She is the Side Character! — Watch Her Change her fate!

Outside the apartment that Duan Li once lived in, Duan Mu, a grown man, squatted by the wall, sobbing.

In middle age, faced with such a situation, he seemed to have suddenly sobered up a lot. It was because of this clarity that he realized what he had missed.

The homeowner heard noise outside and, looking through the peephole, saw a man with red, swollen eyes from crying. Not wanting any trouble, the homeowner decided not to go out.

Suddenly, she heard the man shout ”Mom.”

She knew a bit about the previous owner’s story and shook her head slightly. If they had known it would come to this, why bother with the actions back then? Sister Li must have been truly heartbroken to move abroad. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited three years to sell the house.

No one knows when Duan Mu left or where he went.

The owner only noticed when she went to take out the trash in the afternoon that he was no longer there. She didn’t have Duan Li’s contact number abroad, and it was probably just as well, for she wouldn’t know if she should make the call or not.

”I can lend you a hundred thousand,” Wei Yue thought for a moment and said, ”Any more than that, I’m afraid my husband would have a fit.”

Thinking about it made Wei Yue a bit distressed. A hundred thousand isn’t a small amount. Her husband would be displeased knowing, but it was Duan Mu asking for the money; she couldn’t just coldly turn away.

Duan Mu looked somewhat frightening now. Someone with nothing left to lose fears nothing at all.

”A hundred thousand probably won’t be enough.” Duan Mu’s gaze was reflective. After losing the most cherished things, many truths became clearer, but people don’t like to blame themselves, preferring to push the fault onto others.

Just like Duan Mu now, he believed that if it weren’t for Wei Yue, he and his mother wouldn’t have been permanently separated. Where did she go? How could he find her?

All because of Wei Yue!

His fierce stare startled Wei Yue, making her defensive.

Duan Mu was losing it!

But what did that have to do with her? Was the other’s downfall really her fault?

She admitted that she indeed stole Ran Chan’s father back then because she desperately wanted to cling to someone like her dad.

But that situation already punished her. Her reputation was gone, and her foster father’s home was not warm, even a suffocating weight on her heart. Now working, she not only had to support her family but also her foster father’s retirement because once she started working, her foster father unabashedly spent all his money on the orphanage.

Was what her foster father did purely out of kindness? She didn’t know and didn’t quite understand.

The children at the orphanage grew up one by one. How many remembered the foster father’s kindness? One by one, they used being busy at work as an excuse, rarely returning or visiting the foster father. They hardly even called. Once, someone private messaged her a screenshot from a small orphanage group chat where two grown kids lamented lost opportunities. They believed they had talent but hadn’t been nurtured and now had to work menial jobs instead.

Although they didn’t mention the foster father, wasn’t what they said also a complaint?

She didn’t believe Duan Mu’s outcome was caused by her.

Take Duan Li, for instance. She had advised Duan Mu countless times to reconcile, but he refused.

And other messy incidents—she never told Duan Mu to do those; it was all his interpretation.

Ran Chen might detest and hate her, but Duan Mu shouldn’t.

Besides, over the years, she had helped Duan Mu quite a bit when he was down and out.

Even as friends, who casually lends a hundred thousand on a whim?

”How much do you want to borrow?” Wei Yue asked, planning to first calm him down, ”I really can only provide this much right now. You get treatment first, and if you need more afterward, I’ll think of a way to help you, alright?”

Duan Mu gave her a glance and then said, ”Okay, but don’t forget, I am all alone now, and besides you, there’s no one I can turn to. I’m just afraid I might do something irrational.”

”Haven’t Qinqin and Lele finished school yet?” he suddenly asked.

Wei Yue’s pupils suddenly constricted—threats!

He was threatening her, implying he might target her two children if she didn’t cooperate. Gripping the sofa tightly, Wei Yue couldn’t angrily accuse him, lowering her gaze with bitterness—was this karma?

Could this be karma?

She didn’t have the courage for a desperate gamble and could only compromise.

Her husband had a violent temper, and she couldn’t even tell him the truth; otherwise... he would certainly clash with Duan Mu, and who knows what would happen then.

How did her life come to be like this?

”I won’t ignore you,” Wei Yue finally said, ”After all, we are friends.”

Duan Mu was satisfied and left once the hundred thousand was in hand.

Wei Yue did consider reporting him for extortion afterward, but recalling how dangerous Duan Mu could be, she dismissed the idea, fearing he might retaliate in desperation.

The following days were indeed chaotic, with deepening conflicts with her husband.

Until her husband noticed something was amiss and called the police.

Duan Mu’s defiance had its limits, and when the police arrested him, he quickly backed down.

Even so, the rift between Wei Yue and her husband remained, but they did not divorce.

After being imprisoned, a former employer came to see Duan Mu and told him that the good part-time job he had back then was actually arranged by Duan Li. Duan Mu cried bitterly, wanting the employer to help contact her, but the employer refused.

”There are two talented children in the orphanage. If they are well cultivated, they will definitely achieve something in the future,” Ran Zhengfeng said enthusiastically at the dinner table. For some reason, he had a special obsession in this area, as if he should train some artists renowned across the country.

Wei Yue just listened and did not respond.

The only thing she could manage was Ran Zhengfeng’s food and drink. What he did with his money was up to him; after all, she had snatched this foster father, and she deserved what she got.

”But the conditions here are still a bit lacking,” Ran Zhengfeng said. ”I heard that there are very good teachers in your area, and it’s better to learn this with a teacher. I’ll pay for the tuition, but finding a place to stay is difficult. The kids need someone to take care of them. Yuanyuan, your house is spacious, and they are about the same age as Qinqin and Lele, so they’d have company. Why not let them stay at your house for now, what do you think?”

Wei Yue abruptly lifted her head and refused without thinking: ”No way.”

Ran Zhengfeng’s smile faltered: ”Kids don’t eat much.”

”That’s not what I mean, just no way.”

Wei Yue couldn’t eat anymore. After arguing for a while, Ran Zhengfeng suddenly asked, ”How did you become so selfish?”

Wei Yue’s eyes immediately reddened, was she selfish?

Was she selfish?

She didn’t argue further but wouldn’t agree to such a thing; she got up and left.

It seemed like there was no way to maintain appearances anymore; it might be better to come back less often in the future. Even if people called her ungrateful, so what? She would still provide for his retirement, and he could do whatever he wanted.

At this moment, she finally understood how difficult it had been for Ran Chen and Teacher Zhuo back then.

Wei Yue’s sudden visit surprised Ah Chen, but she still met with her.

The moment they met, she knew what was going on.

”Ran Chen, I’m sorry.”

”I’m really sorry.” She actually understood a lot but didn’t want to let go. Only those who experienced the bitterness knew how detestable it was.

”I can’t forgive you.” Ah Chen leaned on the sofa and said this. She wasn’t the commissioner, so she couldn’t forgive Wei Yue. It wasn’t surprising Wei Yue came; after all, the other party was somewhat clever.

Wei Yue slightly tilted her head up and wasn’t disappointed upon hearing this: ”I know, but I had to say I’m sorry.”

Even if she wouldn’t be forgiven.

Seeing Wei Yue off, Ah Chen took her coffee to find Li Feiwei, who was working hard for the upcoming holiday, to show some care.

Later, when Zhuo Qiaoqing and Yun Xin returned from their trip, Wei Yue also sought them out to apologize.

Zhuo Qiaoqing said, ”Actually, the main reason lies with Ran Zhengfeng, but I won’t forgive you either.”

Wei Yue left with a bitter smile.

Later, Ran Zhengfeng still couldn’t nurture the so-called nationally acclaimed artists. In the empty house, he mumbled to himself, it shouldn’t be this way, it shouldn’t be this way, those kids were talented, they shouldn’t fail.

He helped so many kids; why didn’t they come back to see him?

Ingrates, they were all ingrates!

Later, when Ran Zhengfeng grew old, he lamented to everyone he helped a group of ingrates.

Some of the children from the orphanage who originally visited him heard about it and only smiled bitterly. Maybe there were ingrates, but they really weren’t. If they got closer to Uncle Ran, he would ask them to do things that put them in a difficult position. They had their own families to look after, and if they truly supported those kids learning art, their families would fall apart.

Later someone heard about this and wanted to have Ran Zhengfeng appear on a program, but he angrily drove them away. This person seemed a bit angry and wrote an article saying Ran Zhengfeng supported an orphanage full of ingrates.

Predictably, the one mocked the most in the end was still Ran Zhengfeng, only because the evidence of that year’s event was all there, and Ah Chen and Li Feiwei were quite famous.

When Li Jingming was nearing the end of his life, Li Feiwei heard the news and took Ah Chen abroad to see him.

”Father!” Li Feiwei’s eyes were full of smiles. His hair was a bit gray, yet he seemed kind but carried the pride of his youth, ”You lost, look, senior sister is always by my side.” He held Ah Chen’s hand proudly like a peacock, ”She is willing to stay with me for a lifetime.”

Li Jingming chuckled angrily, almost dying on the spot: ”Is this why you’ve had a top medical team keeping me healthy all this time?”

”Yes, so Father can live a bit longer, to see me and senior sister together in love.” Li Fei boasted, ”Father, you were never loved, so you don’t understand the feeling.”

Ah Chen gently shook her head, was this really just to see Li Jingming off? But she had no intention of stopping it.

Li Jingming closed his eyes, saying nothing more, too drained, this wretched wolf pup.

He opened his eyes again to look at Ah Chen, as if asking, how could you bear all this?

”You don’t understand,” Ah Chen said, ”he’s worth my affection.”

Li Feiwei’s smile brightened: ”Father, senior sister likes me! You don’t understand love! Are you now speechless with envy? It’s really pitiful to have no one love you till the end.”