The School Prince is a Girl - Chapter 11

By the time they reached the infirmary, Bai Xi was lying on a hospital bed. Looking at Ye Ying sitting beside her, she still felt a lingering spark of anger. Regarding the female lead’s recent antics, she had to admit she was thoroughly impressed—in a frustrated sort of way.

“I only said your waist was thin and soft. Do you really have such a short fuse that you’re still angry?” Sitting in a chair by the bed, Ye Ying looked at Bai Xi. Seeing those shimmering, peach-blossom eyes glaring back at her, Ye Ying’s heart skipped a beat with a sudden, inexplicable flutter. However, that didn’t stop her from deliberately poking at Bai Xi’s sore spot.

“Are you even a girl?” Seeing that Ye Ying had the nerve to bring it up again, Bai Xi’s hand—the one currently hooked to the IV drip—trembled slightly. She pointed at herself and then at Ye Ying. “Don’t you know about the boundaries between men and women? You have the face to sit there and talk after touching a guy’s waist?”

While Bai Xi knew her own true gender, in the eyes of everyone else, she was the eldest Young Master of the Bai family—a man.

“Exactly. You said it yourself: you’re a guy. Why do you care so much then?” Ye Ying’s gaze unconsciously drifted back to Bai Xi’s waist. She then glanced at the flat chest and the delicate, yet visible, Adam’s apple. Pushing down her internal doubts, she figured she must have been overthinking things.

Noticing Ye Ying’s gaze, Bai Xi felt a jolt of alarm. This female lead was incredibly sharp. Fortunately, she had 002; otherwise, at such a close distance, even the best disguise might have been exposed.

Once she was sure Ye Ying had dropped her suspicions, Bai Xi used her foot to hook the blanket at the foot of the bed and pulled it over herself, shielding her body from Ye Ying’s view. “What are you looking at? You’re staring quite openly, aren’t you? How can you be like this?”

Bai Xi shot a look of feigned disgust at Ye Ying. She couldn’t understand if her “opening move” for this world had been wrong or if there was something fundamentally wrong with this female lead. She was starting to get a very bad feeling about this.

Caught staring, Ye Ying didn’t show the slightest hint of embarrassment. She propped her chin on her hand, leaning against the edge of the bed as she watched Bai Xi leisurely. “I’m just looking to see if you’re actually a boy or a girl. With a waist that thin, even I, a girl, am jealous.”

Bai Xi: … “Get out!”

After driving the female lead away, Bai Xi watched the door open slightly and then click shut. She lowered her gaze and, as expected, saw 002—the Maine Coon cat who had been squatting on the roof earlier.

“I told you not to show off, didn’t I? Right now, you should be looking for the male lead. Why are you hanging around the female lead all day?” Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was there, 002 hopped onto the hospital bed. It stood right above Bai Xi’s head and tapped her forehead with a paw. “Hmm. Just a bit of low blood sugar and anemia. Nothing serious.”

Hearing the “authoritative” diagnosis from 002, Bai Xi curled her lip. She used her free hand to grab the Maine Coon by the scruff of its neck, dangled it in front of her face, and began her interrogation. “Is your female lead mentally ill? Are you sure she’s still the original version and hasn’t been swapped out by someone else?”

Blinking its round cat eyes, 002 brushed its tail against Bai Xi’s face and shook its head seriously. “No. According to the Plane Management Bureau’s monitoring, there have been no unexpected changes in this world—except for you.” The Plane Management Bureau was the place that had developed 002.

So you’re saying it’s my fault?

Fine, she had indeed strayed a bit from the script, but that was no reason for a female lead to act like a rogue toward a female supporting character!

“Have you actually followed even a cent’s worth of the ‘female supporting character’ plot?” 002’s cat eyes stared blankly at Bai Xi, the resentment in its gaze almost becoming tangible.

…Fair point.

Bai Xi decided to skip the topic. Plus, her arm was getting tired from holding up the “Maine-pig,” so she set the cat down on her pillow. “Let’s make a deal. Give me a set of six-pack abs. I was just mocked by your female lead. I don’t care how; I need abs.”

A woman’s sense of competition is truly terrifying, 002 thought as it found a comfortable spot on the pillow and curled up. “Maintaining the ‘abs’ setting all the time is too draining. How about this: whenever you lift your shirt, the abs will appear. The rest of the time, your body stays as it is.”

“And the texture?” Bai Xi asked, still remembering Ye Ying’s arm around her. She turned her head to look at 002 next to her.

“Don’t push your luck. Of course the texture won’t change. You have a girl’s body—what’s wrong with your waist being thin and soft? Other people would kill for that.” 002 opened its mouth and let out a wide yawn, looking ready to fall asleep again.

Seeing that the cat was about to drift off, Bai Xi nudged it unceremoniously. “I almost forgot to ask—what’s been up with you lately? You’re constantly drowsy. All you do is sleep. Talk about being a slacker!”

“Slacker my ass!” Galvanized by anger, 002 waved its claws in front of Bai Xi’s face for a while but didn’t dare strike. Finally, it used its paw pads to step forcefully on her hair. “As the host, you aren’t following the plot. As the system, I have no ‘Source Energy.’ I can’t compare to those younger systems anymore. If you keep this up, I’ll eventually run out of power and fall into a permanent sleep, leaving you behind.”

Bai Xi hadn’t expected this. She couldn’t help but poke 002. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“If I told you, would you listen?”

“No.”

002: … Can I just kill this host and be done with it?

“I’m not like those new systems,” 002 continued, its youthful voice sounding strangely weary. “If their hosts don’t cooperate, they have punishment measures. They can reverse time and space or correct even the slightest deviation. They can even reside directly in the host’s mind. Unlike me, who has to rely on a physical body. Sigh.”

“You mean other systems can punish their hosts if they don’t listen?” Bai Xi was surprised. 002 had always been easy to talk to and tried to fulfill her requests. Even though it got angry about the plot, it never actually did anything to her. Bai Xi had assumed all systems were like this.

Apparently not.

“The lightest punishment for other systems is an electric shock or a lightning strike. The heavier ones involve all sorts of torture. The most extreme ones can directly ‘remodel’ the host. Because they usually pick hosts with a 90% compatibility rate with the original character, if a host is truly uncooperative, the system will wipe their memories and plant the original character’s memories instead. Essentially, once the main plot is over, the host is discarded as ‘scrap.'”

002 shook its head while explaining. Bai Xi’s brow furrowed tightly. From the sounds of it, this Plane Management Bureau wasn’t exactly a benevolent organization.

“What about you? Why can’t you be like them?” Bai Xi looked at 002 with a hint of wariness.

002 let out a long, worldly sigh. “Just look at my serial number and you’ll know how senior I am. The latest systems have six-digit numbers. I was part of the first batch of systems designed to help manage the planes. Back then, we promoted the spirit of humanitarianism. Nowadays, they only promote ‘humanitarian’ disposal.”

Bai Xi finally understood. 002 was a “legacy” model. In that case, it really was quite old.

“I’ve had countless hosts. I don’t even want to know how long I’ve lived. Regardless, of the first batch of three-digit systems, I’m the only one left. Whatever. Maybe one day my energy will drop to zero, and I’ll join my old buddies in the recycling bin to collect dust.”

As it spoke, 002’s eyelids fluttered shut, and it fell asleep right next to Bai Xi’s face.

Bai Xi didn’t doubt its words. From her observations, while 002 was occasionally hot-headed or incompetent, it never lied.

If that’s the case… Bai Xi’s hand went to her realistic, prosthetic Adam’s apple. I’ll put in a little effort and try to follow the plot, even if it’s just half-heartedly.

By the time the IV was finished, it was time for afternoon classes. Since she had already eaten with Old Master Bai earlier, she wasn’t hungry. Thinking about the plot, she headed toward the classroom.

According to the original story, she should now be using her phone to frantically pursue the male lead, Yu Mo. After annoying him to the point of no return, Yu Mo would seek out the female lead to pretend to be a couple. Then, Bai Xi would continue her “death-seeking” antics until her identity was revealed and she made her exit.

Lost in thought, Bai Xi sat down at her desk. She looked at Yu Mo, her desk-mate, who was currently drawing something. Just as she was about to speak, the male lead “thudded” a document he had just finished writing onto the desk in front of her.

“Take a look at this first. I feel like we can start from this angle. However, our current capital is still a bit insufficient. Even after market manipulation, my pocket money plus yours only amounts to a few hundred million. We can’t swallow this market share yet. Furthermore, we lack someone trustworthy who can handle the ground-level logistics for us.”

Looking at the male lead, who was whispering his future business plans to her in a non-stop stream of words, Bai Xi felt that the possibility of following the original plot was getting lower. She felt that with a little more “persuasion,” getting the male lead to pretend to be a couple with her wouldn’t even be difficult…

What a headache.

[Bai Xi: 002, wake up. Tell me, what should I be doing in the original book right now?]

002, startled awake, answered reflexively.

[002: You’re supposed to be sticking to the male lead like glue. You need to make the people around you notice something ‘abnormal.’ When the rumors are flying everywhere, you make a high-profile confession to the male lead, forcing him to team up with the female lead as a fake couple.]

[Bai Xi: So… just cling to him?]

[002: Exactly. Cling… Wait, wait, wait! What did you say? My dear Host! Are you actually planning to follow the plot?!]

Bai Xi: …

[Bai Xi: Is that really so surprising? I’m going to start clinging to the male lead now. See if you can get that ‘Source Energy’ or whatever it is.]

[002: Understood! My deepest thanks, Host! I shall never forget this life-saving grace as long as I live!]

I don’t even think you have teeth to remember it with, Bai Xi thought. But despite her internal commentary, she felt a sense of relief at 002’s reaction.