The Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Character is Still Alive Today - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Encountering Su

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Bai Yao returned to the inn. She washed two apples she had bought along the way and handed one to Luo Qi in the room.

The two then went downstairs together, sat at a table, and ate the apples while waiting for their food.

As Bai Yao was halfway through her apple, a young man who looked like a scholar appeared at the inn’s entrance.

The scholar was dressed in a long gown patterned with ink-wash mountains and rivers, and he held a folding fan of the same color in his slender hand. He was truly a refined and peerless young gentleman.

The only drawback was that he was covered in quite a bit of mud, making him look somewhat disheveled.

Bai Yao silently put down her apple and scrutinized the person.

Dark hair with a jade crown, long ink-like eyebrows.

The pair of peach blossom eyes beneath them held three parts innate warmth, three parts bright moonlight and clear wind, and the remaining four parts were reserved, sharp edges hidden like mist.

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He’s here!

Su Mubai of the Spring Rain Pavilion!

Su Mubai, the first high-quality supporting male character to appear in For the Prince, For the Phoenix, was the fourth-generation descendant of the former dynasty’s great general. He was adopted by the Spring Rain Pavilion as a young child to be a reserve student.

The Spring Rain Pavilion was located in Suobei, far from the capital of Shangjing. Although it was part of the jianghu (martial arts world), it was also the faction most detached from the jianghu.

The Spring Rain Pavilion was both a sect and a school.

It had another, more widely known name: The Cradle of Imperial Tutors.

In Shiyu Nation, the three characters “Spring Rain Pavilion” symbolized wisdom and true knowledge. The first three Imperial Tutors of Shiyu were all educated there.

Many imperial grandsons and nobles, if fortunate enough to pass the assessment in their youth, would also attend the Spring Rain Pavilion. After their studies concluded, this experience would become a major asset for boasting for the rest of their lives and would clear many obstacles in their future careers.

Among all the students, Su Mubai possessed extremely high talent, described in the book as the reincarnation of the God of Literature. From his scholarship to his character, Su Mubai stood out and left everyone else far behind.

The four current masters of the Spring Rain Pavilion had already privately decided that Su Mubai was the unquestionable choice for the next Imperial Tutor. And in the future, Su Mubai indeed fulfilled the masters’ expectations.

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Bai Yao quickly looked around and confirmed that every small wooden table was occupied. If Su Mubai wanted a seat, he would have to share a table.

According to the original book’s description, Su Mubai shared a table with Luo Qi. The two had a fruitful conversation and quickly established a gentleman’s friendship.

A subsequent crisis even bound the two tightly together, leading directly to Su Mubai developing feelings for Luo Qi.

Bai Yao secretly squeezed her hands under the table, waiting to watch the show.

The waiter quickly ran towards Su Mubai and offered solicitously, “This young master, are you stopping for a meal or a stay? Come, come, it’s been a tough journey, please come in and sit down to rest.”

Su Mubai nodded and stepped into the inn’s main hall. He looked up, clearly searching for an available seat.

Bai Yao looked at Luo Qi with slight excitement.

Next, it should be Su Mubai and Luo Qi making eye contact, and then…

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Bai Yao looked at Luo Qi, who was looking at her, and asked doubtfully, “Luo Qi, why are you looking at me?”

Luo Qi blinked upon hearing this, looking at the apple Bai Yao had placed on the plate, and asked, “Yao Yao, is the apple not tasty?”

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The apple?

Is this the time to worry about the apple?

Quickly look at the handsome guy at the door! He’s a limited-edition, latest model!

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The plot is in progress; time is tight, and there’s no room for supporting characters to delay.

Bai Yao quickly reached out and picked up the apple from the plate, saying, “I’m eating it now.”

While nibbling the apple, Bai Yao secretly prompted, “Luo Qi, look over at the door. Isn’t there a young master who looks like he desperately needs a seat?”

Luo Qi looked up at Bai Yao and replied, “Yes.”

Bai Yao coaxed, “Then… don’t you have any thoughts?”

Luo Qi lowered her eyes and shook her head.

Why does this plot development feel a little familiar?

Seeing Luo Qi lower her eyes and gracefully sip her tea, Bai Yao looked over with a head full of questions, only to meet Su Mubai’s gaze.

In the brief pause, both missed the best time to look away.

After a few seconds of awkward staring, Bai Yao raised her hand and waved at Su Mubai, “Young Master, if you don’t have a place to sit, why don’t you squeeze in with us?”

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The three sat around a small wooden table.

Since Su Mubai offered his thanks upon sitting down, the small wooden table fell into a long silence, with no one speaking again.

It wasn’t until the food was served that the table became lively again.

However, the liveliness belonged to Luo Qi and Bai Yao; Su Mubai had none of it.

“Here, try the braised pork.”

Luo Qi carefully picked up a piece of meat with a good mix of fat and lean, and placed it in Bai Yao’s bowl.

“The fish tastes very good.”

Luo Qi deboned a piece of fish and placed it in Bai Yao’s bowl.

“You need to balance meat and vegetables.”

Luo Qi removed the fine ginger from the crisp vegetables and placed them in Bai Yao’s bowl.

When the small bowl in front of Bai Yao was nearly piled into a small mountain, Su Mubai met Bai Yao’s stunned expression and let out a chuckle, clearing his throat.

Then he made his first formal statement since sitting down: “The two of you have a very good relationship.”

Luo Qi looked up at him and gave her first reply to Su Mubai: “Mm.”

Su Mubai smiled and said, “May I ask, are the two of you newlyweds?”

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Character: Bai Yao.

Requesting pause.

Reason for pause: Requesting outside assistance.

Specific description: I want to flip through a dictionary and see what “newlyweds” means.

Flip your ghost!

Bai Yao raised her hand to rip the dictionary. A storm surged in Bai Yao’s heart.

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“No!” Bai Yao looked at Su Mubai and said, “What is your name?”

Su Mubai paused, looked at the somewhat inexplicably fierce-looking girl opposite him, and answered truthfully, “I am Su Mubai.”

Then what the heck “newlyweds” are you talking about?

Where is the legendary genius? The wit?

Did you leave your IQ behind at the Spring Rain Pavilion?!

Compared to Bai Yao’s fury, Luo Qi, however, became inexplicably polite to Su Mubai, taking the initiative to say, “Young Master Su can get an extra set of bowls and chopsticks and eat with us.”

Seeing Luo Qi finally initiate conversation, Bai Yao suppressed her thoughts and returned to eating her rice.

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Sigh.

Despite everything, the dishes Luo Qi served are delicious.

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Su Mubai politely declined Luo Qi’s invitation, but the three gradually began to talk, chatting about various things.

Just as they were discussing the journey from Lingnan to Lindan, a subtle change occurred.

The several strangely-haired men from before were sitting diagonally behind Su Mubai. Having drunk too much wine, the men became reckless, got up, went to the table behind Su Mubai, and started flirting with the two young girls sitting there.

One of the big men squeezed in next to a girl and began to put his hands on her.

The two girls immediately stood up to leave but were pulled back down.

Realizing something was wrong, Su Mubai stood up, turned around, and patted the big man’s shoulder, saying, “Brother, bullying young girls is not the act of a gentleman.”

The big man turned to look at him, his face, covered in grotesque flesh, wrinkled even more, and he said concisely and bluntly, “Get lost.”

Su Mubai, despite being directly challenged, didn’t back down and firmly kept his hand on the big man’s shoulder, saying, “Brother, what you’re doing is wrong.”

Su Mubai showed no intention of retreating, a look of confidence on his face.

Seeing him like this, the big man frowned and looked him up and down with a slight hesitation.

Bai Yao silently swallowed the piece of meat in her mouth, waiting to watch the show.

It would be understandable if others were fooled, but Bai Yao knew clearly.

Su Mubai was actually a weakling.

A completely useless weakling with a head full of scholarly knowledge but extremely low martial arts ability.

Bai Yao casually picked up the greens in her bowl, but her attention was actually on Luo Qi beside her.

According to the original book, next would be the big man attacking, and Luo Qi saving the day.

Sure enough, the big man on the side attempted to swing his fist at Su Mubai. Bai Yao secretly glanced at Luo Qi and saw that Luo Qi had already slightly furrowed her brow in Su Mubai’s direction.

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Good. Very good.

The atmosphere is perfectly set!

Please push the camera over! Aim here, the plot for forming a bond is about to begin!

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Focused on Luo Qi’s expression, Bai Yao didn’t notice a dark, black figure walking in from the doorway. As the figure passed Su Mubai, it paused and reached out to grab the big man’s fist.

The next second, the big man’s wail echoed throughout the inn hall.

Bai Yao suddenly turned around and saw the big man already kneeling on the floor.

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Seeing their brother being single-handedly held and forced to his knees, the other men instantly got up, intending to approach the person restraining the big man.

Luo Qi sat at the table; she didn’t get up, but she raised her hand and pushed her sword half an inch out of its scabbard.

She held the scabbard with only one hand, using internal energy to push the sword out. The blade knocked against the white jade edge of the scabbard, making a crisp ringing sound.

The men looked at Luo Qi, who radiated a strong sense of threat, and abruptly stopped.

The person in the dark black gown released his hand. The big man sucked in a cold breath and collapsed onto the ground. The others quickly came over, dragged their companion, and hurried out of the inn.

The incident was resolved perfectly in some way. Su Mubai cupped his hands to the stranger and said, “Thank you.”

The man nodded slightly to him and turned towards Bai Yao and Luo Qi, revealing an ordinary and plain man’s face.

Taking two steps toward the table, he curved his lips and looked at Bai Yao, then asked in a low voice toward the empty seat beside her, “Excuse me, may I sit here?”

As their eyes met, Bai Yao noticed that although the man had an extremely common face, the pair of eyes on his face were bright and full of life.

But…

Who are you, brother?

Why did you steal all of the heroine’s scene the moment you appeared?

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Seeing that Bai Yao did not reply, the man was not annoyed. He smiled and asked again, “Miss, may I sit here?”

Bai Yao finally recovered. She was about to say, “Please sit,” when Luo Qi next to her raised her hand and placed her sword across that empty seat.

Looking intently at the man’s face, Luo Qi said, “You may not.”

Rarely seeing Luo Qi act so aggressively, Bai Yao was stunned for a moment, then quickly maintained a united front and kept silent.

The man raised an eyebrow at the reply but ignored Luo Qi’s sword and still tried to sit down.

However, the moment he made a move, Luo Qi flipped her wrist, and the leg of the chair behind the man broke.

The atmosphere solidified. Su Mubai stood up and proactively greeted the man, saying, “This table is too small. Why don’t I sit over here with you, brother?”

The man’s gaze lingered on Bai Yao’s face for a few more seconds, and he smiled, “That works too.”