The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 584: Chapter 575: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Doormat 63

Anning returned and had planned to visit her village, but right after having a meal at Li Zhiyuan’s house, she received a call from Xiao Yuan.

Anning went out and spoke a few words to Sun Xiumei, telling her not to be anxious or upset, then she drove home.

On the way, Anning made arrangements with Xiao Yuan; when she arrived at the Provincial City, she didn’t go home, but went straight to the hotel Xiao Yuan had booked.

Xiao Yuan was waiting for her in the lobby on the first floor, and seeing Anning come over, he smiled, stood up, and waved to her.

Perhaps it was just thinking of something that made it happen, but as soon as Anning entered the private room with Xiao Yuan, she saw a little girl around ten years old sitting there.

Seeing this little girl, Anning inwardly sighed at the stubbornness of the plot.

She could tell at a glance that this little girl was her niece, the daughter of her sister An Yue.

Xiao Yuan pulled out a chair for Anning to sit down and pointed to the little girl, saying, ”This is Tang Shi, I want to adopt her.”

Anning glanced at Tang Shi and smiled.

Tang Shi also looked at Anning with surprise.

She felt that Anning looked very familiar, and, moreover, Anning looked very much like her deceased mother, which calmed her anxious heart quite a bit.

Before coming, Xiao Yuan had already told Tang Shi that he needed to ask for the opinion of one person before adopting her; if that person disagreed, he wouldn’t proceed with the adoption.

So, Tang Shi was very afraid.

She was scared that if Anning disagreed, she would lose the good life she now had.

But the moment she saw Anning, Tang Shi strangely felt unafraid all of a sudden.

”What do you mean?”

Xiao Yuan leaned in and asked Anning quietly.

Anning spread her hands: ”I have no objections, if you want to adopt her, go ahead.”

”Moreover.”

Anning smiled as she looked at Xiao Yuan: ”Haven’t you noticed that she looks very much like me?”

Xiao Yuan nodded: ”It’s precisely because she looks so much like you that I wanted to adopt her. When I first encountered her, her family had beaten her to within an inch of her life. If I didn’t save her, I’m afraid by now she would be...”

Xiao Yuan sighed: ”She’s a good kid, it’s just that she ran into a bunch of despicable family members.”

Anning’s eyes narrowed slightly, concealing the fleeting spark of fury within them.

She took a deep breath and asked Tang Shi, ”Is your mother named Geng Anyue?”

Tang Shi was taken aback: ”Auntie, you... you know my mom?”

Anning pointed at her own face: ”Do I look a lot like your mom?”

Tang Shi nodded.

Anning spoke in a low voice: ”Your mother is my biological sister.”

Eh?

Tang Shi was utterly shocked and looked at Anning incredulously, while a wave of grief and sorrow surged in her heart.

She clenched her fists, emotionally stirred: ”Why... why did you sell my mom? Do you know how she died? She was beaten to death alive by those people. I... why sell her? You are her relative, why treat her like this?”

Tang Shi couldn’t control her emotions, her face awash with tears, accusing relentlessly.

Anning was quite helpless too; she quickly hugged Tang Shi: ”I’ve never wanted to sell my own sister. I didn’t know anything about your mom’s situation. Ever since your mom got married, I’ve only seen her three times. Each time she returned, she said everything was fine and told me not to worry about her. I thought she was doing well. Later, she wrote me a letter to say they were moving somewhere far away... At that time, my husband had passed away, and I was consumed with grief, I didn’t really think much about it.”

Anning also cried: ”I’m sorry, I... I didn’t pay enough attention to her, I’m truly very sorry.”

The more Anning kept apologizing, the louder Tang Shi cried.

She had suffered too much these years, grievances she could not share with others, just enduring them alone. For the sake of survival, she dared not cry, but now she finally had a relative in whom she could confide, and so she cried out all the humiliations of those years.

”Why didn’t you just ask her? Why...”

””

Tang Shi had been crying for half an hour, leaving Anning’s heart feeling sore. It took a long while for her to soothe Tang Shi and calm her down.

While Anning was wiping Tang Shi’s tears, Xiao Yuan called a waiter over to order food.

He asked Tang Shi in a low voice, ”What would you like to eat?”

Tang Shi looked at Anning, her large eyes still glimmering with tears, making her appear soft and adorable: ”What does Auntie want to eat?”

This child really had been beaten until she had no confidence left, she didn’t even dare to order for herself.

Anning stroked her head: ”Whatever our Shishi wants to eat, we will order that. Today, both Auntie and Uncle Xiao will listen to you.”

Tang Shi thought for a long time, tilting her head as she looked at the menu. The prices on the menu really made her heart beat faster, but encouraged by Anning’s supportive gaze, she finally mustered up the courage to order a few of her favorite dishes.

Anning watched her with a smile, and after Tang Shi finished ordering, she added two more dishes.

Xiao Yuan ordered a soup, then handed the menu back to the waiter.

While waiting for the dishes to be served, Xiao Yuan asked Anning, ”Are there any vacant houses in your neighborhood?”

”Why?”

Anning raised an eyebrow: ”Thinking of settling down?”

Xiao Yuan nodded: ”It’s alright for me to travel here and there alone, but now that I’ve adopted a little girl, I have to think about her. It wouldn’t be good to keep dragging her around. We need a stable home, right?”

Anning considered for a moment: ”I think there are no houses available, but I’ll ask around for you and call you if I find anything.”

Anning understood what Xiao Yuan meant; he wanted to buy a house in her neighborhood mainly because both Anning and Li Zhicheng’s families lived there. It would give him peace of mind to have the child nearby, and if he was busy with work, there would also be others to help look after her.

After all, even if Xiao Yuan was of the Xiao Family, his body was blood-related to Li Zhicheng as brothers, and in terms of closeness, he was actually much closer than Anning.

After eating, Xiao Yuan wanted to book rooms at the hotel.

He thought to book two rooms, one for himself and one for Tang Shi. Before buying a house, the two of them would make do with staying at the hotel for a while.

But Anning stopped him.

”Just book one room. Let Shishi come back with me.”

Xiao Yuan rubbed his temple: ”That works too, wait for a bit. After I book the room, I’ll come back with you.”

Anning waited for a while and then took Xiao Yuan and Tang Shi to meet Li Baolai and Zhang Fengfeng.

Zhang Fengfeng was very supportive of Xiao Yuan’s decision to adopt a daughter.

Especially after knowing how much hardship Tang Shi had previously endured, she was filled with compassion, holding Tang Shi’s hand and saying incessantly, ”This child has really suffered, look how thin she is. That family is worse than animals. Good child, don’t worry, our family is kind-hearted and will definitely treat you well.”

Zhang Fengfeng’s well-meaning words dispelled Tang Shi’s last concerns. She smiled sweetly and called Zhang Fengfeng ”Grandma,” which made Zhang Fengfeng extremely happy.

Xiao Yuan had always called her Aunt, as his own son could not call her mother. This was a hurdle Zhang Fengfeng could not get over in her heart, especially since Xiao Yuan’s wife died, and then he was always doing business outside, rarely coming home over the years, making Zhang Fengfeng feel even more sorry for Xiao Yuan.

Now, however, the daughter Xiao Yuan was adopting called her Grandma, which meant her son was still her own child, and this made Zhang Fengfeng especially joyful inside.

”Good child.”

Zhang Fengfeng quickly handed a red envelope to Tang Shi: ”Take this, this is from Grandpa and Grandma, buy some delicious food with it later.”

She then turned to Liu Ru and said, ”You and Anning go buy the child a few sets of clothes later on. Now that she is part of our family, she cannot be treated as an outsider.”

Liu Ru cheerfully agreed.

After settling Tang Shi in, Zhang Fengfeng then asked Anning about Li Jingming’s marriage prospects.

Anning didn’t keep it secret and shared the Lu Family’s requests.

Zhang Fengfeng listened for a long time without speaking, it was Liu Ru who was quite angry: ”Aren’t they just selling their daughter? How can they do this.”

”Eldest definitely won’t agree.”

It was a while before Zhang Fengfeng came up with this sentence: ”Though he has three sons and has some family assets over the years, he wouldn’t give such a large bride price. If Jingming does, what about the other two?”