The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 103

When Sunny was brought back by the nanny and saw Shen Nian at home, her eyes lit up instantly. However, she remained cautious; after kicking off her shoes, she scurried behind Shen Zui to hide, peeking out tentatively.

Shen Zui gave her a gentle nudge forward. “Go play with Mommy.”

Sunny looked up at her. “Can I?”

“Mhm.” Shen Zui gave her an encouraging smile. “Go on.”

Following her lead, Shen Nian reached out her arms toward the little girl. “Nini, come here.”

Only then did Sunny leave Shen Zui’s side and pounce into Shen Nian’s arms on the sofa. “Mommy!” The little girl rested her chin on Shen Nian’s knee, observing her expression as she called out.

Feeling a pang of heartache, Shen Nian hoisted her up by her underarms and pulled her into a hug. “Mommy bought you a gift.” Shen Nian brought out the blue dolphin to distract Sunny, hoping to lower her guard. “Do you like it?”

“Wh—?!” The little girl’s eyes widened in shock. “The dolphin?”

Shen Nian smiled. “What? Do you recognize him?”

“Mhm!” Sunny nodded vigorously. She took the plushie into her arms and stroked its snout. “I made a promise to him; I told him to live well in the ocean. I said I’d bring him back the next time Mama bought me a toy.”

“No wonder,” Shen Nian played along with the girl’s whimsical imagination. “I was passing by when he told me he knew you, so I rescued him.”

“Wow—” The little girl’s eyes were filled with pure adoration. “Mommy is amazing!”

Shen Nian couldn’t help but burst into laughter, reaching out to pinch the soft flesh of the girl’s cheek.

Shen Zui, who was giving instructions to the nanny, looked up at the sound of the laughter. Their gazes met in mid-air. In the past, Shen Nian would have looked away as if burned. But this time, she allowed the contact to linger, even letting her gaze drop to Shen Zui’s red, full lips.

To a keen observer, Shen Zui’s lips were still slightly swollen. Over an hour had passed since that moment of lost control on the sofa, yet she could still feel the tingling sensation. As they stared at each other, the air around them seemed to thicken.

“Huh?” A startled cry from Sunny snapped Shen Nian back to reality.

She withdrew her gaze and looked down at Sunny. “Mhm? What’s wrong?”

“My bunnies!” Sunny puffed out her cheeks. “My bunnies aren’t right!” She slid out of Shen Nian’s lap and ran to the pile of toys on the other side of the sofa. Confirming she hadn’t misremembered, Sunny turned and complained to Shen Zui, “Someone messed up my bunnies!”

Shen Zui: “…” Shen Nian: “…”

“Wh-where is it messed up?” Shen Nian stammered guiltily. When they had restored the toy pile, both had been in a daze. Though they had tried to be careful, they had clearly failed to maintain Sunny’s specific order.

“The bunny family has to be together!” Sunny’s eyes reddened, and crystal tears began to well up. “Someone… someone separated them.”

“Alright, alright, don’t cry.” Shen Nian hurried over to comfort her. “Mommy will help you put them back exactly how they belong, okay?”

Sunny wiped her eyes. “…Okay.”

Seeing that Shen Nian had the situation under control, Shen Zui sighed in relief and headed into the kitchen with the nanny to prepare dinner. By the time the meal was served, the “Bunny Family” had achieved a perfect reunion.

Later that night, the three of them finally lay in the same bed again. The little girl was so excited that she dragged Shen Nian along until nearly 11:00 PM before finally falling into a deep sleep.

Once she was out, Shen Nian turned off the lights, leaving only a dim, amber nightlight. She tried to sleep, but her mind was wide awake. Unable to control herself, she naturally rolled over toward Shen Zui.

With the two-year-old between them, Shen Nian watched her in the quiet peace. She propped herself up, kissed Sunny’s forehead, and then moved closer to Shen Zui…

In the dim light, she leaned down to gaze at her. Her eyes seemed to be playing tricks on her; it took a long time to focus on Shen Zui’s features. Shen Nian leaned in further, her lips brushing against the other woman’s cheek.

Just as she was about to pull away, Shen Zui’s eyes snapped open. She grabbed Shen Nian’s collar. “You…” She wanted to ask if Shen Nian had regained her memory, but seeing the blank confusion on Shen Nian’s face, her spirit deflated. She slowly let go and closed her eyes again.

Shen Nian felt an inexplicable sense of frustration. “I’m leaving tomorrow,” she whispered. “I have to pack; I’m heading to City H for filming. I probably won’t be back until the Lunar New Year.”

Shen Zui: “Mhm.”

“…Please tell Sunny. I’ll video call her from the set.”

Shen Zui: “Alright.”

She never opened her eyes. Shen Nian felt like she was punching cotton. She retreated to her side of the bed.

In the darkness, Shen Zui’s voice suddenly rang out. “Will you come back to spend the New Year with her?”

Shen Nian’s body stiffened. “…Is that convenient?”

Shen Zui scoffed lightly. “Do I need to pay you an appearance fee?”

Shen Nian bit her lip. “No. Need.”

Shen Zui added: “I will have things prepared.”

The production in City H was moving quickly to finish the winter scenes. During a break, Shen Nian sat in a pear-wood chair, chin in hand, watching Chen Xi. Chen Xi was talking to her assistant, her qipao’s fur collar perfectly framing her neck.

Shen Nian hadn’t fully stepped out of character yet; she watched her “Gu Zikan” almost obsessively. When Chen Xi turned and met her gaze, the director—who happened to be passing by—teased, “You really are deeply in love with ‘Teacher Gu,’ aren’t you?”

“Is that a compliment on my acting?” Shen Nian replied smoothly.

“Tsk.” The director sat beside her. “I was actually going to say—even though ‘you’ realize your feelings for Gu Zikan after the reunion, you seem too infatuated. Your character has just established herself; there should be more calculation in your eyes.”

Shen Nian was startled. “Is my gaze too transparent?”

“With that look in your eyes,” the director joked, “any innocent girl would fall for you instantly.”

Two days before New Year’s Eve, the winter scenes wrapped. The producer hosted a party at a high-end hotel. Shen Nian, who was not the “old” Sang Nian who rejected all social life, attended with her assistant, Xiao Lin.

The lobby was packed with companies holding annual galas. Even through her disguise, Shen Nian’s elegant stature drew attention. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure across the hall, but the person vanished into the crowd. She mocked her own nerves—That person should be in City A with the child. Why would she be here?

In the hotel room later, Shen Nian sat in the dark, slightly tipsy. Her assistant, Xiao Lin, had been dragged away by Chen Xi’s assistants to play cards.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock. Then, a beep—the sound of a key card unlocking the door.

A woman entered. Shen Nian, whose eyes had adjusted to the dark, lunged and grabbed the intruder’s wrist. The woman gasped, a sound so melodic it made Shen Nian’s ears tingle. The voice-activated hall light flickered on.

Oh, Shen Nian thought. It’s not Chen Xi.

She didn’t let go. Instead, she pulled the woman inside and kicked the door shut. She pinned the intruder against the wall.

“Shen Nian?” The woman frowned at the scent of alcohol. “Are you drunk?”

“Heh,” Shen Nian laughed. She leaned into the woman’s ear. “Of course I’m drunk. Isn’t this exactly what you planned?”

“It wasn’t me,” the woman tried to explain, but Shen Nian’s hand was already on her throat—not squeezing, but pinning her with overwhelming pressure.

“Not you? Then why do you have my key card?” Shen Nian dragged the woman into the bedroom and threw her onto the bed.

“My bodyguards caught Chen Xi’s plot,” the woman explained, rubbing her wrist. “She had a duplicate key. I came to make sure you were safe.”

“Nice story,” Shen Nian mocked, playing with a strand of the woman’s hair. “So how should I perform? Should I be moved to tears?”

Shen Nian leaned down, their lips less than an inch apart. “A life-saving debt is hard to repay. Why don’t I offer myself to you… Teacher?”

The woman froze. “What did you call me?”

Shen Nian’s nerves were on fire from the alcohol. “Teacher Gu, Gu Zikan… are you going to keep pretending?”

The woman tried to struggle. “Let me go!”

“You must be so proud,” Shen Nian whispered, her hand sliding over the woman’s low neckline. “Watching me fall for you, watching me approach you over and over. You think I’m like the others? Just another person dazzled by your beauty?”

The woman trembled.

“But you played your hand wrong,” Shen Nian said, unbuttoning her own collar. “I prefer you when you’re standing at the podium, seriously teaching me. Every time you sit before me in those form-fitting dresses, I feel like your flesh is about to burst through the seams…”

The words were raw and erotic. The woman’s face flushed deep red.

“Only I know,” Shen Nian continued, her breath hot against the woman’s skin. “Your mind isn’t on the books. You seduce me with your eyes, tease me with your words…”

She grabbed the woman’s hand, interlacing their fingers, and bit down lightly on her ring finger. “I’ve taken the bait. Are you happy, Teacher?”

“I’m… I’m not her,” the woman stammered. “You’ve got the wrong person.” She knew Gu Zikan was a fictional character from the script.

“Oh?” Shen Nian’s eyes shimmered with a predatory light. “You want to deny it? You want to say you didn’t come here for me?”

Shen Nian’s fingers traced the silk of the woman’s stockings. “Dressed like this? Who taught you to deliver yourself to me alone? If I recall… I offended you not too long ago, didn’t I?”

The woman’s heart hammered against her ribs. “Offended? How?”

Shen Nian didn’t answer with words. She used her lips to claim the woman’s, sucking and licking with a fierce intensity, forcing a response. In the gaps between the deep kisses, she squeezed out a final question.

“Are you still going to play dumb… Shen Zui?”