The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 17

The class ended smoothly. When the bell rang, Shen Nian packed her few belongings, preparing to leave. But before she could stand up, several people suddenly surrounded her.

Leading them was Yang Min, the Class Monitor. Her face was currently flushed with a slight pink hue, and she looked quite shy. “Student Shen, hello!” she said. “Can we trouble you for a bit of your time?”

Shen Nian looked around and realized that the people gathered here were the “high achievers” of the class in her previous life. She was certain she had never had any dealings with them back then.

“Sure.” Shen Nian tucked her things back into the desk drawer. She looked up and asked, “What is it?”

“Your performance on stage today was wonderful!” Yang Min’s eyes were full of admiration. “Do you have special practice techniques? Or do you just really like stage plays and studied them specifically?”

Shen Nian roughly understood why they had come. She thought for a moment and smiled. “You could say… I’ve studied them specifically.”

“No wonder!” The Class President, a male student with shoulder-length hair, widened his eyes. “Your performance just now was so immersive; I was so shocked I couldn’t even speak.”

Shen Nian waved it off. “It wasn’t as exaggerated as you say. I still have many flaws.” She gave an example: “I don’t know if you noticed, but I intentionally changed many long sentences. If I had followed the textbook script exactly, I would have run out of breath long ago.”

This was the hard reality of her physical limitations. The current Shen Nian lacked practice and could only use tricks to bypass her weaknesses.

“So that’s how it was,” Yang Min nodded in realization.

The Class President countered, “But that’s already amazing. You even know where your problems lie and how to hide them. I wish I were half as good as you!”

Being praised like this caused a slight blush to creep onto Shen Nian’s face. She took a deep breath to calm her emotions and whispered a soft “Thank you” with a curl of her lips.

“Aww!” Yang Min and several other girls covered their mouths and squealed.

Shen Nian looked up in confusion. “Hmm?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Yang Min said, her eyes practically turning into hearts. She was an extroverted girl and leaned down to speak her heart plainly: “I just realized you’re so cute! You actually blush just from a few compliments!”

Shen Nian: “…”

Feeling even more embarrassed, she pressed the back of her hand against her cheek in an attempt to cool herself down.

“Stop teasing her!” The Class President put his hands on his hips, bringing the topic back to business. “Shen Nian, we came here to ask if you’re interested in joining our Drama Club?” He began a hard sell: “The club is full of drama enthusiasts, and we’re preparing for the end-of-term performance. We really need someone like you!”

Shen Nian blinked in confusion. “The recruitment period… shouldn’t it be over by now?”

“Oh, that’s not important,” Yang Min cut in. “Our drama troupe recruits based on talent. As long as you’re an excellent actor, you can join anytime, anywhere.”

Shen Nian had missed out on too much in her past life, and hearing this made her heart stir. Since there was still time, she began asking about the club’s activities and daily schedule.

As they were chatting happily, Xi You and her roommates happened to pass by. The deskmate nudged Xi You’s shoulder. “Xi You, should we go take a look too?”

Xi You rolled her eyes unceremoniously. “Look at what?”

“Look at Shen Nian!” the deskmate said, eager to join. “Aren’t you curious how she suddenly became so amazing?”

“It’s just a few little tricks. How sheltered are you people?” Xi You mocked. Her words were quite harsh, making the others immediately displeased.

“You shouldn’t say that!” one girl frowned. “Who hasn’t seen a good play before? But in our year, it’s rare to find someone with expression as good as Shen Nian’s. Even the Class President and Monitor went over to socialize. What’s wrong with us getting to know her again?”

Xi You snorted. “Fine, go if you want.”

“Alright, we get it—Shen Nian is special to you.” The girl curled her lip. “You don’t even have to go find her; she’ll come to you eventually anyway.”

Furious, Xi You swung her hand and walked away. As she passed the first row, she accidentally bumped into a female student standing behind Yang Min. The girl was kicked by Xi You’s delicate pointed heels and bent over in pain. “Ow—”

The conversation between Shen Nian and the others was interrupted, and everyone turned to look.

“Lele?! Are you okay?”

In just a few seconds, a purple bruise began to form on the student’s kicked calf. She endured the first wave of sharp pain and looked up at her companions, forcing a comforting smile. “I-I’m fine.”

Xi You clutched her chest. Hearing the girl say she was fine, Xi You turned her face away and continued walking.

Yang Min was not having it. “Student Xi You!”

Xi You was forced to stop. She turned back and asked, “What?”

“What?!” Yang Min laughed out of anger. “You bumped into someone! Forget asking about the injury—can’t you even say ‘I’m sorry’?!”

Xi You: “Psychopath.” She crossed her arms. “Didn’t she say she was fine herself?”

Yang Min chased her down. “Just because she’s fine doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apologize. Weren’t you the one who hit her first?”

The Class President, wanting to keep the peace, stepped forward and grabbed Yang Min’s arm. “Yang Min, lower your voice!”

Xi You sneered. “It’s clearly your responsibility.” By now, her roommates had gathered around, and her confidence grew. “You people were crowding the aisle. I didn’t hold it against you for almost making me trip, yet you have the nerve to blame the victim?”

“Lele is so thin; you’d have to be blind not to see her before you kicked her, right?” Yang Min’s temper flared at Xi You’s arrogant attitude. She grabbed Xi You’s arm. “Come on, let’s go to the security room downstairs and check the surveillance. Let’s see whose fault it really is!”

“Yang Min…” the girl who was hit spoke up weakly. She was a standard “Southern Belle” type with a gentle personality. “Forget it.” She looked at Shen Nian beside her and lowered her head shyly. “Student Shen already checked it for me. It’s just a superficial injury.”

Yang Min looked back and met Shen Nian’s gaze. She suddenly remembered the inseparable relationship Shen Nian and Xi You used to have, and she became somewhat conflicted. But just as she was considering whether to give Shen Nian some face, Xi You’s behavior became even more out of line.

“Hear that? Let go of me already!” Xi You lifted her chin. “She didn’t even say anything, yet you’re meddling here to escalate the conflict! Did being Class Monitor turn you into an idiot?”

Now, even the good-tempered Class President frowned. “Student Xi You, those words are out of line.”

It was nearing 12:00 PM, and most people in the classroom had already left for lunch. Only about ten of them were gathered near the first row. The room fell silent, save for the Class President’s voice, which was suppressed with anger: “Yang Min is just trying to solve the problem based on the facts. What right do you have to launch a personal attack against her?”

These words gained the approval of the crowd. Even those who hadn’t wanted to press the issue became serious.

“Yeah!” “Why are you so arrogant? You have no class!” “Apologize! Apologize to Lele and Yang Min!”

Even Xi You’s roommates stood on Yang Min’s side. “Xi You? What’s wrong with you?” the deskmate asked in confusion. “Just apologize!” Another roommate nodded. “You clearly bumped into her. Xu Lele was leaning against the table the whole time and didn’t move.”

“Just apologize.”

Xi You angrily swung her arm, breaking free from Yang Min’s grip. Almost everyone within sight was denouncing her. She was alone, the target of everyone’s accusations. She gasped for air, and as she looked up, she met Shen Nian’s calm eyes.

Shen Nian was the tallest and remained conspicuous even at the edge of the crowd. She hadn’t said a word from beginning to end, silently watching the events unfold.

Xi You pushed past Yang Min and the Class President, walked up to Shen Nian in a few steps, and grabbed her arm. All the denunciations stopped abruptly. Everyone looked from one person to the other, finally focusing their gaze on Shen Nian—the person Xi You was using as her shield.

Shen Nian seemed oblivious as she looked down at Xi You. She tried to pull her arm away, but Xi You gripped it even tighter.

So, Shen Nian asked, “What is it?”

“They’re bullying me.” Xi You leaned against her. Her previous arrogance was gone; she sounded entirely aggrieved. “Don’t you even know how to help me?”

“F***.” Yang Min couldn’t help but swear. “Who’s bullying whom?”

“…” Xi You’s eyes instantly welled with tears. She gripped Shen Nian’s sleeve and began to cry, the tears falling pitter-patter. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. They’re being so aggressive… I-I… sob… what am I supposed to do?”

Shen Nian handed her a tissue. Xi You used it to wipe her face, muttering, “The makeup I put on this morning is ruined…”

Shen Nian remembered a time long ago, in a corner of the Shen garden, where a young Xi You always loved to complain to her. At that time, Shen Nian felt they were kindred spirits, suffering the same oppression. But as she grew older, Shen Nian saw through many things. Most of the things she heard from Xi You were nothing more than one-sided stories distorted after the fact.

“Forget it, forget it.” Yang Min rolled her eyes, raising the white flag at the sight of the tears. “Just our bad luck…”

“Hmph!” Xi You was not grateful. She looked at Shen Nian. “Come eat lunch with me!”

Even though Shen Nian hadn’t spoken yet, the people around them naturally made a path wide enough for them to leave.

“Xi You.” Shen Nian sighed.

Xi You nervously twisted her fingers. “…What?”

Shen Nian slowly withdrew her arm. She turned to face Xi You and spoke seriously: “Apologize to Lele and Yang Min.”

The whole room was stunned, but the most shocked of all was Xi You herself. “What?”

“You aren’t a child anymore.” Shen Nian shook her head, her expression so indifferent that it felt foreign to Xi You. “Shouldn’t you take responsibility for your own mistakes?”