After Transmigrating as the Villain’s Cannon Fodder Fake Sister - Chapter 19

The woman’s face carried an irresistible, dazzling beauty. Her makeup was heavy, her skin snowy, her lips red. Under the extreme contrast of red and white, her vividness was pulled straight to the maximum.

She lifted her eyelids and slowly glanced at Gu Ruanruan, then shook the phone held between her slender, pale fingers. Even her voice seemed to carry hooks. “Little friend, WeChat? You scan me, or I scan you?”

Every casual movement of hers carried a languid, lazy air. Among the room full of dignified, imposing wealthy heirs, she seemed out of place, beautiful like a seductress from TV who specialized in absorbing human essence.

Alarm bells immediately rang in Gu Ruanruan’s heart.

Gorgeous looks, coming up for no reason and asking a stranger for WeChat—when all these factors were added together, there was only one possibility…

She took a step back defensively, raised both hands, crossed them in front of her chest, and said with firm determination, “Dame!”

The woman looked at her with some surprise.

Gu Ruanruan… was the first person who dared refuse to add her on WeChat in public.

The little girl’s eyes looked as if she were guarding against a wolf. Her pitch-black eyes were full of righteous refusal, and her voice was crisp and decisive. “I don’t add WeChat sellers! Go add someone else!”

Woman: ???

What did Gu Ruanruan just call her???

If she had heard correctly, it should have been… WeChat… seller…

Jiang Cen: “……”

“Gu Ruanruan, come here.” Jiang Cen did not step forward again. She stood where she was and spoke in a calm voice.

When Gu Ruanruan saw Jiang Cen, she was like a homeless puppy finding her backbone. She ran behind Jiang Cen in a few da-da-da steps.

“Sister~ You finally remembered me~ I missed you so much!” Gu Ruanruan changed her tone in one second, smiling sweetly and clingily at Jiang Cen.

She was tired of playing cards! More importantly, she had just lost! If Jiang Cen had not come, she would have had to get paper strips stuck on her face!

Gu Ruanruan smoothly left the “battlefield” and openly dodged this round of punishment.

Jiang Cen was provoked into goosebumps by her voice.

She fixed Gu Ruanruan beside her and looked back at her. “Stand properly.”

“Okay! I’ll listen to Sister!” Gu Ruanruan immediately became as obedient as a little quail, tugging at one corner of Jiang Cen’s evening dress.

There were many beautiful and delicate hidden embroideries on Jiang Cen’s dress, so Gu Ruanruan lowered her head and guessed what was embroidered on it, no longer raising her head to look at the woman.

Heh, hateful WeChat seller. Don’t even think about shaking her firm resolve!

The woman narrowed her long, fox-like eyes. A sharp glint flashed and vanished in her gaze. Her voice deepened slightly. “President Jiang.”

Jiang Cen nodded to her, with no intention of exchanging pleasantries.

The Su family and the Jiang family were not in the same field in business, had no interactions, and currently had no intention of cooperation. Jiang Cen herself also had no favorable impression of Su Qingmo.

“I still have something to do. President Su, please enjoy yourself.” Jiang Cen turned and brought Gu Ruanruan away.

After the sisters walked away, Gu Ruanruan’s voice could still be heard drifting over. “Sister, you know that person?”

Jiang Cen’s expression became slightly subtle. Her cool gaze landed on Gu Ruanruan. “You don’t know her?”

That person had quite a connection with Gu Ruanruan.

Gu Ruanruan’s barren brain could not search out such a person at all, so she decisively gave up.

She shook her head blankly and said rather innocently, “I don’t know her. But…” At this point, Gu Ruanruan looked around mysteriously.

After discovering that no one was paying attention to their whispering, Gu Ruanruan finally quietly presented her conclusion like offering up a treasure. “But I know that pretty women who come up and ask girls for WeChat right away are all WeChat sellers!”

Jiang Cen’s cold expression began cracking inch by inch. “WeChat. Sellers?”

If Su Qingmo knew that, in Gu Ruanruan’s eyes, she was a WeChat seller, her mood would surely be very interesting.

Gu Ruanruan thought Jiang Cen did not believe her, so she straightened her back, a tiny bit of pride in her expression.

Having once suffered deeply from them, she began analyzing things clearly and logically for her sister, who only knew how to earn money and print cash and was extremely innocent when it came to social matters.

“Sister, you don’t know this, but WeChat sellers nowadays are all very cunning. They all disguise themselves as pretty young ladies and ask for your WeChat to add you.”

“Once they add you, they’ll send you promotional ads for selling products! And they’ll flood your Moments too! When you scroll down, all you’ll see are their ads. Then, before you know it… you’ll lose control and place an order!” She indignantly recounted her history of blood and tears.

Gu Ruanruan felt very accomplished at this moment. She had never expected there would be a day when she could pass knowledge on to Jiang Cen!

She had been impressed by her own wit. After so many lessons, after being fooled so many times and suffering so many losses, she had finally become smart for once!!!

Thinking of this, she even did not forget to remind Jiang Cen, “Sister, you’re so rich, so you should protect your WeChat even more carefully! Never add beautiful women! WeChat sellers love cheating rich and kindhearted good people like you the most!”

Jiang Cen: “……” That was so reasonable, she was almost about to believe it.

How strange. Gu Ruanruan had actually called her kindhearted. She had lived twenty-six years, and this was the first time someone had called her kind.

Gu Ruanruan’s expression was too sincere. If Jiang Cen had not seen this adopted sister’s two-faced, honey-mouthed, dagger-hearted side before, she would almost have been deceived.

Jiang Cen slowly said, “Your analysis makes a lot of sense. Remember this. In the future, if someone asks to add your WeChat, refuse them exactly like this.”

Gu Ruanruan nodded, full of confidence. “Of course! Those damned WeChat sellers can forget about cheating even one cent from my pocket!”

Of course… mainly because she had no money right now either…

---

The gathering had officially started for quite a while before Jiang Cen finally had time to bring Gu Ruanruan around the venue and carry out the task Old Master Jiang had given her—taking Gu Ruanruan to recognize people and make an appearance in front of these famous, influential figures.

It was also laying the foundation for the end of next month, when they would hold Gu Ruanruan’s coming-of-age banquet and officially recognize her as the Jiang family’s third daughter.

Jiang Cen casually handed Gu Ruanruan a glass of fruit juice. “When you clink glasses later, just symbolically drink a little.”

The champagne at the Shen family banquet contained alcohol and had a strong aftereffect. Gu Ruanruan was not yet an adult, so it was not suitable.

Of course, with Jiang Cen there, it did not matter even if Gu Ruanruan did not drink.

“Thank you.” Gu Ruanruan held the glass of juice in her right hand like she was holding a famous wine. With an aloof expression and an elegant posture, she thanked Jiang Cen coldly and gracefully.

Jiang Cen: “……What are you doing?”

Gu Ruanruan glanced around from the corner of her eye. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she returned to normal. “Of course I’m not embarrassing Sister!”

When Jiang Cen walked through the venue, she was noble and coldly proud. No matter how elegant the aristocrats were, none could compare to her. Even when she wore an indifferent expression and did nothing, she could easily become the focus of the crowd.

The evening dress she wore tonight was actually not particularly ingenious, but when worn on Jiang Cen, it somehow had a charm no one else could wear.

It was not that the clothes enhanced her. It was that no matter what clothes were worn on her, they looked beautiful.

When they were at the Jiang residence, Gu Ruanruan had already known that Jiang Cen was outstanding and different from others. Today, among the crowd and surrounded by countless famous figures of Ningcheng, she felt Jiang Cen’s unique personal charm even more deeply.

There was also her outstanding ability to be admired like the moon surrounded by stars at only twenty-six years old. Anyone standing beside her was only a foil.

Gu Ruanruan now felt that either the original book’s author had some problem with their brain, or the original book’s female lead had some serious illness.

Why make the villain so perfect! Damn it!

Compared with Jiang Cen, Shen Wenlan, who had not yet fully risen, was still far too lacking right now!

Forget it. Shen Wenlan after growing in the later stages… was also very villainous…

To Gu Ruanruan, she was the number one enemy of both Jiang Cen and Shen Wenlan. There was no difference between righteous side and villain side. In any case, both were people she could not afford to provoke.

The original body was also an incredible character. Anyone who appeared in the protagonist column had been offended by her at least once.

Jiang Cen did not notice Gu Ruanruan’s inner lament. She led Gu Ruanruan around the venue once. The well-known young masters and young ladies in the circle were all met one by one, and they also greeted the elders. Basically, nothing was missed.

Gu Ruanruan had a small advantage. Her appearance was obedient, sweet, and clear. After merging with the original body, all her hostility had vanished, leaving behind a harmless softness. The red mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of charm. When her pink, tender lips parted slightly, she looked like a plump, juicy honey peach that had not yet awakened to love.

She looked clean and pure, yet carried a few hints of bright beauty that drew others to pick her.

Quite a few people noticed Gu Ruanruan’s huge change.

“What’s going on with that adopted daughter of the Jiang family? I haven’t seen her for a while, and she seems to have changed a lot.”

“Yeah… and… she’s actually rather pretty…” someone reluctantly admitted.

“I even saw her reject President Su just now. What’s going on? Is she hurt, loveless, and giving up?”

“Maybe she found a new sugar mommy. She’s quite pretty today. If she came to me, I would…”

“Me too… She’s so cute today. I’m a little moved too. If she came to throw herself at me, what should I do? I really wouldn’t want to refuse…”

Gu Ruanruan was speechless.

What beautiful dreams were these people having! Even if she threw herself at someone, she would only throw herself at Jiang Cen, okay! After all, Jiang Cen held her little life in her hands!

There was no second option! If she was hugging a thigh, she would only choose Jiang Cen!

Because Jiang Cen was beside her, no one truly dared come over to mock Gu Ruanruan and court bad luck. Private discussion was one thing, but when facing them, all these young masters and young ladies put on smiling faces and offered a few compliments.

Although the wine-lover’s intention was not in the wine, they were all polite.

All the important figures at the venue had been greeted, leaving only a few juniors.

Song Shuyu and Song Jing were both classmates, and Jiang Cen had just seen them playing cards together, so she did not go through this formal process with them.

The Shen family had been the first group Jiang Cen took Gu Ruanruan to meet. After all, they were the hosts. At this moment, only the last member of the Shen family had yet to be greeted.

At some point, Shen Wenlan had left the piano, and someone else was now playing.

The two met Shen Wenlan in the hall. Jiang Cen turned to Gu Ruanruan and said, “You’ve met this one. Shen Wenlan, fourth in line, Fourth Miss Shen.” She had just been playing cards beside this person earlier.

Gu Ruanruan raised her glass and clinked it against Shen Wenlan’s goblet with a “ding.” Then she gulped down the juice in her glass and said with a smile, “Fourth Miss Shen, happy cooperation!”

Shen Wenlan: “……”

There were two layers of meaning. One was their happy cooperation as landlords in Fight the Landlord earlier. The other was their happy cooperation for the joint performance!

After all, right now, she and Shen Wenlan had no conflict. As long as she did not target the female lead in the future, there should not be any unpleasantness between them. Gu Ruanruan sincerely hoped that she and Shen Wenlan would have happy cooperation for the rest of her life!

Jiang Cen was slightly surprised. “You know each other?”

Gu Ruanruan had not properly attended many days at Shengshuilan. Song Jing and Song Shuyu being familiar with Gu Ruanruan could be explained because they were classmates.

But Shen Wenlan and Gu Ruanruan were not in the same class, and Jiang Cen had never heard Gu Ruanruan mention her. What kind of intersection could they have?

Shen Wenlan immediately took a step back, as if she had seen some plague, hurriedly drawing a clear line. “President Jiang has misunderstood. I’m not familiar with Miss Gu. Not familiar at all.”

If possible, Shen Wenlan also sincerely hoped that after the joint performance was over, she could draw a clear line with Gu Ruanruan. Completely! Un! Familiar!

Gu Ruanruan: “……” ???

Good heavens. They had rehearsed together yesterday, and just now they had even both been part of the landlord class, yet now they were not familiar!

Gu Ruanruan pursed her lips. If they were not familiar, then fine!

She looked at Jiang Cen. “Sister, Fourth Miss Shen and I aren’t familiar. Let’s go somewhere else~”

When Gu Ruanruan truly wanted to please someone, the expression in her eyes was very deceptive. Just like now, her heart and eyes seemed full of Jiang Cen alone. Her slightly bright eyes were moist and clear, as if they could only hold one person. She did not look at Shen Wenlan again.

Jiang Cen did not dwell on this issue either. She nodded and led Gu Ruanruan away.

She still had some other matters left to discuss, so she told Gu Ruanruan to find somewhere to play for a while, then walked toward the bosses heading her way.

Gu Ruanruan tactfully ran to the food area and even pointed at a plate full of little cakes, indicating that she had saved them for her.

Jiang Cen was speechless.

Just after Jiang Cen finished discussing some business matters with those people and was planning to go find Gu Ruanruan, a female server carrying an entire tray of drinks stumbled into her.

The girl’s steps had already been a little unsteady. When she reached Jiang Cen, her left foot tripped over her right, and with a startled cry, she fell straight toward Jiang Cen.

By the time Jiang Cen tried to dodge, it was already too late.

Ding ding dang dang…

Goblets fell one after another onto the smooth marble floor, making a series of crisp sounds. The alcohol inside also spilled all over the floor, giving off different shades of luster under the refraction of the crystal chandelier.

In the end, Jiang Cen’s evening dress did not avoid disaster. More than half of it was wet.

The glass shards bounced twice on the floor, scattering to who knew where.

The girl who had dropped the glasses wore the banquet server uniform. Standing before the floor full of shattered glass, she looked completely at a loss.

Two seconds later, she seemed to finally realize something. Tears fell from her face in strings like broken pearls.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The girl apologized in a panic, rushing forward clumsily as if wanting to help Jiang Cen wipe her dress.

Jiang Cen frowned and stepped back several steps. Not even the corner of her dress was touched by the girl’s fingertips.

Her voice was icy. “No need.”

The girl was so frightened that her voice trembled. “President… President Jiang, I… I really didn’t do it on purpose…”

Gu Ruanruan’s heart jumped in fright. She rushed to Jiang Cen’s side as quickly as possible, her tender little hand soothingly patting the back of Jiang Cen’s hand.

Jiang Cen had a cleanliness obsession. With such a large patch of alcohol spilled on her, her mood must be terrible.

“Sister, let’s go change first.” Gu Ruanruan’s temporary reaction was still very quick. The moment the accident happened, she had conveniently grabbed a servant and asked them to help fetch the spare clothes from the car.

Other things were not important. The top priority right now was quickly getting Jiang Cen out of this evening dress.

Luckily, they had prepared in advance.

Before attending the banquet, Comrade Jiang Xia’an, the big star who could not attend because of work, had given remote guidance. She had repeatedly and emphatically reminded them that they absolutely had to bring spare clothes.

She had even cited an example of some celebrity in the entertainment circle who had attended a banquet and been splashed with red wine all over, making her sound especially… professional.

Gu Ruanruan had been fooled into immediately ordering someone to prepare spare clothes for them. She really had not expected them to be useful so soon.

A female celebrity was worthy of being a female celebrity. Having gone through great storms and waves, what scene had she not seen before?

Jiang Cen’s irritated mood eased slightly, and she hummed in agreement.

Such a big commotion had happened here, and the banquet’s host, Eldest Miss Shen, hurried over with an apologetic face.

“I’m sorry, President Jiang. We were short on staff, so we hired a few temporary workers today, and their training wasn’t sufficient. We’ve caused you trouble. Please forgive our poor hospitality. I’ll first take you upstairs to change out of the wet clothes.”

Gu Ruanruan also followed upstairs while holding the clothes.

Eldest Miss Shen brought them to the third floor of the villa and opened a guest room. “President Jiang, is this room all right? If you need anything, please call me. I’ll be outside.”

The Shen family had shown enough sincerity. The one who came forward to apologize was also the Shen family’s person in charge, Eldest Miss Shen. Jiang Cen also had no desire to make things difficult for them over such an insignificant matter.

“No need. It’s a small matter. Don’t take it to heart. Go attend to your guests.”

Gu Ruanruan also chimed in from the side, “Eldest Miss, go entertain the guests. Sister has me here.”

Eldest Miss Shen did not dwell on it. This matter was neither big nor small, and she understood that Jiang Cen had no intention of pursuing it.

Seeing the sisters’ firm attitudes, Eldest Miss Shen did not insist on staying. She only smiled and said, “The relationship between President Jiang and your younger sister is truly enviable.”

She said this sincerely. Although the Shen family had many children, the relationships between the sisters were not harmonious. For various reasons, their biological sisterly bonds were not even as close as outsiders.

A harmonious sisterly relationship like Jiang Cen and Gu Ruanruan’s was something she dreamed of, so she said it according to her heart.

But Jiang Cen frowned.

The Shen family’s way was the normal way sisters interacted.

They still should pay attention to boundaries. Even the closest sisters had to maintain distance. That was normal.

She turned her gaze toward Gu Ruanruan, who had followed her up. It would be better not to let Gu Ruanruan keep following beside her.

After handing the clothes to Jiang Cen, Gu Ruanruan stood in front of the door with her hands on her hips, her gaze shining as she surveyed the surroundings.

Jiang Cen was helpless. “……What are you doing outside?”

Gu Ruanruan expressed her stance very loudly. “I said before, I’m Sister’s personal bodyguard. I have to personally protect Sister!”

Jiang Cen: “…Come in.” Forget it. She could not let Gu Ruanruan embarrass herself outside.

Gu Ruanruan’s little face instantly reddened suspiciously. She waved her hands repeatedly, unable to speak smoothly. “Th-th-th-that, h-h-how could that be… N-n-n-no… no need.”

Jiang Cen: “I’m not used to having you outside.” Like a door guardian.

Gu Ruanruan came back to her senses, moved away from the door, and took a large step to the right. “I must firmly and unwaveringly guard Sister’s noble and flawless body! To prevent anyone from sneaking around like a dog and framing Sister!”

That was how it was written in the novel! At the banquet, the original owner had taken advantage of Jiang Cen changing clothes and secretly slipped in, attempting to cook the raw rice into cooked rice and pin the crime of beastly sisters onto Jiang Cen.

Now that it had been replaced by her, she definitely would not do that, but what if some ill-intentioned person wanted to do something? The “weak and unable to care for herself” Jiang Cen definitely would not be able to resist!

She had to eliminate this possibility! Before the original female lead appeared, she had to defend Jiang Cen’s chastity!

Jiang Cen was speechless and shut the door with a “pa.”

Not long after, Jiang Cen had changed clothes and put the soaked evening dress into the packaging bag.

Gu Ruanruan took the bag and handed it to a servant, asking them to bring it back to their car.

After this incident, there was no point continuing the socializing. Jiang Cen also no longer felt in the mood to keep entertaining people.

Gu Ruanruan followed closely behind Jiang Cen, step by step, maintaining an extremely close distance.

Jiang Cen suddenly stopped. Gu Ruanruan did not notice in time, and the tip of her nose bumped into Jiang Cen’s back.

She covered her nose, and tears immediately welled in her eyes from the pain.

A very soft whimper came from her throat, like a kitten’s paw scratching at the tip of one’s heart, pitiful in a strangely endearing way.

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Jiang Cen reached out and tapped the tip of her nose, saying softly, “Delicate.”

The little girl rubbed her reddened nose aggrievedly. “Sister, your back is too hard. It hurts.”

Such a fragile part like the nose really did hurt when it was suddenly bumped like that!

Jiang Cen was helpless. “Why are you standing so close?” She was the one who was not paying attention, yet she was even turning around to bite back.

Gu Ruanruan’s nose still hurt. Covering it, she said nasally, “Just now, I failed in my duty as a bodyguard! From now on, I have to guard Sister without leaving even half a step!”

Guard Sister’s chastity.

Jiang Cen: “……” She should not have felt any pity.

Just as the two returned to the first-floor hall, a petite girl crying like pear blossoms in the rain stepped forward and choked out an apology. “President Jiang, I’m really sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose. Please don’t blame me, okay…”

Gu Ruanruan frowned and glanced at her, feeling that she looked a little familiar.

She seemed to have some impression of this girl.

She remembered now. It was the girl who had been bullied by students from another school in the small alley last time, and later had handed Fugui’er over to them in the second-floor storage room.

The girl was still begging for forgiveness, and her voice had weakened a lot. “I… I really need this job. The losses I caused you… Can you wait until I’ve saved enough money before I compensate… compensate you…”

To be fair, although Gu Ruanruan did not know exactly how much one of Jiang Cen’s evening dresses cost, it was probably a price this girl could not repay even if she worked for several lifetimes…

But the direct victim of this matter was not Gu Ruanruan. As a bystander, she had no standing to decide for Jiang Cen whether to forgive her or not.

But they were both Shengshuilan classmates, the other girl’s family truly was difficult, and last time she could also be considered the one who gave Fugui’er to Gu Ruanruan. Gu Ruanruan could not just stand aside and do nothing.

Gu Ruanruan tugged Jiang Cen’s sleeve and raised a sweet smile. “Sister, I remember now. I know her. She’s a student at our school. Our family’s Fugui’er was also given to us by her last time.”

Hearing Gu Ruanruan’s voice, the girl immediately raised her head.

“Classmate, it’s you? I… I still don’t know your name. I’m really sorry. I always meet you when I’m in such embarrassing situations…” Her tears seemed endless. As she spoke, they fell patter-patter, and a puddle of water had accumulated on the floor beneath her toes.

Gu Ruanruan saw that she was crying so pitifully and walked up to her, taking out a handkerchief and handing it over.

“Hurry and wipe your tears. Don’t cry.” As she spoke, the ruby bracelet on her wrist shone brilliantly under the refraction of the light.

Jiang Cen raised her brows. Although Gu Ruanruan had not pleaded for this girl, her meaning was already very obvious.

It was only one dress. Speaking of it, it was not that big a matter. Jiang Cen had never intended to fuss over it.

“Forget it. Be more careful next time…”

Before Jiang Cen’s voice had even fallen, Gu Ruanruan sensed a slight sound that ordinary people had not noticed.

“Creak, creak…”

It sounded like the final announcement of something aging beyond endurance…

Just as she turned her gaze toward the ceiling, she heard an earth-shattering crash. The crystal chandelier above them swayed precariously on the ceiling, and at last, unable to hold on any longer, it fell violently with a loud “boom.”

!!!

The direction the chandelier was falling in was directly above Jiang Cen’s head.

Gu Ruanruan’s heart pounded wildly. In that instant, she had no thoughts at all. Her body reacted faster than her blank mind.