I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 24

Seeing Qin Yuzhen’s smile, Rong Xi pursed her lips, afraid to say anything more.

Qin Yuzhen took out her phone and called her homeroom teacher, explaining that she hadn’t asked for permission to leave earlier.

“Teacher, I’m taking Rong Xi to the hospital. Her leg injury is a bit serious.”

“Okay. She should be back in time for the afternoon exam. Someone’s already here to pick us up, so we’re leaving the school now.”

“Oh, and there’s a student from the International Class who insisted on coming along,” Qin Yuzhen said, glancing at the person in the passenger seat. “His name is Ye… something.”

Rong Xi: …

Ye Yunshen also turned to look at Qin Yuzhen.

“Hmm, he probably doesn’t want to take the exam.”

“Alright,” Qin Yuzhen said, hanging up. “Please let his teacher know.”

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen. “He’s just worried about me, you know…”

“Hmph,” Qin Yuzhen scoffed. “Absolutely no manners.”

“Miss Qin, I haven’t done anything to offend you,” Ye Yunshen said, unable to contain himself. He couldn’t understand where her hostility was coming from.

“Really? So you don’t think forcing yourself into someone else’s car is offensive?” Qin Yuzhen asked, raising an eyebrow.

If I were still the Princess, his head would have been on the chopping block by now.

“I was the one who brought her to the infirmary,” Ye Yunshen said patiently. “Of course I need to make sure she’s alright before I can relax.”

“Does having my sister by her side still not put your mind at ease?” Qin Yuzhen asked, leaning back against the chair.

Rong Xi: …

“Ye-gege, my sister is just worried about me, so…”

“What did you call him?” Qin Yuzhen turned to look at her, her expression blank.

“Ye… gege… ah, that’s what I used to call him when I was little,” Rong Xi replied, shrinking back slightly under Qin Yuzhen’s gaze.

“Change your nickname,” Qin Yuzhen said, crossing her arms. “You’re my little sister, not his. Besides, you’re grown up now; you can’t act like a child anymore.”

Qin Yuzhen gave a friendly smile.

Rong Xi muttered under her breath, “Last time you were the one calling me immature and childish…”

Qin Yuzhen’s anger flared. Losing the Protagonist Halo was one thing, but she never expected this damn Male Protagonist to try stealing her sister too! Hearing Rong Xi’s mutter, she shot another glare at her, and Rong Xi immediately shut her mouth.

“Host, you’re being awfully unreasonable,” the system remarked.

“Didn’t you know that already?” Qin Yuzhen retorted, arms still crossed.

Rong Xi silently clutched her leg. “Sister, my leg hurts.”

“It’s going to hurt even more later, and you might need stitches,” Qin Yuzhen said with a cold laugh.

Rong Xi stiffened, staring at Qin Yuzhen’s face. “Are you trying to scare me?”

“No.”

Rong Xi felt like she was going to cry—this time, she really was about to cry. Before, her eyes had only reddened. The mere mention of “stitches” made her shiver.

“Why do you always scare her?” Ye Yunshen asked, looking at Rong Xi’s pitiful expression, unable to bear it.

“This is how my sister and I interact. If you don’t like it, you can get out of the car,” Qin Yuzhen retorted. “I wonder if the Ye Family ever taught you not to point fingers at others.”

Ye Yunshen was speechless. He glanced at Rong Xi, who sat obediently in her seat, not speaking up for him this time.

When they arrived at the hospital, Qin Yuzhen carried Rong Xi out of the car and hurried inside. A wheelchair was waiting for them in the lobby.

Rong Xi was wheeled through the hospital, where everything had been arranged in advance.

As expected, stitches were indeed necessary—the wound was too deep. When the doctor explained this, Rong Xi’s expression twisted, and she nearly burst into tears. But for the sake of her pride, she forced herself to hold back.

Qin Yuzhen looked intently at Ye Yunshen. “Did I scare her?”

Ye Yunshen: …

Even under anesthesia, Rong Xi still felt as if she could sense the needle and thread piercing through her flesh. Lying on the bed, tears streamed down her cheeks, making her look utterly pitiful.

Qin Yuzhen stood beside her, then stepped forward and covered Rong Xi’s eyes with an Item Card. Softly, she said, “Don’t be afraid.”

“Waaah… I’m definitely going to have a scar now,” Rong Xi whimpered, her voice trembling with tears.

“It’s a cosmetic suture,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

“Waaah… But it’ll still look different, won’t it?”

“It won’t,” Qin Yuzhen assured her. “Didn’t you say earlier that it wasn’t a big deal, as long as your leg was still intact?”

“Waaah…” Rong Xi sobbed, but suddenly realized her leg no longer hurt.

“You won’t have a scar,” Qin Yuzhen said. “Trust your doctor.”

Rong Xi gripped Qin Yuzhen’s wrist. “But I’m still scared.”

“Was it someone pushing you or shoving you?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

Rong Xi paused, trying to remember. “I can’t remember… I’ve forgotten how I even fell.”

“Go check the surveillance footage,” Qin Yuzhen said, glancing at Rong Xi’s leg one last time. “All done. The stitches are finished.”

“Already?”

“Mm-hmm,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “The doctor’s quite skilled. The stitches look neat too.”

Rong Xi propped herself up on the bed, examining her skin. The stitches were buried beneath the surface, barely visible. “Will it hurt a lot after the anesthesia wears off?”

“No, it shouldn’t. Let’s go get your tetanus shot and then have a full check-up.”

“Huh?” Rong Xi looked up at Qin Yuzhen. “But that’s so much trouble…”

She had wanted to say they could skip the check-up, but seeing Qin Yuzhen’s firm expression, she silently closed her mouth and obediently followed instructions.

Ye Yunshen had followed them, but he’d become practically invisible. Even Rong Xi had forgotten he was there. When the driver brought back the food, she paused, noticing there were three portions.

Rong Xi had congee and light side dishes, while Qin Yuzhen and Ye Yunshen each had three main dishes and a soup.

“Ah… I thought we were only supposed to avoid spicy foods?” Rong Xi glanced at her congee, then at the chicken leg in Qin Yuzhen’s bowl.

“We’ll just grab something light for lunch. We’re heading back to school after the last test.” Qin Yuzhen took a bite of meat. “You can eat whatever you want for dinner.”

“Oh,” Rong Xi nodded.

By the time they finished all the tests and returned to school, it was past one o’clock.

“Should I take her upstairs?” Ye Yunshen glanced at Qin Yuzhen, still convinced that she had only managed to carry Rong Xi earlier by sheer willpower.

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi’s classroom was on the third floor.

“No need. I can carry her myself.” Qin Yuzhen helped Rong Xi out of the wheelchair and parked it at the bottom of the stairs.

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen. “But that’s the third floor… I may not be heavy, but…”

“Who are you looking down on?” Qin Yuzhen picked up Rong Xi. “Besides, you don’t really think he could carry you up three flights of stairs, do you, Young Master Ye? Thanks for your help. You can go now.”

Ye Yunshen watched Qin Yuzhen carry Rong Xi up the stairs with surprising ease.

“What about my exam later?” Rong Xi wrapped her arms around Qin Yuzhen’s neck.

“I spoke to our homeroom teacher,” Qin Yuzhen said. “We can switch exam rooms. You’ll take your exam in Liang Xuzhou’s seat, and he’ll take his in yours.”

“That’s great, but won’t he be upset?” Rong Xi asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“He’s always willing to help. He won’t be upset,” Qin Yuzhen said, carrying Rong Xi into the classroom.

Old Qian glanced at them. “Is your leg alright?”

“I probably won’t be able to walk for a few days,” Qin Yuzhen said, setting Rong Xi in her seat and arranging her leg carefully. “Don’t scratch it.”

“Okay.” Rong Xi wanted to say that her leg didn’t hurt or itch, so there was no need to scratch it.

“You kids are always pushing and shoving on the stairs. Look what’s happened now!” Old Qian grumbled.

Qin Yuzhen returned to her seat.

“You carried her up here?”

“Mm-hmm.” Qin Yuzhen opened her book and flipped through a page.

“Damn, that’s impressive.”

“Did the teacher tell you to switch exam rooms with Rong Xi?”

“Yes, why didn’t he ask you to switch instead?” Liang Xuzhou grumbled.

“Because I had to carry her down the stairs,” Qin Yuzhen retorted irritably. “Do you think you could have managed that?”

“Just because I can’t beat you in a fight doesn’t mean I’m weaker than you, okay?” Liang Xuzhou protested.

Qin Yuzhen gave him a look. “Clearly, you still don’t have a clear understanding of yourself.”

“Let’s arm wrestle after class.”

“Let’s do it.” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the clock on the wall. “There are still five minutes left.”

Liang Xuzhou rubbed his wrist. Everything hinged on this moment—his chance to finally redeem himself.

As soon as the bell rang and Old Qian left, Liang Xuzhou placed his hand on the desk. “Let’s go.”

In the next nine seconds, Liang Xuzhou’s hand made three intimate contacts with the desk.

Basically, it went like this:

“One, two, three.”

Thud.

The crowd of spectators grew larger. Liang Xuzhou had lost so quickly that everyone felt like they were dreaming.

“Liang Xuzhou, you’re hopeless. How can you be weaker than a girl?” a passing boy remarked.

“Was he going easy on her? That ended way too fast.”

“Old Liang, you’re a disgrace.”

The chatter continued. From Qin Yuzhen’s brilliant, gentle smile, Liang Xuzhou saw the deeply hidden contempt. Instead of redeeming himself, he had only made a bigger fool of himself.

He picked up his money pouch, pushed through the crowd, and forced a show of dignity as he muttered, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving. The exam’s coming up—what are you all crowding around here for?”

Qin Yuzhen scoffed. Rong Xi, eager to join the commotion, hopped over on one foot. The others kindly made space for her, but by the time she landed, the excitement had already fizzled out.

“What happened?” Rong Xi asked curiously.

Before Qin Yuzhen could answer, a boy beside her chimed in, “Liang Xuzhou challenged her to an arm-wrestling match and lost. Tsk tsk tsk, he went down so quickly.”

The boy glanced at Qin Yuzhen, clearly itching for a challenge himself.

“We’ll have to try it out after the exam,” he said before darting away.

Qin Yuzhen stuffed her pen into her pencil case and glanced at Rong Xi, who had already settled into Liang Xuzhou’s seat. “Good luck on the exam.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t blame your leg if you fail to outdo me later,” Qin Yuzhen warned.

Rong Xi snorted. “Don’t worry, my leg won’t hinder my performance.”

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