Maintaining the Dignity of the Female Supporting Character

Chapter 4

The bedroom door was tightly shut, with no third person present.

But Wen Bingyi still crept close to Su Qiyan's ear, whispering a few words in a secretive manner.

Su Qiyan's expression didn't change much after hearing it. He patted Wen Bingyi's head and said, "Don't say things like that again in the future."

Wen Bingyi's chubby cheeks scrunched up, "Brother, you don't believe me? Everything I said is true."

Su Qiyan didn't let the topic linger for too long. He picked up the Switch from the storage cabinet and asked, "Want to play a game? I bought a few new cartridges, probably ones you haven't played before."

"Yes!"

Wen Bingyi was happy for just two seconds before hearing a drawn-out call from outside: "Wen Bingyi, come out for a moment, I need you for something."

Seeing Wen Bingyi's sour face, Su Qiyan kindly said, "Take it out to play."

Wen Bingyi happily hugged the game console and returned to the living room, where Wen Shuangmu was sitting with her legs crossed, watching TV.

"Sis, what did you call me for?"

Wen Shuangmu lightly nodded her chin, "Peel an orange for me."

Wen Bingyi didn't move.

Wen Shuangmu waited for a few seconds, then turned to look at him, "Is there a problem?"

Wen Bingyi silently put the game console aside and sat down to do the menial task.

Wen Shuangmu held the remote control, her fingertips pressing buttons non-stop, not seeming to want to find a program to watch quietly: "What were you chatting about with your little brother Su for so long?"

"Nothing much." Wen Bingyi dared not mention the secret he had told Su Qiyan. He threw the orange peels onto the coffee table piece by piece, still feeling a bit resentful. So he deliberately said, "I told him you're in a particularly bad mood today, definitely because you bombed the exam and couldn't get into the Harvard class at your school."

The Harvard class and Cambridge class were the class groupings at Wen Bingyi's bilingual elementary school.

Wen Shuangmu didn't get angry: "So what did he say?"

Wen Bingyi: "What do you mean, what did he say?"

Wen Shuangmu clicked her tongue lightly: "You told him I did poorly on the exam, he had no reaction?"

Wen Bingyi: "He must think you're bad at studying and doesn't want to play with you anymore."

Wen Shuangmu: "..."

To protect students' privacy, the school didn't publish the rankings of the placement exam on their official website, only notifying parents of the class assignments via text message.

Wen Shuangmu knew she would find out her class assignment earlier than ordinary students. Wen Hong, worried that unexpected situations might affect her performance, specifically asked the school for information before it was entered into the system, to allow for "arrangements" if needed. Who knew Wen Shuangmu would steadily enter the experimental class with a top three score, completely eliminating any need for his concern.

When Wen Hong was on the phone with Principal Ming, Wen Bingyi was sitting nearby and heard the conversation clearly.

Wen Shuangmu had been cooped up in her room these past few days. She had bought quite a few practice books from the bookstore, trying to slowly pick up the high school knowledge points she had forgotten.

Wen Bingyi leaned against the wall next to Wen Shuangmu's bedroom door, watching her circle and mark things in the booklet with a highlighter. After observing for a while, he blurted out, "Sis, you're such a fake."

Wen Shuangmu's pen tip didn't stop as she calmly asked back, "What did you just say?"

Wen Bingyi changed his tune: "Dad asked about your results, you're third in the whole school! Sis, you're so amazing and so humble!"

Wen Shuangmu nodded with satisfaction: "Pick any gift you like from the tatami, see if there's anything you fancy."

Wen Bingyi's eyes lit up at first, but when his gaze turned to the row of tatami mats by the window, his mouth drooped in disinterest.

Those were all clothes, shoes, and accessories that Han Chuqiu had brought back for Wen Shuangmu from Hong Kong. Not a single item appealed to him.

Wen Shuangmu didn't call him back when she saw Wen Bingyi walk away. She took the calendar from the corner of the desk and circled the start date of school.

Wu Xiaoqi sighed: "Host, you're finally going out. I was worried you'd forget about the task of binding and cultivating a target."

Wen Shuangmu said, "Don't worry, I've thought it through. Since I need to take on a disciple, it's naturally better to choose someone who can provide long-term, close-range guidance. It'll be more convenient to find someone at school once classes start."

Wu Xiaoqi: "Since you've planned it all out and even reversed the outcome of the placement exam from your previous life, there's no need to start cramming so frantically, doing practice problems from dawn to dusk."

Wen Shuangmu twirled her pen and lowered her head to continue working on problems to reinforce the knowledge points she had just self-studied.

She said, "If my memory serves me right, Xia Zhili is the top scorer in this placement exam."

Wu Xiaoqi fell silent for a moment before letting out an admiring sigh. As expected of the host, not content with momentary victories, always looking ahead to the distant future.

On the first day of school, Wu Xiaoqi seemed even more excited than Wen Shuangmu.

As soon as they entered the campus, it started scanning all around with its radar function: "How about that buzz-cut guy? I remember the original novel had a couple of lines describing him. His parents are divorced and both remarried, he's got a car and house at such a young age. Very fitting with the background of most villains."

Wen Shuangmu glanced over: "That's my classmate from elementary school Go club."

She continued, as if finding a contradiction in Wu Xiaoqi's logic: "I thought according to your previous mutual redemption theory, someone like him with an imperfect original family would be more likely to be a protagonist."

"Whether it's the protagonist or antagonist, extreme family backgrounds are more likely to produce extreme settings," Wu Xiaoqi explained. "But your consideration makes sense, he could also be one of the protagonist's entourage."

To err on the side of caution, Wu Xiaoqi recommended another candidate: "How about that guy with the mohawk by the bulletin board? In the novel, every time there's a flag-raising ceremony scene, he's the one getting criticized by the student council!"

Wen Shuangmu shook her head: "He's just a restless teenager trying to get his parents' attention."

Wu Xiaoqi: "...You know about him too?"

Wen Shuangmu: "Mm-hmm, I used to learn violin with him. His dad works under my dad."

Apart from using a small amount of ink to describe a few of the female supporting character's close minions, the novel didn't delve much into her other interpersonal relationships.

Wu Xiaoqi wasn't sure whether to praise Wen Shuangmu for her wide social circle or what. After thinking for a moment, it asked: "Do you have a principle of not targeting acquaintances?"

"No," Wen Shuangmu said. "I mean I know them too well. They don't have what it takes."

Wu Xiaoqi: "...Alright, host."

Many students had gathered around the bulletin board on the main campus road, mostly those coming up from middle school who wanted to see which classes their friends had been assigned to.

Wen Shuangmu had no interest in these matters and headed straight for the freshman teaching building.

"Host, your phone is ringing."

"I know." Wen Shuangmu responded verbally, but it wasn't until she walked into the shadow of the teaching building that she unhurriedly put away her umbrella and took out her phone to check.

She hadn't answered the call just now, so the other party had sent a text message instead: [Shuangmu! I saw the class assignments on the bulletin board! It's great, we're in the same class again for high school!]

Wu Xiaoqi saw Wen Shuangmu holding her phone for a long time without replying: "Host, this is Ji Jiahui, your sidekick who's been following you for six years in middle school. Have you forgotten about her?"

"How could I?" Wen Shuangmu's fingertips lightly tapped on the keyboard: [Is that so? That's great. I'm almost at our classroom. Where are you now?]

Although Wen Shuangmu's text ended with a question, she had no intention of continuing the conversation.

She put her phone in her pocket, ignoring the subsequent endless ding-dong notification sounds, and stepped onto the stairs: "Ji Jiahui has sucked up to me quite a bit in front of others, but behind my back, she spread rumors that I got into the experimental class through connections. She's quite an interesting person. If I can't find any other suitable candidates, I'll go with her."

Wu Xiaoqi hadn't expected Wen Shuangmu to know the inside story and still be able to move forward: "You're truly open-minded."

Wen Shuangmu was nonchalant: "Relationships need to be maintained. Otherwise, when I need to do something bad in the future, I won't have anyone to use. Should I rely on you instead?"

Wu Xiaoqi suspected that the host was still holding a grudge about it staying silent when she lost her exam admission ticket, but it had no evidence.

Wen Shuangmu took the left staircase of the teaching building. According to her plan, when passing by Class 1, it would be best if she could run into Su Qiyan.

Whether out of courtesy or politeness, if he asked her "Which class?", she would have the opportunity to clear up the "wasted talent" image that the mischievous Wen Bingyi had created for her in front of others.

However, the ideal is full, but reality is skeletal.

Just as Wen Shuangmu rounded the corner from the stairwell, she saw the person she least wanted to see in this school.

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to the Academic Affairs Office?"

The girl's bangs were damp at the ends from the summer heat, and she wore a jade pendant on a red string around her neck. She was clearly the type of girl everyone would encounter in school from childhood to adulthood - the kind you really want to be friends with, who has good grades and is pretty.

However, Wen Shuangmu's prejudice was nearly written all over her face. She was about to utter the word "no" when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Su Qiyan's figure emerging from Class 1. She swallowed her words abruptly.

In her previous life, by the time Wen Shuangmu discovered that Su Qiyan had a "close female friend," Su Qiyan and Xia Zhili had already become quite familiar due to their involvement in competitions. She didn't know when they first met, but she feared that if she refused now, Xia Zhili might immediately turn to Su Qiyan, giving them an opportunity to be alone together. So, keeping her composure, she said, "I'll take you there."

Xia Zhili was surprised. "Oh, thank you. I'm Xia Zhili from Class 2. Nice to meet you."

Wen Shuangmu led her towards the skybridge. "Wen Shuangmu, Class 2."

Xia Zhili's expression brightened. "We're in the same class?"

Wen Shuangmu stared at Xia Zhili's youthful face for a moment, tempted to say, "You might want to tone down that expression. It doesn't match my first impression of you as the ice-cold Queen from my previous life."

Instead of voicing her thoughts, Wen Shuangmu changed the subject. "What are you going to the academic affairs office for?"

Xia Zhili replied, "The homeroom teacher asked me to pick up the freshman handbooks."

Wen Shuangmu nodded. Teachers, like students, couldn't recognize everyone in a new class, so they tended to ask the top student for such tasks.

At the academic affairs office, students from various classes were crouched on the floor, counting their class's handbooks.

After Xia Zhili finished counting, Wen Shuangmu frowned. "Our class has 41 students?"

"Yes," Xia Zhili replied, not seeing any issue. "They said the 40th and 41st ranked students had the same score, so they were both admitted."

Wen Shuangmu was familiar with this explanation. In her previous life, this was how she had entered Class 2. After all, during the placement exam, no one knew each other, so no one would notice if a student was missing from the exam room. But in this life, since she had earned her place in Class 2 on her own merit, it didn't make sense that there would be an extra person.

Seeing Xia Zhili struggling with the tall stack of handbooks, Wen Shuangmu made no move to help her as they walked out together.

From the other end of the corridor, two boys came pushing and shoving each other. As they approached, they seemed to become more subdued, likely due to the presence of girls.

The boy on the outside had clearly noticed Wen Shuangmu early on. As the four were about to pass each other, he suddenly waved at her. "Hey, Sister Shuang, are you here to pick up freshman handbooks with your classmate too?"

It was Liu Yiheng, the buzz-cut boy she had seen on the campus avenue that morning.

Wen Shuangmu gave a light "Mm" in response, not particularly surprised.

Liu Yiheng was the most opportunistic person Wen Shuangmu had ever met. This guy originally belonged to the category of people who might not even nod to her when they met on the street, depending on his mood. But in both lives, upon encountering her walking with Xia Zhili, he would abruptly and familiarly start calling her "Sister Shuang" and try to establish a connection.

In her previous life, the young and naive Wen Shuangmu had once thought Liu Yiheng was interested in her, as he kept coming to her third-floor classroom during breaks to bring her milk tea and snacks. Later, she realized that Liu Yiheng had fallen in love with Xia Zhili at first sight and was trying to get information about her from Wen Shuangmu.

As Wen Shuangmu and Xia Zhili reached the corner, she glanced back and, sure enough, the two boys were looking at them again.

In her previous life, a similar scene had occurred during the school sports meet.

Now, it seemed that many events were likely to happen much earlier.

When Wen Shuangmu and Xia Zhili returned to the classroom, most of their classmates had already arrived.

Xia Zhili stood at the front row, distributing the new student handbooks, while Wen Shuangmu walked towards the empty seats in the back.

Wu Xiaoqi, who had held back the entire way to avoid interrupting their private conversation, excitedly spoke up: "I didn't expect the first encounter between the host and the female lead to happen so quickly. How do you feel about it, host?"

Wen Shuangmu casually replied, "Was it like this in the original plot? Her entrance was too ordinary."

Wu Xiaoqi: "?"

Wu Xiaoqi: "What did you expect? This is a campus novel."

Wen Shuangmu didn't respond.

With an extra lifetime of experience, she should have felt confident facing the not-yet-matured Xia Zhili. But the moment she saw her that morning, a subtle feeling of jealousy had risen in her heart.

This emotion irritated Wen Shuangmu, as if constantly reminding her of her assigned role as a supporting character.

Lost in these thoughts, Wen Shuangmu randomly chose a seat, only to be immediately informed by the neighboring classmate that it was taken. She had to pick up her bag and continue moving towards the back.

Wu Xiaoqi's radar seemed to detect something, and it suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"

Wen Shuangmu's bad mood extended to this interruption, and she impatiently asked, "What is it now?"

Still immersed in its own excitement, Wu Xiaoqi loaded a segment of "King of Glory" sound effects: "'Back row by the window, the king's homeland.' Host, host, let's choose that guy sleeping at the last desk as our development target!"

Lu Jing: Do you need something?