A Cannon Fodder A Has No Intention of Moving Up - Chapter 29

“What do you mean, photographed?”

The assistant immediately handed over her phone.

The photo was a bit blurry; it only showed the two of them embraced in front of a nightclub, taken from a distance. You couldn’t even see An Muxue’s face clearly. However, An Muxue’s silhouette and aura were distinct, and news had already broken that she and Shu Yan were “dating” while filming here.

Many people online believed the whistleblower based on An Muxue’s car, her outfit, and the filming location.

While the photos were similar in nature to the ones with Shu Yan, the public reaction was entirely different. All Lin Yue saw were waves of insults, accusations, and malicious speculation directed at her.

They assumed Lin Yue was some obsessed fan of An Muxue who had forced an embrace and a kiss on her. Because many believed An Muxue was dating Shu Yan, others accused Lin Yue of trying to ruin their relationship. Some even tagged Shu Yan, urging her to find this person and “teach her a lesson.”

An Muxue hadn’t expected the negative comments to be this severe. She looked up at Lin Yue’s face, saw that she was reading the insults, and quickly snatched the phone away.

“Don’t look at that.”

An Muxue’s expression turned cold instantly as she notified her team: every topic related to that photo had to be suppressed immediately.

Lin Yue remained silent. It wasn’t just because she was angry or sad; it was because she realized she had made a mistake. She had grown too close to An Muxue recently and had likely developed an inappropriate habit. These comments served as a harsh reminder.

An Muxue and Shu Yan were the ones destined to be together. She was only there to treat An Muxue.

Last night, An Muxue’s condition had seen a major breakthrough. She really should have waited to hear what the doctor said… instead of sleeping with An Muxue again. The worst part was that with so many people tagging Shu Yan, Shu Yan would definitely see it. Would she end up unable to escape the plot after all?

After making an emergency call, An Muxue looked back and saw Lin Yue’s pale face. Heartaching, she came over to comfort her.

“I didn’t consider things well enough yesterday. Don’t worry about what they say. Just stay here; when I’m done filming, I’ll take you on a tour of the area, okay?”

Lin Yue looked up and shook her head. “School is starting.”

“Can’t you take a leave of absence?”

How could she? She wasn’t like them; they could take a year off to travel whenever they wanted without losing anything. Her tuition depended on her scholarship.

Lin Yue shook her head honestly. “No.”

An Muxue pursed her lips; she had wanted to spend her birthday with Lin Yue. “We’ll talk about it tonight, then.” She took Lin Yue’s hand, wanting her to come to the set.

But Lin Yue didn’t move. “Can I… wait here? I want to pack my bags now.”

“You’re going back today?!” An Muxue frowned. “If you go now, I might not be able to return to the country for another two weeks.”

That meant they wouldn’t see each other for a long time. Why was Lin Yue so unwilling to stay with her?

Lin Yue reminded her, “I think your illness is mostly fine now.”

An Muxue stared at her, unresponsive. Lin Yue paused. “Unless… even if you don’t need treatment, you still want me to stay with you?”

An Muxue blinked, the realization only hitting her after a long moment. “Oh…”

She slowly let go of Lin Yue’s hand and looked down at her own fingers. Last night, caught up in the character and her own anxiety, the moment she saw Lin Yue she only wanted to kiss and bite her. Though she knew her body had recovered significantly, she hadn’t thought much of it. Now, she finally realized the issue.

She seemed to be able to release pheromones voluntarily again. So… why was she still holding onto Lin Yue?

An Muxue sat in a daze for a long time. Thinking back, she truly hadn’t felt pain in a while. Yet, she had never felt like she was “cured.” The only reason was that, subjectively, she still wanted to be “treated.”

Her face suddenly turned red, and she took a step back. Was this just a symptom of pheromone dependency?

If she were her old self, she would have been alerted by her over-reliance on an Alpha and would have become defensive. Since she could release pheromones, she should have terminated the treatment immediately instead of feeling this reluctance. What was wrong with her?

Lin Yue looked at An Muxue, feeling a moment of hesitation. Was it possible that An Muxue’s constant proactiveness wasn’t due to the pain of the illness… but because she had feelings for her? After all, last night, when she lost herself, the way she looked at her seemed full of tenderness. If that were the case…

But An Muxue took another step back, negating Lin Yue’s thought. “No, there’s nothing! You’re right.”

“Then we can indeed stop the treatment for now.”

Lin Yue lowered her head and then nodded. She really had overthought it. “So, I’ll head back first.”

An Muxue looked at her, biting her lip. She felt an uncontrollable sense of loss and reluctance. But she had made up her mind long ago to stay clear-headed. The more she didn’t want to let go, the more it proved her “symptoms” were severe. She had to act—she needed to distance herself from Lin Yue for a while.

An Muxue stood there for a bit before she could turn to leave, requiring a massive amount of effort just to speak. “Fine!”

“Go back first then. I’ll see the doctor again when I get back.”

As An Muxue gathered her courage to leave, Lin Yue suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug that was both brief and yet felt quite long. Just as An Muxue’s heart began to thud and she considered hugging back, Lin Yue let go and took a polite step back.

“Okay. I’ll wait for your news.”

“Mhm… have a safe flight.”

Doing this is fine, An Muxue told herself repeatedly as she took the elevator down. If the gland really was cured, by the time she returned home, the pheromone dependency should have ended, and she wouldn’t miss Lin Yue anymore. If it wasn’t cured, she could just go find her again; a week or two wouldn’t ruin the follow-up treatment. It wasn’t a big deal.

Yet, for some reason, once she stepped outside, her heart began to race and her fingertips felt numb—as if she were a step away from something precious but had made the wrong choice. A choice she would regret later.

“President An?” The assistant looked at the suddenly still An Muxue.

“No, nothing. Help her look at flight tickets.” An Muxue shook her head and got into the car to head to the set. “Buy her a first-class seat so she’s comfortable.”

After returning home, Lin Yue quickly resumed her old life: a triangle of studying, working, and resting. Sometimes, looking at the familiar campus and dorm, she felt a moment of disorientation. The difference was so vast that the short vacation spent with An Muxue abroad felt like a dream.

That was until she received a text from Shu Yan. Lin Yue had to realize that everything wasn’t over yet.

Shu Yan didn’t say much in the text, only that she was back in the country and wanted to meet up. After agonizing over it for a long time, Lin Yue finally sat across from Shu Yan in a café the next day.

“What’s wrong? We haven’t seen each other for a week, and you look so stiff.” Shu Yan wore a black mask. She ordered a coffee for Lin Yue and pushed it slowly toward her, her narrow eyes with the beauty mark staring straight at her.

Lin Yue kept her head down, her fingers gripping her sleeves. Ever since the photo incident, Shu Yan had contacted her less. Lin Yue knew she must have seen it. After much hesitation, she decided to come clean.

“I’m sorry. Actually, I lied to you before.”

Shu Yan laughed immediately. “Don’t be so nervous. What is it? The photo thing?”

Lin Yue hesitated, then nodded.

“It’s fine. An Muxue told me about it.”

“She told you?”

“Yeah. She said it was an accident. She wanted to go in and see, and you blocked her. That’s all. They just took some random pictures.” She pulled down her mask and lowered her thick lashes, taking a sip of her coffee. “But she doesn’t know that I was the one who called you over that day.”

Lin Yue didn’t quite understand her meaning. Shu Yan just smiled. The moment she saw the photo, she knew. The relationship between Lin Yue and An Muxue wasn’t simple. If An Muxue weren’t very nervous about Lin Yue, she never would have appeared there, let alone tried to enter the bar.

She was a bit angry at first, but seeing Lin Yue’s face go pale with guilt as she looked at her so piteously, her anger vanished. Thinking about it, they hadn’t known each other long; there was no reason for others to be completely honest from the start. She was only… curious about this matter.

“So, are you really her physical therapist?”

Lin Yue took a few deep breaths before she could speak. “I’m sorry. I’m not a physical therapist. I’m the therapist for her gland illness.”

Shu Yan was a bit surprised. As expected. With An Muxue’s personality, if she didn’t have some “other” feelings for Lin Yue, she never would have agreed to such a thing. Yet she had feelings but didn’t think highly of the relationship… how interesting.

But what was happening with An Muxue wasn’t what she was most curious about. She looked at Lin Yue, leaning forward slightly. What she really wanted to know was: “Why did you agree to be her therapist?”

“I…” Lin Yue hesitated. “Because I owed money.”

Shu Yan watched her and took another sip of coffee. “I see.”

However, she could keenly sense that even without the money, Lin Yue likely would have agreed to help An Muxue. These two… Shu Yan licked her lips, a strong impulse and a destructive urge suddenly rising in her heart. Since An Muxue hadn’t kept a proper eye on her person, she deserved to have a bit of trouble bringing her back.

Once she made up her mind, she felt refreshed. She suddenly moved her chair to sit closer to Lin Yue, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye full of amusement.

“Does what you said before still count?”

About helping her? Lin Yue moved back a little, bewildered. “It counts.”

“Good.” Shu Yan smiled. “Follow me.”

After finishing the coffee, Shu Yan drove Lin Yue to an entertainment company building. It wasn’t until they were in the elevator that she told Lin Yue what she wanted.

What? She wanted her to go on their variety show? “Let’s not!”

Lin Yue was startled and turned to slip away, but Shu Yan pinned her down. “Yue-yue! There are so many people online misinterpreting and slandering you right now. You shouldn’t run away; you should go and prove to them that you were never An Muxue’s ‘frenzied fan.’ I believe once they see the real you, they’ll know how ridiculous those rumors are.”

Lin Yue paused. She knew the posts insulting her hadn’t been completely suppressed. The more the official accounts deleted them, the more curious netizens became. Because the angle of the photo showed her face clearly—though a bit blurry, it was recognizable after being zoomed in repeatedly. People at school were already starting to stare at her.

Lin Yue shook her head. “But… it’ll pass soon.”

She’s too good-natured! Shu Yan disagreed and continued: “Besides, the compensation for this show is very high. Didn’t you say you owed the An family money, and that’s why you had to treat her? The show was meant to include a ‘civilian’ group. Because of the previous leak, you have a lot of buzz. With me speaking for you, you’ll definitely get in. When it’s over, you can pay An Muxue back and say goodbye without any strings attached.”

Lin Yue was stunned again. Although the An family said they would clear her debt once the treatment was done, Ming Yulan had always been good to her. During her time with An Muxue, she had seen so much and been given so many things. Lin Yue always felt she owed them something. If she could at least pay back this part of the money, she would feel much better.

“How about it? Plus, you’d be doing me a favor. I want to partner with you. Three birds with one stone—isn’t that great? Don’t you trust me?”

“B-but… isn’t this a dating show?”

With Shu Yan constantly persuading her, Lin Yue’s mind was in a whirl. “Then… what should I do?”

“It’s simple.” Shu Yan suddenly placed her hand on Lin Yue’s shoulder, a smirk playing on her lips. “You choose me.”