After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 9

In the end, Mrs. Xu used the excuse of dinner to retrieve Xu Chacha from Mr. Xu.

She led Xu Chacha to the kitchen to wash her hands, rubbing her small paws and explaining with a smile, “Your Daddy is a bit silly and doesn’t know how to coax children. He didn’t scare you, did he?”

Xu Chacha recalled Mr. Xu’s severe and proper face, thinking that only Mrs. Xu would use the word “silly” to describe the man.

“No, Chacha is very brave.” Xu Chacha puffed out her little chest.

“Good. Our Chacha is the bravest.” Mrs. Xu took a towel and wiped the water off Xu Chacha’s hands.

“Mhm.” Xu Chacha stepped down from the stool she had used to reach the sink, and the pig slippers let out a “squeak” once more.

Mrs. Xu led the squeaking Xu Chacha to the dining table.

Mr. Xu sat at the head of the table, Mrs. Xu was on his right, and Xu Chacha sat on his left.

The chair was a bit high, but Xu Chacha was already used to the feeling of her feet dangling when she sat down. She placed her hands on her knees and quietly watched the couple without moving.

Even though it was only dinner for three, the kitchen staff had prepared a rich spread. There were three plates of chicken legs, just as Xu Chacha had mentioned to Mrs. Xu in the car.

Crispy fried chicken legs, braised chicken legs, and curry chicken pieces were all fully laid out before her.

“Why aren’t you eating, Chacha?”

“I am.” Although she said that, Xu Chacha held her chopsticks without moving until she saw Mr. Xu take a bite before she started to eat.

It was a habit formed over years of living under other people’s roofs; it was impolite to start eating before the host did.

Xu Chacha scooped a mouthful of rice and was surprised by the moist and springy texture of the grains. Sure enough, the richest man’s rice is tastier than everyone else’s, sniffle.

“Don’t just eat rice without meat.” Mrs. Xu put a chicken leg on Xu Chacha’s plate. “Here, didn’t you say you love chicken legs? Try this one.”

Xu Chacha swallowed the rice in her mouth and smiled at her. “Thank you, Mommy.”

The braised chicken leg had a thick sauce, a southern flavor with a hint of sweetness, and the meat was soft and slippery. A lot of effort had clearly gone into it.

This chicken leg was larger than Xu Chacha’s fist. She suspected that with her current body’s appetite, eating this leg alone might only leave room for half a bowl of rice.

She puffed out her cheeks and chewed hard, fighting the chicken leg with great seriousness, not even sparing the crunchy cartilage at the end.

Mr. Xu usually followed the rule of silence during meals, but not talking didn’t mean he wasn’t paying attention to Xu Chacha. Seeing the little girl only burying her head in her rice bowl, not daring to reach out for anything else, his feelings were rather complex.

He had been informed by his assistant that the couple had not been good to Xu Chacha at all. The child was not only starved but also locked in a woodshed to sleep, forced to do hard labor from dawn till dusk at such a young age, and was frequently beaten, with the noise being so loud that all the neighbors knew about it.

Knowing this, and now seeing Xu Chacha’s cautious manner even when eating, the old man who usually remained composed in the face of collapse in the workplace actually felt a sting in his nose.

“Here, eat this fish. Daddy specifically had it air-shipped back. It was still alive when it arrived, very fresh.” Mr. Xu picked up a clean dish and served Xu Chacha, using his chopsticks to break off half a fish as thick as an arm, which almost overflowed the plate. “You’re at your own home now. Everything is yours. Don’t be constrained; eat as much as you want.”

After serving the fish, Mr. Xu didn’t stop, continuing to pile other dishes onto Xu Chacha’s plate, trying to give her a little bit of everything until, in the end, a third of the food on the table was heaped in front of Xu Chacha—a veritable mountain of meat and vegetables that she couldn’t possibly consume even if she burst her belly.

Xu Chacha held her chopsticks, her small hands trembling slightly.

“I can’t eat it all.” I’m going to cry!

“It’s okay. Just try a little of everything. If there’s a dish you like, let Auntie make more next time.”

Xu Chacha’s eyes were vacant. Isn’t this already too much?

“That’s right, Chacha. You’re at your own home now. Eat what you want, and buy what you want.” Mrs. Xu’s words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire for Xu Chacha’s pitiful stomach capacity. “Quickly try it. Mommy is watching you eat.”

“Mhm… mhm, okay.” Xu Chacha picked up a small stalk of asparagus and put it in her mouth.

“How can you have energy just eating vegetables? Eat meat, fish, and shrimp.”

Xu Chacha could only pick up a piece of creamy white fish and put it in her mouth under Mrs. Xu’s “supervision.”

“It’s delicious.” She nodded.

“This fish is rich in oil and has a wonderful texture. If you like it, Mommy will buy more next time.”

Xu Chacha quickly shook her head. “No need, no need.”

“What’s wrong? Is the fish not tasty?” Mr. Xu asked.

“It is tasty, very tasty.” Afraid they wouldn’t believe her, Xu Chacha took another large bite.

The fish was indeed well-made, rich in oil, fresh, smooth, tender, and fragrant. What was difficult was that it had no fishy smell at all.

Xu Chacha didn’t like eating fish, but for the sake of these two lovely parents, she could inflate her stomach a little more.

Seeing that Xu Chacha seemed to be enjoying her meal, Mr. Xu gave Mrs. Xu a look, and the latter tentatively spoke.

“Chacha, there is one thing Daddy and Mommy must tell you.”

“Please say it.” Xu Chacha put down her chopsticks.

“It’s alright, keep eating.” Mrs. Xu wiped her mouth. “Listen while you eat.”

“Okay.”

“First of all, Mommy wants to tell you that Daddy and I never gave up searching for you. We always cherished you as our darling heart.”

Xu Chacha lowered her head, shoving greens into her mouth. She could probably guess what Mrs. Xu was about to say from the preamble—nine times out of ten, it was about their adoptive daughter, Xu Yanshu.

The book mentioned that Xu Yanshu was only thirteen when Mr. Xu brought her home, but even at that age, she displayed a calmness and intelligence unlike her peers.

It started when a teacher discovered Xu Yanshu had an exceptionally keen sense of smell and a talent for chemistry. The teacher self-funded her enrollment in a youth competition sponsored by the Xu Group. As expected, after brief training, Xu Yanshu’s scores were leaps and bounds ahead, surpassing high school students seven or eight years older than her, and she won first place in the competition.

That’s how she came into contact with Mr. Xu, who was already a person who valued talent. Furthermore, Xu Yanshu’s pitiful background reminded him of his own daughter.

They hoped that if their daughter was still alive, she would be adopted and cared for by kind people, so they adopted Xu Yanshu with this prayer for blessings in their hearts.

“Six months ago, your Daddy was involved in a charity project and brought back a little friend. She is very smart and very unfortunate; she lost her mommy and daddy when she was very small.” Mrs. Xu paused to observe Xu Chacha’s expression.

Instead of looking sad or resistant, Xu Chacha’s eyes widened curiously as she asked, “Did Mommy take her in then, just like Sister took me in?”

“Yes… Mommy took her in. She lives in our house now too,” Mrs. Xu said softly. “Would Chacha be sad? Mommy absolutely didn’t mean to replace you with another child.”

“Chacha knows.” Xu Chacha reached out her small hand and placed it on Mrs. Xu’s hand. “If it weren’t for Sister, Chacha wouldn’t have seen Mommy and Daddy. So Chacha thinks that Mommy and Daddy taking in that little friend is like Sister, doing a good deed.”

In the original story, the former owner made a big fuss upon hearing this news, even going on a hunger strike in protest. However, at that time she was fifteen and Xu Yanshu was twenty-one, and the latter had already begun to get involved in the internal affairs of the Xu Group. Xu Chacha’s protest was useless and only made Xu Yanshu wary of her, laying the groundwork for their future animosity.

But Xu Chacha knew that Xu Yanshu actually hadn’t done anything wrong. In the Xu family, she had always studied hard and focused completely on her research, aiming to repay Mr. and Mrs. Xu later.

Moreover, Xu Yanshu had initially wanted to get along with her younger sister, but after the other girl constantly mocked her status as an orphan and even stole a crucial perfume formula, causing tens of millions in experiments to be wasted, she finally couldn’t help but retaliate.

“I’m sorry, Chacha.” Mrs. Xu held back tears. Facing such an obedient and sensible Xu Chacha, she was momentarily speechless.

She knew children’s minds were sensitive and had been worried that Xu Chacha would develop negative thoughts before speaking, having rehearsed countless drafts in her mind and thought of many euphemistic words. But she hadn’t expected Xu Chacha to react like this.

“Mommy, don’t cry.” Xu Chacha stood up, went around to Mrs. Xu, stood on her tiptoes, and used her hand to wipe beneath Mrs. Xu’s eyes. “Why cry when you do a good deed? You should smile!”

“Mhm, Mommy won’t cry.” Mrs. Xu forced a smile at her.

After stabilizing Parent No. 1’s emotions, Xu Chacha sat back down, naturally transitioning the topic.

“Why isn’t that little friend here today?”

“She boards at school and only comes home on weekends. Does Chacha want to see her?”

“Yes!” Xu Chacha nodded vigorously. “Chacha likes playing with little friends.”

“Then, can Mommy bring her back this weekend?”

“Mhm!” Xu Chacha showed an angelic smile. “I hope that little friend will like Chacha.”