That Damn Redemption

Shen Fangli was still only a high school student, after all.

She was nearly scared into screaming by the information revealed in Yan Xianjue's thoughts.

She dug her fingers hard into the web between her thumb and forefinger, and the waves of pain from her hand forced Shen Fangli to calm down.

She still could not be sure whether the things Yan Xianjue had said were true.

If they were true, where had he gotten that information?

If they were false, she could not just rush over and confront him without thinking.

After all, she could not exactly say, "I found out by overhearing your thoughts."

Even her parents would not believe her if she said that.

Shen Fangli gave a dry laugh and agreed, "Me too."

"His temper's terrible, and he's always bullying his classmates."

"Ji Xi isn't the only victim. A student in our class dropped out because of him before."

Shen Fangli had lost all interest in gossiping over the cliché drama between Lin Shi and Su Su.

In a class like theirs, which had been separated out based on grades, everyone cared more about academic performance than family background or looks.

Yet Lin Shi seemed to have been born knowing how to use that condescending gaze to effortlessly shatter the heart of a sensitive adolescent.

*

Yan Xianjue was not surprised by this at all. Otherwise, why would the male lead be written as a school bully?

If this had been one of those campus novels about a cold and aloof school heartthrob, someone like Ji Xi—a poor, handsome, capable, and tragic character—would absolutely have been the main male lead.

Next, he would become legendary in one battle during the Gaokao, bask in unrivaled glory, and save up his first fortune through various scholarships.

Then he would start his own company in college and rise to the peak of life from there.

Unfortunately, this was a redemption novel.

The novel's male lead, Lin Shi, had also had a miserable childhood.

Compared with Ji Xi's simple poverty, Lin Shi's childhood had been filled with violence and harsh criticism.

Zhou Ye had said the Lin Household had become increasingly insane in recent years, and he had meant insane in the literal sense.

Lin Shi was not the Lin Household's only child.

He had more than twenty uncles above him, and the cousins of his generation probably could not even remember one another's names.

The Lin Household believed in wolf-pack education. Yan Xianjue preferred to call it a breeding-ground-for-poisonous-insects plan.

They had a pile of children, then made them fight one another to find the best one among them.

Lin Shi's father was exactly that kind of violent maniac. As long as Lin Shi did not place first, regardless of the reason, he would beat him with fists, kicks, and sticks.

Lin Shi had grown up under the stick, and once he was able to pick one up himself, he learned to swing it at those weaker than him.

At the same time, compared to straightforward physical violence, he preferred to strike and oppress others psychologically.

This kind of invisible violence left no evidence behind.

The victims had nowhere to air their grievances, while he would never face any punishment.

*

Yan Xianjue had to say that Lin Shi was the most detestable male lead he had encountered in all the web novels he had read.

The reason was simple: this damn thing was a redemption novel, so there was bound to be a female lead who redeemed the psychologically twisted male lead.

The female lead used love to accept and warm the male lead, and sunlight shone into the depths of his dark heart.

But could bullying classmates and torturing animals to death really be so easily whitewashed just because he was the male lead?

How innocent were those victims, as well as the witnesses who had no choice but to watch, powerless to help?

He looked at Shen Fangli, who seemed somewhat guilty about not having helped her classmate, and comforted her. "Maybe leaving that environment would be better."

[At least you're much better off than him!]

As the double foil for both the female lead's career and romantic storyline,

Shen Fangli had a substantial role in the novel.

[You'll get engaged to Lin Shi, and then, in order to help him secure his position in the Lin Household, your father will be drawn into the Lin Household's internal power struggle, leaving your family's company with a funding gap.]

[To make money and fill that gap, you'll choose the entertainment industry because it pays fast.]

[But Su Su, who also enters the entertainment industry and is protected by Lin Shi every step of the way, will crush you across the board.]

[After your identity as Lin Shi's fiancée is exposed, Lin Shi won't give any response at all.]

[In the end, netizens will mock you as a mistress. Wearing a bright red gown in grand fashion, you'll take poison and kill yourself at the award ceremony where the female lead wins Best Actress.]

When Yan Xianjue had read that part, he had been stunned.

But he had also felt it was not worth it for Shen Fangli:

[If you hate them that much, go get revenge on the male and female leads! What's the point of killing yourself!!!]

[Other than causing a brief public outcry that the male lead will quickly suppress, it'll barely make a splash.]

[If it were me, I'd use the five million Big Brother gave me this morning to hire a few desperadoes and have them stab the male and female leads seven or eight times.]

*

Shen Fangli took a deep breath, urging herself to calm down quickly.

Her family really was selecting a marriage alliance partner for her.

But her family was not selling off their daughter.

For families like theirs, getting engaged early was nothing unusual. It could also simply be a signal that the two families were about to start cooperating.

Recently, she had indeed heard her father mention that the family had a promising project underway.

But no matter what, it should not be Lin Shi, right?

Although the Lin Household was far beyond her family's reach, Lin Shi had no real say in the family right now.

Her gaze at Yan Xianjue was filled with scrutiny.

Whether it was the fact that she alone could hear his thoughts, or the things he knew—

"Ah!" Zhou Ye sprang up in alarm and slapped Yan Xianjue hard on the shoulder.

"Brother Yan! Old Class's lesson is next!"

Break time was already short. The two of them had gone to the restroom, then stopped outside the Top Student Class to feast on some fresh, juicy gossip.

Yan Xianjue checked his watch and said unhurriedly, "Two minutes left. We'll make it."

Their classroom's location was quite advantageous.

Zhou Ye had blind faith in Yan Xianjue. He opened his QR code and gestured for Shen Fangli to scan it. "Pretty lady, let's eat sunflower seeds together again next time!"

From Shen Fangli's words, he could already tell that she was an excellent source of gossip.

Shen Fangli scanned the code openly, then turned to Yan Xianjue. "Does the young master want to scan mine too?"

Yan Xianjue did not refuse. He opened his QR code, somewhat surprised. "You know me?"

Shen Fangli raised an eyebrow. "Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about how famous you are at school?"

The class bell rang just then. Shen Fangli left behind a cryptic remark: "You think your high school life is dull and flavorless, never realizing how many people's youth you've brightened?"