Arrogant, willful, domineering—a malicious woman who looked down on commoners like them from her high perch.
Xu Rou was caught off guard by Xu Qiao’s sudden move. With Pei Jinchuan pinned under Xu Qiao’s foot, she was stuck in an awkward position—unable to help him up yet unwilling to leave him there. Standing frozen in place, her face flushed with embarrassment.
“Qiaoqiao, you’re going too far. How could you treat him like—”
But before she could finish, Xu Qiao cut her off with a pitiful tone. “Rourou-jie, aren’t you my cousin? This filthy thing dirtied my clothes and shoes. Shouldn’t you be standing up for me?”
Xu Rou’s expression stiffened momentarily.
Before she could respond, Xu Qiao pressed on, “Rourou-jie, do you know this filthy thing? Is that why you’re speaking up for him?”
The young girl’s face showed a hint of distress, yet she spoke understandingly, “If Rourou-jie is pleading for him, I might be willing to forgive him.”
Xu Rou nodded, about to speak, but when she met Xu Qiao’s innocent gaze, she seemed to remember something and quickly shook her head in denial. “Qiaoqiao, I don’t know him. This is my first time seeing this classmate. I just felt sorry for him, so I spoke up for him.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Qiao sighed with apparent regret. “So you don’t know him after all.”
With that, the girl pressed her foot down harder, grinding it into the boy’s wound.
Xu Rou saw it clearly—Pei Jinchuan was sweating from the pain, and a patch of blood had seeped through his shirt over his chest.
A chill ran down Xu Rou’s spine as realization dawned on her.
The body she now occupied had never interacted with Pei Jinchuan, who hailed from the slums. If she had nodded just now, it would have been an obvious giveaway.
Was this really a brainless fool?
More like a cunning black lotus!
Unable to hold back, she screamed inwardly to the system: 【Tongzi, are you sure Xu Qiao is just a pretty face with no brains? I feel like she was trying to trap me just now!】
Xu Qiao, who was innocently stepping on the boy, heard the system’s reply: 【I’m sure, absolutely sure. In the original novel, Xu Qiao was nothing but a spoiled child with the brain capacity of a paramecium. What she said just now was pure coincidence. Don’t let your paranoia get the better of you.】
Reassured by the system’s guarantee, Xu Rou relaxed.
Meanwhile, Xu Qiao, looking down at the boy beneath her foot with his striking features, curved her lips slightly and murmured silently, “A paramecium, huh.”
“Qiaoqiao, even though I don’t know this classmate, I can compensate you for your clothes and shoes. Please don’t bully him anymore.” Xu Rou still wanted to speak up for Pei Jinchuan.
But the little princess stepping on the boy replied with an innocent yet aggrieved tone, “Rourou-jie, you’re my cousin, yet you keep speaking up for this filthy thing. Qiaoqiao is feeling very upset.”
Xu Qiao’s expression darkened, her delicate face growing even paler, like fine jade. A flicker of displeasure passed through her innocent, clear eyes.
Even in anger, she was strikingly beautiful, drawing the attention of all the surrounding students.
“What’s wrong with Xu Rou today? Wasn’t she always the timid, quiet one? How dare she stand up to Xu Qiao?”
“Why is Xu Rou speaking up for some slum-dwelling lowlife? Is she out of her mind?”
“I just looked it up—that princess dress Xu Qiao is wearing is the latest design by Master S from France. It’s the only one in the world. And Xu Rou said she’d compensate? Can she even afford it?”
"She definitely can't afford to pay for it. She's currently living with the Xu family. If it weren't for Xu Qiao and Chairman Xu giving her a place to stay, she'd probably be living in the slums right now. How could she possibly afford clothes worth tens of millions…"
The surrounding whispers flooded into Xu Rou's ears, making her face pale uncontrollably. Afraid of being noticed, she didn't dare say anything more.
Just then, the class bell rang.
Remembering that the next class was with the old demon Zhang, the students who had been eager to watch the drama scattered noisily.
Xu Rou's original self was a good girl and would never linger outside during class time. Though unwilling, she returned to the classroom.
In an instant, only Xu Qiao and Pei Jinchuan remained in the corridor.
"Everyone's gone now. Has Miss Xu vented her anger enough?"
The boy on the ground stared straight at Xu Qiao, who was stepping on him, his dark eyes filled with barely suppressed fury.
Pei Jinchuan knew very well that someone like Xu Qiao, a high-and-mighty young lady, was not someone a poor, powerless person like him could easily provoke.
As long as he abandoned his pride and let her vent her anger, this malicious heiress would naturally grow bored.
Wasn't it the thrill of humiliating people like him that she enjoyed?
But to his surprise, the next second, the malicious young lady stepped forward.
His gaze followed upward, only to catch an unexpected glimpse of a striking pink hue. Blood rushed to his head, and his face flushed completely red. "You—"
She?
How could she!
Xu Qiao rubbed the oil stain off her little leather shoe by scraping it against Pei Jinchuan's face, and only then did her anger subside a little.
Stepping back, she looked at the dirty boy on the ground. He had turned his head aside, his face as red as an apple.
Pei Jinchuan lay on the ground, his clothes covered in dust and grime. Only his face was somewhat presentable, but now even that was smudged by her shoe. He looked like a little dog thrown into a trash can—filthy and stinking. Xu Qiao couldn't hide the disgust in her eyes.
What Qiyun Zhi Zi?
More like the Filthy and Stinking Child!
Remembering the conversation she had overheard between her cousin and the Xitong, she clenched her fists and put on a fierce expression. "You filthy thing, I won't hold today's incident against you. From now on, whenever you see me or my cousin, you'd better stay out of our way. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"
After delivering this harsh warning, Xu Qiao turned and headed to her exclusive lounge at the school.
Only after the sweet, sugary fragrance had completely disappeared did Pei Jinchuan, his face still flushed, get up from the ground.
A sudden movement tugged at his wounds, making him groan softly.
He should have been angry, but the glimpse of pink he had caught earlier kept flashing in his mind.
That despicable woman!
Bullying him while also tempting him.
How shameless!
By the time Xu Qiao changed her clothes in the lounge and returned to the classroom, the trash in the corridor had been completely cleared away.
Even the oil stains on the ground had vanished without a trace.
Professor Zhang, the old demon, was presenting a PowerPoint on the podium. He probably already knew what Xu Qiao had done earlier, and his gaze held reproach. However, he ultimately said nothing, only motioning for her to return to her seat.
The girl had changed out of her original pink princess dress into a light blue floral spaghetti-strap dress, paired with a sheer outer layer.
Her previously tied-up bun had been replaced with a simple princess braid, and she had even changed her shoes to a pair of black round-toe leather flats.
It seemed as though she had washed herself from head to toe.
As soon as Xu Qiao stepped through the classroom door, she instantly drew the attention of all her classmates.
“Qiaoqiao’s outfit looks so good too!”
“Exactly, exactly! Qiaoqiao really looks good in anything she wears. No wonder she’s the undisputed campus belle of our Luosi Xueyuan.”
“It has to be Xu Qiao. If it were me, wouldn’t the Demon Zhang tear me to shreds?”
In the classroom, some admired her, while others watched with sour jealousy.
“What can we do about it? Xu Qiao is the apple of Chairman Xu’s eye. If Demon Zhang dares to scold her, I bet the principal will be scolding him right after. Who would dare to provoke her?”
“Right, right! If Demon Zhang really scolds her, his car tires will probably be punctured for another month straight. Eldest Young Master Jiang is second to none when it comes to being a lapdog, haha…”
“Quiet!” The noisy chatter was silenced by Xu Qiao slamming her hand on the desk.
The classroom instantly fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The students’ eyes were glued to Xu Qiao, filled with tension and worry.
What madness was the young miss Xu about to unleash now?
Even Professor Zhang on the podium glanced over in surprise.
At the center of everyone’s attention, Xu Qiao frowned, her eyes fixed intently on the textbook sprawled across her desk, not saying a word.
It was only after the classroom fell silent that the conversation, previously drowned out by the noise, gradually became clear.
[Don’t worry, host. This novel world originally had no female lead. The male lead is the Qiyun Zhi Zi, so you don’t need to worry about Xu Qiao causing trouble. She’s just the villainess, after all. Since you prevented her from bullying Pei Jinchuan and changed the original plot, her reactions will naturally differ. So, it’s normal for things to be different from the original novel.]
[As the villainess in this book, Xu Qiao exists to highlight your innocence and kindness. Her fate is already tragic. In the original story, she constantly harassed Pei Jinchuan, so after he returned to his family, he had her killed. As for her brother and Xu Shi Jituan, they also met a terrible end after trying to retaliate against Pei Jinchuan.]
[Xu Qiao and Xu Feng are just insignificant characters in this novel. The only one you need to focus on is the Qiyun Zhi Zi!]
Insignificant?
Terrible end?
Killed by Pei Jinchuan?
Xu Qiao’s gaze drifted aimlessly over the open textbook, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.
So?
She had been living inside a novel all along. In this book, she and her brother were nothing more than insignificant villains, destined for a terrible end.
Her cousin, a person whose body had been taken over by a soul from another world, was the female lead of this book, and her purpose was to win over the male lead—the Qiyun Zhi Zi.
Her own existence was merely to highlight her cousin’s purity and kindness.
And that filthy, lowly scum from the slums was the Qiyun Zhi Zi. He would have everything, and then he would kill her and her brother.
Xu Qiao couldn’t help but feel like laughing. She picked up a pen and carefully wrote Pei Jinchuan’s name in the blank space of her textbook, then slowly crossed it out.
Qiyun Zhi Zi?
She wanted to see how this lowly scum from the slums could possibly bring down the mighty Xu Shi Jituan.
How could he make her and her brother meet a terrible end?
The system’s words, [returned to his family], flashed through her mind. Xu Qiao’s fingers curled slightly. After a moment, she took out her phone and sent a message directly to her brother, Xu Feng.
The mechanical voice in her ear continued: 【Host, in this novel world, the Qiyun Zhi Zi will possess the greatest wealth, the highest authority, and the most elevated status in this world. As long as you successfully win them over, the original fate of this body will be altered, and you will become the ruler of this world.】
Winning over the Qiyun Zhi Zi could change one's fate.
Xu Qiao quietly typed this sentence into the notes app on her phone.
Soon after, she heard her cousin Xu Rou's question: 【Alright, but speaking up for Pei Jinchuan this morning already failed. Xitong, quickly help me check—what other good opportunities are there in the original novel that would make it easier for me to act?】
Not long after.
Xu Qiao heard Xitong excitedly say: 【Host, there's an opportunity this afternoon. Because Pei Jinchuan bumped into Xu Qiao this morning, after school, Pei Jinchuan will be cornered and bullied in the alley across from the school by a boy who secretly has a crush on Xu Qiao. When that happens, if you step forward to save Pei Jinchuan, his favorability toward you will definitely increase!】
After the morning classes ended, Xu Qiao had just stepped out of the classroom when her phone rang.
Answering the call, she instinctively said, "Hello? Brother?"
A soft, gentle voice came through the phone, and Xu Feng, standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, felt the cold sternness in his expression instantly soften. His tone unconsciously took on a doting quality.
"Qiaoqiao, I already know about what happened this morning. I'll speak to your principal shortly. That kid won't appear at Luosi Xueyuan again, nor will he ever cross your path. Don't worry."
Meanwhile, the man sitting on the sofa, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of surprise and understanding passing through his eyes.