I, A Loyal Dog, Awaken to My Fate as Cannon Fodder - Chapter 25

“Don’t worry, don’t be afraid.”

Cheng Wanqiu gripped Shen Yinan’s hand tightly.

Shen Yinan’s hand, which had been trembling constantly, steadied slightly.

Just then, a luxury car pulled up by the roadside. The people who stepped out were Cheng Xian and Luo Yejun.

“Oh my, what wind blew you here, Master Cheng?”

Shen’s father stood directly opposite them, seeing everything clearly.

Shen Yinan and Cheng Wanqiu turned their heads; it was exactly the “Master Cheng” they had imagined.

“Uncle,” Cheng Wanqiu said in confusion, “Why are you here?”

For some reason, she had an inexplicable sense of foreboding, especially seeing the smug, mocking smile on Luo Yejun’s face.

“Sister Wanqiu, don’t let Shen Yinan deceive you. She must be conspiring with the Shen family to swindle you out of five million yuan over and over again!”

Luo Yejun suppressed a laugh, speaking with heavy irony.

For a long while, Shen’s father remained silent. Everyone in the Shen family knew that by relying on Shen Yinan, they could demand five million from Cheng Wanqiu.

“What five million?” Throughout this entire ordeal, Shen Yinan was the only one kept in the dark.

Intelligent as she was, Shen Yinan guessed the truth just by looking at the expressions on everyone’s faces.

“Miss… it couldn’t be what I think it is, right…?”

At the thought that the person who was usually so good to her might also be using her, her hands began to tremble even more violently.

Looking at the guilty eyes of the entire Shen family, she had guessed eighty or ninety percent of the truth.

“You really sold me…”

As she said this, Shen Yinan’s throat choked with sobs. She looked at the person holding her hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you sell me?!”

Cheng Wanqiu’s mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t know what to say.

She was simply afraid of losing Shen Yinan.

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

Shen Yinan wouldn’t listen. In a fit of rage, she flung Cheng Wanqiu’s hand away.

Her hands were still shaking; she felt like that same ten-year-old child who was powerless to resist.

All of this was a conspiracy by adults; she was merely a pawn controlled by others.

“Shen Yinan! What are you doing? That is your master!”

Shen’s father barked sternly. In his eyes, Shen Yinan had long ceased to be a daughter; she was nothing more than a golden goose that could be traded for money.

The members of the Shen family whispered among themselves, “What an ungrateful wretch. Your master loves you enough to spend five million on you. As expected of a child born to a mistress—naturally impossible to tame.”

Hearing these words, Shen Yinan felt her head spin and her ears ring.

She saw that Cheng Wanqiu had almost fallen to the ground from being pushed, staggering back several steps.

For a fleeting moment, regret filled her heart, and she wanted to go forward to support her.

The next second, however, the reality of being treated as a commodity filled her with pure hatred. Even the only person in the world who was kind to her treated her like an object to be bought and sold.

The person she considered the most special also wanted to exploit her. Everyone was full of cold calculation.

“Shen Yinan, I knew you were no good long ago!” Luo Yejun stepped forward to support Cheng Wanqiu. Acting with borrowed authority, he said indignantly, “How has the Cheng family ever mistreated you? How could you deceive Wanqiu like this?”

He then said to the person beside him with feigned devotion, “Sister Wanqiu, let’s go. The Cheng family will protect you, and I will protect you too.”

“Get away from me!”

Cheng Wanqiu did not accept this “kindness.” Only Luo Yejun could be capable of such a scheme.

She didn’t know how much Luo Yejun had exaggerated or lied to her uncle, but she knew for certain that her uncle was currently furious.

When people are angry, there is no telling what they might do.

Then came the familiar voice of a man—the final judgment for Shen Yinan, and for Cheng Wanqiu as well.

“The Cheng family is terminating all financial support for Shen Yinan. She is an adult now and has no further connection to the Cheng family.”

A loud buzzing sound echoed in Cheng Wanqiu’s ears; she was the one who found this most impossible to accept.

Why had she done all those things? She just didn’t want Shen Yinan to leave.

“Uncl—” Cheng Wanqiu’s mouth was covered. Luo Yejun didn’t want her to show any “womanly compassion.”

“Thank you, Master. Thank you, Miss.”

Ultimately, she no longer had the face to stay with the Cheng family or by Cheng Wanqiu’s side.

There was nothing in Shen Yinan’s eyes but an eerie calm.

She didn’t scream or make a scene; her heart was simply dead.

“Wait… Master Cheng… look at Yinan… she’s still young.”

“Shen Yinan, hurry and persuade Master Cheng!” Shen’s father grabbed Shen Yinan’s arm, acting shamelessly as if he were looking out for her.

“You’re only 19. The Shen family can’t afford to send you to university. If you want to go, go to the Chengs,” he muttered quietly in her ear.

Once the Shen family realized that Shen Yinan was no longer a source of money—that she was an abandoned pawn—their true faces were revealed.

“What are you acting so stubborn for? Hmph, a mistress’s child. Without the Cheng family, what do you have? The Shen family won’t give you a single cent.”

An aunt-in-law said with a twisted expression, “The Cheng family didn’t give us advance notice about returning Shen Yinan, so you must pay us another five million before you leave!”

They didn’t have the foresight of Shen’s father to “play the long game”; they only thought of squeezing Shen Yinan dry right now.

“That’s right! That young lady already promised to give us five million.”

Cheng Xian glanced coldly at Cheng Wanqiu. This was indeed something his niece would do.

The Shen family’s behavior only served to make Shen Yinan seem even more worthless in the man’s eyes.

“The five million will be given to you. But from this day forward, Shen Yinan has nothing to do with the Cheng family.”

“That’s more like it. This mistress’s child is utterly useless.”

They were actually more useless than the “mistress’s child.” At least Shen Yinan had brought a fortune to the Shen family, while they only knew how to be parasites, sucking her blood.

Relying solely on a sense of status superiority, they felt they were far better than Shen Yinan.

Shen Yinan clenched her fists. Why was she born as the child of a mistress? She was born with a brand of sin.

She had done nothing, yet she was filled with perceived guilt.

Only Cheng Wanqiu, hearing those people badmouthing Shen Yinan, was consumed by rage.

“You are the useless ones! You are a pack of vampires!”

“Sister Wanqiu, come with me. Don’t speak,” Luo Yejun said urgently, his hand repeatedly covering her mouth.

“Shen Yinan, don’t listen to them…”

Luo Yejun gave a meaningful look and called over the driver to help drag Cheng Wanqiu into the car.

The driver quickly stepped forward, and together they hauled her into the vehicle.

“The Shen family had better look out for themselves.”

Leaving behind that final remark, Cheng Xian gave the family one last icy glare and departed.

He felt only relief. He was glad Luo Yejun had told him about this; otherwise, the family fortune would have been squandered.

He felt even more appreciation for Luo Yejun. As a man himself, he understood the stirrings of a young man’s heart.

As the car exhaust dissipated, Shen’s father spoke with mock heartbreak:

“You little animal, just go. You’re a useless thing. If I had known, I never would have let you go with some eldest miss. You truly don’t know how to consider the Shen family’s interests.”

The eyes of Shen’s father were filled with nothing but disgust—not for Shen Yinan’s lost future, but for the loss of his golden goose.

“The mistress’s child should just get out. Truly useless.” These words came from a four-year-old child in the Shen family; a tender voice uttering such vicious language.

“Baby is right. She is the child of a mistress. We must never become like her.”

None of the Shen family, young or old, wanted anything to do with her. Shen Yinan looked at the people around her, all of whom were mocking and cold.

She closed her eyes. Now, Shen Yinan didn’t know where to go. No one wanted her.

Her fingers curled into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

If she was going to suffer, she wouldn’t let these people have it easy either.

In City A, a fine mist of rain had been falling continuously for five days.

The raindrops tapped against the glass windows—pitter-patter. In previous years, Cheng Wanqiu would have listened to this white noise and fallen asleep during this perfect season for rest.

Now, she could never go back to how things were.

Cheng Wanqiu had not left her room for five days, reverting to the state she was in right after her parents died.

As a child, she would also stay behind closed doors, liking to curl up in the corner of her room like a cat without a sense of security.

A kitten likes to find a cardboard box to hide in; Cheng Wanqiu liked to hide in dark, cramped corners.

Knock, knock, knock.

Whenever she heard a knock, she would wonder if Shen Yinan had come to find her.

She would look up with hope, listening for the visitor’s voice.

Time and time again, her hopes were raised, and time and time again, they were dashed. The Cheng family would not bring Shen Yinan back to coax her just because she was throwing a tantrum.

“Sister Wanqiu, I’ve brought you a glass of milk. Come out and have a sip.”

Luo Yejun knocked while holding a glass of warm milk. He particularly enjoyed the process of bringing food to Cheng Wanqiu every day.

He wanted to use his “love” to move her.

If he hadn’t gone abroad, how could someone like Shen Yinan have ever had the chance to step in?

That was what Luo Yejun thought.

To make up for the regrets of his childhood, he was even more diligent than when they were young, coming to speak to her almost every half hour.

Regardless of whether Cheng Wanqiu was listening, he could sentimentally remember every word he said.

“Sister Wanqiu, it’s okay. I will always be here guarding you. I’ll leave the milk at the door; come out and drink it when you want.”

Cheng Wanqiu only felt that Luo Yejun was annoying her to death.

This fellow actually thought he could replace Shen Yinan’s position in her heart through simple flattery.

“Sister Wanqiu, let this puppy into your heart.”

“Sister Wanqiu, let me be your dog. You can bully me however you want, just like when we were little.”

“Wanqiu…”

Cheng Wanqiu picked up a mineral water bottle from the floor and hurled it at the simple black composite door.

“Get lost!”

But Luo Yejun was relentless, as if he couldn’t understand the word “lost.”

As long as he thought about Cheng Wanqiu belonging to him alone in the future, everything he did today was worth it.

“Sister, I want to stay with you.”

Luo Yejun suddenly remembered something he hadn’t told her yet. He suppressed the wild joy in his heart.

“Uncle said that you will be my fiancée from now on. Sister Wanqiu, you belong to me alone.”

“So, Sister Wanqiu, come out and meet your future husband. I truly love you.”

These words were undoubtedly like rubbing salt into Cheng Wanqiu’s wounds.

In the Cheng family, Cheng Wanqiu had no say. Her parents were dead, and the inheritance she should have received had been carved up by distant relatives.

Cheng Xian was one of those relatives, and the best he could offer Cheng Wanqiu was to find her a “good home.”

Luo Yejun was a decent candidate. As long as the man loved her, it was enough.

“Get lost! Can’t you understand me?!”

Cheng Wanqiu was at her breaking point. The only thing keeping her sane was the thought of Shen Yinan; otherwise, she would feel that life had no meaning.

“Wanqiu, I can stay by your side every day just like Shen Yinan did. You can just treat me as Shen Yinan.”

“Hmph.” Cheng Wanqiu gave a disdainful snort and sneered, “You? You’re insidious, cunning, and shifty-eyed. In what way are you like Shen Yinan?”

With suppressed rage, she said softly, “You aren’t even worthy of a single strand of her hair!”

The air went silent for ten seconds. Cheng Wanqiu had successfully struck Luo Yejun where it hurt.

Shen Yinan, Shen Yinan! How was he inferior to her?!

Crash! Luo Yejun knocked over the milk glass on the floor.

“She only relied on the Cheng family! If it weren’t for the Cheng family, would those people have been so willing to flatter her?”

“What ‘Vice President’? She just took advantage of the Cheng family,” Luo Yejun said with a dark, vicious look in his eyes. “I want to see what happens when we go back next week and the Student Union finds out she is no longer part of the Cheng family. Will those people still be so respectful to her?”

He assumed that Shen Yinan’s position as Vice President was obtained through the Cheng family’s influence and that people only sucked up to her because of her connections.

His own identity hadn’t been revealed yet. If they knew that he was the one favored by the head of the Cheng family, everyone would hand over that Vice President position to him on a silver platter.

Luo Yejun laughed sinisterly.

“Sister Wanqiu, you don’t understand my love for you. I’m actually a yandere. You’ve heard of that, right? You’d better watch yourself from now on.”

This was the funniest joke Cheng Wanqiu had ever heard. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud inside her room.