Song Zhiqing was oblivious to the darkness that lay ahead in her life. More accurately, it was impossible for her to be.
She was a person born and raised in the light. If the praise and adoration she had received since childhood were recorded, they would be enough to fill a villa. And Song Zhiqing owned many villas—some to store her beautiful clothes, some her souvenirs, and some her photographs.
Even so, a few remained empty, and Song Zhiqing had long ago made a plan for them: they would be used to hold the praise and adoration the rest of her life would bring.
Few people disliked her. Those who did, upon hearing her mother was Gao Yiren, would immediately come to like her by association. As for the small, stubborn handful that remained, Song Zhiqing could easily dismiss them as boring, jealous people. She had always held them in contempt.
However, Shangguan Xianxian was an exception.
Song Zhiqing didn’t exist in her eyes, yet at the same time, Shangguan Xianxian’s excellence was something no one could deny.
What made Song Zhiqing feel slightly better was that Shangguan Xianxian’s eyes held no one, not even herself. She was like a mineral gem, shining as if no one else existed, unyieldingly hard in her own way.
Song Zhiqing liked collecting gemstones, so she liked Shangguan Xianxian.
But she never expected there could be an exception to the exception.
Song Zhiqing stood at the entrance to the tennis court. Shangguan Xianxian was walking ahead of her, and beside her stood a girl with a frail but exceptionally beautiful face. Song Zhiqing had never seen this person at Qinglin before; she surmised this must be the Shen Wei she had heard about in the morning.
Their hands were linked. It was clear that Shangguan Xianxian was not used to such an intimate gesture. Half of her body was visibly stiff, and her ears were as red as cherry tomatoes. But she didn’t let go. On the contrary, she was overcoming her discomfort, each step more natural than the last.
They’re sisters.
Thus, Song Zhiqing tried to convince herself. She gripped her tennis racket tightly, the texture of the grip digging painfully into her palm. At the same time, immense confusion and a sense of loss threatened to overwhelm her.
Then, it surged back as a wave of malice.
Sister, my foot! Shangguan Xianxian’s mother’s surname was Jin, and her father’s was Shangguan. Where did a sister with the surname Shen come from?!
She couldn’t help but look around for Ye Yuhuan. At a time like this, Ye Yuhuan was the first person she thought of. She was so smart; surely she could distinguish between sisterly affection and romantic intimacy.
Two minutes later, Ye Yuhuan, having changed her clothes, arrived at the tennis court. The first thing she saw was Song Zhiqing standing frozen at the entrance.
Qinglin’s tennis courts were outdoors, surrounded by a circle of banyan trees. Under the banyans were long wooden benches, perfect for cooling off on a summer night. But Song Zhiqing just stood there conspicuously at the entrance, not stepping into even the nearest patch of shade.
Ye Yuhuan walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. “Why aren’t you going in? The sun is so strong out here.”
Song Zhiqing turned her head, and Ye Yuhuan saw her crestfallen expression, looking as if she had suffered a major blow. But who could possibly deal a blow to Song Zhiqing?
Ye Yuhuan quickly asked, “What happened?”
Song Zhiqing pouted, her voice dry as if parched by the sun. “You took so long to get here.”
Seeing her like this, Ye Yuhuan guessed and said tentatively, “Is it Shangguan Xianxian?”
Song Zhiqing nodded, then began to complain like a kitten, “I just saw her holding Shen Wei’s hand.” Perhaps feeling that statement alone wasn’t serious enough, she raised an index finger and added, “She used to refuse to even get within a meter of anyone.”
Ye Yuhuan was momentarily speechless. She knew the whole story. Last night, Shangguan Xianxian had lost a bet to Shen Wei and had to grant her one request. Shen Wei didn’t ask for anything tangible, only saying, “Then tomorrow, Sister, you’ll have to hold my hand for three hours. Three full hours, not a minute less.”
As one might expect, they held hands for more than just three hours.
In the novel, Song Zhiqing was barely described, only as a furious silhouette. After all, this was a sweet romance novel, and the Villainess Supporting Female Character didn’t have many scenes.
She didn’t know how to comfort Song Zhiqing. Before knowing the plot, she could have said it was okay, that Shen Wei was just her sister. But to say that now would be a hypocritical lie. Ye Yuhuan’s lips moved, and after a moment of deliberation, she said carefully, “At least, in name, they’re just sisters.”
Yes, in name. Even if Shen Wei was officially recognized by the family, Shangguan Xianxian wouldn’t lose her status as the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family. To some extent, this “sister” status was the biggest obstacle to their relationship.
This reminded Song Zhiqing. She looked up at Shangguan Xianxian and Shen Wei’s court and regained the arrogance of Miss Song. “I don’t care about ‘in name’ or not. I just want to know if there’s something romantic going on between them. But I need to investigate what kind of sister this Shen Wei is. She’d better be her real sister.”
At that moment, Song Zhiqing was exactly like the Villainess Supporting Female Character described in the novel. Ye Yuhuan sighed. Although she had made up her mind not to let Song Zhiqing follow the same disastrous path as in the plot, she had no idea how to do it. Of course, one could also say she had too many ideas and didn’t know which to choose.
For example, there were two simple options: one was to help Song Zhiqing go all-in on her villainess path, directly take out the two female leads, and take the lead role for herself. The second was to make Song Zhiqing let go of her feelings for Shangguan Xianxian and either befriend the main characters or become strangers to them.
As for the possibility of helping Song Zhiqing win Shangguan Xianxian’s heart and push Shen Wei out of the picture, Ye Yuhuan threw up her hands; she was really no master strategist when it came to love. That was asking way too much of her.
But at this moment, Ye Yuhuan’s gaze focused on Song Zhiqing, a lump forming in her throat. A thousand thoughts condensed into a single sentence: “Maybe we shouldn’t play tennis after all.”
Song Zhiqing thought Ye Yuhuan was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions in front of Shangguan Xianxian and would leave a bad impression. But what kind of person was she, Song Zhiqing? Even if she liked Shangguan Xianxian, she wouldn’t back down because of her.
Song Zhiqing lifted her chin and said fiercely, “No, I’m going to play! I’m going to play right in front of Shen Wei and Shangguan Xianxian!”
At the end of last semester, she had found out that one of her P.E. classes this semester would overlap with Shangguan Xianxian’s. She had specifically practiced tennis, Shangguan Xianxian’s favorite sport, for over a month during the summer break, just to get closer to her during P.E. If she gave up now, it would be too galling.
But… Ye Yuhuan took another look, then had no choice but to take off her light jacket and wrap it around Song Zhiqing’s waist. She pointed at her skirt. “I think you got your period.”
The red stain was particularly conspicuous on the blue and white fabric.
Song Zhiqing quickly twisted around to look, her face flushing beet red. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Ye Yuhuan spread her hands innocently. “I only saw it when you turned around. But the priority now is to get this sorted out. You head to the restroom, and I’ll bring you a change of clothes and a pad.”
Song Zhiqing was still annoyed and couldn’t help but glare at her. Why did her perfectly fired-up mood have to turn into this? How infuriating!
She didn’t usually get many symptoms when she got her period, so she often relied on counting the days to predict it. Today, she had taken a chance, thinking her cycle wouldn’t fluctuate this month, but as it turned out… Song Zhiqing gritted her teeth in frustration, took off her own jacket, and wrapped it around her waist too. Now it was finally less obvious; you couldn’t see it unless you got close.
Still unwilling to give up, Song Zhiqing shouted defiantly, “I’ll be back after I change! Even if I don’t play, I’m going to watch them!”
Resigned, Ye Yuhuan put a hand to her forehead and started walking. “Okay, whatever you say. But let’s deal with this first.”
“The jackets won’t be able to hide it for long.”
Song Zhiqing covered her ears as she ran. “Ah! Shut up!”
Boo hoo hoo… Her imposing aura was completely gone.
By the time they got cleaned up and returned, fifteen minutes had passed. Luckily, Song Zhiqing had a spare set of clothes at school. She changed quickly and rushed back. The soiled clothes, evidence of her bad luck, were wrapped up and secretly thrown into a non-recyclable trash can.
Shen Wei and Shangguan Xianxian were resting. Shen Wei’s body had suffered too much hardship in her early years. The family that adopted her had worked her like a beast of burden, and when she fell ill with a cold, they never took her to the hospital. Over time, it left her with a chronic lung condition. Without several years of proper care, she wouldn’t be able to handle strenuous exercise.
Shangguan Xianxian was helping Shen Wei catch her breath, a look of self-blame appearing on her usually icy face, which made Song Zhiqing both envious and jealous.
She walked over to greet Shangguan Xianxian. The Song and Shangguan families weren’t exactly generational friends, but they did visit each other during holidays. Originally, Song Zhiqing had a chance to build a childhood bond with Shangguan Xianxian. Unfortunately, when she was little, Song Zhiqing spent her time with her mother on film sets, so happy she forgot about everything else, and had no need for friends her own age. When she was a bit older, Shangguan Xianxian went abroad and only returned for high school. The moment she appeared, Song Zhiqing was thunderstruck, falling in love at first sight. When she later discovered this missed connection between them, she had lamented it countless times in front of Ye Yuhuan.
Shangguan Xianxian nodded at Song Zhiqing in response.
Usually, this kind of reaction would have been enough to satisfy Song Zhiqing; at least she had made an appearance before Shangguan Xianxian. But now, with Shen Wei half-leaning in Shangguan Xianxian’s arms, the disparity seemed too cruel. She had been longing for Shangguan Xianxian for so long, and Shen Wei had just appeared and already made her look like dirt by comparison.
Miss Song had never been slighted like this. She instantly threw the plan she had discussed with Ye Yuhuan that morning—to get closer to Shen Wei—to the back of her mind. She took a step forward, her tone provocative, her delicate, sweet features contorting into a surprisingly domineering expression. “You’re the new transfer student? Haven’t seen you before. But since you can play, want to have a match? I’m just so-so, and you don’t look too skilled either. We’d be a perfect match.”
Shen Wei had noticed Song Zhiqing the moment she arrived. Her bright, glamorous aura was truly eye-catching. But what really made Shen Wei unable to forget her was Song Zhiqing’s mockery in her past life. Terms like “country bumpkin” and “scheming woman” had all first come from the mouths of Song Zhiqing and her little group of followers.
Back then, she really hadn’t understood anything. Taken from a small town to the Shangguan family in the capital, she was like a pile of sand placed on a golden plate. Only Shangguan Xianxian believed she could become a pearl and was willing to be the oyster that nurtured her.
Unfortunately, she had been a poor judge of character back then, mistaking Gargamel for a fairy godmother. Her miserable end was what she deserved.
But if she had the chance, she would be more than happy to get revenge on those who pushed her towards Gargamel.
For example, Song Zhiqing.
Perhaps because Shen Wei’s gaze was too dark, Shangguan Xianxian nervously asked her what was wrong, if she was still feeling unwell.
Just as she turned her head to refuse Song Zhiqing on Shen Wei’s behalf, Shen Wei pulled on her sleeve. While Shangguan Xianxian was still stunned, Shen Wei spoke first: “I’d be happy to.”
Watching Song Zhiqing stride menacingly to the other side of the court, racket in hand, Ye Yuhuan frowned and whispered beside her, “Did you forget you’re on your period?”
Song Zhiqing’s eyes darted away for a moment, then she patted her chest and said firmly, “It won’t take much effort to beat a weakling like Shen Wei.”
A similar conversation was happening on the other side of the court.
Shangguan Xianxian: “Can you handle it? Don’t push yourself. You couldn’t even last ten minutes just now.”
Shen Wei: “It’s fine, Sister. It won’t take ten minutes to beat a pampered little miss like Song Zhiqing.”
Before Shangguan Xianxian could ask Shen Wei if she knew Song Zhiqing—how else could she come up with an evaluation like “pampered little miss”?—Shen Wei had already strode to the center of the court, taken her stance, and was looking sharply at the girl opposite her. The girl opposite responded with a cold smile and a high-speed, spinning ball.
Shen Wei leaped and hit the ball back. Song Zhiqing moved quickly, returning it with a backhand.
On the court, the two played with exhilarating intensity, showing no sign that one of them had been gasping for breath just moments ago and the other had just gotten her period.
The ball flew rapidly between their rackets, the score changing constantly. Many people gathered to watch this match, which was charged with hostility, letting out cheers from time to time.
“Who’s that girl playing against Song Zhiqing?”
“Don’t know, but she’s a really aggressive player.”
“She looks so delicate, though. The contrast is pretty appealing.”
“I’ll go ask on the forum. She must be the new transfer student.”
The post asking about Shen Wei’s identity quickly went viral. Part of the reason was that the school tyrant Song Zhiqing naturally drew attention, but the main reason was that the photos were just too good.
In the photos, the two beautiful girls had sweat-soaked hair, their faces flushed from the intense exercise. Their eyes were locked on each other as if they shared some deep-seated hatred. The students could immediately imagine a thirty-thousand-word short story about them.
Meanwhile, the only two people who knew the truth about them stood on the sidelines, their eyes wide.
Weakling?
Pampered little miss??
Average skills???
Are these two on steroids or something?!
