The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 739: Chapter 723: I Am Not a Slut 24

Mrs. Jiang has been unhappy for several days because of Jiang Anan’s situation, lacking spirit in whatever she does.

Jiang Anan herself also seemed particularly silent.

Anning knew that Jiang Anan must have been hit hard by Zhou Chong.

She felt a blow to her confidence.

In fact, Jiang Anan has always felt somewhat inferior, mainly because Anning was just too outstanding, the paragon among children from a young age—beautiful, academically excellent, and with high emotional intelligence. This made Jiang Anan, as the eldest, gradually lose her confidence.

Adding to that, she only completed high school and didn’t pursue further education. Over time, in the face of people with higher educational backgrounds, she developed an inherent complex of inferiority. Now, with love troubles and being cheated on by Zhou Chong, she doubted herself even more.

Jiang Anan did not confront Zhou Chong directly.

She spent several days cooped up in the bun shop, working even harder than usual, and would bring the money she earned back to Mrs. Jiang. At meal times, she would just eat quietly, finish her meal, and then get back to work, barely speaking at all.

Seeing this situation, Mr. Jiang also started to worry.

Anning, on the other hand, was not in a hurry.

Everyone’s life involves facing tribulations. All sorts of difficulties must be overcome by oneself. Others can lend a hand, but how to overcome these challenges ultimately depends on the individual.

Right now, Jiang Anan was just a bit reluctant to accept the reality and a bit heartbroken. She’ll be fine once she gets past this hurdle.

At this time, she needs to sort things out by herself. If others were to say anything, it might just confuse her further, which really wouldn’t be helpful.

Anning watched from a distance with cool detachment, while Mr. and Mrs. Jiang were anxious yet helpless.

As for the Third, she spent every day at school, sometimes not coming home at night.

Even when she did come home in the evenings, she would mostly spend time playing with Xiao Hua, seldom getting involved in family matters.

Anning noticed that although the Third’s academic performance wasn’t great, she was quite savvy in many respects, more so than the Eldest despite her younger age.

In contrast to the Jiang family’s situation, the Liu Family upstairs had been very lively these past few days.

Aunt Sun was radiant with joy every day.

She got dressed up bright and beautiful daily, and Liu Fang was also always dressed to the nines and hardly stayed home.

Aunt Sun bragged to the neighbors in the community that Liu Fang’s boyfriend was especially nice to her, and besides, his family was wealthy, with well-educated parents and all.

Mrs. Jiang was already not in high spirits, and every day when she bumped into Aunt Sun, the latter would show off, making Mrs. Jiang feel even worse.

That day, as Anning took Mrs. Jiang out for a walk, they ran into Aunt Sun just as they left the building.

Aunt Sun had just done her hair, permed into big waves, and dyed it a wine red, with makeup on too, making her look a lot younger.

She spotted Mrs. Jiang and came over smiling, greeting her: ”Oh my, where are you off to? Have you not been out these past few days? I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you for quite a while.”

Mrs. Jiang forced a smile.

Aunt Sun reached out her hand for Mrs. Jiang to admire her newly done nails: ”Look at how my nails turned out. The other day I was out shopping with Xiao Hua and her boyfriend, and the young couple insisted on me getting my nails done. I said no, but Xiao Wu just went ahead and paid for it. Since the money was already spent, how could I not get them done, right? I even said I’m too old for this, but they look pretty nice after all.”

She waved her ten fingers in front of Mrs. Jiang’s eyes.

Mrs. Jiang’s complexion grew even worse.

It was clear that Aunt Sun was trying to provoke: ”Sister Zhou, you know, my Xiao Fang might get married this year. When the time comes, you’ve got to come to the wedding feast.”

Mrs. Jiang gave a hollow laugh: ”For sure, absolutely.”

Aunt Sun then looked Anning over: ”Does Anning have a partner yet? Tsk, looks like not, huh? It’s not good for Miss to not date at this age. How about I introduce someone? Our Xiao Wu, ah, he has quite a few friends, all of them with good prospects. When would you like me to arrange a meeting?”

Mrs. Jiang had no interest in responding to Aunt Sun, neither did Anning.

But she still stuck to them like glue: ”Granted, these guys can’t compare to Xiao Wu, some are a bit older, some don’t have as high of an education as him, but honestly, their family situations are really not bad. They all have their own house and car, and there’s even one whose family got several properties from a demolition deal; just that the kid’s education level isn’t very high. But they’ve said that if the girl is well-educated and good-looking, once they have a son in the future, they would transfer one of the properties to the girl’s name.”

She asked Mrs. Jiang: ”Pretty good conditions, eh? How about we arrange for the kids to meet?”

With a smile, Anning stepped in front of Mrs. Jiang: ”Aunt Sun, no need, thank you for the kind thought, but I already have a boyfriend.”

Aunt Sun was taken aback: ”You have a boyfriend? How come I’ve never heard about it?”

Anning chuckled: ”It’s not confirmed yet, how could I go around telling the whole world? It’s just dating, does it have to be such a big deal? If it doesn’t work out, wouldn’t it be very embarrassing? Even if it’s going to be public, I would only tell everyone when our relationship is stable and we’re close to getting married.”

After saying that, Anning took Mrs. Jiang to leave: ”Aunt Sun, my mom and I are in a hurry, so we can’t chat more, we’ll be taking our leave now, goodbye.”

Aunt Sun looked at the backs of Anning and Mrs. Jiang, furiously waving her fist: ”Blowing hot air, with that fox spirit’s looks, which decent household would want to take her in.”

After walking quite a distance, Mrs. Jiang finally asked Anning: ”Since when are you seeing someone?”

Anning laughed, ”Not really, I was just fooling Aunt Sun. Didn’t you hear her going on about setting me up? As if she could introduce anyone decent. It was so annoying, I just told her a white lie.”

Mrs. Jiang was irritated: ”You use that to deceive people too? What if we bump into her later and she asks about your boyfriend’s family, what am I supposed to say then? You know all too well how loose-lipped she is, and how she loves to snoop.”

Mrs. Jiang grew angrier as she went on: ”What bad karma have I accrued, to have birthed you three troublesome kids? Your eldest sister too, starting a relationship in secret and suffering such a loss; the third just a slippery eel, impossible to catch, and now you... You’re not getting any younger, if there’s someone suitable you should start dating, but let me be clear, we can’t accept anyone with poor family conditions, your father and I will never agree.”

”Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you,”

Anning hooked Mrs. Jiang’s arm, coaxing her with a smile: ”I will definitely listen to you and dad, we won’t settle for mediocre conditions, owning a car and house is the bare minimum, and the man’s education needs to be high, I have a master’s degree, so he should at least have a PhD, and he must be handsome, not looking like a Heavenly Immortal is unacceptable. Moreover, he must treat me well, be filial towards you and dad, and be kind to my sisters as if they were his own siblings. His parents should also be good to me, not picky or discriminatory, and absolutely no preference for sons over daughters. How’s that for criteria?”

Mrs. Jiang looked at Anning dumbfounded: ”You silly girl, are you trying to reach for the heavens? Is there even such a man in this world? Even if there is, would he fancy you?”