After Transmigrating Into A Cannon Fodder Character, I Only Want To Survive - Chapter 50

The scenery outside the window continued to recede, but the beauty of the fleeting images couldn’t fill the heart that sought solace, only making it feel increasingly empty and dull.

Fang Bai stopped trying to capture the fleeting scenes and turned her gaze, focusing on the hint of blue in her peripheral vision.

From the school to getting in the car, Ji Yuning hadn’t said a word the entire way.

Ji Yuning was cold and taciturn, and Fang Bai also enjoyed being alone. It was common for them to not say a word when they were together, and Fang Bai was already used to it.

But at this moment, because of the appearance of that woman, Fang Bai’s heart became uneasy.

Fang Bai wasn’t sure if Ji Yuning had seen the woman, or rather, if she had seen the woman’s face and recognized her.

Lu Raomei, the general manager of the Lu Group, the biggest villain in the story, a femme fatale.

It could be said that most of the plotline about Ji Yuning in the story was filled by her. In the original text, the real confrontation between Lu Raomei and Ji Yuning officially began after Ji Yuning went to Beijing. However, before Ji Yuning went to Beijing, Lu Raomei had also done some things that seemed insignificant in her eyes.

For example, the car that the Fang family’s people had tampered with last time.

Fang Bai frowned slightly. Lu Raomei’s words, “It was so hard to find you,” probably meant that Lu Raomei had found out that she had sent the anonymous email.

Otherwise, given the original owner’s early demise as cannon fodder, how could a heavyweight villain like Lu Raomei have noticed her? The two had no interaction in the story. Now, Lu Raomei suddenly appeared and even told her, a mere cannon fodder, “See you around.”

Recalling the words Lu Raomei had whispered in her ear, Fang Bai rubbed her brow. She hadn’t even dealt with the protagonist yet, and now she had provoked the villain.

“…” Fang Bai let out a breath.

Fang Bai took a piece of candy from her bag. Holding candy in her mouth when anxious or in a low mood seemed to have become a habit.

Accompanied by the sound of tearing plastic packaging, the sweet and light fragrance of lychee candy diffused in the car.

“Xiao Ning.” Fang Bai called out, her voice a little muffled with the candy in her mouth.

Ji Yuning’s fingers resting on her lap twitched slightly, and the light in her eyes dimmed. “Mmm.”

Fang Bai took the candy out of her mouth and asked, feigning doubt, “Do you know the woman who asked me for directions at school just now?”

Ji Yuning suddenly turned her head.

Asked for directions?

She thought—

Knowing that Fang Bai was waiting for her downstairs, Ji Yuning completed the task He Wei had given her in almost the shortest amount of time. When she walked out of the teaching building with her schoolbag on her back, she glanced at the place where Fang Bai had waited for her before, then her gaze stopped in the distance.

From Ji Yuning’s perspective, a splash of red and black in the distance were closely pressed together, whispering intimately, even reluctant to part during farewell. Fang Bai’s eyes followed the departing car.

Ji Yuning hadn’t seen the person in red clothes before, nor had she seen their face, but the distance between that person and Fang Bai had already exceeded what she considered intimate distance in the fitting room.

Recalling that Fang Bai had said she didn’t like women, Ji Yuning knew that person definitely wasn’t her lover. But being so intimate, were they friends?

It seemed so.

After all, Fang Bai would greet anyone so warmly, like moonlight scattered on the ground. As long as one removed the obstruction in front of them, they would receive the moon’s gentle light.

Having received the moon’s purity, how could one still be attached to the darkness in the corner?

Ji Yuning couldn’t explain the thoughts in her heart after that scene entered her eyes, only knowing that it was unprecedented and indescribable.

Ji Yuning couldn’t figure it out, so she could only remain silent, processing what she had seen.

But now, Fang Bai said the other person was a stranger.

Then, was what she saw different from what she thought?

Ji Yuning clenched her hand, her voice tight. “Didn’t see clearly.”

Hearing the answer, Fang Bai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Ji Yuning hadn’t seen that it was Lu Raomei and wouldn’t misunderstand her relationship with the villain, that was good. Otherwise, with Ji Yuning’s shrewdness, she might think that Fang Bai’s current kindness was at the villain’s instruction…

Fang Bai put the candy in her mouth and said to Ji Yuning, “If you see her again next time, stay away from her.”

Uncle Li, who was driving, heard this and interjected, “Miss, did something happen?”

“Mmm.” Fang Bai chewed on the candy, meeting Ji Yuning’s gaze. “She pulled my hair.”

Her tone was very calm, but Ji Yuning felt a great grievance contained within it.

Recalling how Fang Bai cherished her hair in the fitting room, Ji Yuning said hoarsely, “Did it hurt?”

Fang Bai was taken aback. What hurt?

When she saw that Ji Yuning was looking at her hair as she asked the question, Fang Bai realized and a smile appeared on her lips. “It didn’t hurt, she didn’t use much force.”

Ji Yuning turned her eyes away, her expression cool. “Mmm.”

As if the person who had just shown concern for Fang Bai wasn’t her.

Yuan Yizhen closed her laptop and looked at the person at the desk not far away.

After nearly half a year of getting along, Yuan Yizhen clearly understood Ji Yuning’s character: intelligent, stubborn and tenacious at her core, and highly motivated in her studies.

Yuan Yizhen knew how heavy the high school workload was, and Ji Yuning was not only able to study high school knowledge but also learn university-level courses from her. It sounded absurd, but Ji Yuning was doing it excellently and perfectly.

Before deeply understanding Ji Yuning, Yuan Yizhen only regarded this trip to Hu City as a project assigned to her by Chairman Lu. But as Ji Yuning repeatedly refreshed her understanding, Yuan Yizhen couldn’t help but feel genuine emotion.

At this moment, Ji Yuning’s light expression originally revealed no thoughts, but her eyebrows, lightly sketched like with dark ink, were slightly furrowed, and her dark eyes stared at the ornaments on the desk for a long time. The expression around her eyes completely betrayed her state.

Ji Yuning was distracted.

It wasn’t the first time Yuan Yizhen had noticed Ji Yuning’s unstable mood. In recent days, although Ji Yuning hadn’t made any mistakes in her studies and always completed the homework she assigned on time, the problem was that in the past, Ji Yuning would hand in her homework immediately after finishing it, but now Yuan Yizhen often had to remind her.

Yuan Yizhen got up from the sofa and walked towards the desk. The sound of her footsteps was particularly abrupt in the quiet room, but the person at the desk didn’t hear it. It wasn’t until Yuan Yizhen pulled out the chair opposite the desk, and the chair scraped against the floor with a harsh sound, that Ji Yuning indifferently withdrew her gaze and then handed the A4 paper in her hand to Yuan Yizhen.

Yuan Yizhen didn’t check it as usual. After taking the paper, she placed it face down on the desk. Looking at the hint of doubt in Ji Yuning’s eyes, Yuan Yizhen asked directly, “Miss Ji, have you been preoccupied with something lately?”

Ji Yuning lifted her eyelids slightly. “No.”

Yuan Yizhen had expected this answer. Ji Yuning wasn’t someone who readily revealed her true feelings; she was very guarded.

Pushing up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, Yuan Yizhen said seriously, “Then I hope Miss Ji can focus more in the future. After all, starting from today, the company will develop under your decisions.”

Ji Yuning paused. “?”

Yuan Yizhen knew this announcement was sudden. She had also just received the email.

“The knowledge in these books, no matter how firmly grasped, is just theory. Only practice can prove ability,” Yuan Yizhen said. “I reported your progress over the past few months to Chairman Lu, and he is very satisfied, hence this decision.”

Yuan Yizhen crossed her hands on the desk. “Chairman Lu also set a goal for you: to get the company’s ranking into the top five in Hu City within a year.”

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Ji Yuning turned the pen in her hand and said softly, “Mmm.”

What Yuan Yizhen admired most was Ji Yuning’s calm and composed attitude towards everything, as if nothing could affect her.

Being only seventeen years old and having such a disposition, Yuan Yizhen thought it was probably due to the things she had experienced.

“It doesn’t matter even if you fail, you don’t need to feel pressured,” Yuan Yizhen revealed. “I will always be by your side this year.”

Ji Yuning looked at Yuan Yizhen and nodded. “Thank you.”

Yuan Yizhen smiled slightly. “Does Miss Ji still need to leave at 6 o’clock?”

“Is something the matter?”

Yuan Yizhen nodded. “Yes, I have a plan I’d like to discuss with you.”

“…Okay.”

During the few minutes Yuan Yizhen went to get the documents, Ji Yuning took out her phone from her bag. She was wondering whether to send Fang Bai a message saying she would be back a little later.

Just as Ji Yuning hesitated, Yuan Yizhen had already sat down in front of her with the documents. Then the folder was opened on the desk, and Ji Yuning could only put down her phone and focus on the paper.

The end time was later than Ji Yuning had expected. By the time she left the company, it was completely dark.

Streetlights illuminated both sides of the street, and the towering buildings were full of neon lights. The early winter wind felt like blades scraping her face.

Yuan Yizhen walked to Ji Yuning’s side with her briefcase. “Let me drive you.”

Ji Yuning shook her head. “No need.”

Although it was an hour and a half later than usual, there was still a bus to go back.

Yuan Yizhen knew that when Ji Yuning said no need, she meant it. She didn’t insist and said softly, “Then see you tomorrow.”

“Mmm.”

After saying goodbye to Yuan Yizhen, Ji Yuning walked towards the bus stop with her schoolbag on her back.

The street where the bus stop was located was quite remote, with a few residential buildings nearby. The road was covered with dappled shadows of trees, and occasional cat calls came from the dark corners.

Walking deeper into the street, several tricycle-converted stalls appeared by the roadside.

Ji Yuning hadn’t had dinner. Although she wasn’t very hungry, the mingled aroma of fried skewers and sweet potatoes on the street still aroused her appetite. However, she walked past the stalls without looking sideways or stopping.

After walking a few more steps, Ji Yuning took out her phone and opened WeChat. All the chat boxes in the list had been deleted when she was going down the elevator, and now it was empty and white.

That is to say, from the company to now, she hadn’t received any new messages.

Just as Ji Yuning clicked on the contact list with only four friends and lowered her eyes, looking at the cat’s head profile picture,

A minute later, just as Ji Yuning was about to put away her phone, a kind voice called out to her, “Little girl.”

Ji Yuning looked up. A tricycle had stopped by the roadside at some point. It was piled high with corn, some husked and some still wrapped in green leaves. At the back of the tricycle stood a large bucket, used for boiling corn.

Beside the tricycle, a woman in her fifties was smiling at her. “I see you’re a student, right? Why are you still not home so late?”

Ji Yuning pursed her lips and didn’t speak.

Seeing that Ji Yuning didn’t speak, the woman just smiled and said, “Want some corn? It’s very sweet and will warm your hands.”

Ji Yuning said coldly, “No, thank you.”

Seeing this, the woman knew Ji Yuning had misunderstood her intention and quickly said, “Auntie will give it to you.”

Ji Yuning’s turning motion froze.

Auntie…will give it to you.

Familiar words made Ji Yuning’s heart clench. She composed herself for a moment and asked softly, “How much?”

“…”

After getting on the bus, Ji Yuning skipped the empty seats in the middle and went straight to the corner at the back of the bus.

The journey home by bus took nearly fifty minutes, but fortunately, it was a direct route and didn’t require any transfers.

The bus started moving, and Ji Yuning slowly closed her eyes. The corn held in her hand radiated warmth, but the heat could only warm her palm, not reaching anywhere else.