A Vicious Supporting Female is the Female Lead's Darling (GL) - Chapter 5

When a group of burly men huddles together to “send warmth,” who could possibly withstand it?

Su Jimian certainly couldn’t.

In fact, she was so exasperated she nearly laughed. However, she forced herself to hold it in. Glancing at Yang Xiaoyue, who was peeking out from behind the counter, Su Jimian’s brow furrowed slightly, her eyes grew moist, and she instinctively pressed the corners of her mouth downward.

In less than two seconds, she had reverted to her usual persona: a fragile, pitiful “white lotus.”

If Du Qingqing were standing here now, she would have shouted, “A pro! She’s a professional!”

Fortunately, the only ones present were the group of dim-witted thugs. Far from seeing through her act, they were convinced she was terrified of them again. Their hearts leaped into their throats. After exchanging glances for a few seconds, they raised their other hands.

Secret technique: Double-handed hearts!

Su Jimian’s mouth twitched visibly.

Seeing that her shift was about to start and unwilling to let this farce continue, she slowly raised her phone and told them righteously, “I don’t care what your motive is, stop harassing me or I’m calling the police!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The leader shook his head frantically. “We have no malicious intent! We’re really here to send warmth and great love!”

“And to apologize,” another thug chimed in. “What happened the other day was a misunderstanding. Truly. Please be magnanimous and don’t take it to heart.”

Their apologies were sincere enough, but who knew what they were really up to?

Su Jimian was about to say more, but before she could speak, one of the thugs suddenly reached out. As if touching a piece of fragile porcelain, he gingerly poked her toward the shop entrance with one finger.

“Aren’t you starting work? We won’t disturb you,” he said. “We’ll stay right here to ‘send warmth’ and show you our sincerity.”

As soon as he finished, the group split into two rows. Under Su Jimian’s watchful gaze, they squatted down, each occupying a small patch of shade.

At a glance, they looked like clusters of colorful mushrooms.

Su Jimian: “…”

She sighed. Realizing these people were just hired hands with no real malice—and seeing that they couldn’t be persuaded otherwise—she had no choice but to leave them be. She turned into the shop, completed the handover with the night-shift worker Yang Xiaoyue, and began inventorying the stock.

Just as she finished, a young woman in her twenties walked in. Since it was a day off and the weather was nice, it was a perfect day for an outing. The girl wandered through the aisles, picked out a pile of snacks, and checked out. Then, she turned to grab a case of bottled water.

Seeing this, Su Jimian instinctively asked, “Are you alone? Can you carry all that, or should I help…”

…Help you lift it.

That was what she intended to say. But before she could finish, one of the thugs squatting at the door stood up straight. He sauntered into the shop, flashed a massive smile at the girl, and without a word, grabbed the case of water and walked out.

The girl: “???”

“What are you doing with my water?!” She was shocked and terrified. She looked at the thug, then at Su Jimian, utterly baffled.

Su Jimian’s face was covered in metaphorical black lines. She had to explain to the girl with a stiff upper lip, “They’re here to help. See? Your water has already been loaded into your car.”

The girl looked and saw that it was true. Her heart settled, and she laughed awkwardly. “I thought I was being robbed…”

Su Jimian gave an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” The girl coughed awkwardly, grabbed her snacks, and hopped on her electric scooter, riding away under the sincere and solemn gaze of the thugs.

She fled faster than a rocket.

This time, Su Jimian really did laugh from anger. She stared at the girl’s retreating back for a few seconds, then pushed through the counter partition and stood before the thugs, slowly holding out her hand.

The leader was confused. “What’s up?”

“Give it to me,” Su Jimian said. “The phone number of your employer.”

Each word sounded like it was being squeezed through her teeth.

Du Qingqing had woken up early to take a stroll in the newly renovated garden.

The pebble path was made of smooth, rounded stones that looked beautiful under the sunlight. Paired with the vintage European-style gazebo, the dew-kissed roses, and the cup of black tea in her hand, everything felt perfect.

Du Qingqing was entranced. She took deep breaths of the garden air, “communing with nature and reflecting on life.” She even took out her phone for a selfie, finding the best angle among the blooming flowers for a commemorative shot.

But before she could press the shutter, a call came in. It was the thug’s number.

Was he calling to report on the apology progress?

Du Qingqing quickly answered. “Hello?”

However, the voice on the other end wasn’t a burly man’s; it was a clear, cold, and beautiful female voice. “Hello, is this Miss Jin?”

Su Jimian!

Du Qingqing nearly dropped her tea. It took her a moment to steady herself and whisper, “Yes.” Realizing the thugs had probably caused trouble again, she adopted her most polite tone. “Is there something I can help you with?”

She even used formal honorifics.

“It’s nothing much,” Su Jimian said, glancing at the “colorful mushrooms” squatting nearby. “I just wanted to ask when you’re coming to collect your people.”

“The weather is quite hot,” she smiled, her tone unreadable. “I’m afraid they’ll get heatstroke if they squat in front of my shop for too long.”

Squatting in front of the shop? For a long time?!

Du Qingqing was stunned.

“I’m coming, I’m coming right now!” She didn’t fully understand the situation, but she agreed immediately. The moment she hung up, she turned to head out.

Unexpectedly, she ran into three people. The two closest were the male lead, Zhang Xinyuan, and Uncle Liu. It appeared the former had forced his way in, aggressive and unstoppable, while Uncle Liu was jogging behind him, trying to block his path. Behind them was the male lead’s sidekick, who was clearly daydreaming.

Du Qingqing was floored. In her memory, this was the first time Zhang Xinyuan had ever taken the initiative to look for her. Or rather, the first time he’d looked for the original host.

In the old script, the original Jin Ruge loved Zhang Xinyuan to her bones. She wanted to be glued to his side every single day. After all, he was her fiancé—the “arranged from childhood” type.

The story went back a long way: Jin’s mother and Zhang’s mother were childhood best friends who married and got pregnant at the same time. Since they had a boy and a girl, they arranged the marriage, hoping the children would walk through life together.

But things didn’t go as planned. From a young age, Zhang Xinyuan detested Jin Ruge. He found her high-maintenance, troublesome, and pretentious. However, because of business interests and the engagement, he had to endure her.

It wasn’t until he met and fell for the female lead, Su Jimian, that he finally decided to live for love.

But that was all later in the story. For now, he was still being “tormented” by Jin Ruge, forced to go shopping and sell his charms every few days like a concubine waiting for the Emperor’s favor. He even had to call her occasionally to “cultivate” their relationship.

Like that call two days ago.

Zhang Xinyuan hadn’t wanted to make that call. When she rejected him, he had actually breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally have some peace.

But that peace lasted two days. Jin Ruge hadn’t contacted him once!

Zhang Xinyuan started to panic. A series of guesses flashed through his mind, and finally, he couldn’t sit still. He decided to come over and see what the usually idle Jin Ruge was actually doing at home.

To his surprise, she seemed quite busy. She didn’t even greet him; the moment he arrived, she was trying to leave.

Zhang Xinyuan was baffled. He instinctively reached out and grabbed Du Qingqing’s wrist, squeezing out a smile. “Ruge, where are you going?”

“I have business.” Du Qingqing glanced at him and quickly shook him off to maintain distance. “Don’t pull me.”

Her eyes were filled with unmistakable disgust.

Zhang Xinyuan: “???”

He didn’t know what was wrong with her today, but he felt he had lost face being brushed off like that. After a few seconds of silence, he forced an even bigger smile and reached out again.

But Du Qingqing took that opening to slip away and run. She moved fast, as if she really had an urgent matter, leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

Zhang Xinyuan couldn’t understand it. He stared at her retreating back for ten seconds, his brain working at high speed. Finally, he reached a conclusion: Does Jin Ruge have a new lover?!

The moment the thought appeared, he felt a sense of crisis. He waved over his sidekick and chased after her. Two luxury cars sped down the road side-by-side.

After ten minutes of racing, they arrived at Su Jimian’s convenience store.

Two luxury cars stopping in front of such a tiny shop was already an exaggeration. Because all three of them were in a hurry, they ended up colliding at the entrance.

The group tumbled into the store, one after another, groaning in pain.

Su Jimian’s mouth twitched again. She hadn’t realized her phone call would be this effective.

She had summoned an entire chain of people.

“…”