After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 23

The Shi Qian dormitory building wasn’t far from the office. Half an hour later, Ye An arrived at Xia Yihuan’s door.

Xia Yihuan hadn’t locked the door. Ye An gave a polite knock, and upon receiving permission, she stepped inside.

The conditions of the Shi Qian dormitories were actually quite good. They were typically shared by two people, offering ample space and complete facilities. While they couldn’t compare to Xia Yihuan’s previous residence, they were comfortable enough.

Furthermore, Ye An had specifically instructed that no other employees be assigned to this room. So, for all intents and purposes, this was Xia Yihuan’s private space.

Ye An had expected Xia Yihuan to put some effort into arranging and decorating the room.

But she hadn’t.

Ye An glanced around and saw that the layout of all the furniture was exactly as it had been before Xia Yihuan moved in. Not only that, but Xia Yihuan had remarkably few belongings: only a few clean items of clothing in the wardrobe, almost no clutter on the desk, and the bedding consisted of just a single pillow and a thin quilt. In the trash can by the desk lay a few pieces of gauze she had recently changed out of.

It was very clean, but perhaps too clean.

If Xia Yihuan weren’t currently sitting upright on the bed, Ye An would have believed no one lived here at all.

Truly a person with no desires.

Ye An couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow slightly.

Noticing her entrance, Xia Yihuan turned her head and said softly, “President Ye.”

“Mhm.” Ye An nodded. She walked over and sat beside her, placing the items she was carrying on the table. “How is your hand?”

“Better than yesterday,” Xia Yihuan said. “It doesn’t hurt as much, though it’s still a bit difficult to pick things up.”

“You need to rest it more,” Ye An sighed. She looked to the side and picked up the antiseptic and cotton swabs from the table. “Sit a bit closer, I’ll help you apply the medicine.”

Hearing this, Xia Yihuan obediently scooted toward her.

Ye An dipped a swab in the medicine and looked down, carefully treating the scratches on Xia Yihuan’s arms. Last night, she had been in a poor state and hadn’t checked thoroughly; only now did she realize there were even more wounds than she had imagined.

This made Ye An instinctively lighten her movements. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s alright.” Xia Yihuan shook her head with a light smile.

“Turn around.” After finishing with the arms, Ye An looked toward her back. Xia Yihuan was wearing a relatively loose shirt today; the soft, smooth fabric draped over her figure, lightly enveloping her body.

For some reason, Ye An suddenly felt that this person seemed excessively thin.

“You…” she cleared her throat before continuing, “unbutton the front. It’ll be easier that way; I’m afraid of accidentally bumping your wounds.”

Xia Yihuan complied: “Okay.”

“Mhm.” Ye An stopped talking, waiting quietly as Xia Yihuan unfastened the buttons one by one and eventually took the shirt off.

“What are you…?” Ye An hadn’t expected her to take it off entirely.

“This is more convenient,” Xia Yihuan said. She gathered her hair to one side, exposing her smooth back. “Sorry to trouble you, President Ye.”

“…Fine.” Ye An felt a bit helpless, but the moment she saw the large patch of blue and purple bruising on Xia Yihuan’s back, her previous annoyance vanished.

For a moment, she didn’t even know where to start.

“This might hurt a little.” Ye An took a deep breath, her brow furrowing. “I’ll try to be as gentle as possible.”

Xia Yihuan curled her lips into a calm smile. “It’s fine.”

Ye An found herself understanding her less and less.

They had been together for over a month now. While Xia Yihuan wasn’t as cold as the rumors suggested, she was indeed a woman of few words.

Gradually, Ye An discovered that she didn’t just speak little—her needs were also excessively few. Aside from her stamp-collecting hobby, she had never mentioned anything she liked. Whether it was the flavor of food or the choice of clothing, Ye An had initially assumed it was because she grew up wealthy and had seen it all. Now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“This room belongs to you,” Ye An paused, eventually unable to hold back. “Why haven’t you decorated it properly?”

Xia Yihuan replied, “There’s no need. As long as I can rest, it’s enough, President Ye…”

“But I don’t like it like this.” Ye An couldn’t stand her attitude and interrupted her. “I have a friend who does home decor. In a few days, you’re coming with me to pick out some things you like.”

“And the balcony—other girls know to keep a few pots of flowers and plants.” Ye An gave instructions while applying the medicine. “You should too. If there’s a specific variety you like, tell me, and I’ll have someone buy them for you.”

“This room is too cold and lonely. Even if you live alone, you can’t neglect the things that make a home.”

Xia Yihuan seemed to be lost in thought and didn’t answer for a long time.

Ye An waited a moment, her patience finally running thin. “Speak up.”

Only then did Xia Yihuan say, “Okay.”

Ye An was finally satisfied.

After applying the medicine, it was still early. Ye An didn’t want to go to the cafeteria, so she had brought her own lunch to eat there. The food from the cafeteria was freshly cooked, still emitting faint wisps of steam.

The originally desolate room seemed to become a bit livelier due to Ye An’s visit.

Ye An looked down, picking up a vegetable with her chopsticks. She suddenly remembered the movie tickets her assistant had given her. “Yihuan, are you free tonight?”

Xia Yihuan looked over. “I have no plans. Why, President Ye?”

“Then let’s go see a movie together,” Ye An said, taking one of the tickets and placing it on the table. “A subordinate gave them to me. It’s a newly released film, and the reviews are supposedly quite good.”

Xia Yihuan looked at her. “Aren’t you going to invite a friend, President Ye?”

Ye An thought to herself: If I could find a friend to invite, would I be asking you?

“So, you don’t want to go?” she paused, not answering directly but tossing the question back with a slight smile.

Xia Yihuan laughed along with her and reached out to take the ticket.

“No, I’d love to go.”

Time flew by, and soon it was time to get off work.

The police station called to ask more questions about the accident. Ye An was busy answering and accidentally lost track of time. Just as she was about to pack up and go downstairs, a knock sounded at the door.

“Enter.” Ye An looked up, and Xia Yihuan appeared in her field of vision.

Ye An couldn’t help but let her lips curve upward. “Why did you come up?”

“Didn’t President Ye instruct me before?” Xia Yihuan said. Despite the discomfort in her right hand, she naturally took Ye An’s coat and draped it over her shoulders. “You told me to come up and wait from now on.”

“True.” Ye An nodded. Worried about her injuries, she stepped back slightly. “I’ll put it on myself.”

“Okay.” Xia Yihuan quickly lowered her hand. “I’ll call the driver then.”

“Mhm.” Ye An agreed. After a long day of work, she didn’t want to drive herself; otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent so much money to hire Xia Yihuan as her assistant. “I checked just now; there’s a Japanese restaurant nearby with good reviews. Since there’s still time before the movie, let’s eat there first.”

Xia Yihuan nodded in agreement.

After packing up, they went downstairs. The restaurant Ye An mentioned was a local specialty. Not only was the decor exquisite and the ingredients fresh, but it had won several awards over the years. The chefs were elite, hired from all over by the owner with high salaries.

Another noteworthy point was that the restaurant had no fixed menu; the dishes served depended entirely on the ingredients available that day and the chef’s mood.

Once they entered the private room, Ye An ordered an orange juice for Xia Yihuan.

“You have injuries, you shouldn’t drink,” she said, looking around at the decor. The restaurant was small, and the private room was tiny, accommodating only four or five people at most. However, because effort had been put into the design, it didn’t feel cramped, but rather cozy and comfortable.

It had a warmth similar to “home.”

Ye An looked around and thought a few of the plants were nice, and some of the landscaping and ornaments were interesting. She could arrange some of these for Xia Yihuan’s room later.

As she was thinking, the first dish was served.

Foie gras.

The portion was quite generous—a large piece of foie gras. Ye An looked at Xia Yihuan, knowing her hand was inconvenient, and naturally picked up the knife and fork to cut it for her.

Xia Yihuan couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you, President Ye.”

“You’re welcome,” Ye An said.

Soon after, the second dish followed. Ye An glanced at it: Steak.

Ye An remained silent for a few seconds. Since I’m already helping, I might as well go all the way. “I’ll cut this one for you too, Yihuan.”

“Will it be too much trouble for you?” Xia Yihuan asked.

“No.”

The steak was much larger than the foie gras, and Ye An had to put in a bit of effort to finish cutting it. Just as she finished, the waiter brought out a potato onsen tamago. The egg was wrapped in layers of mashed potato, and the outer skin was seared golden and crispy.

Xia Yihuan didn’t speak; she just looked up at her.

“…”

Ye An inexplicably felt that she wasn’t here to eat, but was here specifically to serve her.

“When your hand is better, we should come back again,” Ye An said, amused and slightly annoyed. “Then you can be like me and handle everything for me.”

Hearing the dissatisfaction in her voice, Xia Yihuan’s lips turned up. “Of course. As long as President Ye is willing, we can come as many times as you like.”

Hearing this made Ye An feel better. She nodded, her mood improving significantly, and pushed the plate toward her. “Hurry up and eat, it’ll be cold soon.”

“I’m almost done here too,” she said. She was about to make the final cut when Xia Yihuan picked up a piece of steak and brought it to Ye An’s lips.

“I haven’t used this fork yet.” Xia Yihuan looked up, propping her chin on her left hand and smiling at her. “You’ve worked hard, President Ye.”

“You go first.”