I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 29

After Gu Si left, Rong Xi let out a stifled laugh, feeling more relieved than ever.

“Not bad, sis,” Qin Yuzhen remarked. “You’ve improved quickly.”

“It was nothing,” Rong Xi said, glancing around. “Was someone watching me just now?”

“Yeah, quite a few people,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

Rong Xi sighed, trying to comfort herself by remembering it would only last a month. Endure it for a little longer, she thought, and it’ll be over soon.

“Why did you ask me to keep you company this afternoon?” Qin Yuzhen asked, shooting her a sidelong glance.

“I… I wanted you to play badminton with me, and let me win,” Rong Xi said. She didn’t want to be humiliated again; she wanted to experience the joy of not losing.

Qin Yuzhen pinched Rong Xi’s cheek.

Rong Xi frowned slightly. “What was that for?”

“Oh, just a pinch,” Qin Yuzhen said, nonchalantly withdrawing her hand.

“Strange,” Rong Xi muttered, touching her cheek. “Now it’s my turn to pinch you back.”

“Keep dreaming! Wake up!” Qin Yuzhen quickly darted into the hot water room, dodging Rong Xi’s reaching hand.

Rong Xi hmphed softly.

During the afternoon PE class, even though Rong Xi claimed her leg had healed, the teacher still instructed her to rest on the sidelines and not participate in the warm-up running. Rong Xi was secretly relieved; she hadn’t wanted to run anyway. She settled onto the field, watching Qin Yuzhen and the others jog.

After three laps, Qin Yuzhen showed no sign of fatigue, her face neither flushed nor panting. Rong Xi watched in equal parts admiration and envy. Though she’d previously dismissed Qin Yuzhen’s claims of poor constitution, she now realized she truly couldn’t compare.

Once the warm-up concluded, it was time for free activity. Rong Xi quickly sidled up to Qin Yuzhen. “Let’s go play badminton!”

“Senior!”

Rong Xi saw a girl running toward them, her smile fading as she called out plaintively, “Sister…”

“Senior, want to play basketball together today?” Cong Mian asked, cradling a basketball.

Rong Xi pursed her lips, remaining silent.

“Senior Rong, want to join us?” Cong Mian glanced at Rong Xi again.

Rong Xi looked at Cong Mian. To be honest, if it were Gu Si, she would already be “roasting” her mercilessly. But this junior… hadn’t really done anything. Rong Xi’s thin skin made it hard to start anything.

“I promised Rong Xi I’d play badminton with her,” Qin Yuzhen interjected.

Cong Mian paused, then looked disappointed. “Oh…”

“Want to join us for badminton?” Qin Yuzhen offered. “You two could team up against me.”

“I’d love to, but… Senior Rong…” Cong Mian glanced cautiously at Rong Xi.

“I’m good with anything,” Rong Xi said.

Hearing Rong Xi’s voice, Cong Mian paused, blinking. “Senior Rong, you seem… a bit different from last time.”

“I lost a bet,” Qin Yuzhen said with a smile.

Cong Mian nodded, noticing Rong Xi’s awkward expression. She quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go borrow rackets.”

“Mm,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

The three of them walked toward the equipment room. Ye Yunshen had just finished borrowing a basketball, but Qin Yuzhen didn’t notice him at all, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have bothered to greet him.

However, Rong Xi beside her politely called out, “Brother Ye.”

Qin Yuzhen frowned slightly, glancing sideways at Rong Xi. Rong Xi’s ears flushed pink.

Ye Yunshen’s face also reddened slightly. He cleared his throat. “Here to borrow something too?”

“Mm,” Rong Xi replied.

“Yes, we’re playing badminton. Young Master Ye, could you step aside? You’re blocking the door,” Qin Yuzhen interrupted Rong Xi, speaking with a sweet smile.

Ye Yunshen shot Qin Yuzhen a glance, his eyes carrying a hint of displeasure.

The System felt a little drained. The fragile pink bubble of romance that had just begun to form had been swiftly popped by Qin Yuzhen.

After Qin Yuzhen spoke up, Ye Yunshen couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about blocking the doorway. He smiled apologetically at Rong Xi and stepped aside to let them pass.

Qin Yuzhen grabbed Rong Xi’s wrist and quickly led her away.

“Why are you blushing?” Qin Yuzhen asked.

Rong Xi glanced at her in surprise. “You made me speak with such an embarrassing tone! How could I not blush? This is infuriating!”

Cong Mian, standing nearby, couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

Qin Yuzhen hmphed softly. She suspected the thick-skinned Male Protagonist might have misunderstood something. He’d even waited by the door after borrowing equipment.

“Xixi, I can play doubles with you. How can three people play badminton?” Ye Yunshen offered.

Qin Yuzhen narrowed her eyes. “Indecent contact between genders! Ye Yunshen, how forward of you! Are nicknames like ‘Xixi’ something you can just use casually?”

“I used to call her that when we were little. What’s wrong with that?” Ye Yunshen protested, genuinely puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Qin Yuzhen kept interrupting his conversation with Rong Xi.

“Some kindergarten boys and girls used to share the same restroom. Tell me, do you think you could still use the women’s restroom now?” Qin Yuzhen stared at him expressionlessly.

Ye Yunshen opened his mouth, at a loss for words.

“I don’t think that’s a good name either,” Cong Mian said. “What if people misunderstand? We should focus on our studies in our senior year.”

Ye Yunshen glanced at Cong Mian. Perhaps because she was also sweet and poised, and didn’t seem to be deliberately provoking him, his expression softened slightly.

“Let’s go play badminton,” Qin Yuzhen said, pulling Rong Xi around Ye Yunshen.

Rong Xi nodded at Ye Yunshen, offering an apologetic smile.

“Tsk.”

“What?”

“Sending each other love glances right in front of me.”

Rong Xi frowned slightly. “Who’s sending him love glances? I was just apologizing for refusing him.”

“Oh.”

“Seriously, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Qin Yuzhen didn’t respond further, focusing on her badminton game. For her, playing with one person or two made little difference; she didn’t show favoritism, usually feeding a shuttlecock to Rong Xi and then to Cong Mian to prevent them from arguing over the birdie.

“Good skills,” a group of boys playing basketball nearby remarked.

Liang Xuzhou wiped the sweat from his face with a scoff. “I wish I could play with girls too.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Have you noticed how Qin Yuzhen is much kinder to girls than to boys?”

“That’s probably because you’re not good-looking enough,” Liang Xuzhou said, taking a sip of water. When he was her desk partner, he observed that many girls in class had interacted with Qin Yuzhen. While she was polite and gentle to everyone, she clearly showed a preference for girls who were more attractive.

“Hey, Liang, so you think you’re ugly?”

Liang Xuzhou touched his face. “Average, I guess.”

The next moment, a ball smacked him in the face.

“If even Liang Xuzhou isn’t considered handsome in Qin Yuzhen’s eyes, how handsome would you have to be to catch her attention?”

“Who knows?” Liang Xuzhou dribbled the ball, glancing toward the playground again. He had a nagging feeling that Qin Yuzhen was about to fall asleep.

Qin Yuzhen was indeed drifting off. When the class bell rang, it startled her awake. Rong Xi and Cong Mian, however, were having a great time, their faces beaming. Qin Yuzhen couldn’t understand the appeal of this aimless ball-tossing game with no competitive element, but if her younger sisters enjoyed it, she could go along.

The mid-term summary assembly was scheduled for Saturday. When her homeroom teacher reminded Qin Yuzhen about it, she hadn’t even started writing her speech—and had no intention of doing so.

“If you really don’t know what to write, I can help you draft something,” Rong Xi whispered. She had a feeling that if Qin Yuzhen spoke off the cuff, she might say something shockingly unconventional.

“No need. It’s easy enough,” Qin Yuzhen replied, propping her chin in her hand. “Besides, they didn’t specify how long we have to speak.”

Rong Xi: …

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say something like ‘because I’m so smart,’ like in a novel?” Rong Xi suggested, thinking this was entirely possible for Qin Yuzhen.

Qin Yuzhen was silent for two seconds. She had indeed considered saying that. “Being smart is genuinely one of my traits. What’s wrong with that?”

Rong Xi snorted softly, spread out her book to do homework, and ignored her.

On Saturday afternoon, during the summary assembly, Qin Yuzhen arrived early at the auditorium to prepare. Rong Xi also needed to be there, as being ranked second in her grade made her eligible for recognition. Their seats were next to each other in the second row.

People usually sitting in the second row knew each other, so the appearance of a stranger naturally pushed someone familiar down. Several curious glances landed on her. Qin Yuzhen calmly settled into her seat and turned to see Liang Xuzhou sitting behind her.

“What a coincidence,” Qin Yuzhen said, raising an eyebrow.

“Indeed.”

Liang Xuzhou was also being recognized for his academic improvement. His progress was significant enough to warrant encouragement, and it was hoped that this would prevent him from continuing to carelessly fill out his exam papers.

“By the way, what exactly are you planning to say?” Rong Xi asked, still curious.

“Nothing special.” Qin Yuzhen crossed her legs, rested her chin in her hand, and unconsciously swung her leg a couple of times.

The Grade-Level Principal who had entered through the front door noticed her arrogant posture and glanced at her with a slight frown, but said nothing.

Once all the classes had assembled, the assembly was about to begin.

The school was being rather dull, even setting up cameras aimed at the students. When the boy’s face appeared on the big screen, many burst into laughter, as he happened to be picking his nose at that exact moment.

The camera swept across the students, eventually settling on Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi.

Qin Yuzhen maintained her posture, raising an eyebrow at the camera before flashing a smile. Beside her, Rong Xi lowered her head, a little embarrassed; she still lacked Qin Yuzhen’s thick skin.

“That’s the girl who got first in the science exam?”

“Sister’s so cool! I love her.”

“Wow, she’s actually pretty. I thought she’d be a nerd or something.”

“Don’t know why, but she looks kinda handsome.”

Behind her, the crowd buzzed with chatter. Qin Yuzhen lowered her legs, her smile growing even brighter.

She couldn’t speak for others, but as someone with thick skin, she relished the loud praise.

Finally, the live feed of the audience on the big screen vanished, replaced by the PowerPoint cover slide.

The Grade-Level Principal and Grade Coordinator stepped onto the stage.

Qin Yuzhen found it a bit puzzling. If these people were going to sit up there the whole time, why bother saving seats down below?

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