The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

On the day of Anning’s college entrance exams, the whole family came to see her off.

Not only did Yang Erchou and Li Cuixia come, but Yang Anzhen and Fang Jianhua also came, and even the Old Madam insisted on watching her granddaughter enter the exam hall.

Yang Erchou booked several rooms in a hotel in the county in advance, and the whole family stayed there for two days.

Anning took her exams over two days. After finishing the last subject, she walked out of the exam hall and saw her family waiting under the shade of trees.

She ran over to them with a smile.

Yang Anzhen quickly asked her, ”How did it go?”

The Old Madam glared at Yang Anzhen, ”Didn’t I tell you not to ask? Whether she did well or poorly, it’s all over. Asking too much might make your sister feel bad.”

Yang Anzhen was frightened and kept her mouth shut.

Fang Jianhua handed Anning the ice cream he bought with a smile, ”You didn’t dare eat during the exam preparation, now that it’s over, enjoy it freely.”

Anning was really craving it, so she accepted the ice cream: ”Thank you, brother-in-law.”

Once the family returned home, Li Cuixia hurried to cook.

While they were in the county, they had already bought meat and some cooked dishes, so it wasn’t difficult to prepare the meal once they returned home.

After dinner, Anning went to sleep.

The next day, she rode her bicycle to school to estimate her exam scores.

Most of her classmates were already there when Anning arrived.

The teacher handed out the answers and had everyone compare them to estimate their scores for selecting colleges later on.

Anning quickly finished estimating her scores.

The homeroom teacher called Anning over with a smile and asked, ”How did you do?”

Anning didn’t hold back: ”I did really well this time, it must have been an extraordinary performance. Just now, I estimated my scores: I got perfect scores in math, physics, and chemistry, and my reading comprehension and essay in Chinese were hard to measure, and I’m not sure if they will deduct points from my English essay. But it’s definitely over seven hundred points, just not sure how much over.”

The homeroom teacher was thrilled.

If it’s over seven hundred points, it might not guarantee the provincial top scorer, but the county top scorer is almost certain.

”If your score really is like that, you can choose any college, and they’ll accept you.”

”I want to apply to Imperial University.”

Anning said with a smile.

The homeroom teacher nodded, ”That’s generally not a problem. If you get accepted, you’ll be the first student from our county school to attend Imperial University, surely to be recorded in the school’s history.”

The homeroom teacher was genuinely happy; teaching Anning was a point of pride for her.

Her fondness for Anning was genuine. From the start, when she recruited Anning to their county school, she had been her teacher for three years. Over these three years, Anning’s diligence and respect for teachers were evident in everything she did. Such an excellent and hardworking student was truly likable.

”Alright then.”

The homeroom teacher patted Anning’s shoulder: ”Since you’ve estimated your scores, go home early, and let your parents know. Let them share the joy too.”

Anning agreed with a smile.

She didn’t go home immediately but went to the gatekeeper to see if there was any mail for her.

Sure enough, there was a letter.

Only after taking the letter did Anning ride home.

As soon as she entered the door, Li Cuixia approached nervously, asking, ”How did it go? What score did you estimate?”

”Over seven hundred.”

Anning said while parking her bike.

”Really?”

Li Cuixia was overjoyed and rushed outside without even wiping her hands: ”I’ll go tell your dad.”

Anning didn’t stop her.

Li Cuixia hurriedly walked outside.

The Old Madam came out and happened to hear Anning say over seven hundred points.

She didn’t understand the significance, so she called Anning over to inquire more: ”Is seven hundred really high? Why is your mom so happy?”

Anning helped the Old Madam sit down and patiently explained: ”This year, the college entrance exam reform adopted a 3+2 model—three main subjects plus two additional ones. For science, it’s chemistry and physics; for humanities, it’s politics and history. Regardless of science or humanities, the full score is seven hundred fifty. If I scored over seven hundred, there probably isn’t anyone in our county who scored higher. Of course, I can’t guarantee provincial top scorer, but county top scorer is certain.”

The Old Madam promptly burst into laughter: ”Really? This is wonderful news, really wonderful! Oh, my granddaughter really does make me proud.”

She was genuinely happy.

Reflecting on the past few years, the Old Madam regretted her earlier decisions.

She wondered how she could have been so blind—how much water must’ve entered her brain to remain oblivious to which son was filial and which one was unkind, while remaining fixated only on her grandsons.

The result, of course, was that during her illness, it was her disregarded granddaughter who took care of her rather than her absent grandsons.

Living with the eldest had its perks of seeing the grandsons daily.

But seeing them daily wasn’t much of an advantage, practically, as she gained nothing significant while shouldering endless chores and having the worst food.

Living with the second son, however, was genuinely living. She had leisure every day, the second son’s wife was filial, not only cooking and washing for her but also afraid she’d be bored at home, she went to the county to buy her a tape recorder and tapes for listening to operas occasionally.

The second son occasionally gave her some pocket money, and the household never lacked melon seeds, peanuts, or watermelon, and occasionally had meat.

Comparing the lifestyle with living with the eldest son, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

The Old Madam felt she had wasted her life being ignorant.

Looking at Anning now, she felt ashamed enough to slap herself.

What grandchildren? What does having grandsons even bring? Both weren’t promising and would only bring worries in the future.

But this granddaughter was truly remarkable—good in studies, excellent character, beautiful, and after college, if she gets assigned work, it’ll be at the cadre level, with a bright future ahead.

Now the Old Madam had come to terms with the idea that as long as someone is kind and filial, that’s all that matters.

She could foresee that with such a wonderful granddaughter, no one would dare treat her poorly; once her granddaughter succeeded, people would surely respect her, and nobody would dare cause her trouble.

The Old Madam took out her saved pocket money and handed it to Anning: ”Here, take it, buy something nice to eat later.”

Anning smiled and didn’t refuse: ”Alright, I’ll buy some ribs, let’s have stewed ribs.”

She took the money and bought some ribs, which the Old Madam immediately started cooking.

Anning then had time to read the letter.

Xiao Yuan’s letter wasn’t long.

Perhaps afraid others would see, he briefly wrote that he had arrived in the Provincial City, found work, and would think about other plans once he saved some money. He mentioned that he might go to the Capital when Anning went to report there.

As for sentiments like missing Anning or sweet words of affection, he wrote none.

After finishing the letter, Anning didn’t reply.

With Xiao Yuan being unsettled, she wouldn’t know where to send the letter even if she wanted to reply.

And calling him was even more impossible given she didn’t know where to call.

Anning really missed the technological age, where communication was at least convenient.

Meanwhile, Li Cuixia arrived at the factory joyfully.

Yang Erchou was watching people unload wood at the time.

Seeing Li Cuixia approaching, he urged, ”Why did you come, it’s so hot... quick, wipe your sweat.”

Li Cuixia was smiling: ”I came to share some good news with you.”

Yang Erchou quickly guessed it must be related to Anning’s score estimation: ”How many points estimated?”

Li Cuixia gestured with her hand: ”Over seven hundred.”

”Really?”

Yang Erchou was amazed by the score.

Having an exam candidate in the family, he and Li Cuixia knew quite a bit about the entrance exams and understood what scoring over seven hundred meant.

It meant she could apply to any college in Hua Country freely, and they would accept her.

”Our daughter really makes us proud.”

Yang Erchou exclaimed while rubbing his hands, unsure how to express his joy: ”Dammit, when our daughter’s scores come out, I’ll show those who laughed at me a thing or two. So what if I don’t have a son? What’s wrong with doting on my daughter? Isn’t such an excellent daughter worth doting on?”