The Little Beauty Was Forced to Bind to the Villainess System - Chapter 2

“What? Splash paint all over the female lead?”

Huai Yin felt a pounding headache coming on. Asking her to commit such a malicious act openly in front of so many people was genuinely asking too much of her—especially since both the male lead and the second male lead were present in this class.

How on earth was she supposed to approach Su Yi under the watchful eyes of Xu Shiyan and Shen Xiaozhou? They would surely be on high alert, refusing to let her step anywhere near Su Yi.

Heavy-hearted, Huai Yin slumped her shoulders. A cascade of long, wavy hair spilled over her shoulders, veiling her pouting, gloomy little face.

Being a vicious villainess is so exhausting. I hate this.

A frantic click-clack of high heels echoed from behind her—it was Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou.

“Huai Yin, why were you running so fast? We couldn’t even catch up to you!”

The two panting girls halted right beside her.

Li Qing placed one hand on her waist while fanning herself with the other. “I’m so exhausted. My makeup is going to melt off!”

Huai Yin turned back, her face filled with quiet regret. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, that’s rare,” Xu Zhouzhou remarked, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. “Huai Yin actually knows how to say ‘sorry’?”

Huai Yin’s face instantly paled.

Oh no, broken character again!

Meeting the astonished gazes of Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou, Huai Yin quickly lifted her chin, puffing out her chest like a proud, haughty cat.

She let out a soft huff. “I just wanted to grab the best seat in the room, that’s all!”

Now that’s more like her.

Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou nodded in understanding.

“Don’t worry, nobody would dare steal a seat from you. Come on, class is starting.”

Huai Yin followed behind them into the classroom. She cast a casual glance around the room, locking her eyes onto the female lead seated in the last row by the window.

Su Yi sat with her head lowered, engrossed in her drawing. She was stunning—ebony hair, porcelain skin, her hair loosely pinned up behind her head with a few stray locks framing her ears. Tall and slender, every movement she made carried an effortless elegance, a grace honed from years of practicing dance.

Seated beside her were two handsome young men—Xu Shiyan and Shen Xiaozhou—flanking her like personal bodyguards.

A wave of intimidation washed over Huai Yin, making her shrink her neck back in hesitation.

Li Qing clicked her high heels loudly as she strode in, complaining without restraint, “Ugh, what terrible luck today. Having to share a class with two scholarship students.”

“Tell me about it. No wonder the air in here smells so foul,” Xu Zhouzhou chimed in, waving a hand in front of her face as if a genuinely nauseating stench were filling the room.

Hearing their chatter, the rest of the students looked up, their faces brimming with anticipation for a scene.

Huai Yin wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Yet to maintain her persona, she had to force an air of absolute composure. With her chin held high, she walked behind her sidekicks with a pompous stride.

Though she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, the moment Su Yi spotted her, the girl’s eyes noticeably lit up. But almost immediately, Su Yi panicked and ducked her head, her earlobes flushing a bright crimson.

Huai Yin paused for a second, utterly baffled by Su Yi’s reaction.

“Shiyan, why didn’t you wait for me?” Huai Yin quickly slipped into character. Stomping over angrily, she stopped right in front of Xu Shiyan. “I explicitly told you I wanted to attend this class with you!”

The girl’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, her teary black eyes glaring resentfully at the boy in front of her. Pointing a slender finger toward Su Yi, Huai Yin accused, “Yet you ended up walking with her instead!”

Xu Shiyan lazily raised his eyelids, his expression cold and detached. Without bothering to cast even a glance at Huai Yin, he checked Su Yi’s expression instead.

“I never promised to wait for you,” Xu Shiyan said unhurriedly, his tone completely flat and emotionless.

Xu Shiyan possessed striking looks. He had long, narrow phoenix-eyes that tilted upward at the corners, giving him an air that was both aloof and alluring. He exuded an unbridled, rebellious demeanor that felt far too mature for his age.

At nineteen, the young man was in the middle of a growth spurt. His frame was lean, with prominent collarbones and sharp wrist bones. His long legs stretched out helplessly, and sitting sideways, his knees leaned outward into the aisle.

The moment Huai Yin approached, Xu Shiyan immediately pulled his legs back as if shielding himself from a plague, unwilling to let even a corner of his clothing touch her.

Although Huai Yin was usually slow on the uptake, she could still feel his intense aversion and hostility toward her. The rims of her eyes turned red involuntarily, and her fingers awkwardly tugged at the hem of her uniform top.

To an outsider, it looked as though Huai Yin had just been terribly wronged and bullied by him.

“Xu Shiyan, what’s with that attitude?”

Unable to watch any longer, Li Qing stepped forward to speak up for Huai Yin.

Neglecting his own fiancée over a scholarship student—what an absolute scum!

Xu Shiyan had an even lower tolerance for the two lackeys by Huai Yin’s side. Curving his lips into a cold, mocking sneer, he scoffed, “Just a friendly reminder: class is in session.”

Huai Yin lowered her head in silence and took a seat at the desk closest to Xu Shiyan.

As luck would have it, she ended up sitting right in front of Shen Xiaozhou.

Shen Xiaozhou maintained a completely stoic demeanor, yet from the moment Huai Yin had stepped into the room, he had been tracking her every single move.

Huai Yanli’s biological daughter.

Like father, like daughter indeed. Both of them are cut from the same cloth—utterly repulsive with their hypocritical, pretentiously dramatic behavior.

His long, pale fingers tightened around his paintbrush.

If it weren’t for the sake of avenging his mother, he wouldn’t spend a single second living under the same roof as those two.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Xiaozhou lifted his gaze from his canvas, his eyes coming to rest on the back of Huai Yin’s pale, delicate neck.

Slender and fragile—it felt as though he could snap her neck with just one hand.

Huai Yin pulled a pink bear hair-tie from her handbag. Holding the tie between her lips, she gathered her long hair with both hands to tie it up. As she bowed her head, exposing a length of smooth, porcelain skin, Shen Xiaozhou caught sight of a tiny, crimson mole resting on the nape of her neck.

Against her milky skin, that red mole was blindingly distinct.

She casually tied her hair into a high ponytail, the ends swaying rhythmically with her movements, sending a wave of restless irritation through Shen Xiaozhou’s mind.

He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her.

Absentmindedly setting up her palette, Huai Yin slowly squeezed out the paints one by one, her mind racing for a way to complete the task assigned by the System.

After all, as long as Xu Shiyan remained by Su Yi’s side, she wouldn’t stand a chance of getting anywhere near the female lead.

After mulling it over, her only window of opportunity would be when Xu Shiyan left the classroom.

Huai Yin waited patiently. After about twenty minutes, Xu Shiyan finally stood up, seemingly heading to the restroom to rinse off his palette.

“Do you want to come with me?” Xu Shiyan asked Su Yi. “Or should I wash yours for you?”

Just as Su Yi was about to answer, she turned her head and met Huai Yin’s intense gaze—a look burning with desperate anticipation and hope.

Don’t go, don’t go! Stay here! Huai Yin prayed fervently in her heart.

Su Yi froze.

She, doesn’t want me to leave? Does she have something to tell me?

At the thought, Su Yi’s heart thumped heavily against her chest. Turning back to Xu Shiyan’s offer, she shook her head.

“No thanks, you can go ahead.”

Xu Shiyan bent over to grab his art supplies. Wearing only his white uniform shirt with the sleeves rolled up high to his elbows, he revealed a pair of lean, muscular forearms. The prominent veins visible on the back of his hands held a magnetic charm that hovered between youth and manhood.

“Don’t cause trouble for Su Yi,” Xu Shiyan warned Huai Yin sternly before stepping away.

Huai Yin hurriedly nodded in agreement. Seeing Xu Shiyan walk out of the classroom, she let out a long sigh of relief.

The hardest person to deal with is finally gone. The rest should be smooth sailing.

Though, I do feel a little bad for Su Yi.

Huai Yin offered a silent apology to the girl in her heart.

Scanning her surroundings, she saw that no one was paying attention to her.

Great! This is my chance—now!

Picking up her palette, Huai Yin stood up and made a beeline for Su Yi. The first person to notice her movement was Shen Xiaozhou.

Almost instantly, he realized what she was trying to do.

Furrowing his brows, Shen Xiaozhou stood up on the spot.

“Huai Yin! Are you trying to pick on Su Yi again?”

Shen Xiaozhou’s icy voice rang out from behind her, instantly sending Huai Yin into a panic.

No way! Xu Shiyan will be back any second—I have to get this over with right now!

Huai Yin quickened her pace. Su Yi looked up, staring in confusion at the girl rushing toward her with such momentum.

The very next second, Su Yi caught sight of something on the floor and blurted out an urgent warning: “Wait—watch your step!”

“What?”

Before Huai Yin could process the words, her foot caught on a water bucket placed on the floor. Her ankle twisted sharply as her body pitched forward out of control. The palette flew right out of her hand, splashing its entire contents over Su Yi.

[Mission accomplished.]

The System’s emotionless voice sounded inside Huai Yin’s mind.

BANG!

A loud crash echoed across the room, instantly drawing the eyes of every student in the classroom.

Huai Yin had tumbled hard onto the floor. The bucket had tipped over, spilling its contents and soaking her form-fitting uniform. She lay on the ground in a complete mess.

Shen Xiaozhou’s pupils contracted sharply as he froze in his tracks.

“Ouch, it hurts so much.”

Dazed from the impact, Huai Yin rubbed her sore knees and lifted her head with difficulty, only to find everyone in the classroom staring right at her.

W-What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me like that—like predators eyeing their prey?

Huai Yin trembled like a leaf.

The young girl was completely drenched. The thin, soft fabric of her uniform clung tightly to her skin, subtly accentuating the delicate, exquisite contours of her figure. The soft, elegant curves left far too much to the imagination.

Her waist was impossibly slender, looking as though it could be encircled with a single hand.

An eerie, heavy atmosphere settled over the classroom.

Huai Yin bit her lower lip tightly. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, a faint flush crept across her porcelain cheeks, spreading from her earlobes all the way down to her collarbones.

Why isn’t anyone coming to help me?

The rims of Huai Yin’s eyes flushed red in an instant.

The young heiress—who was usually so arrogant, haughty, and looked down on everyone—now appeared utterly helpless and pitiable.

It felt as though anyone could step forward and push her around, and she wouldn’t even know how to fight back.

Soft, defenseless, just like a little rabbit.

Her long, slender legs were milky white, practically shimmering with a delicate sheen. It seemed as though even the gentlest scratch would leave a vivid mark on her sensitive skin.

Realizing no one was coming to her aid, Huai Yin tried to get up on her own.

Pressing her hands against the wet floor, she struggled to push her upper body up.

Shen Xiaozhou snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. He was the first to regain his senses, though his eyes were still locked onto Huai Yin’s exposed legs.

From this angle, she was completely vulnerable to everyone’s sight.

What a wretched, pathetic young lady.

He shouldn’t care about her. He should just let her make a fool of herself in front of everyone—after all, this was her retribution.

Yet, for reasons he couldn’t explain, the intense, lingering stares the other students were casting at Huai Yin made a sudden wave of sharp irritation flare up in his chest.

Letting out a quiet tsk, Shen Xiaozhou walked over, unbuttoned his uniform jacket, and bent down to drape it carefully over Huai Yin’s body.

Huai Yin blinked, momentarily startled. She looked up at Shen Xiaozhou, her eyes brimming with heartfelt gratitude.

The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Lowering his voice, he asked softly, “Are you alright, Young Lady?”