After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 14

After removing Ye An’s makeup, Xia Yihuan stood back up.

Just as others had said, Ye An’s face was truly captivating. In the past, Xia Yihuan had only seen her fully made up—the peach blossom eyes lovely and spirited, the beautiful cheeks fair and translucent, and those thin lips always adorned with a seductive touch of red. She was a natural perfectionist who never overlooked even the smallest detail.

Such beauty was enough to catch anyone’s eye and make her impossible to forget after just one look.

As Xia Yihuan had said earlier, she sincerely believed Ye An was beautiful.

But now that she had seen Ye An’s bare face, she finally realized that Ye An’s beauty existed in many forms. Words like pure, clean, charming, and sexy could actually all apply to the same person.

“I’ve been sleeping a bit late these past few days, and my skincare routine hasn’t been up to par,” Ye An yawned, taking the mirror Xia Yihuan handed her to check her reflection. “You’d better hurry up and forget what I look like right now.”

At those words, Xia Yihuan seemed to let out a soft laugh. “I actually think President Ye looks very beautiful without makeup—it’s not a bit inferior to your usual look.”

Ye An looked over. “Really?”

Xia Yihuan said seriously, “Yes.”

Her words were always quite pleasant to hear.

Ye An nodded. Recently, Liu Yue had recommended a new skincare brand to her. Ye An had researched it and thought it looked good. She had just received it a couple of days ago and hadn’t had a chance to try it yet. “I’m going to the bathroom; Yihuan, make yourself at home.”

“It’s getting late.” Xia Yihuan shook her head. “I’ll head back now; I won’t disturb President Ye further.”

Ye An nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Oh, right—remember to pick me up a bit later tomorrow.” Afraid Xia Yihuan might forget, Ye An added another instruction. “There isn’t much to do tomorrow, so I’ll be heading in late.”

“You too,” she smiled, glancing back. “You’ve looked like you’re lacking sleep these past two days. Take this chance to get some good rest.”

No matter how one heard it, those words sounded like she was caring for her.

“Understood.” Xia Yihuan nodded slightly. “Thank you, President Ye.”

Soon, Xia Yihuan was back in the car.

The sky was pitch black now, and there were almost no pedestrians left on the streets. As the car moved through the night, the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Xia Yihuan took a deep breath, reconstructing the thread of the entire situation in her mind.

This practice of hers had started when she was very, very young. If she had to trace it back, it was likely when she was seven years old.

That was the first time Xia Yihuan realized her life was being monitored by someone.

She couldn’t describe the feeling. For a long time, she hadn’t dared to stare into the darkness, always feeling as though someone was standing there silently.

She couldn’t hear that person’s voice or see their face; she only felt as if she were in an ice cellar, her entire body wrapped in fear and unease.

That presence was like a bomb buried deep underground, at risk of exploding at any moment. It controlled everything about her, restricted her actions, and would even use any means necessary to force her back onto the “correct” track if she deviated.

For example, the incident with Teacher Yang today was a punishment for her “lack of ambition.”

At this thought, Xia Yihuan frowned slightly. “023, you there?”

“What’s up!” It was rare for her host to seek her out proactively, and 023 was overjoyed, quickly popping up. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Xia Yihuan said. “I just wanted to ask if the program at the General Bureau has been fixed yet.”

“It seems to be close,” 023 replied. “I don’t know what the higher-ups are doing. This loophole is truly massive. Normally, a few bugs wouldn’t take this long to fix.”

023 sighed. “In the end, they won’t even give any compensation, and my host is the one suffering. If you hadn’t gone bankrupt, you wouldn’t have to live in staff dorms every day…”

The System grumbled to itself for a long while.

Xia Yihuan withdrew her thoughts, neither interrupting nor stopping it, merely steering the car to make a turn at the intersection ahead.

In truth, there were many things she had never told her System.

—For instance, the accidental bankruptcy… if one looked at the root cause, it actually had to do with her.

At nine o’clock the next morning, Ye An got into Xia Yihuan’s car.

She had managed a rare good night’s sleep, and combined with the effects of the new face mask, Ye An felt her skin was in much better condition than before.

This made her feel quite happy, and she even brought two boxes to give to Xia Yihuan.

“Thank you, President Ye.” Xia Yihuan seemed a bit surprised.

“You’re welcome.” Ye An smiled dismissively, looking down to check her nails. She had grown tired of this style recently and was planning to get a new one. “Any plans for the evening?”

“None,” Xia Yihuan shook her head. “Where does President Ye want to go?”

“Take me to get a manicure,” Ye An said. “Since tomorrow is a day off, we might as well go for a spa treatment, too.”

She curled her lips into a shallow smile. “My treat?”

Xia Yihuan glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “I’ll just—”

“Didn’t I say?” Ye An interrupted her, looking over. “No standing on ceremony with me.”

She spoke with such righteous conviction that it left no room for refusal. After a moment, Xia Yihuan nodded gently. “Alright. Then, thank you in advance, President Ye.”

Only then was Ye An satisfied.

The car turned at the intersection and arrived at Shi Qian a few minutes later.

Ye An pushed the door open, straightened her skirt, and stepped into the company. After handling a few matters, the phone beside her rang.

It was a message from Lu Man: [Good morning, President Ye.]

[Thank you for looking after me last night. There were too many people then to thank you properly. If there’s a chance, could we have dinner together again?]

This is a bit too polite.

Ye An arched an eyebrow. After a few seconds of silence, she sent a composed reply: [It was just a small favor, Miss Lu, no need to worry about it.]

[It is Shi Qian’s honor to work with you. Your professionalism and dedicated attitude are an inspiration to us. Every employee present yesterday had nothing but praise for you. I’m sure there will be many opportunities for us to dine together in the future if you are willing.]

She added a smile: [Of course, it will be Shi Qian’s treat.]

She knew perfectly well that wasn’t what Lu Man meant.

After the message was sent, the other side remained silent for a long time. Ye An didn’t say more and went back to work. Only after she had read through several emails did a reply finally arrive.

Lu Man’s tone was clearly no longer as intimate as before: [Alright, President Ye. I look forward to our future collaborations.]

Ye An took a few sips of her coffee, exchanged a couple more pleasantries with Lu Man, and exited WeChat.

Having spent so much time in society, Ye An had sensed Lu Man’s intentions shortly after they met. Lu Man had entered the industry at a very young age and was only 21 now; the feelings of young people are always hard to hide.

Ye An didn’t actually dislike people like Lu Man. They were positive, sunny, and passionate, possessing enough fervor and desire for many things. But for some matters, having those qualities alone was far from enough.

Perhaps they also needed a level of reliability and a sense of responsibility.

Ye An wouldn’t date someone significantly younger than herself. She had never considered it before, and now that her life was nearing its end, she certainly wouldn’t start. The reason she had exchanged contact info with Lu Man last night was purely out of respect.

Before she knew it, the phone buzzed again. Ye An picked it up; this time, it was a message from Xia Yihuan: [President Ye, I’ve replaced my SIM card and gotten a new phone. If there’s anything today, please feel free to contact me.]

Ye An was surprised: [So efficient.]

She quickly typed: [Nothing much for now, just don’t forget our plans for tonight. By the way, the restaurant you recommended before was good. Any other places you’d recommend?]

After working hard for so many days, it was a rare day off, and she wanted to reward herself.

At this thought, Ye An couldn’t help but smile, editing one more sentence to send over—

[Of course, it must be my treat.]