The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chu Kaifeng and An Yi finished their meal and he escorted An Yi back to school before taking a taxi home.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his mother, Ms. Hong, sitting on the sofa in the living room with a stern face staring at him.

”Mom.”

Chu Kaifeng greeted.

Ms. Hong glared at Chu Kaifeng, full of anger: ”What have you been up to lately?”

Chu Kaifeng chuckled: ”Nothing much, just attending school.”

Ms. Hong snorted angrily: ”Don’t think I don’t know, you’re playing the frog turning into a prince act, pretending to be a poor bloke while messing around with that country girl every day.”

”Mom, what do you mean by messing around, I’m seriously in love.”

The smile on Chu Kaifeng’s face faded away, and he sat down seriously wanting to have a long talk with Ms. Hong: ”An Yi has a strong sense of self-respect. If I give her money, she wouldn’t accept it. If I reveal my identity, she would stay far away from me. I can only try to find her some money-earning jobs to make her life easier. Am I wrong?”

Ms. Hong was completely disinterested in discussing true love: ”What kind of family are we? Is a country girl worthy of you? Let me tell you, I’ve found a few girls from good families for you to meet. I’ll arrange for you to see them someday.”

”I won’t meet them.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Kaifeng’s face turned long: ”I like An Yi, An Yi is a good girl, I...”

”What good girl? Going to college and having a relationship, what kind of behavior is that? Clearly has no self-respect.”

Ms. Hong pursed her lips, showing disdain: ”Besides, what kind of family are we? Is she worthy of you? If you really marry this country girl, people would laugh at us to death; our whole family would be too ashamed to face the world.”

Chu Kaifeng realized that he really couldn’t continue chatting with Ms. Hong.

Ms. Hong was entirely focused on things like reputation and family background; to her, reputation seemed larger than the sky.

But Chu Kaifeng didn’t care about those things.

He cared about the feelings in his heart.

Watching Chu Kaifeng storm upstairs, Ms. Hong looked down at her freshly painted red nails: ”I really need to meet this country girl.”

An Yi finished her class, carrying her backpack, and walked toward the house she just bought.

She bought a well-decorated apartment near the school; the price wasn’t cheap, but the decor was quite nice—just her style, so she bought it to save trouble.

She was already moving a lot of things over there, occasionally spending the night there.

The new house had a washing machine and a large bathroom. An Yi would take dirty clothes there to wash and also shower, as the school’s conditions were poor for bathing; she had to squeeze into public showers, which she’d rather avoid, so she frequently went over there to bathe.

An Yi walked cheerfully with a smiling face and a backpack.

The school would soon have final exams; after the exams, it would finally be winter break.

Thinking about going home for winter break brightened An Yi’s mood.

But just halfway there, a car stopped beside her. The door opened, and out stepped a woman in makeup and wearing opulent clothes.

Even in the bitter cold, the woman wore light clothing; and even with snowy ground, she wore high heels, clearly used to a luxurious lifestyle with a car to travel everywhere.

The woman stood before An Yi, examining her up and down: ”You are Pei Anyi.”

An Yi narrowed her eyes: ”Yes, I am.”

”How about sitting over there for a chat.”

The woman gestured to a small eatery not far away.

An Yi nodded: ”Sure.”

The two entered, one after the other.

Once inside, the woman looked displeased, as if entering such a small eatery had disgraced her.

”Sit.”

Finding a relatively clean spot, the woman motioned for An Yi to sit.

An Yi sat opposite the woman: ”Old Madam, what do you need from me?”

One simple sentence provoked the woman’s anger: ”What? Old Madam? Do I look old?”

An Yi’s lips curled slightly: ”That’s a respectful title for you, why get upset over it.”

”Indeed a country girl.” The woman pulled a handkerchief from her bag to cover her nose: ”Look at your shabby appearance, so ignorant of proper manners... looking filthy and unsightly.”

An Yi seemed not offended, maintaining an especially gracious smile: ”Auntie, what brings you to find me?”

The woman put down her handkerchief: ”My surname is Hong, I am Chu Kaifeng’s mother.”

”Aunt Hong.” An Yi quickly stood up and greeted.

The woman smiled smugly: ”Aunt Hong? You’re not qualified to call me that, just call me Ms. Hong.”

An Yi sat again, looking at Ms. Hong without speaking further.

Ms. Hong cleared her throat.

An Yi called over a server: ”Two cups of tea, and two bowls of noodles. Oh, do you have beef? Slice some for us.”

Soon, the server brought two cups of tea.

An Yi took a sip, but Ms. Hong had a disdainful expression: ”Who knows if this water is clean.”

”It won’t kill anyone.” An Yi smiled as she said this.

Ms. Hong was once again stifled: ”I came today to tell you to leave Kai Feng, our Chu Family is a prestigious clan, and Kai Feng will marry someone of equal standing. You are not worthy, best give up early.”

Ms. Hong prepared herself, anticipating that after hearing her words, An Yi would surely cry and beg, saying something about true love with Chu Kaifeng, maybe even prostrate herself. But then, she would refuse and insult An Yi further.

Unexpectedly, An Yi simply chuckled and agreed: ”Alright.”

”What did you say?” Ms. Hong was in disbelief: ”I’m asking you to leave Kai Feng.”

”Sure.” An Yi smiled and took another sip of water: ”If Ms. Hong came solely for this reason, I agree. But as a condition, what will Ms. Hong offer? Let me put it plainly, what benefit do I get from leaving Chu Kaifeng?”

Ms. Hong glared at An Yi: ”Do you know Kai Feng’s family background? Do you know who I am? In front of you, Kai Feng always...”

An Yi calmly put down the teacup: ”Ms. Hong, though I’m from the countryside, I’m not foolish. Chu played poor for me but was full of loopholes; how could I not see through it? As for background... within Si Jiu City, there’s only one family with the surname Chu that stands out, not hard to find out.”

Ms. Hong’s eyes widened: ”Knowing all that, why did you agree?”

An Yi chuckled: ”Lost interest, really. Besides, befriending Chu must bring benefits, yet he gave me none, always pretended poor. Tell me, why should I keep playing with him?”

An Yi shrugged: ”So, how much money does Auntie intend to give me?”

”Well...” Ms. Hong hesitated.

She thought for a moment: ”Five hundred thousand, I’ll give you fifty thousand, leave my son immediately.”

An Yi waved a finger: ”Fifty thousand? You undervalue me greatly; I’ve played with your son for so long, only worth fifty? Then, I won’t take that fifty thousand, I’ll just continue nicely dealing with Chu Kaifeng, and eventually marry him. The entire Chu Family will be mine; a mere fifty thousand won’t matter.”