary to check?”

Ren Yue wiped away her tears and gave a strong yet fragile smile: “It’s fine. I must have startled you, right?”

Xu Nanqiao smiled and turned to look at Su Mi: “You were startled, weren’t you?”

Su Mi scratched her head: “A little bit.”

Watching the two interact, Ren Yue’s eyes showed a clear sense of envy. She sniffed and folded her handkerchief, putting it away.

“You two have such a good relationship,” she said with an envious tone.

Su Mi remembered Ai Yiyi and the others saying that Ren Yue had transferred here only recently to get her student registration at Loran Academy.

She asked, “Student Ren, you’re a transfer student, right?”

Ren Yue: “Yes.”

Su Mi said, “It’s just a matter of time. Back at your home, you must have good friends too, right?”

Ren Yue gave a forced smile, her voice very light: “Actually, I didn’t.”

Su Mi: “…”

Although that’s not unheard of, saying it out loud like that…

She observed Ren Yue. Her dress and appearance were somewhat similar to Xu Nanqiao’s, but their temperaments were different.

Though both appeared quiet, Xu Nanqiao was more like a small white flower that could grow resiliently anywhere, confident and strong despite her unhappy family background, optimistically relying on herself to carve out a future.

Ren Yue was more fragile and timid, like a dodder flower that had to depend on others.

She fit Su Mi’s stereotypical impression of an Omega from literary materials—fragrant, soft, and weak…

A scene flashed through Su Mi’s mind from the parent-teacher meeting, where she saw Ren Yue being scolded by her mother, Mrs. Zhang, under the corridor.

Wasn’t it generally said that a parent’s personality influences the child’s?

Mrs. Zhang did seem to have a rather domineering personality; she had been quite aggressive even in front of Shen Han that day. To this timid Ren Yue, she was probably even more severe.

Thinking of it this way, Ren Yue’s personality was actually quite pitiful.

Once Su Mi finished her internal visualization, her heart softened a lot, and the way she looked at Ren Yue changed.

Hearing Ren Yue say this, Xu Nanqiao also felt some sympathy.

She patted Ren Yue on the shoulder and said, “Su Mi and I are going for hotpot. Do you want to come along?”

Ren Yue looked up, her watery eyes filled with surprise: “Really?”

Xu Nanqiao laughed and said, “Let’s go. Friends only exist once you get to know them, right Su Mi?”

Su Mi was actually a little hesitant, but being looked at by Xu Nanqiao, she paused and then nodded: “Yes, let’s go together.”

Anyway, Shen Han hadn’t returned yet.

Even if she had eyes and ears everywhere, she wouldn’t be able to discover from across the border that Su Mi was having hotpot with Ren Yue.

Besides, Shen Han had mentioned taking her to the Shen family banquet after the unified exams…

Ai Yiyi said Ren Yue had attended it before. It would be a good chance to ask her about the situation and gather some intelligence.

However, her momentary hesitation was clearly noticed by Ren Yue.

Ren Yue’s eyelashes trembled, and she bit her lip, starting to shrink back again: “Maybe I shouldn’t. I’m afraid of causing you trouble.”

Ren Yue was strikingly beautiful; looking so cowering with her head half-lowered made her seem so pitiful.

With just one look, Su Mi’s heart softened completely. She stepped forward and proactively grabbed Ren Yue: “Let’s go, let’s go. We’re all girls, don’t say so much.”

The three of them headed toward the school gates together.

Having been delayed for a while, most of the students in this exam district had already left, and there weren’t many people on the campus walkways.

On the rain-slicked stone path, there were small puddles every now and then. Walking side-by-side wasn’t easy, as they had to swerve to avoid the water, so their linked arms naturally loosened.

However, Ren Yue still walked closely beside Su Mi.

They walked all the way to the school gate.

Before even exiting, while still separated from the ancient gate of this campus by a distance, Su Mi’s gaze suddenly froze.

Her hands moved faster than her brain, and she quickly shifted to stand closer to Xu Nanqiao’s side.

How… how did she seem to see Shen Han’s car?

After several previous “chance encounters,” Su Mi was now quite familiar with the look of the car Shen Han usually used—a low-profile, top-tier business vehicle.

But there were many wealthy families in the Capital. Su Mi had specifically checked, and that car wasn’t hard to buy. So it could be someone else driving…

Is it really?

Su Mi instinctively straightened her back, nervously glancing at Ren Yue, who had moved closer again due to Su Mi’s sudden distance.

The latter, unaware, looked up and asked innocently and confusedly, “What’s wrong?”

Then her gaze turned forward, and she let out a small gasp, covering her mouth.

“Sister Xiao He.”

Su Mi stole a quick glance outside the school gate.

She was silent for a moment.

Probably because she was mentally prepared, Su Mi wasn’t even very surprised when she saw the familiar figure. There wasn’t even any panic.

It really was Shen Han…

How is it that I only tried to disobey her once, and I get caught red-handed!

Su Mi gritted her teeth, her mindset quickly shifting to “in for a penny, in for a pound.” Since she had already been seen by Shen Han, wouldn’t it be a waste if she didn’t ask Ren Yue for some intel?

She caught the words Ren Yue had just blurted out. Lowering her head, she asked curiously, “What do you call Shen Han?”

Because Ren Yue called her “Sister Xiao He,” Su Mi felt that her own usual address of “Sister” seemed a bit amateur in front of her. She simply gave up on saying “Sister” and used Shen Han’s name directly.

Ren Yue was stunned for a moment, then appeared a bit embarrassed, gently covering her mouth with her hand.

She said reservedly in a small voice, “It’s a nickname from when we used to play together.”

Su Mi’s eyes lit up.

Ai Yiyi and the others were right; Ren Yue was a treasure trove who knew many things about Shen Han’s past.

Too bad the villain had suddenly returned early for some reason… Secretary Zhuang had promised so well, yet didn’t even send a message to warn her…

After grumbling to herself for a bit, Su Mi didn’t dare stop her pace toward the school gate.

Obviously, she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen her; the gaze looking over from a distance was becoming increasingly obvious.

She didn’t dare look up to meet Shen Han’s eyes, so she hardened her heart and continued to ask, “Were you and Shen Han very close before? Is there a big difference between her personality then and now?”

Looking at Su Mi’s expression, Ren Yue suddenly leaned in a bit closer with realization and asked, “Are you afraid of Sister Xiao He?”

Su Mi: “Is there anyone who isn’t?”

Ren Yue pursed her lips and smiled lightly, saying, “I think she’s okay. Sister Xiao He used to be very gentle. It was mainly after that incident…”

She left it as a hook and didn’t continue.

Su Mi wasn’t persistent and instead asked, “Why is she called Xiao He?”

Shen Han’s profile picture was also an ink-wash crane (He).

Ren Yue hadn’t expected her to change the subject so quickly and was stunned.

She said, “It was Uncle and Auntie who told me to call her that… ah, I mean Sister Xiao He’s parents, but they…”

Before she could continue, a cool, frost-like female voice came from ahead: “Su Mi.”

Su Mi: “…”

Closing her eyes, Su Mi looked up resignedly.

Fortunately, Shen Han’s expression looked fairly normal, her pale blue eyes looking at her indifferently. This gave Su Mi a little bit of confidence.

She looked at Shen Han expectantly with practiced ease: “Sister…”

Xu Nanqiao also politely said, “Hello, President Shen.”

Shen Han turned to acknowledge Xu Nanqiao’s greeting, which was a rare occurrence, and asked, “How was the exam?”

Xu Nanqiao’s tone was also flat: “Capital University won’t be a problem.”

Shen Han curled her lips, her expression gentle: “That’s good. Are you free later?”

Hearing this, Su Mi, who had been listless and apprehensive, immediately perked up.

The sun had risen from the west; the villain was actually taking the initiative. It seemed the messages she had sent were very effective!

She looked at Shen Han with glowing eyes and then turned her gaze to Xu Nanqiao.

The latter was stunned by her stare before saying, “Su Mi said we were going for hotpot.”

“…But we don’t have to go to that specific shop,” Su Mi added quickly. “I just checked the ratings on the Star Network and they seem average. On the other hand, I heard Secretary Zhuang say that the chefs at Nanyuan are skilled in various regional cuisines. I wonder how they are at making hotpot? Why don’t we just go to Nanyuan to eat?”

Xu Nanqiao looked at her strangely. Su Mi tilted her head and blinked at her.

She mumbled a small addition: “It just so happens we can also read books or something after eating…”

Xu Nanqiao had an agreement with Shen Han. Hearing this, she looked up at Shen Han, thinking it was her intention.

Shen Han nodded: “That works.”

Su Mi secretly gave herself a victory sign.

So smart, Su Xiaomi!

Shen Han was sitting in the back seat on the passenger side. Once Su Mi saw things were settled, she immediately pulled Xu Nanqiao over, went around to the left side of the car, and pressed her into the seat behind the driver—separated from Shen Han by only one empty seat.

Ah, perfect.

Su Mi clapped her hands happily. Returning to the right side of the vehicle, she suddenly realized that Ren Yue was still standing quietly in her original spot.

Her face was somewhat pale, and she looked lonely and pitiful.

Su Mi’s heart couldn’t help softening again. She felt hesitant; since she had promised Ren Yue, maybe she should accompany her for hotpot instead, while also letting Shen Han and Xu Nanqiao have their “world for two.”

Except…

Except that doing this right in front of Shen Han—going to eat with someone Shen Han specifically told her not to contact… would probably… probably require dozens of times more courage…

Su Mi stood in front of Ren Yue, feeling apprehensive.

Instead, it was Ren Yue who smiled first.

Two small dimples appeared on her cheeks. She said, “It just so happens my mother sent me a message. You guys go eat; we’ll get together next time.”

Su Mi: “This…”

Ren Yue put her hands behind her back, her posture poised. She whispered to Su Mi, “In a few days, it’s the Academy’s graduation excursion. I heard it’s a tradition at Loran Academy. You’re going, right?”

Su Mi knew about this and nodded.

Ren Yue then said softly and gently, “Then let’s meet then. As compensation, you have to let me join your team, okay?”

Just as Su Mi was about to agree, Shen Han’s cold voice rang out from inside the car.

Turning around, she saw Shen Han’s lips curled in a half-smile.

“Didn’t you say we’re eating hotpot?” she raised an eyebrow and asked.

Even though her expression hadn’t changed, Su Mi felt a strangely terrifying sense of pressure. Those words falling into her ears seemed to translate to: ‘If you keep chatting, I’ll eat you.’

Su Mi shook her head violently to shake off the goosebumps.

How could she dare continue chatting with Ren Yue? She gave Ren Yue an apologetic “OK” gesture and hurried into the front passenger seat.

The car door closed. Su Mi sat there trembling with fear. Within two seconds, she noticed the atmosphere in the car was wrong.

And, did it seem like the air conditioning was set too low?

Why was it so cold in the car.