After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 71

The first Lunar New Year after the wedding was celebrated with both the Wen and Xu families. Jian Xi’s parents had passed away, and she usually spent the holiday alone. After finding out, Xu Mu (Xu Chacha and Xu Yanshu’s mother) asked Xu Yanshu to invite her over as well.

The location was the Xu family’s villa, with over ten guest rooms—more than enough.

Xu Chacha started her pre-holiday break a week before the new year, but Xu Yanshu, the workaholic, was different. She woke up and went to the lab on the morning of the 30th. When she returned at noon, she brought Jian Xi, who was wearing a down jacket, with her.

Xu Chacha dropped the dumpling wrapper in her hand and hugged her without even wiping her hands. “Sister Jian Xi, I missed you so much!”

Jian Xi smiled and patted her back. Just as she was about to say “Me too,” Xu Chacha was pulled away by a grim-faced Xu Yanshu.

“Go wrap your dumplings.”

Xu Chacha scrunched up her face, the drama queen in her emerging. “My sister doesn’t love me anymore.”

Jian Xi patted her. “It’s okay, I love you.”

Xu Chacha leaned her face against Jian Xi, wriggling her body, and intentionally spoke in a pinched voice, “Sister Jian Xi is so good to me, unlike some people…”

Xu Yanshu gritted her teeth. “Please wipe your hands and rest. I’ll wrap the dumplings, alright?”

Xu Chacha feigned innocence. “Huh? Just my sister wrapping them alone? That sounds like a lot of work.”

Jian Xi suppressed a laugh on the side. Xu Yanshu was speechless and could only use the trip to the kitchen to wash her hands to send a text message to Wen Mubai.

Xu Yanshu: Get over here now!

Wen Mubai slowly replied with a question mark.

Xu Yanshu immediately snapped a photo of Xu Chacha and Jian Xi hugging.

Xu Yanshu: If you don’t come back soon, I can’t control her anymore.

Wen Mubai instantly replied: Ten minutes.

Ten minutes meant exactly ten minutes. The doorbell rang right on time, and Wen Mubai, carrying large bags, was welcomed in by Xu Mu.

“Silly child, you didn’t have to bring so many things.”

“I bought some more of that bird’s nest brand you said you liked last time,” Wen Mubai put the bags down.

“You’re so thoughtful.” Xu Mu smiled and took the items to put away. “You came a little early. The dumplings aren’t ready yet.”

“It’s fine, I’ll help out,” Wen Mubai made a motion to roll up her sleeves.

“Don’t,” Xu Chacha stopped her. “With such a high-level dish, you really shouldn’t touch it.”

Wen Mubai squinted and pinched her cheek. “How will I know I can’t do it if I don’t try?”

“Go ahead, please, go ahead.” Xu Chacha didn’t stop her.

So, Wen Mubai washed her hands and stood next to Xu Mu, asking for guidance.

“Wrapping dumplings is very simple. Just take one wrapper and place it in your palm,” Xu Mu demonstrated as she spoke. “Then add the filling. Put a little less since you’re not experienced.”

Wen Mubai followed suit, scooping a spoonful of filling.

Dumpling wrappers in the south were usually bought pre-made from the market, very neat and thin in the palm. To prevent sticking, the surface was dusted with flour. When pinching the dumpling, the edges needed to be moistened with water to seal.

Wen Mubai mimicked Xu Mu’s movements and wiped water onto the edge of the wrapper.

“Right, now fold it in half.” Wen Mubai did this step neatly, but Xu Mu’s next dazzling maneuver confused her. “Pinch two pleats on each side to seal it, and that’s it.”

Wen Mubai folded twice, and the wrapper in her hand turned into a tangled mess. The pleats were messy and asymmetrical, and the filling was spilling everywhere.

Xu Mu let out an awkward laugh. “Hahaha… just practice a few more times. That’s not bad for your first time.”

Xu Chacha leaned over, resting her chin on Wen Mubai’s shoulder. “But mine was good on the first try. She’s just a kitchen disaster, Mom, stop praising her.”

Xu Mu patted her face. “Shh, don’t talk about Mubai like that.”

Xu Chacha got flour on her face, wrinkled her nose, and wiped it off. “But I can’t lie through my teeth, either. A lover’s eyes only see a beauty, not a cooking god.”

“…”

Wen Mubai’s expression wasn’t great, while Xu Yanshu, hugging Jian Xi, stifled a laugh on the side.

The group wrapped about a hundred dumplings in total, splitting them into two batches for steaming. When the first tray of dumplings came out of the pot, Wen Fu (Wen Mubai’s father), Wen Mu (Wen Mubai’s mother), and Wen Shiyu finally arrived fashionably late.

Xu Fu and Xu Mu went to greet them. Adults and children formed their own groups to chat, and soon the table was set for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

“Who wrapped this dumpling? It’s so ugly,” Wen Shiyu whispered, frowning.

She was sitting next to Xu Chacha, and though her voice was deliberately lowered, the parents couldn’t hear, but Xu Chacha heard it clearly.

Although she had been the one complaining about Wen Mubai’s cooking skills earlier, Xu Chacha was still displeased when someone criticized her wife’s handmade dumplings.

So, she picked one up with her chopsticks, dipped it in vinegar, put it in her mouth, and deliberately wore a look of ecstasy while eating.

Xu Yanshu glanced at her. “Is it good?”

“Don’t judge its appearance. It has the lingering fragrance of a beautiful woman’s hands. The flavor inside is great.”

Wen Mubai paused with her chopsticks, giving Xu Chacha a confused look, wondering what game this little brat was playing today.

Xu Yanshu let out a soft “Hah” after hearing that.

Xu Chacha keenly caught it. She picked up another tattered dumpling with her chopsticks and shoved it into Xu Yanshu’s mouth. When Xu Yanshu’s eyes widened, wanting to spit it out, Xu Chacha said with a sweet smile, “My wife made it by hand, Sister. You should try it, too. Isn’t it super delicious?”

This drew the attention of Xu Fu and Xu Mu. Xu Yanshu could only force herself to swallow it with a livid expression, squeezing out a review through gritted teeth. “Delicious.”

Xu Mu also smiled and picked one up. “Mmm, it is good.”

“See? See?” Xu Chacha picked up two for Xu Fu as well. “Dad, you try some, too.”

There was no reason not to eat food offered by his sweet daughter. Xu Fu quickly ate the dumplings with a laugh. “Delicious, delicious.”

Wen Mubai wrapped less than a dozen dumplings in total, and Xu Chacha had already promoted them all. Wen Mubai herself didn’t get to eat a single one.

After dinner, they had some fruit, and firecrackers began to sound outside. Xu Chacha was drawn to the noise and tugged on Wen Mubai’s sleeve. “Firecrackers?”

“I’ll go get the lighter.” Wen Mubai stood up.

The reason Xu Chacha wanted her to join was that she wanted to set them off but was too scared. Every time, she would hold a sparkler far behind and instruct Wen Mubai to light the big ones.

“Sister Jian Xi, are you coming?” The more the merrier. Xu Chacha invited Jian Xi as well.

Jian Xi was quietly watching TV. Hearing her, she nodded and stood up. Xu Yanshu, her shadow, also followed.

Seeing this, Wen Mu said to Wen Shiyu, who was still sitting, “You go play, too. It’s boring to stay by yourself.”

Wen Shiyu: “…”

Should she say that her mother was tactless?

She had participated in the dating reality show with Jian Xi and Xu Yanshu. She had sent affection texts to Jian Xi, but Jian Xi ended up holding hands with Xu Yanshu off-camera.

Her mother’s words were essentially pushing her next to her love rivals to watch them flaunt their love.

Could they really happily hold hands and set off fireworks together? Xu Chacha would be lucky not to set her hair on fire!

Outside, Xu Chacha and Jian Xi each held a sparkler. People usually lit them one by one, holding them to play, but Xu Chacha, as if lighting a torch, lit the whole bundle at once. The fire burned fiercer than the sparks, scaring her again.

“Help, help, help…” She jumped in place, wanting to quickly throw away the hot potato.

Coincidentally, Wen Shiyu passed by her, and the sparking bundle of fireworks was shoved into her hand.

?

Wen Shiyu stared at Xu Chacha with an expression that looked like she wanted to swallow her whole.

Xu Chacha was slightly embarrassed. She clapped her hands and said, “Wishing you… a prosperous new year?” (Red and fiery, a common new year blessing.)

Jian Xi and Wen Mubai had already lit a string of “Big Red on the Ground” firecrackers and were quickly walking toward them. Wen Mubai immediately grabbed Xu Chacha’s arm. “Get inside and hide.”

The long string of Big Red firecrackers exploded with a loud, rapid succession of sounds. The dense small firecrackers would bounce everywhere. These large ones could probably shoot seven or eight meters.

Xu Chacha was suddenly nervous. She slammed the door shut upon entering and leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

“Next time, can you discuss it with me before setting off something like that?”

Jian Xi held the lighter, looking innocent. “Didn’t you say sparklers were boring and asked me to light a big one?”

Xu Chacha: …

She meant a longer sparkler.

The firecrackers crackled loudly outside, a sheet of red light everywhere. Xu Yanshu, who hadn’t spoken, suddenly remembered something.

“Did we forget someone outside?”

Xu Chacha: “Did we? Who?”

Jian Xi quickly scanned the headcount and looked at Wen Mubai. “Your sister is still outside.”

She had witnessed Xu Yanshu’s various ways of caring for Xu Chacha and thought Wen Mubai, also an older sister, would immediately open the door with loving concern to let her in. Instead, Wen Mubai, looking unconcerned, changed into her slippers.

“It’s fine. She’s brave.”

At ten in the evening, Xu Chacha started a live stream. The adults were watching the Spring Festival Gala downstairs, but she wasn’t interested.

She casually mentioned that Jian Xi was also at home, and the comments immediately begged and pleaded for her to show her face.

Xu Chacha could only call for Wen Mubai, who came to bring her fruit. “Help me call Sister Jian Xi.”

Jian Xi was downstairs watching the Gala.

Wen Mubai stood behind her. Only half a shoulder and one hand were visible in the camera, and her voice was indifferent. “So attached to her?”

[She’s jealous! She’s jealous!]

[Wait, did Chacha just say the two families are celebrating together? Then it’s not just the four of them; Shiyu is there too, right!]

[Let me see! Let me see!]

[Five beauties tonight, not one less!]

Wen Mubai frowned at the comments. “Why are your demands so numerous?”

[Wuuu… so fierce]

[QAQ Teacher Wen, don’t make me cry and beg you!]

The website had just released new emoji comments, and a flurry of crying faces flew across the screen.

Xu Chacha felt like laughing. “It’s okay. If Teacher Wen won’t call them for you, I’ll go call them for you.”

After saying that, she put on her slippers and went downstairs. Wen Mubai was pressed in front of the computer.

She had already taken off her makeup, wearing silver-rimmed glasses. Her eyes behind the lenses were emotionless. She didn’t interact with the comments, her face seemingly displaying several large words:

“DON’T BOTHER ME”

[Teacher Wen is so beautiful too, wuwuwu, face-obsessed fans are crying]

[She was so beautiful standing next to the model at the end of the show; she was more captivating than the model!]

Xu Chacha somehow managed to get everyone upstairs. Wen Shiyu usually had a sour face in private, but as soon as she was on camera, she immediately started her business smile.

Xu Yanshu leaned against Xu Chacha and whispered, “I’m worried she’s going to get schizophrenia.”

[It’s rare to have all five together. It’s the perfect time to start a game.]

[Yeah, yeah, it’s been a long time since Teacher Xu streamed a game.]

[Those who suggest Teacher Xu stream games, I collectively call you fake fans!]

If Wen Mubai was a kitchen disaster, Xu Chacha was a gaming idiot. For instance, she played PUBG for a week and still got 3D sickness. She played Honor of Kings for a month and still couldn’t figure out the item builds.

She did stream a few times initially, but her skill was so poor that she eventually gave up.

It wasn’t Xu Chacha who gave up; her fans cried and begged her to stop playing games. They couldn’t fight off the random users who insulted Xu Chacha; they were scared.

Since the topic came up again, Xu Chacha felt her hands itching. “Let me tell you, my sister is great at this game.”

[Why does that sound like a grade-schooler bragging?]

[Nonsense, what do you mean like? It is!]

At Xu Chacha’s suggestion, all five downloaded and logged into the game. Since their ranks varied too much, they could only play matched games.

In a five-person queue, the opposing team would also be a five-person group. Xu Chacha chose Ming Shi Yin as support, Xu Yanshu chose Baili Xuan Ce as jungler, Wen Shiyu chose Xiao Qiao as the mid-lane mage, Jian Xi chose Lü Bu as the top lane fighter, and Wen Mubai chose Marco Polo as the bottom lane marksman.

[Wouldn’t it be easier if Chacha switched to a tank support?]

[Old fans give a knowing chuckle. Please don’t have too high expectations for our Teacher Xu’s ability.]

[Chacha: When I play a game, I don’t look at what the team needs, I look at what I can play!]

Xu Chacha really liked the hero Ming Shi Yin. After chaining up with a teammate, all she had to do was follow them around. She barely had to press any skills. She even had time to eat dried sweet potato while playing.

Perhaps through repeated practice, Xu Chacha was decent with this hero, at least timely with her ultimate skill to heal a low-health Wen Mubai.

“Even if I die a hundred times, my wife is not allowed to die!”

[Type ‘I’m moved’ in the public chat!]

[Type ‘public chat’ on ‘dog food’!]

The top and bottom lane towers were removed almost simultaneously. Wen Mubai recalled to base to recover. Xu Chacha slowly controlled her character to run toward the middle lane.

“Wait—”

Wen Shiyu didn’t finish her sentence when a Zhuge Liang suddenly jumped out of the mid-lane bush. He hit Xu Chacha with his first skill at close range, and the passively activated spheres pelted her body.

Xu Chacha ran while screaming for help. Wen Shiyu, low on health, could only stay far away and attempt her second skill, which Zhuge Liang dodged. Instead, he closed the distance and ulted Xu Chacha’s Ming Shi Yin.

Wen Shiyu subconsciously ran away. Xu Chacha was low on health and prepared to die.

She had already rehearsed her death line. Since she had died so many times, one more wouldn’t matter, even though being ambushed in the bush was annoying.

Just as Zhuge Liang’s ultimate was about to hit her, Jian Xi, who happened to be walking toward the mid-lane, arrived just in time. As if stepping out to a hero’s background music, she rushed out of the bush to block the attack for her. Before Xu Chacha could utter a word of praise, she saw Jian Xi use her ultimate to jump into the enemy tower, execute the kill, and secure the headcount.

“Well done,” Xu Yanshu praised.

Xu Chacha, who witnessed the entire process, instantly turned into a fangirl. She hugged Jian Xi’s cheek and gave her a loud kiss. “Aah! Sister Jian Xi is too cool! I love you so much!”

[Hiss—I suddenly feel a bit cold. How about you, sisters?]

[Someone remind Teacher Xu to turn around and look at her sister and Teacher Wen’s eyes.]

[I’m a little scared to watch. Is this a horror stream?]

Xu Yanshu, Wen Mubai: “Xu Chacha!”

The two women spoke in unison, their voices suppressed, their teeth gritted. Xu Chacha suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

As Wen Mubai grabbed her collar and started pulling her away, Xu Chacha’s face was plastered with delight.

Xu Chacha: Help

Jian Xi: Powerless to intervene

Xu Yanshu: You brought this on yourself

Wen Shiyu: … What does this have to do with me?

Author’s Note:

It’s over. I hope to see you all again, my sisters, on June 17th (waves handkerchief).