Forced to Become the Female Lead's Beloved Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 5

After finishing her lunch, Li Wancheng suddenly pulled a bag from her backpack and handed it to Wen Yige. Meeting the girl’s puzzled gaze, she smiled faintly. “Why not open it and see?”

Wen Yige glanced down at the heavy bag in her hands and chuckled. “Not another pile of snacks, is it?”

She opened the bag, and her smile froze when she saw the contents: a large pack of heat patches, a box of steam eye masks, and at the bottom, a practice test, the one the teacher mentioned a few days ago. It was quite expensive, and after much hesitation, she’d given up on buying it. She hadn’t expected Li Wancheng to remember.

“Last time you were in a lot of pain during your period, so I got some heat patches. The steam eye masks are for relieving fatigue; remember to use them after studying at night. And…”

“I don’t want it,” Wen Yige interrupted, her voice carrying a rare stubbornness.

Caught off guard by the interruption, Li Wancheng paused before chuckling softly. “Why not?”

She vaguely suspected the reason for Wen Yige’s refusal: she was likely afraid of owing her too much and being unable to repay the debt.

Wen Yige retied the bag and handed it back. “You’ve already given me so much. That’s precisely why I can’t accept these.”

Li Wancheng didn’t respond, but her tone softened as she stared intently at Wen Yige, her gaze as deep and clear as a serene lake. “Take it,” she said gently. “Consider it a thank you for explaining the problems to me.”

But there was no way around it. From the beginning, she hadn’t intended to settle accounts with Wen Yige. The more she owed, the tighter Li Wancheng would cling to her.

Tap-tap-tap— A shadow suddenly fell across the desk, accompanied by the sound of glass being tapped. Xu Zhou stood outside, holding a Psyduck plushie, which he waved at the person inside. Wen Yige’s eyes darkened visibly when she recognized the object.

Li Wancheng frowned slightly. “I’ll be right back,” she said softly.

Because her seat was right by the window, she could clearly see every move the two made in the hallway. Wen Yige stared out the window, her gaze betraying a possessiveness she hadn’t even noticed herself.

“Hey, I kindly helped you retrieve your stuff, and that’s all the thanks I get?” Xu Zhou saw her turn to leave after taking the item and stepped to the side, blocking her path.

Li Wancheng glanced at him sideways, smiling. “Well, what were you expecting?”

She was genuinely curious to see just how shameless he could be.

“I quite like you. Want to catch a movie with me this weekend?” Xu Zhou leaned in closer, the distance between them shrinking to less than half a meter. He lowered his voice suggestively, “Just the two of us.”

Li Wancheng nearly let a curse slip. He’d been hitting on Wen Yige just two days ago, and now he was trying his moves on her. Did he really think he was so irresistible?

The corners of her lips curled slightly. Today, I’ll show you exactly what kind of pathetic excuse for a human you are.

She leaned forward, her fingertips lightly lifting the collar of his shirt, her red lips hovering mere inches from his face. Xu Zhou was still intoxicated by the girl’s scent when a cold laugh suddenly pierced his ear.

“Keep dreaming, you delusional fool.”

Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his foot, nearly causing him to collapse. Li Wancheng, having delivered the kick, waved cheerfully at him with a radiant smile.

In public, Xu Zhou could only seethe with fury, grinding his teeth and swallowing his anger.

Back at their seats, Wen Yige was already bent over her work, as if the earlier incident had never happened. Yet Li Wancheng sensed her unhappiness, like a preschooler whose favorite toy had been snatched away, left to sulk alone in a corner.

She bent down and explained quietly, “I ran into him at the bookstore yesterday. He must have dropped it then.”

Wen Yige didn’t look up, just mumbled a dull “Mm,” her handwriting steady and neat, but her thoughts had already tangled into an incomprehensible knot.

For some reason, just seeing something that belonged to the two of them in someone else’s hands stirred an inexplicable frustration in her heart. This feeling intensified when she saw Li Wancheng and Xu Zhou standing so close.

While Wen Yige was lost in her wild guesses, Li Wancheng’s mind was also spinning. Everything had been perfectly normal before she left. Why was he suddenly sulking the moment she returned?

Could it be…

A faint suspicion took root in her mind, and her expression grew complicated. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “What do you think… about Xu Zhou?”

Unexpectedly, the moment she finished speaking, the man’s expression turned frosty. “Nothing.”

Separated by the window, Wen Yige couldn’t hear their conversation clearly. She only saw Li Wancheng pull the boy’s collar closer, and combined with his curt response, she assumed Li Wancheng had developed feelings for Xu Zhou and was seeking her opinion.

Of course… I was just being foolish. A bitter taste spread through her heart as the corners of her lips curled slightly.

Before Li Wancheng could fully process what she’d said, Wen Yige watched in horror as the healing value bar above her head plummeted dramatically. Her eyes widened in shock. “Holy shit! Little Seven, why is the healing value decreasing?!”

The System, annoyed by the commotion, activated a filter and calmly explained, “The healing value fluctuates with the protagonist’s mood. Did you upset her?”

The school bell rang, breaking the tense atmosphere. Li Wancheng slumped over her desk, her heart aching as she watched the healing value drop to 20%. Silently, she cursed Xu Zhou’s entire family tree.

Damn fate… Even after all my precautions, could I still prevent their instant attraction?

The awkward tension lingered until the end of the day. As a light rain began to fall, Wen Yige’s concern deepened with each pattering drop. Finally, she tugged at Li Wancheng’s sleeve, lowered her head, and whispered, “Why do you like him?”

“Huh?” Now it was Li Wancheng’s turn to be bewildered. Who do I like? How come I didn’t know about this?

Wen Yige frowned, her eyes glistening with tears. “Xu Zhou, why do you like him?”

Her heart felt as if it were being sliced by blades, each stab a dull ache.

Li Wancheng stared into the girl’s clear, stubborn eyes, belatedly realizing she must have misunderstood. She turned away, the edges of their umbrellas gently clacking together as they brushed against each other, startling a few drops of rain.

“I don’t like him,” Wen Yige said clearly, each word deliberate as she explained. “He just got in my way this afternoon, and I stepped on his foot.”

The traffic light changed from red to green. The umbrella spun in the crowd, but despite the throng of pedestrians, Li Wancheng could only see her.

Her heartbeat kept time with the rhythm of raindrops on the umbrella, a soothing melody that swept away the gloom that had lingered all afternoon.

A car honked impatiently behind her. Wen Yige’s features softened as she took a few steps forward, then glanced back with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Watching her healing value return to normal, Li Wancheng secretly sighed in relief. Thank goodness it was just a misunderstanding.

Still, at least she’d learned Wen Yige harbored no romantic feelings for Xu Zhou. That was something, at least.

She watched the girl’s retreating figure, lost in thought.

******

The rain seemed unusually heavy at the end of April, and the inverted day-night temperature fluctuations, which alternated between cold and heat, made it particularly easy to fall ill.

Li Wancheng sniffled, glancing at the thermometer displaying a red-marked 38.5°C. She had taken three days off sick, just enough time to comfortably stay home and rest.

“Wake up! Something’s happened to Wen Yige!”

She had just taken fever medication and fallen asleep, her mind still foggy, when the System interrupted her rest. Miserably buried in her pillow, she groaned weakly, “What now?”

“She’s been locked in the school’s equipment room.” Seeing her reluctance to move, the System added, “If you go now, you can still save her before Xu Zhou arrives.”

Li Wancheng’s eyes snapped open, half-awakened by the shock. Fighting through the weakness in her limbs, she resignedly climbed out of bed and got dressed.

Great. Looks like I’ll have to work while sick.

The nanny was cleaning in the living room when she suddenly saw Li Wancheng rushing toward the door. “Hey, Wancheng, you’re still not fully recovered…” she called out, but the girl had already vanished before she could finish the sentence.

As evening approached, the streets were already sparsely populated. As if the heavens were deliberately thwarting her, the rain intensified. Li Wancheng stood in the deluge until her hands and feet grew numb, finally catching a taxi. She slid into the back seat and let out a small sigh of relief. “To No. 2 High School, please. And drive fast.”

Seeing her panicked expression, the driver didn’t dare dawdle. He slammed on the accelerator, and the car shot out like a bullet. Fortunately, the school wasn’t far, and they arrived steadily at the gate in just ten minutes.

It was Saturday, and the heavy rain had cleared the school of almost everyone. Even the security booth was empty. Li Wancheng could only squeeze through the narrow gap left in the gate.

Boom!

A deafening clap of thunder exploded in Wen Yige’s ears. Her face turned pale as she curled up in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest. She bit her lip fiercely, desperately holding back the tears welling in her eyes.

Today was her assigned duty day, and the last class happened to be gym. When she finished tidying up the equipment and was about to leave, she suddenly realized the door was locked.

Due to the sudden rain, the teacher had dismissed class early. The playground was deserted, and Wen Yige’s calls went unanswered. Her phone was still in the classroom, and she hadn’t brought it down. She leaned weakly against the wall, the last shred of hope in her heart gradually fading away.

It seems… no one is coming to rescue me.

The heavens seemed to mock her wishes. The thunder grew increasingly intense, as if it would shatter the windows and devour her in the next instant.

As a child, her mother often worked late into the night, leaving little Wen Yige alone in the empty house. On frightening thunderstorm nights, she would curl up in a blanket and hide in a corner.

Just as despair threatened to overwhelm her, a sudden, violent crash echoed from the tightly shut iron door. Wen Yige’s head snapped up, her gaze fixed incredulously on the door. Her fingers trembled with a mix of excitement and tension.

Was she hallucinating?

“How is this lock so sturdy?” Li Wancheng gripped a brick and slammed it forcefully against the lock.

The System, witnessing her brute force, silently swallowed the words: Actually, I could have unlocked it.

A series of loud crashes shook the floor, and the door before her burst open. A beam of light suddenly pierced the darkness of the room.

Wen Yige saw the girl appear before her, holding an umbrella. Like a breath of fresh air to someone on the verge of suffocating, she instantly overwhelmed all her senses, including her heart.

The moment the door opened, Li Wancheng’s steps were slightly frantic as she stepped forward and gently embraced the girl huddled in the corner. Wen Yige’s entire body was icy cold; whether from the chill or fear, it was hard to tell. She was trembling faintly all over.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here,” Li Wancheng murmured, holding her, each word spoken with utmost tenderness.

Wen Yige almost doubted whether she was hallucinating. It wasn’t until she was enveloped in the warm embrace that the reality of the situation sank in. The tips of her fingers touched scalding skin, and she greedily breathed in the lemony scent emanating from the girl. The emptiness in her heart gradually filled, bit by bit.

Her fear was miraculously soothed, and Wen Yige felt so content she was on the verge of tears.

It was real. She had come to save her.

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