After the Vicious Supporting Female Character Became the Heroine's Cat - Chapter 19

As expected, Shen Yunmiao was being criticized.

And it wasn’t just a few scattered negative comments, it was a full-blown trending topic, with marketing accounts, paid trolls, and swarms of fans of who-knows-what taking turns to attack her.

She hadn’t even debuted yet, but she already had negative followers and a horde of haters.

The cause was simple. Shortly after Cheng Jianian and Shen Yunmiao left, Qiao Jingshu posted a message on Flow with the following content:

“Wanted to play with the kitten, but too bad, the kitten and its owner weren’t very happy.”

The accompanying photo showed a red mark on her wrist.

Her post immediately stirred up a frenzy among her fans, and many accounts claiming to be crew members emerged, commenting that they knew the inside story and expressing sympathy for Qiao Jingshu.

When pressed by fans, these “outsiders” shared their version of events: a newcomer in the crew, relying on her connections, had snatched a role and felt that Qiao Jingshu’s part had too much screen time, getting in her way. This newcomer had been disrespectful to Qiao Jingshu from the start and even altered the script.

That day, the newcomer brought a cat to the set, and during filming, the cat ran into Qiao Jingshu’s trailer. Qiao Jingshu, who had been resting in her trailer all morning, didn’t notice until later. When she went to check on the kitten, she got scratched. At that moment, the newcomer showed up, accused Qiao Jingshu of intentionally taking the cat to abuse it, and gathered a group to berate her.

The fans exploded. Qiao Jingshu had always cultivated an image of a gentle, intellectual older sister, attracting a large female fanbase known for their loyalty and combativeness. With Qiao Jingshu’s acting skills and decent public reputation, the involvement of marketing accounts and trolls, coupled with the instigation of influential fans, quickly led to the identification of the newcomer as Shen Yunmiao.

The issue had already made it to the trending list, but the real explosion came after a photo surfaced of Yuan Duan and Shen Yunmiao chatting closely, looking intimate.

As luck would have it, Yuan Duan and Qiao Jingshu had never been on good terms. Many of Qiao Jingshu’s fans were dissatisfied with Yuan Duan’s screen time as the third lead, and the two fanbases had clashed openly and covertly several times.

This time, it ignited a full-blown war. Once Yuan Duan’s fans were dragged into the fray, they didn’t hold back either flooding forums, hurling insults, and even creating manipulated photos of the deceased.

Jian Shen advised Shen Yunmiao to take a few days off, stay home, rest, and avoid going out unnecessarily.

His words were subtle, but the message was clear: Shen Yunmiao, as the only non-celebrity in the group, was the easiest target. If these fans went too far, they might even pose a threat to her personal safety.

No matter what, it was safer to lay low for a while.

Shen Yunmiao thanked her for her concern and seemed largely unfazed, continuing with her daily routine of eating, sleeping, and attending classes.

In contrast, Little Cheng Zong was frantic with worry, fearing that one morning she’d wake up to find Qiao Jingshu’s obsessive fans surrounding their home.

But anxiety was futile. As a cat, the most she could do under such stress was eat fewer cat treats. She couldn’t even follow Shen Yunmiao to school to see if any classmates were giving her a hard time.

Frustrated, Little Cheng Zong lost a pound.

Shen Yunmiao remained unfazed by the overwhelming online criticism, but when she put her cat on the scale, she fell into deep thought. Resting her chin in her hand, she scrutinized her little cat, wondering what had gone wrong.

Clearly, the meals she prepared for the cat were getting tastier, the cat food and canned food had been switched to varieties with higher meat content, and she was even feeding the cat one treat stick a day.

After careful consideration, Shen Yunmiao deduced that the cat was likely affected in two ways: first, it had probably sensed she was being cyberbullied, and second, because of the online harassment, she hadn’t taken her cat out for a walk in quite some time.

Unlike dogs, cats can’t just be leashed up and taken out for a romp. Shen Yunmiao usually only carried her cat around the neighborhood on quiet weekend mornings. But last weekend, thanks to Qiao Jingshu’s meddling, that routine had been canceled.

Shen Yunmiao fetched the well-kept cat harness from the closet and gently fastened it around the sulky white cat. As she did, she murmured, “Don’t worry, sweetie, your big sister is fine.”

“It’s just a tiny, tiny matter. Even though those people are cursing me, they probably wouldn’t recognize me in real life. My classmates don’t even know I’m acting many think it’s just someone with the same name.”

As she spoke, a gentle breeze from the window brushed through her hair, and the pale morning sunlight cast a warm glow into her deep, dark eyes, which usually held a serene stillness.

Little Cheng Zong, hearing her obviously comforting words, licked Shen Yunmiao’s palm but felt even more distressed inside.

She knew the plot: at this point, Miao Miao was virtually unknown, and while most fans couldn’t track her down here, things were different at school.

Miao Miao’s foolish former roommate, who already disliked her, had accidentally learned from another roommate that Miao Miao was acting and immediately leaked the news on the school forum. Qiao Jingshu’s irrational fans at the school quickly followed suit, causing an uproar.

In just one week, Miao Miao’s classes had likely become anything but peaceful.

Yet, every time she returned home, Miao Miao was still all smiles, as if nothing had happened.

This made Cheng Jianian both angry and heartbroken. Her weight loss was indeed due to anger not only at Qiao Jingshu but also at herself.

If she had been stricter in managing things when she was still human, how could Qiao Jingshu have done such a despicable thing? If she hadn’t been so overconfident after becoming a cat, thinking she could easily change the plot, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.

And if it weren’t for her, would Miao Miao have ever confronted Qiao Jingshu head-on?

Perhaps she shouldn’t exist in this world at all. The world had cast her as the vicious supporting female lead, so as long as she was around, Miao Miao, the female protagonist, would never know peace and would continue to suffer.

Feeling dejected, even the rare stroll around the neighborhood failed to lift her spirits.

Shen Yunmiao sensed her gloom but didn’t know how to comfort her. The two walked quietly through the neighborhood, where the greenery was decent, and the scent of fresh grass filled the air.

Just then, a voice both unfamiliar and familiar called out:

“Yunmiao!”

Shen Yunmiao, who had been focused on walking her cat, froze at the sound. She looked up and saw a handsome young man waving from a short distance away.

Little Cheng Zong recognized the voice as Ji Hanfeng’s, though it sounded slightly different from his phone calls, and immediately grew wary. Shen Yunmiao was also stunned. Hesitantly, she waved back and asked, “Hanfeng? What are you doing here?”

Ji Hanfeng ran over, the morning wind billowing through his overcoat, accentuating his youthful charm. Little Cheng Zong silently rolled his eyes inwardly. What a poser, it’s almost June, and he’s still wearing a trench coat!

Without any hesitation, Ji Hanfeng grabbed both of Shen Yunmiao’s hands. “Yunmiao, I found out about that incident while I was abroad and rushed back immediately. I knew you wouldn’t let me return, so I wanted to surprise you.”

Shen Yunmiao calmly withdrew her hands and turned her face away, her voice stiff. “Well! Hanfeng, I think what you gave me wasn’t a surprise, it was a shock.”

Ji Hanfeng immediately looked hurt. “Yunmiao, I’ve been so worried about you these past few days. I took leave and came back as soon as I could.”

Then, with renewed enthusiasm, he declared, “No matter what, I’m back now, and I’ll definitely protect you.”

Little Cheng Zong was nearly frantic on the ground. Ji Hanfeng glanced down and exclaimed in surprise, “So this is the kitten you’ve been raising! How adorable.”

Little Cheng Zong thought maliciously, Go ahead, crouch down and pet the cat give me a reason to scratch you.

Shen Yunmiao glanced at her seemingly calm kitten, then at Ji Hanfeng’s beaming face, and sighed helplessly.

“Alright, Hanfeng, let me take you out for a meal. It’s been so long since you’ve been back, allow me to play the host.”

Ji Hanfeng, still teasing the cat, casually agreed. Little Cheng Zong had to muster every ounce of self-control to resist the urge to claw him.

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