After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 3

At the dining table.

Some people appeared to be eating with proper decorum, but in reality, their minds had already wandered to the skies eight thousand miles away.

By now, even if Ruan Yubai were the most oblivious person, she had finally realized the truth. Back then, she had been so engrossed in the dramatic, love-hate storyline of the novel she was reading that she failed to notice her mother’s mention of an arranged marriage not with her Beta sister, Lin Yi, but with the distinguished young lady of the declining Qing family.

Unlike the Ruan family, which had built its fortune on technological innovation, the Qing family was a noble lineage that had existed since the founding of the Laoresi Empire. Over the years, they had maintained an extremely low profile, even going so far as to have collateral family members act as legal representatives for IPOs and financing. Qing Ling, in particular, had been meticulously sheltered by her family since childhood, never appearing in public. She had been privately tutored by the most outstanding former generals and scholars.

That brief glimpse of her at the last banquet had been an exception, and after the incident, the Qing family swiftly suppressed all sources of information, destroying every photograph and news report. The outside world remained completely unaware of the existence of such a peerless beauty; only a few keen observers within their social circle had discreetly preserved the memory.

If not for the sudden turmoil that had befallen the Qing family, Ruan Yubai might still have believed this person existed only within the pages of a fictional novel.

Who would have thought that their first meeting would shatter her carefree worldview? One moment, she was laughing like a goose while reading her novel, and the next, she found herself cast as the cannon-fodder female supporting character!

No, the infatuated supporting character didn’t want to die, she wanted to fight back!

Ruan Yubai: “Ms. Ruan, are you absolutely sure my arranged marriage partner isn’t Lin Yi? Are you certain your brain’s central processing system hasn’t malfunctioned?”

Ruan Yubai: “This is a case of misrepresentation, I want a refund! No, I want to call off the engagement!”

Ruan Yubai: “Wahhh, if you just let me break off the engagement, I promise I’ll study hard, do pull-ups, take up the mission of reviving discontinued blueberry gummies, practice boxing and archery every day, and train my spiritual energy diligently just please agree to cancel the marriage!”

“What’s going on with you?” Seeing his daughter lost in her thoughts, Father Ruan understood immediately. He frowned and rapped his knuckles on the table. “All you do is stare at your light brain all day! Look at Xiao Qing, she’s so polite and well-mannered. And then there’s you? You can’t even sit properly during a meal!”

Ruan Yubai’s heart sank instantly.

Here he comes, here he comes, he’s arrived with the “other people’s children” rhetoric!

The “learn from others” lecture had arrived right on schedule, without even a day’s delay. The moment the female lead appeared, it had already become a reality.

Qing Ling set down her utensils and smiled faintly. “It was presumptuous of me to visit so abruptly. I apologize for the intrusion.”

Her voice was like a mountain stream flowing gently from the peaks, quietly blanketing the pure white snow, carrying a faint chill within its pleasant tone.

Seated beside her was her uncle, who had long since hunched over and shrunk into a ball. As her words trailed off, he shuddered as if pricked by an icicle, trembling several times in succession.

Observing quietly from the side, Ruan Yubai couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Being cast as an early-doomed cannon-fodder character was one thing, but Qing Ling’s circumstances were another. The female lead of this novel truly had it rough her family had suddenly fallen into ruin for unclear reasons, and before she could even sort through the chaos, her own uncle, who had once relied on her family’s influence, had packaged her up and sold her off to another household.

The novel clearly stated that the uncle had no good intentions when bringing Qing Ling to the female supporting character’s home. It was purely because of his gambling addiction. After the Qing family declined, no one was left to clean up his mess, and he had already hit rock bottom even wanting to pawn the pendant left by the female lead’s grandmother for money.

Although the details of how the female lead was sent over were glossed over, the uncle’s guilty expression made it clear that the methods used were far from honorable. Knowing he was in the wrong, he dared not meet Qing Ling’s calm gaze but still tried to act imposing, saying sarcastically, “Xiao Ling, what do you mean by that? Your parents dragged the entire Qing family down with them. I haven’t even called you a jinx, and I even found you a place where you can live comfortably. Instead of thanking me, are you blaming your uncle now?”

What kind of inhuman nonsense was this?

Ruan Yubai could no longer enjoy her favorite apple pudding, her brows instantly furrowing.

Even though The Proud Girlfriend of the Galactic General A had been torn in half, and the details of the female lead’s family situation remained murky without much elaboration at the beginning, even as a casual reader, Ruan Yubai knew full well that the Qing family had been deliberately targeted it had nothing to do with Qing Ling.

Besides, if it weren’t for Qing Ling’s parents supporting the uncle all these years, the ruthless loan sharks would have long since chopped off all twenty-one of his fingers.

How could there be such a shameless person in the world?

Ruan Yubai couldn’t take it anymore. Ignoring the warning look from her father, she sneered and retorted, “You really should be thanking the Qing family, they’ve fed you so well you’ve grown fat with entitlement.”

The uncle’s brain, eroded by alcohol, took a moment to process her words. When he finally understood, his face flushed bright red. “You little brat with no mother to—”

“Uncle.”

His vulgar insult was cleanly cut off by Qing Ling’s voice. Ruan Yubai instinctively turned to look.

The quietly seated girl resembled a masterpiece carved from Dushan jade, her upturned eyes veiled in a soft, hazy mist. She showed no anger, speaking as calmly as if making small talk. “If there’s nothing else, you should go back now.”

Her words weren’t harsh they were almost feather-light but for some reason, the bloated-faced man shrank back like a whacked mole, trembling as he retreated into his shell. Yet he still clutched the pendant, muttering, “Brother Ruan, about this.”

He still had the nerve to think about the money!

Even Ruan’s father, who was usually mild-tempered and unskilled in arguments, seemed disgusted. After a dazed moment, he transferred a thick red envelope filled with a substantial amount of galactic credits from his optical computer.

The uncle’s eyes were practically glued to the envelope. Just as he was about to take it with an ingratiating smile, a pale pink hand suddenly reached past him, snatched it away, and held it firmly without a hint of hesitation.

The female lead’s uncle was stunned, Ruan’s father was stunned, and even the usually expressionless Qing Ling raised a delicate eyebrow.

“Ruan Yubai! What are you doing? Give it back to Qing Ling’s uncle at once!” Ruan’s father roared in fury.

“I’m not giving it.” Ruan Yubai fanned herself with the red envelope in her hand, then pouted slightly in dissatisfaction upon noticing its weight. From birth till now, she had never seen so many star credits, how many novels and gummy worms could this buy!

But the thought only flickered for a moment. Ruan Yubai walked straight over to the young lady and handed it over with a “Here.” “Since it’s your jade pendant, this red envelope is yours too. Don’t be so foolish your uncle clearly isn’t a good person.”

She was truly the first person in the world to call Qing Ling stupid.

Blinking her eyelashes, Qing Ling shifted her gaze and finally took a proper look at the other girl.

The girl’s penguin pajamas were made of soft, delicate fleece, the hood already tilted and drooping, just like its owner soft and utterly non-threatening.

Ruan Yubai’s hostility was obvious. This little girl had been raised too well, all her thoughts clearly written in those pure eyes.

Though she didn’t know the reason for this animosity, Qing Ling had no intention of probing and didn’t particularly care.

But then, it was Ruan Yubai herself who stepped forward.

The dim, warm lighting cast a faint heat, and a light, sweet fruity scent drifted over somewhere between strawberry and apple clean and harmless as it entered her breath.

It wasn’t the scent of pheromones, purely coming from this girl named Ruan Yubai.

At some point, Ruan Yubai had gotten a bit of jam on her fingers, and as she pinched the edge of the red envelope, it looked like she’d added a childish, decorative trim. Oblivious to what had happened, she kept pushing it into Qing Ling’s arms, muttering softly, “Take it. You look smart, but who knew you’d be so foolish.”

Her father, standing behind her: …

Her uncle, red-faced and flustered: …

Qing Ling suddenly let out a light laugh. After taking the red envelope and casually setting it aside, she reached out to adjust the girl’s crooked penguin hood. “Thank you.”

Pausing mid-step, Ruan Yubai replied in confusion, “You’re welcome.”

Calling her foolish and still saying thank you and she’s supposed to be the female lead?

If that’s all it takes, Ruan Yubai felt she could do it too!

Ruan Yubai always held a bit of sympathetic kindness toward simpletons. Even though she’d unilaterally decided the female lead was an idiot, most of her initial hostility had faded.

Over the course of the meal, Ruan Yubai had sorted things out. Though the fact that her world was actually a novel was a bit hard to swallow, paths are made by walking. As long as she didn’t follow the novel’s plot, wouldn’t she naturally avoid that tragic ending?

She’d made up her mind: from now on, she and Qing Ling would stay out of each other’s way. She’d quietly watch as the female and male leads fought and loved, fought and loved again, all while being an innocent bystander clapping on the sidelines. Wasn’t that the way to go?

She’d been too extreme earlier, trapping herself in a dead end!

With this mindset, when her father asked her to take Qing Ling to her new room, Ruan Yubai didn’t object. Holding a stack of fresh clothes, she began the tour: “This is the yoga room. The silk ribbons up there were for aerial yoga. I used to do crow inversions here, but it’s unused now.”

“This is the dance studio. See how beautiful this large mirror is? But it’s unused now too.”

“I absolutely must show you this piano room, it was personally supervised by a master from the Planet of Italy, and it even has his signature! Do you know how to play ‘The Little Dog Waltz’? That’s perfect! Because it’s been sitting idle.”

“This is the game room, sitting idle.”

“Oh, and there’s a gym here, sitting idle.”

“Do you paint? There are plenty of statues and still-life subjects here for reference, along with easels and watercolors oh, sitting idle.”

Ruan Yubai introduced everything without the slightest blush or shame, showing no hint of embarrassment over her own laziness. When they passed by the restroom, she cheerfully pointed again: “Look at this washroom.”

Qing Ling sighed helplessly: “Also sitting idle?”

Of course not.

However, just as Ruan Yubai was about to proudly show off the singing toilet inside, the novel she had rolled up and tucked into her pocket suddenly grew hot. Without anyone pulling it, it automatically rustled through its pages, floating up to the only person who could see its text.

Well, that’s putting it politely, the novel practically shoved itself into Ruan Yubai’s face, almost carving the words “Look at me” on its spine-shaped forehead.

The first time they met, Ruan Yubai was deeply captivated by Qing Ling’s delicate pheromone scent. As they walked side by side through the rooms she had once lived in, it felt like retracing the steps of her childhood. Amidst this nostalgic journey, Ruan Yubai could no longer suppress the flutter in her heart. She reached out and embraced the aloof Omega goddess, shyly murmuring, “May I call you Senior Ling?”

Ruan Yubai: What kind of dog ascended to immortality and wrote this divine plot?

There was a phrase involving selling chrysanthemums that Ruan Yubai wasn’t sure she should say aloud.

Because the infatuated female cannon fodder in this novel shared her name, whenever she came across cringe-worthy scenes about herself, Ruan Yubai would simply skim past them, preferring to ignore them. Who would have thought something so devastating awaited her?

This wasn’t a nostalgic journey, it was a nightmare highway.

Making Ruan Yubai follow the plot? Pfft!

She mentally raised the third finger from the left through her eyes, blinking rapidly to convey her disdain: Even if I’m a cannon fodder character, I’m a cannon fodder with dignity. Expecting me to actively hug the female lead? You might as well dream more realistically!

Ruan Yubai had already made up her mind: she would treat the female lead as a passing acquaintance, a mere stranger. Given how clueless the female lead was, maybe they could reluctantly develop a socialist sisterhood.

As for romance?

Hah! The life of a cannon fodder has no romance, only the earthworm gummies fed by Sister Lin Yi!

After countless internal scoffs, Ruan Yubai mercilessly rejected the idea of “following the plot,” viciously rolled up the novel, stuffed it into her chest, and prepared to stride forward.

“Miss Ruan?” Qing Ling, who had been walking beside her, turned halfway when she noticed the girl suddenly halt. Seeing the other cover her mouth abruptly, she grew serious. “What’s wrong?”

Ruan Yubai had no mind to deal with the female lead now. Waving a hand dismissively, she rushed into the restroom, locked the door, and began coughing violently in front of the mirror. After a fit so intense it felt like she might cough up her stomach, her throat burned.

And she vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.

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