Forced to Become the Female Lead's Beloved Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

During a break, Li Wancheng emerged from the restroom after washing her hands when she suddenly heard bursts of raucous laughter coming from the hallway entrance. This corner was a dead end, often frequented by clandestine couples.

“Brother Xu personally invited her. How could Wen Yige possibly not come?”

The familiar voice drifted faintly through the air. Li Wancheng, who had been about to leave, froze mid-step. She found a concealed spot and, as expected, saw Xu Zhou standing with three other boys.

“That’s right! Which girl in our school wouldn’t love Brother Xu?” The group chimed in, showering Xu Zhou with flattery that visibly delighted him.

One of the boys chuckled. “Brother Xu, does our earlier bet still stand?”

Xu Zhou’s family ran a business and had some money, so he relished this feeling of being the center of attention. He declared, “Absolutely! If she doesn’t show, I’ll buy each of you a new game skin.”

No sooner had he spoken than the group erupted in cheers of “President Xu is so generous!”

Li Wancheng understood immediately. She couldn’t be bothered to listen further. Using something like this as a bet was truly childish and shameless.

The mid-April weather had gradually warmed, and the twilight of the setting sun draped a soft, amber veil over the horizon. Two figures swayed and crossed on the ground, their shadows elongating and intertwining.

“Where are you taking me?” Wen Yige asked, her gaze fixed on the shadow that towered slightly above her.

Li Wancheng pulled her into an alley, a faint smile playing on her lips. “You followed me without knowing where I was taking you?” She tilted her head slightly, her warm breath brushing against Wen Yige’s soft ear. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you into slavery?”

A faint heat crept into Wen Yige’s earlobe as her fingers instinctively tightened on her backpack strap. “You wouldn’t.”

“You trust me that much?” Li Wancheng chuckled, pinching Wen Yige’s cheek. The girl had gained a little weight from the extra feeding these past few days, making her cheeks soft and plump. “Come on, let your sister treat you to some food.”

Wen Yige realized that ever since their meal at the cafeteria, this person seemed to have developed a keen interest in fattening her up.

Li Wancheng led her to a small shop by the street, then wiped down the table thoroughly with wet wipes before calling out, “Two bowls of wontons and a bottle of beer, please!”

Since the wontons were freshly made and would take a while to cook, the shopkeeper brought over a bottle of beer and two glasses.

Wen Yige had never drunk alcohol before and was a little curious. She took a small sip from the glass, and the bitter, spicy taste immediately filled her mouth. She coughed twice, her slender eyebrows furrowing into a frown.

How can something so bitter be so popular?

“Young people aren’t allowed to drink,” Li Wancheng said, finding Wen Yige’s reaction somewhat amusing. She reached out with her long arm and snatched the glass from the girl’s hand. As if afraid Wen Yige would try to take it back, she tilted her head back and drained the entire glass in one gulp.

The bitter taste lingered on Wen Yige’s tongue, but she stared blankly at the empty glass, a faint warmth creeping across her cheeks. After a long pause, she murmured, “I’ll be of age next month.”

Two bowls of fragrant wontons were brought to the table. Li Wancheng picked up one with chopsticks and blew on it, then suddenly noticed Wen Yige pouring vinegar into her bowl as if it cost nothing.

“You’re putting in so much! Aren’t you afraid it’ll be too sour?”

Wen Yige’s hand trembled slightly as she hastily set down the vinegar bottle. Her mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of their indirect kiss moments earlier, causing her to lose focus.

The scene seemed to replay in slow motion in her mind, the golden-haired girl’s crimson lips gently touching the rim of the cup, the place where her lips had briefly lingered slowly folding and overlapping.

Her face flushed crimson, even the tips of her ears tinged pink. “I like sour things,” she explained stiffly.

Fortunately, the sip of wine she had just taken provided a plausible excuse for her blush. Li Wancheng chalked it up to her being unused to alcohol and didn’t think much of it.

After dinner, Li Wancheng took Wen Yige’s hand and strolled slowly down the street. As they passed a convenience store, two claw crane machines caught her eye, filled with the hideously adorable Psyducks.

Noticing Wen Yige’s fleeting glance, Li Wancheng stopped, squeezed her hand, and asked with a smile, “Want to try the claw crane?”

Li Wancheng didn’t miss the flicker of delight and anticipation in the girl’s eyes. She quickly pulled Wen Yige over to the machines. Wen Yige had always wanted to play claw crane as a child, but her family’s poverty had never allowed it. She had always been sensible, unwilling to burden her mother further.

“Twenty coins each. Let’s see who gets more.” Li Wancheng shook the game coins she had just exchanged with the shopkeeper, tilting her chin challengingly.

Wen Yige was still learning the ropes. Her paws barely brushed the plushies during her first few attempts, but after mastering the technique, she finally snagged two Psyducks. She turned to watch the blonde girl still struggling with the claw machine and let out a soft chuckle.

Li Wancheng stood empty-handed, her expression woeful. Wen Yige reached into her pocket, pulled out one of the Psyducks, and pressed it into her hand, her eyes crinkling with amusement, the dimples at the corners of her lips barely visible.

The progress bar above their heads had already reached thirty percent. Li Wancheng raised an eyebrow. So she’s this easy to appease?

Perhaps it was the surge in healing value that put her at ease, or perhaps it was the girl’s soft, pleading gaze. Unable to resist, Li Wancheng ruffled Wen Yige’s hair. “Impressive.”

Wen Yige’s hair fell into disarray. She pinched the Psyduck’s beak, the soft fur brushing against her fingertips, leaving a faint warmth. Her lips curved. “Why does it feel like you’re treating me like a child?”

Her tone was half-resentful, half-teasing, exactly like a girl acting coy with her crush. Li Wancheng thought to herself, Ten years younger than me—of course I treat her like a child. I never imagined that after living twenty-eight years, I’d actually lose at a claw machine to an eighteen-year-old kid.

The moon had already peeked out, hanging pale and faint in the sky. Its pale white light seemed almost unreal against the vast black curtain of night.

“It’s dark. I’ll take you home,” Li Wancheng said, attaching the Psyduck she’d won to her backpack and leading Wen Yige to the roadside to hail a taxi.

The taxi was cramped. The two of them sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the back seat, their breathing audible in the confined space.

Wen Yige gazed out the window, watching bright and dim scenes blur past in a rapid succession. Suddenly, she felt as if she were living in a dream—a dream that would vanish without a trace the moment she woke.

She blinked hard, staring at the reflection of the golden-haired girl in the window. Suddenly, she spoke: “Wancheng, let me tell you a story.”

Li Wancheng’s heart skipped a beat. Her instincts told her this story wasn’t ordinary. She glanced sideways, but all she could see was the faint profile of Wen Yige’s face, her jaw taut and straight, exuding a bleak loneliness.

“Mm.”

“Once, there was a little girl. Her family was very poor. Because she didn’t have a father, everyone called her ‘wild child,’ and no one wanted to play with her.”

“Later, she met a girl at school. The girl’s family was very wealthy, and she was willing to play with her. She thought she had finally found a true friend.”

“One day, the girl invited her to a birthday party. The little girl was overjoyed. She took the 100 yuan she had saved by scrimping and saving for half a year and bought a scarf to give her. But in front of everyone, the girl threw the scarf on the ground, saying she would never accept anything from a wild child. Later, the little girl realized that the girl had been tricking her from the beginning, tricking her into foolishly giving her heart, only to have it trampled underfoot.”

Wen Yige’s expression remained calm and unflinching, as if she were simply telling an ordinary story. Beneath her sleeve, Li Wancheng gripped her trembling palm.

“At that moment, the little girl knew that to people like that, the sincerity of someone like her wasn’t worth a single penny.” After a long silence, Wen Yige turned and met Li Wancheng’s gaze.

A soft voice broke the stillness: “That little girl was you, wasn’t it?”

Wen Yige didn’t answer, but her gaze remained fixed on Li Wancheng. “Wancheng, promise me you’ll never lie to me, okay?”

She laid bare her past scars and her sincere heart before Li Wancheng, along with the stubbornness and straightforwardness of youth, all of it.

“Alright,” Li Wancheng replied softly, her heart aching as she gazed into Wen Yige’s eyes, seeing her own small reflection there. “They don’t want your sincerity, but I do.”

After that night, Li Wancheng noticed Wen Yige seemed to trust her a little more, and she became more open. She would complain about the teachers assigning too much homework, share amusing stories with a smile, and even pout when asked to eat the green peppers she disliked.

Compared to her initial aloofness and self-imposed isolation, she now seemed more vibrant, her youthful radiance beginning to shine through.

Ignoring Wen Yige’s pleading gaze, Li Wancheng picked up a pair of green pepper stir-fry with her chopsticks. “No picky eating. Eat your green peppers for vitamin C.”

Having lost the battle, Wen Yige obediently ate. Then, a piece of tender braised fish, stewed to perfection, appeared in her bowl. She looked up at the girl across from her, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

At first, Wen Yige assumed Li Wancheng was simply a picky eater, unable to stomach the cafeteria food. But later, she realized each daily lunch was portioned for two, and at least two out of the four dishes were her favorites.

She didn’t even know when Li Wancheng had memorized these details. This gentle care had seeped into her life like a gentle stream, gradually softening her heart and subtly tipping the scales of her affections.

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