Clarissa was in Class 1, the top class for the school’s highest-achieving students. The original owner of this body had been a straight-A student, a model of perfection in both grades and appearance.

  Lyra, on the other hand, was nothing special—average looks, average intelligence. Her classroom was right next to Clarissa’s, which was why, as soon as Clarissa stepped into the hallway, the two of them came face-to-face.

  Both of them froze.

  Lyra bit her lip and took a small step back, as if making way for her.

  Clarissa didn’t acknowledge her. She simply walked past without a word.

  "Clarissa, you bullied Lyra again, didn’t you?!" The shrill accusation stopped her in her tracks.

  "You’re not the Lancaster family’s daughter anymore, yet you’re still acting so arrogant!"

  Clarissa turned around, her eyes landing on two unfamiliar girls.

  Probably minor characters—random nobodies just here to stir up drama.

  She gave them a flat look. "And which one of you actually saw me bullying her?"

  "Don’t lie! I just—"

  "June, stop," Lyra interrupted, tugging on the girl’s sleeve.

  Her voice was soft, almost trembling. She lowered her gaze, her long lashes damp with unshed tears.

  "Clarissa didn’t bully me."

  Clarissa nearly rolled her eyes. To anyone watching, Lyra looked like she had just suffered some great injustice.

  Clarissa sighed. What an incredibly kind, delicate, and self-sacrificing little white flower.

  June, of course, ate it up. Her expression became even more outraged.

  "Lyra, you’re just too nice! That’s why she keeps bullying you! But now that the truth is out, you’re the real daughter of the Lancaster family. You don’t have to take this from her anymore!"

  Lyra bit her lip, stealing a glance at Clarissa before timidly lowering her gaze again. "I don’t want to hurt anyone... Linlin, please don’t make things harder for me, okay?"

  Clarissa nearly shuddered at the sheer fake sweetness dripping from those words.

  For some reason, when she had read the novel, she hadn’t noticed just how manipulative Lyra’s "kind and gentle" act really was. Everyone in the story praised her for her innocence, but now that Clarissa was seeing it firsthand—from the perspective of the so-called villain—she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

  Is this what it’s like to be the supporting character? No wonder they always end up losing.

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  She had no patience for this nonsense. Without a word, she walked past them, leaving June’s indignant yelling and Lyra’s soft, pitiful pleas behind her.

  As she reached the doorway, she suddenly bumped into someone. Her nose smacked into a solid chest. Hard. "Ow—!"

  She looked up, only to find herself face-to-face with William. Wait a second… wasn’t he just outside? How the hell did he get here before me?

  But there was no time to dwell on that. She straightened up and muttered, "Sorry."

  William barely spared her a glance. He gave a soft hum of acknowledgment before walking past her.

  Clarissa’s eyes followed his retreating figure—only to see that he was heading straight in Lyra’s direction.

  Here we go…

  In the original novel, this was supposed to be the moment when William saw Lyra’s tear-filled eyes, his usual cold expression softening as he asked her gently what had happened.

  Lyra, of course, would bite her lip and insist she was fine, looking so heartbreakingly innocent that it would instantly trigger William’s protective instincts.

  Then, passers-bys would eagerly jump in to slander the villainess (a.k.a. her), while Lyra continued to look like a saint who forgave even the worst of people.

  Classic Mary Sue bullshit. But…

  William walked straight past Lyra. Didn’t even look at her.

  Clarissa blinked. Wait… what? The plot was wrong. Was she remembering things incorrectly? Had Lyra and William not met yet?

  Shaking her head, she made her way to class. Being a villainous supporting character was exhausting. She was supposed to pick fights with the heroine at regular intervals just to highlight how "kind and forgiving" the protagonist was.

  Clarissa sat through the morning classes with ease, feeling an unexpected satisfaction. Being a genius was fun—questions that would have given her a headache in her past life now made perfect sense with just one glance.

  After class, she got up to use the bathroom. But the moment she finished, she realized something was off.

  The door wouldn’t budge. Frowning, she tried again.

  Locked. "Hey! Is anyone out there?" she called, knocking. Just as she was about to try again, she heard a sound from above.

  A bad feeling crept up her spine. Then—

  SPLASH! A bucket of filthy water dumped directly onto her head.

  "Ah—!" The disgusting liquid soaked through her clothes, dripping down her face and into her collar. Outside the door, June was grinning like she had just won the lottery.

  "That’s what you get for messing with Lyra! Lyra may be too nice to fight back, but I’m not!"

  Clarissa clenched her jaw, water still dripping from her hair. Outside, one of June’s lackeys hesitated. "June… are you sure this is okay? What if something happens to her?"

  "Relax, it’s just a little dirty water. She’ll live," June scoffed, then smugly placed a No Entry: Under Construction sign on the door before walking away.

  Her friend still looked uneasy. "But… what if she gets mad? What if she tells a teacher?"

  June rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? Clarissa’s the school’s biggest snob. She’d rather die than admit she got locked in a bathroom. Trust me, she won’t say a word."

  Inside the stall, Clarissa slowly exhaled. Then she cracked her knuckles. Oh. Okay. So that’s how they wanna play it?

  June clapped her hands together, looking satisfied, then grabbed her friend and walked away.

  Inside the bathroom stall, Clarissa stood there, dripping wet and utterly miserable.

  As the cold, filthy water seeped into her clothes, she finally remembered something important—the author had originally written June as a rebellious, impulsive troublemaker. She acted first and thought later, and despite her loud, brash nature, she wasn’t actually that scheming.

  In fact, at the very beginning, she and Lyra hadn’t even gotten along.

  They had met while working part-time. Later, after being influenced by Lyra’s so-called kindness, June became her loyal protector.

  Whenever Clarissa (or rather, the original Clarissa) bullied Lyra, June was the one who stepped in to defend her. Whenever Lyra struggled at work—messing up orders, getting flustered, or even being harassed by customers—it was always June who had her back.

  Readers had loved her for it, calling her the best, most loyal best friend.

  But there was one particular plotline that made Clarissa’s head ache just thinking about it.

  June had a crush on William.

  Lyra, in her oh-so-kind-hearted way, had promised to help her win him over.