The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

”Sure enough, Pei Anning is just not a good one.”

Yang Baozhu lay on the bed and said softly.

She felt that Anning had just broken up with Yang Baolin, and in no time she’d found another guy, even eloped with him. That just showed Anning was never a decent girl to begin with.

Thinking back to the scenes in the dream, Yang Baozhu quickly came up with a plan.

She remembered that in the dream Anning also came to the county around this time to buy books, and just happened to save a woman from the Provincial City who was visiting relatives here.

And that woman was the wife of a rich businessman from the Provincial City. Anning saved her, and she was very grateful, gave Anning some money and also left her contact information. Later on, when Anning married Yang Baolin and went into construction with him, she also went to that woman and used her connections to get them a lot of jobs. That was how she helped Yang Baolin become rich.

That woman liked Anning a lot, and she was very good to the girls of the Pei Family. Pei Anyi later married that woman’s nephew from her parents’ side, and afterwards lived an especially good life.

Yang Baozhu still remembered that in the dream she had even met that nephew. That man was really imposing, very good-looking, and most importantly, loaded. After Pei Anyi married him, her life, don’t even mention it, was just ridiculously happy.

Yang Baozhu clenched her fists. She was thinking that this time she had to replace Anning, she had to be the one to save that woman, she had to be the one to marry Wang Ming.

She did still remember the general time—it was just a few days after the summer harvest.

After thinking for a while longer, Yang Baozhu put on her shoes and went out.

She went to find Li Xiaohong, who had always been very close to her.

Li Xiaohong had always been tight with Yang Baozhu. Because she’d secretly had a crush on Yang Baolin all this time, she did whatever Yang Baozhu said. Plus she wasn’t very sharp but loved to gossip, so a lot of the rumors about the Pei Family were spread by Yang Baozhu through Li Xiaohong.

When Yang Baozhu went over, Li Xiaohong was cleaning up the yard.

”Xiaohong.”

Yang Baozhu walked over with a smile. ”What are you up to?”

Li Xiaohong turned back and smiled. ”Just brought food over to my dad and them, now I’m tidying up a bit. I still have to go back to the fields later.”

Yang Baozhu took a stool herself and sat down. ”Have you seen Anning around these few days?”

Li Xiaohong shook her head. ”Haven’t seen her. Why?”

”I just feel it’s pretty strange. I haven’t seen Anning these days, and sister Anyi and Pei Yugu haven’t been seen either. Do you think something might have happened to them?”

”What could possibly happen?” Li Xiaohong didn’t care much, and kept busy with what she was doing.

Yang Baozhu shook her head and sighed. ”The day before yesterday I saw a man come looking for Anning, said he was her boyfriend. But after that guy came, I didn’t see him leave, and I never saw him go out either. And today Anning and Anyi didn’t go to the fields with them; only Uncle Pei and Aunt Pei went. So I’ve been wondering if maybe Anning...”

Li Xiaohong perked right up. ”You think she might have run off with someone?”

”Could be.” Yang Baozhu sounded especially regretful. ”I just don’t know what she’s thinking. Uncle Pei spoils her so much. Whoever she wants to marry, Uncle Pei definitely wouldn’t stop her. So why does she have to elope of all things? And could it be that Anyi and Pei Yu also...”

Li Xiaohong’s imagination instantly filled in the blanks.

She didn’t even bother working anymore, tossed the broom aside and started gossiping with Yang Baozhu.

By the time Yang Baozhu left the Li family, when Li Xiaohong went to the fields, she was talking nonsense to people all along the way.

By dinnertime, the whole Xiaxi Village already ”knew” that Anning had stolen money from home and run off with a man. And it wasn’t just that they ran off; they supposedly even took Anyi and Pei Yu along to sell them. Anyway, the way people put it was as nasty as you could imagine.

When Pei Laoshi and Liu Dalian came home after working all day, people stopped them to ask.

”How come your Anning ran away? I mean, you two are way too careless. The kid ran off and you’re not even hurrying to look for her. Oh right, did Anyi and Pei Yu really get sold off by Anning? How could she be that heartless?”

Pei Laoshi was dumbfounded. ”Who said that? What do you mean our Anning ran?”

”Then how come she wasn’t working?” Those people were extremely self-righteous. ”If she didn’t run, where did she go?”

Pei Laoshi said, ”Anning went down south to look for work and make money.”

”She’s tricking you. Only you would still believe that crap from her. If it were me, I’d beat her to death. A little girl like that, what work can she find? What money can she earn? She was obviously bewitched by some man’s sweet talk, cheated you out of your money, and dragged her sister and her little aunt into it too. You two, seriously, how can you be this clueless?”

Liu Dalian hurried to explain. ”That’s not what happened. Our Anning isn’t that kind of person.”

The others acted like they already knew everything. ”Alright, alright, we got it, ’not that kind of person,’ yeah right.”

But then they turned around and started spreading the story that Anning had cheated Pei Laoshi and his wife and run off.

Very quickly, by the next day, the nearby villages and even the town all knew about it.

A lot of young men who had had a thing for Pei Anyi were completely crushed.

They cursed Anning as inhuman both openly and behind closed doors. Some even wanted to go look for Pei Anyi, but they had no idea where she’d been ”sold” to.

Even the Xiao Family had heard about it.

They were getting cursed out too.

Now whenever Xiao Daguang and his wife went out, people pointed at their noses and scolded them, saying they didn’t keep an eye on their son and let Xiao Yuan go ruin people. They also said that even if the girls of the Pei Family were a bit wild, you still couldn’t just abduct them and sell them.

Xiao Feng and Xiao Lei got dragged into it as well.

Xiao Feng had just started seeing a girl, but the minute she heard about all this, the engagement was off on the spot—no matter what, she refused to be with Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng was furious to the point of exploding. When he got home he started cursing Xiao Yuan out as less than human.

Yang Baozhu hid in the shadows, watching it all play out.

Every time she heard people cursing Anning, she felt her heart blooming with joy.

Doesn’t matter whether Anning actually eloped or not, everyone already believes she did, so that means she did.

Anyway, in the village, Anning’s reputation was completely ruined. From now on, she could forget about ever having a good life.

Shangxi Village

Wu Shuhua came back from outside, full of anger.

As soon as she walked through the door, she turned on Pei Anjing, her face all twisted.

”You still have the nerve to eat? How come you haven’t stuffed yourself to death yet?”

Pei Anjing looked up at Wu Shuhua, then went on eating her ribs.

Wu Shuhua was so mad she snatched the ribs out of her hand. ”How did our family end up marrying a jinx like you? All you know how to do is eat, eat, and never lift a finger to work. You’re bad luck, that’s what you are.”

Pei Anjing wasn’t having it. ”Ma, what kind of talk is that? If you know how to talk, then talk; if you don’t, then shut your mouth. How am I a jinx? Who have I jinxed? I’m pregnant right now. One person eating for two, why shouldn’t I eat? Besides, Qiangzi bought this for me. Why shouldn’t I eat it? I’m Qiangzi’s wife. Me eating is nourishing his son. He bought it willingly, so how did it become my fault out of your mouth? Let me ask you, in what family do they marry a wife and then not feed her? I’m a person, not a god. I can’t live on thin air from the northwest. If you’ve got a problem with me, you can say it. Or go talk to Qiangzi—are you stopping me from eating because you want to starve me to death?”

The more Pei Anjing talked, the more wronged she felt, and then she started crying. ”Why am I so miserable? I’m pregnant and I’m still not allowed to eat my fill. I might as well just die. Chen Qiang, hurry and come back. Look how your mom is bullying me. I can’t live anymore, I can’t live anymore...”