Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

“Ah, this is Han Leng, I call him elite scholar Han, he was a celebrity back in my high school. A nobody like me was privileged to share a desk with him in class,” said Zhao Youyue as meekly as she could, blowing Han Leng out of proportions.

Of course, no one bought this. If you are truly a nobody, why was Han Leng acting like he was your son…?

Everyone looked at Han Leng with curiosity. A slight twitch flickered across Han Leng’s mouth. He forcefully explained, “Oh please, she’s not a nobody? She’s the high school star. She had been No. 1 throughout the entire same grade for every single examination. She was even the champion among Arts students of Jiangnan Province for the college entrance exam. If you guys were from Jiangnan Province, you should know her. I may not have performed well and basically wormed my way into University with my writings, but I have quite the respect towards elite scholars.”

Everyone reluctantly accepted Han Leng’s explanation. Han Leng?Respect elite scholars? His entire novel had been satirizing “examination machines” and “student factories” or something along those lines…

Since Han Leng and Zhao Youyue were once deskmates, it did make sense for them to have a close relationship. Of course, some took it a step further and wondered if Han Leng actually had a crush on his old classmate?

Thanks to Han Leng, Zhao Youyue got to shine for a bit. The classmates’ probably thought that it was wise to follow suit —— Even Han Leng was meekly obeying her orders.

He Weiwei did not mind this one bit. On the contrary, she was rather delighted to learn that Zhao Youyue and Han Leng were old classmates. She had been wanting to reel in Han Leng.

Han Leng no longer treated He Weiwei as coldly upon learning that she was Zhao Youyue’s roommate. The Lady seemed to approve of her – who could question her judgment?

Han Leng had seen Zhao Youyue cycling through all kinds of beautiful girls… molding them to her preferences. Lady Zhao truly had many female friends. Of course, very few of them found a place in her heart. Lady Zhao had simply taken you from the shelves, because you conveniently fitted her needs for companionship at that moment.

Having too many female friends would not be good either. Afterall, Zhao Youyue could always contact another if one was unavailable. Which girl had the willpower to deny her invitation?

An invitation from Zhao Youyue meant eating, drinking, and having fun for free. Also, if you tailed Lady Zhao without a fuss as she went on a shopping spree in those luxury stores, you might just receive a gift from her – if she happened to be in a good mood. Her gifts were worth thousands – nothing that regular girls would purchase for themselves!

Obviously, not many girls remained in Lady Zhao’s for long. As expected, she was still drawn to talent and eccentricity, be it drawing, literature, music…

They were her pets, and Lady Zhao preferred the exotic variety. Otherwise, you’re just a single-use disposable.

Some girls had no clue where they stood, and allowed themselves to be deluded into thinking that they could continue taking advantage of the Lady. They truly believed that they were best buddies with Lady Zhao. Hadn’t they ever heard of phrases like “sisters in appearance,” “friendship on a bed of plastic flowers”? If one was a bestie just because she had once dined and shopped with Lady Zhao, Lady Zhao would have an army of besties.

Sometimes, Han Leng wondered if Zhao Youyue was a not-so-closet lesbian. If not, why did she constantly surround herself with all kinds of girls?

She had even gotten him involved in crossdressing…

Zhao Youyue was relatively familiar with this commercial street. Rather, she knew the surrounding areas of Jiangnan University. After all, her mother worked in this campus. They went on shopping trips around the area occasionally.

It came as no surprise when Zhao Youyue almost casually found a local, cost-effective restaurant. It was suitable for small gatherings among classmates. It was not some high-end restaurant, but one more catered to these newbies who had just entered university life.

Lady Zhao was one-of-a-kind. She attended school to enjoy the pleasures of leisurely school life. To her, high school and universities were one and the same. Time to resume her leisurely life…

Zhao Youyue finished ordering the dishes with great efficiency. She had learnt her lesson from the past. According to her previous style, she would have definitely ordered each and every single dish, as she was not here to fill her stomach, but to taste the foods.

She was no longer as extravagant and wasteful. Perhaps it also had something to do with her incognito mode. Even her glorious hair was hiding in plain sight as a ponytail. Letting her hair down would cast a shadow upon this mortal plains.

Her hair was her Lady’s crown!

The male students jumped at the chance to order some beer. Han Leng wisely stayed out of it. He expressed his intentions to continue writing after dinner once he got back home, so he had to sit this one out. Nobody forced him into it.

After a few glasses of beer and some tasty dishes, everyone got to know a little more about each other. Ah, university bliss…

Zhao Youyue soon learned names of the other two male students. Heavyset Ning Yao was deep into rock music. He hoped to form a band in university. He even hoped to produce some songs of his own, and to make it on stage during the famous Music Festival within the campus.

Xiao Yu was diminutive and scrawny. Everyone affectionately called him “Little Fish”[1]. He barely stood over 170cm, but was already with girlfriend, and much love did they share. It was not even a long distance love relationship. His girlfriend had also successfully entered a university in Jiangnan Provincial. They would date on a weekly basis, enjoying their wonderful uni-life.

Out of the blue, this Xiao Yu started bragging about how unfaithful he was and how good he was at hooking up with girls. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, even though he had only taken a bottle. His ramblings became less restrained, and he even started picking up on Zhao Youyue. He even admitted that if he ever met a pure elite scholar like Zhao Youyue, he would definitely pursue her, by all means!

Beside him, Zhang Xiang quickly grabbed the little man by the shoulders and started shaking him to his senses, “Oy, wake up! Not even Master Han has said anything; it won’t be your turn anytime soon!”

Zhang Liang was another interested character. He already started forcing the “class flower” title upon Zhao Youyue during dinner. He seemed to have forgotten that he once decided that the beautiful blonde girl beside Zhao Youyue was the most beautiful girl in class.

Lady Zhao remained impassive. How would such schoolboy pickup lines vacillate her?

She was way better at picking up girls than their multiple lifetimes could ever be!

She focused her attention on He Weiwei during dinner. He Weiwei was lullingly coaxed into a state of semi-conscious obedience… the educator would-be was now the educated!

Was this a coup, or a transference of power? Either way, it was a great success…

Translation Note:

[1] Little Fish – “Little Fish” is the nickname for this boy named Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu (肖禹) is his actual name. Whereas the nickname “Little Fish”(小鱼) is actually a nickname which is also pronounced as “Xiao Yu” in Chinese. There are many Chinese words with the same pronunciation. Therefore, Chinese always applies terms with the same pronunciation as a nickname onto a person’s actual name.