Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?
Chapter 4: Finding a Substitute

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Finding a Substitute

’Did his gaze just land on me?’

Jian Yu remembered that this was a rather dangerous seat, and she was instantly wide awake.

Professor Lin’s eyes scanned the room, row by row.

Like an emperor inspecting his harem, he looked over every single person, truly spreading his attention evenly.

He said with a smile, "Huang Yuan."

A tall, thin man stood up from his desk.

’He’s the one who led the bullying against the female lead yesterday.’

Jian Yu raised her gaze slightly, her eyes widening as she stared at his back.

Her round, dark pupils darted left and right.

’Did the female lead’s scene just get stolen?’

She looked toward Xu Jianjuan. Unexpectedly, the other girl was also looking at her.

Her gaze held a hint of paranoia, and also a bit of regret.

Jian Yu couldn’t decipher her expression.

It looked less like she was disappointed the professor hadn’t called on her, and more like she was lamenting a missed opportunity to mess with Jian Yu.

Jian Yu lowered her head, feeling the urge to curse.

’What did I ever do to anyone?’

"Professor, I think..." Huang Yuan’s conventional answer rang in her ears.

For Jian Yu, it went in one ear and out the other.

Her mind was filled with the image of the female lead confidently standing up and earnestly explaining her point of view.

Professor Lin’s question was about Beast Soul Awakening and evolution, and it also involved an experimental conclusion.

However, a gift that only existed in noble bloodlines became something that anyone could potentially Awaken, according to the female lead.

She’d said, "It’s not possible now, but it will be someday. If I ever get into the Beast Soul Research Institute, I will definitely research a medicine that allows commoners to Awaken their Beast Souls!"

In the early stages of the story, the female lead’s every word and action was naive, idealistic, and quite captivating.

Her words stirred the hearts of many commoner students while also provoking ridicule and disdain from most of the nobles.

The Beast Soul Research Institute had long ago reached an experimental conclusion: Beast Soul Awakeners could only be nobles who had inherited a pure bloodline.

If their bloodline wasn’t pure enough, even nobles might not be able to Awaken, let alone commoners.

Anyone who had been to Library No. 2, or who had access to a certain website, knew this.

But what no one knew was that Xu Jianjuan’s answer happened to align perfectly with a difficult problem F2 was planning to research.

And thus, the female lead successfully captured Sheng Yue’s attention.

"Huang Yuan, you can sit down. Do any other students have a different idea from Huang Yuan?"

Professor Lin’s voice pulled Jian Yu’s mind back from its immersion in the plot.

She couldn’t help but look at Xu Jianjuan again, wanting to see her reaction.

The real world Jian Yu had lived in was relatively equal. She could understand the female lead’s determination to rise up after being suppressed by the nobles for so long.

’The female lead, who often shouts pretty slogans in a crowd and always manages to draw attention, wouldn’t miss a chance to express herself in class, would she?’

"Professor." As expected, Xu Jianjuan raised her hand.

Her expression was strange—a mix of three parts forbearance, two parts panic, and five parts a fleeting, reckless madness.

"My roommate stayed up all night reading about genetics. She was really looking forward to your class."

Xu Jianjuan turned her head, staring straight at Jian Yu, her lips curling into a smile much like her usual ones. "Yu is a bit shy. She probably doesn’t dare to raise her hand herself."

’This plague of a female lead!’

Jian Yu unconsciously rubbed her wrist with the fingers of her right hand. Her hand trembled when she heard those words.

She accidentally opened her Star Brain.

The Star Brain page was still on the ’wear earbuds’ function, with a checkbox for the invisible earbud style on the left.

Jian Yu was grateful she didn’t like the Star Brain Floating Screen function; otherwise, she would have died of social embarrassment.

"Ohh~" Professor Lin’s expression wasn’t exactly ugly.

At most, the look he gave Xu Jianjuan was slightly complicated, and within that complexity was a hint of understanding.

’I thought she was a victim, but it turns out she’s playing the same tricks as the nobles.’

He was silent for a long moment.

"No need." Professor Lin first gestured for Jian Yu not to stand up, then motioned for Xu Jianjuan to sit down with his eyes.

It wasn’t because he was afraid Jian Yu would answer poorly and be unable to save face.

A sudden rebellious streak made him hope that a student would volunteer on their own.

Unfortunately, no one did.

’How awkward.’ Jian Yu pressed her lips together, still finding it baffling.

’Is the female lead really doing this just to use me as a target and draw fire from others?’

’But even with me in the picture, it’s not like the female lead will be bullied any less, right?’

’Could it be she really wants to be my friend so she can ask for my help?’

’Only a fool would try to make friends like this.’

’Something feels weird. The female lead is weird, the plot is weird, everything is weird.’

She couldn’t figure it out, but that didn’t stop Jian Yu from looking up to glare at the female lead.

Xu Jianjuan kept her head down, not looking at the mocking gazes from those around her.

In her past life, people had "volunteered" her by raising her hand for her, causing her to be humiliated many times.

’Everyone liked to play this game, so I decided to play it once, too. Why are they all mocking just me now?’

Xu Jianjuan tried hard to ignore Sheng Yue’s light gaze as it fell upon her.

It was true that she had offended Professor Lin, but at least she had brought attention to Jian Yu, even though she herself was now caught in the mess.

Xu Jianjuan’s mind was a mess. She had forgotten what she was even trying to do.

It wasn’t until she glanced at Sheng Yue’s hand resting on his desk that she came to a sudden realization.

Sheng Yue came to attend the lecture, but his target was never Professor Lin.

He wanted to select a few students from here to participate in his group’s research.

Students with a keen interest in genetics, as well as outstanding students he personally approved of, were all subjects of his observation.

In her past life, Jian Yu hadn’t left much of an impression on Xu Jianjuan; she was hardly memorable at all.

But she had checked the entrance exam scores yesterday, and Jian Yu’s were excellent.

So good, in fact, that it made her wonder why the Sheng Yue of her past life had never paid any attention to this person.

"It seems I’m quite intimidating. My students are so scared of me they don’t even dare to raise their hands?"

Professor Lin was finally getting angry, even if his tone was tinged with humor.

The seats weren’t assigned. How could roommates who were on good terms not sit together?

Not to mention the obviously tense atmosphere when the two of them looked at each other.

With Jian Yu refusing to cooperate with her deadpan face, there was nothing Xu Jianjuan could do.

She had thought of many plans last night, but none of them had panned out. She could only make things up as she went along, one impulsive move after another.

The moment Sheng Yue sat down beside her, Xu Jianjuan had made her decision. ’Since I’m destined to encounter him in this life, why can’t that person be Jian Yu?’

’A pretty, bookish girl with good grades and a keen interest in genetics could perhaps become my substitute, my scapegoat.’

"AHEM." Professor Lin, not wanting to admit his fearsome reputation, decided to dangle a ’carrot’.

"I have here a bottle of a new medicine developed by the research institute. It can make all pain and sickness disappear for two months and restore the body to its peak condition."

"The materials are special, so it’s basically impossible to make a second bottle. Whoever gives me a satisfactory answer gets it."

Professor Lin added pointedly, "If you want to compete, raise your own hand. Don’t let others do it for you."

Jian Yu lunged for the carrot Professor Lin had tossed out. "Professor!"

The exhaustion from staying up all night clung to her, making Jian Yu look like a useless, pathetic mess.

"Professor!"

"Professor!"

"Me, me, me!"

Voices rose one after another.

Professor Lin skipped over Jian Yu and called on someone else.

One, two, three... one after another, many students stood up.

Jian Yu watched eagerly, raising her hand a little higher.

’I must have raised it too low!’