After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 4

Ye An’s hands were beautiful—fair skin, slender joints, and nails adorned with a stunning deep crimson. Like the woman herself, they were dazzling and eye-catching.

Xia Yihuan hesitated for a few seconds, seemingly completely caught off guard by such a request: “You…”

Ye An arched an eyebrow: “Hurry up.”

Since she was taking the money to do the job, Xia Yihuan had no choice but to step back. Frowning slightly, she slowly reached out to support Ye An’s hand.

She looked the very picture of submissive resignation.

Ye An felt a surge of pure satisfaction.

She glanced sideways at Xia Yihuan. Her mood, which had been depressed for over half a month, suddenly felt much lighter. Perhaps because she had been standing outside for a while, Xia Yihuan’s hand was noticeably colder than hers.

“A bit chilly,” Ye An remarked immediately, pointing it out without a shred of mercy.

Xia Yihuan: “…”

“It won’t happen next time,” she replied.

Ye An nodded and said nothing more, stepping into the car. Xia Yihuan closed the door for her before walking around to the driver’s seat and starting the engine.

The two had been on bad terms before, and now they had even less to say to each other. Ye An provided the name of her residential complex and closed her eyes to take a nap against the backrest.

“Are you really saying yes to her?” As the surroundings fell silent, 023’s voice echoed in Xia Yihuan’s mind.

Xia Yihuan turned the steering wheel to make a U-turn: “Mhm.”

“This is so hard,” 023 sighed. “How did things end up like this…”

The System paused for a few seconds. Xia Yihuan’s bankruptcy was ultimately their fault; 023 felt too guilty to keep complaining.

After a moment, 023 changed its tune: “Actually, the General Bureau is speeding up the recovery process. We’ll do our best to minimize the losses. Just hang in there a bit longer.”

“Besides, with your personal ability, making a comeback from a losing position is a piece of cake. Why suffer like this? We can deal with the timeline issues later.”

“Right now, it’s just Ye An who’s acting weird.” As the System spoke, it started to feel a bit bad for its host. “You’re too professional.”

Xia Yihuan didn’t respond for a long time. The car sped forward, and after an unknown amount of time, she finally let out a faint: “Is that so?”

It was so quiet that the System almost thought she wasn’t talking to it.

“…” She can never guess what her host is thinking!

Yage was located in the bustling city center, not far from Ye An’s home. About ten minutes later, the car pulled up in front of an apartment building.

The moment the engine cut out, Ye An slowly opened her eyes.

Xia Yihuan glanced over: “President Ye wasn’t sleeping?”

“No,” Ye An said. She pulled down the vanity mirror to check her reflection, ensuring she didn’t look disheveled. “I’d catch a cold.”

Xia Yihuan didn’t comment and got out to open the door for her.

Ye An stepped out with her handbag, her deep purple skirt swaying gracefully in the night, the scattered diamonds emitting a charming luster. She smiled, her eyes dancing with mirth: “Thank you for driving me back, Yihuan.”

“Want to come up for a bit?” she suggested.

“No.” Xia Yihuan could tell she was just being polite and had no real intention of inviting her in. “I’m heading back.”

“Do you have a place to stay?” Ye An asked.

“With the card President Ye gave me, staying anywhere isn’t a problem, is it?” Xia Yihuan replied.

Knowing how to utilize available resources—that was the hallmark of a smart person.

Ye An smiled, the upturned corners of her eyes looking seductive and bewitching: “Then I won’t keep you.”

“By the way, there’s a morning meeting tomorrow. I need to get to the office early,” she added. “Take the car. We’ll meet downstairs at 7:00 AM. No problem, right?”

Xia Yihuan looked at her: “No problem.”

“OK.” Ye An nodded and turned to walk toward the entrance, but after a few steps, she stopped as if suddenly remembering something.

She looked back with a faint smile: “I forgot to mention—you might be an assistant for a long time. It’s rare to find something this interesting; I have to enjoy the novelty until I’ve had my fill.”

“So,” she met Xia Yihuan’s gaze, the smile in her eyes deepening, “I look forward to your guidance.”

Even though she was very different from the version in her memory, she was still that same annoying Ye An.

After a long pause, Xia Yihuan nodded, her beautiful brows furrowing once more: “I look forward to yours as well.”

Ye An absolutely loved the way Xia Yihuan looked like she couldn’t stand her but couldn’t do anything about it.

Back in her room, Ye An opened her laptop and told her assistant to compile a profile on Lu Man as quickly as possible.

Ye An had been decadent for too long this past half-month. Although the company had several capable Vice Presidents handling affairs—consulting her only on vital matters—Ye An still felt she had a lot of catching up to do.

She didn’t require much sleep. During her early startup days, pulling all-nighters to finish proposals was routine. While her schedule was more regular now, an occasional late night was fine.

She opened her inbox and browsed through the accumulated files. Time ticked by, and before she knew it, an hour had passed.

Before bed, Ye An checked Xia Yihuan’s social media “Moments.”

Perhaps she had deleted things in advance; Ye An reached the bottom of the page with just a few swipes, seeing all of Xia Yihuan’s posts from the last few years.

There was nothing special—mostly flowers, plants, insects, and fish. Only one thing caught her eye.

Xia Yihuan seemed to have a habit of collecting stamps.

Ye An tapped on a photo and could vaguely identify several very rare stamps. She didn’t know much about the hobby, but she knew it was a money-sink; any single one of those was likely worth a fortune.

Now that Xia Yihuan was bankrupt, these little items were probably sold off along with everything else.

“Childish,” she commented softly, setting her phone aside and smoothing a facial mask over her skin.

The next day.

Ye An had a habit of eating breakfast at home and woke up early to cook for herself. Since Xia Yihuan’s company was a well-known brand, there were plenty of people watching the fallout.

[Such a big company gone just like that. Xia Yihuan must be crying her eyes out.]

[I knew this company wouldn’t last. I used their perfume once; it smelled terrible! How can they sell such trash? Nobody’s money grows on trees!]

This person’s rant was full of raw emotion, drawing a crowd into the discussion. Ye An scanned the comments and found that rational opinions still held the majority; many netizens claimed they had bought the same perfume and found it pleasant with long-lasting scent, wondering how it could be as bad as she claimed.

Under the pressure of the replies, the ranter angrily posted proof of purchase—$19.9, “Stunning Price,” “Counter Authentic,” “Long-lasting Light Fragrance Gift Set.”

A knock-off.

Ye An actually laughed.

Scrolling further down, the opinions remained divided. She happened upon another radical comment: [At the end of the day, women just can’t do it. They should stay home and raise kids. Why insist on starting a company? Now look at her—lost everything! If she were my wife, I’d divorce her immediately!]

People really let anyone on the internet these days.

Finishing the last bite of her sandwich, Ye An cleared the dishes, put on her coat, and grabbed her bag. While waiting to go downstairs, she logged into her alt Weibo account:

[Marie Curie was a double Nobel Prize winner in Physics and Chemistry; Hedy Lamarr is known as the Mother of Wi-Fi; the great scientist Tu Youyou discovered Artemisinin… and your own mother carried you for ten months to give you life. Great women abound throughout history and across the globe, yet you can only hide behind a screen in impotent rage.]

[Xia Yihuan isn’t blind. Wake up—you don’t even have a wife.]

After editing the post, the elevator arrived at the first floor. Ye An hit send and then proceeded to block and report the user in one smooth motion.

Looking up, the very woman the internet said would be “crying her eyes out”—Xia Yihuan—was standing at the entrance, waiting for her with an expressionless face.

“Have you had breakfast?” Ye An tucked her phone away and asked with a light smile.

“I have.” Xia Yihuan replied. This time, without waiting for Ye An to speak, she proactively reached out to support Ye An’s hand.

The morning temperature was a bit low, and the breeze brought a chill that felt cold against the face. However, Xia Yihuan’s hand was warm, as if she had pre-warmed it.

Ye An’s lips curled upward unconsciously.

Good performance.