I'm Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore! - Chapter 38
“Sister, it hurts,” Rong Xi whimpered, her eyes glistening with tears.
Qin Yuzhen stroked Rong Xi’s hair a couple of times, then withdrew her hand. “Such a baby.”
“I’m just a baby, what can I say?” Rong Xi replied. Realizing her words might have sounded a bit inappropriate, she quickly changed the subject when Qin Yuzhen showed no reaction.
Ye Yunshen stood nearby, watching the two with a slight frown. From his perspective, Qin Yuzhen had inexplicably yanked Rong Xi’s braid, causing her pain and near tears. Only after Rong Xi pleaded for mercy did Qin Yuzhen finally let go.
How could she bully someone like that? It’s outrageous!
Ye Yunshen sighed inwardly, marveling at Qin Yuzhen’s kindness. Despite such mistreatment, she still played with Rong Xi.
“Host, the Male Protagonist is watching you and Rong Xi. He seems to be imagining some rather peculiar things,” the System remarked, sensing the unease in Ye Yunshen’s expression.
“Oh,” Qin Yuzhen replied without turning around. “Let him watch. The plot’s been unfolding for a month, and he’s still done nothing. This Male Protagonist is going to be useless eventually.”
The System: ???
“Host, then who caused all this?” the System asked, utterly speechless.
“He can exercise his subjective initiative.”
System: …
After the math exam, the class was noticeably deflated.
“I wonder if tomorrow’s science and English exams will be difficult.”
“Who knows? They might be tough.”
“Boss Qin, how did you do?”
“Alright,” Qin Yuzhen replied.
“Damn, could you lend me some of that brainpower?”
“Keep dreaming. Wake up,” Qin Yuzhen said, leaning back against the desk.
“I’ve given up. As long as I score higher than Lao Li, I’m good. I don’t want to wear a skirt, ha ha ha.”
“I’ll definitely beat you. You have no idea how I’ve been studying this month. I’ve been burning the midnight oil, hanging a weight above my head to stay awake, stabbing my thighs with a needle to stay focused—no games for me.”
The banter between the two lifted the class’s mood considerably.
When Liang Xuzhou entered, his expression was grim. “Did you solve the last problem?”
“Yeah.”
Liang Xuzhou sighed, sometimes forced to admit defeat. “You couldn’t?”
“I got halfway through, but couldn’t finish.” Liang Xuzhou rubbed his temples. “Ran out of time, and there was no more space on the answer sheet.”
Rong Xi stared at Liang Xuzhou for a moment. “Oh no, I hope I don’t score lower than Liang Xuzhou this time.”
Liang Xuzhou: ???
“Why does that sound so wrong?” Liang Xuzhou frowned, looking at Rong Xi.
“Sister, look at him! He’s being mean to me!” Rong Xi immediately tattled.
Liang Xuzhou: …
“What’s this? ‘Those near vermilion become red, those near ink become black.'” Liang Xuzhou, though not particularly familiar with Rong Xi before, had always had a vague impression of her that didn’t match her current behavior.
“How do you know Rong Xi’s corrupted me? Is it that obvious?”
“Heh.” Liang Xuzhou let out a cold laugh.
“Let’s go eat.” Qin Yuzhen pulled Rong Xi toward the door. “Near vermilion becomes red, near ink becomes black. Spend enough time with a fool, and you’ll become one yourself.”
Liang Xuzhou: ???
“Qin Yuzhen, I think that’s a personal attack.”
“I didn’t say anything about you.” Qin Yuzhen turned to look at Liang Xuzhou, her face full of confusion. “Why are you taking it so personally?”
“Damn it!” Liang Xuzhou slammed down his pencil case, pulled out his meal card, and stuffed it into his pocket. “See you later.”
Rong Xi couldn’t help but chuckle.
As they walked, they saw faces everywhere clouded with anxiety.
“People are really stressed out,” Qin Yuzhen remarked.
“It’s the mid-term exam, and six cities are competing,” Rong Xi said. “But we’ll feel better after lunch. Food always lifts the mood.”
“How much are you planning to eat?”
“I think I need three big bowls to fill this emotional void, but I doubt I can finish them all,” Rong Xi sighed.
Qin Yuzhen ruffled his hair. “Getting a buzz cut would have the same effect. They say hair is made of ‘3,000 strands of worry.’ Just chop it short.”
“No way!” Rong Xi immediately covered his head. “Don’t even think about it.”
When Qin Yuzhen arrived at the cafeteria, Huo Yaoxu sent another message. She wondered if he had nothing better to do.
Sister, did you finish the last question on the last problem?
Qin Yuzhen: Isn’t having hands enough? What, you can’t write it out?
Huo Yaoxu: I have hands.
“Sister, who are you chatting with?” Rong Xi asked, noticing Qin Yuzhen’s slightly cold expression.
“Some annoying kid.”
“Ah?” Rong Xi paused. “Sister, your circle of friends is quite… diverse.”
“Not really.” Qin Yuzhen glanced at Huo Yaoxu’s subsequent message, then stuffed her phone back into her pocket.
Rong Xi’s mood instantly lifted, realizing the person on the other end wasn’t important. “Sister, do you deliberately ignore my messages?”
“Do I?” Qin Yuzhen shot a glance at Rong Xi. “Don’t make trouble where there isn’t any.”
“Sister, why are you being so mean?”
Ye Yunshen, who happened to be following behind them, was utterly baffled.
“Rong Xi.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you actually enjoying this?” Qin Yuzhen asked seriously.
Rong Xi smiled brightly. “Of course not! I feel so embarrassed.” Though once you get used to it, it’s actually quite fun.
“Xixi, is she bullying you?”
Rong Xi blinked, startled by Ye Yunshen suddenly appearing out of nowhere. “No, not at all…”
“I heard everything. You were even crying in the corridor.”
“Huh?” Rong Xi paused, startled. “No, we were just joking around.”
“Xixi, you’re just too kind,” Ye Yunshen said, giving Qin Yuzhen a deep look. “Aren’t you going too far? The Rong family is already letting you live there—why bully Xixi behind their back?”
Rong Xi’s expression shifted. “She’s not bullying me! Really, we were just joking. Besides, the Rong family is her home… Sister…”
Qin Yuzhen glanced at the flustered Rong Xi, then at Ye Yunshen.
This male protagonist has quite an active imagination, she thought. Is this what they call the protagonist’s “subjective initiative”?
“If your brain’s been damaged and isn’t functioning properly, I suggest you seek medical attention promptly,” Qin Yuzhen said, her gaze sweeping over Ye Yunshen. “Can you stop disrupting our line? Or are you trying to cut in line with this behavior?”
Ye Yunshen froze, his face turning green.
Several people nearby, sharp-eyed and waiting for their meal, glared over at the mention of “cutting in line.” Nothing was more infuriating than someone cutting in line when you were waiting to eat.
“Young Master Ye, I hope you can be a moral person. Would you please go to the back of the line?” Qin Yuzhen said, her face impassive.
Ye Yunshen: …
Ye Yunshen took a deep breath.
“Xixi, if she’s bullying you, you have to tell me.”
“I’m not being bullied,” Rong Xi said irritably.
“Tsk, didn’t I tell you to stop using diminutive forms? Why act so intimate?” Qin Yuzhen glared coldly at Ye Yunshen. “Do you realize this kind of behavior could be considered sexual harassment?”
As more people behind them turned to stare, Ye Yunshen had no choice but to leave.
In truth, Ye Yunshen was considered one of the school’s heartthrobs, with many admirers. But recently, Qin Yuzhen’s actions had been so prominent that she had completely stolen his limelight.
Compared to a face people had seen for nearly three years, her astonishingly high grades were far more attention-grabbing, and her unconventional, rule-breaking speech left a deeper impression.
Ye Yunshen’s halo as the male protagonist was beginning to dim.
The System was growing increasingly anxious, especially since Qin Yuzhen showed no signs of concern.
“Host… if you were to steal the male protagonist’s halo, what would happen?” the System asked. In previous “Slacker” missions, the female lead had always been the protagonist, so this situation had never arisen before.
Qin Yuzhen paused for two seconds. “There was a precedent for this, right? It seems like it would change the orientation of the book I’m transmigrating into—no CP pairing or anything like that. The male protagonist would have to die before the world collapses, right?”
System: ……
“Who told you that?”
“You know how the Main System collaborated with a Parallel World before?” Qin Yuzhen tapped her fingers on the table. “Apparently, that Tasker kept looking down on the Male Protagonist and refused to complete the romance-related tasks. As a result, the task world turned into a non-romantic, asexual story. But after she started a relationship with another female Tasker in that world, the orientation shifted to yaoi.”
“Tsk, they really know how to play around,” Qin Yuzhen sighed.
System: ……
“I can’t remember her name, but I think it started with ‘Song’?”
“Since we’re collaborators, maybe we get special privileges?”
“Me, a Salted Fish? I deserve privileges more than anyone!” Qin Yuzhen scoffed. “Can you stop nitpicking at me all the time? Instead of nagging, use that time to try contacting the Main System. You can’t even handle your own affairs properly, yet you’re always trying to control me.”
System: ……
After finishing their meal and heading back, Qin Yuzhen activated Halo Mode again. The halos above everyone’s heads glowed like small nightlights, though Rong Xi’s halo was more like an eight-kilowatt spotlight.
Qin Yuzhen’s halo had grown much brighter since she first activated it, now nearly matching the Male Protagonist’s halo in intensity.
“What are you looking at?” Rong Xi asked.
“The scenery,” Qin Yuzhen replied.
“What’s the view like up there?”
“A chaotic mess.”
Rong Xi immediately touched his head. “Is my hair messed up?”
“It’s fine. I was just teasing you.”
Rong Xi: …
“Tsk, Sister, you’re so annoying.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Qin Yuzhen reached out and ruffled Rong Xi’s hair. “There, now you have a chaotic mess too.”
“Qin Yuzhen!”
The next two exams grew increasingly difficult, and after they were finished, the entire building echoed with wails of despair.
“I’m done for! I don’t think I’ll even get 120 on the English.”
“That’s not bad! I’ll be thanking heaven if I get 110.”
“I roughly estimated my science comprehensive score to be 240. Can’t be higher than that.”
“Like hell! You definitely got at least 280.”
“Keep dreaming.”
“I couldn’t understand several questions on the listening section. This year’s listening was insane.”
The classroom buzzed with commotion. Rong Xi sat motionless at her desk, her gaze vacant. Even when she felt Qin Yuzhen sit down beside her, she didn’t glance over.
“Tsk, didn’t do well? Will you even pass?”
Rong Xi stirred, shooting Qin Yuzhen a frosty glare.
Support I’m Not Playing This Vicious Female Supporting Character Anymore!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
