After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 8

After completing the paperwork, Mrs. Xu prepared to take Xu Chacha home that very day.

“Can I have a word with Sister?” Xu Chacha looked up and negotiated with Mrs. Xu.

“Of course, darling,” Mrs. Xu rubbed her head lovingly.

“Mhm! Chacha will be quick.” Xu Chacha let go of her hand, ran over to Wen Mubai, took her hand, and shook her arm. “Sister.”

Wen Mubai understood. She bent down, picked her up, walked to the balcony, and closed the glass door, giving them space for a private conversation.

“Sister, can Chacha still come to see you when I go back? I won’t bother you too much, it’s just…” Her fingers behind her back picked at the hem of her clothes. “…it’s just that Chacha will miss you.”

“Of course.” Wen Mubai smiled at her and reached back to slip a folded piece of paper into her pocket. “Sister wrote down my address and phone number for you. Open it when you want to come and play.”

“Okay!” Xu Chacha almost suspected Wen Mubai had mind-reading abilities; otherwise, how would she have the note ready before she even asked for the contact information?

“And this.” Wen Mubai produced another item.

It was a hand-woven red bracelet with a tea-colored wooden bead in the middle, engraved with the character for “Fortune” (Fú).

Xu Chacha remembered it; it was the bracelet Wen Mubai bought at the morning market.

“Isn’t this a gift Sister bought for your mother?”

Wen Mubai lowered her head without speaking, clasping the bracelet and putting it on Xu Chacha’s wrist. Because her wrist was so thin, even when the adjustable knot was pulled to its tightest point, the bracelet still hung loosely.

“It was always bought for you.”

“Bought for… me?”

Wen Mubai lifted her wrist. The bracelet with the wooden bead swayed. The red string made Xu Chacha’s milky-white skin look even more radiant.

Her lips curved slightly. “It’s pretty.”

“Is this a token of love for Chacha?” Xu Chacha clenched her fist and shook her arm in the air, boasting to someone unseen. “Chacha loves it so much!”

Wen Mubai hooked her index finger over Xu Chacha’s nose. “This isn’t called a token of love.”

Xu Chacha probably felt ticklish; she wrinkled her nose, then grinned at Wen Mubai, showing a mouth full of white teeth. “Right, the tokens of love on TV are given by two people to each other.”

Then she slipped the candy she had been hiding all day into Wen Mubai’s hand. “Here. This makes it right. Favor is also a kind of affection. Chacha won’t forget Sister.”

Wen Mubai held up the lollipop and chuckled softly. “Alright.”

“Mwah!” Xu Chacha stood on her tiptoes and gave Wen Mubai a big, wet kiss on the cheek.

“You…”

Wen Mubai froze, touching her cheek with her fingertips, as if she could still feel the warm, soft touch.

“Sister must remember to miss me, too!”

When she intended to look up and speak, Xu Chacha had already waved and ran away.

“Mhm, bye-bye.” She raised her hand as well.

…

In Mrs. Xu’s car, Xu Chacha was very restrained, but Mrs. Xu seemed energetic, pulling her close and asking endless questions.

She asked what she liked, what she loved to eat, and what she wanted, eager to make up for all four years of absence immediately.

Xu Chacha was actually a bit sleepy. She hadn’t slept well last night, drifting in and out of hazy dreams, and then woke up very early due to her biological clock.

However, she didn’t want to dampen Mrs. Xu’s excitement, so she fought to keep her eyes open and answered her questions earnestly.

“Are you sleepy, darling?” Mrs. Xu finally noticed Xu Chacha’s fatigued face.

“Mhm… a little.” She had this problem since she was a child; she got drowsy whenever she was in a car and often missed her stop on the subway.

“Then sleep.” Mrs. Xu pulled her head close to lean on her shoulder. “Mommy will hold you while you sleep.”

Xu Chacha nodded softly, her head bobbing, and soon closed her eyes resting on the woman’s shoulder.

Mrs. Xu had a faint scent of lavender, which might have been from laundry detergent or perfume. It was subtle and gentle, a kind of softness woven into the very fabric of her being. Xu Chacha reached out and took her fingers, gripping them in her palm, before relaxing her brow and finally falling asleep.

Mrs. Xu lowered her head, stared at the crown of her head, and smoothed her bangs.

She only dared to speak some words after Xu Chacha had fallen asleep. “Darling, could you… call me Mommy?”

Very soon, the lips of the person Mrs. Xu thought was asleep moved, muttering a few indistinct words.

“Mommy, hug Chacha.” GZH: lesbian2088, has all lily resources.

Xu Chacha was dreaming again. She dreamt of her parents not leaving in the plane crash when she was twelve.

That summer, their family was together after a long time. She begged to go to the beach, so her good-natured mother picked her up and put a swimming tube on her, while her father held her hand in front, teaching her how to use her feet to keep her balance.

She seemed to remember the rough calluses on her father’s palm and the warmth of her mother’s embrace.

So Xu Chacha tightened her arms and whispered, “Mommy, don’t go. Don’t leave Chacha…”

“I won’t go, I won’t go. Mommy will never leave Chacha.” Someone was gently patting her back. It was an unfamiliar voice, yet it carried the same tenderness as the mother in her memory.

Xu Chacha opened her still-sleepy eyes and found herself being carried by Mrs. Xu.

The lights around them weren’t too bright, but she could tell they were in a garage, with several rows of cars whose badges clearly matched the “richest man” setting.

“Darling, are you awake?” Mrs. Xu rearranged her bangs again. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Xu Chacha shook her head. The light in her moist, fawn-like eyes slowly returned. “It was a good dream. I dreamt that Mommy came to pick me up.”

“Mommy has always been here and won’t leave.” Mrs. Xu’s heart ached for her sensible behavior. “Daddy is already at home. Shall we go see him?”

“Dad… Daddy?”

The original novel had some descriptions of the original owner’s father. He had always been stern and humorless in life and decisive in business. Just sitting there, a cold look from him could make opponents feel guilty and tremble.

He was ruthless not only to himself but also severe in educating his children. His adoptive daughter, Xu Yanshu, whom he personally trained, had a very similar personality to him, though she was more socially adept.

To use an analogy, if Mr. Xu was a stone-faced tiger, Xu Yanshu was a smiling fox—neither was easy to handle.

In the original storyline, it was also due to Mr. Xu’s insistence that Mrs. Xu agreed to expel the constantly erring original owner from the family. People like them would not allow such a great stain to exist on their family name.

Xu Chacha pursed her lips and swallowed, her heart starting to race.

“Mommy, I’ll get down and walk by myself.”

Mrs. Xu was so elated by the soft “Mommy” from the little sweetheart that she was a little dazed. She only registered that the little sweetheart had already slid down her pant leg onto the floor.

“Okay, then Mommy will open the door.” Mrs. Xu entered her fingerprint, and the door opened with a response.

They walked to the entrance hall, from where Xu Chacha could already see the sofa.

Mr. Xu was sitting formally on the sofa in a dark suit, his hair neatly combed back. There were a few silver hairs at his temples, but they did not diminish his imposing aura.

The drum in Xu Chacha’s heart beat more fiercely.

“Come in, child.” Mr. Xu beckoned her over, giving Xu Chacha the strange sensation that the Dean of Students was calling her into the office for a talk.

She stayed put, rubbing her hand against her trousers and looking down at the black dots on her shoes.

The area outside the entrance hall and the inside were like two different worlds. Standing here, Xu Chacha finally felt her inner timidity.

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Xu crouched down and placed a pair of slippers next to Xu Chacha.

Mr. Xu, who couldn’t immediately leave after receiving the news, rushed to buy children’s household items, including these ugly little pig slippers.

She took off her shoes, slipped her feet into the slippers, and held Mrs. Xu’s hand as she walked slowly inside.

“Squeak, squeak—Squeak—”

The sound came from the slippers beneath Xu Chacha’s feet.

She lifted her foot in confusion and realized there was a small white plastic whistle in the heel of the slipper, which made a sound like a small duck every time she stepped.

This thing isn’t even cool enough for three-year-olds where we used to live!

Mr. Xu, who was seriously reading the newspaper, heard the squeaking growing closer. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, but he quickly returned his face to a blank expression.

“Come, say ‘Daddy.'” Mrs. Xu led her in front of Mr. Xu and patted her little head.

Xu Chacha clasped her small hands together in front of her. Her chubby fingers were quickly twisting into a tight knot. Her nervousness and fear were palpable.

“Your current name is Chacha?” Mr. Xu stood up. Being over six feet tall, Xu Chacha had to tilt her neck back 120 degrees to see his face.

The man was like a looming black mountain, standing there, scrutinizing Xu Chacha from head to toe with a serious gaze.

Xu Chacha swallowed with difficulty, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible. “Mhm, my name is Chacha.”

She was small, her round face and soft little hands were hitting every cute button, and the pair of clear, expressive eyes under her fine bangs seemed to speak. Coupled with her sweet, childish voice, she was like a kitten that had accidentally wandered into his garden—obedient and endearing.

Xu Chacha didn’t know what she looked like in Mr. Xu’s eyes at that moment. She only knew that the way Mr. Xu was staring, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he looked ready to devour her whole.

Just when Xu Chacha thought the atmosphere was about to drop to freezing point, she suddenly felt her feet leave the ground. Along with the feeling of weightlessness, her eyes finally met Mr. Xu’s at the same level.

Mr. Xu maintained this lifting position, straining the corners of his mouth into a stiff, strange smile for Xu Chacha. “Good girl, Chacha. I’m Daddy. Don’t be afraid.”

Xu Chacha: Ahhh! Don’t come any closer!