After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 53

That kiss, which lasted no more than three seconds, left Xu Chacha feeling dazed for two consecutive days. Fortunately, she had diligently kept up with her studies, so she didn’t fail her final exams.

On the day school let out, Wen Mubai said she would pick her up but was intercepted by Xu Yanshu.

Xu Chacha was initially disappointed, but then she saw Jian Xi sitting in the passenger seat of Xu Yanshu’s car and immediately cheered up.

“Sister Jian Xi! Congratulations!”

Not long ago, she was still feeling indignant on Jian Xi’s behalf that someone so talented was stuck as a stand-in. However, recently, Zhao Lin, the lead actress in Butterfly Sword, was embroiled in a scandal and voluntarily resigned, vacating the role.

Word was that the director had a high opinion of Jian Xi and had intended to work with her later, but this major opportunity had essentially fallen from the sky.

“Thank you,” Jian Xi turned and handed her a paper bag. “Your sister told me you love the chocolate crepe cake from Man Ji, so I picked one up on the way.”

“Thank you, Sister Jian Xi!” Xu Chacha took it with both hands.

However, she couldn’t eat sweets right now. Operating on the principle of not wasting food and respecting Jian Xi’s gesture, she took the cake home and promptly fed it to Xu Yanshu.

“She gave it to you.”

“I have more interviews in a couple of days. Don’t sabotage me.”

“Then go tell your Sister Jian Xi that.”

“Ah, even though I knew sister doesn’t like sweets, I thought maybe it would be different coming from sister-in-law. Turns out…”

Xu Yanshu gritted her teeth, looked fed up, and turned her head. “Give it to me.”

“Eat more, sister. Sister-in-law even said you’re too thin and that you need to be a little plump to be likable.” Xu Chacha fed her bite by bite.

Xu Yanshu frowned as she swallowed the sweet cream, then grabbed the nearby coffee and drank half a cup to rinse her mouth. “Hold on for a second. I need to ask you something.”

Xu Chacha immediately adopted a docile posture. “Sister, what is it?”

“Be serious,” Xu Yanshu adjusted her glasses and stared at her. “What is going on between you and Wen Mubai? I didn’t press you earlier because you were busy with exams and filming, but now that you’re on holiday, you need to tell me everything clearly.”

“Nothing is going on,” Xu Chacha blinked innocently, attempting to breeze through the subject with cuteness.

“Before, when you were only focused on her, I could attribute it to you showing gratitude. But now you’re an adult. You need to have boundaries. The gossip is already spreading outside, and you need to know how to avoid suspicion.”

The entertainment world is small, and Wen Shiyu and Wen Mubai were sisters in name. Although Xu Yanshu wasn’t fond of Wen Shiyu, she couldn’t avoid running into her often because of the family relationship.

That’s how the gossip reached her ears.

“What’s spreading?”

“You don’t need to worry about what’s spreading; don’t let it affect your mood. I support whatever you do, but you need to discuss it with me first.” Beating around the bush, Xu Yanshu finally asked the question she most wanted answered. “Why does she have your bank card?”

Based on Xu Yanshu’s understanding of Wen Mubai, she wouldn’t go so far as to swindle money from a young girl. But the subtle air of showing off that day made her extremely uncomfortable.

“I gave it to her.”

“Why did you give it to her?”

Xu Chacha blinked innocently. “Are you short on money too? I can give you one as well.”

Xu Yanshu was almost driven to laughter. She poked Xu Chacha’s forehead with her finger. “When has she ever been short on money? Does she need your little savings to support her?”

Xu Chacha leaned her head back from the poke. “She hasn’t spent any money on that card. She deposited the money back right after she bought the cake.”

That’s why Xu Chacha suspected Wen Mubai had intentionally… shown off in front of Xu Yanshu? Something like that.

“What else can they say? Are they saying I’m close to her, possibly dating? And let’s see what other unpleasant things they might say… the age gap? A cougar preying on a tender lamb?” Xu Chacha seemed unconcerned. “That just sounds like they’re complimenting me.”

She had been in this industry before. While there were genuinely chaotic people, there were just as many people who jumped to conclusions based on shadows. Excellent guessers who could conjure a marriage proposal from a mere glance were everywhere. If she cared so much about what others thought, she would have quit the industry a long time ago.

Xu Yanshu finally sensed that something was amiss from her words.

It seemed she had misunderstood. Her sister wasn’t just being subjected to rumors; she seemed to genuinely have an ambiguous relationship with Wen Mubai.

“You and her…”

“I like her, you see.” Xu Chacha delivered this shocking statement in a wheedling tone to Xu Yanshu. “Sister, you’re so good to me, you wouldn’t stop me, would you?”

Arm-shaking combined with doe eyes—after all these years, it was still the weakness of a certain doting older sister.

But this time, she held firm to her position and put on a serious face. “You’re still young. You need to distinguish between liking someone and love. What you feel for her might just be dependence; a habitual desire to be close.”

“Why are you acting like Mom? Do you think I’ll still be a child at thirty, never able to make my own decisions?”

Xu Yanshu and Xu Chacha had never truly argued, and it was hard for them to do so. This time was no different. Xu Yanshu silently stared at Xu Chacha’s expression for a long time, saw her firm expression, and noticed that her eyes didn’t flicker away. She could only sigh inwardly.

How could her carefully nurtured good cabbage be stealthily taken by someone else?

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve always been serious.”

“You need to know that even if you can get past me and Mom and Dad, Uncle Wen won’t be so easy to fool.”

Xu Chacha was expected to show a look of distress, but instead, she propped her chin and leaned closer.

“Sister, you’re thinking so deeply. Did you envision the wedding date the moment you first saw my sister-in-law?”

“…” Xu Yanshu took another sip of coffee to cover her reaction. “Talk about your own business. Don’t drag me into it.”

Xu Chacha pouted and leaned back. “It’s alright. Uncle Wen is a bit of an old-school conservative, but he’s easy enough to handle.”

Xu Yanshu: Are we talking about the same person?

AS’s promotion was incredibly effective. In less than a month, their extensive advertising was everywhere across the country. Coupled with their sponsorship of popular TV dramas and variety shows, Xu Chacha saw her and Tang Doudou’s faces everywhere she looked, whether on her phone or on the street.

One day, she went out with Xu Yanshu to shop for New Year goods. She hadn’t even put on much makeup, only wearing a mask, but she was recognized by a few young girls who shyly approached her for an autograph.

“Chacha, you’re so pretty! Can we have an autograph?”

“Of course,” Xu Chacha pulled down her mask, smiled at them, and even asked for their names to write a thank-you note.

“Ahhh!” The girls and their friends quietly squealed with delight, their necks turning red. “You’re even prettier in person! I’ve been following you since you were a model. You were the finale for Teacher Lang’s spring collection in ’17! I loved you even back then!”

Xu Chacha was a little surprised that someone remembered something from so many years ago.

“That’s so touching, you actually remember that,” Xu Chacha glanced at the girl’s shopping cart. “You bought AS ice cream? I’ll pay for it then.”

“Really!” The girl covered her mouth. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”

Xu Chacha nodded and pulled Xu Yanshu’s arm. “My sister has money. She’ll pay.”

The silent Xu Yanshu actually nodded along with Xu Chacha. “Don’t be a stranger.”

The girl’s friend tentatively whispered, “Your sister… she is Xu Yanshu, right?”

Because Xu Yanshu was also wearing a mask, they could only see the top half of her face. However, the sisterly relationship between Xu Yanshu and Xu Chacha was no secret. Coupled with the high popularity of the variety show Xu Yanshu was on and her early fame from a lab photo, she had a certain level of recognition.

“Yes,” Xu Chacha turned to Xu Yanshu. “Sister, take off your mask.”

Xu Yanshu could only lower her mask.

“Sister is so beautiful too! Can we take a picture together?”

“Sure, I’ll stand in the front,” Xu Chacha took the girl’s phone. She didn’t mind her face being pushed close to the camera, which would make it look bigger.

After taking a few photos, suppressing her excitement, the girl was almost ecstatic. Her hands were still trembling with excitement when she got home.

With those shaky hands, she posted the group photo on Weibo.

[Ahhh! I met Chacha herself at the supermarket today. She’s so tall and slim, and she’s super nice. When she saw I bought AS ice cream, she offered to pay for it. Wuwuwu, I can love her for a hundred more years!]

Xu Chacha’s fan club only had a few thousand followers, while Xu Yanshu’s had surpassed fifty thousand due to the recent variety show. Since both of them were in the photo, the picture circulated quickly, attracting many new fans.

[Which supermarket is this? I want to run into the beautiful sisters too!]

[Chabao is doing an excellent job as an endorser, hahahaha!]

[I’m so envious I’m turning into a lemon. If I place an order now, can I get a reply from Chabao?]

[As a visual enthusiast, I’m instantly hooked by the photo. Are there any other materials to feast my eyes on this beauty?]

[Don’t ask, just cry. Chabao is super chill. You can watch all her content from her debut at age five in ten minutes.]

Xu Chacha didn’t know why her Weibo followers were suddenly increasing so rapidly. She figured the brand might have directed traffic to her, so she didn’t pay much attention, assuming they were mostly lurkers or zombie accounts.

She lay down and continued to scroll through job interviews, diligently working to save money for her wife.

Not long after lying down, her phone rang. The person in charge of the Orange Platform, whom she had dealt with before, was looking for her.

Orange A: Miss Xu, are you there?

Orange A: Apologies for the intrusion, but are you free recently? If possible, could you host a live stream? It doesn’t have to be long, just a quick appearance. The platform will reserve the best spot on the homepage for you.

Xu Chacha knew that merchants wouldn’t do business at a loss. Even though she was still a major shareholder of Orange, her small number of live stream followers didn’t warrant such preferential treatment.

Xu Chacha: Why?

The person in charge couldn’t say that the platform was capitalizing on her current popularity and wanted to ride the wave. He thought about the prepared script and replied.

Orange A: Your fans are waiting for you!

Xu Chacha found it hilarious. She had no fans to speak of.

However, she could guess the platform’s intentions. While being used wasn’t pleasant, Orange making money meant she was making money. She wouldn’t be at odds with money, even if she was at odds with people.

So, during the first month of the lunar new year, she chose a day to go live.

Since there was no prior announcement, very few people watched.

Xu Chacha was happy to have the peace. She took a bag of dried sweet potato, chewed and ate slowly, occasionally responding to the comments on the bullet screen.

[Grandma, the streamer you follow is online!]

[Going to the group chat to share the good news with the sisters!]

[Streamer, when are you going to start studying? I’ve been watching you eat sweet potato for five minutes.]

Xu Chacha leaned in. “Hm? Studying?”

[Chabao, you opened the stream in the Study category!]

[Quickly switch back to the Daily category! Cross-categorizing can get your stream shut down!]

[My daughter hasn’t streamed in months, did she forget how to start one? Mom fans are crying!]

Xu Chacha said, “Ah,” and looked up, seeing that she really was in the Study category. She might have accidentally tapped the adjacent category earlier.

“It’s fine. Studying isn’t out of the question,” it was better than awkward chatting.

Saying this, Xu Chacha actually pulled out a stack of books, set up a small desk lamp, and began writing and taking notes with a pen.

It was actually the reading list assigned by her major’s professor. Few people genuinely read it seriously, but Xu Chacha was always honest enough to read it and even take notes.

After flipping a few pages, she got thirsty. After pouring a glass of water and returning, she saw someone asking a question in the comment section.

It looked like a string of gibberish, but it was actually a complex high school physics problem. Xu Chacha had encountered it before while doing practice problems, so it looked familiar.

This person had probably spammed the question in multiple live streams but was ignored, so they ended up in Xu Chacha’s stream.

Xu Chacha was in a good mood today. Propping her chin, she asked, “Little student who asked the question, what brand of ice cream do you usually eat?”

The person was surprised by Xu Chacha’s question but answered nonetheless.

[I like AS’s Crunchy Nut and Milk Ice Block.]

“Alright, I’ll help you solve it then.”

Xu Chacha didn’t just give him the answer but provided hints step by step. The netizen listed possible variables and hypotheses in the comments. If they were correct, Xu Chacha nodded. If wrong, she gave another hint. The language was simple and easy to understand, and the netizen quickly solved the problem.

[I’m a liberal arts student, and I actually understood that?]

[Chabao must be a liberal arts student too. So impressive!]

[I only came to see a beautiful girl, but suddenly I’m learning high school physics?]

The platform received the notification that Xu Chacha was online about half an hour after she started streaming and quickly put her on the homepage.

Thus, a crowd of visually-focused fans, who had no idea what was going on, were drawn in, only to find the live stream teaching a math problem. And how did the streamer choose which comments to respond to?

“You just bought a box of AS ice cream? Okay, you’re next.”

“Hmm? A loyal fan of Xu’s Perfumes? Fine, give me the problem.”

“Is it too late to go buy ice cream now…” Xu Chacha laughed as she read the comments. “It’s alright, but let’s be realistic. Buying one is still buying. The streamer is very easy to talk to.”

[Did I enter the wrong live stream? Chabao, when did you switch to being a sales streamer?]