My Villainous Persona Collapses as My Family Reads My Mind - Chapter 23

The hot soy milk in the bag instantly spilled out, leaving pinkish scald marks on Shen Que’s pale skin.

As if he had already anticipated Meng Zhiyi’s reaction, Shen Que wasn’t angry. He just glanced at the half-spilled soy milk and sighed helplessly.

“Aren’t you going to let me explain?” Shen Que said gently.

Meng Zhiyi pouted, crossing her arms, and looked at Shen Que with an expression that clearly meant she’d settle accounts later: “What did you promise me last night? Do you want to see the messages you sent?”

Shen Que took a step forward, his height advantage casting Meng Zhiyi in his shadow.

Those exceptionally beautiful eyes stared straight at her, as if they were hooks that could steal one’s soul.

He lowered his gaze, his tone soft and patient: “I didn’t forget. She came over on her own just now-it had nothing to do with me.”

“…”

Meng Zhiyi raised her eyebrows, not listening to Shen Que’s explanation at all.

[ I don’t care whether it’s related to you or not. I saw it, so I’m going to make a scene. Let’s see how long you can put up with it. ]

Shen Que’s eyes were full of helplessness. He reached out to take Meng Zhiyi’s hand, then glanced at the breakfast he’d bought.

“I’ll take you out to eat.” Shen Que led Meng Zhiyi toward the car.

“I want to sit in the back.” Meng Zhiyi stopped at the back door and refused to move.

Shen Que didn’t force her. He opened the car door for her to get in.

Song Wei watched the whole time as Shen Que indulged Meng Zhiyi, her heart already filled with bitterness.

She swallowed the taste of defeat, braving the curious stares from all around, and walked over with difficulty.

Song Wei came to the front passenger seat, grabbed the car door, and said, “Ah Que, give me a ride. I have somewhere to go too.”

Shen Que didn’t reply, just looked at Meng Zhiyi in the back seat.

“Get a taxi yourself. My girlfriend doesn’t like other girls in my car,” Shen Que said calmly.

“Girl…friend?” Song Wei froze, looking at Shen Que in disbelief.

At that moment, Meng Zhiyi rolled down the window, looking at Song Wei with a mocking smile: “Correction, fiancée.”

Shen Que chuckled softly and went along with her: “Mm, fiancée.”

“…” Seeing that things weren’t going as she’d hoped, Meng Zhiyi suddenly felt a toothache, and in a fit of annoyance, rolled the window back up.

[ Damn it, could Shen Que really be interested in me? Sure, I’m beautiful, but he and Song Wei are the real couple. ]

[ Song Wei is useless-even with her protagonist halo, she still can’t beat me, the evil supporting character. ]

Shen Que could now automatically ignore Meng Zhiyi’s nonsense thoughts. He didn’t spare Song Wei a glance, got in the car, and locked the doors.

The car started and drove away, leaving Song Wei standing there, utterly humiliated.

She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes full of resentment as she stared in the direction the car had gone.

No one among the onlookers had expected this outcome. Clearly, before this, everyone had assumed Song Wei and Shen Que were a couple.

When did Shen Que and Meng Zhiyi make their relationship public?

Ding Yue had come downstairs with Song Wei, originally hoping to help her friend, but hadn’t expected her to suffer such humiliation.

She stood at a distance, her eyes full of sympathy for Song Wei.

When the car disappeared at the end of the road, she jogged over to Song Wei’s side.

“Weiwei, don’t be sad… Shen Que must have his reasons.”

Ding Yue comforted her, full of worry.

Song Wei lowered her head, struggling to suppress the hatred surging in her eyes.

She tried to sound normal, but her voice was dejected: “They were engaged from the start. I’m the extra one.”

Ding Yue shook her head quickly: “No, you and Shen Que are the real couple. It’s Meng Zhiyi who forced her way in and made things like this.”

Song Wei hung her head, her shoulders trembling slightly as she choked out, “But that’s the reality. Even though we’ve known each other since we were kids, even though we have feelings, he was still forced to choose this engagement.”

“What can I do? I’ve told myself countless times not to be like this, but I still can’t help it. Every time I think about him being forced to accept someone he doesn’t like, it breaks my heart.”

The more Song Wei spoke, the more agitated she became. She collapsed onto Ding Yue’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Weiwei, don’t cry. I’m here. I won’t let that bitch Meng Zhiyi get her way! I’ll make Shen Que see her true colors, and make the Shen Matriarch hate her too.”
Ding Yue kept comforting her, completely unaware that her best friend, whom she cared so much about, was now wearing a venomous expression, her eyes full of calculation.

After achieving her goal, Song Wei pretended to wipe away her tears and said hoarsely, “Forget it, that would only make Ah Que feel awkward. Please don’t go looking for her again.”

Though she said this, Song Wei put on a heartbroken act in front of Ding Yue, making her feel even more distressed.

Ding Yue responded with reassuring words, but in her heart, she had already made up her mind to find Meng Zhiyi again.

On the other side, Shen Que drove Meng Zhiyi to a dim sum restaurant for breakfast.

In the private room, Meng Zhiyi propped her chin with her hand, lost in complex thoughts.

When Shen Que came in with the menu, she didn’t even notice.

“Meng…” Shen Que was about to call her, but stopped when he saw her.

Meng Zhiyi was sitting near the window, and the morning sunlight happened to shine on her, as if she were bathed in a halo.

Her fair skin glowed smooth and translucent in the sunlight, her thick eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her delicate, upturned nose was especially exquisite.

She was lost in thought, chin in hand, completely unaware of his entrance.

Shen Que was so captivated that he couldn’t help but take out his phone and snap a photo of the scene.

Then, he sat down across from Meng Zhiyi and gently tapped the table.

“What do you want to eat?”

Meng Zhiyi snapped out of her thoughts, glanced at Shen Que, then pulled the menu over and began adding an insane amount of chili to the tofu pudding option.

Shen Que watched quietly, saying nothing.

“Alright, that’s it.”

Seeing the menu, Shen Que frowned slightly and asked gently, “Are you sure you want to eat this?”

Meng Zhiyi clasped her hands under her chin and smiled at him. “That’s yours. Mine is the other one.”

Shen Que: “…”

Meng Zhiyi: “Aren’t you going to eat it?”

[Let’s see if you can actually eat this.]

Shen Que pressed his lips together, didn’t answer, just gave Meng Zhiyi a deep look before getting up and walking out.

Soon, the waiter brought in two bowls of tofu pudding, one of which was loaded with a lethal amount of chili.

“I want the sweet one.”

Shen Que placed the sweet tofu pudding in front of Meng Zhiyi, his voice calm: “Anything else you want to eat?”

“No, you eat too.”

As she spoke, she stared straight at Shen Que.

[I’m going to watch you eat. If you don’t, I’ll make a scene.]

Shen Que looked at the spicy tofu pudding in front of him, sighed inwardly, and then began to eat without changing his expression.

Meng Zhiyi had thought he would get angry, but to her surprise, Shen Que actually ate the terrifyingly spicy tofu pudding.

Watching him, Meng Zhiyi was at a loss.

[Isn’t Shen Que supposed to be unable to eat spicy food? Why does he seem to handle it just fine?]

[Did Xiao Ba give me the wrong character info? Did I target the wrong person?]

[This is pointless. This mission is really pointless. No one is following the script-what am I even doing here?]

After breakfast, Shen Que drove her back to school.

“I’ll pick you up after class,” Shen Que said, turning to Meng Zhiyi, who was about to get out of the car in the back seat.

Meng Zhiyi raised her eyebrows. “Alright, then I want a feast.”

“Okay,” Shen Que agreed, then watched as Meng Zhiyi left.

Only after her figure disappeared did Shen Que finally let out a long breath, pulling out a tissue to wipe the fine sweat that had somehow appeared on his forehead.

By now, his face was a bit pale, and his stomach was already cramping painfully.

That bowl of tofu pudding with a lethal dose of chili had done its job.

He endured it, went to a pharmacy to buy some stomach medicine, and never let Meng Zhiyi notice a thing.

Meanwhile, at the hospital-

Zhou Kai lay motionless on the hospital bed, multiple parts of his body wrapped in bandages.

His phone, placed on the table beside him, chimed. He quickly picked it up and saw a WeChat message from Song Wei.

[Zhou Kai, am I really not as good as Meng Zhiyi? Why didn’t he choose me?]