Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

"If you hate me then- Huh? You do not hate me?" Du Hang was shocked. He had complained about girls in front of Zhao Youyue, and even treated her starting the conversation as unworthy, but he still had not earned her ire.

Du Hang tilted his head to glance at Zhao Youyue, yet the signs of a fake polite smile could not be seen. He had no idea how could a fake smile appear so genuine - normal people would never be able to tell. They would think that she was the most genuine, kindest, warmest person ever.

The look on Zhao Youyue's face was one of intelligent coldness, saying "I do not hate you," those were her true feelings - and nothing of it indicated her pretentious aloofness.

Zhao Youyue knew just how to deal with just about any character out there - she knew what to say, and who to say it to.

Du Hang took a blow to the heart, but quickly filled his mind with cynical, self-abusive thoughts. Was he actually a masochist? A beautiful maiden starting a conversation with a kind smile would not excite him, but looking at Zhao Youyue's cold expression showed an elegant indifference. Somehow he thought that it was the most beautiful expression she could ever make.

He had to be insane!

"You do not hate me? That is unwise. Fortunately, people have not yet identified me as the resident lurch, or your actions would appear stupid to the passerby. So, please do not get yourself dragged into the hellish swamp with me. Just flash a smile here and there as you are so adept at!" Du Hang said, struggling to maintain his composure.

"You know, maintaining a smile is very tiring. I act according to whom I'm speaking to. For someone like you, I chose such an approach. So, was it effective?" Zhao Youyue immediately flashed a brilliant smile as she uttered the last sentence, like one of those face-swapping mask performers.

"As I thought. I saw that coming. So you still hate me, right? It's all the same to me," Du Hang tried to keep his impassive mask on.

"By hiding one's thoughts, a person would be able to sweet-talk others, according to how they like it while settling matters. The entire world does this. It is the same as an elite scholar topping the charts in terms of grades, only to laugh it off and tell others that it was just coincidence; like a bishoujo surrounded by a batch of average-looking girls complaining about how they're gaining weight, popping acne and all that to make themselves look ugly. High standards demand high expectations, and that produces high stress."

Du Hang continued rambling on and went off the rails on his ideologies, trying his best to hide his surprise. He did not expect a regular to be capable of such masquerading.

He forced himself to remain uninterested, even if it went against his own ideals about transparency and blunt honesty. He hated himself for doing so. Does one have to lie to oneself before learning of the truth?

"Alright, alright, Du Sensei. Enough with the philosophy! Let us talk about something much relaxing and interesting, shall we? Who do you think the most beautiful girl in our class is?" This was Zhao Youyue asking a magic mirror.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? [1]

Other men would go with the flow, flattering Zhao Youyue, as the bishoujo had asked the question herself. It was a subtle move, but it would increase her favorability, would it not?

Du Hang remained himself and picked the unpopular route, as always. He probably thought that he was talking to another guy, and this was a men-only discussion.

"Blondie looked pretty good. Or at least, she knows just how to throw herself into the strike zone of most males," Du Hang said.

A more accurate description would be - she attracted the most attention, even if she was not the most natural.

"Oho! She's my roomie! Her name is He Weiwei. Wanna get closer to her? I'm here to help!" Zhao Youyue smiled.

"You already know my answer, so why ask? This world is not short of beauties. If I'm to introduce myself to a beauty everytime I see one, are you asking me to get the contact numbers of every beauty in the world? I am not interested in interacting with girls. Most of them are just too good at hiding their true selves. They're torturing themselves; they're torturing their victims, they're torturing their best friends who happen to be just as good at torturing. Girls are cunning tricky beings that know how to make use of their beauty. They've been doing that since the start of time. They would always search for the ideal vantage points, picking off their victims without getting within range. Such intelligence is dumb. Eventually, they would come to their senses, only to see how much of their true selves have left them. In the end, the material wealth their beauty has earned them would save them from that damning revelation yet the materialistic payback will help provide them with mental support, yet that is all still materialistic."

Zhao Youyue had almost solved the Du Hang puzzle, and it had barely taken her any effort. He did not seem to be a man of words, but when the right buttons are pressed, he could rail on forever. The only issue was his inability of finding an outlet, or a kindred spirit who shared his wisdom. Having no fixed target, he had resorted to indiscriminately shotgunning his words about whenever the opportunity presented itself, regardless of how his targets felt about it.

Zhao Youyue suddenly recalled something and took out her phone to browse through her photos. Of course, she was not looking for her own photos, despite her love of taking selfies. Her selfies were so beautiful that everyone in the class would not believe that it was her.

There was no need to start a fight over her selfies. Her bad habits were re-emerging, thus she quickly retrieved Han Leng's cross-dressing album - which was no less in terms of beauty.

She showed the pictures to Du Hang, gleefully saying, "I think the most beautiful lady in our class is him, Little Angel Ah Leng! Oh right! You're dormmates, right?"

Du Hang.exe crashed when he saw Han Leng's ultimate cross-dressing. He stared blankly at the picture, enjoying it for some time before waking from his trance, the philosophy long fled from his mind, replaced by male hormones-

OH MY GOD! THERE'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GUY IN THIS WORLD? HE MUST BE AN ANGEL!

Then, he thought of Han Leng's talented writing. His random scribbles were enough to grace the earth with beautiful poetic writing.

The "philosophies" he wrote was child's play compared to Leng Zi's writing. His philosophy may be well-written, but the word count was enough to send readers puking.

Du Hang liked his writing, but he could not deny that Leng Zi was a genius.

Du Hang had heard of Han Leng's beauty as a cross-dresser over the internet, but had dismissed most of it as rumors. He had never thought that they were true. This was a freaking beauty! Du Hang's shell broke down. He could no longer remain lurching about!

Translation Notes:

[1] The magic spell used to activate the magic mirror from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs