After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 18

Although the rest was brief, it was enough to return her to her most perfect state.

The Thai restaurant Xia Yihuan had chosen blindly was indeed good. After returning home, Ye An casually forwarded the location to Sheng Shiwen and Liu Yue, recommending they give it a try when they were free.

Afterward, she put down her phone, pulled out her favorite high-end skincare products, and meticulously performed a full routine. She followed this by getting into bed early, turning on the essential oil lamp by her bedside, and comfortably enjoying a long session of beauty sleep.

The past two days had been very pleasant.

In the blink of an eye, it was Monday.

The drafts from the Design Department had finally been revised to a satisfactory state. Once Ye An confirmed them, she signaled the factory to begin a trial production run to see the final results.

Meanwhile, the shooting for the new theme, Fawn Treading on Fragrance, was proceeding smoothly. Lu Man had recently seen several of her new projects released to great acclaim; her fan count exploded overnight, and the sales for several niche brands she endorsed broke records in tandem.

She was now a red-hot newcomer; collaborating with her was no longer a simple matter.

Ye An couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Her decision to select Lu Man as the spokesperson now seemed like a very wise choice indeed.

However, since that one time, Lu Man had not taken the initiative to contact her again.

Ye An understood that her previous attitude might have hurt the girl’s feelings, but there was nothing to be done about it. The girl was still young and had a long road ahead; she was bound to meet someone more suitable.

It was better than wasting her youth on a woman who was about to die.

At this thought, Ye An arched an eyebrow. As she gradually grew used to self-deprecation, the blows that used to be unbearable seemed to lose their sting.

Perhaps one day she would be able to find peace—to accept her own death calmly and honestly.

“Sigh.” Ye An let out a soft sigh, took a brief moment to regroup, and looked down to continue the work in front of her.

It wasn’t until the lunch break that she paused.

Today, her assistant was out with the legal department, leaving the office empty. Ye An took advantage of the quiet moment and reached for her cup, only to find that the coffee inside had long since gone cold.

She paused, thinking that a bit of movement would do her good. She stood up, took her cup, and walked toward the pantry.

Before she even reached the door, she heard the sound of whispering from inside.

Shi Qian had a meticulous internal division of labor with numerous departments. To increase efficiency, a separate pantry was established on every floor, equipped not only with water dispensers and coffee machines but also refrigerators and microwaves for employee use.

During lunch breaks, the pantries on the lower floors were usually very lively.

The pantry on Ye An’s floor was the exception—after all, no one wanted to accidentally bump into the boss during their break.

However, there are exceptions to every rule; there were always a few people who didn’t mind.

The two voices were kept very low, but because the surroundings were so quiet, Ye An could clearly hear their conversation. They sounded like the company’s newly recruited interns, whispering their wonder at how even a small pantry in a big company was so exquisite.

“Of course it is,” another girl quickly replied. “This is Shi Qian! A company everyone breaks their heads trying to get into.”

“Our boss is really amazing,” she said proudly. “Not only is she beautiful and elegant, but her professional ability is so top-tier. When I was in college, I saved up money to buy a Shi Qian perfume, and that scent was absolutely divine!”

“I still have the bottle even now,” she added.

“Yeah, I’ve kept several bottles as treasures. Every time I look at them, I feel a great sense of accomplishment—that’s the ’empire’ I’ve built up over the years!” The girl who spoke first, “Girl A,” chimed in. “I never thought I’d have the honor of becoming a Shi Qian employee. It makes me even more proud!”

The two were unstinting in their praise and love for Shi Qian.

Although eavesdropping wasn’t honorable, Ye An had to admit that these words made her feel both pleased and gratified.

She unconsciously slowed her pace, wanting to hear what they would talk about next.

Then, Girl A spoke again: “Do you think President Ye has a partner right now?”

Ye An’s footsteps faltered instantly.

“I don’t know,” Girl B shook her head. “I haven’t seen any news about it online.”

“Besides, President Ye is so busy, where would she find the time for a relationship?” She paused before adding, “What kind of man could possibly be a match for our President Ye? Could an ordinary person even catch her eye?”

“But…” Girl A seemed to have something else to say. “I saw online that President Ye’s family relationships seem quite bad. She’s alone all year round—doesn’t she feel lonely?”

“That’s not for us to worry about.” Having finished filling her coffee, Girl B turned to the snack cabinet, picked out a few bags of snacks, and prepared to leave. “Let’s go, let’s go. I still have several files to finish.”

The two girls walked away, joking and nudging each other, disappearing from Ye An’s line of sight.

“…”

After a long moment, Ye An sighed softly.

It was just a small episode, and she didn’t pay it much mind. She carried her coffee back to her office and dove back into her busy schedule.

As the workday drew to a close, she received two messages in succession.

One was from Xia Yihuan, telling her she had something to do tonight and might arrive a bit late. Ye An didn’t rush to reply and opened the second message.

It was actually from Lu Man.

Today was Lu Man’s birthday.

Ye An had known about this for a while and had already instructed the person in charge of coordinating with her to send a decent birthday gift on behalf of Shi Qian. She thought that would be the end of it, but she hadn’t expected to receive an invitation from Lu Man herself.

It seemed she wanted to invite Ye An to her birthday dinner.

[Because work is so busy, the birthday party this time isn’t a grand event. Only some of my non-industry best friends and family are coming. President Ye, you are the person I admire most. If you could come, I would be very, very happy.]

The words were full of sincere emotion. Ye An frowned, thinking of how to respond.

Before she could say anything, another message from Lu Man arrived: [If you can come, it will be the most precious gift I receive this year. Truly, thank you.]

Ye An hadn’t expected her to put it in such terms.

Given the ongoing partnership between Shi Qian and Lu Man, she couldn’t refuse too bluntly. Furthermore, she did have a good impression of the girl. Faced with such a request, Ye An’s heart softened.

She eventually typed a reply: [Alright, Miss Lu. I will definitely attend the birthday dinner tonight.]

As expected, Lu Man was delighted, sending several celebration emojis in a row.

Normally she appeared polite and dignified, but at her core, she was just a young woman who hadn’t been an adult for very long. Ye An looked at the emojis and smiled, finding this little sister quite cute.

Lu Man quickly sent the address.

Ye An confirmed it, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then switched interfaces to re-open Xia Yihuan’s message.

She replied quickly: [It’s fine, Yihuan, no rush. I happen to have some things to handle on my end as well.]

[We’ll talk on the phone then,] she said.

Xia Yihuan’s reply came just as fast: [Understood, President Ye.]

Ye An was silent for a few seconds. Seeing no further reply, she clicked the compose box and slowly typed out: [It’s a friend’s birthday party. The location is XX Street, No. XX. There will likely be many people. I might just say hello and then head back. At that time, you…]

As she reached that point, Ye An suddenly froze.

Since when did she become so talkative?

She stopped typing and reviewed the words she had just written. The more she looked at them, the more it felt like she was “reporting” her whereabouts to Xia Yihuan. Ridiculous. What was her relationship with Xia Yihuan that required such a detailed report?

In the next second, she deleted the unfinished message. Instead, she went to her chat with Lu Man, took the location pin, and forwarded it directly to Xia Yihuan.

She added a cool: [Don’t forget.]

[Come here then.]