I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 15

Rong Xi found Qin Yuzhen to be particularly troublesome. Not only was she slow at doing things herself, but she also had an endless stream of demands.

“Wouldn’t it look better to place this pair of shoes next to that pair?”

“I think organizing clothes by color looks nice, but then the lengths are all different.”

“Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t really like how you arranged those clothes earlier. Should we take them down and start over?”

******

At first, Rong Xi patiently tried to talk to Qin Yuzhen, but eventually, she simply closed her mouth and pretended not to hear. This was the best way to deal with her. Rong Xi was curious as to how Qin Yuzhen’s parents had raised her to have such a princess-like personality.

Qin Yuzhen also noticed Rong Xi’s policy of ignoring her. She let out a soft sigh.

Rong Xi’s hands paused mid-motion as she was tidying the bracelet. She looked up at Qin Yuzhen.

“Ah, I know I’m being too demanding. Forget it, you can go. I’ll do it myself,” Qin Yuzhen said, hanging up the clothes in her hand. “I don’t have school tomorrow anyway, so I can stay up all night by myself. It’s fine.”

Rong Xi: …

“How do you expect me to hang them? There’s so much stuff. You’ll get used to it eventually. I think it looks fine now,” Rong Xi said. “If you really can’t stand it… how about we replace the wardrobe? Let’s get one without glass doors. That way you won’t see inside at all.”

The System chuckled. “Rong Xi is quite clever.”

“You’re not bad,” Qin Yuzhen said irritably.

Rong Xi lowered her head, a little embarrassed.

“You think I’m complimenting you?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the wardrobe. “Just get out. I’ll do it myself.”

“Is that for real?” Rong Xi looked at Qin Yuzhen in surprise, thinking that even two all-nighters wouldn’t be enough if Qin Yuzhen tried to do it herself.

“It’s real. You can go now.” Qin Yuzhen waved her off.

“Oh.” Rong Xi put down the items she was holding and shuffled out, glancing back at Qin Yuzhen several times before finally saying, “If you really want to start over… I could come back tomorrow during the day to help you tidy up.”

“No need.”

Rong Xi pursed her lips and quietly closed the door behind her.

“Rong Xi seems upset.”

“Unhappy that she doesn’t have to work?” Qin Yuzhen pulled out a rare Item Card from the bottom of her drawer.

“She probably thinks you’re rejecting her.”

“Is it that obvious?” Qin Yuzhen raised an eyebrow.

[ System: ] …

Back in her room, Rong Xi took out a new notebook. The first page read: Qin Yuzhen Research Handbook. She figured there was an 80% chance Qin Yuzhen would smack her if she saw that title.

Traits:

[Talkative, especially when arguing.]

[Lazy. Refuses to fetch the racket or milk, avoids doing anything unnecessary.]

[Slow. Spent an hour hanging up three shirts.]

[Demanding. Made eight hundred requests about folding clothes in an hour.]

Theatrical — A master at pretending to be innocent and charming.

Athletic — Gets utterly trounced in badminton.

Strength — Can lift two people off the ground while running.

Weakness — None identified yet.

Qin Yuzhen finished tidying her wardrobe in just three minutes, but didn’t have anyone take away the packaging until the next morning. When Rong Xi came downstairs the next day and saw Qin Yuzhen already sitting on the sofa, she was a bit shocked.

“Did you stay up all night?” Rong Xi asked. In her mind, Qin Yuzhen couldn’t possibly wake up so early unless she hadn’t slept at all.

“No, I just woke up early,” Qin Yuzhen replied, taking a sip of milk. “My wardrobe is already tidied. It’s practically a textbook example of organization. You can use it as a reference.”

Rong Xi thought, This handbook really needs an entry for “Narcissism.”

“No thanks. Are you sure you really tidied it? You didn’t just stuff everything into the closet, did you?” Rong Xi still didn’t believe her.

“Tsk. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself,” Qin Yuzhen huffed.

[ Host, aren’t you ashamed? You didn’t even tidy it yourself! ] the System chimed in.

“Let me ask you this,” Qin Yuzhen retorted. “If I finish my homework with a pen, do I say ‘I finished my homework’ or ‘the pen finished my homework’? So, if I used an Item Card to tidy the house, of course I tidied the house.”

The System shut its mouth. It had never expected to win an argument with Qin Yuzhen.

Rong Xi went upstairs again and opened Qin Yuzhen’s wardrobe. She was a little shocked to find that everything was arranged completely differently from yesterday, clearly having been taken out and reorganized. The new arrangement was pleasing to the eye, though Rong Xi couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

Rong Xi went back downstairs and sat down next to Qin Yuzhen, looking at her with concern. “Staying up all night isn’t good for you.”

“I didn’t stay up all night. Do I look like I have dark circles under my eyes?” Qin Yuzhen wiped her mouth.

Rong Xi leaned in for a closer look. Qin Yuzhen’s skin was flawless, with no sign of dark circles whatsoever.

“Efficiency. Understand?” Qin Yuzhen leaned back against the sofa. “There’s nothing I can’t do perfectly.”

Rong Xi: …

“I’m going to eat breakfast.” Rong Xi got up and quickly left the living room.

Qin Yuzhen smirked and strolled out of the house. She immediately spotted Rong Yao lurking behind a tree, acting suspicious. When he saw her, he quickly ducked back into hiding.

“What are you doing?” Qin Yuzhen walked over and yanked Rong Yao out of the bushes.

Rong Yao straightened his collar. “I came to find Sister Xixi.”

“Then why are you hiding back here?”

Rong Yao remained silent, but the System chimed in with a sardonic voice: “Obviously because he doesn’t want to see you.”

“Trying to avoid me?” Qin Yuzhen asked, lowering her head.

Rong Yao glanced at her. “I wasn’t…”

“Tsk, so our revolutionary friendship is that fragile?” Qin Yuzhen shook her head. “I worked my butt off to get you to first place, and now you’re hiding from me.”

“I wasn’t hiding! I was just checking if Uncle was home…” Rong Yao said. “I’m scared of him.”

“He’s not here.”

“That’s a relief,” Rong Yao sighed. “I came to do homework with Sister Xixi.”

“What homework? Why ask her instead of me?”

Rong Yao tilted his head, looking at Qin Yuzhen with a hint of skepticism. “It’s an art assignment for a parent-child activity. We have to draw a corner of our house with a parent. Do you even know how to draw?”

Qin Yuzhen scoffed. “Of course I do.”

“Even if you can draw, you’re definitely not as good as Sister Xixi. She won awards for her art before—she’s super amazing!” Rong Yao noticed Qin Yuzhen’s expression remained unchanged. He drew a circle in the air with his finger. “When she got the award, so many people came to watch! It even made the news!”

Rong Xi, who had hurriedly come out, blushed. “That was from middle school. It’s nothing to write home about.”

“Why isn’t it?” Rong Yao pulled out a sheet of paper and scooted closer to Rong Xi.

This was supposed to be an activity for Rong Yao and Rong Xi, but Qin Yuzhen insisted on joining them.

“Everyone has to draw three pictures,” Rong Yao said, glancing at Qin Yuzhen. “I was going to have Sister Xixi draw two of them, but if yours turn out well…”

“Whether I’m willing to draw for you is another matter entirely.”

Rong Xi watched Rong Yao’s sulky expression and silently lowered her head, pulling out her paints. Qin Yuzhen is truly despicable, she thought, even bullying a child.

The three of them chose different corners to work in. Qin Yuzhen painted a pavilion in the garden and its surroundings, while Rong Xi also chose the garden, focusing on the glass greenhouse.

Rong Yao opted for the villa’s exterior. His intense focus was evident from the way he kept glancing at Qin Yuzhen—he clearly wanted to outdo her.

As a princess, Qin Yuzhen excelled in the four scholarly arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her paintings were once priceless. Now, knowing that this one would be given to Rong Yao to use as a kindergarten assignment, she sighed inwardly. That he even expects me to draw at all is already a favor, and he still complains!

“Host, you’re the one who insisted on drawing,” the Qin Yuzhen Research Handbook chimed in.

“Didn’t I tell you not to pry into my thoughts?”

“I couldn’t resist.”

Qin Yuzhen rolled her eyes.

Rong Yao finished drawing first and placed his artwork neatly on the coffee table. Instead of leaving, he stayed in the living room to wait. Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi finished around the same time.

Rong Xi put her drawing on the table and glanced at Qin Yuzhen.

“Wow! Sister Xixi, you’re still as sharp as ever!”

“What kind of nonsense is that phrase?” Rong Xi gently pinched Rong Yao’s cheek before looking back at Qin Yuzhen.

Qin Yuzhen noticed Rong Xi’s gaze. “It turned out pretty well.”

Rong Xi smiled in satisfaction.

“What about yours?” Rong Yao asked.

“Over there, on that table,” Qin Yuzhen pointed. “It’s not completely dry yet, so it’s not easy to move.”

Rong Yao leaned over to look, and Rong Xi followed curiously.

Before even seeing the drawing, Rong Yao had already prepared his critique for Qin Yuzhen’s “ugly” art. But upon seeing it, he found himself speechless. Though he’d never studied art, he still possessed basic aesthetic sensibility. Yet he held his tongue, not uttering a single word of criticism.

“It’s really beautiful,” Rong Xi sighed sincerely, sensing the emotion Qin Yuzhen had tried to convey in her drawing.

“Of course,” Qin Yuzhen walked over, glancing at the silent child beside her. “Well? Is that enough for your homework?”

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen’s signature on the painting. The calligraphy was beautiful, only lacking a seal.

“But I still think Sister Xixi’s handwriting is prettier,” Rong Yao said.

Qin Yuzhen ignored him.

Despite his complaints, Rong Yao handled the painting with great care when he took it away.

“When did you start learning to paint?” Rong Xi asked after Rong Yao left.

Qin Yuzhen was silent for two seconds. “Self-taught.”

Rong Xi gave her a look. That level of skill could never be achieved through self-study alone. “How is that possible?”

“You know our family’s situation, right?” Qin Yuzhen said. “Little sister, sometimes it’s better to just accept that I’m a prodigy.”

Rong Xi: …

“By the way, little sister, when you have time, could you draw a portrait of me? I’ll draw one of you too.”

Rong Xi had a premonition that drawing a portrait of Qin Yuzhen would be no easy task. But Qin Yuzhen’s expression made it clear there was no room for negotiation.

“I’m not very good at portrait painting.”

“But I just looked up your award-winning works, and one of them was a portrait of Rong Yao,” Qin Yuzhen said. “No wonder he was so excited.”

“I don’t think I can capture your essence.”

“Don’t undervalue yourself, little sister.”

Rong Xi sighed, realizing she couldn’t avoid this conversation after all.

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