The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 86

Sang Nian raised an eyebrow.

It wasn’t out of arrogance; while she never took pride in her looks, her face had been voted into the “Top 100 Most Beautiful Faces in the World” for several consecutive years. Usually, she wouldn’t care, but standing before this little girl, a hidden streak of competitiveness flickered within her.

“Like your Mommy?” Sang Nian leaned down slightly. “Then she must be very beautiful.”

The innocent little girl didn’t catch the teasing undertone and nodded vigorously. “Mhm! Beautiful!”

Sang Nian smiled. Looking at the child’s adorable face, she actually believed it. “That explains how she could have such a cute baby like you.”

The sentence was a bit too long for the child; she tilted her head as if she didn’t quite understand. Her gaze then drifted to Mai Mai, who was cradled in Sang Nian’s arms. “Is this your baby?”

Sang Nian turned Mai Mai around like a prized treasure, letting the two little angels face each other. “Her name is Mai Mai.” After the introduction, she asked with twinkling eyes, “Isn’t she cute?”

Mai Mai was of mixed heritage. Though she had dark hair and eyes, her features were deeper than those of a typical Asian child. Even at six months old, it was clear she would grow up to be a stunning beauty.

At that moment, Mai Mai shook off her previous lethargy and waved her arms happily at the little girl.

The girl took a step back. Sang Nian read a hint of slight “disgust” in her expression. Leaning in to look, Sang Nian realized Mai Mai was grinning so hard she was drooling.

“Dirty,” the little girl said, wrinkling her nose. “She’s drooling.”

Sang Nian gently wiped it away with a baby wipe. When she looked up again, she saw the little girl patting the skirt of her puffy dress. The girl looked back at Sang Nian and deliberately curled her lips into a faint, graceful smile.

She asked, “Am I prettier than her?”

Sang Nian: “…”

Feeling a bit guilty, Sang Nian quickly glanced at the luxury store across the street. Seeing that Duan Wenyin hadn’t come out yet, she let out a silent sigh of relief.

“Ahem.” Following her heart, Sang Nian nodded. “You are the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.”

In her arms, Mai Mai looked up at her, her gaze clear and bewildered. Sang Nian poked her cheek, muttering internally: What are you looking at me for? You don’t even understand!

Before she could finish comforting Mai Mai, the little girl dropped a bombshell: “Then you should hug me!”

“Huh?” Sang Nian was stunned.

The little angel stepped closer and threw her arms around Sang Nian’s leg, resting her captivating face against Sang Nian’s knee. Then, she looked up halfway, capturing Sang Nian’s heart with those misty, cat-like eyes.

“Don’t want her. Hug me~”

Sang Nian felt her heart being knocked wide open. Alarm bells rang in her mind—half of her thought, is this some new kind of scam?—while the other half felt that Mai Mai had suddenly become incredibly heavy.

The six-month-old Mai Mai didn’t understand what was happening; she looked down at the little girl, then turned to Sang Nian and let out an “Ah!”

Sang Nian gritted her teeth and held Mai Mai steady. If Mai Mai had telepathy, she would hear Sang Nian’s deafening scream: You better be filial to your godmother when you grow up! Don’t forget she fought for her life for you right here!

“Where is your guardian?” Sang Nian regained her composure and looked at the middle-aged woman nearby.

The woman smiled back politely. The little girl’s left cheek was being squished against Sang Nian’s knee. She pouted and muttered, “Mommy is angry. She’s hiding.”

The middle-aged woman looked embarrassed and finally spoke. “Miss, the Madam is away on business; she’ll be back shortly.”

“No,” the little girl looked up. “She’s just angry. I know it!”

The warmth on her knee faded as the girl moved, leaving Sang Nian feeling strangely reluctant to let go. Not wanting to get involved in family drama, she changed the subject. “What is your name?”

The little one’s attention was successfully diverted. Her pronunciation was a bit shaky: “Shanny~”

“Sunny?” Sang Nian used one hand to ruffle her soft hair. The name was common but warm and bright—perfect for such a lovely child. “That’s a beautiful name. I am Sang Nian.”

“Mhm.” The little girl nodded with the air of a small adult. She looked at Sang Nian. “I know. We both have the same surname, ‘San’.” (Note: The child mispronounced ‘Sang’).

“Hahahaha!” Sang Nian couldn’t help it; the comment was so precious she laughed until she doubled over, causing Mai Mai to bounce along with her. After a while, she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. She didn’t correct the girl, but agreed: “Yes, we both have the surname Sang.”

Then, she couldn’t help but sigh, “I wish I had a daughter as cute as you.”

She didn’t notice the middle-aged woman beside her giving her a complicated, unreadable look.

Sunny’s face flushed red; she was actually shy. She toyed with her white dress. “Really?” She acted coy and asked, “Would you like me a lot?”

“Yes!” Sang Nian patted her head again. She blurted out, “If I were your Mommy, I definitely wouldn’t leave you with just a nanny while I ran off to work.”

She secretly blamed the “real” parent for being so unfeeling.

Sunny took another step closer, her body almost pressed against Sang Nian’s leg. She opened her arms again. “Then why…”

Sang Nian: “Hmm?”

“Why aren’t you hugging me yet?” Sunny tilted her head and demanded.

Sang Nian: “…”

Sunny wrinkled her nose. “And you didn’t kiss me…”

Sang Nian clutched her heart. Was it because she didn’t want to? It was because Mai Mai was still heavy in her arms!

Just then, Sang Nian saw Duan Wenyin walking out of the luxury store with two shopping bags.

“Wait a moment.” She gently pushed the little girl back, got up, and jogged toward Duan Wenyin.

Duan Wenyin looked confused but immediately took Mai Mai from her. “Did she cry? My fault, my fault, I lost track of time.”

“No, Mai Mai was very good.” Sang Nian answered hurriedly. She was about to return to the cafe, but when she turned around, she saw the middle-aged woman already leading the little girl away.

The two figures, one tall and one short, walked under the gentle afternoon sun. Sunny looked up and seemed to ask the woman a question; the woman leaned down to explain, her expression blurred by the light. Little Sunny nodded and lowered her head.

I missed her, Sang Nian thought.

Duan Wenyin leaned in with the baby. “What’s wrong?”

Sang Nian curled her lips. “Nothing.” She checked the time. “Heading back?”

“What do you mean ‘nothing’?” As a director, Duan Wenyin had sharp eyes. “Do you know what your expression looks like right now?”

“What?”

They had been best friends for years and joked often. Duan Wenyin said, “Like you just missed a beautiful romantic encounter. You look so regretful.”

“Tsk.” Sang Nian grinned charmingly. “You caught me.”

“Really?” Duan Wenyin craned her neck to look down the street. “Who? Which one?” She ignored the woman and Sunny, looking for eligible ladies.

“Who knows?” Sang Nian put on her sunglasses and whispered to herself, “Maybe it was my little lover from a past life.”

The next day, Sang Nian was resting in her presidential suite. Suddenly, she saw the security feed: the child from yesterday, Sunny, was “thump-thump-thumping” on her door.

There was no one else around. Little Sunny was persistently attacking the door with her tiny fists. When she got tired, she stopped to rest, clutching a book to her chest with a pouting, aggrieved expression.

Sang Nian opened the door. “Why are you here? Where are your parents?”

“I don’t have a Daddy,” Sunny replied smoothly. She looked at Sang Nian with those big eyes. “Mommy, I want a hug!”

Is she really scamming me? Sang Nian’s heart skipped a beat. She picked the child up with one arm. “No Daddy? Then where is your Mama? And the nanny from yesterday?”

Sunny shook her head, putting on a “I’m just a kid, I don’t understand” face.

Sang Nian was considering calling the front desk or the police when she noticed Sunny holding out a storybook. Inside, she found a note written in elegant, flowing English.

The note explained that the writer lived in the suite directly opposite hers and had seen her when she was drunk and at the coffee shop. Sunny liked her very much, and since the writer was busy, she asked Sang Nian to look after the child until evening.

Sang Nian was speechless. Was there really a parent this careless in the world?

But then her mind snagged on the word “drunk.” Had she disturbed her neighbor that night, or… was the person who helped her into her room actually this neighbor?

She looked at the brown door across the hall. “Mommy?” Sunny hugged her neck.

Sang Nian took Sunny inside and called the front desk. They confirmed Sunny was a resident of the opposite room and had been escorted to her door by an adult. The receptionist offered to have staff watch the child, but Sang Nian declined. “It’s fine. It’s a prank by a friend. I’ll handle it.”

Inside the room, Sunny called out sweetly, “Mommy! Play!”

“Ahem.” Sang Nian tried to stay serious. “Let’s negotiate… I’m not your Mommy. You can’t call me that.”

Sunny looked confused. Sang Nian sat beside her. “I don’t have a daughter as cute as you. And if your real Mommy heard you call me that…” Sang Nian scraped the girl’s nose. “She would be so sad.”

The moment those words left her mouth, a single “pearl” of a tear fell from Sunny’s eye. Then, her wails echoed through the suite.

“Waaaah!”

Sang Nian panicked. “Wait… don’t cry! Please don’t cry!”

“Waaah!” Sunny looked at her with a red nose. “You… you are Mommy… Mommy doesn’t want Sunny…”

Sang Nian was officially defeated. “No, no.” She pulled the child onto her lap. Having little experience with children except for her time with Shen Zui (who had been gone for two years), she tried her best. She kissed Sunny’s cheek. “Don’t cry. I want you.”

Sunny’s crying slowed. “See? I’m holding you. How could I not want you?”

“Mommy…” The little angel hiccuped and buried her face in Sang Nian’s chest, wiping her tears all over Sang Nian’s expensive clothes. “Mommy… don’t go…”

“I won’t go.”

After a while, Sunny calmed down. She lifted her head and bravely kissed Sang Nian’s chin. Looking at the child’s red eyes, Sang Nian was suddenly reminded of another face from her memory. She shook the thought away.

When Shen Zui first left, Sang Nian used to stay awake for 24 hours, running to the door at every sound. Eventually, her manager, Mo Huai, forced her to see a therapist. The doctor told her, “Your Shen Zui is unique; you can’t just assume everyone you see is her.”

“Mommy smells so good,” Sunny nuzzled her. “So this is what Mommy smells like… and you’re so warm!”

Sang Nian smiled. “What did you think I was like?”

“I didn’t know!” Sunny said. “Before, you were always in the TV. I couldn’t hug you.”

Sang Nian finally realized the truth. “So, does your Mommy like me a lot?”

Sunny nodded hard. “Yes!”

“Does she often point at me on the TV and tell you, ‘Baby, this is your other Mommy’?”

“Yes!” Sunny was thrilled. “How did you know?!”

Sang Nian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How did she know? Because she had seen “delusional fans” like this online. She should be angry that a fan had dumped a child on her, but looking at Sunny, she couldn’t stay mad.

“I just know.”

“Hehe, Mama didn’t lie to me!” Sunny stood up on Sang Nian’s lap. “She said… Mommy is thinking about us too.”

Sang Nian laughed. The “fan” had even written her into the script!

Duan Wenyin called, but Sang Nian declined her invitation to the party, saying she had an “unexpected situation” at the hotel. When Duan Wenyin insisted on a video call, she saw Sunny hanging onto Sang Nian.

“My god, Shen Nian! Where did you get a daughter?!” Duan Wenyin shouted.

Sang Nian couldn’t explain properly because Sunny was listening. Duan Wenyin marveled at how much they looked alike. “The genes are too strong! She looks just like you!”

After hanging up, Sang Nian spent the afternoon reading to Sunny. They read a book about a little fish finding its mother. “The little fish found its Mama, just like me,” Sunny said.

They had tea and walked around the neighborhood. By 6:00 PM, a middle-aged woman (Auntie Su) came to collect Sunny.

Sunny refused to go. “I want to live with Mommy!”

Auntie Su tried snacks and toys, but nothing worked—until she mentioned Sunny’s mother. Sunny hesitated. “Why didn’t Mama come here?”

Sang Nian was impressed by the child’s wit. “Sunny’s right,” Sang Nian said to the woman. “Where is her mother? I’d like to invite her to dinner to see who raised such an angel.”

The woman looked uncomfortable. “The Madam is busy… it might not be convenient.”

Sang Nian didn’t push. She helped coax Sunny into going back. After they left, she stared at the door across the hall for a long time.

Inside the opposite suite:

As soon as she entered the living room, little Sunny ran into the arms of a woman sitting on the sofa. The woman gently tidied the girl’s hair.

“Mama,” Sunny looked up. “You’re not working… why didn’t you go see Mommy?”

The woman leaned down to kiss her cheek. She stiffened slightly; she could smell the familiar, cool scent of cedar on her daughter.

“It’s not appropriate yet,” she said, subtly pulling back.

“Tell me about her,” the woman said, her cold, elegant features softening. Time had been kind to her, making her even more sophisticated and beautiful. “Do you like her? Was she good to you?”

“I love her,” Sunny hugged her neck. “I want to be with Mommy forever.”

The woman smiled faintly, stroking Sunny’s hair. She whispered softly, “Yes… I want that too.”