I, A Loyal Dog, Awaken to My Fate as Cannon Fodder - Chapter 26

When Shen Yinan returned to school, the campus was thick with rumors and gossip.

But what did that matter? It didn’t stop her from doing what she needed to do.

As usual, she went to the Student Union for a meeting, where she ran into Luo Yejun. The man looked like a classic case of a “villain achieving his ambitions,” loudly proclaiming that he was now the true member of the Cheng family.

Shen Yinan curled her lips into a smirk as if looking at an absolute fool. No one there was paying him any attention.

They regarded him as a madman.

“Listen to me! I’m telling the truth! Shen Yinan is no longer a part of the Cheng family—I am!!! I am!!!”

Passersby shot him contemptuous glances, muttering under their breath, “He’s sick.”

To think she had climbed to this position solely by relying on the Cheng family was laughable.

Shen Yinan secretly sighed at Luo Yejun’s stupidity.

“Vice President, you’re here.”

Someone noticed Shen Yinan standing at the door and hurried over to curry favor.

“Everything has been a chaotic mess while you were away these past few days, Vice President.”

This was no place for fools. While a wealthy family background was the threshold for entering the Student Union, once inside, everyone was a wolf eating the bone to get to the marrow—nearly everyone was driven by ambition.

To be able to climb to the position of Vice President by one’s own strength meant she was an opponent that could not be underestimated. Allying with her was essential.

Shen Yinan smiled slightly and nodded politely.

She usually didn’t say much and was kind to others.

But that kindness was never an excuse for others to bully her.

“Shen Yinan, you actually have the face to come back? I’m the one from the Cheng family now; you should return this position to me!!!”

“My position? Which position of yours?”

Subconsciously, Luo Yejun fell right into Shen Yinan’s trap.

“The Vice President’s position, of course! I know you only sat in that chair because of the Cheng family.”

“Then I am truly sorry to disappoint you, but I really didn’t rely on the Cheng family for this.”

Shen Yinan spoke with an innate authority, as if she were merely discussing a mundane, everyday matter.

The onlookers suddenly understood. So, the reason Luo Yejun had been loudly proclaiming that Shen Yinan wasn’t a Cheng was for this purpose.

He wanted to use that status to take the Vice President’s seat.

Everyone else was also caught in Shen Yinan’s snare, though they remained unaware of it.

“Tsk tsk, I thought he was just having a breakdown, but it turns out he just had a stupid motive.”

“He didn’t even bother to ask how Vice President Shen got this position. She earned it fair and square!”

“He’s like a primary school student, thinking a bit of family influence can get him that seat. No one here is exactly ‘lesser’ than the Chengs.”

Shen Yinan remained motionless, smiling as she watched the show.

The crowd became Shen Yinan’s mouthpiece, guiding the flow of the rumors, while she achieved all of this without lifting a finger.

Luo Yejun was a coward at heart; the only counterattack he could muster was to glare fiercely at people.

There were over a dozen people there; he had plenty of people to glare at.

Watching his self-confidence crumble, he muttered to himself:

“It’s not like this… how am I worse than Shen Yinan? She must have used connections, she must have, she must have!!!”

His withered, dejected appearance was both pitiful and ridiculous.

Shen Yinan’s methods for dealing with someone were never that simple.

She flashed a playful smile.

Even a reincarnated “chill capybara” has moments of wrath.

This was the fourteenth day that Cheng Wanqiu had not stepped out of her door. Her spirit was already flagging.

The Cheng family would not bring Shen Yinan back just because of her tantrums; this was a fact she had finally recognized.

Curled in the corner, she held her knees with both hands, burying her head in the darkness. Gradually, drowsiness washed over her—a surging, unstoppable wave of exhaustion. Her eyelids felt heavy; she couldn’t hold on anymore and fell asleep.

“Where is this…?”

Cheng Wanqiu arrived at a vast, white open space. The surrounding mist slowly dispersed. She stood calmly for a moment, a voice in her heart telling her that this was not a bad place.

She clearly recognized that this was a dream.

As the mist cleared, the surroundings took shape: it was the roadside in front of the Shen family home.

Cheng Wanqiu couldn’t help but wonder, “Have I returned to half a month ago?”

Suddenly, a little “tiny tot” came running toward her. She was small and thin.

Her naturally fluffy, slightly curly hair bounced as she ran. The hair already covered her eyes, but Cheng Wanqiu recognized her instantly.

That was the ten-year-old Shen Yinan.

She didn’t know why she was dreaming of the past, but now, just seeing Shen Yinan was enough to make her smile and feel at ease.

“Are you okay?” Little Shen Yinan took her hand, looking very worried.

Cheng Wanqiu remembered it clearly. She had accidentally tripped by the roadside, scraping the skin on her hands and knees. At that time, her uncle was smoking nearby and hadn’t noticed her fall.

Only a hurried, worried Shen Yinan had run over to help her up and check her injuries.

Cheng Wanqiu’s appearance hadn’t changed; she hadn’t turned into a child—she was in her adult form.

But Little Shen Yinan didn’t seem to notice, continuing to check her wounds and ask if she was hurt.

“Shen Yinan,” Cheng Wanqiu called her name.

In an instant, Shen Yinan was stunned, a flash of panic appearing in her eyes.

“You… how do you know my name?”

Cheng Wanqiu disliked the bangs that covered the girl’s eyes. She smiled gently and said, “Because I know you.”

“Me?”

Oh no, oh no, Little Shen Yinan thought. I didn’t expect the young lady from the Cheng family to be a lunatic. Will I be tortured if I’m taken back?

“What are you thinking about?” Cheng Wanqiu asked softly.

What was on that little face was far too obvious to an adult. The old Cheng Wanqiu wouldn’t have noticed, but now…

Tsk tsk, it was practically transparent.

“I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person…”

After saying it, Shen Yinan immediately covered her mouth, her eyes darting back and forth.

Shen Yinan’s original purpose for meeting Cheng Wanqiu hadn’t been pure; she was aiming to make a good first impression for her own gain.

After a long while, seeing that the young lady wasn’t angry—and even hearing a faint “pfft” of laughter—it was a massive shock to the little Shen Yinan.

Whether she had come with impure motives no longer mattered; Cheng Wanqiu only thought the childhood Shen Yinan was adorable.

Knowing the past, she knew that when she had fallen and scraped her palm, Shen Yinan had rushed over, heartachingly blowing on the wound before applying a band-aid.

It was all a bit too coincidental. Seeing this scene again now, Cheng Wanqiu truly admired the deep-seated schemes of the young Shen Yinan.

“Miss, it won’t hurt like this anymore, and the wound will heal very quickly.”

Gazing at the gentle and attentive child, no wonder her past self had opened her heart to her.

In the dream, white mist unknowingly began to shroud Little Shen Yinan’s face. She was gradually losing sight of her.

The mist completely covered Shen Yinan, the little figure vanished, yet Cheng Wanqiu’s dream had not ended.

Cheng Wanqiu slowly stood up, surveying the white mist, her brow furrowed in thought.

“Why dream of the past? And this dream isn’t under my control. I want to wake up, but I can’t.”

She paced around in the mist, her frown never leaving.

“Does this dream require me to do something before I can wake up?”

Correct. A second later, Cheng Wanqiu knew her hunch was right.

After their first meeting, she had waited outside the Shen house for a long time for her uncle to finish his cigarette before entering.

And Shen Yinan had gone back inside first.

“So, this time, I should go back with Shen Yinan.”

Correct again!

The white mist dispersed once more, right at the moment when Shen Yinan was about to wave goodbye.

“I’m going back first, Miss.”

Cheng Wanqiu immediately called out, “Wait.”

The bewildered Shen Yinan stopped in her tracks, her face full of confusion.

“Is there something wrong, Miss?”

Cheng Wanqiu caught up and took Shen Yinan’s hand of her own accord.

“I’m going with you.”

Shen Yinan: “???”

Shen Yinan was going back to be scolded. The children of the Shen family would throw stones at her, and the adults would curse her.

She didn’t dare bring someone who lived in the light; such a person would look at her life with judgmental eyes.

“Are you afraid they will hit and scold you? With me here, I’ll go and get justice for you.”

Cheng Wanqiu had wanted to get justice for Shen Yinan last time, but Luo Yejun had dragged her away.

A look of “How do you know?” appeared on Shen Yinan’s face.

The Shen family wasn’t stupid enough to broadcast their abuse of a child; such family matters were only known to those inside.

So Shen Yinan was very surprised—how did Cheng Wanqiu know she would be beaten and scolded at the Shen house?

Wouldn’t someone like her be considered “dirty”?

Her thoughts were easily visible on her face. Cheng Wanqiu ruffled her hair.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Them hitting and scolding you is their fault.”

This was the first time Shen Yinan had heard such a “sophistry.” She didn’t know how to argue back.

Everyone told her she was dirty, born with sin, and that being beaten and scolded was only right.

Finally, someone had told her: it wasn’t her fault. The ones who were wrong were them.

“What’s wrong?”

Cheng Wanqiu lowered her head and asked very gently. She saw Shen Yinan’s body start to twitch and heave.

Little Shen Yinan could no longer control herself; tears fell one by one as she hugged Cheng Wanqiu’s leg.

“Thank you. You are the first person to say I’m not wrong.”

For some reason, hearing these words made Cheng Wanqiu feel a deep ache in her heart.

She should have noticed earlier. She should have said those words long ago.

The dream cleared, and a burst of white light pulled Cheng Wanqiu back to reality.

She remained curled in the corner. She checked her phone for the time—less than three minutes had passed.

A three-minute nap had felt like an eternity.

Shen Yinan felt a jolt in her heart as new memories surfaced in her mind.

She steadied herself. What she remembered was indeed what Cheng Wanqiu had said to her.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Them hitting and scold you is their fault.”

Thinking back to how she had spent the last two weeks putting the members of the Shen family—old and young—up for sale on the black market like livestock.

She hated them to the core; she just wanted them to experience her “sin.”

Somehow, she felt a sense of release. One sentence from the “Miss” was enough for her.

Realizing that human trafficking was illegal, and since the Shen family members hadn’t been sold yet, she changed her mind.

She was going to make the Shen family get out. She was going to be the master of the Shen house.

“Shen Yinan, stop right there!!! Do you know who I am now? I’m Cheng Wanqiu’s future husband!”

Luo Yejun shouted crazily, “Cheng Wanqiu belongs only to me!!!”

“Then… you can’t be allowed to stay.”

Shen Yinan’s eyes turned fierce, her voice low and sinister.

She shot a sideways glance at Luo Yejun. The pathetic man was so frightened he fell flat on his backside.

This invited even more mockery from the crowd.

“Vice President Shen, where are you going?”

Shen Yinan turned around calmly, her expression amiable. “I just remembered I have something to do. I won’t be attending today’s meeting. Please let the others know for me.”

“Yes!!!” The young girl felt honored; being used by Shen Yinan made her very happy.