After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 14

Wen Shiyu let out a sneer. She hadn’t expected Xu Chacha, after being wronged herself, to actually speak up for Xu Yanshu.

Finding the little girl rather interesting, she walked over and pinched Xu Chacha’s cheek. “So this is your little sister, huh.”

“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Xu Chacha twisted her head, struggling.

Mrs. Xu also liked to pinch her cheek like that, but Wen Shiyu was different. She was a stumbling block!

“Don’t touch her.” Xu Yanshu slapped Wen Shiyu’s hand away. “Apologize to her.”

“Apologize?” Wen Shiyu found the word too novel. “I haven’t even pursued the matter of her dirtying my clothes, and now you’re asking me to apologize? Xu Yanshu, have you gone stupid from being an adopted daughter?”

Xu Yanshu often heard this level of sarcasm from Wen Shiyu. Perhaps the other girl thought she was just stating facts. Although it sounded harsh, it was “honest advice, though unpleasant to the ear,” so she would tolerate it if she could.

But this time, Wen Shiyu’s words weren’t just about her; the person being bullied was Xu Chacha.

Xu Yanshu felt she might have to violate Mrs. Xu’s instructions for the second time today. She couldn’t get along with Wen Shiyu.

Xu Yanshu’s hand clenched into a fist by her side. For the first time, she felt the impulse to solve the problem with force.

In the nick of time, Xu Chacha’s angry, childish voice rang out again.

“What did you say, you big meanie!” Having said that, Xu Chacha still felt unsatisfied. She jumped up and kicked Wen Shiyu in the knee.

Wen Shiyu hadn’t been paying attention to Xu Chacha and was completely unprepared for the kick.

She hadn’t expected the small girl to kick so painfully.

“Hiss—Are you crazy!” Wen Shiyu bent down, rubbing her leg, and glared at Xu Chacha. “Do you know who I am, to kick me like that?”

Of course, Xu Chacha knew who she was: the Wen family’s illegitimate daughter in the book. She entered the industry as a child star at the age of ten after a commercial audition, later transitioned to being a singer, and could still be marketed as a talented vocalist even when seven out of ten songs in her concert were off-key.

Regardless of her age, her bad temper had never changed.

“It’s enough that I know you’re a bad person!” Xu Chacha hid behind Xu Yanshu, not afraid of her at all.

“Who are you calling names? You’re a backwoods hick who was raised in the countryside for four years, with no manners at all.” Wen Shiyu made a move to push Xu Chacha again, but Xu Yanshu shielded her with one hand.

“Take back what you just said.” Xu Yanshu gripped her wrist, her tone laced with anger. “You are not allowed to bully my sister.”

“Ah! That hurts!” Wen Shiyu had been spoiled since childhood. She would complain for ages if she was just scratched by paper, let alone being grabbed with such force by Xu Yanshu. She felt like her wrist was about to break. “Are you sick too, ganging up on me with her? Aren’t you my deskmate anymore?”

“Do you know what day it is?” Xu Yanshu ignored her words. “It’s the day the Xu family is celebrating my sister’s return. You can keep making a scene, and it would be best if Uncle Wen came over to see your embarrassing and ugly state.”

“What are you saying…” Wen Shiyu had never heard Xu Yanshu speak to her in that tone before.

In her eyes, Xu Yanshu was just a little lackey she could boss around, a rubbish bin for copying homework and pouring out her woes. She had never imagined such a docile person would fight back.

“I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully.” Xu Yanshu looked at her and spoke word by word. “Apologize to her right now, or I’ll tell Uncle Wen everything that just happened, along with everything you’ve done and said before. Do you want to guess how he’ll look at you after he finds out you cursed his eldest daughter like that behind her back?”

Xu Chacha’s eyes were practically sparkling. It felt so good to have someone protect her! She was right to recognize this sister.

Wen Shiyu, who was afraid of nothing, only truly feared her father. Her attitude softened instantly.

“I’ll apologize… Isn’t it enough if I apologize? Just don’t tell my dad.”

Xu Yanshu pulled Xu Chacha to stand in front of her. “You may begin.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you, and I shouldn’t have called you a backwoods hick.” Wen Shiyu lowered her head miserably.

“And what else?” Xu Chacha pressed.

“And? What else is there?”

“You said bad things about my Sister. You have to apologize to her too.” Xu Chacha clenched her tiny fist and moved closer to her. “You are really annoying, you know that.”

“You—” Wen Shiyu was about to flare up, but a glance from Xu Yanshu deterred her. “Fine, I’m sorry.”

“Mhm.” Xu Chacha folded her small arms across her chest, looking like a little adult. “Remember not to just apologize with your mouth. You have to reflect properly when you go back.”

Wen Shiyu suppressed the urge to swear. Not wanting to be humiliated by the two sisters any further, she turned and stormed off in anger.

Xu Chacha couldn’t be bothered with her. She scurried over to the calico cat, covering its ears with her hands. “You didn’t hear anything, you didn’t hear anything. You are not a dirty thing. You are a little darling. That apology was for you too.”

“Meow meow meow?” Calico cat confused.JPG

…

With little time left before Mrs. Xu’s appointed time, Xu Yanshu quickly led Xu Chacha back to the room.

Fortunately, the garden was maintained daily, and the patch of lawn where Xu Chacha fell was clean, so her dress wasn’t dirty. However, her knee had been scraped by a pebble.

The scrape wasn’t big, and Xu Chacha hadn’t even felt any pain, but a child’s skin is delicate, and even a small scrape looked gruesome.

“Does it hurt?” Xu Yanshu blamed herself. “Sister didn’t protect you well. I’m sorry.”

She had only promised yesterday that she wouldn’t let her be wronged again.

“No, it doesn’t.” Xu Chacha touched Xu Yanshu’s face, using a method almost identical to how she petted the cat. “Sister was so cool just now! She went swish swish swish—and then the big meanie got scared and ran away!”

Xu Yanshu took out povidone-iodine to disinfect the wound. It was less painful than alcohol, but she still applied it very gently, afraid that she might accidentally break Xu Chacha, the porcelain doll.

“If anyone bullies you at school later, if you don’t dare tell Mommy and Daddy, tell Sister. Don’t rush forward by yourself like that again, understood?”

She had watched with her heart in her mouth when Xu Chacha jumped up to kick Wen Shiyu, fearing the little girl would miss her kick and stumble and fall herself.

“Aww…” Xu Chacha lowered her eyes, looking unwilling to compromise. “But I wanted to protect Sister too.”

The innocent words of a child might have been said casually, but they warmed Xu Yanshu’s heart.

“You protected me very well just now,” Xu Yanshu put a bandage on her. “Thank you, my little warrior.”

…

The banquet began. Xu Chacha was carried downstairs by Mrs. Xu and shown off to various familiar friends.

Everyone was considerate of the little girl’s feelings, choosing tacitly not to mention the four years she was kidnapped, focusing instead on praising Xu Chacha’s obedience and cuteness.

Xu Chacha felt like a Maneki-neko (beckoning cat). Maneki-neko waves its hand; she smiled at everyone she met.

“Hello, Sister, you are so pretty!”

“Hello, Uncle, your hair is combed so handsomely!”

“Hello, Auntie, your dress is so gorgeous!”

Everyone had no resistance to the pretty and sweet-talking Xu Chacha. They rubbed her head and pinched her cheeks, practically wishing they could take her home to raise themselves.

After a round of introductions, Xu Chacha felt her face was frozen from smiling and her head was rubbed bald, but the day’s “sweetheart performance” was far from over.

“Mr. Xu, you are truly blessed to have such a darling daughter.” Mr. Wen walked up to him with a glass of champagne, unable to resist reaching out to poke Xu Chacha’s cheek. “My two daughters—one doesn’t like to talk, and the other doesn’t like to act sweet. I’m truly envious of you.”

This wasn’t just polite talk. He genuinely dreamed of having such a sweet-voiced, precious daughter. This was what people called a thoughtful little cotton jacket, the sweetheart every parent wanted.

Wen Mubai, who was standing nearby, pretended not to hear her father’s teasing.

She was wearing a silver dress today. Her hair was down over her shoulders. Her long, snow-white neck and straight posture stood out in the crowd, accented by a delicate emerald necklace nestled in her exquisite collarbone.

Xu Chacha’s eyes landed on her and wouldn’t move away.

“How about you lend her to me to keep for a couple of days.” Mr. Wen leaned closer to Xu Chacha, looking into her eyes. “If you come home with Uncle, little sweetheart, Uncle will treat you to delicious food.”

“No, I can’t.” Xu Chacha turned her head and hugged Mr. Xu’s neck. “Chacha already has a Daddy.”

Mr. Xu was so excited he could have jumped ten feet high, but he still tried to maintain a calm and composed look. He raised his chin and snorted at Mr. Wen. “Mr. Wen, you simply can’t envy this.”

Mr. Wen: Extremely insulting, and highly damaging!

“But,” Xu Chacha turned her head toward Wen Mubai on the side, looking at her expectantly, “If Auntie was there too, it wouldn’t be impossible…”

Wen Mubai curved her lips, her beautiful phoenix eyes crinkling in a smile. She extended her index finger and lightly hooked Xu Chacha’s nose. “Alright, Auntie welcomes you anytime.”

Mr. Xu’s small, triumphant tail immediately drooped.

My daughter only loved me for a fleeting moment.