After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 1

The strong, lingering scents of the bar made Ming Si’an furrow her brow. Her roommate had dragged her here today to see if it was a suitable place for a part-time job. The moment she stepped inside, she felt a sense of disorientation, as if this feeling was a long-lost memory.

Under the hazy lights, a wild party was in full swing.

“Get lost!”

A cool, clear voice from nearby caught her attention.

Ming Si’an was confused. In such a noisy environment, how did she manage to hear that voice so clearly?

She looked over and saw a perfect profile, like a meticulously crafted work of art. The woman was the epitome of grace and beauty, with a touch of elegance and heroism, and the soft charm of a feminine woman. “What a beautiful woman,” she thought. “She’s truly stunning.”

An oily Alpha had grabbed the beauty’s arm, his mouth spewing lewd remarks. “You’re a feisty one, little girl. How much?”

His vulgar words made many people frown. They were surprised to see this kind of behavior in such a high-end bar. Some decided to leave a bad review for the place, while others watched to see how the bar staff would handle it.

“This Alpha is disgusting.”

“How did someone like him get in here?”

“His voice is so loud, I wonder if security has noticed.”

Even with the loud music, Ming Si’an could hear people’s hushed comments.

The woman remained cool and composed, effortlessly planting her roughly ten-centimeter heel on the oily Alpha’s foot and twisting it hard. He let out a yelp of pain, releasing his grip and clutching his foot.

There was a clear indentation in the Alpha’s leather shoe, and the leather was torn.

The bar was a blur of shifting light and shadows. The woman was wearing an elegant, long red dress that looked like solidified flames, covering even her ankles. Over it was a classic black blazer with a clean, sharp cut. The contrast between the rigid lines of the blazer and the soft elegance of the red dress was striking and impossible to ignore.

Ming Si’an’s eyes were drawn to the woman’s long, pale neck. Her back was perfectly straight, and her chin was slightly tilted up. She looked like a cool and noble young lady. Her eyes were bright, sharp, and full of spirit, as if no deceitful trick could fool her.

“Pathetic!”

Her dominating, cold voice, paired with a Hong Kong accent, was a thrill for some of the people with specific tastes in the crowd.

The woman picked up a nearby wine bottle, disdainfully smashing it against the oily Alpha’s arm. The bottle shattered, and the onlookers instinctively created a path for her.

Ming Si’an saw the oily Alpha’s pained expression and smiled. The woman’s every move exuded a sense of calm and composure that was captivating.

“She… she’s coming this way,” her roommate beside her said, in a daze.

The woman walked directly past them. Her roommate couldn’t help but sigh, “She smells so good.”

Ming Si’an agreed. The chaotic smells of the bar were momentarily purified. The scent that drifted from the beautiful woman as she passed was absolutely enchanting.

The ignored Alpha was upset and yelled, “Bitch!” as he rushed toward her.

Ming Si’an subtly stuck out her foot, and the oily Alpha fell hard. The crowd erupted in laughter. Soon, four security guards came over, kicked him a few times, and dragged him out like a dead dog.

Her eyes remained fixed on the woman’s retreating back. She saw a woman in a suit, a female Beta, bowing and apologizing humbly to the woman.

Just as she was about to look away, the woman suddenly turned and glanced at her, revealing her arrogant nature, like a beautiful cat raising its proud head.

Ming Si’an: “?”

Her roommate was exceptionally excited. “Ming Si’an, was she just looking at you? She was, wasn’t she?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” How could she admit that? It would seem like she was being conceited.

Of course, she also thought the beautiful woman was looking at her. Ming Si’an figured maybe she saw her heroic foot trip.

Seeing the woman’s back about to disappear, her roommate nudged her shoulder. “Don’t you know who she is?”

“Who?” Ming Si’an blinked, curious. “Is this woman famous?”

“He Yiling.”

“Who?!” Ming Si’an asked again, filled with uncertainty.

“He Yiling. She just won the high-profile inheritance case for the Xu family in Hong Kong. Can you believe she’s only 24?”

She could believe it. What Ming Si’an couldn’t believe was how deeply intertwined her fate was with He Yiling’s. This was only her third day transmigrating into this world, and she had already met this woman.

Could that look He Yiling gave her mean that she was already interested in her this early?

The body she was in belonged to a cannon fodder scum A from the novel. The original character was a second-year law student at Hong Kong University. She was a good student and had a refined, delicate face. She was also quite tall. But the clothes she was wearing—a slightly yellowed white hoodie and well-worn jeans—screamed poverty.

With her looks, the original character wasn’t short on attention from rich women. But she was an honest person, working part-time jobs and relying on her own hard work. She had even managed to land a small role as an assistant to an assistant at the Anling Law Firm in her second year. It was a small position, but enough to support herself and not rely on others during college.

She was good-looking, self-disciplined, hardworking, and came from a poor family. She was also honest. In school, she was both bullied and praised by others. Alphas bullied her, and many Omegas liked her, but the original character rejected them all.

This was how the novel’s female lead, He Yiling, was deceived by her appearance and decided to use her to handle her family’s pressure to get married.

The female lead didn’t realize she had found a parasitic leech, a “phoenix” woman. The so-called honest person was all an act. She was well-behaved and obedient before marriage, but after, she would hide the female lead’s inhibitors, hoping to get her pregnant, then kill her for the insurance money to gain her assets and resources. However, the female lead, who had awakened to the plot, turned the tables on her and drowned her at sea.

When she first transmigrated, Ming Si’an’s eyes went dark: “Can’t I choose another way? I’m afraid of water!”

The female lead, He Yiling, was a cool, beautiful, and elite scholar, seen as a goddess by many.

But Ming Si’an, who had read the novel, knew this was all a facade. The real He Yiling was ruthless, unfeeling, and obsessive enough to drag everyone into the abyss.

Even if she did nothing, the female lead would see her as an enemy and eventually drown her at sea. To change her fate, she decided to stay away from the female lead and never get close.

Ming Si’an wasn’t the original character; she didn’t have her ambition. The original character looked down on rich women who only cared about her appearance. What she wanted was a wealthy and beautiful woman who could help her career and allow her to move up in class.

Coincidentally, He Yiling came from a family of lawyers. Her grandmother’s grandmother was a lawyer. In Hong Kong today, the He family dominates the legal world and has connections with all the wealthy circles in Hong Kong. The original character wanted to become a member of the upper class, so she set her sights on He Yiling.

If she succeeded, the He family could get her into Hong Kong’s highest social circles with just a word. If she failed, she would still profit from He Yiling, even if it was from her inheritance—something the original character could never achieve in her lifetime through hard work.

They went to the same university, had the same teacher, and the scholarships the original character received were funded by the He family. She also worked at He Yiling’s law firm. Every connection was a potential tool for her.

So the first thing Ming Si’an did after transmigrating was to quit her job at the law firm.

Staying away from He Yiling starts now. She didn’t expect their fate to be so intertwined that they would meet just by her roommate dragging her to a bar.

Ming Si’an sighed, then felt her roommate tug at her sleeve. “What are you thinking about? You’re not answering me.”

“What?”

Her roommate rolled her eyes. “He Yiling, isn’t she amazing?”

A 24-year-old senior lawyer was indeed impressive, but for He Yiling, it was just expected. Not doing so would have been strange.

After learning the beautiful woman was He Yiling, Ming Si’an didn’t even want to compliment her looks. Her mind was filled with the warning of being drowned at sea.

“How do you know her?”

Was He Yiling that famous?

Her roommate was speechless. “Don’t you read the list of outstanding students from previous years? He Yiling was the top student in her graduating class.”

An outstanding woman. Ming Si’an was also a lawyer in her previous life. If it weren’t for this terrible twist of fate, she would have wanted to get to know the senior lawyer who won the Xu family’s inheritance case.

Her roommate continued to complain, “He Yiling, such a beautiful woman, and you don’t even remember her? Ming Si’an, you’re hopeless. Besides, didn’t you work at her law firm?”

Ming Si’an had only read the novel and couldn’t match the characters to real people. Her memories of the original character were only in text, without any visuals. It was like reading a book and not being able to imagine the scene. She only knew that the original character had seen He Yiling from a distance once, and that’s when the idea formed in her mind.

She was about to speak when the woman in the suit who had been bowing to He Yiling came over. “Hello, Miss Ming. Lawyer He is looking for you.”

Ming Si’an: “…” Why was she looking for her? According to the novel, she shouldn’t have been interested in her so early, or even known her name was Ming Si’an.

Her position at the law firm was so low that she rarely even saw He Yiling’s assistant, let alone He Yiling herself.

Her roommate was thrilled and immediately pushed her twice. “It’s He Yiling!”

What about He Yiling? She was a ruthless woman. She had already quit her job at the law firm; they weren’t even superior and subordinate anymore. Why should she obey and go?

“I’m not going!”

The woman in the suit simply smiled at her refusal. “Tonight, all of your expenses at The Royal will be waived, and we’ll give each of you a 20% discount card.”

Her roommate: “!!!”

Ming Si’an: “Lead the way.”

The original character was very poor, or to be precise, she was now very poor. The 20% discount card for The Royal bar could still be sold for a good price. Even if she didn’t know why He Yiling wanted to see her, at least this was a chance to change her “honest person” image.

Since they couldn’t escape their fateful meeting, she would shed the label of being an “honest person” and reverse her character.

An honest person? That’s impossible this lifetime. From today on, she, Ming Si’an, will be a bad girl!