After Transmigrating as the Villainous Second Lead, I Only Want to Uphold Justice - Chapter 2

The crowd stood there, mouths agape, whispering among themselves: “What is ‘Tears Behind Iron Bars’?”

“Is it a new song she’s been practicing lately?”

“What does Miss Shen mean by this? Is she trying to attract Young Master Ye’s attention with a surprise tactic?”

“She’s done stuff like this before, but this is going too far! What if she regrets it later? Young Master Ye is so handsome and cool—how could he be like a common thug?!”

Even Ye Zexuan found it hard to believe. He narrowed his eyes slightly: “Very well. I’ve remembered you.”

I’ve remembered you? God damn it.

The original owner of this body grew up with you as a childhood friend, and you’re only “remembering” her now?

“If your memory is that bad, go get it treated. Don’t broadcast your low IQ here.”

Shen Yixi impatiently shoved Ye Zexuan aside and looked at Li Qian: “Apologize.”

Li Qian’s eyes widened as she stared at Shen Yixi.

Seeing the coldness in Shen Yixi’s eyes and the crowd watching the drama, Li Qian felt her pride stinging. But thinking of the Shen family’s power and the Eldest Miss’s usual ruthless methods, she grit her teeth and bowed her head: “I’m sorry.”

“Be more sincere.”

Shen Yixi felt a pang of disappointment.

Only sixteen and already a campus bully? Already an expert at sycophancy? Already bowing down to capitalism?

How are you supposed to become a pillar of the nation?

How are you going to build a modern society?

Are you worthy of the red scarf around your neck?!

Li Qian looked at Shen Yixi in disbelief. Sensing her genuine displeasure, she bent deeper with a hint of resentment: “I am… truly sorry.”

Shen Yixi turned to Jiang Liuzhou.

Jiang Liuzhou was stunned. She had absolutely no idea what the Eldest Miss of the Shen family was trying to pull now.

Shen Yixi asked, “Do you forgive her?”

Jiang Liuzhou stared with her ink-green eyes, deciding to wait and see what Shen Yixi’s end game was.

But the usually arrogant Miss Shen—the one who had bullied and framed her countless times—was currently holding Jiang’s wet coat over her arm, her round almond eyes looking at her with genuine concern, seriously asking for her opinion.

Jiang Liuzhou said nothing.

Deciding to cut through the mess, Shen Yixi grabbed Jiang Liuzhou’s hand to lead her to the infirmary: “If you don’t forgive her, we’ll go to the teacher and have her punished according to school rules.”

This time, Jiang Liuzhou didn’t resist. She followed her somewhat submissively.

Ye Zexuan and his lackeys stayed behind, staring at their retreating backs.

He gave a wicked smirk, his eyes containing three parts amusement, three parts indifference, and four parts contemplation.

“Interesting,” he said. “Woman, you have successfully caught my attention.”

Shen Yixi didn’t know what the psychotic male lead was thinking, nor did she care to.

She pulled Jiang Liuzhou along for a while, but looking at the massive scale of this elite private school, she felt a moment of confusion. She turned to the heroine: “Where’s the infirmary?”

Jiang Liuzhou’s face had swollen significantly; the red patch looked agonizing.

Shen Yixi felt a twinge of pity for such a beautiful face while also feeling a sense of wonder.

Look at this Mary Sue heroine—so delicate. A single slap from a girl can do this…

If I hit her with my fist the size of a rice bowl… she’d probably cry for a long time, right?

Jiang Liuzhou looked at Shen Yixi suspiciously. Considering the question, she pointed to a building ahead: “Over there.”

Doesn’t Miss Shen frequently skip class to rest in the infirmary?

Why would she ‘forget’ where it is?

Unaware of Jiang’s thoughts, Shen Yixi hurried her into the infirmary. She scanned the room and politely addressed the school doctor: “Doctor, please look at her face. Do you have any medicine for this?”

The doctor froze. Miss Shen… being polite?

Shouldn’t she be slamming the desk and arrogantly demanding, ‘Get me the medicine right now!’?

The school doctor was surprised, but upon looking at the patient, his gaze sharpened.

Jiang Liuzhou’s condition looked worse up close; the swelling was accompanied by scratches from Li Qian’s long fingernails.

Did Miss Shen bully Student Jiang again?

The doctor felt pity, but the thought of the Shen family’s influence made him fear that meddling would bring trouble upon himself. He swallowed his frustration and took out a tube of ointment. He didn’t dare hand it to Shen Yixi, fearing she’d use it for some new form of torment, so he gave it directly to Jiang Liuzhou.

Holding the ointment, Jiang Liuzhou felt her nose sting with emotion at the stranger’s kindness. She bowed to the doctor: “Thank you so much.”

What a good child, the doctor thought, feeling guilty for his own cowardice. He resolved to help the polite Jiang Liuzhou as much as his limited power allowed.

Shen Yixi didn’t notice the doctor’s internal struggle. Seeing him give the ointment to Jiang Liuzhou, she reached out and snatched it away.

See? the doctor thought. She’s still the same—unreasonable and more temperamental than a storm.

Jiang Liuzhou wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, she felt this was “normal.”

Here she goes. She’s going to start acting like a lunatic, throwing things, cursing me, making a mess, and then warning me to stay away from Ye Zexuan.

Jiang Liuzhou watched coldly, waiting for the outburst. The school doctor also shared this thought and reached for his thermos, ready to say something to intervene.

Instead, Shen Yixi unscrewed the cap, casually grabbed a cotton swab from the counter, and under Jiang Liuzhou’s cold gaze, began to gently apply the medicine.

Jiang Liuzhou’s defensive posture froze.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yixi asked the doctor, who looked like he had words stuck in his throat.

“Nothing, nothing…” The doctor swallowed his protest and gave her a smile that was awkward yet polite. “I just wanted to remind you that there are cotton swabs on the counter—but you’ve already found them.”

What a helpful, meticulous, and kind school doctor, Shen Yixi thought with admiration. “You have a great professional ethic.”

She turned back to Jiang Liuzhou, her eyes shining with intensity.

Look! This novel isn’t just full of psychotic ‘edgy’ male leads, villainous supporting girls, and their lackeys. There are also upright, kind, and warm-hearted builders of a civil society!

You can’t give up. You can’t get used to this murky world!

Jiang Liuzhou had no idea what Shen Yixi was thinking, but she could see that Shen Yixi’s expression held no malice, and the hand applying the medicine was exceptionally gentle.

It was the complete opposite of the hysteria she had expected.

Confused, Jiang Liuzhou stared intently at Shen Yixi, as if trying to discern from her expression if she were an entirely different person.

What beautiful eyes, Shen Yixi thought.

The ink-green color was so exquisite it didn’t seem real, framed by thick, curled lashes. They were like lakes at the edge of a forest, reflecting the dense canopy above.

How could such a good girl be allowed to suffer so much like in the novel?!

Bullyied, isolated, beaten, homework torn up, maliciously slandered… and even losing her only relative for various reasons.

Is there no Rule of Law anymore?!

Jiang Liuzhou watched as the Eldest Miss’s expression changed several times, ending with a face full of righteous indignation. Shen Yixi tossed the swab away, sat down beside her, and grabbed her hand.

“This won’t do,” Shen Yixi said.

For some reason, Jiang Liuzhou didn’t pull away. She just looked at her seriously and asked: “What won’t do?”

“Do they bully you often?”

As soon as Shen Yixi said “they,” she remembered that the original owner was one of the primary tormentors—the ringleader, in fact.

But that was what the “Villainous Second Lead” did. What did that have to do with her, a builder of a socialist society?

Shen Yixi pushed those thoughts aside with a clear conscience and continued: “You can’t be a pushover. You have to believe that in this world, there is still fairness, justice, and the rule of law!”

Not only was Jiang Liuzhou stunned, but the doctor eavesdropping nearby was also dumbfounded.

Fairness and justice? The rule of law?

Miss Shen—the girl who used the Shen family power to bully others at will and never gave a damn about justice—is saying this?

Has she lost her mind?

You are the one who bullies me the most, Jiang Liuzhou thought. What is this act for? What’s the scheme this time?

Shen Yixi didn’t get an answer and urged her impatiently: “Well?”

Jiang Liuzhou pulled her hand back, trying to keep her voice logical and calm. But remembering everything Shen Yixi had done to her, she couldn’t help but sound biting and sarcastic: “When you used your family status to drag me to an empty classroom against my will and splash water in my face, did you think about ‘fairness, justice, and the rule of law’ then?”

Jiang Liuzhou tilted her chin and glared at Shen Yixi, a cold sneer in her heart. She waited for Shen Yixi to drop the act and turn back into that “mad dog,” biting at her. Superficial injuries were better than being watched by a venomous snake, never knowing when it would strike.

To be honest! Shen Yixi thought. Dragging you to the classroom wasn’t me.

As for splashing the water…

Okay, I did that. But I just wanted to raise my hand; I didn’t know the original body was holding a cup!

But how could she say that? It was too bizarre. She’d be seen as a lunatic.

“I just wanted to wake you up,” Shen Yixi said, her mind racing for an excuse. “I wanted to tell you that you must be skilled at using legal weapons to protect yourself! Think about it: isn’t what Ye Zexuan does to you campus bullying? He and his lackeys threw your desk out, hid your bag, framed you for cheating to make you write a self-reflection, and then at the party…”

The party?

Jiang Liuzhou looked at her even more suspiciously. What party?

The desk, the bag, the cheating—those were all real. But what party?

Seeing the suspicion in her eyes, Shen Yixi snapped back to reality. Right, the party hasn’t happened yet. Jiang Liuzhou hasn’t been locked in the dressing room overnight by Ye Zexuan to suffer a week-long fever yet.

But that didn’t change the facts.

She sincerely grabbed Jiang Liuzhou’s hand again: “I really have no malice. I just want to help you. What he is doing… is illegal.”

Jiang Liuzhou watched her coldly: “Is that so?”

Before Shen Yixi could nod, Jiang Liuzhou reached a breaking point, her voice sharp with accusation: “So you know it’s wrong? You know you can easily use money and power to settle things, putting your wealth above the law—is that why you’re so unscrupulous when you do these things?”

“No!” Shen Yixi was on the verge of tears. That wasn’t me!

And also, is the legal standing in this world really this low? Is there no governance according to law?

The law is the foundation of the country and the root of the people! Can a few stinking bills really trample the dignity of the law?

Shen Yixi, a former law student who had sworn to dedicate her life to the field and hoped to push legal progress forward, stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. She shook her head at Jiang Liuzhou, looking as if she had aged ten years in a second.

She looked like a father who had just learned his son was a gambling addict with no skills; beyond the shock, she was heartbroken by the “child’s” grim future.

She said with deep sorrow, “That is because the legal system is incomplete, and the rule-of-law mindset hasn’t been implemented… This is unacceptable. How can it be like this?”

Jiang Liuzhou remained cold and distant.

Shen Yixi felt a bit bitter but made a promise: “Believe me, I will help you. This behavior is wrong. Law is the floor of morality; the collapse of morality eventually leads to the violation of law. It cannot stay like this.”

“Trust me. I will let them know which jokes are acceptable, and which ‘jokes’ are actually crimes.”