Maintaining the Dignity of the Female Supporting Character

The alarm clock on the bedside table rang punctually at 6:30 AM.

Wen Shuangmu's hand emerged from under the covers, but before she could reach the alarm, she instantly curled up like a shrimp ball with a wail, rolling around on the bed.

"Did I sleepwalk through a marathon last night? Why does my entire body ache so much?"

Wu Xiaoqi, ever vigilant, responded seriously: "Not at all. You slept like a baby."

Wen Shuangmu felt that even if Wu Xiaoqi told her she'd been run over by a car in her sleep, she'd believe it right away. "Are you hiding some black tech from me? Did you beat me up in the middle of the night?"

Wu Xiaoqi was speechless: "I'm a system with a strong sense of contract, you know."

Suddenly remembering something, Wu Xiaoqi let out a delayed "Ah!" and said: "I know now. I forgot to tell you last night that if your body can't keep up with the intensity of exercise, using the karate buff card will result in two days of aftereffects."

Wen Shuangmu was extremely skeptical about this level of pain: "...Are you sure it's just two days?"

"It varies from person to person," Wu Xiaoqi reassessed and gave a conservative answer, "For you, it might be two weeks."

Wen Shuangmu, now deeply regretting how ruthless she'd been yesterday, was left speechless: "..."

She would have been better off just standing there and taking a beating!

Wen Shuangmu lay motionless on the bed for two minutes, waiting for the alarm to turn off automatically. She then made a reservation for a hot spring visit and a full body massage for Sunday before painfully crawling out of bed to wash up in the bathroom.

The Grand Chu Hot Spring Hotel was owned by Mr. Wen. The "Chu" wasn't from the Chu State of the Warring States period, but from Han Chuqiu's name. So, Mr. Wen's fear of his wife was evident in every aspect, with seeds planted many years ago.

Despite having the hotel's VIP supreme card, there were quite a few wealthy ladies who went there for beauty treatments and spa services on weekends. As there wasn't always a green channel available, Wen Shuangmu still made an appointment for a specific time slot.

Wen Hong and Han Chuqiu started work at 8 AM, and Wen Bingyi had no classes at his elementary school on weekends, so none of them were up yet.

Wen Shuangmu had originally wanted to complain to each of them. Given Mr. and Mrs. Wen's simple and direct way of comforting, they would probably just tell her to take two weeks off to recover at home. Although Wen Bingyi's teary-eyed look could be a bit annoying, she quite enjoyed the way he looked at her with those adoring little eyes. At least it could balance out the "physical and mental damage" her act of bravery had brought her.

With no one to whine to, Wen Shuangmu's body ached, but once she got past the initial pain of getting up, she gradually adapted.

After eating the breakfast Aunt Shuqin had prepared for her, Wen Shuangmu entered the elevator. As usual, she leaned against the metal wall, casually playing with her phone, one foot blocking the door. She waited until the time on her phone hit exactly 7:00 before withdrawing her foot and letting the elevator doors close.

The red numbers above the elevator flickered.

17.

16.

15.

As expected, the elevator stopped with a "ding" at the 15th floor, and Su Qiyan, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, appeared outside the elevator.

This "chance" encounter, orchestrated by Wen Shuangmu's scheming, had occurred countless times.

She had perfected the art of naturally and casually glancing up when the elevator doors opened.

Su Qiyan entered alone, and Wen Shuangmu asked, "Isn't your aunt with you?"

Su Qiyan was wearing earphones. Noticing her lips moving, he removed one earbud and replied, "No, I'm cycling today."

Wen Shuangmu's mind raced: "Uncle Chen just messaged me saying the car broke down. Mind if I join you?"

Wu Xiaoqi hadn't intended to rain on her parade at this moment, but out of concern that Wen Shuangmu might embarrass herself, it reminded her: "Host, are you sure you can manage cycling in your current condition?"

Wen Shuangmu, blindly confident, replied: "What's there to worry about? Worst case, I'll use another karate buff card."

Wu Xiaoqi: "..."

Great, using a karate buff card for cycling.

A true pioneer, the first and last of her kind.

Wen Shuangmu's fingers flew over her phone screen, messaging Uncle Chen to quickly retreat from downstairs.

Su Qiyan didn't object, but remembering how she always rode slowly and kept asking him to slow down, he preemptively warned her to avoid trouble: "I won't wait if you're too slow."

Wen Shuangmu chirped in response: "Got it!"

Su Qiyan couldn't understand where her early morning enthusiasm came from and glanced at her.

Wen Shuangmu was focused on typing her message and didn't notice.

Su Qiyan's gaze first fell on the top of Wen Shuangmu's head, then swept downward, catching sight of the cartoon-patterned band-aids covering her knuckles. His eyes paused for a moment, but he didn't ask anything, merely averting his gaze.

The elevator soon reached the first floor. Just as Wen Shuangmu was about to pick up the bag of extracurricular books she had bought yesterday from beside her feet, Su Qiyan had already stepped forward and picked it up for her.

Wen Shuangmu froze. By the time the elevator doors automatically closed, she snapped back to reality and quickly pressed the elevator door open button to chase after him.

She patted her cheeks, only to realize her face was full of uncontrollable smiles.

Under the parking shed.

Su Qiyan rode over from the other end, the book bag hanging from his handlebars. He stopped with one foot on the ground and looked at Wen Shuangmu, who was still standing motionless: "Where's your bike?"

Wen Shuangmu was still in a state of euphoria. She had almost forgotten that her bicycle had been stolen when she and her classmates skipped evening self-study to buy late-night snacks at the food street before the high school entrance exam: "It was stolen. I haven't bought a new one yet."

Su Qiyan: "..."

Wen Shuangmu couldn't conjure a bicycle out of thin air. She looked around, but Uncle Chen had efficiently disappeared.

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She fidgeted with her backpack strap, glanced at Su Qiyan one last time, and knowing it was hopeless, voluntarily said, "You go ahead."

Turning to leave, she remembered her bag of books was still hanging on Su Qiyan's handlebars. Thinking it was too heavy, she decided to temporarily leave it with him and started walking alone along the flower bed towards the main gate of the residential complex.

Su Qiyan called out to her: "Where are you going?"

Wen Shuangmu turned back, somewhat flattered: "I, I'm going to take the subway."

Su Qiyan scrutinized her for a couple of seconds, then pedaled his bicycle forward a few steps, stopping steadily beside her. Without saying a word, his expression carried a hint of urgency.

Wen Shuangmu suddenly couldn't quite understand the meaning behind his actions: "?"

Su Qiyan waited for a moment, then impatiently turned his head to look at her: "Not coming?"

"Huh?" Wen Shuangmu's gaze slowly drifted to the back seat, as if it took hundreds of twists and turns before she grasped his meaning. Her entire face lit up, "Coming!"

Su Qiyan was rendered momentarily silent by her loud response. He looked away, no longer urging her.

Wen Shuangmu tucked her skirt and sat sideways on the back seat. However, the consequence of being too elated was that she completely forgot about her current condition due to yesterday's fight's aftereffects. With insufficient core strength in her waist and abdomen, the moment she sat down, she nearly toppled over to the other side due to the weight of her backpack.

Su Qiyan heard the startled cry from behind and barely managed to turn and grab Wen Shuangmu's arm, preventing her from falling backwards off the bike.

"What's wrong with you?"

Hearing the exasperated male voice from above, Wen Shuangmu knew she was at fault: "I helped someone in need yesterday and strained my back."

Su Qiyan seemed to choke, letting out a very low chuckle, automatically dismissing her "act of bravery" as nonsense.

His fingertips touched her backpack strap: "Give me your bag."

But Wen Shuangmu seemed to have lost her soul to that laugh of his, her expression blank, her body almost unresponsive to her brain's commands. She obediently did as he said and took off her bag.

Su Qiyan took her bag and put it on his front: "Are you seated properly?"

Not getting an answer from behind, Su Qiyan stopped bothering and simply stepped on the pedal, riding towards the main road.

Wen Shuangmu, startled by the sudden inertia, instinctively raised her hand and grabbed Su Qiyan's shirt hem. Realizing what she had done, her fingertips trembled and loosened slightly.

The clear summer breeze billowed, filling Su Qiyan's shirt. Even the restless cicada chirps among the trees seemed to quiet down.

Wen Shuangmu could clearly smell the scent of snow cedar mixed with orange leaves emanating from Su Qiyan and dispersing in the wind. The base note was an elusive fresh mint, with a hint of icy spring added to the fragrance, bringing a cool indifference that dispelled the summer heat under the sun.

Wen Shuangmu stared at Su Qiyan's back, her fingertips tracing along the hem of his shirt, slowly, then gripping tightly again.

Her heart was beating violently, almost overflowing from her chest.

Wen Shuangmu looked at the trees lining both sides of the road, her heart full of joy.

Su Qiyan felt a slight tug on the back of his shirt. His gaze only flicked downward briefly, saying nothing as he turned to avoid a roadblock ahead.

The bike reached the gates of Mingli School just as the peak hour for students arriving began. The flower beds in front of the main gate were lined with private cars dropping off students.

Li Maozhen got out of the car just in time to see Su Qiyan's bicycle arc gracefully into the school campus. Wen Shuangmu sat on the back, one hand holding Su Qiyan's waist, the other running through her wind-blown hair.

A handsome boy and a beautiful girl, quite a sight to behold.

Li Maozhen whistled teasingly and gave Wen Shuangmu two thumbs up from afar.

Spotting a familiar face, Wen Shuangmu tried to maintain her composure by averting her gaze, her ears turning slightly red from embarrassment. Yet she couldn't completely suppress the small, proud flutter in her heart.

Arriving at the school's bike shed, Wen Shuangmu hopped off the back seat.

Su Qiyan had already parked the bike and tossed both his backpack and book bag into her arms. "Next time, don't tattle to my mom saying I'm bullying you at school."

Wen Shuangmu stumbled as she caught the bags. Watching Su Qiyan walk away, she hurriedly followed, looking confused. "But I didn't."

Su Qiyan didn't bring up last night's lecture from his mother: "Whether you did or not, don't bite the hand that feeds you. Next time, you know what to say, right?"

Wen Shuangmu's lips turned down in a sulk as she responded with an "Oh," keeping the second half of her thought to herself.

Then why don't you give me more chances to be in your debt?

The muscles in Wen Shuangmu's waist and legs felt like she'd just done a 50-meter frog jump followed by an 800-meter run. She could barely walk on level ground, and once they reached the stairwell of the teaching building, each step became a struggle.

After just a few steps, she lost sight of Su Qiyan, but Li Maozhen caught up from behind.

Li Maozhen was surprised to see her alone: "Shuang-jie, where's Su Qiyan?"

Wen Shuangmu tilted her chin to indicate: "He went to the classroom first."

Li Maozhen quipped: "Qiyan's enlightenment comes in waves, doesn't it?"

A second later, he bumped Wen Shuangmu's shoulder, winking as he said: "But today was a big qualitative leap forward. Keep it up, Shuang-jie."

Wen Shuangmu stumbled from his bump, steadying herself on the railing. She laughed and retorted: "Who needs your encouragement?"

"Right, right. Cats have nine lives, and Wen Shuangmu has seven unbreakable hearts."

"..."

Tired of his nonsense, Wen Shuangmu headed straight for Class 2 when they reached the third floor.

Li Maozhen didn't go directly into Class 1, but followed Wen Shuangmu, covering his mouth as he whispered: "Hey, Shuang-jie, was everything you said last night true?"

Wen Shuangmu: "What did I say?"

"About you covering for Lu Jing and Xia Zhili in your class."

Wen Shuangmu gave him a sidelong glance: "Why are you so nosy?"

Li Maozhen: "Of course I am! How do you think I became the go-to source for gossip in middle school? Hearing everything is a basic professional ethic."

Wen Shuangmu thought for a moment, maintaining the same ambiguity as last night's "Shh" emoji, and countered: "That's their private business. Why do you keep asking?"

Li Maozhen let out an "Ah—" and suddenly looked as if he understood everything.

He made a gesture of secrecy to Wen Shuangmu, very loyally: "Don't worry, I definitely won't tell anyone that you told me."

Wen Shuangmu struggled to suppress the smile tugging at her lips and waved her hand: "Don't spread rumors. I'm going."

After parting ways with Li Maozhen, Wen Shuangmu hadn't even turned into the classroom when she bumped into a human wall.

Her gaze still lowered from entering, she caught sight of a red string on the other person's wrist, and her breath caught in her throat.

Sure enough, you can't spread rumors without consequences; they'll catch up to you eventually.

Lu Jing didn't seem to have heard her conversation with Li Maozhen outside. He steadied her, asking, "Are you okay?"

Wen Shuangmu glanced at Wang Chengshuo, who was with Lu Jing. They both held water bottles, probably because the water dispenser in the classroom was empty and they'd gone to the tea room outside to fill up.

"Mm, I'm fine."

Wen Shuangmu said "thanks" and tried to step around Lu Jing.

But as soon as she took a step, her leg suddenly went weak. She could clearly feel how her leg buckled in a wavy line.

This time, Lu Jing and Wang Chengshuo each grabbed one of her arms to steady her.

Wen Shuangmu kept her head down, feeling like this aftereffect was going to be the death of her reputation.

She took a deep breath and looked up at Lu Jing: "Did you just trip me?"

Lu Jing: "?" Lu Jing: "I don't think so, but... maybe I accidentally..."

?

Why does this conversation suddenly feel so familiar?

Wen Shuangmu salvaged both her face and her dignity, putting on a magnanimous "I forgive you" expression, and walked to her seat as if nothing had happened.

Lu Jing and Wang Chengshuo exchanged a glance, speechless for a few seconds, before heading outside.

During the break between the second and third periods.

The class representative handed out the homework that the Chinese teacher had graded last night.

If life is full of ups and downs, Wen Shuangmu, hugging her exercise book, could be said to have experienced them all thoroughly in the span of a single morning.

She got half of the language basics wrong and only scored 7 out of 17 on the reading comprehension.

Wen Shuangmu pressed her brow, trying to bargain with Wu Xiaoqi: "Can't we switch to a different teacher?"

Wu Xiaoqi helped her count: "Host is a science prodigy, won third prize in the provincial encyclopedia knowledge competition for history and geography, and is at graduate school level for politics and English. Which teacher do you think still needs you to win them over?"

"Hm?" Wen Shuangmu was surprised to hear about herself, "Was I really that impressive?"

Before Wu Xiaoqi could respond, she nodded after a moment of self-reflection: "I guess I really was."

Wu Xiaoqi: "..."

Wen Shuangmu had a new idea: "Why don't I try to win over the P.E. teacher? I only scored around 20 points on the P.E. high school entrance exam. That score should be able to compete with my Chinese level, right?"

Wu Xiaoqi couldn't understand where she got the courage, given how much of an aftereffect she had from just showing off a bit of karate, and decided to humor her for a bit: "So have you thought about how to gain favor with the P.E. teacher? Are you going to demonstrate a topspin serve, or maybe hurdles or high jump?"

"To be honest, I think I could perform some trick golf for him. That should be worth 10 points."

Wu Xiaoqi: "...So are you planning to have your family donate a golf course to the school, or are you planning to have your family donate a golf course to the school?"

Wen Shuangmu shrugged, unconcerned: "Donate, of course. As long as you agree right now to change the target of the mission, I'll call my dad immediately."

Wu Xiaoqi was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but mutter: "It's a good thing Su Qiyan isn't set up as a second-generation rich kid, otherwise wouldn't this be stealing the male lead's job..."

Wen Shuangmu didn't catch Wu Xiaoqi's mumbling. After some consideration, she felt it wasn't quite reasonable: "It would take at least a month for the course to be built. Isn't that a bit too long to wait?"

"You finally realized that." Wu Xiaoqi worried, then detecting Liang Jie entering the classroom door, quickly changed the subject: "Quick, quick, Liang Jie is coming in. Find a Gabriel García Márquez novel and pretend to read it."

Lu Jing and Wang Chengshuo were talking when they heard a series of rustling noises from nearby.

They saw Wen Shuangmu yanking at her book bag by her desk leg, rummaging through it while muttering frustrated curses: "What did Márquez write again... 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', but I didn't buy that... Which one is 'The Colonel'? Tch, why do all these covers look the same..."

After fumbling around for a while, Wen Shuangmu happened upon Fei Xiaotong's "From the Soil." Not bothering to look further, she pulled it out, flipped it open to a random page, and propped it up on her desk with the cover fully visible, pretending to read seriously.

Lu Jing and Wang Chengshuo, who had witnessed the whole process: "..."

Wang Chengshuo was still sitting sideways. He nodded slightly towards the wide-open book bag at Wen Shuangmu's feet and said, "Did you share all your book recordings with her?"

Lu Jing looked away and gave a soft "Mm" in response.

Wang Chengshuo thought of something and, while laughing, tapped the romance novel Lu Jing was reading on his desk: "Does she know what you're reading now?"

Lu Jing flipped to the front of the novel, not seeing any issue with the girlish color scheme and flowery text: "She knows. I even warned her off two books."

Wang Chengshuo: "..."

You're something else.

Wen Shuangmu pretended to turn a page, not knowing if Liang Jie had come down yet. She was getting impatient: "How much longer?"

Wu Xiaoqi: "Almost there. You did so poorly on yesterday's homework, she'll definitely come down to talk to you one-on-one in a bit."

Wen Shuangmu: "..."

Wen Shuangmu felt that she must have been too easygoing lately, letting Wu Xiaoqi get carried away. She raised her eyelids in annoyance, thinking that if she wanted to make an impression on the teacher, she should at least be sitting in the prime spots near the teacher's desk.

Just as she was thinking about how to show off by casually carrying a book around without seeming too deliberate, her vision was suddenly blocked by a dark shadow approaching.

Xia Zhili stopped in front of Wen Shuangmu, arms full of snacks, and dumped them all onto her desk with a "whoosh".

Wen Shuangmu was a bit surprised: "What are you doing?"

Xia Zhili smiled: "I didn't know what you like to eat, so I bought you a bit of everything."

Xia Zhili then scratched her head and asked: "How's your hand doing?"

Wen Shuangmu lifted her hand to look. The small scab on her index finger knuckle had opened up at some point and was oozing a bit of blood: "It's fine."

"If there's anything you find inconvenient to do, just let me know," Xia Zhili said. Then, thinking of something, she glanced at the schedule on the podium. "You usually go to Mr. Zhou Quan's office to fetch homework before math class, right? I'll help you with that when the time comes."

Wen Shuangmu listened in a daze: "Oh, okay."

Just then, Liang Jie came down from the front row. In teachers' eyes, students with good grades were generally seen as well-behaved, so seeing the two top female students in the class together was quite a pleasant sight.

Overhearing their conversation, she asked with concern: "What happened to Shuangmu's hand?"

Wen Shuangmu, as usual, was reluctant to elaborate, but Xia Zhili took the initiative to explain.

Liang Jie was quite shocked: "You're not hurt anywhere else, are you? Have you applied any ointment?"

As Wen Shuangmu answered each question, she suddenly heard Wu Xiaoqi excitedly announce: "Whoa, whoa! The favorability rating just moved. It's now 8/10!"

"?"

Wen Shuangmu looked at the information bar floating before her eyes.

[Side quest triggered: Gain the teacher's favor.]

[Target: Chinese teacher Liang Jie.]

[Current favorability progress: 8/10]

[Final reward: 5 points.]

Was there such a good thing?

One act of bravery, and the benefits keep coming.

Should she perhaps show off a bit to Zhou Quan as well, get him to spread the word about how she participated in the placement exam despite being injured?

"Ahhh! It just changed to 9!" Wu Xiaoqi shouted again.

Wen Shuangmu was confused about why the value was still changing, then she saw Liang Jie pick up the book "Rural China" from her desk.

"Shuangmu, you read sociology books in your spare time? Do you find them difficult?"

Realizing her show-off tactic was working, Wen Shuangmu sat up straight: "It's alright. Just building up some knowledge, learning a bit more."

Liang Jie's eyes showed approval as she nodded appreciatively.

Some classmates came over to ask Liang Jie questions, while others approached Xia Zhili about practice problems that hadn't been distributed earlier.

Liang Jie and Xia Zhili walked towards the front row.

Wen Shuangmu leaned back in her chair contentedly, poking at her still-sore waist: "This turned out pretty well."

Wu Xiaoqi said: "I bet if you read Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams' tomorrow, you'll complete the task with a perfect 10!"

"Not bad."

In high spirits, Wen Shuangmu fiddled with the pile of snacks on her desk. After some thought, she picked up a package and reached across the aisle to ask Lu Jing: "Want some?"

Lu Jing turned his head to look at her, paused for a second, then took it without hesitation.

Wen Shuangmu then looked at Wang Chengshuo, who had also turned to look because of her words: "Want to join in?"

Wang Chengshuo felt like he was just an afterthought, but he didn't make a fuss about it. He picked out a lollipop: "Thanks."

Wen Shuangmu didn't sit for long before taking two tissues from her drawer and heading to the restroom.

Watching her leave, Wang Chengshuo said while unwrapping his candy: "You and Wen Shuangmu have gotten pretty close, huh?"

Lu Jing: "Hm?"

"She gave you snacks, and I got some too as a bonus."

Lu Jing dismissed it: "Isn't it normal to share food with the people sitting in front, behind, and next to you?"

Wang Chengshuo automatically filtered out this comment: "You know, I always thought you liked Xia Zhili, but comparing the two, I'm more in favor of you and Wen. Wen knows Lagrange interpolation."

Lu Jing: "...Who said I liked Xia Zhili?"

Wang Chengshuo innocently sucked on his lollipop: "Didn't you say before that Xia Zhili was prettier than Wen Shuangmu?"

Lu Jing: "I said that?"

The next update will be at 9 PM sharp.