Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Zhao Youyue did not always take her mom’s car home every time. Sometimes, Wang Hua had night classes and school paperwork to complete. It was understandable for a woman in her position.

Due to this, Zhao Youyue had Uncle Liu fetch her instead. He would pick her up in the shopping streets not far away from the schools, away from the school gates. Apparently, they had not been discreet enough.

Zhao Youyue had never once revealed her position to others in the school. Naturally, those who had something against her would send their minds to the gutter. This world was extremely harsh to beautiful girls. Every bad news would mostly be related to beautiful girls. The slightest sliver of thread would instantly put them under suspicion.

As a passerby, Zhao Youyue would never be the subject of rumors such as “being spoon-fed by rich guys” or “prostitute.” As time passed in the military training, she started to stand out. Rumors quickly followed.

Words have a way of morphing when passed by hearsay from one human to another. Eventually, the message would turn into something that does not remotely resemble its original form. It might start off as hard facts such as “I saw Zhao Youyue entering a luxurious car,” but the second person might add something such as “I heard that someone saw Zhao Youyue entering a luxurious car nervously, as if she was afraid of something. Why is that so?” Eventually, it would turn into something like Zhao Youyue being picked up by a sugar daddy. It would get repeated with increasing intensity and conviction. Eventually, it would be accompanied with a line such as “my friend saw it with her own two eyes.”

This rumor did not just appear out of the blue. It had been brewed, left to ferment, baked in the sun, heat-treated. Finally, Zhao Youyue’s nickname as the “Military Goddess” had already spread to each corner of the school – even when the News Society remained silent.

That’s right. Zhao Youyue had earned the denial of Cao Chuanguang, the President of the News Society.

Cao Chuanguang lacked the critical essence of chivalry. He instead resorted to stalk girls, learning more about them until he could blackmail them into dating him.

Student Council members favored intimidation as their primary weapon of choice. Cao Chuanguang seemed to be extremely proud of his position as the president of the News Society. He even bragged about how he was best buddies with the current Student Council President, and how he had a father and son relationship with the Head of its Advertising Committee.

He even revealed how he planned transfer to the student council if he had to retire, becoming the sub-head of the Advertising Committee. The current Head of Advertising Committee was in his fourth year. Naturally, one need not ask to see who his successor would be. It might not just end there – being President of a major Committee like this gave him great odds of becoming the next Student Countil President himself! How could Zhao Youyue not be pissed about that?

“Does being the girlfriend of the Student Council President not give you any sense of superiority? You would be the leading lady!”

“Zhao Youyue, if you defy me and make an enemy out of me now, you would be making an enemy out of the entire future student council. You won’t prevail.”

Such bare intimidation disgusted Zhao Youyue to no end. She was puzzled. How did such a person actually make it into this respectable institute, on top of that earning the position of President in the News Society.

He did not just intimidate her, he attempted to bribe her with words, saying that the News Society had the power to make Zhao Youyue popular – not only in school – her popularity might spread way past that. No matter how beautiful one is, word of mouth was no match for the power of publications and social media.

Cao Chuanguang even started ignoring Zhao Youyue’s use of Han Leng as a meatshield. That pretty-boy author had no power here. He could start a demonstration with his fans at most, but such gestures were powerless in the face of actual authority.

Cao Chuanguang even brought up the dark example of another school’s Student Council President who was caught meddling with the unspoken rules. He had learned of this when both schools once worked hand-in-hand for an event. Its shock-factor had never once let him down.

“I did not want to do this either. All I wanted was to go out with you. I courted you sincerely. Why did you make me do this? As your senpai, I’ll have to show you the bleak reality of the adult world. I’ll stop at nothing to show you how much you mean to me,” Cao Chuanguang said smugly.

What a shame. Cao Chuanguang never followed through with actions. Zhao Youyue would have been delighted to make use of her sword skills and martial arts and show his body true pain.

Zhao Youyue did not reveal any of this to Han Leng. This was beyond his reach. He also had no place in her heart, as his past actions had proven it. He simply considered them to be old acquaintances from high school. Back then, Zhao Youyue had dragged him into the interview as a harmless prank. This was now a serious issue, and joking was no longer in the question.

Cao Chuanguang was beyond the point of saving. Zhao Youyue would have to get slightly serious and count on her own strength to eliminate the threat.

Zhao Youyue knew that a physical beating would not end her problems, much less murder. In the real world, unprovoked fighting and killing was unforgivable. She would destroy him mentally – she would destroy his most previous asset.

In this case, her target’s assets were obvious. He valued his power above all else. Being the President of the News Society was a source of his pride and joy. To think that he was actually aiming to be the next Student Council President. It goes to show how much stock he had placed in his strength and position.

Zhao Youyue simply needed to snatch away all his power. How would he feel if his power and position all went up in smoke in the blink of an eye?

However, Zhao Youyue had a more immediate problem to handle. The rumors were getting out of hand. She had reason to suspect that Cao Chuanguang was behind it all. He did say that he intended to show her just how much she meant to him.

Zhao Youyue had the wrong person in her cross sights.

The rumor had actually stemmed from the envy of others. She had the MC aura around her. What kind of MC would not be the subject of envy?

Thanks to the rumor, Zhao Youyue not only became known for her looks, she was now a bitch with looks.