Chapter 25: Saving the Stupid and Vicious Female Supporting Character in a Mary Sue World (2)

It didn’t take long for Song Lingshu to figure it out—

This was a Mary Sue novel.

Why were Mary Sue male leads so popular? Because they were domineering and doting, spouting cheesy lines that might feel greasy to adults, but for the women in a Mary Sue story, they were just perfect.

Because they were weak, innocent, and pitiful, they loved being spoiled in a domineering way. There was a helpless feeling of wanting to resist but being unable to escape, and from that, they could savor a hint of sweetness.

Song Lingshu had thought only the female lead fell for this act, but she hadn’t expected Lin Wenwen—that upright-looking girl—to betray the cause too.

“Move.” Lin Wenwen shoved her away in a fury, sat up to fix her hair, then turned her head to glare at her. “Mu Xi, were you just bullying me?”

For some reason, when she was confronted so openly, Song Lingshu inexplicably found her a little cute. She chuckled. “How would I dare? I’m just your long-term laborer.”

“You’d better not be.” Lin Wenwen lifted her noble chin again. “Go clean up from the start.”

“As you command.” Song Lingshu went back to cleaning.

Not long after, her roommate returned. Seeing her clothes thrown into the trash heap, she snapped, “Lin Wenwen, why did you throw my clothes away?”

“Trash belongs in the trash can,” Lin Wenwen said.

“Don’t push it! I’ve put up with you long enough!” The roommate’s family also owned a large company, and the two families had no business dealings, so she wasn’t afraid of her. She quickly started packing her things. “I can’t stay in this dorm for another second. I’d like to see if you ever manage to have a friend in this life!”

“Ha.” Lin Wenwen crossed her arms and sneered. “I have way more friends than you.”

“They’re your maids, you mean.” The roommate pointed at Song Lingshu. “Someone like that, who works for money—can she be a friend? And what about your other two sidekicks? You really think they see you as a friend? They talk all kinds of trash about you behind your back!”

Lin Wenwen’s face darkened. She glared furiously. “Get out! Go as far as you can!”

“Um…” Song Lingshu timidly raised a hand, about to speak, but was cut off by both of them at once.

“You shut up!”

Okay, Song Lingshu shut up.

“Fine, I’ll go. You think I want to breathe the same air as you? Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re some princess. Do you even know your fiancé is getting all cozy with someone else? He doesn’t give a damn about you. You just happened to be born into a rich family. What good does that do? Nobody likes you anyway!”

The roommate finished her sharp-tongued tirade, picked up her luggage, and headed for the door.

“I’m going to tear your mouth apart!” Lin Wenwen lunged forward in rage.

Song Lingshu didn’t want to see a hair-pulling fight. She quickly blocked her, wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, and slammed the door shut.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Lin Wenwen kicked her legs wildly. Only when she heard the roommate’s footsteps fade down the corridor did she slowly go limp.

“Are you okay?” Song Lingshu tilted her head to look at her, only to find her eyes red. For a moment she was stunned. She walked over and just grabbed a tissue to hand to her when Lin Wenwen suddenly burst into loud wails.

The crying grew louder and louder, even hitting a trembling note.

Song Lingshu waited until she had howled enough, then used the tissue to wipe her tears.

This scene had appeared in the novel too—it was a major turning point for the supporting female lead. The roommate had mercilessly shattered the illusion of her glamorous life, and she would begin to resent everyone around her: her friends, her fiancé, and the woman tangled up with him.

Was it love turning to hate?

No.

It was a deep sense of betrayal. The heaven-proud daughter, pampered since childhood, was suddenly deserted and looked down upon by everyone. She couldn’t handle it, and her mental state began to change.

If she couldn’t be happy, she didn’t want anyone else to be happy either. So she started bullying the female lead, who was the easiest to push around, using all kinds of stupid, poisonous schemes just to make the male and female leads miserable.

Readers might have felt sorry for her having her fiancé stolen at first, but later they got fed up with her ridiculous antics and rooted even more for the main couple. Her actions only highlighted how strong and kind the female lead was.

Lin Wenwen was still sobbing her heart out, releasing all her emotions at once. It sounded heart-wrenching. Her gaze gradually turned sharp. Just as she was about to make some cruel decision in her heart, she heard the person in front of her say, “Your makeup is all ruined from crying.”

Lin Wenwen froze, her face streaked with tears, staring at her in disbelief. Then she turned and glanced at the full-length mirror beside her. Sure enough, she looked like a ghost.

A beauty lover would never allow her image to collapse. She briefly pushed aside the dark thoughts in her mind.

Song Lingshu, seeing she had mostly cried herself out, continued wiping her tears, only to hear Lin Wenwen say coldly, “So you really don’t see me as a friend either.”

“How can you say that?”

“I was crying so hard, and all you cared about was whether my makeup was messed up!” Lin Wenwen was furious.

“…Wait, how does that connect?” Song Lingshu had just finished speaking when she saw Lin Wenwen angrily hiccup through her tears, and she couldn’t help but smile, the corners of her mouth lifting.

“You’re laughing! Even you dare to laugh at me!” Lin Wenwen grew even more annoyed.

“I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because you’re cute.”

“C-cute? No one has ever called me cute.” Lin Wenwen let out two dry laughs as if she’d heard a joke. “You’re the cute one! I’m absolutely gorgeous!”

“Fine, fine. You’re absolutely gorgeous.” Song Lingshu’s smile deepened. She pulled Lin Wenwen up from the floor, guided her to a chair, and then went back to cleaning.

Lin Wenwen watched her busy figure, her mind going blank. She spoke as if talking to no one in particular. “Of course I know I don’t have friends. I know those two talk behind my back. But so what? No matter how much they hate me, they have to obey me to my face. I love seeing them unable to do anything about me even though they can’t stand me.”

Song Lingshu responded half-heartedly, “Uh-huh.”

“As for Qin Sheng… I hate him the most. He made me a joke at home and at school.”

Now everyone looked at her with contempt, thinking she couldn’t even measure up to that poor, ordinary working girl.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“And I won’t let that working girl off easy either. She dared to look down on me! You should have seen the way she looked at me last time. Dirt poor, acting all high and mighty. She didn’t even give me a straight glance!”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“What are you ‘uh-huh-ing’ at me for?!”

“I mean… is it possible that she thought you were too high and mighty, so she didn’t dare look you straight in the eye?” Song Lingshu said.

“Really?”

“Of course. You two are from completely different worlds. She’s never seen the real world. How could she dare to look you in the eye?”

“That makes sense!” Lin Wenwen was comforted by her words, and her indignant mood improved a lot. She looked at her again and asked, “Have you ever talked bad about me behind my back?”

“No, I haven’t.” Song Lingshu didn’t forget to throw shade. “I’m the only one loyal to you. Not like them.”

(Because I’m the only one trying to earn your money. Who would bad-mouth their sponsor in front of the enemy? That would be asking for death.)

Lin Wenwen gave her a skeptical look. “Don’t think I don’t notice your little moves.”

“Check all you want. The only person on my WeChat is you. I only let you copy my notes. Even in my dreams, it’s all you, gorgeous.”

Lin Wenwen’s face flushed. Somehow that sounded way too much like a confession!

But she was a sucker for it. Since the other had declared her loyalty, and she’d never heard anyone say that Song Lingshu badmouthed her, she reluctantly believed her.

Song Lingshu listened to the constant increase in system points and was ecstatic inside.

Song Lingshu: 【Bootlicking points are so easy to earn! I’ve got a whole basket more!】

System: 【It’s not just the bootlicking quest. There’s a side quest tonight.】

Song Lingshu: 【Tell me, tell me.】

System: 【Tonight, the supporting female lead is going to bully the female lead. As her sidekick, you need to egg her on.】

Song Lingshu: 【Alright.】

Bullying scenes—almost every school novel had one, and Mary Sue stories were no exception. Though the protagonist suffered, she would gain love in return.

The female lead in this story was just like that. She had initially ignored the male lead, even detesting his domineering and brutish behavior. But on the night Lin Wenwen bullied her, the male lead happened to pass by and rescue her. The female lead began to change her opinion of him and slowly fell for him.

Song Lingshu herself was staunchly against bullying. But as she listened to Lin Wenwen’s bullying plan, she was also left deeply speechless.

“You guys are responsible for luring her to the small playground. Then leave the rest to me.”

“What are you going to do?” Song Lingshu asked.

“I’ll make her feel the gap between rich and poor! I’ll make her go into complete social isolation!” Lin Wenwen was decked out in full gear, elegant and noble down to every hair, exuding the aura of a wealthy woman. “One of my earrings alone would take her a year’s work to afford.”

Song Lingshu read in a flat tone: “…Wow, you’re so awesome.”

So it was an economic sanctions tactic.

The other two sidekicks: “…”

“What a brilliant plan. Go for it, Wenwen. Go defeat her,” Song Lingshu urged.

That evening, the two sidekicks lured the female lead to the small playground as planned. The group stood under the bulletin board, waiting for the innocent and brave female lead to approach.

“Chu Yin, do you even know whose man you’re seducing?” Lin Wenwen demanded. “You’re seducing my fiancé. Have you no shame?”

“Let me make this clear one more time: I am not seducing anyone. Please control your fiancé. He’s been causing me a lot of trouble,” Chu Yin said righteously.

Lin Wenwen was taken aback. She hadn’t expected her to deny it. She stepped forward and gave the standard villain speech: “You got close to him for his money, didn’t you? I’ve seen plenty of people like you.”

Song Lingshu nodded silently: Yep, there are three right behind you.

“I never got close to him, and I don’t care about his money. I just want you all to stay out of my life,” Chu Yin said, neither servile nor overbearing.

Lin Wenwen pursed her lips, then pushed harder: “If you don’t like his money, then why did you accept the Chanel bag he gave you? You think that bag is expensive? It costs less than one of my outfits. Do you know how much this outfit of mine costs? What brand it is?”

“No, I don’t know anything about those brands.” Chu Yin glanced down at the bag on her shoulder and frowned. “He tore my bag, so he compensated me with this. I didn’t know it was that expensive. I’ll return it to him, don’t worry.”

Lin Wenwen’s arrogance began to fade. She turned to look at her sidekicks, unsure what to do next.

According to the plan, there wasn’t supposed to be any violence at this point. But now that things had developed this way, the three sidekicks were supposed to egg Lin Wenwen into taking physical action to save face.

And Chu Yin would get angry at their attitude, say a few harsh words, then Lin Wenwen would slap her. And just then, the male lead would happen to walk by.

Song Lingshu snapped back to reality and heard the two bad advisors already whispering to Lin Wenwen, their loud conspiring voices audible even to Chu Yin.

Chu Yin’s expression grew uglier by the second.

After they finished plotting, the two sidekicks actually suggested that Song Lingshu make the first move.

What a palace intrigue scheme!

Song Lingshu thought for a moment, then walked over to Chu Yin while fumbling in her bag.

Everyone watched her.

Lin Wenwen nervously swallowed, suspecting she was about to pull out a weapon. She panicked for a moment, suddenly remembering how Song Lingshu had comforted her that afternoon and cleaned up for her (even though she’d paid her).

If the fight didn’t go well, or something happened, she would feel guilty.

She was about to call out to stop her when she saw Song Lingshu pull out a pen and a rolled-up paper from her bag and hand them to Chu Yin.

“Classmate Chu, I can’t figure out this last big question to save my life. Can you teach me?”

Chu Yin: “?”

Lin Wenwen and the two sidekicks: “???”

“No matter how I apply the final formula, it doesn’t work. Which formulas did you use?” Song Lingshu asked earnestly. Her acting was so natural; who would have guessed she used to be a calculus teacher!

Chu Yin looked at her paper suspiciously, saw that the last question indeed used the wrong formula, and instinctively began explaining the problem to her.

The other three: “…?” What kind of bizarre operation was this?

Lin Wenwen was just feeling confused when she saw Song Lingshu look up and wave at her. “Wenwen, come here.”

Lin Wenwen walked over, full of questions, and heard Song Lingshu say, “Do you know how to do this?”

The expression on Lin Wenwen’s face clearly said “Do I look like I know?”: “You’re asking the obvious.”

“Then come listen too. Chu Yin’s explanation is really clear,” Song Lingshu said, pulling her closer.

Lin Wenwen was shocked. Chu Yin was baffled.

An awkward silence fell.

Song Lingshu urged Chu Yin to continue explaining. Chu Yin warily glanced at Lin Wenwen, then kept going.

The more Lin Wenwen listened, the more confused she got. What was she doing? Wasn’t she here to bully someone? How had it turned into Chu Yin teaching her math?!

Because the lighting here was dim, anyone who didn’t walk up close wouldn’t know the three of them were huddled around studying calculus. They’d think Lin Wenwen was finally making her move against Chu Yin.

Just then, a man suddenly rushed over and shoved Lin Wenwen aside. “Stay away from Chu Yin!”

Lin Wenwen stumbled backward, caught off guard. Song Lingshu reacted faster and reached out to grab her, and both of them fell to the ground together.

It took Lin Wenwen a moment to realize what had happened. She felt a hand protectively cushioning her head. She looked up at Song Lingshu, whose brow was furrowed.

The other smiled at her instead. “Are you okay? Can’t have this little head of yours taking another hit.”

“Are you two alright?” Chu Yin hurried over and pulled Song Lingshu up, while the two sidekicks helped Lin Wenwen to her feet.

“Qin Sheng, what are you doing?!” Chu Yin demanded of the newcomer.

Qin Sheng was also stunned. From a distance, he had seen the arrogant Lin Wenwen and her gang surrounding Chu Yin, and thought something terrible was happening, so he rushed over to be the hero.

Qin Sheng: “I thought she was bullying you, so I…”

“Which eye of yours saw her bullying me? They were just listening to me explain a problem,” Chu Yin said, her impression of him sinking even lower.

“E-explaining a problem?” Qin Sheng stared in shock at them. There was even a test paper on the ground. His emotions were complicated, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You should apologize to Lin Wenwen and Mu Xi,” Chu Yin said.

Lin Wenwen looked at Chu Yin in surprise, then her gaze was caught by Song Lingshu’s hand. She grabbed it and examined it closely. There were scrapes and blood on the back. Her temper flared instantly. “Qin Sheng, I look down on you. Apologize to Mu Xi right now, or I won’t let your Qin family off the hook!”

Song Lingshu: “?”

Wow, she suddenly went full alpha. No wonder everyone loves an overbearing CEO—it’s exhilarating!

Lin Wenwen (lighting a cigarette): The weather’s getting cold. Time to make the Qin family go bankrupt.