After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 28

Early the next morning, the rain finally stopped.

Ye An woke up on time as usual. Pushing open the window and looking out, the fresh air instantly flooded her lungs. The sky was a brilliant, washed blue, and droplets of water gathered on the flower petals.

The scenery after the rain was beautiful and truly uplifting. Ye An couldn’t help but smile, instinctively standing by the window to admire it a little longer.

She never liked the rain, but she loved the clear, bright days that followed.

As she watched, the phone by her bed suddenly chimed—likely another message from her assistant checking today’s itinerary.

Ye An closed the window, turned to the bed, and picked up her phone. She had only glanced at it for a few moments when she heard a knock at the door.

Stunned, Ye An only then realized there was another person in the house.

“Come in.” She cleared her throat, quickly tying up her slightly messy hair and smoothing her pajamas. She looked up at the person entering and smiled lightly. “What is it, Yihuan? Did you sleep well last night?”

“Very well,” Xia Yihuan nodded. “Thank you for letting me stay over, President Ye.”

“You’re welcome. Is something the matter?”

“I made breakfast.” Xia Yihuan’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Come eat once you’ve finished washing up.”

Ye An paused, instinctively checking the time. It was only 6:30 AM. How early had Xia Yihuan gotten up to have breakfast already prepared?

“Oh, okay.” Since she hadn’t washed her face yet, Ye An didn’t want to be seen like this. She nodded, indicating she’d be right there, and hurried into the bathroom.

By the time she finished getting ready, Xia Yihuan had already served her breakfast.

Ye An looked down at the spread: white porridge, egg pancakes, eggs, and a few small side dishes. It was the most common breakfast combination—nothing fancy, but it felt incredibly comfortable.

Steaming hot, it carried a reassuring “sense of home.”

Ye An sat down. Xia Yihuan handed her the chopsticks. “Are you going to the office today, President Ye?”

“Yes.” Ye An nodded and took a bite of an egg pancake. Xia Yihuan’s cooking was indeed excellent—the pancake was soft, tender, and delicious. “There’s a lot to do today.”

“What about you?” she asked, curious about Xia Yihuan’s plans.

“I’ll walk around a bit,” Xia Yihuan said. “See if there’s any business to be done lately.”

“Hmm?” Ye An was confused. “Didn’t you tell me last night that you wanted to rest for a while? Why the sudden change of heart today?”

“I thought about it carefully.” Xia Yihuan smiled, peeling an egg and placing it in front of Ye An. “I can’t stay decadent forever.”

“Besides, I’ve had enough rest. It’s time to get busy.”

“True.” Ye An nodded in agreement. “One always needs something to do. Besides, for a talent like you, being just my assistant is a bit of a waste.”

“Have you decided what to do?” Ye An asked. “Going back to your old line of work?”

“No.” Xia Yihuan shook her head. “I plan to change directions.”

“Change directions?” Ye An arched an eyebrow. Xia Yihuan was twenty-eight—not exactly old, but not young either; it was an awkward age. Switching careers now meant starting everything from scratch, and much of her accumulated experience would likely be useless.

If it were Ye An, she probably wouldn’t take the risk. Twenty-eight is different from eighteen; there are too many plans to consider. Without absolute certainty, she wouldn’t make such a decision lightly. If she were Xia Yihuan, she would perhaps start by joining a similar company as an employee and figure things out later. That way, there’s at least a safety net.

But this was Xia Yihuan’s decision, and she wasn’t the same kind of person as Ye An.

Ye An believed she had her own reasons. “So, what are your current plans?”

“Perhaps I’ll start a small packaging company,” Xia Yihuan said.

“A packaging company?” This time, Ye An was truly baffled.

“Mhm.” Xia Yihuan smiled. “I did some research a while back and felt it was pretty good. It’s not as exhausting as luxury goods, the risk is lower, and the returns are respectable.”

“If I really get it running, maybe I can collaborate with Shi Qian in the future.” She looked into Ye An’s eyes. “I hope President Ye will give me some ‘face’ when the time comes.”

She hasn’t even started yet and she’s already plotting a deal with me.

Ye An didn’t understand what Xia Yihuan was thinking, but she was amused by the remark. “Of course. Since you’re my assistant, I’ll have to look out for you.”

“Then I’ll thank President Ye in advance.” Xia Yihuan looked at her, her lips curving into a smile similar to Ye An’s.

After breakfast, the two went downstairs together.

Due to its superior quality and scent, the new theme Fawn Treading on Fragrance had received an enthusiastic response upon launch. Lu Man, as the spokesperson, was also doing a great job, posting several Weibo updates with both overt and subtle promotion.

Everyone had worked hard lately, but some flaws had also begun to appear. Therefore, Ye An wanted to use the morning meeting to review them one by one and give the employees a morale boost.

When she walked into the office, her assistant had already prepared all the necessary documents.

Ye An performed a quick check, and after confirming everything was correct, she went into the meeting room. An hour and a half flew by.

When she returned to her office, Xiao Yue was standing at the door and knocked.

“Come in.”

“President Ye, we have a problem.” Xiao Yue had also been at the dinner with Shengshi yesterday. As the person in charge, Xiao Yue was supposed to communicate with Li Rou this morning, but multiple attempts to contact her had gone unanswered. “For some reason, we can’t get in touch with that Miss Li from last night.”

Can’t get in touch?

Ye An paused, quickly recalling what happened in the restroom yesterday. She had indeed given Li Rou a piece of her mind, but Li Rou was an adult and seemed to be highly valued by Zhao Yongchuan; she shouldn’t be so unprofessional over a few words.

Soon, a second possibility surfaced in Ye An’s mind: Had Zhao Yongchuan suddenly regretted the partnership?

They hadn’t signed a formal contract at the dinner, but Zhao Yongchuan had been in business for many years and was a man of his word; he wouldn’t do something like that. Ye An nodded to show she understood and looked for Zhao Yongchuan’s number to clarify the situation.

To her surprise, when she called, his phone was also unreachable.

What is going on?

Ye An was a bit annoyed, but without knowing the facts, she couldn’t jump to conclusions. She put the matter aside for now, instructing Xiao Yue to keep a close eye on any developments.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to get off work.

Ye An turned off her computer, grabbed her bag, and changed into her coat. She had an appointment for dinner with Xia Yihuan, who should be on her way.

Unexpectedly, as she walked out the main door, she ran straight into a woman.

It wasn’t Xia Yihuan; it was Li Rou.

“Ye An!” she cried. Seeing Ye An emerge, she rushed forward, looking distraught. “What did you do? How could you ruin me like this?!”

“What?” Ye An had no idea what Li Rou was raving about. “Li Rou, what do you mean?”

“Was it you who snitched about me and President Zhao? Was it?! I know you hate me, but how could you be so vicious?!” Li Rou demanded. She didn’t stop approaching. Up close, Ye An noticed she wasn’t just in a bad state—her hair was messy, and there were small scratches on her face, hands, and arms, as if she had just been in a physical altercation.

Ye An arched an eyebrow. Connecting Li Rou’s words with the events of last night’s dinner, a guess formed in her mind.

—Li Rou and President Zhao likely had an illicit relationship, and it seemed someone had caught them and made the secret public.

“I haven’t done anything.” Ye An frowned deeply. Although Li Rou was technically her sister, she was no different from a stranger to her. Ye An had no interest or inclination to deal with her, let alone “snitch.”

“Li Rou, you’re being delusional.” Ye An stood her ground, almost laughing in anger. “You and I have personal grudges, but that’s all in the past. If I really wanted to deal with you, I would have done it eight hundred years ago. Why wait until now?”

“Besides, I’m very busy. I don’t have the time or energy to worry about you,” Ye An said coldly. “Do you understand? Because you’re not worth it.”

The phrase “not worth it” left Li Rou momentarily stunned.

But she quickly recovered, still biting back at Ye An: “If it wasn’t you, then who? Who else would hate me as much as you do?!”

“That’s hard to say.” Ye An shook her head. “Working in the real world isn’t like being at home; no one is going to spoil you unconditionally. Some things may seem small, but resentment builds up over time and eventually snaps.”

“Instead of wasting time confronting me here, you should think carefully about who you’ve offended lately.” Ye An didn’t want to talk to her anymore and moved to leave.

Xia Yihuan arrived at Shi Qian at that exact moment. Seeing the dispute, she hurried forward. “President Ye, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ye An said, not wanting Li Rou to ruin her mood. “Let’s go. I booked a restaurant before I finished work, let’s—”

Before she could finish, Li Rou suddenly swung her hand toward her.

Xia Yihuan reacted with lightning speed to block it. Li Rou’s original movement was interrupted, which made her angry; she shoved Xia Yihuan hard as a vent.

Xia Yihuan was caught off guard and stumbled. Her back, which had just started to heal, slammed into a nearby stone pillar with a sickening thud.

“Yihuan, are you okay?!” Ye An was startled. She rushed forward to check on Xia Yihuan. Once she confirmed she was relatively alright, she turned back and glared at Li Rou. “Li Rou, you’ve gone too far!”

“I…” Li Rou seemed startled herself. She hadn’t used that much force; how did the woman stumble so far?

Seeing Ye An’s fury, Li Rou panicked. A lot had happened today, and in her anger, she had come to interrogate Ye An without thinking. Now that she was coming to her senses, she realized her behavior was pointless.

Provoking President Zhao’s wife, Wang Li, was already enough to deal with. She didn’t want to make an enemy of Ye An as well. Thinking this, she turned quickly and left before Ye An could say anything more.

Ye An was fuming. Li Rou coming here to cause a scene based on nothing was one thing, but pushing Xia Yihuan was unacceptable. She opened her mouth to call for security: “Come—”

“It’s fine, President Ye, no need.” Before she could finish, Xia Yihuan shook her head gently. “I’m okay.”

“How could you be okay!” Ye An said, staring at her with worry. “No, I’m taking you to the hospital to get checked.”

“There’s no need.” Xia Yihuan smiled. “I know my own body.”

“A little medicine and it’ll be fine,” she added, her brow furrowing slightly as if the pain hadn’t subsided. “It’s just that I probably can’t accompany you for dinner tonight.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Ye An shook her head, still deeply worried. “Come to my place. I need to check your injury and help you apply medicine.”

Xia Yihuan looked up into her eyes. “What about dinner?”

Ye An sighed. After what just happened, she had no desire to go out. “There are plenty of ingredients in the fridge.”

“…I’ll cook for you tonight.”