They All Want to Be My Female Lead 101

Chapter 101: Mi Xue’er’s Confession

The Mi family tried to persuade Yan Zhen to stay for lunch, but he politely declined, citing his busy schedule. Mi Xue’er’s mother prepared a lavish lunchbox for them.

They returned to the Mystic Academy in the steward’s carriage. Then, they headed to Instructor Yu Xuan’s private office to report back.

The other girls were also present, their gazes scrutinizing as Yan Zhen and Mi Xue’er entered, as if suspecting them of engaging in some illicit activities.

“We’re back!” Mi Xue’er announced cheerfully. “Have you all eaten? My mother packed us lunch. Join us if you haven’t eaten yet~”

Instructor Yu Xuan smiled gently. “We’ve already eaten. You two enjoy your lunch. I could hear Yan Zhen’s stomach growling all the way from the hallway. Why didn’t you eat before coming here?”

Yan Zhen patted his chest, his expression serious. “Because I love studying.”

His deadpan delivery made the girls giggle.

Mi Xue’er opened the lunchbox, arranging the dishes on the table. “Little Brother Yan Zhen was just shy. My parents kept pestering him with questions, so he wanted to leave quickly.”

The laughter died down instantly.

Yan Zhen, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere, accepted the chopsticks Mi Xue’er offered and began to devour his food.

Yan Meng’er asked tentatively, “Did Senior Sister Xue’er’s parents like Cousin Yan Zhen?”

Mi Xue’er nodded, beaming. “They loved him! They even want to visit Martial Tang City to meet the City Lord and arrange our engagement as soon as possible!”

What?! The girls’ expressions changed.

“Aren’t you just pretending to be a couple?” Xiao Xinyan blurted out. “How can you… how can you get engaged?!”

Mi Xue’er, holding her lunchbox, puffed out her chest like a proud swan. “You don’t understand! This is called ‘fake it till you make it’! Right, Little Brother Yan Zhen?”

Eight pairs of eyes focused on him, Instructor Yu Xuan’s gaze the sharpest.

“Cousin?”

“You’re not actually getting engaged, are you? What about the Huangfu family?”

Yan Zhen, oblivious to their tension, continued eating. “Of course it’s fake! I told them I’m not ready for marriage. I want to focus on my cultivation. You know, the usual excuses.”

The girls breathed a collective sigh of relief. Mi Xue’er, however, giggled. “I’m serious, Little Brother Yan Zhen.”

He swallowed his mouthful of braised pork, staring at her in confusion. “Serious about what?”

“Ahem, listen carefully.” She took a deep breath, pushing aside her shyness. In a clear, firm voice, she declared, “I, Mi Xue’er, have fallen in love with Little Brother Yan Zhen! Therefore, starting today, I will pursue you with all my heart! Do you understand?”

“Huh?”

He froze, his chopsticks hovering over his lunchbox, his gaze fixed on her in shock.

He thought he had misheard. He looked at the others, but they were all equally stunned.

He turned back to her, bewildered. “W-why? Is it because of last night…?”

“—No!”

She cut him off, her voice filled with sincerity. “I… I’ve liked you since the moment I saw you! I thought it was just a small crush, but as we spent more time together, my feelings grew stronger! Your expressions when you speak, your confident smile, the way you eat with such gusto, your dazzling performance on the dueling arena… it all made my heart flutter! So I’m serious! I want to be your girlfriend! I want to marry you! I will win you over, Little Brother Yan Zhen! Just you wait!”

Silence fell upon the office. They stared at her in astonishment.

They had all noticed her fondness for him, but they hadn’t realized her feelings were this strong. To cast aside her maidenly modesty and publicly declare her intentions…

Wait, was she deliberately doing this in front of them? Was this a challenge?

Apart from Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, Xiao Xinyan, and Instructor Yu Xuan all felt a pang of anxiety. Had their own feelings been exposed?

Yan Zhen, caught in the center of this unexpected drama, was utterly bewildered.

What’s going on? Why is she suddenly confessing her love? Saying it was love at first sight? This isn’t in the script!

He would rather believe she was feeling desperate after last night’s… incident, convinced she was now unmarriageable, and seeking to hold him responsible.

But her words clearly indicated otherwise. She had been harboring “impure thoughts” about him from the very beginning.

“Xue’er, are you… are you joking?” Yan Ruyu was the first to recover, staring at her best friend in disbelief.

Mi Xue’er shook her head firmly. “I’m serious, Ruyu. I truly love Little Brother Yan Zhen. If you also like him, then let’s compete fairly!”

“I… I don’t…” She instinctively denied it, but then, she hesitated. She didn’t want to back down. “Why him?” she asked, her voice laced with a hint of resentment.

“Heehee, it’s all thanks to you, Ruyu! You kept telling me how terrible your cousin was, making me so curious! But when I finally met him, he was so handsome and shy! I was instantly smitten!”

“…”

Yan Ruyu wanted to kick herself. Beware of backstabbing best friends! The ancients were right!

A memory surfaced. A sleepover at the Sacred Land Academy, after they had both become instructors. Mi Xue’er had confessed that while helping her pursue Yan Zhen, she had secretly fallen for him herself. She had even almost slept with him during the “fake boyfriend” incident.

The memory, intertwined with the present, made her head spin.

— Was that… true? Then that means… Instructor Yu Xuan also…? No way…

She glanced at Instructor Yu Xuan, who was frowning, her gaze fixed on Yan Zhen, her expression tense.

— That reaction… it’s confirmed!

She felt a thrill of excitement. She had uncovered a shocking truth!

“Senior Sister Xue’er, I won’t let you have Cousin Yan Zhen!” Yan Meng’er declared, hugging his arm possessively. “Cousin Yan Zhen belongs to me and Cousin Ruyu! Any other woman will have to be a concubine! Hmph!”

Yan Ruyu panicked, quickly covering her cousin’s mouth.

However, everyone present, except for Yan Zhen himself, was aware of her secret crush on her cousin, so her outburst didn’t cause much of a stir.

Mi Xue’er simply scoffed.

— We were all losers in our previous life. I’m being generous by competing fairly with you instead of making a move before you even had a chance! Why should I be the concubine?

“You don’t get to decide that! It’s up to Yan Zhen!” She clung to his other arm. “If he wants me to be the main wife, then I’ll be the main wife. If he wants me to be a concubine, then I’ll be a concubine.”

“Heh, you’re already discussing who gets to be the main wife and who gets to be the concubine before you’ve even won him over? How shameless.”

Xiao Xinyan’s sharp jab earned her glares from both girls.

“Xiao Xinyan, don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you’ve been looking at Little Brother Yan Zhen lately! You like him too, don’t you?!”

“Hmph, sneaking glances at Cousin Yan Zhen every day! You think we’re blind?!”

Xiao Xinyan’s face flushed crimson. She stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

Instructor Yu Xuan, who had been about to intervene, swallowed her words. They haven’t discovered my… relationship with Yan Zhen, have they?