I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 22

Qin Yuzhen drove Cong Mian to her apartment building and waited until she went inside before telling the driver to leave.

“Pretty happy, aren’t you?” Rong Xi noticed Qin Yuzhen’s smile.

“Happy. Why wouldn’t I be?” Qin Yuzhen tilted her head to look at Rong Xi. “Isn’t helping a junior something to be happy about?”

“Indeed, you seem quite pleased.” Rong Xi tossed Qin Yuzhen’s backpack to her. “What if Liang Xuzhou hadn’t followed you?”

“It’s not like I would have rushed over myself.”

Rong Xi fell silent and sat to the side.

Qin Yuzhen glanced at Rong Xi several times and poked her shoulder.

Rong Xi remained silent, refusing to look at her.

Qin Yuzhen poked her again. Rong Xi took a deep breath but still ignored her.

“Host, I sense you’ve completely lost any authority over Rong Xi. It’s only been a few days!” the System remarked gleefully, relishing her misfortune.

“At least this is better than how it was before.” Qin Yuzhen yawned and closed her eyes.

After a long silence, Rong Xi couldn’t resist glancing at Qin Yuzhen and discovered she was almost asleep. She narrowed her eyes.

The car stopped, and both women got out.

They returned later than usual, but no one asked questions. Qin Yuzhen took the late-night snack prepared by the household staff upstairs. Rong Xi had expected Qin Yuzhen to say something, but her silence only made her angrier.

Rong Xi returned to her room, dropped her backpack on the floor, and checked the time—it was already past eleven o’clock.

She pulled out her diary, opened it, and stared blankly at the empty page for a long while.

Qin Yuzhen had taken the initiative to do something dangerous again today. There were so many ways to handle things—why did she always insist on putting herself in danger? Moreover, Qin Yuzhen seemed remarkably quick to become familiar with people. She was already calling the new girl “junior sister” so soon. Proper people like us just call each other “classmate.”

It’s not that “junior sister” is an improper term, but it just feels… inappropriate coming from Qin Yuzhen’s mouth, like she’s implying something more intimate.

Qin Yuzhen is definitely hiding something from me. And I have a strong feeling that Liang Xuzhou and that girl we met today both know what it is—I’m the only one in the dark.

Rong Xi put away her diary, only remembering at the last minute that she’d forgotten to write about Gu Si. But she was too lazy to take the book out again.

Qin Yuzhen returned to her room, playing on her phone while munching on her late-night snack.

“Rong Xi seems upset again,” the System remarked.

“She’s always upset,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “I already cheered her up.”

“When did you do that? I didn’t see anything.”

Qin Yuzhen paused, tapping her finger. “Didn’t I poke her a couple of times? She just ignored me.”

“If you used the same coaxing approach you use with the other girls on Rong Xi, she’d definitely pay attention,” the System couldn’t help but suggest.

“No,” Qin Yuzhen rejected the idea outright. “Coaxing doesn’t work on her.”

“Host, your halo has grown much brighter than before.”

“Really?” Qin Yuzhen smiled, surprised. “That’s normal. After all, I’m the protagonist wherever I go.”

The System: …

It had originally intended to urge Qin Yuzhen to show some restraint, but who could have predicted this outcome…

“It shouldn’t take long for my halo to surpass Rong Xi’s,” Qin Yuzhen said contentedly, wiping her mouth.

The System: …

Rong Xi was still working on her problems, not going to bed until around 1 AM.

Meanwhile, Qin Yuzhen’s room was empty, the window open.

Although Qin Yuzhen had already guessed that Zhao Pàohuī was behind the trouble based on the thugs’ reactions, the System confirmed it. However, due to its fluctuating access rights, it couldn’t uncover much beyond the fact that they had communicated; the content of their conversation remained unknown.

Clutching her Invisibility Card, Qin Yuzhen strutted into the hospital where Zhao Pàohuī was staying. She ascended to the seventeenth floor and stood before his VIP suite.

Zhao Pàohuī hadn’t slept a wink since hearing that Qin Yuzhen had beaten up the person he’d sent after her. He didn’t know whether he was angry or terrified; he’d arranged this whole thing himself, without anyone in his family knowing.

Hearing a noise at the door, he instinctively turned toward it.

It was 1 AM, and everyone was asleep, making the quiet creak of the door hinge unusually clear.

He saw the doorknob turn, the door open, but there was no one there. Then it swung shut by itself.

Zhao Pàohuī’s eyes widened. He tried to scream, but no sound came out.

He couldn’t see anyone, but he could feel someone approaching.

“If you bother my sister again, I’ll definitely kill you.”

Qin Yuzhen’s voice was sweet and gentle, but to Zhao Pàohuī, it sounded like it was coming from hell.

“You can’t see me, so if I kill you here, no one will ever know,” Qin Yuzhen chuckled.

Zhao Pàohuī’s face turned pale, and his eyes rolled back as he fainted.

System: ……

Host, you’re being too cruel.</i> The System grumbled. <i>Shouldn’t have gone so far as to scare him to death.

“I know my limits. He won’t die.” Qin Yuzhen stood by the bed, looking down at the unconscious Zhao Pàohuī. “I thought he was supposed to be tough. Turns out he’s just a coward.”

“Host, who wouldn’t be afraid of something this horrifying?” the System remarked, observing Zhao Pàohuī’s crumpled form on the floor. If nothing else, he’ll have a stiff neck tomorrow. The System sighed inwardly. Why couldn’t he have picked a fight with anyone else? He just had to provoke Qin Yuzhen.

Qin Yuzhen left the hospital room, closed the door behind her, and strutted out of the hospital. By the time she returned to her apartment, it was past 2 AM. She collapsed onto her bed and was asleep within seconds.

The next morning, as expected, she woke up in a foul mood. Even after using a stimulant Item Card, the urge to go back to sleep remained overwhelming.

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen several times, assuming her exhaustion stemmed from studying late into the night.

“What time did you go to bed last night?” Rong Xi asked.

Qin Yuzhen shot him a look. “Guess.”

“Even if you’re determined to beat me, you still need proper rest,” Rong Xi said.

Qin Yuzhen knew he had misunderstood. “It’s not because of studying. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Oh.” Rong Xi took a sip of milk, his expression turning sour.

When Qin Yuzhen arrived at school, she immediately noticed a box sitting on her desk.

“That’s from Cong Mian,” Liang Xuzhou said.

“From Cong Mian,” Qin Yuzhen repeated, glancing at Liang Xuzhou.

Liang Xuzhou: ……

“You seem quite happy.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Qin Yuzhen said, opening the box in front of her. Inside was a small pack of cookies. “Are you unhappy? Envious?”

“Not envious,” Liang Xuzhou said, pointing to his desk drawer. “People send me these little things every few days.”

“Still, it’s all because of me.”

“I don’t want to benefit from that anymore, okay?”

“Clearly not,” Qin Yuzhen said.

Liang Xuzhou sighed. “I don’t even know who sends these. I don’t even like cookies.”

The boy sitting in front of Liang Xuzhou turned around, a hint of contempt in his eyes. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”

Liang Xuzhou: …

“You don’t understand.”

“Hmph.” The boy pushed his desk forward a bit.

The corner of Liang Xuzhou’s mouth twitched. Before he could say anything, the boy sitting in front of the boy in front of him yelled.

“Why did you suddenly push your desk forward? You’re squishing me!”

The boy could only silently push his desk back.

Qin Yuzhen couldn’t help but chuckle.

The boy turned back to glare at Qin Yuzhen, his eyes darkening.

Qin Yuzhen smiled even wider.

“Qin Yuzhen, I saw your eight pearly whites the moment I walked in. What’s got you so happy? Share some of that joy with me,” Old Qian said, glancing at Qin Yuzhen as he entered the classroom.

Qin Yuzhen: …

“Can’t you hear the class bell? Bring your test up so I can check the last problem you did last night,” Old Qian said. Seeing Qin Yuzhen didn’t move, he added, “You didn’t do it?”

“I did,” Qin Yuzhen sighed. She had initially thought her laughter had been too loud, but now it seemed the teacher had been looking for an excuse to single her out.

Rong Xi glanced at the last problem from the previous night’s assignment and frowned slightly. It was quite challenging, and he felt a twinge of concern.

Qin Yuzhen, however, remained calm as she handed over her test.

Over the past few days, Old Qian and other teachers had been observing Qin Yuzhen, gradually accepting the narrative that she had been “hiding her true abilities due to past difficulties.”

The teacher placed Qin Yuzhen’s test under the projector. “Let me show you what it means to be pleasing to the eye.”

Though he only intended to review the last problem, Old Qian displayed the entire test.

“Holy shit!” someone blurted out.

“I’m not saying you all need to reach this level,” Old Qian said, scanning the class. “I just want each of you to write legibly so I don’t strain my eyes trying to decipher your handwriting.” His gaze lingered on Liang Xuzhou, who was looking down. “Especially you, Liang Xuzhou. I’m talking to you!”

Liang Xuzhou: ……

Rong Xi was also somewhat shocked. She knew Qin Yuzhen had beautiful handwriting, but she hadn’t expected her homework to look like a calligraphy masterpiece. Moreover, when she compared answers with Qin Yuzhen earlier, they were mostly identical, with only a few questions differing.

She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a little flustered. Indeed, Qin Yuzhen’s arrogance was always backed by her abilities.

Qin Yuzhen had written out the entire process for the final question, filling the page completely. Yet it wasn’t overwhelming to read; instead, it was pleasing to the eye. Old Qian explained the solution exactly according to the standard answer, and Qin Yuzhen had made no mistakes from start to finish.

Those who had previously thought Qin Yuzhen had gotten in through backchannels were now all silenced.

“Students in the top fifty in math for this monthly exam will qualify for math competition training,” Old Qian announced. “I hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity. We’re all in the Honors Class, so at least eighty percent of you should qualify. Otherwise, where would my face be?”

After speaking, Old Qian shot a meaningful glance at Liang Xuzhou.

Liang Xuzhou desperately wanted to ask what he’d done to provoke this, but instead, he glanced sideways at Qin Yuzhen.

“Why are you looking at me? Want to fight?” Qin Yuzhen raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Liang Xuzhou said, withdrawing his gaze.

Old Qian continued lecturing, showing no intention of returning Qin Yuzhen’s exam. Anyone could see that Old Qian was exceptionally pleased with her. In the end, he used Qin Yuzhen’s exam to teach the entire class.

Rong Xi noticed that Qin Yuzhen seemed to have answered every question correctly. Is she even human?

After class, Rong Xi lingered until she was beside Qin Yuzhen. “You’re actually this amazing?”

“I thought you already knew how amazing I am,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

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