[Become the male lead Shen Lan’s girlfriend.]
Jiang You slowly turned, placing her arm on Shen Lan’s desk again.
She lifted her chin arrogantly and looked at Shen Lan.
That was when she noticed Shen Lan was also looking at her, his blue eyes holding a lazy, flirtatious smile.
"Shen Lan, right?" Jiang You held out her terminal to show him her contact information. "As of now, I, Jiang You, am your new girlfriend. And your last."
Shen Lan stared at her, then seemed to raise an eyebrow slightly. A faint smile touched his lips as he slowly took out his terminal and added her contact information. "Alright, girlfriend."
Jiang You couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The male lead seemed way too happy about this.
According to the plot, she was supposed to become the male lead Shen Lan’s new girlfriend—his new flavor-of-the-month. After her, the female lead was supposed to be the next one, and also his last.
But Shen Lan’s attitude was all wrong.
He was supposed to sneer, to mock her for overestimating her own abilities. He should have looked at her like she was a clown and agreed to let her be his girlfriend-in-name-only for a month, only to dump her heartlessly when the time was up.
[Task Seven complete.]
’There was a slight deviation, but as long as the task is complete, that’s all that matters.’
"Hmph." Jiang You gave a confident snort and started to turn away.
’The task is done, after all.’
Besides, her role as his girlfriend was just a joke. Shen Lan would never bother looking for her normally.
So Jiang You didn’t have to worry at all about the consequences of being his girlfriend.
But who would have known that Shen Lan would suddenly reach out his long, slender hand and press down on hers, which was still on his desk. He leaned in closer and said in a low, husky voice, "Girlfriend, don’t leave right after school."
The young man’s brilliant blue eyes shimmered with a seductive, mischievous light.
The cool pads of his fingers gently caressed the inside of her wrist.
Jiang You’s heart leaped in her chest—out of fright.
’No, wait. Wasn’t I just a background prop? His flavor-of-the-month girlfriend?’
The expression on Jiang You’s face stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered, raising her eyebrows. She flipped her hand over to press his wrist down, looking every bit the part of an arrogant young lady. "Fine, fine!"
Once she had agreed, she turned back around.
Jiang You thought, ’The male lead told me not to leave after school... He’s not going to do something to me, right? It’s probably just...’
’I have no idea what the male lead wants.’
’I’ll just have to wait until school’s out to find out.’
The class was in the middle of electing class officers.
Her three followers snuck back into the classroom and placed a can of peach milk and a few packs of small cookies on Jiang You’s desk.
The homeroom teacher had probably noticed but didn’t say anything.
Jiang You casually stuck a straw into the can and started drinking her peach milk.
The class officers were quickly chosen.
Most of the candidates were special-admission students. The others were busy inheriting family fortunes or managing companies and had no time for such things.
Jiang You wasn’t really paying attention, but she noted that most of the officers were special-admission students. This made it convenient for the aristocratic students to lord it over them and make them do their work for them.
Since class officers were meant to serve the class, there seemed to be nothing wrong with this arrangement.
As expected, the female lead became the class president.
The evening self-study session ended.
Her three followers came over to walk home with Jiang You.
Jiang You told them to go on ahead. She leaned back against the desk behind her, fiddling aimlessly with her terminal.
Suddenly, she felt a touch on her hair.
Shen Lan had casually lifted a lock of Jiang You’s long, pink hair and was now toying with it in his palm.
His blue eyes, as deep as the ocean, were fixed on the soft pink strands at his fingertips. It seemed as if the simple act of touching her hair was enough to release a sweet, cloying scent of peaches.
’Even her shampoo is peach-scented,’ he thought.
Shen Lan’s throat felt dry. It really was a bit cloying.
’I could use some water to wash away this overpowering sweetness.’
Jiang You felt it, but she pretended not to notice.
’How am I supposed to react to this?’
’Aren’t I supposed to be his girlfriend-in-name-only? The flavor-of-the-month who gets dumped in a month? The male lead shouldn’t care about me at all.’
’So what... what is he doing right now?’
「The hallway outside the classroom.」
Lin Wan and her best friend were passing by Class One of the Healing System department when her friend teased, "No wonder our dear Wanwan wanted to take this route. Are you here looking for Mr. Lan?"
And Lin Wan had indeed deliberately chosen this route, hoping to catch Shen Lan’s attention.
She refused to believe that he felt nothing for her at all.
Lin Wan peeked out of the corner of her eye, only to see a sight that made her freeze.
The blue-haired young man had lifted a strand of soft, pink hair, his slender fingers caressing it gently. He unconsciously lowered his head, as if to sniff the lock of hair, but then seemed to catch himself mid-way, stopping abruptly. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly.
An image of restraint and forbearance.
"Wanwan, where’s Mr. Lan?" her friend asked, about to search for Shen Lan.
Lin Wan’s heart hammered in her chest. She quickly grabbed her friend’s hand and hurried forward. A bitter mix of jealousy and anger choked her, and she didn’t know if she was fleeing in a panic or running from the shocking realization that Shen Lan had never shown that kind of unrestrained impulse toward her.
She was unwilling to accept it, unwilling to believe it.
"Shen Lan and I already broke up," Lin Wan said, her voice strained.
"What?!" her friend exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock.
Jiang You watched as the classroom began to empty out.
’Why am I starting to get scared?’
Finally, the last person left. The room was empty.
Jiang You’s eyelashes fluttered. She quickly schooled her expression. ’What’s there to be afraid of? I’m the villainous young lady!’
She turned sideways, slowly crossed one leg over the other, and then leisurely swiveled to face Shen Lan. Propping an elbow on his desk and resting her other hand on its surface, she looked at him, one eyebrow raised confidently. "What is it you want?"
Shen Lan felt a tickle as the strand of hair slipped from his grasp. He couldn’t help but rub his fingertips together.
"A kiss?" Shen Lan’s eyes curved into crescents as he gave a dazzlingly flirtatious smile. His voice was slow and drawn out, laced with seduction. "Girlfriend, didn’t you want to give it a try?"
Jiang You was really about to lose her composure.
’Did I get the wrong script?’
’Is the male lead, Shen Lan, actually some master player who’s been with countless women?’
’We just made it official, and he’s already asking for a kiss?’
’What a scumbag!’
But then another thought occurred to Jiang You. ’Doesn’t this just mean the male lead doesn’t respect me? That he doesn’t value me at all?’
’That’s it! This is exactly how he should treat the villainess.’
’So, even though he’s talking about kissing, it’s definitely not going to happen.’
’After all, the male lead has to save himself for the female lead.’
’A villainess like me would never be able to successfully kiss him.’
Thinking of this, Jiang You relaxed.
Shen Lan had indeed said it on purpose. He mainly wanted to see how she would react if he deviated from the plot.
’This should be interesting...’ he thought.
But then the girl suddenly stood up, leaned over the desk, and lowered her head to kiss him.
A wave of cloying peach scent washed over him.
Shen Lan’s heart stuttered. His eyelashes trembled, and in an instant, his mind went blank. He froze.