I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 34

Cong Mian invited four friends out to play, and with Rong Xi, her “family member,” the group totaled six. They all met at the public square. Only Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi were seniors; the rest were Cong Mian’s classmates.

Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi weren’t very familiar with Cong Mian’s three friends, but after Cong Mian introduced them, they quickly warmed up.

“Senior Qin, Cong Mian often talks about you.”

“What does she say?” Qin Yuzhen asked, curious.

“She says you’re beautiful and smart. I was wondering just how beautiful you were, but now that I’ve seen you, I can see why she talks about you so much.” The speaker gazed at Qin Yuzhen with genuine admiration.

Cong Mian chuckled awkwardly, shooting a playful glare at the talkative friend. The glare held little real force.

Qin Yuzhen smiled. “But she’s never praised me like that in front of me.”

“Senior Qin is incredibly beautiful,” Cong Mian said quickly. “Senior Rong Xi is beautiful too.”

“Mm-hmm,” Cong Mian’s classmate nodded enthusiastically. “I heard beautiful people hang out together. Now I’m one of the beautiful ones too!”

“You were always beautiful,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

The young girl covered her mouth and giggled. “I know, right?”

Mutual flattery among business partners fosters camaraderie.

“Senior Rong Xi, why aren’t you speaking?” Cong Mian asked.

“She’s shy,” Qin Yuzhen replied.

Rong Xi nodded. Primarily, she didn’t want to act overly girlish in front of these junior students. Only the senior class knew about her bet with Qin Yuzhen, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the juniors.

The six of them went to XX Hotpot, where Cong Mian had already reserved a table, allowing them to eat as soon as they arrived.

“Wait, I’m sure I reserved a private room,” Cong Mian said, frowning slightly at the table in the main hall.

“My apologies, but someone else arrived just before you and took the private room.”

“But I specifically requested a private room, and I wasn’t late! How could you give it to someone else?” Cong Mian said, visibly displeased.

“The main hall is just as good,” the server replied.

“Then why didn’t you seat that group in the main hall?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the server, thinking of how some people these days assumed young girls were easy to deceive.

“Let’s just sit here, it’s fine,” Cong Mian’s classmate whispered. “It’s just a little noisy.”

“Yeah, less trouble that way. They’ll never make the private room vacate anyway.”

“If you don’t want this table, I can give it to someone else. There’s still a long line outside,” the server continued. “We hope you can decide quickly.”

“Every restaurant is crowded right now… We might as well just eat here.”

“Tsk.” Qin Yuzhen tapped her fingers on the table. “Get your manager over here—no, contact the Commercial Management Department. Cong Mian, make a call.”

“Okay.” Rong Xi nodded and lowered her head to find the Rong Family assistant’s number.

Qin Yuzhen glanced at the server. “I’ve never seen such poor service.”

Cong Mian’s classmates fell silent, watching Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi.

“Hello, Uncle Wang? I’m at the XX Hotpot restaurant in the mall on Shengjia Road,” Rong Xi said, glancing at the server again. “Could you please contact the Commercial Management Department of this mall? We had a private room reserved here, but the server gave it away without notifying us and told us to take a seat in the main hall if we wanted. They probably figured we were easy targets since we’re all minors.” Rong Xi continued.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it,” Rong Xi said, hanging up. “Thanks for your help.”

Qin Yuzhen checked her watch.

“Isn’t this a bit too much trouble?” Cong Mian asked.

“It’s no trouble,” Qin Yuzhen said. “As a member of the Rong Family, it’s only natural to report an issue at their mall.”

Although her real reason for finding them had nothing to do with the Rong Family—she simply couldn’t stand the Princess being mistreated.

The server froze, finally realizing something was amiss, and turned to find the manager.

Qin Yuzhen asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Not really. I had breakfast at ten.”

“Me too.”

“To be honest, I’m feeling pretty satisfied right now.”

Staff from the Commercial Management Department soon arrived, offering apologies and assurances that they would handle the matter.

The manager looked sickly, and most people might have let it slide. But these young women were surprisingly meticulous. The staff had indeed underestimated the group, never realizing two of them were Rong Family members. They’d kicked a hornet’s nest this time.

The manager offered various compensations, but Qin Yuzhen refused them all.

“Let’s give our table to someone else. We don’t want it anymore.” She glanced at the manager. “Let’s go.”

The others followed Qin Yuzhen out without protest.

“So where are we eating now?”

“Assistant Wang arranged a place for us,” Rong Xi said. “It’s not far from here, another hotpot restaurant.”

“Great! Hehe.”

“Awesome.”

“Exactly! If that server sat in the main hall, it would really ruin my mood.”

“Same here! Last time I ate there, the server was so rude. They spilled soup on me when serving the dishes, but I didn’t dare complain. They must think I’m an easy target.”

The group chatted and laughed, their earlier interactions having brought the six of them closer together.

“Host, what if this mall isn’t actually owned by the Rong Family? Wouldn’t that make your attempt to show off a failure?” the System remarked.

“Even if it’s not directly owned by the Rong Family, their influence should be enough to make any other mall handle this situation,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “Besides, even as a regular customer, I could still call and complain.”

After two hours of hotpot, Cong Mian frowned slightly at the bill. “Senior, did you get me a discount?”

“Hmm?” Qin Yuzhen glanced at the bill—over five hundred yuan.

“No.”

Cong Mian shot Qin Yuzhen a skeptical look, remembering how expensive this hotpot place was supposed to be.

“I really didn’t,” Qin Yuzhen insisted.

“Senior, am I being too gullible?”

Qin Yuzhen sighed helplessly. “I couldn’t possibly overspend your budget. Besides, you didn’t lose anything. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s alright, my little stash is enough for at least one meal,” Cong Mian said, tucking the bill into her bag.

“One meal shouldn’t bankrupt you. Besides, I was the one who wanted to leave early, so I shouldn’t make you pay for my actions.” Qin Yuzhen wanted to pay outright, but she knew Cong Mian probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

Rong Xi grabbed Qin Yuzhen’s wrist. “Where are we going next?”

“I don’t know,” Qin Yuzhen replied, turning to Cong Mian.

“We usually buy a cup of milk tea each, then go shopping and look at clothes and jewelry. Would you two find that boring?”

“No,” Rong Xi shook her head.

“Oh, right! I meant to give you your gift during dinner, but I forgot with all the commotion.” Qin Yuzhen retrieved the items from her bag and handed them to Cong Mian. She had chosen a fountain pen, while Rong Xi picked a bracelet.

“Thank you, Senior,” Cong Mian said, accepting the gift and opening it. “It’s beautiful. What is this?”

“Just a quick birthday message I wrote,” Qin Yuzhen explained.

Cong Mian unfolded the paper. “Wow.”

The three girls beside her leaned in to take a look.

“So beautiful!”

“Senior Qin, you’re amazing!”

“Hey, Senior Student Qin! We saw your classical Chinese essay from last time—it was amazing!”

“Oh, it was nothing, not that impressive,” Qin Yuzhen replied modestly, though the word “Seriously?” seemed to be written all over her face.

Rong Xi glanced at Qin Yuzhen: How fake.

Cong Mian read her birthday message twice before carefully folding the paper and tucking it into her bag. She then admired the bracelet Rong Xi had given her, slipping it onto her wrist.

“Jealous,” Rong Xi said, tugging on Qin Yuzhen’s wrist. “Sister, why don’t you write me a New Year’s message?”

“No.”

“Hmph.” Rong Xi pinched Qin Yuzhen’s wrist hard in protest.

The six of them bought bubble tea and began wandering through the mall.

Cong Mian worried that Qin Yuzhen and Rong Xi might not enjoy shopping, given their vastly different backgrounds. She feared they might look down on the trinkets priced at ten or twenty yuan in the shops. She had even specifically booked a private room for lunch today, worried they might dislike the communal atmosphere of the main dining hall.

However, the two proved more down-to-earth than she’d imagined, though they still stood out in the crowd.

“These earrings are quite nice,” Qin Yuzhen remarked, picking up a pair.

“I like that one too,” Rong Xi said, casually taking the earrings and placing them in the small basket. “These look nice too.”

“But I don’t have pierced ears,” Rong Xi said, looking at the items in the basket. “What’s the point?”

“You can get your ears pierced after you graduate from high school,” Qin Yuzhen said.

“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Rong Xi frowned.

“Not really,” Qin Yuzhen replied. “It doesn’t feel like much at all. I could pierce your ears right now with these earrings if you want.”

Rong Xi took two steps back. “No thanks.”

“These would look great on you,” Qin Yuzhen said, picking up a pair of earmuffs and placing them on Rong Xi’s head.

“Aren’t they a bit childish?” Rong Xi asked, checking her reflection in the mirror.

“Not really,” Qin Yuzhen said, stroking her chin. She tossed the earmuffs into the basket. “Let’s buy them.”

“Why don’t you get one for yourself?”

“I don’t like wearing hats,” Qin Yuzhen said. “Besides, they look better on you.”

Cong Mian, standing nearby, also tried on a pair of earmuffs before taking them off and setting them aside.

As they left the jewelry store, Rong Xi was carrying two bags. “Here, Sister, take one. I don’t want to carry both.”

“No way. You bought most of them, so you carry them,” Qin Yuzhen refused.

“You helped Gu Si carry her bags last time,” Rong Xi said, looking at Qin Yuzhen with reproach.

“Why are you always comparing yourself to her?” Qin Yuzhen asked, genuinely puzzled.

“It’s not that I want to compare myself to her. It’s just that you’re too biased, Sister,” Rong Xi replied, sounding aggrieved.

Qin Yuzhen took the bags from Rong Xi’s hands, and Rong Xi’s face immediately lit up with a smile. The mood swing took only a second.

“Getting cheeky now, are we?”

“Hehe.” Rong Xi was in a good mood, her steps light and cheerful.

[System:] “Tsk tsk.”

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