Villainess Plot

My slender finger tapped the desk, contemplating.

Will the other disciples in the class ignore or try to help me?

Though I am not particularly close to classmates other than my friends, I am not particularly distant and don't try to distance myself from them as the original protagonist has done.

'Well, let's follow the plot for once.'

I thought, my eyes shining with curiosity about what would happen.

"Excuse me, teacher, can I go to the restroom?"

I walked to the front of the classroom and asked the Elder, who had been meditating.

"If you need—then go, don't ask me."

The elderly woman answered.

Giving a small bow, I left the classroom. Yet not before catching the nasty smirk on the faces of one of the bullies.

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"You know what to do? I even involved my grandmother, occupying the attention of the Elder conducting the exam. You can't mess it up."

Said the leader of the bullies, whispering to the girl with an average appearance and small presence next to her.

"If I do that, you s-swear that n-nothing will happen to my parents?

The meek girl asked, feeling scared.

Who could have known that because of her commoner background, she would be targeted by the notorious trio?

Not only can she not resist because of her inferior cultivation, but these villains even threaten her family.

She only got into the sect because of sponsorship, and her parents are farmers toiling in the fields every day and can't protect themself.

Forced into such a situation, she can't do anything but cooperate and hope they will let her go after.

"Don't worry, I keep my promises and might even reward you if you do a good job."

The bully leader answered, however, inwardly sneering at the ignorant peasant.

"You go now, do your job."

She hurried her up.

Entering the classroom, the teacher wasn't present, having to handle some sudden matters. This caused some of the disciples to slack off, though most of them were already done making the potion and were just waiting for the Elder to come back.

The scene was a bit chaotic, as you may have expected, when the teacher leaves for a prolonged period of time.

Navigating the loud classroom, the meek girl reached her destination.

"Sorry, fellow Sister Xia and Yan, there is something important I have to tell you."

Said the meek girl, making the two of them look in her direction, stopping their conversation.

"Yes?" Nico and Emily asked almost simultaneously, confused about the girl's purpose. After all, they are not acquainted with her.

"Sister Ling asked me to call you when I was returning from the bathroom."

The meek girl said, her hands unbearably sweaty from the nervousness.

"Did something happen?"

Asked Emily, furrowing her brows.

"Huh?!… I don't know. I am just passing the message."

The meek girl responded, somehow flustered.

"Do you think…"

Nico looked at Emily meaningfully.

"It shouldn't be so early, but let's check on her. She wouldn't call us if it wasn't serious."

Emily stated.

"Hey, where are the two of you going?"

Natalie suddenly exclaimed at the further worktable.

"We are going to check on Rose. You stay here and finish the potion."

Emily said.

"Did something happen?

Natalie asked, feeling worried.

After Nico explained, Natalie understood everything.

"Some random girls said that Rose needs help. Weird, honestly, but it has been quite a while since she didn't come back, so let's find her.

"But your…."

"I have to wait for refinement now, so it's fine. I am going with you two."

Natalie voiced.

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Soon, the three people left the classroom, alerting the people who had been waiting in the shadows.

They entered the rowdy room and surrounded the meek girl.

"Good job. Now you just need to make some commotion, diverting most of the attention from our classmates."

Said the tall woman.

The three people surrounding the meek girl were obviously the notorious trio known for their bad reputation: the plump woman, the thin woman with too much makeup, and the tall female bully leader.

Soon after…

"Sorry! I have an announcement from the teacher. Can you quieten for a second?"

Shouted the meek girl in the front of the class, lying through her teeth.

Seeing the trio making their way to the specific desk, she could only avert her gaze.

'I had to do it.'

The meek girl thought, feeling shame and pity for the girl they were targeting.

'It's not my fault.'

As one person suddenly had a guilty conscience. The three others achieved their destination.

"Fucking bitch. This will teach you a lesson."

The plump girl remarked, pouring the contents of the transparent bottle with black liquid into the still-boiling cauldron.

"Last time we had practice duels, one of her admirers broke the rules and crushed my nose just to please her. My humiliation made her laugh. Since then, I remembered this grudge."

Sneered the thin woman, hurrying the plump one to pour more, making it a deadly douse.

"Who does she think she is, spreading rumors about us and making us excluded by everyone?! She deserves death."

The leader of the group had a vicious, victorious smile, feeling immense happiness from the depths of her soul.

At that time, Rose had no idea that her one casual remark would make the trio despised by everyone.

"Good, let's go now. Act like nothing has happened."

The leader whispered and, with others, soon dispersed to their worktables.

Yet throughout this whole operation, they haven't noticed the pair of deep, dark eyes staring at them from the corner of the room.

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POV: Rose

While the intrigue continues inside. Outside, behind the building of the lecture hall…

"Hey, you want it, don't you? Don't be shy~."

My voice lingered as I pushed the spirit herb held in my hand toward the small creature.

The creature looked cautiously in my direction; its golden beady eyes were attracted by an herb in my hands.

I have been crouching for so long, but the fluffy black animal seems unwilling to come too close to me.

Yet, I didn't give up, tempting the bunny with sweet words, knowing that it wouldn't understand me.

"I will not hurt you… I just want to touch your shining fur a bit~ I will give you this delicious herb in exchange. What do you think isn't that a great deal? "

I keep saying, but surprisingly, this time, the bunny took the initiative and started approaching me; I took a deep breath, not wanting to scare it away.

My grandparents had a lot of bunnies in the countryside when I visited them in my younger years.

Now, encountering a wild bunny overwhelmed me with a desire to pet it.

' Am I acting too girlish? Is petting an animal considered a girl thing only?'

Putting these thoughts behind me. I couldn't help but widen the corners of my lips as the bunny with apparent golden eyes started to nibble on the herb in my hand.

Being engrossed in eating, my other free hand neared the unsuspecting bunny.

BUT…

Just as I was about to touch its little head, I heard the loud shouting.

"Rose!!!"

Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I saw my three friends. Apparently, I wasn't the only one recognizing each other as they hurried in their footsteps. Soon, standing before me.

Natalie was the first to speak, trying to catch her breath.

"You know how worried we were looking for you? What are you doing here alone?"

Her words came out somehow harsh, making me look back at my outstretched hand that was feeding the bunny a second ago. Yet surprisingly, not only was the bunny gone, but even the entire herb in my hand disappeared.

Smiling wryly, I looked at them again and stood up.

"Well, taking a breath of fresh air, I guess…"

I spoke, knowing that my excuse wasn't great, but being put on the spot, my brain couldn't think of anything better.

"Hmph… as if we are going to believe it. Still, even though the teachers are quite lax, we should hurry back.

Said Natalie, then without asking my opinion, dragged me back to the class.

The shiver ran through my hand, and I pulled it away halfway there. Me touching someone is fine, being touched unexpectedly by someone is not alright.

I simply don't like being touched. Even my parents, after I grew up, were unable to hug me.

'Is that weird?'

'Am I considering weird?"

Apparently, my small action wasn't noticed as we entered the classroom, chatting about the strange girl who supposedly met me.

"Eh? really? I don't remember myself speaking to anyone to call you."

I said, confused, glancing at the frail girl in the corner of the room. My action seemed to alarm the girl, making her shrink her neck, not daring to look at me.

"So, you mean she lied to us? Well, I am going to seek an explanation from her now…"

Said Nico, ready to pull up her sleeves.

"Well, I have to see how my potion turns out. Let's do that after lessons."

I propose gathering the agreement from the others.

Arriving at my worktable, I opened the lid of the cauldron.

'Guessing from the smell alone, it shouldn't be a failure.'

I thought, noticing something strange…

The timer was wrong. I remember adjusting the time differently.

Pouring out the content of the cauldron into the small glass containers, I looked closer.

'Poisoned?'

Knowing that the next episode was coming, I prepared myself beforehand. Because of it, I could confirm that the potion, in fact, was clear of poisonous substances.

The red glow that was emitted from one slightly poisonous ingredient wasn't present and signified that the potion was brewed successfully.

So then… Why was my cauldron swapped?

What scheme is the villainess going about?

Soaking my finger in the potion and licking it, I was affirmed…

The potion was effective without the hint of excessive toxins.

Villainess going off script had me ponder her objectives, when…

"Hey you!"

The arrogant voice sounded.

Turning around, I was met with the villainess, the bully leader, and her two sidekicks.

"I dare you to compete with me!"

The villainess's voice was loud, making others stop their conversation and look at her in curiosity.

"Compete? What do you mean by it?"

I asked, my voice was light and pleasant. Not afraid of the person trying to intimidate me.

"We will each take a failed pill and consume it. Everyone knows that the failed pills contain a huge amount of toxins. Then we will consume our detoxifying potions and see who will be standing last."

The murmurs escaped through the crowd:

"It is said that Sister Ling and Sister Yuan hate each other, so is it really true?"

Someone said.

"Hate? I don't think Sister Ling cares that much. Sister Yuan is probably just jealous because Sister Ling is so talented, securing the top spot in our class.

The short girl mentioned.

"No, no, you don't know, but the bad reputation of Sister Yuan comes from Sister Ling. After all, no one before dared to mention the bullying she and her friends had done. Yet when Sister Ling publicly condemned the bullying incidents, they no longer dared to bully anyone."

"Sister Yuan probably wants to take revenge on her that way. I heard that they previously were extorting a lot of resources from the other disciples and now are extremely resentful about it."

Said another girl with a noble temperament.

I couldn't hear the whispers clearly and didn't care, as I was deeply in thought.

The story is on the right track, so should I accept? However, my potion is not poisoned, that's… Unexpected.

Actually, I am feeling a bit sad now. I left assured that because of my different actions, friends and other classmates would not let the bullies mess with my worktable… Unfortunately, the story seems to go as planned, and I couldn't figure out the scheme of the villainess.

"Are you afraid? I didn't know that the so-called honor student is such a coward!"

The plump girl next to the villainess suddenly screeched, seeing my hesitation, spraying saliva as she spoke. I became a bit disgusted by it and took a step back, afraid that some would land on me.

Yet in the eyes of others, I showed a sign of weakness.

Just as the despicable trio was about to say more, unable to hold their excitement, someone stepped before me.

One, two, three people.

"You bitches, who do you think you are?"

Nico stepped forward, her aura shimmering to life around her, set in the villainess' direction. Seconds after, Natalie and Emily, next to her, joined her, igniting their energies in a dazzling display that filled the air with their unique auras.

The bullies' trio would obviously not let pass such blatant provocation, letting out their aura, too; their features looking fierce, just as the tension filled the room. The fight became nothing but assured. The soft voice sounded….

"It's fine, I agree."

The voice wasn't loud, but in the now silent and almost boiling atmosphere, it reverberated especially clearly.