The Abusive Novel System Pleads with Me to Resign-Chapter 85

The girl's name was Xia Meng, a transfer student who had arrived just last month.

Shy and socially awkward, yet strikingly beautiful, she quickly became the focus of attention among the boys in class. This, however, earned her the resentment of Shen Zuola and her clique of girls, who began ostracizing her.

Then, over a minor incident, the original protagonist stepped in to help. The two gradually grew closer, bonding over their shared lack of friends at school, and soon became inseparable.

Last week, Xia Meng accidentally bumped into Zhong Chen in the cafeteria, spilling food from her tray onto his clothes. Already in a foul mood, Zhong Chen flew into a rage and refused to let the matter go.

Seeing Xia Meng isolated and on the verge of tears, the original protagonist couldn’t stand by and finally confronted Zhong Chen.

In the aftermath, the protagonist bore the brunt of the backlash, while Xia Meng, the one who had started the incident, faded into the background.

Under the weight of school-wide bullying and the influence of the four powerful families, Xia Meng had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the protagonist’s plight.

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Ying spoke, fear and guilt flashed across Xia Meng’s face.

She instinctively stood up. "I—I’m sorry!"

But Shen Ying simply sat down and said, "How disappointing. I thought even if the whole world turned against me, you’d still stand by my side."

Xia Meng turned slowly, her expression growing even more remorseful, her delicate frame trembling as if she might burst into tears.

In a whisper, she said, "I’m sorry… I really am. I’m just too weak. I didn’t dare… I was afraid of causing trouble for my family."

"I don’t deserve to be your friend. It’s all my fault, I—I—"

Seeing her on the verge of breaking down, Shen Ying quickly interjected, "Hey, I’m not here to blame you."

"Given the circumstances, your choice was understandable. But since I took the fall for you, don’t you think some material compensation is fair?"

Xia Meng froze, as if this wasn’t something she expected Shen Ying to say. From what she knew, Shen Ying wasn’t the type to care about money.

Yet the girl before her now looked at her with earnest expectation. Xia Meng hurriedly replied, "Oh! Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Tell me what you need. If I have it, it’s yours."

Shen Ying shrugged, spinning a lie without hesitation. "Because of recent events, I’ve lost a lot of personal belongings. But I don’t want to worry my parents, so I’ve been quietly replacing things without drawing their attention."

"Now I’m completely broke. Could you lend me some money?"

Xia Meng immediately pulled out her phone. "Of course! You don’t even have to say ‘borrow.’ I’ll give it to you. After all, this is partly my responsibility too."

"Is 100,000 enough? That’s all I have in my phone right now. If it’s not enough, I can transfer more from my card tonight."

Shen Ying grinned. "That’ll do. I’ll pay you back soon."

Xia Meng nodded, though she doubted an ordinary student like Shen Ying could repay such a sum in a short time.

But just as she was about to complete the transfer, Shen Ying suddenly said, "How about joining the resistance now?"

Xia Meng was stunned. Shen Ying continued, "You’ve seen it yourself—those guys aren’t as untouchable as they seem."

"And if you’re worried about your family, don’t be. Someone like Zhong Chen would never stoop to using his family’s influence to crush a student. His pride wouldn’t allow it."

Leaning closer, Shen Ying added, "These young masters and their contradictory, childish pride—aren’t they adorably stupid?"

Xia Meng’s pupils contracted for a split second before she lowered her head, her slender shoulders hunching slightly. "N-no… I don’t dare. I don’t want to get involved with them."

"Is that so?" Shen Ying feigned surprise. "I thought you’d be happy to catch someone’s attention."

"Now that we’ve tested the waters, isn’t this the perfect opportunity?"

Xia Meng’s head snapped up, her bewildered expression giving way to something deeper—shock and intense curiosity.

But the next second, Shen Ying’s phone chimed with the transfer notification. Her face lit up with genuine delight. "This is a lifesaver! Thanks!"

Her glee over such a trivial sum made Xia Meng wonder if she’d imagined the earlier conversation.

With a nod, Xia Meng left, her emotions in turmoil.

Shen Ying, however, didn’t dwell on it. At least now she could afford lunch.

The school had a special meal window for scholarship students. Most wealthy students avoided it, preferring their five-star dining options.

But to be fair, the standard meals weren’t bad at all. The chefs rotated through a variety of cuisines, using fresh, high-quality ingredients. Each meal offered at least seven or eight choices, priced affordably, with free freshly squeezed juice or soup.

Most scholarship students could easily cover the cost with their meal subsidies, and even those without financial aid felt no strain.

Shen Ying ordered the steak set. The chef swiftly plated her meal, adding sides and a glass of the day’s free drink—grape juice—before handing it over with a smile.

She carried her tray to a table on the lower level of the second floor and began eating.

The group that had nearly come to blows with her earlier—Shen Zuola and her friends—seemed to have calmed down. The bangs-wearing girl whose boyfriend had been two-timing her was absent, reducing the clique from four to three.

They occasionally glared at Shen Ying, their eyes lingering on her drink.

Shen Ying smirked at them, earning a collective scowl.

Shen Zuola snapped, "Stop staring! Do you want her to notice?"

"Relax, she’ll drink it. That cheapskate even finishes her side dishes—she won’t waste a free juice."

The other two relaxed. They’d bribed the chef, but since they couldn’t predict which meal Shen Ying would choose, they’d settled for spiking the only free beverage.

As long as it reached her hands, their plan was as good as done.

Just as they were about to order, Zhong Chen and his three friends strode into the cafeteria.

The orderly dining hall immediately buzzed with murmurs.

Zhong Chen still bore the marks of yesterday’s fight, but it did nothing to diminish his commanding presence. He swept through the room, heading straight for the exclusive second-floor area reserved for their group.

Shen Ying’s seat happened to be along the path. As Zhong Chen passed, he cast a disdainful glance down at her.

She ignored him completely, but as the last of the four—Xing Jiale—walked by, she called out,

"Xing Jiale, got a minute?"

He stopped and turned, his ever-present smirk deepening at the sight of her. "Well, well. If it isn’t you."

"Thanks for the ‘high-quality protein’ you sent Zhong Chen this morning. He’s a bit ungrateful, so let me thank you on his behalf."

Shen Ying smiled and held out the grape juice—still untouched, straw unopened.

Xing Jiale glanced at the drink in his hand. The dark, concentrated hue of the juice would easily conceal any additives.

His gaze returned to her face. "Dead snakes and rats are one thing. Even an idiot like Zhong Chen wouldn’t actually eat those."

"But other things? You might want to think twice about the consequences."

Shen Ying smiled and said, "You've misunderstood. I'm not asking you to deliver water, but to help me throw away some trash."

"I don't want this drink. Could you toss it in the second-floor trash bin for me?"

Xing Jiale was puzzled, unsure what game she was playing.

But out of sheer amusement, he agreed to Shen Ying's request.

With a raised eyebrow, he took the grape juice upstairs.

The fact that Shen Ying had stopped him to talk didn’t escape the notice of the other three. The moment he reached the second floor, Zhong Chen’s displeased gaze met him.

"Why did that woman single you out? What did she say to you?"

Xing Jiale shrugged and tossed the grape juice into a distant trash bin. "She asked me to throw away some trash."

The three of them: "..."

The whole thing was so bizarre they didn’t even know how to respond.

Finally, Zhong Chen grumbled, "Don’t talk to her again."

Xing Jiale: "How childish—fine, fine!"

Nothing else happened on the second floor, and the group began their meal.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Shen Zuola and her friends watched in stunned horror as Xing Jiale took the drink and went upstairs.

Too afraid to follow him to the second floor, they rushed over to Shen Ying instead—

Shen ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‍Ying: "I feel bad about the prank this morning, so I asked Xing Jiale to deliver a drink to Zhong Chen as an apology."

Shen Zuola nearly fainted. "What? You gave the drink to Zhong Chen? You—"

Seeing Shen Ying’s blank stare, Shen Zuola swallowed the rest of her words.

Gritting her teeth, she sneered, whether mocking Shen Ying or comforting herself, "Hah! As if Zhong Chen would ever drink some free garbage you handed over!"

Shen Ying nodded in agreement. "True, which is why I had Xing Jiale deliver it. Zhong Chen would definitely drink something from him."

The sharp-faced girl to Shen Zuola’s right couldn’t hold back. "You’re dead. If Zhong Chen gets sick from whatever you gave him—"

Before she could finish, Shen Ying cut in, "How can you say it’s my doing?"

"That’s a drink provided by the school cafeteria. It was still sealed when I handed it over. If something goes wrong, the first investigation would target the cafeteria, right?"

With a smile, she added, "Given how precious Zhong Chen is, they’d probably comb through the entire restaurant—supply chains, food inspections, kitchen staff. I’m sure they’d find the problem."

Shen Zuola broke into a cold sweat. They had personally bribed the chef.

Because they were dealing with powerless Shen Ying, they hadn’t worried about consequences—worst case, they’d pay the chef to take the fall.

But if Zhong Chen was involved—

The three of them bolted upstairs, barging in front of Zhong Chen, only to find the drink nowhere in sight.

Shen Zuola panicked. "Xing Jiale, where’s the drink you brought up?"

Xing Jiale was sharp. One look at their frantic expressions, and he immediately understood.

Playing along seamlessly with Shen Ying, he answered, "The drink? Well, if Shen Ying asked me to give it to someone, then obviously that someone already drank it."

Zhong Chen, already annoyed by their hysterical intrusion, was baffled.

He glanced at the distant trash bin, thinking, Giving it to the trash bin counts as drinking now?

But Shen Zuola and her friends acted like the sky was falling.

"Zhong Chen, you really drank it?"

"Quick, call a doctor! Get a doctor now!"

They even tried to grab him.

Zhong Chen shoved them away furiously. "Get lost! Who the hell are you calling a trash bin?"

Terrified that Zhong Chen might collapse—and that their families would suffer the consequences—they kept pushing forward, heedless of fear.

The sight of the frenzied women made Xiao Yun and Gong Zhaoxi silently scoot farther away.

Xing Jiale, meanwhile, was laughing uncontrollably.

Zhong Chen finally realized he’d been tricked. He stood up, shoved Shen Zuola aside, and grabbed Xing Jiale. "You and that woman planned this?"

Xing Jiale raised his hands in surrender. "I’m innocent! I just helped Shen Ying throw away trash. I didn’t hear or say a single word about you."

Seeing Zhong Chen’s genuine anger, Xing Jiale wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Though I guess these three misunderstood and thought I was bringing the drink to you."

He grinned at them. "But why are you so nervous? Even if it’s a free drink from the cafeteria, the restaurant guarantees hygiene, right?"

"The way you’re acting, it’s like Zhong Chen’s about to drop dead from one sip."

Shen Zuola and her friends froze, tears still on their faces.

The others immediately understood—these three must have tampered with Shen Ying’s juice, only to be outplayed.

Zhong Chen scoffed. "Idiots. Get out of my sight."

The three slunk back downstairs, glaring hatefully at Shen Ying, who was just finishing the last bite of her steak.

They watched as she stood, returned her tray, and swaggered out of the cafeteria.

The four upstairs observed everything.

Finally, Gong Zhaoxi remarked, "She’s really something."

"Too bad I don’t like girls my age. If she were five or ten years older..."

The other three turned to stare at the pretty-faced pervert, speechless.

With 100,000 yuan in hand, Shen Ying felt temporarily freed from financial stress—and immediately itched to open her mahjong app again.

But remembering her parents’ hard work and their family’s struggles, she suppressed her gambler’s urge and settled for playing with virtual "Happy Beans."

Thirty yuan’s worth would last her a long time.

After an afternoon of mahjong, a last-minute cleaning assignment was announced before dismissal.

Every student had tasks, and even Shen Ying couldn’t skip out.

Luckily, when duties were assigned, she didn’t seem to be targeted.

She was paired with two girls to organize sports equipment.

The work wasn’t hard, just tedious. By the time they finished, it was already dark outside.

The two girls said, "You put everything away. We’ll take out the trash."

Before Shen Ying could respond, they dashed out and locked the door behind them.

Shen Ying sighed and tried the handle—sure enough, it was locked.

Unfazed, she leisurely called home to say she’d be late, then sat down and resumed her mahjong game.

She played from dusk until the school was dead silent, then finally put her phone away.

Sure enough, not long after, the lock clicked open.

Two unfamiliar male students in uniforms walked in, leering at her.

"Don’t scream, and we’ll make this quick."

Shen Ying smiled. "Don’t worry, I won’t scream. I’ve been waiting for you."