Chapter 1

The sixth year of being suppressed by the school beauty.

She broke up with the school heartthrob, Wilder Shaw, over a trivial matter, and in a fit of pique, Wilder pursued me.

I gladly agreed.

The comments went wild: [Damn, never seen such an ordinary and shameless side character.]

[Who can’t see that the male lead and female lead are just acting out of spite?]

[Does this side character really think she can cling to the male lead??]

[The male lead’s stunning face paired with her, it’s nauseating.]

[Ha, can’t stand it anymore! Luckily, it’s only two days until the female lead’s birthday, and the male lead will definitely dump her.]

[No need to wait two days, the female lead is arriving soon, she’ll be dumped in seconds!!]

I chuckled softly at the comments, suddenly hooking Wilder’s neck, and kissed him on the lips.

In my third year of middle school, I was in the filthy bathroom, searching for my thick glasses with a swollen face from being beaten, when I saw a barrage of comments.

They said I was just an NPC in the book, and that the male lead Wilder and the female lead Margot were the only main storyline.

It felt like a thunderbolt struck me, and tears streamed down uncontrollably.

For years, I had been bullied because I was born in the mountains, yet after entering school, I scored first in the entire grade, pushing the always excellent little princess Margot to second place.

Everyone started targeting me.

Margot came from a privileged background, being the daughter of the richest man in the county.

Many of the parents worked in industries under her family’s name, and Margot always appeared delicate and gentle.

This made everyone revolve around her, both openly and secretly.

I still remember the day the results came out, my name was first, Margot’s was second. She ran back to the classroom crying, unable to believe the results.

Her friend Scarlet comforted her.

“Margot, don’t be sad. I saw that country bumpkin looking around during the exam while sitting behind you. She probably copied your answers.”

“Exactly, how could someone from the countryside possibly outscore you?”

Margot, half doubting and half denying, cried softly, “Could someone really be that bad? I even kindly lent her a pen that day.”

Scarlet flicked her short bangs and spat, “No doubt about it, Margot. Watch how I teach her a lesson.”

Scarlet was the big sister of the first year, known for a long scar on her arm from a previous fight.

That day after class, Scarlet dragged me into the bathroom with her gang, slapping me repeatedly, demanding I admit that I copied Margot’s answers to get first place.

I denied it, which only led to a harsher beating, forcing me to bite my lip hard.

This incident became my silent admission, turning the accusation of copying answers into an undeniable fact.

I became a student even the teachers disliked. When I mustered the courage to explain to a teacher, offering to retake the exam, the teacher chuckled and poked my head.

“Bronte, even if you score 100 a hundred times, so what? Margot was born in Rome, and no matter how hard you try, you’re just a horse pulling a cart.”

After saying this, he disdainfully wiped his hands, “Oh, your dad called to say his construction site hasn’t paid wages yet, so you’ll have to figure out how to get by this week.”

With red eyes, I don’t remember how I walked out of the office.

That week, I survived on pickled vegetables soaked in water, stretching a pack over two days.

Hungry and in pain.

In the dorm, I overheard other students saying the teacher’s wife was Margot’s father’s secretary.

For the second exam, I held back, controlling my score to rank around twentieth in the class.

Margot got first place as she wished.

Everyone became more convinced that my previous first place was copied.

They called me trash, and when Margot passed by, she gently advised everyone to let it go, saying fake things can’t become real.

A crowd surrounded her, praising her for being too kind.

For three whole years, my ranking never entered the top twenty.

Moreover, the teacher frequently announced in class that my dad had no money for me, urging me to save on food, causing everyone to avoid me.

Afraid I’d borrow money or scrounge for food.

Scarlet often came to cause trouble, making me get her meals, copy homework, and insult me.

Then she’d symbolically give me a little money.

In the year of the high school entrance exam, Margot aimed for the provincial key high school, with only two spots available in the entire school. She and a student from the neighboring class were the favorites.

Upon learning that Margot was the female lead of this world.

I deliberately controlled my score in the entrance exam, ranking third in the school, hoping to stay away from her.

However, because the other candidate got injured and couldn’t enroll, I was pushed by the school as a substitute into the same high school as Margot.

The whole class was in an uproar.

They said I must have gotten addicted to copying answers, sitting behind Margot again this time.

Ignoring everyone, I found a summer job, washed dishes for two months, packed my things, and took an overnight hard seat train to the provincial high school.