After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 18

“It’s fine to be short now, you’re still developing,” Wen Mubai comforted her.

“Then will Chacha grow as tall as Auntie later?”

She remembered the boy who hit on her last time stood next to Wen Mubai and was still more than half a head shorter than her, although Wen Mubai was wearing heels then.

“Growing as tall as Auntie might take some effort,” Wen Mubai pinched her cheek. “So you need to drink more milk and eat well. Your mother said you don’t like to eat, and that won’t do.”

Xu Chacha pouted, very unconvinced. “In my mommy’s eyes, maybe only little piglets are considered to ‘eat well’.”

Wen Mubai pressed her lips together and smiled. “That’s because Mommy dotes on you.”

“Auntie dotes on me too, right?”

“Right.” Wen Mubai nodded, pulling out Xu Chacha’s previous test papers. “Small talk is over. Let’s start the lesson, my ancestor.”

Xu Chacha sat up straight, her two hands neatly folded on the desk, her pen clutched in her fist, looking ready to listen attentively.

“I’m ready.”

“Mhm.”

Wen Mubai started with English and Chinese, the subjects Xu Chacha made the most mistakes in. She first meticulously explained all the questions she got wrong, and then made up a similar question type for Xu Chacha to try, encouraging her to apply the knowledge.

“Use ‘at some place, there is something’ to make a sentence.”

The weather was too hot, so Wen Mubai was only wearing a goose-yellow sleeveless top and shorts. Large areas of her fair skin were exposed to the air, glaringly white.

Unlike her aloof and detached demeanor in public, she was relaxed now, one hand lazily supporting her chin, her long, thick eyelashes lowered, her gaze following the tip of the pen onto the question.

Xu Chacha carefully glanced at her and blurted out.

“In Chacha’s eyes, there is a beautiful Auntie!”

“Try another one.”

“In Chacha’s heart, there is a beautiful Auntie!”

Wen Mubai finally lifted her eyelids to look at Xu Chacha. After confirming that the other party was completely serious, she seemed to concede.

“Fine. At least you can use an adjective.”

“Does that mean you’re praising me?” Xu Chacha shamelessly scooted closer, smiling and waiting for praise.

“Be serious, we’re in class.” Wen Mubai blocked her approaching head with her hand, pointing to the next question. “Try making another sentence using ‘because… therefore’.”

Xu Chacha pondered, writing the characters down as she spoke them aloud. “Because Auntie is very good to Chacha, therefore Chacha likes Auntie the most!”

“Xu Chacha,” Wen Mubai called her name sternly.

An average child called out by Wen Mubai with such a serious expression would immediately behave. For example, Wen Shiyu was scared to tears last time, but Xu Chacha wasn’t afraid at all.

“Ah?” She stopped writing, blinking her eyes up at Wen Mubai. “What is it, Auntie?”

Her beautiful, innocent face gave Wen Mubai a delusion that she was overthinking things. Xu Chacha wasn’t being naughty; she was earnestly completing the task Wen Mubai had assigned.

“Make a new sentence. You can’t mention Auntie anymore,” Wen Mubai sighed and said.

“Oh, okay.” Xu Chacha compromised.

When Xu Chacha took things seriously, she was easier to teach than Wen Mubai had anticipated. She was the kind of student who grasped things immediately, making the entire lesson highly efficient.

Following school class schedules, Wen Mubai gave her a break every forty-five minutes.

They put down their pens, and Xu Yanshu knocked on the door right on time.

Xu Chacha jumped off the chair and ran to open the door. “Big Sister, you’re here.”

“Mhm.” Xu Yanshu smiled at her, placing the snacks and tea she was carrying by the desk. “You must be tired. Have something to eat.”

Xu Chacha nodded, picking up her favorite chocolate cake and offering it to Wen Mubai. “Auntie, you eat this. It’s so delicious.”

She remembered Wen Mubai had a habit of carrying chocolate with her, so she probably didn’t dislike this flavor.

Xu Yanshu: ?

Regarding the matter that the sweet little sister I raised for so long turned out to be a hidden ungrateful wretch.

“Thank you, Chacha.” Wen Mubai took the cake. Her fingers pinched a small piece with the metal fork, but she held it out to Xu Chacha’s mouth.

Xu Chacha ate a mouthful, sticking out her tongue to lick the cocoa powder on her lips, nodding emphatically. “Delicious, delicious! Auntie, you eat quickly.”

She looked like she had discovered a treasure and was eager to share it with Wen Mubai.

Xu Yanshu, who was being treated entirely as background scenery, couldn’t help but speak up. “Chacha, does your aunt need you to take care of her while she eats? You eat your own first.”

She brought the remaining cake over to Xu Chacha.

“There are only two pieces…” Xu Chacha held the fork, looking a little troubled. “Then Big Sister and I will share one piece each.”

She divided the cake into two pieces, with the larger one going to Xu Yanshu.

“No need. Big Sister doesn’t like sweets. You eat it all yourself.” Xu Yanshu patted her little head.

This is the cute little sweetheart she was familiar with.

“Oh, is that so.” Xu Chacha nodded thoughtfully, then turned her head to Wen Mubai. “Then give it to Auntie to eat.”

“Wait a minute.” Xu Yanshu held the plate, contradicting herself without any embarrassment. “Big Sister suddenly likes it again.”

…

After the snack break, Wen Mubai started tutoring Xu Chacha in English. Since Xu Chacha had scored near zero on the previous English test, Wen Mubai spent more effort on it, dedicating twenty minutes just to explaining the concepts.

Xu Chacha nodded throughout, but a glance at her wandering eyes revealed that her mind was not focused.

“How about this? If you can memorize ten words today, Auntie will give you a reward. You can ask for anything,” Wen Mubai offered the bait.

Xu Chacha immediately took it. “Really? Anything?”

“As long as it’s not a wish for Auntie to fly up to the sky and pluck a star for you, anything is fine,” Wen Mubai said.

“Yay!” Xu Chacha raised her arms. “I’ll memorize them right now! I’m definitely going to learn them!”

Of course, she could memorize them. It wouldn’t be a problem for her to make ten sentences using English on the spot.

But to keep up the act, Xu Chacha chewed on her pen and mumbled to herself, only raising her small hand after a good while, signaling Wen Mubai to check her.

Wen Mubai thought the time was shorter than she expected. If Xu Chacha stumbled while reciting, she could still give her a few hints.

However, as soon as Xu Chacha opened her mouth, she rattled off all ten words like pouring beans out of a jar. At the end, she said with a slightly smug expression, “I memorized them very seriously. I can even do a dictation.”

So Wen Mubai humored her and handed her a piece of paper. “Then let’s try a dictation.”

The result was even more unexpected. She had thought Xu Chacha was just exaggerating, but the ten words on the dictation paper were neatly arranged, with not a single mistake, and the Chinese meanings were also annotated on the side.

This explained why Xu Chacha, who claimed she had never been to school, could still get most of the test questions right. She was genuinely very smart.

It made sense that the daughter born to such elite parents as Mr. and Mrs. Xu wouldn’t be unintelligent.

Wen Mubai didn’t skimp on the praise. “That’s wonderful. Chacha is so smart.”

More interested in the promised reward than the praise, Xu Chacha gripped the armrests of the chair, her bright eyes fixed on Wen Mubai. “The reward? The reward?”

Wen Mubai pinched her slightly upturned nose, smiling with affection. “Tell me, Auntie will fulfill your wish.”

She thought a child Xu Chacha’s age would only want things related to food, drink, or play, but Xu Chacha said:

“I want to call Auntie every week.”

“Huh?”

“Is that not allowed?” Xu Chacha’s shoulders slumped, like an abandoned pet dog. “I can see Daddy, Mommy, and Big Sister every day, but I only see Auntie once in a long while. I’m afraid Auntie will forget me.”

“How could I forget?” Wen Mubai used both hands to pull her cheeks upward into a smile, leaning in to say, “Auntie promises you at least half an hour on the phone every week, okay?”

Light instantly filled Xu Chacha’s eyes. “Okay!”

When leaving, Wen Mubai gave Xu Chacha her spare phone.

Although she knew Xu Chacha was obedient, Wen Mubai carefully instructed her, “You can take pictures of anything you don’t understand in your studies and send them to Auntie. You are not allowed to play games on it. If your grades drop in the next test, Auntie will confiscate it.”

“I know, I know.” Xu Chacha agreed to everything, being extremely well-behaved.

On her way home that evening, Wen Mubai passed a dessert shop. Her steps paused for a few seconds at the door before she opened it and walked in.

The store clerk was a sweet-smiling young woman who enthusiastically recommended the signature items.

Wen Mubai listened quietly, her gaze scanning the display case, finally settling on a chocolate mille-feuille.

This one looked similar to the one she had eaten at Xu Chacha’s house.

She pointed to it with her finger. “Thank you. I’ll take this one.”

The clerk quickly packed the cake and handed it to her. Wen Mubai carried the cake home. She didn’t turn on the lights when she entered the door, just sinking directly into the sofa.

“Miss, you’re back.” The servant, A Fu, brought her a glass of cold water, looking cautious. “Master said… he won’t be coming home tonight either. Tell A Fu what you’d like to eat, and I’ll arrange it for you.”

Wen Mubai tilted her neck and poured the cold liquid down her throat, her voice flat. “No need. I’ll just eat this.”

“How can that be? It’s your birthday today. You should eat something nice.” A Fu rubbed his hands. “Perhaps you don’t have much appetite because of the heat. A Fu will cook you a bowl of longevity noodles, something light so it’s easier to eat.”

“No need, A Fu.” Wen Mubai looked down and opened the dessert box, her tone allowing no argument. “You go rest.”

“Understood.”

Wen Mubai put the cake in her mouth. The dense cake layers and cream spread a sticky sweetness across her tongue. The cocoa powder had a slight bitterness that perfectly balanced the cloying sweetness.

She ate half the slice in silence, then put down her fork, having lost interest.

She didn’t know what the problem was. It wasn’t as sweet as the one she ate at the Xu house.

The phone in her pocket was vibrating against her pant leg. Wen Mubai took it out and saw it was a video call from Xu Chacha.

Wen Mubai took a deep breath, making sure her expression didn’t look too stiff, and then tapped the accept button.

“Happy Birthday, Auntie!” As soon as she answered, the familiar little girl’s voice came through. Xu Chacha’s entire face was pressed against the camera. Her big, dark eyes looked adorable, and she was pouting, seemingly not very happy. “Why didn’t you tell Chacha it was your birthday? If Mommy hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known.”

Wen Mubai curved her lips. “Auntie forgot.”

“Then Chacha will remember it for you and remind you every year from now on,” Xu Chacha held up her chubby index finger and poked the screen. “Did you eat birthday cake? Did you eat longevity noodles? Was Chacha the last one to wish you a happy birthday?”

The little girl’s nagging was endearing. Wen Mubai replied to each question. “Yes, I ate them. You were the first one to wish Auntie a happy birthday. Thank you.”

“Ah…” Xu Chacha didn’t look very happy. “Did your Daddy forget because he was busy?”

“He has a poor memory,” Wen Mubai said lightly.

At this point, Mrs. Xu took the phone from the side and held it further away so Wen Mubai could see everyone’s faces clearly.

“Auntie and Uncle wish you a happy birthday too. Do you like the gift?” She smiled at Wen Mubai on the screen. “You really spoil her too much. Why does a child so young need a phone?”

“I love the gift,” Wen Mubai returned a smile. “It was the reward I promised her. Chacha is more self-disciplined than most children and won’t misuse it. It will also help her with her studies.”

“Exactly, exactly,” Xu Chacha said to Mrs. Xu, puffing out her chest.

“You’re being so cheeky because you have your Auntie backing you up.” Mrs. Xu poked her forehead. The words of reprimand carried a tone of affection. “Talk to your Auntie for a bit, then come down for dinner. I made your favorite braised chicken legs today too.”

“I know, I know.”

After Mrs. Xu left, Xu Chacha retracted her arm, moving her small, fleshy face close to the camera. She pursed her pink lips and touched the screen, making a crisp mua sound.

Xu Chacha’s smile was sweet. “I’m leaving a kiss here first. I’ll make up for the birthday present tomorrow, Auntie!”

“I got it. Thank you, Chacha.”

After hanging up the phone, Wen Mubai felt a strange lightness in her mood.

She stared at the piece of cake on the coffee table, tried to pick up the fork and put another piece into her mouth. The corners of her lips automatically turned up.

Mhm, it’s sweet now.