Chapter 15: No Mercy for a Bad Woman!
"Just move the whole desk over."
"I’ll help you carry your books."
Chen Cheng picked up a huge stack of textbooks and worksheets from An Yuan’s desk, wobbling a little as she carried them toward fourth row in the classroom.
The homeroom teacher was efficient, by the next day, An Yuan’s seat had already been changed. Now, he sat in the fourth row, sharing a desk with a tall, lanky guy who was almost two meters tall.
Unfortunately, this spot was far from Chen Cheng. The teacher hadn’t listened to her request to seat An Yuan right behind her.
"Make way, make way~"
After dropping off the heavy books, Chen Cheng placed her hands on her hips, looking smugly over at Li Wanyi.
Hmph! Stay away from my brother!
With An Yuan’s looks and build, in a high school where people cared more about appearance than family background, he could easily date a pretty girl. Why waste time on her, someone who had already proven herself to be a two-faced liar?
Damn it! She had already taken advantage of An Yuan so much, and now she was trying to cheat on him too? Who knew how many times she had done it?
Li Wanyi noticed Chen Cheng’s triumphant gaze, and her face went pale. She lowered her head, biting her lower lip.
Seeing her innocent and pitiful expression, Chen Cheng almost felt like a villain for a second. She awkwardly looked away and went back to her seat.
Even though it had only been a few days since she arrived in this world, Chen Cheng was doing her best to re-adapt to high school life.
During class? Solving practice questions.
During breaks? More practice questions.
During irrelevant classes? You guessed it, more practice questions.
Her goal was to finish all her homework at school, so she could at least have an hour to play games after school.
Of course, she hadn’t finished yesterday’s homework yet.
"Pan Jie, let me copy your homework."
"Here."
"Thanks~"
Pan Jie’s face turned red, and he scratched the back of his head nervously before giving her a shy smile.
For some reason, Chen Cheng had become much livelier these past two days. She even cursed occasionally.
But honestly? It was better than before. She used to be so quiet and unapproachable, almost like some goddess on a pedestal. Now, she was way more down-to-earth.
Pan Jie hesitated for a moment before mustering up the courage to ask.
"Y-You never used to talk this much before..."
"Really?"
Chen Cheng had heard bits and pieces about her old self from her friends. Apparently, she was a calm, cold beauty.
Over the past few days, she had been piecing things together.
From her computer and phone, she found that her hobbies were exactly the same as before.
From her mom and aunt, she learned that her home life hadn’t changed either.
Aside from her gender and the small differences that came with it, this world’s Chen Cheng was practically the same person.
Even their glasses prescription was identical.
So why was she so different at school?
Was she just socially anxious and used a cold persona to cover it up?
But they’d all been classmates for years, even if she never talked to them, they still recognized her. What was there to be anxious about?
"I guess I just wasn’t familiar with people before."
She casually brushed it off and pulled out a thermos from her bag.
"Want some milk tea?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I bought some on the way here. It’s still hot."
She unscrewed the lid, poured a little into the cap, and handed it over.
"Want some?"
Pan Jie’s already reddish face turned bright red, almost like a monkey’s butt. He shook his head rapidly and forcefully.
"N-No, no, thanks!"
...Weird guy.
Chen Cheng gave him a puzzled look.
What was the big deal? She was just sharing some food. Why was he so shy?
Wait! Was it because she was too good-looking? Did he get nervous around her?
She drank the rest of the milk tea from the bottle cap, screwed the lid back on, and set the thermos aside before focusing on copying the homework.
On the way to school, An Yuan had told her that drinking a little bit of milk tea during her period was fine. But Chen Cheng completely ignored the words "a little bit" and happily dumped out the plain hot water from her thermos, refilling it with two full cups of hot milk tea from a shop.
She hadn’t had any sugary drinks all day yesterday, her mouth was practically dying from boredom!
But after drinking so much, she suddenly had to pee right before morning reading class started. She put down her pen and rushed to the restroom.
At this time, there weren’t many students around, so she didn’t have to wait in line or squeeze into a crowded stall. Even better, she could avoid any awkward encounters.
That said...
Chen Cheng still wasn’t used to peeing while squatting.
"Oh, crap! I forgot to bring toilet paper!"
Just as she was about to pull up her school pants, she suddenly realized in horror. She didn’t bring any tissues!
Because of biological differences, guys could just shake it off, but girls had to wipe to stay clean.
Would it be fine if I just don’t wipe...?
Or maybe call An Yuan to bring me some tissues? But he's a guy, and it’d be awkward for him to come into the girls’ restroom... Maybe I should check my contacts and see if I have any female classmates who could help.
Luckily, someone outside the stall overheard her muttering, and a hand suddenly reached under the door, passing her a packet of tissues.
"Thank you~!"
What a lifesaver!
Chen Cheng finished up and pulled up her pants, stepping out of the stall, only to see that her kind helper was none other than Li Wanyi.
This damn woman didn’t seem like she was just casually using the restroom either. The way she stood there waiting looked more like she was confronting her about something.
Chen Cheng really disliked Li Wanyi, but she also knew that all the drama and betrayal she hated her for hadn’t happened yet. Right now, she was just a regular classmate, aside from being kinda messy and having smelly feet.
That thought made her feel a little guilty.
"Move aside, morning reading is about to start..."
She lowered her head, avoiding eye contact, and tried to squeeze past her.
But seeing Chen Cheng’s guilty look, Li Wanyi immediately figured it out, so she was the one behind An Yuan’s sudden seat change!
The whole class knew she and An Yuan had a bit of an ambiguous relationship, until Chen Cheng suddenly interfered!
Li Wanyi stepped sideways, blocking her again. She went straight to the point.
"Do you like An Yuan?"
"I..."
"But you told Shuting that you two were just regular friends?"
Chen Cheng was a hardcore introvert and a total shut-in. She had never been confronted like this by another girl before, especially not so aggressively.
And when she tried to respond, she was cut off immediately.
For a moment, her mind went completely blank. She lowered her head, feeling awkward and embarrassed, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her uniform.
"So what exactly is your problem? Why are you trying to separate me and An Yuan?"
What was she supposed to say? ‘I don’t like the future you, and you’re going to cheat on him’?!
"Are you mentally ill or just dumb? Can’t even focus on studying and now you’re ruining other people’s lives too?"
Whoa, that’s a little too aggressive, isn’t it?!
It’s just a seat change, does she really have to go this hard on me?
Chen Cheng, a grown woman pushing thirty, was getting scolded by a seventeen-year-old high schooler, to the point where she couldn’t even lift her head. She wanted to argue back, but she was too slow with words, completely stunned into silence by Li Wanyi’s verbal attack.
"Crazy b*tch!"
With that, Li Wanyi stormed off, leaving Chen Cheng standing there, feeling wronged and dumbfounded.
It wasn’t until the school bell rang that she finally snapped out of it.
Damn it! she should’ve just said, ‘Yeah, I like An Yuan!’
And besides, we’re childhood friends! We grew up together! YOU’RE the third party here! She should’ve made up some fake romantic moments, made her jealous as hell!
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got.
Why didn’t she think of that earlier?! That would’ve been a perfect comeback! She was so pissed that she kicked the restroom door.
"Damn it!"
Before, she just disliked Li Wanyi and wanted to prevent An Yuan from suffering again.
But now? Now, it was personal. No mercy!