Maintaining the Dignity of the Female Supporting Character

Five tattooed men with blue-patterned arms lay groaning on the ground.

The man with a gold chain clutched his arm and shouted, "Police! I want the police! You little brat, don't you dare run away. You're going to pay for my medical bills!"

Lu Jing instinctively stepped in front of Wen Shuangmu as he watched the men struggle to their feet. When he caught sight of the man with a gold chain's bruised and swollen face, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

He turned his head to look at Wen Shuangmu, as if truly seeing her for the first time, and softly muttered, "I didn't know you were so formidable."

Wen Shuangmu wanted to laugh.

Lu Jing was still carrying bags of books and snacks they had just bought, with a tilted popcorn bucket tucked under his arm. Even in this situation, he maintained a protective stance with his arm half-raised to shield her.

Wen Shuangmu responded matter-of-factly, "Indeed I am." She nodded at his arm in front of her and asked, "So what exactly are you trying to do now? Hmm?"

Lu Jing looked down at his own arm and said, "I suppose this is a bit unnecessary, isn't it?"

Wen Shuangmu nodded, "Mm-hmm, very much so."

Lu Jing: "..."

Wen Shuangmu watched him awkwardly lower his arm and held back a laugh. She patted his shoulder reassuringly, "It's alright. Why don't you go comfort Xia Zhili? She was just bullied and must be quite shaken up."

Lu Jing first glanced at Xia Zhili standing under the shop awning, then saw Wen Shuangmu walking past him towards the group led by the man with a gold chain. He called out to her, "What are you going to do?"

Wen Shuangmu didn't answer. She calmly approached the man with a gold chain, looked him up and down from head to toe, and asked very patiently, "Where exactly do you want me to pay for medical expenses?"

"Are you blind?" The man with a gold chain pointed at his bent arm. "This is broken."

He then pointed at his waist and abdomen. "My ribs are fractured here."

Finally, he gestured to his slightly limping ankle. "This is sprained. Now call your parents. Either pay up to settle this privately, or we'll go straight to the police station. Your choice."

Wen Shuangmu: "I can pay for the medical expenses, but..."

The man with a gold chain: "But what?"

"If your arm isn't actually broken, your ribs aren't fractured, and your ankle isn't sprained, wouldn't it be a waste of my money?" As Wen Shuangmu spoke, she flexed her knuckles. "Before I pay, I think it's best if I verify for myself. Don't you agree?"

"You're going to hit me again?!"

The man with a gold chain realized Wen Shuangmu's gaze was already fixed on his arm, looking as if she was about to snap it right then and there.

He cursed and stumbled back a few steps. Suddenly, his foot wasn't limping anymore, and his arm didn't seem broken either.

The group of punks with dyed hair around him had clearly been frightened by the beating and didn't want a repeat. They gathered around their leader, asking, "What should we do, boss?"

Seeing that Wen Shuangmu wasn't giving them time to discuss, and was instead taking a few steps closer, the man with a gold chain quickly widened the distance between them. He gritted his teeth, spat on the ground, and said, "Damn it, you've got guts! Let's go!"

Wen Shuangmu watched the group run off before dusting off her hands and picking up her backpack and snack bags from the ground.

She may have fought them, but she had been careful to control her strength.

Fractured ribs? They must be joking.

She was aiming to get into a proper university; how could she do something that would leave a disciplinary record on her file?

Her UFF card only had a ten-minute effect. Luckily, the man with a gold chain was cowardly enough. If he had continued to be aggressive, she wouldn't have wanted to spend more points to redeem another card. She really didn't know how she would have fought then – she might have just turned to Lu Jing and Xia Zhili and yelled "Run!"

As Wen Shuangmu was looking at the half-collapsed cake in the bag, she heard someone call her name. Before she could turn around, a figure darted out and grabbed her arm, nearly throwing her off balance.

She glanced sideways, her pupils contracting for a moment.

The current Xia Zhili was undoubtedly the most submissive version she had seen in two lifetimes.

"Wen Shuangmu..."

"You're so amazing."

Xia Zhili spoke as she drew even closer.

"Was that Taekwondo you were using just now?"

"Or was it Judo? Sanda? Aikido?"

Wen Shuangmu looked at Xia Zhili, clearly recalling the passage from the original story describing Xia Zhili being cornered by thugs.

[Xia Zhili bit her lip, her eyes glistening with tears of shame and anger, her expression defiant.]

So, sister, where is that shame and defiance you showed when Zhou Yu offered to help you as your boyfriend?

Why are you treating me like this?

Is it because I didn't set any conditions when I saved you?

Wen Shuangmu uttered three words: "It was Karate."

Xia Zhili probably didn't know the difference between "Karate" and the other martial arts she had just mentioned, but she still let out an impressed "Wow."

Wen Shuangmu wasn't listening. She now felt extremely regretful.

She had made a mistake. At the very least, she shouldn't have stolen Zhou Yu's scene.

She had taken away the "happiness" that should have belonged to someone else at this moment.

Lu Jing, who had been standing to the side without saying much, unintentionally lowered his gaze. His eyes paused, and he took Wen Shuangmu's book bag and bread bag from her hands, saying, "Is your hand okay?"

Only then did Xia Zhili notice the small scratches and cuts on the back of Wen Shuangmu's hand. Feeling extremely guilty, she said, "There's a pharmacy over there. I'll go buy some iodine for you."

Wen Shuangmu thought that since she had helped so much, it was only right for Xia Zhili to run this small errand, so she let her go.

Wen Shuangmu turned her head to look at Lu Jing, who was left alone with her.

He was usually the type who never lacked friends volunteering to serve him wherever he went, but now he was laden with bags, his knuckles turning red from the strain.

Wen Shuangmu felt guilty, knowing that most of the stuff was hers. She was about to offer to carry some when she heard Lu Jing say, "Find a place to sit down. I'll go buy you a bottle of mineral water."

Wen Shuangmu was taken aback. She remembered that earlier, she had wanted to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear but stopped halfway, not wanting to touch her face with her dirty hands after the fight. She hadn't expected Lu Jing to notice such a small detail.

She watched Lu Jing walk into a 7-11 across the street and let out a long sigh.

Is this the treatment one gets for being a Good Samaritan?

She felt quite touched.

The milk tea shop attendant called out cautiously from behind the service counter, "Students, your milk tea is ready."

She turned her attention back and replied, "Oh, okay, coming."

Wen Shuangmu picked up the milk tea and found a long bench by a flower bed to sit down. The sun had completely set, and the evening breeze had turned cool.

Wu Xiaoqi said, "Host, you were so cool just now!"

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Wen Shuangmu took a big sip of milk tea and asked, "Why do you all think that kind of behavior is cool?"

Wu Xiaoqi: "?"

Wen Shuangmu: "I'm a good student, you know. I never fought in my previous life. Put yourself in my shoes – becoming the very thing you despise, and then having a bunch of people praise you for being awesome and cool. How could you be happy about that?"

Wu Xiaoqi: "But I saw that you were clearly enjoying yourself while fighting."

Wen Shuangmu felt a twinge of pain just talking about it: "A ten-point UFF card – if I don't use it with a smile, should I be crying instead?"

Wu Xiaoqi burst into laughter.

Lu Jing had gone to a nearby convenience store, so he returned first.

Wen Shuangmu used the mineral water to rinse her hands clean, then let Xia Zhili help disinfect and put band-aids on the back of her hand.

The three of them sat side by side on the long bench. The night sky in the south was clear and transparent, with neon lights and vehicles stretching out like golden rivers on both sides.

Wen Shuangmu distributed the squashed cakes to Lu Jing and Xia Zhili, one for each: "Make do with these."

After a moment's thought, she felt it was too shabby and not up to her standards for taking friends out: "Or should we find a restaurant?"

"It's fine, this is good enough."

Since Wen Shuangmu had bought triangular slice cakes, the box base was thin, and the cream and cake base were all stuck to the lid in a messy jumble.

Xia Zhili thought for a moment, then simply flipped the packaging box over, pouring all the cake into the transparent lid.

She opened the base, used a spoon to mix everything in the lid, scooped up a spoonful to taste, and then looked at Wen Shuangmu and Lu Jing, saying, "Mm, it's really delicious. You should try it quickly."

Wen Shuangmu and Lu Jing exchanged a silent glance, then followed Xia Zhili's example, flipping their cakes into the lids and mixing with spoons.

Wen Shuangmu took a small bite, her expression still very critical, as if someone was holding a knife to her throat.

It'll have to do, she supposed.

Lu Jing casually poured some popcorn into his cake lid and offered the rest to the two girls: "Want some?"

Wen Shuangmu frowned at the popcorn bucket for a few seconds, wondering why they couldn't just eat normally instead of making such a mess.

It took her quite a while to reluctantly pick out two pieces and mix them into the cake, with a look of disgust on her face at the end.

Lu Jing was taken aback by her action and laughed, "Why are you mixing them? I meant for you to take them and share them."

Xia Zhili, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but smile when she heard this.

Wen Shuangmu realized she had misunderstood and felt embarrassed. Annoyed, she said, "What's so funny?"

Xia Zhili didn't say anything, just smiled and grabbed a handful of popcorn to mix with her cake. Now that everyone was doing the same thing, there was nothing left to laugh about.

Wen Shuangmu glanced down at the two pieces of popcorn in the lid, made a slight scoffing sound, and popped one into her mouth.

The three of them finished their cake, then polished off the other cream puffs and chicken cutlets. After slurping down the last sip of milk tea, they suddenly felt so full they couldn't move.

Lu Jing asked them, "Do you want to go home, or continue somewhere else?"

"Let's go back," Wen Shuangmu said. "I haven't finished my homework yet."

Xia Zhili searched for the nearest subway station on her phone: "I'll take the subway. What about you two?"

Lu Jing picked up the book bag and stood up: "Let's go together."

Wen Shuangmu's bag was packed with about ten books. Although she felt it wasn't very considerate to let Lu Jing carry it the whole time, she thought she might as well take advantage of the ride as long as she could, so she had no objections.

After they disposed of their trash in a nearby bin, they heard an uncertain voice from the roadside: "Shuangshuang?"

Wen Shuangmu turned to look. A white Porsche had pulled up to the curb.

The driver's window rolled down, revealing Su's Mother. In the passenger seat, she could faintly make out Su Qiyan's profile.

The back window also rolled down, and Li Maozhen, who had probably hitched a ride after playing basketball with Su Qiyan, called out, "Sister Shuang."

Su's Mother smiled and said, "Shuangshuang, are you out with friends? Are you almost done? Do you want a ride home with auntie?"

Wen Shuangmu thought it would be great not to have to walk or take the subway, but she still went through the motions of looking at Lu Jing and Xia Zhili.

Lu Jing thought she was worried about them and said, "Don't worry, I'll take her to the subway station in a bit."

As he said this, he handed the books back to Wen Shuangmu. When she was about to take them, he noticed the band-aids all over the back of her hand. He didn't let go and changed his mind, saying, "Let me put these in the car for you."

Wen Shuangmu got into the back seat and took the books from Lu Jing.

Xia Zhili waved goodbye to her.

Su Qiyan, who had been looking down at his phone in the passenger seat, suddenly looked up at the sound and glanced out the window, but that momentary shift in attention was quickly hidden in the play of light and shadow.

The car started and smoothly merged into traffic.

Li Maozhen, always curious, asked, "Sister Shuang, are you and Xia Zhili from your class close friends?"

Hearing him bring up the very topic she wanted to avoid, Wen Shuangmu glanced at Su Qiyan's expression in the rearview mirror, trying to quickly change the subject: "We're okay."

Li Maozhen looked unconvinced: "'Okay'? You're out playing together so late?"

Wen Shuangmu clicked her tongue: "There were other people there too, you know."

"Oh? You mean that Lu Jing from your class?" Li Maozhen said excitedly, "Don't tell me you were on a date with Lu Jing and using Xia Zhili as a cover!?"

"Date your big head," Wen Shuangmu threw the cushion from the back seat at Li Maozhen's head, but her eyes were fixed on Su Qiyan, worried he might take it seriously.

Su Qiyan's phone screen emitted a faint glow; he was probably practicing speed calculations, doing math problems from a question bank.

"Sister Shuang, don't be so violently excited," Li Maozhen laughed as he pulled the cushion off his head, not sure how to feel.

He had almost thought that the reason Sister Shuang had him keep Su Qiyan at school for two hours that afternoon was because she was afraid of being caught two-timing.

But he also felt, somewhat unfairly, that this might be a good thing. If Sister Shuang could like another boy, she wouldn't have to keep hitting walls with Su Qiyan.

Su's Mother in the front seat laughed and said, "Shuangshuang, if you like someone, there's no need to be shy. Auntie won't tell your mom."

Wen Shuangmu hurriedly explained: "Don't listen to Li Maozhen's nonsense. They're just new classmates. We went to the bookstore together this afternoon." Wen Shuangmu spoke rapidly, but her expression paused slightly on the last word.

Su Qiyan, probably annoyed by the noise, silently took out his earphones from his backpack and put them on.

Wen Shuangmu suddenly felt that saying anything was pointless.

She took back the cushion from Li Maozhen's hand, hugged it to her chest, and fell silent. She quietly leaned against the car window, watching the traffic outside fly by like a movie transition.

Li Maozhen's house was in the neighborhood next to North Shore Residence, so he got out of the car first.

The car stopped in the underground parking lot on the second floor. Su's Mother went to the trunk to get something and noticed Wen Shuangmu getting out of the car with a stack of books. She said, "Qiyan, help Shuangshuang carry her things."

Su Qiyan, wearing his earphones, didn't hear. He pulled the hood of his sports jacket over his head and walked towards the elevator on his own.

Su's Mother took out her legal documents from the trunk and found that Su Qiyan had already walked away. She sighed helplessly, "This child."

Su Qiyan took the elevator up, so the two of them had to wait for the next one.

Su's Mother linked arms with Wen Shuangmu and asked her, "Shuangshuang, tell auntie, is Su Qiyan this impolite at school too? Does anyone even want to be friends with him?"

Wen Shuangmu, used to speaking well of Su Qiyan in front of parents, suppressed her feelings of disappointment: "No, he just had his earphones on. If you had called him, he would have responded."

But Su's Mother saw right through her son: "You don't need to defend him. Look at him, it's just a few steps, and he's not even willing to wait for us. Other people's kids are rebellious at sixteen or seventeen, but he's been rebellious against his father and me since he was little."

Wen Shuangmu said, "It's not like that. He's just a bit cold in personality, but he has good grades and looks outstanding. Many people at school like to hang out with him."

Su's Mother pursed her lips in disapproval: "Those are his only two good points."

Wen Shuangmu lowered her eyes without agreeing, reconsidering what she had just said.

Cold personality?

When he helped Xia Zhili move her reference materials, he probably wasn't cold.

When his mother asked him to help carry things, but he just put on his earphones, slammed the car door, and went straight into the elevator, he was probably cold.

Wen Shuangmu's lips twitched very slightly.

Oh, Su Qiyan, this is just the beginning. You should at least try to be fair.

The elevator reached the 17th floor.

Before Wen Shuangmu could finish entering the door lock code, Wen Bingyi flew out to help her open the door.

"Sis, why are you back so late today? I've already finished my homework!"

Wen Shuangmu put the book bag on the cabinet, kicked off her shoes, and responded very perfunctorily: "Is that so? You're so great."

Wen Bingyi probably had a natural height advantage. The injuries on the back of Wen Shuangmu's hand, which Su's Mother, Su Qiyan, and Li Maozhen hadn't noticed all the way home, caught his eye immediately.

"Sis, what happened to your hand?" Wen Bingyi took Wen Shuangmu's hand. He had rarely been to the hospital since he was little, so seeing five or six band-aids on someone's hand seemed like a major injury to him. He turned his head and shouted towards the living room, "Mom, Wen Shuangmu got beaten up, come quick!"

Wen Shuangmu slapped Wen Bingyi's forehead: "Who are you calling by their full name? That's not proper."

Han Chuqiu and Wen Hong both ran out from the living room.

The two of them were so anxious that their words came out like rockets, rapid-fire: "Where were you beaten? Who did it? Where are they? Why didn't you call home? Don't take off your shoes, let's go with you to confront them."

"No, it's not like that," Wen Shuangmu stopped them, explaining with a headache, "I was helping someone on the road. The other person is worse off than me."

Wen Hong knew his daughter all too well: "With your build, what kind of fight could you possibly win?"

Han Chuqiu pushed her husband and said, "It's good to help others, but next time try not to confront them directly if possible. Call the police if you can."

Afraid they would continue nagging, Wen Shuangmu nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Han Chuqiu and Wen Hong still wouldn't let her off, pulling her into the living room to get the full story from beginning to end before finally letting her go, telling her to go back to her room to finish her homework and rest early.

Wen Shuangmu's mood had actually recovered quite a bit from Wen Bingyi's loud shout when she entered the door.

As she put her homework from her schoolbag onto her desk, her phone chimed with a message notification. She glanced at it casually, and her whole body froze.

Xia Zhili: [I've arrived home safely (*≧▽≦)!]

Wen Shuangmu took a deep breath, thinking that emoticons were quite popular during this period. It's not an 'o', it's fine, it's fine.

She then lowered her head to type a reply: [Mm, good. I've arrived too.]

Xia Zhili replied quickly: [See you tomorrow.]

Wen Shuangmu: [See you tomorrow.]

Wen Shuangmu finished two basic language problems, then tossed her pen aside and went to rummage through her bedside drawer.

She still had some ointment left from her last car accident injury to her arm. Although she had disinfected it in the afternoon, she wanted to apply some more to prevent scarring.

The bedroom door opened slightly, creating a small gap.

Wen Shuangmu pretended not to notice and continued applying her ointment.

Wen Bingyi stood outside peeking for a while, but finally couldn't resist and entered on his own.

"Sis, I brought you some yogurt," Wen Bingyi said in an unusually sweet tone that Wen Shuangmu wasn't quite used to.

"Mm, just put it on the table," she replied.

After setting it down, Wen Bingyi didn't leave immediately. He stood by the desk for a moment, then moved closer to Wen Shuangmu's bed to watch her apply the ointment.

"Sis, does your hand hurt?"

"It's fine," Wen Shuangmu thought for a moment, then held out the back of her hand. "Can you help me put the bandage back on?"

Wen Bingyi looked at her nervously, his fingers hesitantly reaching out, barely daring to apply any pressure.

After carefully sticking each bandage in place, Wen Bingyi asked, "Is this okay?"

Wen Shuangmu patted his head. "That's fine. Now go to bed early, you have school tomorrow."

Despite Wen Bingyi's usual carefree and domineering attitude, he actually couldn't stand seeing his family members get hurt. In Wen Shuangmu's previous life, when she was hospitalized after a car accident during the class placement exam, Wen Hong and Han Chuqiu initially didn't tell Wen Bingyi, who was at an extracurricular class. In the end, it made him cry uncontrollably. This made Wen Shuangmu reluctant to let anyone know about her injury after her rebirth.

Wu Xiaoqi's previous mention of character gap moe was quite accurate. After all, every time she saw her brother cry like that, she felt utterly helpless.

Wen Bingyi nodded, then looked at the tall stack of homework on Wen Shuangmu's desk and said, "I'll go ask Mom to call your teacher."

Wen Shuangmu: "Hm? Why?"

Wen Bingyi: "To tell them you don't have to do homework today."

Wen Shuangmu laughed and pushed Wen Bingyi towards the door. "It's not that serious. Go wash up and sleep."

After settling Wen Bingyi back in his room, Wen Shuangmu continued with her homework.

While working on a reading comprehension exercise, her phone buzzed with a message notification. Wen Shuangmu didn't open it immediately, waiting until she finished her Chinese homework before checking her phone.

Ji Jiahui: [Shuangmu, have you seen the school forum?]

Wen Shuangmu disliked Ji Jiahui's habit of only saying half of what she meant. It was no different from sending a "Are you there?" message.

Wen Shuangmu: [No, what's up?]

The other side was probably playing with her phone, as the reply came quickly: [You'd better go take a look, someone said you...]

Ji Jiahui seemed to have trouble continuing and changed her approach: [Never mind, you should see for yourself.]

Wen Shuangmu waited for a moment: "..."

You could at least send a link.

Seeing no further response, Wen Shuangmu had to type again: [Can you forward the post to me?]

While waiting for Ji Jiahui's reply, Wen Shuangmu thought about what had happened during this time in her previous life.

She remembered that students on the forum were usually only active when photoshopping or gossiping, otherwise it was as if the forum didn't exist.

It hadn't been long since school started, what could there be to gossip about, and how did it involve her?

From Ji Jiahui's tone, it didn't sound like good news.

Mingli had an official app developed specifically for student communication. Wen Shuangmu first downloaded the app and asked Wu Xiaoqi, "Speaking of which, are there really that many people who browse forums? My college roommates all told me that their high school forums were like decorations, no one would actually use them."

Wu Xiaoqi replied: "It's for the sake of the plot. Unlike celebrity stories, the protagonist can't make headlines, but their love story needs to create some buzz, so the school forum becomes the primary place for spreading news."

Wen Shuangmu remembered something unpleasant and pouted: "So those people shipping Su Qiyan and Xia Zhili weren't just making things up?"

Wu Xiaoqi: "Of course not."

Wen Shuangmu was unhappy: "And I wasted so much time using different aliases to derail those threads, and even started a thread shipping myself with Su Qiyan."

Wu Xiaoqi laughed: "The host certainly had it tough. Not only did you have to use various aliases to diss Xia Zhili on the forum every day, but you also had to squeeze in time to study hard, otherwise your grades would drop quickly."

Wen Shuangmu: "...Who said my grades dropped quickly!"

Ji Jiahui's link finally arrived.

Wen Shuangmu temporarily spared Wu Xiaoqi and opened the post in the forum section of the app. A string of bright red popular posts caught her eye.

-- "Let's talk about the good-looking freshmen in the new class."

Wen Shuangmu raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Isn't this a good thing?"

It seemed she had made it onto the list.

Wu Xiaoqi was equally curious about this part of the plot that wasn't in the original text, urging Wen Shuangmu to scroll down.

The thread was first created in April when there was only one freshman spring class. Su Qiyan was on the list, and every few days there would be upperclassmen commenting.

As time passed, the popularity wasn't as high as initially, but it remained quite stable.

It suddenly became active again today because someone uploaded a set of photos in the afternoon, claiming to have encountered super attractive freshman schoolmates on the bus.

Wen Shuangmu hadn't expected Lu Jing's comment about someone taking photos on the bus to be true. She was initially excited, but when she saw the content of the photos, she immediately didn't want to say anything.

Why did they take such an ugly picture of her?

It was almost pixelated!

The bus wasn't even shaking that much!

Couldn't they have just cropped her out if it was this bad?

The evening sunlight was golden, and Xia Zhili and Lu Jing were bathed in it, looking like a masterpiece painting.

Meanwhile, Wen Shuangmu, swaying while holding onto a handrail, looked like a joke even to herself.

Wen Shuangmu quickly scrolled down the post, ignoring the comments uniformly praising Lu Jing and Xia Zhili's appearances. She really didn't think anyone would be tactless enough to comment on the bystander in the photo.

Just as she was wondering if Ji Jiahui had made a mistake, she finally found the troll comment about her.

[Post 356: This Wen Shuangmu on the side is too funny, what is she doing? Hahaha, she looks like a little maid.]

Following this post, the replies below were from curious onlookers who had gathered to watch the drama.

[So this is Wen Shuangmu? I heard everyone praising her to the skies after the class placement exam, looks like she's only good at studying, her appearance is average.]

[Indeed, comparing like this, Xia Zhili, who excels in both academics and looks, is clearly superior.]

[...]

Wu Xiaoqi said: "Judging from the tone of Post 356, could it be someone who knows you?"

Wen Shuangmu denied it without looking up: "I don't know any ***holes like that."

As she spoke, she quickly typed a reply: [It must be the photo quality. I've seen Wen Shuangmu in person, she's even prettier than Xia Zhili.]

Wu Xiaoqi, for some reason, started giggling again.

Wen Shuangmu felt embarrassed and annoyed at being caught doing this, even if it was just by the system: "What's so funny?"

Wu Xiaoqi said: "Actually, I've been bound to quite a few reborn villains who became smarter and more calculating, rising to the top. However, hosts like you who retain characteristics from both lives and grow slowly, although the task progress is a bit slower, feel very real to me."

Wen Shuangmu, feeling insulted, retorted: "Those great villains you mentioned, if they were really that smart, why would they need to be reborn? Isn't that fake?"

Wen Shuangmu snorted lightly, but fortunately, a notification sound from her phone distracted her from arguing further with Wu Xiaoqi.

A user with a simple "." as their nickname commented below her post: [Agree.]

Wen Shuangmu's mood immediately improved: "See, there are still normal people in this world."

Wu Xiaoqi followed with some consolation: "Actually, the overall trend of this post is positive. After all, with so many strangers shipping the 'JinXia' CP, it's all beneficial and harmless for the host to promote Lu Jing and Xia Zhili's relationship."

Speaking of this, Wen Shuangmu remembered something she hadn't asked Wu Xiaoqi earlier due to Lu Jing and Xia Zhili's presence: "When I was fighting those punks with dyed hair, did you suddenly shout that the villain value started increasing?"

"Yes," Wu Xiaoqi pulled up the villain badge, which now showed a villain value of exactly 50%, with half of the badge fully lit up.

The remaining usable points in the system mall for Wen Shuangmu had also changed from 15 back to 25.

Wen Shuangmu was puzzled: "What's going on? They had no reaction when riding the bus together, discussing books, or picking hair ties, but their feelings suddenly intensified when I got into a fight. This isn't how things are supposed to play out."

Before Wu Xiaoqi could respond, Wen Shuangmu continued, "Is it possible that your system is experiencing severe lag?"

Wu Xiaoqi suddenly felt questioned: "That can't be possible."

Wen Shuangmu pressed, "Then how would you explain it?"

"As I mentioned to the host before, this plot point is a crucial turning point for Su Qiyan and Xia Zhili. According to the original storyline, Su Qiyan, not being skilled in fighting, would have been slightly injured while saving Xia Zhili. To repay the favor, Xia Zhili would have significantly increased their opportunities for interaction. Now that the host has completely hijacked this plot, it's like scoring a major victory in the villain's mission. Since you and Lu Jing are in a mutually bound state, the changes you make naturally affect Lu Jing as well, causing the final ripple effect."

Wen Shuangmu understood.

In simple terms, she and Lu Jing had become a community of shared destiny.

Wu Xiaoqi continued: "Whether it's advancing Lu Jing and Xia Zhili's relationship or cutting off Su Qiyan and Xia Zhili's interactions, both fall within the scope of progressing the main villain mission. The host can focus more on these two aspects in the future."

The screen of the phone on the table, which had been dark, suddenly lit up, with several new messages popping up in the chat interface.

Wen Shuangmu picked it up and took a look.

Li Maozhen: [Picture]

Li Maozhen: [Hahaha, sorry, Sister Shuangmu, I was wrong. I didn't expect Lu Jing and Xia Zhili to be the real couple.]

Li Maozhen: [Why are you even covering for them?]

Li Maozhen's screenshot included the group photo from the post and the comment saying Wen Shuangmu looked like a maid.

Wen Shuangmu felt insulted, her temple throbbing. She was about to send a reply saying "Do you have a death wish lately?" but paused, deleted it all, and instead chose an "shh" emoji from the expression library.

Wen Shuangmu: [Shh.emoji]

Burst update ends. Due to censorship, there will be no update on the 31st. On the 1st at 11 PM, there will be a double update combined into one.