The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 607: Chapter 597: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 85

For several days in a row, different women showed up at the school every day to cause trouble for Xu Han.

The teachers watched the spectacle daily, and the students buzzed with discussions.

The expressions of the school leaders grew worse by the day.

Li Jingyu avoided Xu Han at all costs, refusing to see him and even had other teachers relay the message that they had broken up and it was best to stay away from each other.

Xu Han was sick to his stomach with the trouble these women were causing.

He cursed them internally for ruining his potential marriage arrangement.

Yet, he found himself powerless against these women.

In less than a week, the school leaders talked to Xu Han, stating that some of his behaviors were affecting normal work and casting the school in a bad light. They suggested he take a leave of absence without pay to rest at home for a while.

Xu Han had no other choice. He pleaded with the principal who firmly denied his stay at the school, not giving him any leeway and told him to go home immediately.

Xu Han understood that staying at the school any longer would likely lead to no good.

After returning home, he asked around and managed to transfer to another school.

And Li Jingyu finally got some peace.

Once Xu Han left for another school, and after those women stopped making trouble, he couldn’t help but feel unsatisfied.

He still had feelings for Li Jingyu.

With his conditions, it was impossible for him to find a girlfriend better than Li Jingyu.

Li Jingyu was a graduate of a prestigious school, good-looking, came from a decent family, had a gentle personality—in all aspects, she was outstanding. Xu Han had put a lot of effort into pursuing Li Jingyu, and he truly wasn’t willing to just break up.

Later, Xu Han sought out Li Jingyu several times, and though she never agreed to meet him, she was still greatly annoyed.

Once Anning heard about the situation, she found someone to threaten Xu Han, warning him that if he continued to pester Li Jingyu, his scandals would be exposed.

Xu Han wasn’t very courageous, so after being threatened, he didn’t dare to bother Li Jingyu anymore.

Due to this incident, Li Jingyu had become timid, especially when it came to romantic relationships.

She lost confidence in herself, doubting her own judgment, no longer believing she could find a good man on her own.

Anning could only try her best to comfort her, hoping she would be able to let go eventually.

After spending some time in the Capital, not only did Anning resolve the issue with Xu Han, but she also took care of Qi Ze, who wanted to use Liu Yuzhen as a shield.

Afterward, she took money from the children and bought them one or many properties each.

Li Jingyu bought a three-bedroom apartment and a shop. Li Jingyan had more money than Li Jingyu, having more free time, took on various odd jobs, wrote articles for publication, and had published two books in the previous years, which sold quite well. Hence, she was truly stronger than Li Jingyu when it came to saving money.

Just by herself, she bought three apartments and two shops.

Although Li Jinghan was still in university, he had already started earning money in high school. After entering university, he began translating documents for people and on weekends, he guided foreign tourists as an interpreter. He had also saved a good amount of money, but since he was younger, the money he saved was only enough to buy an apartment.

Liu Qi and Liu Ming made more money than the three of them and had no major expenses. They handed all their earnings to Anning for real estate investments.

The wealthiest was Liu Yuzhen, though she invested most of her money. The remaining funds, which she planned to use to buy a villa, were short. Eventually, Anning helped her with some money to make the purchase.

Seeing everyone buying property, Xiao Shiman gave Anning the money she had saved over the years, asking Anning to help her buy an apartment too.

Once Anning had dealt with the property matters, she left the Capital.

Regarding the children’s affairs, Anning didn’t need to worry too much.

She had brought them up well. Whether it was Liu Qi and the other two or Li Jingyu and her siblings, they had all paid for their university fees by themselves without asking for money from home.

In addition to tuition fees, each child was able to save enough to buy property, which showed that they were capable.

They could stand on their own in society. They might not live in luxury, but each one of them could attain a comfortable, modest lifestyle, which was good enough.

Although Anning was not short of money, she really didn’t spoil the children, not letting them squander it freely.

In Anning’s view, teaching the children to earn money with their own abilities, to be able to stand on their own two feet, was far superior to giving them any amount of money.

Anning returned to the Provincial City to find that the weather had already turned especially cold, and it wasn’t long before heavy snow began to fall.

The biting cold and difficult roads made Anning somewhat lazy.

She stayed home every day, not willing to move around much, but it just so happened that something came up during this time.

Snow had already started falling early this morning, swirling down like pulled cotton, and not just snow, but the fog was thick too. Anning, standing by the window looking out, could hardly make out the street scene.

Such weather, with wind and snow mixed, was truly unsuitable for going out.

Anning considered the food stored in her refrigerator and decided to make herself a small hot pot.

She hadn’t begun when she received a call from Zhang Fengfeng.

Zhang Fengfeng called Anning over, saying she must be bored at home by herself, and suggested going to Li Zhicheng’s place for some excitement, mentioning that they were planning to have hot pot for lunch.

Anning thought that it was just a short walk within the same neighborhood, so she agreed.

She put on a thick coat and went over. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by the aromatic scent of food.

Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai were already preparing the hot pot base.

Anning helped with picking the vegetables while Li Baolai cooked the base. Zhang Fengfeng and Anning chatted as they worked on the vegetables in the dining room.

The two began discussing Li Jingyu’s wedding plans, and Anning relayed the details of Xu Han’s situation at length.

Zhang Fengfeng sighed, ”It’s the adults’ job to keep an eye on the children’s matters. We can’t just let them do as they please. Luckily, our kids are sensible enough not to be obstinate with their elders, or else how much more worried would we have to be.”

Anning nodded, ”Exactly, just managing Jingyu alone has given me quite a headache, not to mention there are five more to come. Who knows what will happen then?”

While they were talking, Anning’s phone rang.

Anning hurried to answer it, and Li Zhipeng’s voice came through: ”Ning, Lao Si’s gone.”

Li Zhipeng probably didn’t expect Zhang Fengfeng to be with Anning and spoke quite loudly. Even though Anning didn’t put the call on speaker, Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai could hear it.

Both of them stopped what they were doing, standing there frozen, color draining from their faces.

Anning was startled and hurriedly asked, ”Gone? How? Wasn’t he just fine a few days ago?”

Li Zhipeng’s voice choked with emotion: ”It’s all because of that slut Wang Baozhu. On such a snowy day, she actually forced Lao Si to go begging outside. Lao Si froze to death.”

”Second brother, say that again.”

Zhang Fengfeng snatched Anning’s phone, anxious to ask, ”What happened to Lao Si? What’s happened to him?”

Li Baolai also rushed over.

Anning hurried to turn off the gas and the range hood.

”Mom, you... Anning is with you guys?”

Li Zhipeng got quite a shock, but since Zhang Fengfeng already knew, he couldn’t keep it from her: ”Wang Baozhu initially treated Lao Si quite well, and took good care of him. But it seems she started to slack when she saw that we were complacent. Lao Si’s temperament worsened, often scolding and beating Wang Baozhu, and she couldn’t endure it. Plus, she was short of money, so she hardened her heart and took advantage of our lack of attention to push Lao Si out to beg every day.”

Li Zhipeng cried as he spoke.

Regardless of what Li Zhifang was like, he was his brother. Losing him so suddenly was painful: ”Lao Si was disabled and already pitiful, and she dressed him in tattered clothes, making him look even more miserable. She just pushed him out, leaving him in a bustling area for passersby to throw money at him. At first, she was timid, only leaving Lao Si out for two or three hours a day. But when she saw she could get quite a lot of money, for the sake of cash, she was willing to leave him outside for half a day. With the current weather, and Lao Si dressed so thinly, he naturally fell ill. The more he was sick, the more money he needed. Even in today’s weather, Wang Baozhu pushed Lao Si to a mall entrance first thing in the morning. Lao Si was already sick, but she didn’t care...”

Li Zhipeng finished narrating the sequence of events, interrupted by his tears, then spoke to Zhang Fengfeng: ”Mom, don’t be too heartbroken, it was Lao Si’s fate, he brought it on himself.”

Zhang Fengfeng was also crying.

She and Li Baolai wept together, ”He brought it on himself, he brought it on himself; I’m not heartbroken, second brother, you also take care. The roads are really bad in this weather, don’t get hurt.”

She said she wasn’t heartbroken, but how could she possibly not be?

Anning took the phone back, ”Second brother, I’ll call the kids in a bit, but with the weather like this, I’m afraid they might have a hard time making it back...”

Li Zhipeng said, ”The children are what matters. He’s already gone. We have to think about the living. Tell the kids not to rush, not to drive back. They should take the train instead; it’s safer.”

Anning agreed and hung up. Then she stayed with Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai, consoling and talking to them for a long time before calling the children.

The children were also quite shocked when they received the calls.

Nobody expected Li Zhifang to pass away just like that.