The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 920: Chapter 898: Top Student in the 1980s (26)

Anning quietly brought a meal for Xiao Yuan again.

She got up early in the morning, memorizing words while cooking. Once the meal was ready, she took out two big steamed buns and set them aside. Then she took a little bit of the braised meat Secretary An bought the day before and packed it into a lunchbox.

When she went to school after breakfast, she carried it with her.

She went to school early in the afternoon, and when she arrived, Xiao Yuan was already waiting under the teaching building.

They found a secluded spot sheltered from the wind where no one could see them, and Anning took an orange out of her pocket for Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan peeled the orange, split it into segments, and first gave a piece to Anning before eating one himself.

After eating half the orange, Xiao Yuan couldn’t help but laugh.

”Look at how little we have now.”

Anning nestled in Xiao Yuan’s arms and laughed along, ”Sigh, thinking about the lifetime where you were the Prime Minister, we had so many good things then, and the garden you built for me. Now, we have to sneak around just to eat an orange. Don’t you think it would be great if we could grow up a little faster?”

”No rush,” Xiao Yuan seemed to enjoy such moments: ”It’s rare to have such peaceful times; let’s take it slow.”

After finishing the orange, Anning said to Xiao Yuan, ”I know you still want to make life difficult for Zhang Erzhu’s family, but my parents are probably involved. You should hold off for now. If they get involved, Zhang Erzhu’s family will definitely be turned upside down.”

Xiao Yuan smiled and asked, ”Do you know what your parents plan to do?”

Anning nodded, ”I can guess.”

She whispered in Xiao Yuan’s ear, sharing her guess about Secretary An’s general plan.

Xiao Yuan burst out laughing.

If it really happens, it would be a big deal, Zhang Erzhu’s family would be utterly disgusted.

Xiao Yuan then said to Anning, ”Zhang Gouxiong is no innocent guy. In his younger days, he was a bit of a philanderer; he still has someone he secretly adores...”

Anning was quite intrigued to hear about Zhang Gouxiong’s romantic escapades from his younger days: ”How do you know that?”

Xiao Yuan pinched Anning’s ear: ”I’ve seen Zhang Gouxiong; after everything we’ve been through, what can’t we figure out?”

Indeed.

Having gone through the Divine Enthronement, Anning and Xiao Yuan had a profound understanding of the Law of the Great Tao; if they didn’t want to see something, they’d just ignore it. If they really wanted to discover something, no one could hide it from them.

”Ah, turning younger has dulled my mind.”

Anning patted her tiny temple, ”Alright, I’ll find a way to convey this to my mom.”

Anning got up to go to the classroom, followed closely by Xiao Yuan, who also headed up to the second floor.

When school ended, Xiangling came to pick up Anning to go home.

Xiangling took Anning’s backpack and held her hand as they walked back.

Anning chatted with Xiangling as they walked: ”Sister, do you have time to sew some bags for me? I have a lot of clothes but no bags to match. Let’s buy some fabric so you can make some, and maybe embroider some flowers on them.”

Xiangling laughed and agreed.

Anning said, ”Sis, I really want to eat hot pot. The cabbage we’ve grown at home is ready, let’s cook some noodles too, and have a hot pot on Sunday.”

”Sure,” Xiangling replied with a smile.

”Sis, I want to visit the Provincial City’s library. Can you accompany me on Sunday?”

Anning kept making requests while walking, and Xiangling agreed to all with a smile.

The sisters returned home, and Secretary An, noticing Xiangling’s cheerful expression, asked, ”What have you two been talking about? You look so happy.”

Xiangling replied, ”Ningning asked me to sew some bags for her and said she wants to go to the Provincial City to buy books on Sunday, and asked me to go with her.”

Upon hearing this, Secretary An also smiled, ”Alright, I’ll take you both to the Provincial City on Sunday. We’ll spend a day there and come back.”

Xiangling’s happiness increased.

Xiangling had a gentle disposition, the kind that involves a bit of selflessness.

Ever since Xiangling returned, Secretary An and Zhang Heping treated her exceptionally well, not letting her do anything, just wanting to make it up to her by giving her money, buying her things, and providing delicious food.

This made Xiangling feel insecure.

She felt uneasy inside, as if it wasn’t entirely real, making her even more apprehensive.

Although she didn’t show it, Anning had noticed long before.

Her requests to Xiangling were intended to ease her mind.

By asking Xiangling to help with this and that, it made Xiangling feel needed, thus reducing her anxiety.

Sure enough, Xiangling was joyful that evening, going back after dinner to find some pretty fabric scraps to make a backpack for Anning.

Before they knew it, Friday arrived.

On this day, Xiao Yuan intentionally wandered around the reception area and returned to the dormitory with a letter in hand.

It was a letter from a magazine regarding a short story he had written that had been accepted, along with a remittance slip.

Xiao Yuan had written a short story, just a few thousand words. Since he was a newcomer, the payment wasn’t high.

However, due to the reforms and opening up in the past two years, payments have been much higher than the standard from previous years. Generally, payment is between six and twenty yuan per thousand words. Xiao Yuan’s story was about four thousand words, and because it was so well written, even for a newcomer it wasn’t at the lowest rate, though not at the highest either. A middle value was used, with a rate of ten yuan per thousand words, totaling forty yuan.

The magazine editor even wrote a letter to Xiao Yuan, praising his story for being well-written with solid literary skills, encouraging him to create more.

Xiao Yuan read the letter and replied to the editor.

He put the remittance slip into his pocket and, instead of returning to the dormitory after school, he went home.

Now that Xiao Baohu and Wang Gui Fen both had jobs, and Xiao Heizi and Sister Xu had moved to the county, Xiao Yuan was able to go home often to enjoy better meals.

When Xiao Yuan got home, Xiao Baohu had just brought back a piece of meat, telling Sister Xu to stew it for dinner.

Sister Xu saw Xiao Yuan return and quickly asked with a smile, ”Yuanzi, you’re home! Are you cold? Come in and warm up. We’re having stewed meat tonight, make sure to eat plenty!”

Xiao Yuan smiled, ”Is my dad inside?”

Sister Xu nodded.

Xiao Yuan took the remittance slip into the house.

Xiao Heizi was inside with the kids. When he saw Xiao Yuan return, he let Xiao Jian Country play with Nana and started talking to Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan asked Xiao Heizi, ”Dad, where’s our household register?”

Xiao Heizi went inside and dug it out for him, ”What do you need it for?”

Xiao Yuan didn’t hide his intentions, ”I wrote a short story a while ago and submitted it to a magazine. I didn’t expect them to accept it. Today I received their reply and remittance.”

”What?”

Xiao Heizi’s hand trembled as he handed over the register, almost dropping it, ”Say it again, what do you mean?”

Sister Xu and Xiao Baohu, hearing the commotion, rushed inside, ”What’s going on? Are you two arguing?”