Reborn as the Romance Heroine, I Only Aim for First Place Chapter 02

Reborn as the Romance Heroine, I Only Aim for First Place Chapter 02

The System let out a shrill screech.

“If you act like this, how is the second male lead supposed to discover your inner goodness? How is he supposed to fall in love with you?”

I asked, puzzled, “Why would I need him to fall in love with me?”

“Because that’s the plot! Besides, he becomes a major power player later. Don’t you want an easy life?”

I lowered my head and packed my bag.

“My grades are already this good. Are you saying I can’t build a good life on my own? I have to depend on a man?”

“But what happens to the plot if you keep messing it up?”

“What does that have to do with me?” I snapped impatiently. “You dragged me here without my consent. That’s kidnapping, and now you expect me to follow your idiotic plot?”

“You’re getting a little loud. Go on mute.”

The System froze for a moment, then burst into tears.

“How did this happen? How did I end up grabbing such an unreasonable bastard? What about my performance metrics? I’m never going to finish this mission.”

I ignored it.

…

Over the next few days, Wyatt and Chelsea kept out of my way.

I spent all my time focusing on studying.

Before the System dragged me here, I used to run my own contracting business.

My gambling-addicted parents had kept me out of school. I later earned an online bachelor’s degree as an adult, but in the end, my lack of formal education still held me back.

Now that I had a chance to start over, I was going to take the SATs seriously and get myself into a good college. I had no time to waste on some ridiculous plot.

After school, I had just finished packing and was about to leave when a voice suddenly stopped me.

“Tessa, I’m tutoring Chelsea tonight. Cover her cleanup duty for her.”

I turned around.

A tall, lean boy stood behind me. His brows were strong and cleanly shaped, his nose was straight, and his eyes were deep-set.

With that kind of setup, it was obvious the male lead had arrived.

Chelsea hugged her backpack and smiled sweetly at me.

“Sorry, Tessa. I told him he didn’t have to, but Evan insisted on helping me study.”

Afraid I would cause trouble again, the System hurried to explain.

“This is Evan Blake, the male lead! He’s ranked first in the grade, and he’s the female supporting rival’s childhood friend.”

“Early on, Chelsea tricks him into believing you’ve been bullying her, so he gives you a hard time again and again. But as long as you endure it silently and repay cruelty with kindness, he’ll eventually be moved by you.”

“Don’t worry. Being wronged is only temporary. Soon, they’ll all start their full groveling redemption arcs.”

“But I don’t want to be wronged at all.”

The System gasped. “What? Wait—”

I said directly, “Whoever is assigned cleanup duty should do it.”

Then I turned to leave.

Evan stepped in front of me and frowned.

“Chelsea is your cousin. Fine, you don’t want to tutor her yourself, but now you’re even trying to stop someone else from helping her?”

“When did you become this selfish?”

I lifted my eyes and gave him a brief look.

In the original plot, the female lead had always had a crush on Evan.

Evan was a true prodigy. The whole reason the female lead worked so hard was that she wanted to get into the same college as him.

At first, Evan had treated the female lead fairly well. But after Chelsea arrived, Chelsea kept hinting, openly and subtly, that the female lead had been bullying her.

After that, Evan’s attitude toward the female lead changed, and he began distancing himself from her.

The female lead could only watch him grow closer and closer to Chelsea, quietly heartbroken.

To be fair, I could understand why the female lead liked him. Evan had the kind of fresh-faced, clean-cut charm that made him look effortlessly youthful. He really was good-looking.

Unfortunately, he was also an idiot.

“I—”

I was about to speak, but he did not listen at all. He shoved the broom straight into my hand.

Then Evan grabbed Chelsea and led her out.

“From now on, just have her cover all your cleanup duties. She has plenty of time anyway. Your time is valuable, and you should be using it to study.”

Chelsea glanced back at me, her smile openly smug.

“Thanks, Tessa. I’ll leave it to you.”

They walked away so naturally, as if they were certain the female lead would swallow the insult and clean up for Chelsea.

And to be fair, the female lead had done exactly that before.

But I would not.

Dumbass.

I threw the broom directly onto the floor, picked up my backpack, and walked out.

The System shouted after me in a panic, “You can’t do that! If Chelsea gets caught tomorrow for skipping cleanup duty, she’ll get in trouble, and then the male lead will definitely get mad at you!”

I rolled my eyes.

“What the hell does that have to do with me?”

On my way out, I kicked over the classroom trash can too.