After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 30

The funeral was not filled with the overwhelming grief Xu Chacha had expected. The elderly man seemed quite calm, and the people moving in and out acted normally, chatting and eating as they usually would.

However, everyone did instinctively lower their voices and slow their steps when passing the main mourning hall.

The door to the hall was closed. Mr. and Mrs. Xu, one on each side, helped the elderly man to bow and offer incense to the kindly smiling old woman in the photo.

Xu Chacha stood quietly beside Wen Mubai, watching their actions without saying a word.

“Scared?” Wen Mubai semi-squatted to be at eye level with her. After not seeing her for a few days, she felt the girl had shot up quite a bit again.

Xu Chacha shook her head, her bright black eyes meeting Wen Mubai’s. She cupped her hands to whisper near her ear, “Auntie’s grandmother is beautiful, like an angel grandma. Chacha isn’t scared.”

“Oh, you,” Wen Mubai sighed softly, gently brushing her long finger against her nose. “You are the most sensible.”

Xu Chacha felt a little ticklish from her touch, crinkled her nose, and dodged. “I want to go bow to Grandma too, and wish her happiness over there.”

“Go ahead.”

White flowers for mourning were placed on a platform nearby. Wen Mubai picked one up and gave it to Xu Chacha.

The little girl imitated the adults, respectfully kneeling on the cushion, clasping her hands, closing her eyes, and earnestly bowing three times. She then stood up and placed the flower on the altar table.

It was said that this woman had lived a free and easy life. She seemed to have had a premonition of her passing and called her husband to her bedside, saying she wished to be buried in the flower field she had personally cultivated.

The elderly man sat quietly by her bed all night, accompanying her to the end. In the following three days, he handled the funeral arrangements with great dignity.

After they finished offering incense, the sliding door of the mourning hall was opened, and the people waiting outside, each holding a flower, stood there.

“Thank you all for taking the time to come today. These are all the people she cherished and was close to in life. She would surely be very happy that you are here.” The elderly man was quite old. He coughed a few times between sentences, finally completing his speech in three fragmented parts.

Wen Mubai stepped forward, took his arm from Mrs. Xu, and led him to a mahogany armchair outside to sit down.

“Please rest for a while. I’ll go brew some tea.”

“Wait.” The elderly man waved his hand towards Xu Chacha, who was behind Wen Mubai. “Leave this little one here for me to play with. She looks very endearing.”

Xu Chacha let go of Wen Mubai’s hand and moved closer, her eyes curved in a smile. “Am I endearing to Grandpa, too?”

“Yes, I love her. This big, round head is so cute.” The elderly man coughed again, turning his head away to finish coughing before turning back. He patted the spot next to him. “Sit here.”

Xu Chacha didn’t go over. Instead, she turned her deer-like eyes and blinked at Wen Mubai.

Wen Mubai understood. She placed her hands on Xu Chacha’s waist, lifted her onto the chair, settled her down, and straightened her skirt. “Is the service satisfactory, little ancestor?”

Xu Chacha covered her mouth with her small hand and giggled. “Very comfortable. Thank you, Auntie.”

“I say, that’s not enough,” the elderly man pointed with his cane. “The osmanthus cake at the restaurant we ordered from today is the best. Go get a plate for this little one to try.”

“Thank you, Grandpa!” Xu Chacha gave him a sweet smile and shook Wen Mubai’s arm. “Auntie, you must be tired too.”

Wen Mubai gently scratched her under the chin, a small act of “retribution,” then turned to brew the tea.

“Little one, come closer. Let me take a good look.”

Xu Chacha didn’t shy away like many children. She was generous, placing her hand under her chin to cup her face and moving closer to him. Her dark, watery eyes sparkled. “You look, Grandpa.”

The elderly man pushed up his glasses and squinted, seriously observing. “Mmm, high nose and thick eyebrows, plump earlobes. This is a face of great wealth and fortune.”

Xu Chacha laughed heartily, covering her stomach, not giving him any face. “Grandpa is an old charlatan, tricking children.”

The elderly man laughed along with her, his white beard trembling. “By the way, what were you whispering to Xiao Bai about inside?”

The room was small, and everything could be heard, but Xu Chacha didn’t try to hide anything.

“Auntie asked if I was scared, and I said Grandma was pretty, so I wasn’t scared.” Xu Chacha swung her short legs, encased in little rain boots, in the air, crossing them. “What about you, Grandpa? Do you miss Grandma?”

The elderly man pondered for a moment. “It’s not time to miss her yet. I still haven’t fully processed that she’s gone.”

“Oh.” Xu Chacha nodded, as if she understood half-heartedly.

“But you’re absolutely right when you say she was pretty.” The elderly man smiled as he remembered something. “I was captivated by her face when I was young. I don’t know where I got the courage to relentlessly pursue her.”

He definitely wouldn’t dare do such a thing now. As he aged, he only wanted to maintain his dignity and respectability. The shameless act of chasing after someone when they were trying to shake you off was embarrassing just to talk about.

Xu Chacha loved listening to the love stories of the older generation. She propped her chin on her hand, her eyes shining. “And then what? How did Grandpa win the great beauty over?”

“I knew she loved to draw flowers, so I bought seeds and learned to grow them myself. Whether they died or survived, I brought her one.” The elderly man counted on his fingers. “I brought them to her for about four or five years. She wasn’t willing to talk to me at first, but later, when I gave her pretty flowers, she would dry them and make them into bookmarks to give back to me. We exchanged gifts like this, and it grew into affection.”

“That’s so romantic.”

“Beautiful, so beautiful.” The elderly man stared blankly at a spot in the air, lost in thought, his eyes looking like they might turn red and tear up at any moment. “The flowers were, and so was she.”

Xu Chacha brought him back with her voice. “Is she as pretty as my Auntie?”

The elderly man snapped back to reality, looked at her, and laughed heartily, subtly wiping away the dampness from the corner of his eye with the movement. “Your focus is so strange, child. You almost made Grandpa cry from laughter.”

“Mmm-hmm, Auntie says Chacha is a happy-go-lucky person. It’s good if I can make Grandpa laugh.”

“Thank you, little happy-go-lucky person.” The old man’s rough finger playfully nudged her cheek and withdrew, answering her question. “It’s different. Your Auntie is pretty, but she doesn’t smile as much as your Grandma did.”

Xu Chacha recalled and nodded in agreement. “Exactly, Auntie always has a stern face.”

Just as she was speaking “ill” of the person, the person herself came in, carrying a tray. Wen Mubai bent down to serve the osmanthus cake and Longjing tea.

“I leave for just a moment, and you’re already talking about me?”

Xu Chacha’s eyes darted around, looking at the sky and the ground, afraid to meet her gaze. “We were saying how beautiful Auntie is.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Hahaha, stop teasing her,” the elderly man picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and handed it to Xu Chacha. “Your Auntie is much better now. After meeting you, her way of speaking is more human. Your father says she dotes on you even more than a biological sister. Isn’t that right, hahaha?”

Wen Mubai didn’t respond. She didn’t feel any change in herself and thought the elderly man was just saying that to amuse the child.

Xu Chacha held the osmanthus cake with both hands and put a whole piece into her mouth. Her round, delicate face puffed up as she chewed, making her look like a squirrel busily feeding.

She ate so enthusiastically that Wen Mubai couldn’t resist picking up a piece and putting it into her mouth.

Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten much that morning and was hungry, she found the cake to be genuinely sweet, soft, and glutinous. She took another piece.

“My biggest wish is for Auntie to be happy.” She always managed to use the most natural tone to say words that could melt Wen Mubai’s heart.

While her own blood relatives were indifferent or hostile to her, Xu Chacha, who had no family connection, was wholly devoted to her well-being. The elderly man only saw her special treatment of Xu Chacha but didn’t know that the person being healed was actually herself.

The elderly man knew about Wen Mubai rescuing Xu Chacha from the human traffickers, but he hadn’t expected the little girl to be even more fond of Wen Mubai than he thought. He nodded, continuing Xu Chacha’s sentiment, “Her grandmother thought so too when she was alive.”

She never had to worry about her daughter, knowing she was a wolf that couldn’t be chained, but her granddaughter, Wen Mubai, was different.

She looked stronger than anyone, but her heart was actually sensitive and fragile. Because of her father’s strict education, she didn’t dare to cry or speak of her grievances. By bottling it all up, even those who wanted to care for her couldn’t reach her heart.

“Speaking of which,” the elderly man tapped his cane on the floor. “Where is your father? What important meeting is he having that’s taking so long?”

Everyone needed to finish offering incense before they could start the meal, but he had called Wen’s father seven or eight times all morning, and each time his secretary blocked the call.

Wen Mubai’s eyes were lowered, her face emotionless. “He’s always like this. Maybe we shouldn’t wait for him.”

Xu Chacha looked left and right, knowing it was best not to interject in this conversation, and could only frantically stuff osmanthus cake into her mouth.

Not long after, Mrs. Xu came looking for Xu Chacha. Seeing her with a pastry in her left hand and a cup of tea in her right, she quickly picked her up. “Darling, why are you eating here? Mom was looking for you everywhere.”

“Huh?” Xu Chacha’s eyes went wide, her cheeks still stuffed. “I wuz chush staying wiff Auntie, not wandering off.”

“Come, walk with Mom. Don’t keep bothering your Auntie and Grandpa,” Mrs. Xu reached for her.

Xu Chacha gave a reluctant “Oh,” wiped her hands, and was about to take her hand, but the elderly man spoke up. “It’s good for this little one to stay and chat with me. She’s so much fun. I’m an old man who doesn’t have many people willing to talk nonsense with me usually.”

Mr. Xu stepped forward and whispered in his ear, “Mubai’s father is here.”

“He’s here,” the elderly man nodded, allowing himself to be helped up. “Then I’ll go see him.”

Xu Chacha eagerly followed behind Wen Mubai, but after a few steps, she hesitated, afraid of interrupting a family reunion.

Wen Mubai hadn’t been home since the school semester started. This meeting was likely their first since their argument.

“Mubai, you stay here and play with the little one. I’ll talk to your father first,” the elderly man patted her hand.

“Mmm, okay.”

…

The elderly man had someone bring Wen’s father inside. The man looked weary, and his coat was sprinkled with raindrops he hadn’t managed to cover with his umbrella in time.

“Come in and sit down,” the elderly man motioned to a nearby seat. He skipped the pleasantries. He wasn’t curious why Wen’s father was late; he just wanted to quickly resolve the matter he cared about.

“I apologize. The meeting was truly unavoidable. I rushed as quickly as possible. The road here was also…”

“What were your rules for a subordinate who is late?” The elderly man interrupted his explanation. “Zero tolerance, no conditions, no excuses, is that how you put it?”

The implication was that since you hold your subordinates to such a standard, stop making so many excuses. Late is late. That’s an unchangeable fact.

Wen’s father’s expression instantly soured. He felt the elderly man’s mood was off today, though he had never been kind to him anyway.

“Where is Mubai? She hasn’t been answering my calls for a long time. I want to see her.” Wen’s father rubbed his hands and sat down.

“I have her waiting in the inner room. I want to say a few words to you first.” The elderly man took a sip of hot tea. As he placed the teacup back on the table, he spoke in a neutral tone. “Do you think the two women who paint in this family are both an embarrassment? Or do you look down not only on these two in our family, but also believe that all women in the arts deserve to be kept as caged birds by men in business?”

His tone was flat, but the words were increasingly piercing. Wen’s father’s breathing immediately hitched.

“Making money is good. You need money to eat. So, your kind are naturally superior, is that it?”

With a light, rhetorical question, he blocked any defense Wen’s father could offer. He also realized the reason for this whole spectacle today.

“I just think Mubai has talent, and it shouldn’t be wasted.”

“Talent.” The elderly man sneered. “What the hell kind of talent are you looking at? With my old eyes, I see her having the most talent for design.”

“If you put it that way, I certainly can’t argue.”

“Exactly, you don’t argue with me, you go home and torment your child.” The elderly man’s gaze became sharp, confronting him directly. “Is it only your family that has some broken company to inherit, and the paintbrushes passed down in our family should be snapped in half?”

The use of “your family” and “our family” showed the seriousness of the situation. Wen’s father dropped his posture and quickly said, “Of course not. You’ve misunderstood my intentions.”

“Do you know what she said before she passed?”

“She” referred to Wen Mubai’s maternal grandmother.

“Tell me.”

“She said she dreamed of Mubai when she was little a few days ago, saying that as a child, she was like other girls—she loved to smile, loved beauty, loved dressing up, and loved learning to draw with watercolors like her. She kept muttering about this and then started to cry. ‘How did she end up with such unreliable parents?’ Those were her exact words.” The elderly man’s eyes were distant, his voice very low, as if coming from a far-off place. “She just wants Mubai to live the rest of her life a little happier and freer. Is that too difficult for you?”

Wen’s father’s cheeks were flushed by his words. He said uncomfortably, “I understand what you mean. I won’t interfere when Mubai changes her major.”

“What do you mean ‘change her major’? It’s called ‘choosing,'” the elderly man emphasized the words. “Stop flaunting your ‘machismo’ in front of me.”

“You are right.”

…

Wen Mubai didn’t know what the elderly man had said to her stubborn father. When they spoke alone, his tendency to find fault with everything about her was significantly reduced.

“Are you getting used to living alone outside?” He placed his hands on his knees. After shedding the shell of the strict father, he was surprisingly polite, like a distant relative you only saw once a year during the New Year.

Wen Mubai replied without much emotion, “Yes.”

“And your meals? Are you eating on time?”

“I won’t starve,” she was still brief and to the point.

Perhaps feeling a little awkward, Wen’s father rubbed his nose with his index finger. “Dad sees that you’ve lost weight and your face looks tired. If you’re uncomfortable outside, come home. I’ll have the maid cook your favorite food.”

Perhaps touched by the word “Dad,” Wen Mubai’s expression finally changed slightly. She looked up, her gaze cool as she met her father’s. “The talk you wanted, was it about this?”

Long ago, the dialogue between the father and daughter had been reduced from small talk to high-efficiency Q&A. The sudden reversal in Wen’s father’s demeanor made Wen Mubai feel uncomfortable.

“Have you been angry with Dad all this time?” Wen’s father finally lowered his proud head, adopting an apologetic tone. “Dad knows he was wrong.”

“How long will this self-reproach last?” Wen Mubai’s eyes were clear, completely unmoved by this hard-won softness. “Ten days? Twenty days? I don’t need an apology or compensation. Just remember that I am a living person with my own thoughts, not a puppet to be manipulated.”

“Mubai, Dad genuinely wants to apologize to you.”

“Fine, I accept your apology,” Wen Mubai tilted her head to look at him, her eyes unblinking. “Let’s leave this topic here.”

She didn’t believe his apology meant he had truly realized anything; it was likely fueled by a hint of guilt. But she didn’t want to prolong the conversation, as that would only lead to spending more time dealing with more complex issues, without any guarantee of a good resolution.

She would cut off the bad parts, and she would handle the rest herself.

…

Once everyone had arrived and completed the memorial rites, they all sat down to eat.

The restaurant, accustomed to handling both weddings and funerals, served the dishes quickly and efficiently.

Xu Chacha had eaten too much osmanthus cake and had already eaten lunch before coming, so she was too full to join the table.

Wen Mubai ate a few bites and then got down, sitting next to her.

“Auntie,” Xu Chacha looked up at her, playing with her flower crown. “How many days are you staying here?”

Wen Mubai recalled her previous text message. “At least sleeping here tonight.”

“Oh.” Xu Chacha nodded thoughtfully.

Wen Mubai placed her hand on her head. “What is it?”

Xu Chacha placed the flower crown she had woven onto Wen Mubai’s hand and asked quietly, “Can I stay here tonight?”

Wen Mubai examined the item on her wrist, thinking, Is this what it feels like to be indebted to someone? If so, it was hard to refuse Xu Chacha.

“There’s no air conditioning here. You might not sleep comfortably,” Wen Mubai stretched out her slender white fingers, gently brushing back Xu Chacha’s bangs. “Go sleep at the hotel with your mom and dad. Auntie will come find you in a couple of days.”

Xu Chacha’s mouth turned down, and her lashes drooped dejectedly. “I want to stay with Auntie tonight.”

Wen Mubai slowed her movements of tidying her hair, pondering what to do.

Xu Chacha doubled her efforts, hugging her arm, her soft cheek pressing against it. “If I don’t stay with Auntie tonight, how will I know if you’re secretly crying behind my back? I have to stay to comfort you.”

Wen Mubai was amused by her innocent words and managed a small smile. “It’s not that Auntie won’t agree, but you have to ask your mom and dad first.”

“Then Auntie agrees!” Xu Chacha seized the main point.

Wen Mubai’s smile was helpless. “It’s not right to turn away a guest.”

Xu Chacha rubbed her head against her, like a clingy small dog. “I knew Auntie spoils me the most.”