Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Zhao Youyue thought, “If I only have dinner with He Weiwei, my other two roommates would be left out, wouldn’t they?”

Thus, she decided to invite the entire dormitory over. Apparently, she had not considered their varying personalities. Yu Xuefei would rather die than share a table with He Weiwei. Zhou Cai simply wanted to get over dinner as soon and possible and get back to her gaming…

Zhou Cai was not yet an otaku, but she was well on her way to being one. Her three years in high school seemed to have been one of prohibitions and taboos. Therefore, upon entering university, she did what she loved voraciously. She had no concern about things such as her interpersonal relationships and social life in university.

He Weiwei was proud to dine with Zhao Youyue. She started imparting her knowledge to Zhao Youyue, “This isn’t a gentle world. A kind girl like you should get to know more about harsh reality, so that you’re able to prevent yourself from getting hurt.”

While the female dormitory had separated itself into numerous factions, the males ate together as a united group. They had chosen to eat at the commercial street opposite campus. That street hosted a variety of restaurants and places for entertainment. Watching a movie after dinner was simply enjoyable.

So what if entry to the dormitories had been closed after a late night’s movie? There were way too many small hotels around. This was how university students lived.

Zhao Youyue and He Weiwei walked as a pair. They bumped into Han Leng and his entourage. Excluding the genius author, the other three were roommates. They shared a dorm with Du Hang, who was unsurprisingly absent from the group. That loner would be more than happy to enjoy dinner alone. He could eat in peace, return to his dorm without any detours; he could write and reflect in peace after that.

He Weiwei wanted nothing more than to initiate a conversation with Han Leng. But his aura was overpowering. She did not have the courage to face it. Little did she know that someone had been responsible for the creation of this aura. A potter had broken him down and remolded him into this dazzling figure today.

He Weiwei said, “I did not expect to be seeing the Han Leng here. He is probably the star of our class. They say that he is some impossibly dense clueless chick magnet… looks like those rumors are not unfounded. Who knows what runs through his mind. He might not consider himself a regular male at this point; you won’t even understand half the things he’ll talk about…”

Just as He Weiwei lamented about the waste of good looks, Zhao Youyue had already stepped up and smiled at Han Leng. “Elite scholar Han, let’s have dinner together?”

He Weiwei could not even bear to look at Zhao Youyue anymore. Why was this foolish girl being so blatantly blunt? Having Han Leng among them would most certainly be good, but wasn’t this asking for him to slap you in the face?

Han Leng’s gang exchanged excited looks, prepared to watch a scene from a soap opera. Earlier on, a passionate and outgoing girl in class had invited Han Leng to dinner. Han Leng had turned her down without a moment’s pause. He had behaved just as rumored – treating girls harshly, doing things that only sealed his “forever alone” fate.

Han Leng looked at Lady Zhao who he had not spoken to for a long time. At that moment, he was troubled. He could not deny, not even to his prideful self, that she was every bit as beautiful and as amazing as the world could create. Everything about her sent every cell in his body into a frenzy. She was just like the girl in his fantasies, the girl he breathed ink into and gave her life…

Writers always created their ideal female characters, fulfilling the ultimate desires of their hearts. These girls in their fantasies would be unmatched – reality would never be able to come up with an answer to them. Even so, Zhao Youyue had always haunted him mysteriously —— she had traveled from another world, across another dimension to meet him – the girl in his fantasies.

Before Han Leng could speak, He Weiwei scurried forth. “Sorry to bother you,” was just at the tip of her tongue. Her mind was already working on the next step. She would turn around and chastise Zhao Youyue once again. Such behavior only asked for trouble. Han Leng was basically the unofficial synonym for ‘unapproachable,’ but that naive girl was doing anything but that. This was a disaster!

“Sure. Your call, my La… old classmate,” said Han Leng, as if he had transformed from a clueless chick magnet into a loyal dog.

At first, Han Leng had subconsciously wanted to call her “my Lady.” Being sharp of mind, he had quickly figured out that Lady Zhao was still going incognito. She was deliberately wrapping herself up in that Taobao garbage. Was this a “sheep among wolves” stunt?

Whenever Han Leng found himself in Zhao Youyue’s presence, he always looked out for her, as if he was her right-hand strategist. He quickly picked up the pace and helped maintain her guise. Ruining her plans would only displease her. The Lady would only punish him for it; he would be subject to endless humiliation.

Lady Zhao was always full of surprises. Han Leng had been dragged into her antics for too often. He had always fought to retain his composure whenever it occurred. It had strengthened the tensile strength of his poker face…

Han Leng accepted Zhao Youyue’s invitation with pleasure. He Weiwei, Zhang Xiang, and the others were shocked. What the hell? What magic was this? Why did Han Leng accept her invitation just like that? He truly seemed to trust this lady!

How could he be so skillful at being so obedient to her?

Zhao Youyue nodded with satisfaction. Then, she habitually took over the situation. She said, “I have done quite some research about tasty foods. How about I bring you guys someplace nice?”

“Sure. I’m looking forward to it very much,” Han Leng chimed in, reading her intentions as always.

“Alright, I’ll leave the bill to you. You’re the richest person among us. I’ve always wanted to enjoy being treated by a tycoon,” Zhao Youyue continued firing her orders across the planet.

“No problem,” Han Leng gave her a meaningful, grateful stare. He had feared that she would have taken it upon herself to pay for everything, and nobody, including him, would have a say in that. Whenever he and Su Li followed her out, she had often footed the expenses, as if she was their caretaker. By ancient standards they would be one of those bootlicking, foodie leeches. In the ancient days, there was Lord Mengchang who had three thousand leeches. Lady Zhao was currently walking on the same path as well.

She had always deeply appreciated talented writers.

Some would accept the role of a foodie leech with glee, others more begrudgingly. Han Leng was the latter. He had often been irritable and quarrelsome. Unbeknownst to him, that fire had long died out…

Now that Lady Zhao had appointed him to donate the blood, he considered that as a sign of respect. She had given him the honors. This should also mean that Zhao Youyue had forgiven him for his recent transgressions. Han Leng’s downcast mood took a turn for joy.

Han Leng the great overthinker. Zhao Youyue had not even been aware of the recent drama surrounded their names. If Han Leng went down on one knee to apologize, he would only elicit the most perplexed version of Zhao Youyue. What the heck happened to elite scholar Han? Sigh. The curse of being a genius writer. These guys can never tell the difference between reality and otherwise.

The classmates were more dumbfounded than ever. What’s going on here? Han Leng was widely-known as an obstinate, unruly, cold-faced writer. Why was he being so obedient in front of a girl? The rumors were not adding up!

He Weiwei was at a loss of words. She had never expected things to take such a turn. When she came to her senses, she blurted out, “You two… How are you guys related?”