After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 25

“That’s great! Then we are good friends from now on, and you can’t say you hate Chacha anymore, or I’ll be angry.” Xu Chacha held out her little finger. “Pinky promise. This way, if you lie, you’ll have nightmares tonight.”

Xue Miaomiao was very conflicted, mainly because she was genuinely afraid of having nightmares and would shiver all night unable to sleep if she woke up in fear.

But…

“Alright, I apologize to you.” Xue Miaomiao hooked her little finger. “You helped me, and I still said I hated you. I’m sorry.”

“Hehe, it’s nothing.” Xu Chacha smiled, her cheeks puffy with flesh. “Hurry, taste the chocolate.”

“Mmm-hmm-hmm!”

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the chocolate Xu Chacha gave her was the same kind that Wang Fang had handed out before—the one she wanted to eat but which ended up in Chen Qianqian’s stomach.

The unattainable thing is always the sweetest. Xue Miaomiao popped the whole thing into her mouth. Her teeth bit through the crispy shell, and her tongue sensed the silky ganache center. She slowly chewed, savoring the nutty aroma, and couldn’t help but close her eyes in enjoyment.

She had never tasted such delicious chocolate!

“Do you have any more?” She looked at Xu Chacha expectantly. “I’ll trade you for mine.”

She had a lot of chocolate in her backpack.

Xu Chacha did bring quite a bit, but…

She pointed to Chen Qianqian, who was busy eating at her seat. “I gave it all to Qianqian.”

Xu Chacha felt like a kindergarten teacher, having to bring small snacks to class every day. She’d pull them out to coax any misbehaving child, and Chen Qianqian would often shake her down for the rest of her supply.

“Chen Qianqian, I hate you! I’m breaking off our friendship!” Xue Miaomiao fumed.

Chen Qianqian was oblivious to the outside world, chewing her candy noisily.

“So delicious. Next time, I’ll let Chacha try the cookies my mom made, hehehe.”

…

Wednesday afternoon was the regular class meeting. Last week, Wang Fang had let them watch a movie for one period, so many people were looking forward to it, as a movie was much better than going over homework.

“Let’s not, watching a movie means writing a review afterwards.” Chen Qianqian lay on her desk, her cheek pressed against the cool surface, squeezing her face into a lump. “I want to get out of school early and go eat cake with Chacha.”

“She’s not going with you.” Xue Miaomiao mumbled quietly. “I’ve invited her to be a guest at my house.”

“What!” Chen Qianqian blew up. “Chacha said last time that she would go eat cake with me next time, you’re lying.”

She pouted, looking pitifully wronged. It seemed Xue Miaomiao only needed to say two more words for the tears to start falling.

“You are not allowed to cry.” Xue Miaomiao glared. “I didn’t bully you.”

Chen Qianqian sniffled. “Chacha clearly made plans with me. Why are you stealing her away?”

The child was starting to misuse new idioms she had learned from extra-curricular books a few days ago.

“She is my friend now, so of course she’s coming to my house as a guest.” Xue Miaomiao lowered her voice, sounding a little muffled. “If you want to come, I can grudgingly take you along. So stop crying.”

Chen Qianqian sniffled twice, her wet eyes looking at her. “Will there be cake at your house?”

“I can ask my mom to buy some.”

“Then I’m going, hehehe.” The silly child burst into a smile through her tears.

No sooner had the words been spoken than Wang Fang walked in with a folder. She wore a black business suit every day, which was her signature look.

“It’s been almost two weeks since the start of school. You should all be quite familiar with each other by now.” Wang Fang turned and wiped the blackboard clean. “This period, we will elect the class committee. The sooner we elect them, the sooner I’ll let you go home.”

“Yay, yay, yay!” Chen Qianqian cheered. “We can go home early!”

“One Class President, one Vice President, one representative for each subject. We don’t need any other positions in our class.” Wang Fang didn’t like unnecessary fuss. She adjusted her black-framed glasses. “I’ll hand out slips of paper. Everyone write down the name of the classmate you recommend next to the position. You are allowed to vote for yourselves.”

She tore the pre-printed slips of paper and prepared to distribute them.

“If anyone wishes to nominate themselves, you can raise your hand now and say a few words, discuss what you can do for the class and why you are suitable for the position.”

Wang Fang glanced around the class, seeing all the little children too intimidated to speak. She thought it might be better to just let everyone write.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw a hand go up.

Feng Zhuang stood up, his voice trembling a little, but loud. “I, I want to be the Sports Representative.”

“Don’t be nervous. Take your time.” Wang Fang nodded.

“I really like sports. My dad sometimes takes me to play basketball. I… I… so I think I’m quite suitable to be the Sports Representative.”

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha, Feng Zhuang, your face is so red!” His deskmate laughed. “And you’re stuttering.”

“At least others have the courage to stand up and speak.” Wang Fang gave the boy a sidelong look. “Keep quiet when others are talking. That’s basic courtesy.”

The boy’s face instantly flushed red, and he lowered his head in shame.

“Wow! Zhuangzhuang is great, go Zhuangzhuang!” Xu Chacha clapped her hands loudly. The classmates next to her heard and also started clapping. Encouraged by the applause, Feng Zhuang finally gained some confidence and continued with his speech.

“Good, sit down.” After Feng Zhuang finished, Wang Fang motioned for him to sit. “Does anyone else want to nominate themselves?”

“Teacher, me.” Xue Miaomiao raised her hand formally, reading aloud with great confidence. “My grades are good, I’m obedient, sensible, and follow the rules. If everyone elects me as Class President, I will manage every one of you strictly and with a serious attitude, so we can all study hard and improve every day!”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became, even raising her right hand in a “charge!” gesture.

Xu Chacha’s eyes widened. She never expected this young madam to be so straightforward.

Children are naturally inclined to be playful. Who would be willing to elect a Class President who openly declared she would “strictly manage every one of you”?

After Xue Miaomiao finished, the atmosphere in the class was a little frozen until Wang Fang broke the silence, asking everyone to give her a round of applause.

“Me, me, me! And me!” Chen Qianqian jumped up, stretched out her arm, and pointed to Xu Chacha, who was sitting in the first row. “I nominate Chacha for Class President! Everyone vote for her!”

“You stood up for self-nomination, not to nominate others.” Wang Fang told her to sit down. “Since there are no other self-nominations, pass the slips of paper down.”

She divided the slips into three piles and gave one to the person sitting in the first row of each group.

Xu Chacha didn’t have a deskmate, so she split her voting slip into two herself before passing it down.

“Chacha, I’m voting for you.” The little girl sitting behind her was Sun Ruirui, with a mushroom haircut. Her voice was soft, and she smiled at Xu Chacha. “I like you too.”

Xu Chacha often helped others with their homework, always shared small snacks, and always spoke kindly without ever losing her temper. Even if Chen Qianqian hadn’t nominated her just now, she would have wanted to vote for Xu Chacha.

“No need, no need. You can vote for Miaomiao.” Xu Chacha waved her hand.

The Class President job sounded like a hassle. There was a lot to do, and it was often thankless work. She didn’t want to be kept after school by the teacher for meetings or grading papers. She just wanted to go home quickly and be a carefree, happy little sloth.

Moreover, comparatively, Xue Miaomiao’s personality was actually more suitable for the Class President role.

Soon, Wang Fang collected the voting slips. She gathered them into a box and crooked her finger at Xu Chacha, who was by the podium. “Come here and help the teacher count the votes.”

“Okay.”

Xu Chacha stood in front of the blackboard. She was too short to reach the height where Wang Fang was writing names, so she had to bring a small stool and stand on tiptoe.

“Class President, Xu Chacha, one vote.” Wang Fang read out to her.

“Huh?” Xu Chacha opened her mouth, looking silly as she stared at Wang Fang.

Didn’t she tell them not to vote for her? This Sun Ruirui, seriously, wuwuwu.

“Write it down. Don’t you know how to write your own name?” Wang Fang urged her.

“I do.” Xu Chacha slowly wrote her name and drew the first stroke of the character ‘正’ (tally mark).

“Xue Miaomiao, one vote.”

“Yes!” Xu Chacha secretly pumped her fist in celebration and wrote Xue Miaomiao’s name largely.

“Xu Chacha, one vote. Xu Chacha, one vote. Xu Chacha, one vote…” Wang Fang read quickly, like an emotionless repeater machine.

Xu Chacha held the chalk, unwilling to move. Who is messing with me! Who is it!

“Write it down.” Wang Fang picked up a piece of chalk and tallied the votes for her. “Should I read slower?”

“No, I can hear clearly.” Xu Chacha said with a mournful expression.

She just couldn’t accept reality. Wuwuwuwu.

But she figured the only person in the room who could empathize with her was Xue Miaomiao, who had nominated herself but only received one pitiful vote.

She guessed right. Xue Miaomiao was not in a great mood, but not as bad as she had imagined.

“Hey, are you going to cry?” Chen Qianqian nudged her with her elbow. “I voted for you as Vice President. Don’t be mad.”

Xue Miaomiao’s mouth was curled up high. “Who’s mad?”

“You are.” Chen Qianqian pointed at her, grinning. “Your whole face is wrinkled up.”

“Hmph.” Xue Miaomiao frowned. “My face just looks like this.”

On the podium, Wang Fang casually announced that Xu Chacha was appointed Class President. Hearing this result, the class spontaneously applauded Xu Chacha.

“If Chacha is Class President, does that mean we’ll have chocolate every day?”

“Ha ha ha, you’re just greedy.”

“It feels like Chacha is the only one in our class who isn’t afraid of the homeroom teacher. If not her, then who?”

Wang Fang didn’t pause and immediately started counting the votes for Vice President. This time, it was better. Although Xue Miaomiao’s votes were not many, she was the only self-nominee. Some people didn’t know who to write down and just filled in her name. In the end, she won by a one-vote margin over the second-place person, successfully becoming Vice President.

When Wang Fang announced it, Xue Miaomiao was as happy as if the men’s soccer team had scored a goal. Her grin stretched to the back of her head, and she almost jumped up and bounced off the walls.

“Thank you, everyone! I will work hard! I will set an example and never be lazy!”

Chen Qianqian quietly plugged her ears with her fingers. Is it too late to change her vote now? She had a bad feeling about electing such an exceptional Vice President.

There were fifteen minutes left after the voting finished. Wang Fang kept her word and dismissed the class, allowing everyone to go home early.

“Class President, come with me.” She beckoned to Xu Chacha with a gesture like calling a cat.

Xu Chacha slowly packed her school bag and answered sluggishly, “I know, Teacher Fangfang.”

Wednesday had one less class, but the homework wasn’t much less than usual, so Xu Chacha’s school bag was still heavy. She carried the bag backward, dragging it with both hands underneath, waddling like she was carrying a watermelon to Wang Fang’s desk. Then she stood on tiptoe and placed the bag on top.

Phew… so heavy.

“Here is the class roster. Take a copy first.” Wang Fang gave her a task. “We don’t have a Discipline Committee member. Managing tardiness, early dismissal, and talking in class is your responsibility.”

“Okay.” These were all tasks Xu Chacha was familiar with. She understood them even without Wang Fang’s explanation.

Xu Chacha opened the stack of rosters and noticed a name with a red dot next to it. She then remembered her deskmate, who hadn’t shown up since the start of school. “Teacher Fangfang, why hasn’t my deskmate come to class?”

If she had dropped out or transferred, Wang Fang wouldn’t have kept a seat for her in the first row, but it was strange that she hadn’t come to class for so long.

“She had a small accident before school started and is hospitalized. Since you brought it up,” Wang Fang tidied a pile of new books and test papers. “You’ll come with me to the hospital this Friday to visit Gao Lele. We’ll have her do these things then.”

“Ah…”

“What ‘ah’?” Wang Fang glanced at her. “If you were sick, the teacher would also deliver your homework to you. You won’t miss a single lesson.”

Xu Chacha quickly waved her hands. “No need, no need, Teacher Fangfang. That would be too much trouble for you.”

“No trouble at all,” Wang Fang replied with a forced smile.

Xu Chacha: Help, chasing a student to the hospital with a homework booklet—what kind of monster is this!

…

The junior high school schedule also had the last period on Wednesday as self-study, and they usually didn’t drag on. So Xu Yanshu and Xu Chacha agreed to walk home together every Wednesday and Friday. On other days, she had evening self-study.

It took ten minutes just to walk from the junior high building to the elementary school building. Even running, Xu Yanshu was still quite late for the agreed time.

As she reached the bottom of Xu Chacha’s teaching building, she saw three little figures sitting side by side on the steps, their fluffy heads gathered together, chirping about something.

“Chacha, have you been waiting long?” Xu Yanshu called out, panting. “My deskmate took a leave of absence, and I was helping clean up for her, so I’m late.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Chacha wasn’t bored waiting with friends.” Xu Chacha saw the sweat on Xu Yanshu’s forehead and pulled out her small packet of tissues from the side mesh pocket of her backpack, tearing it open.

“Sister, squat down a little.” Xu Chacha couldn’t reach her face with her arm stretched out.

“Okay, good.” Xu Yanshu walked down two steps and bent down, lowering her body so that Xu Chacha could reach the top of her head without having to stand on tiptoe.

Xu Chacha gently pressed the tissue paper against her cheeks and forehead. Once she had wiped away all the sweat, she quickly ran to throw the used tissue into the trash can.

Xu Yanshu caught up and took Xu Chacha’s school bag. “It’s too heavy. I’ll carry it for you, Sister.”

“Then Sister will be tired, too. Chacha can carry it herself.” Xu Chacha didn’t want to let go, pulling the bag strap as she followed her.

“The school bag is too heavy. You’re still growing. Carrying it for too long might stunt your height.”

An invisible arrow seemed to strike Xu Chacha’s knees. Her mouth twitched, and she decisively let go.

“Okay, thank you, Sister.”

Xu Chacha introduced Chen Qianqian and Xue Miaomiao to Xu Yanshu.

“This is Qianqian, and this is Miaomiao. They are both my good friends.” She puffed out her little chest, feeling a sense of pride.

“Our Chacha is so amazing.” Xu Yanshu laughed, rubbed her head, and then greeted the two other little girls. “Hello, I’m Chacha’s sister, Xu Yanshu. You can call me Sister Yanshu.”

“Let’s go, let’s go. We’re going home.” Xu Chacha pulled Xu Yanshu’s arm. They had discussed it earlier and decided it might not be appropriate to bring Xu Yanshu to Xue Miaomiao’s house, so they simply invited everyone to Xu Chacha’s house instead.

The driver who was scheduled to pick up the two sisters was already waiting at the school gate. Fortunately, the back seat was spacious enough, and with the front passenger seat, four people could fit without a problem.

“Come in, this is my house.”

In the foyer, Xu Chacha squatted down and pulled out two pairs of disposable slippers.

Housekeeper Zhang was thoughtful. Knowing that Xu Chacha would have opportunities to bring friends home at this age, she had prepared several pairs of slippers in similar sizes, which fit the two girls perfectly.

“Wow! Chacha, your house is so beautiful!” Chen Qianqian’s eyes widened. “And that huge cat-head sculpture at the door, it looks so imposing!”

Xu Chacha: “…I’m just glad it didn’t scare you.”

She felt a strong need to find a chance to ask her dad to have that thing removed.

“Have a seat, I’ll get you something to eat.” Xu Yanshu put away her school bag, changed into slippers, and went to the kitchen.

Since they had called ahead, Housekeeper Zhang had specifically bought snacks and desserts to bring home. Xu Yanshu took them out of the refrigerator, arranged the snacks on a plate, cut the cake into slices, and then made honey water to aid digestion, which she put on a tray and carried over to them.

The girls turned on the TV, turned up the volume, and watched the popular cartoon Peppa Pig.

“I like Peppa.” Chen Qianqian snorted twice with her nose, imitating the one on TV. “She’s very cute and smart.”

“You like this one?” Xu Chacha got up. “I think I won a few of them from the claw machine last time. Wait a moment, I’ll go get them for you to share.”

She smoothed down her skirt and quickly ran up the stairs to her room.

The dolls she won with Wen Mubai last time were enough to line a wall. She squatted down, first pulling out a Peppa Pig, and then choosing a few other cute-looking ones to hug in her arms, ready to take them down and share.

“I’ll help you.” Xue Miaomiao had followed her at some point, making no sound.

She stood hesitantly at the doorway, afraid to intrude on Xu Chacha’s private space. “They look quite heavy.”

“Okay, thanks, Miaomiao.” Xu Chacha gave her two dolls.

Xue Miaomiao gripped a doll’s head in each hand, tucking them under her armpits like she was ready for a fight, and followed Xu Chacha’s steps.

“Hey, why did you vote for me? Did you pity me?” Her way of starting a conversation was always awkwardly stiff.

“How do you know it was me? Maybe someone else voted.” Xu Chacha didn’t stop walking.

“I just know it was you!” Xue Miaomiao insisted. “I saw the slip of paper. It was your handwriting. It was so ugly I couldn’t not recognize it.”

“Why are you attacking me personally?” Xu Chacha’s eyes widened. “And how did you see the slip? Did you go through the trash?”

“I…” Xue Miaomiao avoided her gaze. “It just happened to float out, and I saw it.”

Yes, I went through it! I was just incredibly curious who voted for me!

“It’s nothing. I just voted for you because I wanted to. I think you’re very suitable to be Class President.” Xu Chacha pouted.

“You, you admire me that much?”

Xu Chacha turned her head while holding the dolls, her big, questioning eyes clearly writing a few words:

—What are you thinking?