After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 15

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to get off work.

Since the next two days were rest days, Ye An didn’t want to take work into the weekend. She naturally put in a little overtime, and by the time she walked out of the company, Xia Yihuan was already standing at the door waiting for her.

“Why didn’t you come up to wait?” Ye An asked, looking up at the person before her. Since that party, Xia Yihuan had done as she wished and never wore casual clothes again.

She was naturally gifted with a beautiful face, a slender waist, and long legs; wherever she stood, she attracted countless gazes.

Especially in a dress, she was exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Ye An found herself in an inexplicably good mood. “It’s summer now and the temperature is high, so waiting out here is fine for now, but what about when winter comes?”

She sighed softly. “My office is so large; it’s not like it can’t accommodate one extra person. In the future, just come up when you should.”

“Okay,” Xia Yihuan responded as soon as she finished speaking. “Understood, President Ye.”

Ye An nodded. “Let’s go.”

The two of them soon settled into the car.

Ye An had already looked up the styles she wanted and had even picked out a few colors suitable for Xia Yihuan. While the car was starting up, Ye An casually showed her the phone screen. “What do you think of these?”

Xia Yihuan glanced sideways. “Isn’t it a bit flamboyant?”

“Is it?” Ye An arched an eyebrow. She took Xia Yihuan’s hand and looked down at it. “I think it’s just right.”

Xia Yihuan couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at that. “Then I’ll follow President Ye’s lead.”

She really listens to whatever I say.

Ye An shook her head, the corners of her lips turning up unconsciously. She released Xia Yihuan’s hand and sat back up straight. “No, go with your own preference.”

“I’m actually a bit tired after a long day,” she said, deciding to lean against the backrest and rest her eyes for a bit. “Wake me when we arrive.”

Xia Yihuan nodded. “Mhm.”

The car soon set off. Ye An had pre-booked an appointment at a nail salon in the city center. Their technique was excellent, capable of nearly 100% replicating any style you wanted; aside from being extremely expensive, it had no flaws.

But for Ye An, this wasn’t an issue. Compared to high prices, she found “ugly” nails far more unbearable.

While Xia Yihuan was parking, Ye An walked into the shop first.

“President Ye,” a young girl in the shop greeted her enthusiastically. “Long time no see, you’ve become even more beautiful.”

“What style are we doing this time?” She smiled and politely led Ye An inside. “Please sit here and wait a moment. I’ll remove your old polish right away.”

“No rush,” Ye An said, showing her the pictures she had chosen earlier. “Can this style be done?”

The girl looked down as she began cleaning Ye An’s hands. “Of course. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

A shallow smile played on Ye An’s lips. “That’s good.”

The girl had attended to Ye An several times before, so they were fairly familiar. Ye An enjoyed chatting with people of different professions and ages; she liked using such methods to understand their desires and needs, which was very helpful for her work.

The two chatted back and forth for quite a while. Just as the old polish was completely removed, Xia Yihuan finally arrived.

Ye An looked up. “What took you so long? Were there no parking spaces?”

“No,” Xia Yihuan shook her head. “I just took a phone call.”

“What call could be that important?” Ye An let out a small yawn, not thinking much of it. “Sit down quickly and pick a style you like.”

As she spoke, Xia Yihuan seemed to pause. “I’m sorry, President Ye… I’m afraid I have to break our plans tonight.”

Her tone was full of apology. “Something has come up that I need to handle.”

To have a set plan suddenly cancelled would usually make anyone a bit displeased.

Ye An turned her head back toward her, remaining silent for a few seconds. She didn’t press for details, but her eyebrows arched slightly as she said to herself, “It seems it really is an important matter.”

It was still early, and the streets were crowded. Since it was a rare day off, Ye An had naturally packed her schedule.

Originally, she had planned to go out for a meal followed by a spa treatment, but now that a person was suddenly missing from her side, it felt a bit meaningless.

“Forget it,” Ye An thought, shaking her head. “If we’re not doing it, we’re not doing it.”

“Treat this visit as just a removal. Since I’m the one changing plans, just charge me for a single service,” she smiled, greeting the young girl. “There’s always time; let’s reschedule for later.”

With that, she stood up.

Xia Yihuan shook her head, her beautiful eyes searching Ye An’s face. “…It’s a rare day off. You don’t have to accommodate me like this, President Ye.”

“It’s fine,” Ye An said, looking down at her clean, bare nails. This look was something she wasn’t used to; she might as well buy a bottle of polish later tonight to make do. “I just suddenly don’t feel like doing it anymore.”

“Don’t you have something urgent?” she said, meeting Xia Yihuan’s eyes again. She could tell this “Inaccessible Flower” didn’t have many friends; accommodating her a bit on certain matters was no big deal.

“Let’s go.”

Half an hour later, the car slowly pulled up in front of a group of old residential buildings.

Yesterday’s incident hadn’t been properly resolved yet. The residents were terrified and kept complaining to the property management. The typically inactive management didn’t want to take responsibility and kept bringing in the developers to bicker with one another.

Teacher Yang was elderly; having experienced such a scare, she was still feeling the aftereffects.

“Xiao Xia…” Seeing Xia Yihuan arrive, Teacher Yang felt both happy and apologetic. “I’m so sorry to call you over when you’re so busy with work.”

“It’s no problem.” Xia Yihuan shook her head, stepping forward to support Teacher Yang’s hand. “How are you, Teacher? Did you sleep well last night?”

“Quite well, quite well,” Teacher Yang said hurriedly. Xia Yihuan had a friend currently living abroad whose house was unoccupied; it happened to need someone to look after it and keep it ventilated. Teacher Yang was a clean and domestic person, so the friend was more than happy to have her stay. “Xiao Xia, you must help me thank your friend.”

Xia Yihuan smiled. “I certainly will.”

“So, Teacher, today is…?”

“Oh, I wanted to bring some things over…” Teacher Yang’s tone became a bit cramped. “After all, I’m getting older and not as agile as I used to be. It would be so embarrassing if I bumped or broke someone else’s things.”

“Plus, I’ve grown used to living here alone. Every day I open and close my eyes to these things. I don’t usually think much of it, but suddenly changing places makes me a bit unsettled,” Teacher Yang said. “So I wanted to take some things with me. Not much, just enough to look at for comfort…”

Since Han Ning passed away, the teacher had aged very quickly over the years. Xia Yihuan felt sad and regretful whenever she saw her, especially when hearing her speak with such an uneasy, pleasing tone.

“Alright, then let’s head upstairs now.” With that thought, Xia Yihuan nodded gently. She turned her gaze toward Ye An and said quickly, “By the way, Teacher, I forgot to introduce you. This is my boss, President Ye.”

“President Ye, this is Teacher Yang, a senior I respect deeply.”

When she said “respect,” Xia Yihuan’s tone visibly softened.

Ye An smiled and politely greeted Teacher Yang. Her gaze instinctively drifted to the woman beside her; this version of Xia Yihuan was not something she saw often.

Xia Yihuan soon met her eyes. “There are no elevators in these old buildings. You’ve had a long day, President Ye. Why don’t you wait for me in the car?”

“No,” Ye An said. “I spend all day in the office lacking exercise anyway. Since I have the chance, I might as well walk more.”

“Besides, I want to help.” She smiled, supporting the teacher’s other arm. “The moment I saw Teacher, I felt a sense of familiarity. Teacher Yang looks very much like a senior of mine…”

She was naturally good at conversation and could become familiar with anyone easily. In just a few words, she had Teacher Yang sounding very happy. “Thank you so much, President Ye.”

“Our Xiao Xia mentioned you to me recently, saying you look out for her a lot and are a very good person. President Ye, if you have time later, why don’t you stay for dinner?”

Ye An glanced at Xia Yihuan, hearing her evaluation of her from someone else for the first time. The smile on her lips deepened. “I’d love to.”

Teacher Yang didn’t have much to take; they moved everything in one trip.

The car drove the three of them back to Teacher Yang’s current residence. When facing elders, Ye An was always the most humble; she continued to support Teacher Yang’s arm even after getting out of the car.

“I’ll handle the things in the car,” Xia Yihuan said. “I won’t trouble President Ye with such small tasks, or I’ll feel truly uneasy.”

Ye An nodded and gave her a beaming smile. “Then I’ll go help Teacher Yang with the cooking.”

Xia Yihuan replied, “Okay.”

She watched the two of them walk inside. The evening breeze blew against her, ruffling the flowers in the courtyard and the hair on their heads. Xia Yihuan stared at Ye An’s back for a long while, a faint smile gradually appearing on her lips.

As time progressed, the image of Ye An in her heart was becoming more fleshed out; every day, she understood her a bit more than the day before.

Just as she had once thought—

This person was truly good.

Teacher Yang’s cooking was delicious. Because it carried the “flavor of life” and human warmth, it was not inferior to any meal Ye An had ever eaten.

After dinner, Teacher Yang refused to let them work and insisted on handling the cleanup herself, telling the two young women to go for a walk in the courtyard.

The temperature tonight was just right.

The breeze felt very comfortable against their cheeks. Ye An rested her hand on Xia Yihuan’s as they slowly paced through the garden. The owner of the house was likely someone who loved life; the plants in the yard were varied and numerous.

Ye An eventually stopped in front of a flower bed. “There are even Impatiens here.”

“I wonder if Yihuan has ever played with these,” Ye An said, smoothing her skirt as she bent down to pick up scattered petals. “These flowers can be used to color your nails.”

“When I was little, my friends and I played with them often,” she smiled, her voice tinged with nostalgia. “Back then, nail polish was too expensive. we were poor but loved beauty, so we used these to make do.”

As she spoke, she casually crushed the petals against her nails. The juice from the petals gradually bled out, slowly staining her clean, smooth nails with color.

“Normally, you’re supposed to add something else to it,” Ye An murmured. “But since we’re just playing, never mind.”

“Yihuan, do you want to try?” she asked on a whim. “Since we couldn’t do the manicure tonight, why don’t you do it for me instead?”

“I might not apply it well,” Xia Yihuan smiled. Though she said that, her body crouched down as she began gathering the fallen petals from the ground.

“It’s fine,” Ye An said. “I’m in a good mood today; I won’t blame you if it’s messy.”

“Excuse my intrusion.” Xia Yihuan lowered her gaze and gently cupped Ye An’s hand, crushing the petals on her fingertips and applying them to her nails bit by bit.

It was as if she were holding a piece of art; every movement was extremely gentle and cautious.

For some reason, Ye An felt a strange itch at her fingertips, but she didn’t speak to interrupt. She let Xia Yihuan finish painting them one by one. Only then did she lift her hand under the courtyard lights to inspect them carefully.

“Just barely passable,” she laughed after a moment. “There’s still a big gap compared to the professionals. Sixty percent at most.”

“But it’s okay; it’s not ugly.” She said this, and despite being a lifelong perfectionist, she uncharacteristically didn’t get angry. Instead, she accepted this imperfect work.

“I quite like it.”