The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Anning sat in the car and pointed to the back seat: ”Come in.”

Xiao Nian didn’t know where to place his hands and feet.

He sat in the car, wanting to speak, but opened his mouth without knowing what to say.

He thought it better not to say anything; after all, the more you say, the more mistakes you make.

After Xiao Nian got in, Anning signaled him to close the car door.

Then, Anning directly locked the car door.

She took out her phone, sent a message to Xiao Yuan, and drove to a private club she frequented.

When she arrived, Xiao Yuan hadn’t yet shown up.

Anning led Xiao Nian into a reserved private room.

As soon as the two entered, a waiter in traditional attire brought in tea and snacks: ”Mr. Yun, would you like to listen to some music?”

Anning waved her hand: ”Not today. Bring me a serving of peony fish fillets and two chicken flower soups. Choose the best dishes for today and remember, nothing spicy.”

The waiter seemed familiar with Anning and retreated with a few polite words.

Anning poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xiao Nian: ”The tea here is pretty good, you should try it.”

Xiao Nian couldn’t distinguish between good and bad tea; he simply felt that if Anning praised it, it must be good.

He took a sip of tea: ”Mm, it’s really quite fragrant.”

Anning smiled and pointed to a plate of pea flour cake and another of osmanthus cake: ”These are the only two snacks worth recommending here, give them a try.”

Xiao Nian clumsily picked up a few pieces of the snacks, eating without much thought.

Initially, he felt confident, but facing Anning alone, his nervousness and pressure intensified.

In just a short while, sweat began to form on his forehead.

Anning gracefully picked up a piece of osmanthus cake with her chopsticks, eating in an especially elegant manner, appearing quite pleasing.

Her demeanor only made Xiao Nian feel more inferior.

After she finished the cake, Xiao Yuan pushed the door open and entered.

Seeing Xiao Yuan come in, Xiao Nian was both shocked and fearful.

”Ningning.”

Xiao Yuan entered and sat next to Anning, one hand wrapping around her waist, and with the other, poured a cup of tea and drank it quickly. He poured another cup: ”I was just outside having fun, got your message, and came here without even drinking water. I’m really thirsty.”

Anning handed her cup of water to Xiao Yuan with a smile: ”Drink more; you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ve just ordered some peony fish fillets. Their signature dish today might be crab meat lion’s head, try it and see if you like it.”

”Sure.” Xiao Yuan drank a bowl of tea from Anning’s hand and only then noticed Xiao Nian: ”Why are you here?”

He glanced at Anning: ”Ningning, how did you and my brother meet?”

Anning chuckled: ”Isn’t it a coincidence? This is your brother, huh.”

”Yes.” Xiao Yuan nodded: ”Authentic.”

Anning looked at Xiao Nian with a half-smile: ”He came to my company today and directly found my office, hinting in his words that he wanted people to think he was you. If I wasn’t so familiar with you, I might have mistaken him.”

Sweat almost dripped off Xiao Nian’s face.

He didn’t even bother wiping sweat, gave a dry smile to Xiao Yuan: ”Brother, it’s like this: Mom went to your school looking for you, and the school said you hadn’t been attending. Our parents are frantically searching for you during this time. I heard from classmates that they’ve seen you at Mrs. Yun’s company, so I thought I’d try my luck, see if I could find you. But the employees there mistook me, so I went with it, didn’t expect...”

Xiao Nian glanced at Anning: ”Mr. Yun, it was my mistake, but we’re genuinely worried. My brother has been skipping school and disappearing for over a year; we, as family, can’t help but be concerned. I did all this just to find my brother. If you think I’ve wronged or deceived you, I’m willing to accept any punishment.”

His tone grew bolder, offering a cup of tea: ”I use tea as a substitute for wine, first to apologize to Mr. Yun.”

Anning didn’t respond to Xiao Nian but kept playing with the teacup in her hand.

Xiao Yuan scolded Xiao Nian: ”You’re being ridiculous; what if Ningning hadn’t recognized you? That would’ve been troublesome. Don’t do this again.”

”Okay, I won’t do it again.”

Xiao Nian quickly promised.

He looked pitifully at Xiao Yuan: ”Brother, for the sake of how worried I was about you, please forgive me.”

Xiao Yuan chuckled: ”Ningning and I are about to have a meal. Shouldn’t you leave quickly?”

At the mention of food, Xiao Nian’s stomach growled.

”I...” Xiao Nian wanted to speak.

Anning rotated the cup in her hand: ”I don’t like outsiders present during meals. Xiao, I hope you’ll return to wherever you came from instead of being an eyesore.”

This statement made Xiao Nian’s face turn unpleasant.

Meanwhile, he felt a sourness in his heart, leaving a particularly bitter feeling.

He glanced at Xiao Yuan, filled with jealousy.

”Alright, I’ll leave now.”

Dismissed by Anning, Xiao Nian dared not linger, quickly leaving the private room.

Once outside, he realized the place was quite remote, making public transport difficult and taxis hard to catch. Taxi fare would surely be expensive.

Xiao Nian thought about asking Xiao Yuan for money but couldn’t muster the courage.

With no other options, he reluctantly went out to hail a cab.

After Xiao Nian left, Xiao Yuan hugged Anning’s waist tightly: ”Since you recognized him, you should’ve just chased him away. Why bother with him?”

Anning leaned comfortably against Xiao Yuan’s body: ”I’m doing it for you. His face looks almost identical to yours. If I chased him away, the company’s perception of you might change, and I can’t guarantee how you’d be treated when you return.”

This made sense.

Xiao Yuan smiled at Anning: ”My wife is so accommodating; managing not to beat up such a despicable person is truly impressive.”

Xiao Nian returned to school, increasingly upset the more he thought about the day’s events, filled with jealousy and resentment.

He couldn’t understand why all the good things seemed to happen to Xiao Yuan.

Back in junior high, Xiao Yuan excelled academically, and Xiao Nian pushed their parents to force Xiao Yuan to let him attend the top high school while Xiao Yuan ended up in a technical school. Yet, in that chaotic environment, Xiao Yuan still managed to attend a good university.

Fine, if he could succeed, Xiao Nian would continue to outshine him.

Xiao Nian put a lot of effort into taking over Xiao Yuan’s school, initially thinking Xiao Yuan would be done for.

Yet unexpectedly, after disappearing for over a year, Xiao Yuan befriended Mrs. Yun’s president.

The most crucial part was that Mrs. Yun wasn’t some unattractive wealthy woman but a young, attractive, and captivating female.

Why Xiao Yuan? How did he manage to find such a great girlfriend? By the looks of it, Mrs. Yun was clearly fond of Xiao Yuan, caring for him deeply and letting him buy whatever he wished.

Xiao Nian grew angrier, almost furious.

Feeling resentful, he decided not to let Xiao Yuan benefit from this, so he called Mother Xiao to report the matter.