Forced to Become the Female Lead's Beloved Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 1

Early March, the spring sun melted the winter chill, and a gentle breeze carrying a hint of warmth rustled through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the ground.

“Little Seven, are you sure the ball will come flying over?” Li Wancheng asked softly, gazing toward the playground.

This was her first world as an agent. According to the System, this basketball game marked the first encounter between the male and female leads, and the beginning of Wen Yige’s growing feelings for Xu Zhou.

“Absolutely,” System 007 replied in its electronic voice, tinged with exasperation. “Also, please refrain from giving me nicknames, Host.”

This name just sounds… off.

Li Wancheng bit down on the straw in her mouth, squinting against the midday sun. She drawled lazily, “What? You don’t like it?”

It’s so cute, though.

Leaning against the railing, her golden hair danced in the breeze, shimmering in the sunlight. Her gaze was fixed on a girl’s back.

The boys on the basketball court clashed fiercely, but this girl seemed oblivious, her head buried in a book. Her profile was a serene contrast to the chaotic scene—a strikingly unique sight.

Wen Yige had never been interested in sports competitions. If her homeroom teacher hadn’t insisted that everyone attend, she wouldn’t have come at all. After all, she believed it was a waste of time that could be better spent in the classroom practicing with mock exam papers.

Suddenly, the boy on the court stumbled, and the basketball shot from his hand like an arrow released from its bow, soaring through the air in a perfect parabolic arc and hurtling straight toward the sidelines.

“Watch out!” someone nearby shouted, reacting just in time. Wen Yige, who was intently memorizing English vocabulary, had no chance to react. In an instant, the powerful impact sent her crashing to the ground.

From a distance, Li Wancheng watched the slender figure crumple like a withered leaf, landing pitifully on her knees. A faint smile curved her lips as she casually tossed her empty drink box into the trash and strode over.

The white skirt of her school uniform swayed gently with each step, catching the light and coming into Wen Yige’s line of sight.

“Are you alright, Wen?” the girl’s voice was clear and sweet, like a spring breeze brushing past her ear, carrying a hint of genuine concern.

Wen Yige looked up at the transfer student before her, the one rumored to be arrogant and domineering. A few strands of golden hair had slipped beneath her collar, stark against the pale skin of her neck.

Leaning slightly forward, Li Wancheng extended her hand. Her fingers were slender and fair, like the root of a peeled scallion, even the nails a delicate pink.

It was a beautiful hand.

Wen Yige lowered her gaze, her fingertips subtly clenching. After a long moment, she raised her own hand and gently placed it in the girl’s palm, careful not to grip too firmly, merely holding it loosely.

Her own hand wasn’t pretty. Years of manual labor had left thin calluses on her palms and fingertips, and winter’s lingering frostbite scars still hadn’t fully healed. Clasped together with the girl’s soft, delicate hand, the contrast was striking. Li Wancheng, however, seemed oblivious to this. After pulling Wen Yige to her feet, she tightened her grip.

In that instant, Li Wancheng glanced at the progress bar hovering above Wen Yige’s head. The solid red bar, representing healing progress, remained stubbornly stuck at five percent.

Perhaps due to the summer heat, a thin sheen of sweat now coated their clasped hands. Wen Yige lowered her head slightly, the sticky sensation unsettling her.

The boy arrived a moment too late. Seeing the blonde girl helping Wen Yige up, he froze, unsure how to react. Stuttering, he managed to ask, “Classmate, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Wen Yige replied, shaking her head. Her face and lips were pale, likely from the pain.

The System’s voice chimed in her mind, “Host, that’s Xu Zhou.”

Li Wancheng half-closed her eyes, rapidly reviewing the information about this world in her mind.

The protagonist of this world, Wen Yige, had a tragic fate. Abandoned by her father at birth, she and her mother had to rely on each other. Due to their impoverished life, she was forced to take on the responsibility of supporting the family at a young age.

The resulting inferiority complex from her family situation made her withdrawn and isolated at school, with few friends. It was around this time that she met Xu Zhou, a gentle and warm-hearted boy. As they spent more time together, their bond deepened. Later, they even got accepted into the same university. After Xu Zhou’s relentless pursuit, Wen Yige finally agreed to his confession, and they became a couple.

At this point, it should have been a beautiful love story coming to fruition. But Xu Zhou was, in truth, a two-faced beast. During their relationship, he cheated on her multiple times, and things only worsened after marriage.

Due to the combined blows of a disappointing life and betrayal by a scoundrel, Wen Yige, already seriously ill, lost all hope of living and ultimately chose to end her own life.

Her overwhelming resentment at the time of her death even caused disturbances in the world’s order.

This is why Li Wancheng had come here. Her mission was to travel back in time to before Wen Yige lost heart, heal her emotional wounds, and eliminate her resentment, thereby stabilizing the world’s normal functioning.

The person who had been hit said nothing, but the blonde girl standing nearby snorted coldly, casting a dismissive glance at the boy before her. “The ball hit someone, and you can’t even muster a proper apology?”

Xu Zhou was accustomed to being fawned over by all sorts of girls. To be publicly ridiculed like this was a blow to his pride. Yet, knowing the girl was the daughter of one of the school’s shareholders, he could only mumble an apology.

The two stood in a wordless standoff for a moment. Then Xu Zhou suddenly noticed Wen Yige clutching her shoulder, biting her lower lip, her pain plain on her face. A flicker of pity stirred within him.

“Classmate, why don’t I help you to the infirmary?” Xu Zhou saw Wen Yige swaying slightly and reached out to steady her.

Unexpectedly, Li Wancheng stepped forward, blocking the boy’s outstretched hand, her expression turning slightly hostile. “No need for trouble. I’ll take her.”

The glaring sunlight was partially blocked by the girl. Wen Yige stood behind her, her gaze lowered, her emotions unreadable.

Xu Zhou met her gaze in a wordless standoff. After a moment, he withdrew his hand.

He couldn’t be sure, but he felt Li Wancheng’s gaze carried a hint of inexplicable hostility.

As Li Wancheng led Wen Yige away by the wrist, Xu Zhou remained rooted to the spot, his fingertips gently tapping his wrist.

A buzz-cut-haired boy slung an arm around Xu Zhou’s shoulders from behind, his words dripping with teasing. “Hey, bro, isn’t that our school’s untouchable beauty?”

Wen Yige was both beautiful and academically gifted, naturally attracting admirers. However, her aloof demeanor and frequent solitude had earned her the reputation of an untouchable beauty, meant to be admired from afar.

Xu Zhou shoved his hands into his pockets, his gaze fixed on the swaying black locks of the girl’s hair. A faint, almost mocking smile curved the corners of his lips.

Untouchable beauty? She was nothing more than a Cinderella who crawled out of the trash heap.

******

A gentle breeze carried faint traces of lemon fragrance to Wen Yige’s nose. She secretly glanced sideways at the girl beside her.

Li Wancheng’s face remained cold, her lips pressed into a stern line as she gripped Wen Yige’s hand and continued walking. Wen Yige assumed she was impatient and paused briefly, her heart fluttering with hesitation. “I’m fine,” she said softly. “There’s no need to go to the infirmary.”

After all, it was just a minor bump. Besides… visiting the infirmary would undoubtedly cost money, and she had none left to buy medicine.

Unbeknownst to her, Li Wancheng was currently boasting to the System in her consciousness space: “How was that? Wasn’t my heroic rescue just now absolutely cool?”

System: …

In this world, Li Wancheng’s identity was that of a nouveau riche heiress—someone with nothing to boast of except wealth. Her father, Li Rui, had donated two teaching buildings to the city’s top high school in a grand gesture to shed the stigma of being a moneyed fool. This made him the school’s largest shareholder and allowed him to successfully insert his daughter into the elite institution.

Miss Li, having secured her place through connections and backdoor channels, was proud and ostentatious. Yet, since her father was powerful and influential, no one dared question her behavior.

Hearing the girl beside her murmur something, Li Wancheng snapped out of her daze and turned to ask, “What’s wrong?”

She had only asked casually, but the girl beside her suddenly lowered her lashes and replied softly, “Nothing.”

She looked every bit the picture of someone being bullied yet too afraid to fight back.

Li Wancheng felt a twinge of exasperation. She really hadn’t heard what Wen Yige said earlier. Why was the girl acting like a mouse that had seen a cat? Had her expression really looked that fierce?

The System tactfully reminded her, “Host, perhaps you should take a look at yourself right now?”

Her hair was dyed gold, her school jacket draped casually over her shoulders, and she was pulling the other girl along with an imperious air, the very image of a delinquent.

Li Wancheng: …I suppose I do look a bit unconvincing.

The System relayed Wen Yige’s earlier words to her. Li Wancheng cleared her throat, released the girl’s wrist, and said awkwardly, “Let’s go, then. I didn’t want to stay on the playground anyway.”

Wen Yige curled her fingers, the warmth from the girl’s palm still lingering, like a soft vine coiling around her skin.

“Mm,” she replied. Since Li Wancheng had already acquiesced, she couldn’t very well refuse now.

The path from the playground to the infirmary, usually a quick walk, now felt inexplicably long.

The infirmary was quiet, save for the soft hum of the ceiling fan.

“Pull down your shirt so I can take a look,” the female doctor said, leading the two girls into a private examination room.

The collar of the school uniform was already faded from repeated washing. Unlike the girls who reeked of perfume, this girl’s clothes carried a fresh, clean scent of soap, a subtle fragrance that was pleasant and not overwhelming.

Wen Yige’s slender fingers gripped the collar, and she glanced briefly at Li Wancheng standing beside her. Even though they were both girls, undressing in front of someone else was still embarrassing for teenagers.

The blonde-haired girl met her gaze and understood. She quietly drew back the curtain and left.

Alone behind the curtain, Wen Yige let out a soft sigh and silently grumbled to the System through her consciousness space, “Just because I’m into girls doesn’t mean I’m interested in underage high school students, okay?”

On the other side of the curtain, the doctor pressed her fingers against the girl’s slender shoulder blades. “Good, no fractures. Just some bruising. I’ll give you two patches.”

“No…” The word was cut off by a commotion outside.

“Doctor! Doctor! Someone sprained their ankle!” A sudden uproar erupted at the door as two boys rushed in, supporting a boy in a numbered uniform.

The doctor lifted the curtain, quickly glanced at the boy’s swollen ankle, and casually handed a patch to Li Wancheng, who stood nearby. “Classmate, could you help her apply this? I need to attend to his injury first.”

Li Wancheng, who had been standing quietly beside the curtain, was suddenly handed the patch. She was momentarily stunned, not expecting the situation to unfold this way. After a brief hesitation, she turned and pulled back the curtain of the partition.

A slanting ray of sunlight streamed through the window crack, illuminating Wen Yige’s profile and the exposed shoulder. The fine down on her face shimmered with a soft white glow, complementing the surprise and bashfulness in her eyes as she met Li Wancheng’s gaze.

The girl’s school uniform jacket hung loosely over the small bed, half-removed. Beneath it, she wore a thin white blouse, the top few buttons undone for the doctor’s examination, revealing her collarbone and a glimpse of her shoulder.

Perhaps due to malnutrition, her delicate, pale shoulder bones protruded prominently. While undeniably attractive, she appeared unhealthily thin.

“Tsk tsk, just as expected from a young, physical specimen,” Li Wancheng thought, raising an eyebrow in silent admiration.

[System: Who was it that just claimed to have no interest, yet now you’re staring at her with such a lecherous expression?]

As Li Wancheng drew closer, the injury on Wen Yige’s shoulder became more pronounced. Even though she had anticipated it, her eyes darkened involuntarily at the sight. The ball had struck with considerable force; though it hadn’t broken any bones, the impact had left a large bruise, covering nearly half of her shoulder blade. Against the girl’s unnaturally pale back, the bruise stood out starkly, its ghastly purple hue all the more visible.

The scent of lemons lingered in the air, unavoidable in the cramped space barely large enough to accommodate a small bed. Wen Yige lowered her head, trying to ignore the approaching breaths.

“The doctor is tending to his foot injury. I’ll help you apply the ointment,” Li Wancheng explained.

Wen Yige’s fingertips tightened on her sleeve cuff. She nodded slightly and slowly turned around.

The white bra strap lay perfectly across the bruise. Suddenly, a cool sensation touched the skin of her shoulder blade, accompanied by a soft, low question from the girl beside her:

“It’s covered. Could you pull the strap down a little?”

Support Forced to Become the Female Lead’s Beloved Wife [Quick Transmigration]