After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 41.1

“Can you stop talking nonsense?” After a gulp of water, Xu Chacha finally caught her breath. “It’s fine if you just say it in front of me, but the senior would be mad if she heard it.”

Wen Mubai let out an ambiguous “heh,” the sound was very soft, and no one heard it, but it didn’t escape Jiang Shu’s eyes.

She turned her head to watch Xu Chacha continue to “court death.”

“And do I really have to be in a relationship in college? I think it’s such a hassle.” Xu Chacha, considering it, actually looked over at her. “Hey, Jiang Shu, maybe your method is really worth a try.”

Jiang Shu: “Hmm?”

“How should I put it? Should I just come out on my social media?” Xu Chacha picked up her phone. Her posture suggested that as long as someone nodded, she would edit the text and send it out in the next second.

“Wait, my dear girl!” Zhu Zhu stopped her. “No need, no need.”

“Weren’t you the one who just said this method was good?”

“Your roommate means there’s no need to create unnecessary complications for yourself.” Wen Mubai picked up a tempura shrimp and placed it on her plate. “You’re too impulsive.”

Xu Chacha bit the tail of the shrimp and asked indistinctly, “Then what should I do? It’s really annoying. Same-sex marriage has been legal for decades. Can I be arrested and locked up in a mental hospital if I come out?”

She wasn’t just referring to one particular suitor being annoying. After all, there had been quite a few people clinging to her since she was a child. It might be because since she started university, the surrounding environment defaulted to everyone being free to date, and these people’s methods of pursuit became open and bold. She was somewhat overwhelmed.

She used to be able to shut the other person up with a line like, “I only want to focus on my studies right now.” Now… she glanced at Wen Mubai out of the corner of her eye.

Maybe I should learn from this person.

Isn’t money wonderful? Who needs love.

“That’s true.” Zhu Zhu was quickly persuaded.

Xu Chacha, however, was a little uncertain and quietly ate her food.

…

Xu Chacha returned to her rental apartment over the weekend and found it impeccably clean. Not only was the floor spotless, but even the fashion magazines scattered on the coffee table were neatly stacked.

She squatted down and picked up a copy, realizing that the pages she had creased had been smoothed out by Wen Mubai, making it look brand new.

“This person’s obsessive-compulsive disorder is getting worse.”

She had let Wen Mubai take the spare key because the door needed to be deadbolted from the outside, and it would also be convenient for her to visit next time.

Like Wen Mubai, Xu Chacha wasn’t wary of her. If there was one person who was least likely to harm her, it was her.

December 12th was Xu Chacha’s birthday.

The day before was a Sunday, so she went home for a meal. During the day, she favored Consort Miao and Consort Xi, who she had neglected for a long time, and was only released home after receiving a kiss on each cheek from both of them.

During dinner, it was no surprise that her stomach was stuffed by her two parents. This time, even Xu Yanshu joined their opposing faction, ignoring her pleading eyes and constantly putting food into her bowl.

“It hasn’t been that long since you were home, and you’re so thin. Doesn’t Q University have a cafeteria?”

“Sis, why are you lying through your teeth?” Xu Chacha was furious. “My weight hasn’t dropped at all, okay? I even gained a pound.”

“Really?” Xu Yanshu pinched her cheek and looked left and right. “You look thinner to me.”

Xu Chacha was incredibly wronged. It was such a small thing, but she cried about it for a long time when she called Wen Mubai that night.

“My sister has changed. She doesn’t love me anymore. She’s colluding with my parents, boo-hoo-hoo-hoo.”

The background on Wen Mubai’s side was a dimly lit office, which was the studio she had just rented and hadn’t prepared for renovation yet. She was holding a laptop, her posture relaxed, her two long legs crossed, a pleasant sight.

Hearing Xu Chacha’s complaints, she chuckled and comforted her. “She probably hasn’t seen you in a while. She’ll be back in your corner in a couple of days.”

“And you say that! It’s because she herself went to participate in some dating reality show. Otherwise, we’d see each other at least once a week.”

Dating reality shows were quite popular lately, and some people in their dorm were following them, but Xu Chacha never expected Xu Yanshu, who was always immersed in the lab, to join the fun.

The show was a special edition for lesbians, with all female guests. Xu Chacha initially wondered what her sister was after. Later, the person involved gave her an ambiguous answer.

“The person.”

Xu Chacha instantly understood. “You’re just lusting after the young ladies.”

She had seen the guest list for the dating show. Every one of them was fair-skinned, beautiful, and long-legged, with all kinds of cute and aloof styles available. Curious, she watched one episode and found it quite interesting, so she added it to her watch list.

“Auntie.” Speaking of Xu Yanshu, Xu Chacha suddenly felt the urge to test Wen Mubai. “What if I really like girls?”

Xu Chacha had always been certain about her sexual orientation. It was the same in her previous life and hadn’t changed in this one. It was just that she was single now, so there was no need to come out to her family, but she cared more about Wen Mubai’s opinion before telling her father and mother.

It was just like how she used to consult Wen Mubai about everything when she was little.

Wen Mubai raised her head, swept her eyes across her face on the screen, confirmed her expression was serious, and then lowered her head again. Her tone was the same as usual. “Didn’t you say it yourself? Same-sex marriage has been passed for decades. Why care about what others think?”

“I don’t care, but I’m afraid you guys will care.” Xu Chacha crossed her hands and rested them on her chin. Her head nodded as she spoke.

“It’ll be your eighteenth birthday after midnight, right?” Wen Mubai said a seemingly random sentence.

“Mhm, what about it?” Xu Chacha checked the time. Coincidentally, it was exactly midnight.

“Happy Birthday.” Wen Mubai smiled at the screen, her eyes so gentle they could melt honey. “I’ll return a saying to you: Since you’re all grown up, do things that make you happy.”

Xu Chacha’s lips curved into a smile, following hers, her eyes crescent-shaped. “Be happy every day.”

“Be happy every day.” This childish and ordinary wish that Xu Chacha had recited since childhood was so hard to achieve in reality.

But so far, it seemed like she was doing pretty well at sticking to it.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Chacha inexplicably lost her sleepiness. She flipped over and sat up, ran to the walk-in closet, and rummaged through a corner to pull out a box.

The box was large. She had to stretch her hands out as wide as possible to hold it. She carefully opened it. There were two layers. The first layer was filled with various bits and pieces.

The crumpled matcha chocolate wrappers, the picture of the little twin-tailed Wen Mubai that the old man had secretly slipped into her pocket and she had brought back, a Polaroid camera, and the photo of Wen Mubai she took on the Lantern Festival night.

Xu Chacha squatted, picking up the photo. The Polaroid’s built-in filter had a very Japanese small and fresh tone. The young girl Wen Mubai, whose edge was not yet so apparent, was facing the camera sideways.

Behind her was a dark, long street. The dim light made her already fair skin glow with a cold sheen. Xu Chacha had taken the photo too hastily. She hadn’t even been able to focus properly. Her face was half-turned, her eyes lowered to look at someone, and her eyelashes cast a beautiful butterfly wing shape on her face.

The person in the photo was frozen, but Xu Chacha knew that just a slight flutter of those butterfly wings would capture her young heart.

Xu Chacha gently pulled out the second layer. Inside were two framed paintings.

The smaller one was the sketch Wen Mubai drew for her when they first met. The girl was sleeping peacefully, and even the strokes on her hair were full of tenderness.

Her finger traced over the line of text. She read it softly, “May light always cover you.”

It is. It always is.

Xu Chacha pinched the red string on her left wrist and rubbed it between her fingers. She always subconsciously made this small gesture when thinking or unhappy. The amazing thing was that doing so quickly gave her a sense of comfort, and no matter how wronged she felt, she could slowly calm down.

The larger oil painting underneath was Wen Mubai’s debut work. Even looking at it today, ten years later, the visual expression could still amaze Xu Chacha.

She was a little puzzled as to how the woman, who was always wrapped in a drab grey coat, could paint such a vibrant picture.

Xu Chacha suddenly became interested. She pulled out a blank sketchbook, found a pencil, and started drawing, mimicking Wen Mubai’s brushstrokes.

The reference was the Polaroid. Although it was a photo that would be criticized for having worse photography skills than a straight man, Xu Chacha loved the person in the photo and never got tired of looking at her.

She didn’t know how to draw and didn’t even know what outlining was. The tip of the pencil touched the paper, first sketching the eyes she loved the most.

Those eyes, when looking at others, were always indifferent or even dismissive, as if they could pierce right through a person and land on the object behind them. But when looking at her, it was different.

Focused, with a warmth that could melt a person, and occasionally a rare teasing look, but she loved all of it.

Xu Chacha thought with a bit of self-admiration, I’ve finally been a favored child in this life.

“But…” She rested her chin on the desk, rubbed her nose with the hand stained by the pencil, and said in a muffled voice to herself, “I don’t want to be a child forever.”