After Seeing Through the Plot, the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Lead Overturned Her Fate - Chapter 42

Following Liu Yue’s arrangements, Ye An and Xia Yihuan stayed at the villa for another night.

Liu Yue had rented the villa for two days and one night, and wouldn’t check out until midnight the following day. Since Ye An was usually too busy to be seen, Liu Yue finally caught her and naturally wasn’t about to let her go.

“My mom hasn’t seen you in forever.” Having played together for many years, their bond ran deep. Mother Liu felt for Ye An’s lonely situation and treated her almost like her own daughter. Liu Yue knew that bringing up her mother was the best leverage; Ye An certainly wouldn’t refuse. “Stay just one more day.”

“I’ve already prepared the fishing gear,” she added. “I even rented a boat. Later, we’ll go fishing on the lake, and you can take the chance to chat with my mom some more.”

With just those few sentences, she truly had Ye An pinned.

“Alright then.” Sure enough, after a moment, Ye An nodded gently, her lips curving into a beautiful smile. “I’m doing this strictly for your mother’s sake.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Liu Yue quickly played along, not forgetting to praise her mother. “My mom has the most ‘face’ of all!”

The group laughed and joked for a while before finally retiring to their rooms to rest. Ye An had napped briefly by the lakeside earlier, so she wasn’t particularly sleepy now. Instead of rushing to bed, she opened her inbox to look over a few emails.

As she was reading, a knock sounded at the door.

Ye An paused, set her phone aside, and got up to open it. When the door swung open, Xia Yihuan was standing there.

She was actually carrying a bowl of ginger soup.

Ye An looked up at her. “What’s this?”

“I brewed it for you, President Ye,” Xia Yihuan said, her voice soft. “To ward off the cold.”

“How thoughtful.” Ye An couldn’t help but smile. She had slept on Xia Yihuan’s shoulder for over half an hour earlier. Though she’d been draped in a coat, she had inevitably picked up a bit of a chill—especially since she was the type who was sensitive to the cold.

So at this very moment, this bowl of ginger soup truly appeared at the perfect time.

“Do you have a portion for yourself?” Ye An asked casually, taking a few sips.

Knowing she disliked the spicy bite of ginger, Xia Yihuan had thoughtfully added sugar to the bowl, which well-neutralized the flavor she disliked, leaving it with a faint sweetness.

“No,” Xia Yihuan smiled and spoke truthfully. “I only brewed enough for you. I don’t feel any discomfort, so there’s no need for me to drink it.”

“What do you mean ‘no need’? Your constitution isn’t much better than mine,” Ye An frowned at the words. “Besides, there are activities tomorrow. What if you catch a cold?”

“I’ll share half with you,” she said. Without waiting for Xia Yihuan’s response, she handed the bowl back and looked at her with a grin. “Finish it.”

Her tone sounded righteous and brooked no argument.

Xia Yihuan stared into her eyes for a moment, then actually obediently tipped her head back and drank it.

Ye An stood still, quietly watching her face. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when they had evolved into a relationship where they could share a bowl of soup. Recalling the past, she found it both magical and inconceivable.

The ginger soup wasn’t as hot as it had been; Xia Yihuan drank quickly, and in no time, the bowl was empty.

A bit of soup clung to the corner of her mouth. Naturally, Xia Yihuan lightly extended the tip of her tongue to lick her lips. The lighting in the room was hazy and ambiguous; a single unintentional action instantly gave rise to an infinite sense of romance.

Inexplicably, Ye An suddenly recalled the soft touch of her lips.

“I have a question for you,” she said softly after a moment. “Earlier, by the river… did you kiss me?”

She had always been a direct person.

Xia Yihuan paused, her beautiful eyes searching Ye An’s own, as if weighing something. After a while, she replied, “What do you think, President Ye?”

She actually tossed the question right back.

This woman clearly had an elegant, cold face—looking like a fairy who didn’t eat the food of mortals—but after spending time with her, one realized she wasn’t a fairy at all, but a fox.

Ye An arched an eyebrow and met her gaze in silence for a few seconds before saying, “Never mind.”

“Goodnight,” she said. “Don’t wake up too late tomorrow.”

Xia Yihuan nodded. “Okay.”

With that, she turned to leave. Ye An didn’t rush away; she just stood there, staring at her back as she took one step, then two.

On the third step, she finally couldn’t help but call her name: “Yihuan.”

Xia Yihuan turned back, a faint smile on her face. “Mhm?”

Ye An stepped forward, her right hand hooking around her neck to pull her down, while her left hand cupped her face. Her gaze traveled down from the space between her brows to her eyes, then her nose, and finally her lips.

The long corridor was silent and empty; only the rustle of wind through falling leaves reached her ears through the window slits. Despite the solitude, Ye An felt as if she were exposed in public, as if someone could open a door at any moment and see the two of them—so close, so intimate, so ambiguous.

It was nerve-wracking yet thrilling. Ye An’s heart raced, and her voice carried an obscure rasp, very soft. “Did you, or didn’t you?”

This time, Xia Yihuan didn’t speak. Instead, she suddenly lowered her head and pressed her lips against Ye An’s in a tender, lingering way.

A few seconds later, she gradually smiled. In her eyes, there was not only Ye An’s reflection but also a few shimmering points of light. “I did.”

“I did.”

Once Xia Yihuan left, 023 finally found an opening to speak.

Every system has permissions to deliberately block out images that shouldn’t be seen, but even so, 023 could basically guess what had just happened.

She hesitated for a while, afraid the host would get angry, so she decided to ask about the small things first. “There was clearly ginger soup left over, why did you lie?”

“The leftovers are for Miss Liu and the others,” Xia Yihuan answered quickly.

“Is that so?” 023 didn’t believe it. No matter how silly she was, she could tell her host was becoming increasingly unusual. “Do you… like Ye An?”

When the question was asked, there was no answer.

023 was silent for a few seconds, assuming Xia Yihuan just didn’t want to deal with her. But following the cautionary notes in the employee handbook, she felt she had to remind her host: “Don’t forget, Ye An is just a supporting character, and you are the protagonist. Even if you really love her, you can’t be together.”

“Besides, she… she won’t live long…”

023 spoke tremulously, knowing the host would surely be angry. Sure enough, Xia Yihuan ignored her again. 023 coughed twice, feeling bored with herself, and finally shut up.

But a few seconds later, she perceived that Xia Yihuan seemed to whisper an answer, but the voice was so incredibly light that she couldn’t hear it at all.

What the content was, only Xia Yihuan knew.

“I won’t let it happen.”

She told herself.

The next day arrived quickly.

After breakfast, Liu Yue gathered a few friends to get fishing rods. A group of seven or eight boarded a boat and slowly sailed toward the center of the lake.

Ye An naturally shared a boat with Xia Yihuan. Liu Yue, her parents, and a few close friends were also there. Mother Liu was a bit tired from hiking yesterday, so today she didn’t join the activity and instead sat quietly, watching the youngsters play.

Remembering what Liu Yue had said to her yesterday, Ye An didn’t participate in the fishing either. Instead, she stepped forward with a smile and sat down beside Mother Liu.

A few seconds later, Xia Yihuan sat down beside her as well.

Ye An glanced at her, feeling a bit amused. “Why aren’t you fishing?”

“My skills are poor, I won’t join the crowd,” Xia Yihuan said with a smile.

“Then stay and chat with me too!” Mother Liu quickly chimed in, looking at the two with a warm and kind gaze. “How wonderful, both of you staying to talk to me. You’re much more sensible than our Yueyue.”

“Mom!” Though spoken softly, it was heard perfectly by Liu Yue nearby. Soon, a dissatisfied voice drifted over.

“Focus on fishing!” Mother Liu barked, appearing serious, but her eyes were full of smiles. “If you don’t catch anything, there’s no lunch for you later!”

Liu Yue felt like crying and cried out again: “Mom!”

Watching their interaction, Ye An couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Actually, this was one of the reasons she enjoyed staying with Liu Yue’s family. Liu Yue’s parents had her late in life and doted on her, being both strict and deeply affectionate. The family atmosphere was wonderful.

For Ye An, who had never known parental affection, this was something she could never even dream of.

Since that was the case, she might as well observe it. Sometimes, being close to happiness allowed her to share in some of that luck. Though it was a small amount, it was enough to soothe her heart.

The three sat together and chatted for a long time. Ye An and Xia Yihuan were experienced and knowledgeable, and Mother Liu loved communicating with them. Her fatigue from earlier was replaced by a constant smile.

It wasn’t until her phone alarm went off—indicating it was time for Father Liu to take his medicine—that she finally stood up.

Ye An watched Mother Liu with a smile until she walked far away.

After a long moment, she finally snapped back to the present. “Auntie is a very good person. A good wife, and a good mother.”

“Mhm,” Xia Yihuan responded. “She is.”

“What was your mother like?” Ye An smiled, feeling a bit curious. “I heard rumors that you grew up cherished by your parents too, and that they were both very good to you.”

At those words, Xia Yihuan fell silent.

Ye An wondered if she had said something wrong and was about to speak, but before she could, Xia Yihuan finally nodded. “Mhm.”

She seemed to strongly dislike talking about her family affairs; Ye An had never heard her mention them before.

“How envious,” Ye An sighed softly after a moment.

The sunlight was very strong now, warm and comforting. Ye An was tired of sitting, so she flattened her folding chair a bit and leaned back with her hands behind her head. “I haven’t seen my mother in many years. I have almost no impression of her left.”

“I only remember that she didn’t like me,” Ye An said, her voice steady and detached, as if she were talking about someone else’s life, devoid of much emotion. “I felt wronged at first, but later I gradually moved past it. Anyone can live without anyone else. Since there’s no affection, why force it? I don’t care.”

“I’m just a bit curious,” she added, not minding whether Xia Yihuan was listening, just continuing on her own. “When she found out she was pregnant with me, was she happy? When I was born, was she joyful… If that was true, then why couldn’t she love me like other mothers?”

Xia Yihuan knew exactly how much Ye An lacked love.

She paused, then finally turned her head to look at Ye An’s face. She saw the slight furrow in her brow and her thin, pursed lips.

It was as if she were truly confused, as if she were trying to obtain an answer through something.

Unfortunately, Xia Yihuan couldn’t respond to her, nor could she reveal a single trace of her own emotions. So in the end, she could only settle for the next best thing and gently took her hand.

“In the future, there will be people who love you—many, many people,” she said. Her voice mixed with the breeze over the lake and the warmth of the sun, sounding deeply reassuring. “You deserve to be liked by many more people, President Ye.”

As she finished, Ye An looked toward her.

And you?

She wanted to ask.

But she knew she couldn’t ask that question after all. The words reached her lips only to be swallowed back down, replaced by: “Mhm. Then I’ll take your word for it.”