Chapter 9 The Passionate Female Supporting Character in a Society Ruled by Law

Chapter 9

Qin Ye: "Who?"

Li Jun frowned as he stared at his phone: "To be honest, I don't know if your fiancée was beaten up, but those people who were rumored to be going to beat her up have already been taken to the hospital."

Wang Yue suddenly became interested and leaned closer to stare at Li Jun's phone screen: "Where? Let me see."

Li Jun pointed to the people in the photo who were being carried into the ambulance: "Look, these are the ones, with their hair dyed all sorts of colors."

Before Wang Yue could get a good look, his phone was snatched away.

Qin Ye looked at the few people whose faces weren't clearly captured in the phone, then handed the phone back to Li Jun.

"Send me the photos later."

*

Qi Yu looked Qin Yan, who was standing next to her, up and down.

His eyes were filled with suspicion and confusion.

But since she didn't speak, Qin Yan just let her look at her without saying a word.

Finally, Qi Yu couldn't hold back any longer: "Yan Yan, did you go to fight?"

Qin Yan replied firmly: "No."

Qi Yu pulled out her phone and shoved the chat history that was currently circulating wildly on campus in front of her: "Did you call these people?"

Qin Yan glanced at it and didn't deny it: "Mm."

Qi Yu: "...Ugh!"

She held her phone tremblingly, staring at the photo in disbelief, then at Qin Yan's calm expression, feeling like the world was surreal.

"...Yanyan, when did you learn to fight?"

That's amazing!

Qin Yan corrected her without changing her expression: "This is not a fight."

Qi Yu: "..."

Is this called a brawl if not a fight?

Is it one person ganging up on three?

Qin Yan: "I just patted them lightly, and they collapsed and couldn't get up."

Qi Yu: "..."

That's ruthless.

She lost.

Qin Yan paused, then said softly, "I didn't say they were trying to scam me."

Qi Yu: "..."

Stop talking! I'm starting to think you're a once-in-a-millennium martial arts genius.

After a fierce internal struggle, Qi Yu finally managed to calm down a bit: "Why did they block you?"

Qin Yan: "She probably wants to avenge Zhang Min."

Qi Yu was bewildered: "What does this have to do with Zhang Min?"

Qin Yan thought for a moment: "They probably mistakenly thought that Zhang Min being beaten was related to me."

Qi Yu was also puzzled by this, wondering who had such a deep grudge against Zhang Min that they would beat her up like this.

Although Zhang Min is usually quite spoiled at school, there are always a few people in the school who look down on those who are not as wealthy as themselves and fawn over those who are from better-off families.

But Zhang Min isn't the only one with a bad personality; why didn't the others suffer?

"Yanyan, who do you think did it?"

Qin Yan shook her head: "I don't know."

She wasn't interested either.

Before the two even reached the classroom, they saw several circles of people gathered in the corridor in front of it.

None of them were from my class.

Qi Yu was a little curious and craned her neck to look ahead: "What's wrong?"

[Ding! Please show weakness to the male lead and tell him you were hit, appearing vulnerable and aggrieved.]

Qin Yan: ……

Okay, now she knows why there are so many people in front of her.

Those who did the beating were sent to the hospital, while the victim is standing here perfectly fine, pretending to be weak.

Who would believe that?

Suddenly I didn't feel like walking any further.

The system went to great lengths to make the male protagonist hate it.

Even this unexpected plot point, which isn't part of the main storyline, has been incorporated into the main plot, and the male lead is even made to condescend to visit their classroom.

Before Qin Yan could even see Xie Lin, Xie Lin seemed to sense something. He had been leaning against the corridor railing, but suddenly stood up straight and looked out into the crowd.

Then, by chance, Qin Yan caught a glimpse of the fleeting thought of retreat in her own eyes.

Xie Lin frowned.

So what's being said online is true?

She not only had Zhang Min beaten up and sent to the hospital, but also had Zhang Min's close friends beaten up and sent to the hospital as well.

She said she didn't like him and wouldn't bother him anymore.

Was he playing hard to get?

Qin Yan tried to leave, but Qi Yu grabbed her arm tightly: "Yan Yan! It's Xie Lin! Why is he here?"

Qin Yan: She doesn't know either.

Unable to leave, Qin Yan watched as Xie Lin walked through the crowd and stood in front of her.

Qin Yan: Facing death without fear.

Xie Lin looked down at Qin Yan, who kept her head down and wouldn't look at him, as if he felt guilty.

He suddenly laughed: "Weren't you going to be a good future wife of the Qin family? Weren't you going to distance yourself from me?"

Xie Lin bent down slightly, his chin close to the top of Qin Yan's head: "After beating up the woman I used to be with during the day, now you're not even letting that woman's friends go."

Qin Yan: ...Did he misunderstand something?

Xie Lin scoffed: "You're so eager to get my attention, to make me look at you a few more times?"

Qin Yan looked up speechlessly, meeting Xie Lin's mocking eyes.

Qi Yu had already retreated several meters away when Xie Lin walked this way, watching the show with a mix of trepidation and excitement in the crowd.

The crowd automatically left them a meter or so of space, and the noise subsided considerably.

"Okay, no matter whose fiancée you are, from now on, you are my girlfriend."

A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.

Qi Yu, one of the audience members, jumped around like a monkey.

Qin Yan smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm not used to having two relationships at the same time."

"I have a fiancé."

*

Qi Yu had no interest in studying; she was frantically browsing the forum.

Some busybodies uploaded a video of Qin Yan and Xie Lin in the corridor, and went too far by cutting out the part where Qin Yan said she had a fiancé.

Unaware of the facts, onlookers are already launching personal attacks against Qin Yan.

They even remembered to include their ancestors from eight generations back.

[I used to think Qin was just stupid, and I even felt a little sorry for her after she kept getting rejected, but I never imagined she was such a complete bitch.]

[Tsk tsk, not only did they manage to get close to the Qin family, but they also can't let go of Xie Lin. It's disgusting.]

[I find it disgusting to see people two-timing like this. I used to look down on Xie Lin for being a scumbag, but now I think those two should be a perfect match. A scumbag with a bitch, let Ye Ge be beautiful on his own.]

【You shameless Qin Yan, please don't tarnish our great male god Qin!】

Qi Yu was furious when she saw these comments and fought back fiercely online.

She regretted not recording the scene while watching the drama unfold, as she now had no evidence to prove her point.

hateful!

As soon as the break bell rang, Qi Yu rushed to Qin Yan.

"Yan Yan! These people are really sick! They don't know anything and they're just spouting nonsense!"

Qin Yan looked up: "There's a lot of homework today. Have you started?"

Qi Yu paused for half a second: "...Yan Yan! Do you know how badly you were scolded!"

Qin Yan: "I didn't know at first, but now I guessed."

Qi Yu: "..." Then why are you so calm!

Fang Ling was still frowning as he tackled the problem when Qi Yu's startled reaction interrupted his train of thought.

As a responsible deskmate, Fang Ling was very concerned about Qin Yan's academic performance and mental well-being.

"What's wrong?"

The class monitor, focused on his studies, didn't pay attention to gossip.

Qi Yu immediately turned her attention to Fang Ling. The seat directly in front of Fang Ling was empty, so Qi Yu plopped down and sat down, full of righteous indignation: "Those people! They don't study all day long and just spread rumors. They don't know anything about the facts, but they start making personal attacks."

Fang Ling hesitated, then asked, "So... have you finished your homework?"

Qi Yu: "..." It's because she, a poor student, is not worthy of integrating into the world of the big shots.

Fang Ling, being at least understanding, noticed Qi Yu's obvious despair and kindly smoothed things over: "So what did they all say?"

Qi Yu slammed her hand on Fang Ling's table, her voice fierce: "They said such awful things, calling me a bitch, a two-timing woman, and let me tell you..."

Qi Yu was indignant, and Fang Ling listened attentively. After she finally finished venting, Fang Ling nodded and said, "You must not let these online rumors affect you, as they will affect your exam results."

Qi Yu: "..."

She looked at Qin Yan, who was twirling her pen and staring blankly with her chin twitching: "You should learn from Qin Yan. As the person involved, she was not only unaffected, but she even finished her homework almost today with a very high accuracy rate."

Qi Yu looked at Fang Ling expressionlessly.

She had just said so much, and was so indignant, and the other party's focus was really a bit beyond her expectations.

We can't talk anymore.

There was absolutely no way to communicate.

Qin Yan suddenly spoke up: "If you do well on your final exams, I'll teach you how to surf."

Although the topic changed somewhat unexpectedly, as a quick-witted gossip expert, Qi Yu was able to keep up with the conversation very quickly, and immediately nodded: "Okay, okay!"

Then I thought about it again and realized something was wrong.

Qin Yan has never been a good swimmer, so how did she suddenly evolve into someone who can surf?

She choked up for a long time: "...Yanyan, when did you learn to swim?"

Qin Yan smiled and said, "I learned it secretly, and then I amazed you."

Qi Yu: "...I was startled." So when did you secretly learn that?!

Despite her inner rage that Qin Yan had secretly learned to swim and even surf, her mind was already filled with images of the ocean, the beach, muscular men, swimsuits, and abs…

Qi Yu said with a righteous expression, "Tell me, what rank do you want me to get?"

Qin Yan smiled and said, "Then let's make it to the top thirty."

Qi Yu couldn't believe it: "I usually only rank in the top 100... You're making things difficult for me!"

Qin Yan: "I can help you highlight the key points."

Qi Yu: "..." Wake up, I remember your score on the last exam wasn't even as high as mine.

Let's leave this matter aside for now.

Qi Yu still didn't give up on telling Qin Yan the importance of the online rumors: "Yan Yan, the person who posted the video is really despicable. They deliberately stirred up trouble, only posted a part of the story, which is not the whole picture and is actually very unfavorable to you. It's clearly aimed at you!"

Qin Yan paused for a few seconds: "Send me the link so I can take a look."

Qi Yu excitedly took out her phone, but since they were still in the classroom, she only dared to secretly and discreetly take it out.

It's really not easy; the person involved has finally taken it to heart.

However, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find any trace of that post.

She then went to the gossip group to look through the records, where someone had previously shared a link.

She tried clicking on it—"Page not found".

"...Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

Qi Yu looked at her phone in confusion: "The webpage is gone."

Qin Yan chuckled: "It seems someone else is moving faster."

Qi Yu's pupils dilated in shock. Undeterred, she continued searching, only to find the homepage filled with new posts about not being able to find the posts.

She only chatted for a few minutes, so how did the post disappear? Was it blocked by the administrator?

She looked at Qin Yan, who seemed completely unaffected, and felt somewhat resentful.

It's too lenient to let such a vicious person go so easily.

"So...we're just going to ignore it?"

Qin Yan looked at Qi Yu's still-lit phone screen: "This means my fiancé doesn't need me to get involved."

Qi Yu looked bewildered: "What? Fiancé? Who? Qin Ye? Huh?"

After a series of unconscious questions, Qi Yu finally realized: "This was done by Qin Ye?"

Upon hearing the name Qin Ye, even Fang Ling, who was usually focused on her studies, couldn't help but become interested: "So, does Qin Ye feel disgusted by this marriage? Will he be very uncooperative?"

After all, even without actively inquiring, there are always rumors about Qin Yan and Xie Lin.

It's become a topic of conversation over tea and after meals.

Fang Ling also felt that Qin Ye, as a victim of a business marriage, would more or less show dissatisfaction with his fiancée.

Qin Yan recalled Qin Ye's various behaviors: "I feel that he is quite enjoying it."

Fang Ling blinked.

Qi Yu then thought of Qin Ye's seemingly unintentional "chance encounters" and suddenly fell silent.

It seems that they really enjoy it.

*

Before going to bed, Qin Yan took out her phone, intending to see what the forum that Qi Yu was so obsessed with was discussing.

But then I saw two unread messages from Qin Ye.

-fiancée.

- I'll handle it.

The two sentences, which seem to have no beginning or end, are very much in the style of Qin Ye.

It seems her fiancé is extremely bothered by the damage to her reputation.

She had always been indifferent to these matters and didn't want to get involved.

Let them criticize her; it's not like she's only been slandered for a short time. She can leave once the show ends and everyone leaves.

But now she suddenly wants to get involved.

*

Surrounded by an atmosphere of academic excellence, Qi Yu was forced to change her ways, stop gossiping, and focus on studying.

That's impossible.

Although Qin Yan was dragged to the library to study over the weekend, it was clear that she didn't need to review for this exam.

After finishing my weekend homework, I've started reading extracurricular books, and they're not exactly serious ones at all.

The Cunning Young Master: Pampered Wife

"...Yanyan, when did your tastes change?"

"There are some aspects of it that are worth learning from."

"..."

What exactly is there about this novel that needs to be borrowed from?!

Perhaps because final exams are approaching, everyone has been much quieter lately, and even Xie Lin hasn't come out to make his presence known.

But Qin Yan knew that this was the calm before the important plot unfolded.

Seeing that Qin Yan had stopped doing her homework and didn't want to study anymore, Qi Yu started to slack off and do nothing.

He stumbled upon crucial information while fishing.

Qi Yu eagerly shared: "Yanyan, have you heard? Several people have been fired."

"Huh?" Qin Yan, who was obsessed with the cunning young master, was a few beats slow to react.

Qi Yu wanted to start a conversation, but Qin Yan, without even looking up, simply said, "Mm."

"..."

I don't know if they heard it or not.

Qi Yu didn't dwell on whether Qin Yan had heard her or not. She spoke as if to Qin Yan, but also as if to herself: "I understand why the three who beat you up got fired, but what about the others?"

Without looking up, Qin Yan retorted, "Aren't they just those few who spread rumors about me online?"

"……Um?"

"...Huh!"

No, who can track down a keyboard warrior by following an internet connection? Hackers, perhaps?

As if hearing Qi Yu's inner roar, Qin Yan thoughtfully provided an answer: "Since others are so actively spreading rumors about me, I can't let them down, so I just looked it up."

Qi Yu: "...What do you mean 'casually'? I had no idea you were a tech talent."

“My fiancé originally said he would handle it, but I felt that I should handle my own affairs.”

"...You call him your fiancé quite naturally."

Qin Yan closed the book: "I kept the evidence and gave it to my dad's legal team."

Qi Yu: "..." This is quite a grand gesture.

Qin Yan smiled and said, "In a society governed by law, justice must be served through proper channels."

*

"I saw a beautiful woman in Lao Zhang's office this morning."

"Oh, I heard, a transfer student has arrived."

"A transfer student? Why would they choose to transfer during the final exams? Are they out of their mind?"

"I saw them too. They were waiting outside Class 6. I guess they're taking the exam in Class 6."

"I heard that her parents passed away, and now her maternal grandfather has taken her back."

What does the passing of my parents have to do with transferring schools?

"It is said that her mother severed ties with her family in order to elope with her father."

An hour before the exam, Qi Yu finally showed the urgency unique to high school students, clutching her textbook and starting to memorize everything by rote.

While reciting his lessons, he didn't forget to check on Qin Yan: "Yan Yan, I'm taking the exam in Class Four, what about you?"

Qin Yan: "Class 6".

Qi Yu, whose gossip spirit is always present, seized on the key point: "Oh... Class 6? I heard there are pretty girls in Class 6, I'll go with you."

The next second she looked at Qin Yan in astonishment: "You took the exam in Class 6?"

Qin Yan nodded: "Mm."

Recalling the moments he spent studying with Qin Yan, he realized that she didn't take the exams seriously at all.

Qi Yu: "...Then how come you don't study at all?"

The exam rooms are assigned according to the ranking of the previous grade exam. The first place is in seat number 1 of class 1, the second place is in seat number 2 of class 1, and so on.

There are only 6 classes in their entire grade.

Qin Yan was undoubtedly at the bottom of her class.

Qi Yu got to see the beautiful woman as she wished. The woman was indeed beautiful, but Qin Yan's seat was really in the back.

The pretty transfer student sat in the last seat, while Qin Yan was fifth from the bottom.

Qi Yu looked at the seating chart posted on the door, speechless: "...Yanyan, you only got fifth from the bottom in the midterm exam?"

Qin Yan looked remorseful: "I was young and ignorant before, but I have already repented."

Qi Yu: "..." But apart from finishing your homework quickly, I haven't seen you study very hard.

"I'll go in first."

Qin Yan waved and said, "Go for it!"

Qi Yu glanced at Qin Yan, then at the beautiful woman.

The beautiful woman sat by the window, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window with an indifferent expression.

They looked like they were out of their league.

*

You may not believe in love, but you can always believe in how fast a teacher grades papers.

As a prestigious private school, pressure is everywhere.

For example, the final rankings are posted on the bulletin board on the first floor.

Qi Yu knew how to find her own name. She first stood in the middle of the bulletin board and began to search quickly for those two familiar characters.

But Qin Yan was clearly more familiar with those two words.

Forty-four.

Qi Yu instantly locked onto the forty-fourth place.

Yes, it really is her.

That's really an auspicious number.

It has to be said that the key points Qin Yan highlighted for her were quite effective.

Although she didn't reach the top thirty, she would still relentlessly pester Qin Yan to take her to see the hunky men she wanted to see.

Just kidding, she improved by more than sixty places! All the gossip she lost represents her youth that will never return.

"Yanyan, let me find your name."

She started looking from forty-fourth place onwards.

"No need to look."

"Huh?" Qi Yu turned around. "You found it? Where? Where?"

"Here you go."

"First place."

A note from the author:

----------------------

Official吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary/criticism): Qi Tongxue