Forced to Become the Female Villain's Doting Wife (GL) - Chapter 23.1

Su Xianxian couldn’t help but reach out and scratch her hair, which was currently as messy as a bird’s nest from rolling around on her bed. Her eyes were filled with doubt. Obviously, she wasn’t entirely convinced by Jiang Cuo’s current explanation.

It was very strange. If her failing the monthly exams would be a “hassle” for Jiang Cuo, wouldn’t coming over to tutor her in the middle of the night every day be even more of a hassle? Besides, Jiang Cuo’s expression didn’t exactly look like that of an enthusiastic Good Samaritan.

[Trash System: Congratulations, Host! You have completed the mission to have Jiang Cuo tutor you within three days. Please accept Jiang Cuo’s request to tutor you. Since Jiang Cuo took the initiative to propose this to the Host, rather than the Host begging her with a thick skin, the reward is doubled. Every time Jiang Cuo finishes a tutoring session, the Host can use a bank card to withdraw cash from a portion of the Host’s assets, enabling the ‘Credit Card to Cash’ conversion function. Your current withdrawal limit has increased from 10,000 to 20,000. Please keep up the good work!]

Su Xianxian’s hand trembled slightly as she held her glass. Although the Trash System made it sound extravagant, Su Xianxian, who was used to living through hard times in her past life, keenly sensed a financial crisis. In other words, if the system were to fail one day, would the wealth she possessed as a “rich second generation” within the system settings be wiped out entirely?

The Trash System was subtly reminding her to leave herself a backup plan. If she could withdraw cash, the virtual balance in the system would truly be in her own hands. Even if she escaped the system one day, she could live a carefree life.

Jiang Cuo’s fingers tightened around the two books. Although her face remained cold, her heart was beginning to feel a panic she had never experienced before. She didn’t know why things had turned out this way.

Clearly, when she had placed the puppy’s leash into Su Xianxian’s palm earlier, she had planned to go back and rest. But when she returned to her room and saw those two textbooks on her desk—so similar to the ones she had given Su Xianxian—she had somehow picked them up, put them in her bag, and walked back toward Su Xianxian’s villa.

She had checked the time: 8:00 PM. If Su Xianxian truly wanted to study, she would be reviewing; she wouldn’t be asleep this early. But when Jiang Cuo actually stepped into the villa and saw Su Lian respectfully pouring water for Su Xianxian, that sense of discomfort surged up again.

She knew about Su Xianxian’s family situation. She knew Su Lian was the half-sister and the daughter of the woman who destroyed Su Xianxian’s original family. In the past, the two of them were like fire and water, completely incompatible. Su Lian had provoked Su Xianxian numerous times, even trying to trick Jiang Cuo into drinking a spiked beverage by making her think it was a gift from Su Xianxian.

All of that had happened just yesterday and today. Yet tonight, Su Lian had been brought back to the villa by Su Xianxian, and they looked to be on quite good terms.

Jiang Cuo didn’t want to be overly suspicious, but the scene before her forced her to think. Could it be that Su Lian and Su Xianxian were actually in cahoots? That Su Xianxian hadn’t changed at all, and those gestures of goodwill and kind words were just to lower her guard so they could make a fool out of her later?

But Jiang Cuo couldn’t see the point in Su Xianxian doing that. Moreover, she could clearly feel that Su Xianxian was different from before. The current Su Xianxian made people feel comfortable in every way; she lacked that brainless aggressiveness from the past.

It was this feeling that had caused Jiang Cuo to act irrationally. While Su Xianxian stared at her, Jiang Cuo had already come up with a thousand reasons to justify her strange behavior today. She watched Su Xianxian’s face; if there was even a hint of reluctance, the trust she had built would collapse instantly.

To Jiang Cuo’s surprise, after a brief moment of dazed confusion, Su Xianxian immediately broke into a smile. Her round apricot eyes curved into crescent moons. Wearing her pajamas and seemingly unconcerned about her bird-nest hair, she stepped forward to welcome her.

“Classmate Jiang, you are too good to me! I just changed into my pajamas and was sitting on my bed holding my phone, debating whether or not to text you. I didn’t expect you to see right through my little thoughts. I didn’t realize we already had such a great unspoken understanding. This must be ‘heart-to-heart’ connection!”

The moment the words left Su Xianxian’s mouth, a crack appeared on Jiang Cuo’s icy face, and her expression began to soften.

Su Lian silently retreated two steps, standing behind Su Xianxian with her head slightly bowed. She didn’t dare look directly at either of them. But even with her eyes on her toes, she could clearly feel the subtle atmosphere between the two.

Su Lian felt that Su Xianxian’s words were clearly full of false sentiment, but the Jiang Cuo standing not far away seemed to love this sort of thing. After hearing them, Jiang Cuo’s mood visibly improved. Even if the expression on her face didn’t change much, her heart was clearly happy; even her grip on the textbooks relaxed.

Su Lian couldn’t describe how she felt. Since she was a child, she had discarded her pride just to make her life a bit easier. The more she interacted with Su Xianxian, the more she felt like a clown. Originally, she had exerted all her effort to get Su Jianxiu to transfer her to this school just to humiliate Su Xianxian and satisfy her own vanity. She had thrown away her face and dignity for years, as if only defeating Su Xianxian could fill the void.

But it wasn’t until today that she realized she was merely a pawn for Su Jianxiu. The suffering and humiliation she endured were brought upon her by him, and he had framed Su Xianxian for it. Su Lian’s heart felt swollen with complicated emotions. She hadn’t expected that in the end, the only person who didn’t insult her or throw these embarrassing matters in her face would be Su Xianxian. She truly envied Jiang Cuo, and she envied Su Xianxian.

Su Xianxian’s face was getting stiff from smiling, yet Jiang Cuo remained standing there as if she wouldn’t move her precious feet unless she was personally invited. Thus, Su Xianxian immediately told the butler to prepare the study. Then, she trotted over to Jiang Cuo’s side, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up to the second floor.

When they reached the door of the study, the servants were still doing some light cleaning. Jiang Cuo’s deep, cold voice echoed in the dim hallway, sounding like a cello striking the strings of Su Xianxian’s heart.

“The study still needs cleaning? It seems Classmate Su usually works in her bedroom. You kept saying you wanted to be good friends and not treat me as an outsider, yet you won’t even let an ‘insider’ like me step into your place of study.”

These words, combined with that strange look in Jiang Cuo’s eyes, made Su Xianxian’s scalp tingle. No matter how she heard it, it sounded bizarre. What was this about “outsiders” and “insiders”? Yet even though Jiang Cuo used her thin lips to utter such misleading words, her expression remained unchanged.

Su Xianxian took a long breath and let it out. She could understand; after all, her sexual orientation was different from Jiang Cuo’s. A straight girl flirting with a lesbian—heaven will strike me down with lightning. Su Xianxian pressed a hand against her throbbing forehead. Oh well, Jiang Cuo was still young, a high schooler. As a mature woman, she wouldn’t argue with a child.

“Classmate Jiang, saying that is a bit heartbreaking. I just thought you might prefer a better study environment. My room might be a bit messy… you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

While they were talking, the servants had finished cleaning the study. Su Xianxian had thought she and Jiang Cuo were just being polite and that Jiang Cuo certainly wouldn’t go to her room. After all, Jiang Cuo was distant and cold. The only reason they were this close was because of Su Xianxian’s persistent dragging. How could Jiang Cuo take the initiative to have such a close interaction, let alone enter her bedroom?

To her surprise, Jiang Cuo stood tall like a resilient pine tree, her gaze calm and her expression neutral, only slightly lifting her chin. Even though it was a tiny movement, Su Xianxian could somehow tell that Jiang Cuo was agreeing.

Help! When did I become such a sycophant? Although she needed to gain fusion points from Jiang Cuo, she wanted to be equals; she didn’t want to become a lackey. And where did this “tsundere” vibe from Jiang Cuo come from?

[Trash System: Host, Little Trash warned you before that Jiang Cuo has a tsundere attribute. Who told you to be so inattentive? It’s all your fault for always assuming Little Trash is a trap. Hmph.]

Su Xianxian: “…” Wait? Is ‘tsundere’ contagious? First it’s Jiang Cuo, now the Trash System is doing it too? Hmph-ing at me?

Su Xianxian had no choice but to keep smiling, acting as if Jiang Cuo didn’t really want to go and she was the one forcing her. She led the way.

After walking a few steps, Su Xianxian felt her right hand brush against something warm. Confused, she turned her head. Jiang Cuo was holding the two textbooks to her chest with her left hand, but her right hand was empty and, for some reason, was reaching forward as if intentionally waiting to be grabbed.

Su Xianxian didn’t quite understand, but she took a tentative guess. Could it be that Jiang Cuo wanted her to grab her wrist like she did earlier? That would complete the “half-forced” feeling.

So, Su Xianxian tentatively grabbed Jiang Cuo’s right wrist and noticed that her palm was much cooler than Jiang Cuo’s wrist. Strange, she hadn’t noticed that before. But with both of them walking right-hand-to-right-hand, with Jiang Cuo following directly behind, they kept tripping over each other.

Su Xianxian instinctively turned her head and blurted out without thinking, “Classmate Jiang, why don’t you hold the books in your right hand? It’s awkward for me to grab your right hand; we’ll step on each other’s feet. It’s more convenient to use the left.”

The moment she finished, Su Xianxian wanted to slap herself. What am I saying? Saying that might make Jiang Cuo feel uncomfortable, and then the Disgust Value would go up again.

While Su Xianxian was regretting her words out of Jiang Cuo’s sight, she felt a slightly warmer wrist being pressed into her right palm. Su Xianxian tilted her head slightly and saw that Jiang Cuo had already ghosted over to her right side, placing her own left wrist into Su Xianxian’s palm.

Su Xianxian: “…”

The two of them walked in a clumsy, synchronized fashion into Su Xianxian’s room. The room was entirely pink, a very distinct “princess style.” For a moment, Su Xianxian felt a bit embarrassed. There was nothing she could do; although she had a 22-year-old soul, she was still very girly at heart. After transmigrating, she had the butler turn the bedroom into a pink princess paradise. She wondered if Jiang Cuo would look at her strangely.

Su Xianxian’s room was huge, almost like a small house within the house. It had an independent bathroom, and the desk and vanity were in separate areas. There was a wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling window plus a balcony. Since she had intended to sleep before going down for water, she hadn’t turned on the main lights, only a small, dim desk lamp. The curtains weren’t drawn, allowing the starlight and moonlight from the window to filter in.

Su Xianxian immediately turned on all the main lights. The most embarrassing part was… her desk was perfectly clean. Not a single book in sight.

Su Xianxian let go of Jiang Cuo’s wrist. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several bright pink finger marks on Jiang Cuo’s wrist. I didn’t use that much force, did I? Why did it leave marks?

“Classmate Su truly studies hard—hard enough for your desk to be this clean.”

Su Xianxian naturally heard the sarcasm in Jiang Cuo’s voice and could only rub her nose to hide her embarrassment. “Classmate Jiang, saying that hurts! I was just afraid the textbooks you gave me would get dusty. I only take them out when I’m studying. When I’m not, I keep them protected in my bag.”

Jiang Cuo walked to the desk, ran a finger across the surface, gave Su Xianxian a look, and sat down with a sense of familiarity.

[Trash System: Congratulations, Host! You have triggered a daily random mini-mission.]

[Mission 1: While Jiang Cuo is seriously lecturing, the Host must stare at Jiang Cuo’s profile intently and with extreme obsession. The obsession must be acted out in an exaggerated way. Then, say the line: ‘Classmate Jiang is so serious? I’m afraid I might do something unexpected.’]

[Mission 2: The moment Jiang Cuo takes out the textbooks, the Host must quickly press Jiang Cuo’s hand and the textbooks onto the desk and say the line: ‘Classmate Jiang is acting quite strange today. Could it be that you have other motives for tutoring me, or are you jealous?’]

[The Host can choose one of these missions to complete for a withdrawal reward. Completing both will grant three withdrawal rewards.]

Su Xianxian’s teeth itched with rage at the Trash System. Good lord, you’re doing this on purpose to make things difficult, aren’t you? Finally getting a withdrawal limit, but with restricted chances? Was it playing with her? The problem was, this dog system knew exactly how to manipulate her heart. Three withdrawal chances were worth three times as much as one. It wasn’t like she was bad at math. Since she was going to lose face anyway, there was no difference between losing a little and losing a lot. Of course, the three chances were more important.

Seeing Jiang Cuo pull out the chair and get ready to open her bag, Su Xianxian knew if she didn’t act now, she would miss the window for Mission 2. Resigned to her fate, she put on a smiling face and lunged to Jiang Cuo’s right. She plopped down, and just as Jiang Cuo placed the book on the table, she reached out and—SLAM!—pinned Jiang Cuo’s hand and the book under her own palm.

“Classmate Jiang, why the sudden whim to tutor me today? I’m a bit flattered. Could it be that you have other motives?”

Su Xianxian controlled her expression while reciting the lines, but in her heart, she was shouting Pah! Pah! Pah! How could Jiang Cuo be jealous of Su Lian? If Jiang Cuo didn’t have such a cold personality, she would have punched Su Lian long ago if she had a hot temper. Can this Trash System use its brain when issuing missions?

Thus, when Su Xianxian uttered the final line of the system’s script, it sounded incredibly awkward. She couldn’t get past her own psychological barrier. She wanted to say it, but the words were stuck in her throat. Her mouth twisted into strange shapes, and her expression became distorted.

“Is Classmate Jiang… jealous?”

In the end, she could only say it in a strange tone and super fast, praying that Jiang Cuo wouldn’t hear clearly. Su Xianxian wasn’t as tall as Jiang Cuo, nor were her arms as long, so to pin Jiang Cuo’s hand and the book down, she had to be very close. But she didn’t want to feel the cold aura from Jiang Cuo, so only her shoulder was close, while her hips and the chair were as far away as possible. Her upper body was twisted like a snake.

However, in Jiang Cuo’s eyes, Su Xianxian had a flirtatious expression, her backside was stuck out, her shoulders were hunched, and her waist was arched into a “water snake” shape. A cool palm was pressed against the back of her hand.

It was as if earlier in the villa living room, there were outsiders present, so Su Xianxian had restrained herself. Once in her own room, she completely released her true nature.

Bringing Su Lian to the villa to flaunt her—was it all to get her attention? A game of playing hard to get? And now, seeing that playing hard to get wasn’t working, she had lured her to the bedroom for a deliberate seduction?