The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 9

Shen Nian didn’t want to get entangled with her and turned to leave.

Seeing her dismissal, Shen Zhuan became even more convinced that Shen Nian was hiding something. “Stop right there!” She stepped forward quickly to block Shen Nian’s path, eyeing her up and down. “I’m asking you—what are you doing here at the Small Villa?”

The commotion was loud enough to quickly draw the attention of Shen Que and Qi Yun.

Qi Yun approached, waving and calling out, “Xiaobao.” Shen Zhuan gave Shen Nian a sharp glare before scurrying over to her mother’s side.

At this point, Shen Nian could no longer pretend she hadn’t seen them. She bowed slightly, acknowledging Shen Que and Qi Yun respectively. “Mother. Aunt Qi.”

Indeed, Qi Yun did not recognize her as an adopted daughter; at home, Shen Nian addressed her simply as “Aunt.”

Her greetings received no response. Shen Que remained preoccupied with her phone, while Qi Yun tenderly adjusted Shen Zhuan’s collar. “Look at you, you didn’t even smooth out the wrinkles.”

Shen Zhuan ran a hand through her hair. “I was in a rush to get here right after my shower.”

“What’s the great hurry?” Qi Yun turned back with a meaningful look, glancing at Shen Que and the elegantly designed villa behind her. “It’s not like she’s going anywhere.”

Shen Zhuan curled her lips in a fawning smile. She tugged on Qi Yun’s sleeve. “Let’s go, Mom. Let’s go up and see Auntie.”

Qi Yun took her daughter’s arm, and the two began walking toward the villa.

Shen Nian thought she finally had a chance to escape, but at the last moment, Shen Que looked up and called her back.

“Shen Nian.” She slid her phone into her pocket. “Come. Let’s go up together to see your Young Aunt.”

“Mother!” Shen Zhuan’s eyes widened. “Why are you calling her?”

Shen Que frowned. “Shen Nian is your sister. Isn’t it better for the whole family to go up together?”

“She isn’t—” Under Shen Que’s stern gaze, Shen Zhuan wisely swallowed the rest of her sentence, though she continued to glare at Shen Nian through gritted teeth.

Shen Nian knew that Shen Zhuan would blame her for the scolding. However, she didn’t care. Since she couldn’t avoid it, she decided to face it with grace. She stepped forward and nodded. “Alright.”

Qi Yun gave her daughter’s back a reassuring pat, her eyes lingering on Shen Nian with a deep, unreadable gaze.

After a strict disinfection process, the four of them went up to the second floor. A doctor greeted Shen Que and led them into Shen Zui’s room.

On the central bed, Shen Zui reached out to end a video call. Looking toward the door, she gave a casual greeting. “Sister.”

Shen Que walked to the foot of the bed. As she got closer, her eyes widened slightly at the healthy flush on Shen Zui’s face. “I heard from Mother that you had an episode. What’s going on now? You look even more energetic than the last time I visited.”

“It’s nothing serious.” Shen Zui curled her lips into a faint smile, her gaze shifting past her sister to rest briefly on Shen Nian standing by the door. She rested her hand on her knee and explained, “It’s been brought under control.”

“That’s wonderful!” Shen Zhuan chimed in happily.

She pushed past her mother to reach the bedside, pulling a small velvet box from her pocket. “Auntie, I brought you a gift!”

Shen Zui’s expression remained indifferent, but she cooperatively looked at the girl’s palm. “What is it?”

Shen Zhuan opened the lid, grinning widely. “I went to the Southwest with some friends recently and tried my hand at ‘gambling on stones.’ This is the first piece of jade I ever cut. It wasn’t large, so I had a pair of earrings made for my mom, and I made this Ping’an Kou (safety buckle) for you.”

Qi Yun suddenly reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a swaying teardrop-shaped green jade pendant.

“They say good jade nourishes the wearer,” Shen Zhuan continued to boast about the jade buckle. “If you wear it, your health will keep improving.”

Shen Zui took it, gave it a brief glance, and let out a soft “Mm.”

“Xiaobao is a filial child; she’s always thinking of you,” Qi Yun said warmly. Suddenly, her eyes darted to the side with a playful, mocking glint. “Shen Nian, you came to visit… did you prepare a gift for your Aunt?”

Shen Zhuan rolled her eyes. “Mom, what do you expect her to be able to do?”

Shen Nian felt entirely innocent. She sighed inwardly and, deciding she had nothing left to lose, held up the pineapple in her hand.

“Are you trying to be funny?!” Shen Zhuan clutched her chest with a look of disgust. “Can you keep that low-class stuff—”

Before she could finish, Shen Zui beckoned from the bed. “Bring it here.”

The voice wasn’t loud—gentle, even—but it caused Shen Zhuan and Qi Yun to freeze in their tracks.

Shen Nian grabbed a bowl from a nearby cabinet, arranged the pineapple, and brought it to the bedside. The golden fruit, soaking in salt water, emitted a fresh, sweet-and-sour aroma that instantly masked the lingering scent of disinfectant in the room.

Shen Zui used a fork to bring a piece to her lips. Just as she was about to take a bite, Shen Que interrupted. “Wait.”

She turned to the doctor. “Can Shen Zui eat this?”

Shen Zui acted as if she hadn’t heard her sister. Unaffected, she popped the fruit into her mouth and began to chew before the doctor could even answer.

The pineapple was succulent. With one bite, the rich juice exploded in her mouth.

Shen Nian remembered Shen Zui saying she couldn’t handle sour foods. She watched her expression closely and saw Shen Zui’s brow furrow suddenly. Shen Nian’s heart tightened; she was about to step forward to tell her to stop, but then she saw Shen Zui’s features slowly relax. She swallowed gracefully.

She forked another piece, bringing it to her lips for a second bite.

Shen Que’s eyes narrowed. In a place no one noticed, the hand holding her coat slowly clenched into a fist.

The doctor explained, “It’s fine, quite fine. The results from this afternoon’s check-up just came out. The Young Mistress’s physical condition is recovering rapidly. Eating some fresh fruits and vegetables is no problem at all.”

“Oh?” Shen Que turned to her, her tone sharp. “You’re saying Zui’s health is improving?”

“Yes,” the doctor replied.

“Are you new here?” Shen Que realized the doctor looked unfamiliar. She eyed her suspiciously. “Has there been a new breakthrough in her treatment recently?”

“Uh, yes… indeed…” The doctor nodded, but her voice began to stammer.

Shen Que frowned. “Can’t you speak clearly?” She turned fully toward the doctor, her voice dripping with displeasure. “She has been in the same condition for years. For her to suddenly improve—did you all secretly use some kind of aggressive medication?”

“No, no, not at all,” the doctor waved her hands frantically. “Rest assured, our medication usage follows strict regulations…”

“Then what is happening?!”

The doctor was at a loss for words. She stole a quick glance at Shen Nian, her lips trembling but no words coming out.

Shen Zhuan also sensed something was wrong. “What are you looking at her for? Is there something you can’t say?!”

“I… because…” The doctor wiped sweat from her brow.

On the bed, Shen Zui ate her pineapple leisurely, as if the discussion about her condition had nothing to do with her. Seeing that Shen Zui didn’t intervene, the doctor took a deep breath.

Before Shen Que’s patience ran out, the doctor lowered her voice and spoke rapidly. “The Young Mistress has been temporarily marked. Her physical condition is much better than before.”

The room fell into a dead silence.

Shen Zhuan’s expression froze. Two seconds later, she took an incredulous step forward. “What did you say?”

The doctor remained silent.

After processing the words, Shen Zhuan tapped her own forehead. “Marked? You said marked? Who marked my Aunt?”

The doctor still didn’t speak, but this time, she looked directly at Shen Nian.

Inside the room, the three members of Shen Que’s family turned their necks stiffly, their gazes locking onto Shen Nian.

Shen Nian ignored them. She leaned over toward Shen Zui and whispered a reminder, “Dinner is coming up later. Don’t eat too much fruit.”

Shen Zui wrinkled her nose and turned her body away, possessively guarding the bowl of pineapple in her arms.

Shen Zhuan was the first to react. Her breathing became heavy and ragged. In a fit of rage, she looked around, grabbed a mobile storage rack nearby, and hurled it toward Shen Nian without warning.

“You f***ing—!”

Shen Nian had been on guard. Seeing the movement, she nimbly dodged. The rack slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash, shattering into pieces.

“What the hell are you?! You dare touch my Aunt?!” Having missed her first strike, Shen Zhuan charged forward. Her face was flushed with fury as she raised her fist to strike Shen Nian. “Shen Nian, you f***ing—I’ll kill you!”

In Shen Nian’s memory, it had been a long time since the girl had shown such raw aggression. As a child, Shen Zhuan had been warned; she knew she couldn’t lay a hand on Shen Nian directly, so she usually resorted to petty, underhanded bullying.

The most vivid memory Shen Nian had was from her third year of middle school, on the crucial night before the high school entrance exams. Shen Zhuan had invited a large group of friends over for a party. High-decibel dance music played all night, making it impossible for her to sleep. At two in the morning, unable to take it anymore, Shen Nian had gone out and kicked the speakers, her toes gushing blood from the impact. Even then, Shen Zhuan had just laughed, sending someone to “treat” the wound while she simply swapped in a new speaker and kept the music playing. Shen Nian hadn’t slept a wink that night.

To Shen Nian, a Shen Zhuan who showed her claws directly was actually somewhat pathetic; she held no real threat.

As an Alpha, Shen Nian’s height had surpassed Shen Zhuan—a Beta—two years ago. She reached out and, with a single move, clamped down on Shen Zhuan’s wrist, neutralizing the entire attack.

Shen Zhuan had lost all reason, her mouth spewing endless profanities. “You’re a goddamn rat who should stay in the gutter! You crawled into the Shen family and still won’t stay quiet? You f***ing bastard, you actually dared to covet—”

“Shen! Zhuan!”

Shen Que suddenly roared.

At the sound of that voice, Shen Nian was actually surprised. She tilted her head, looking at her mother with confusion.

Shen Que’s expression was difficult to describe. She was clearly agitated; like Shen Zhuan, her face and neck were beet red. But Shen Nian couldn’t tell if it was anger or joy. Her fists were clenched, her lips were pulled thin, and her willow-shaped eyes were wide.

The strangest thing was the light in her eyes—a sudden, bewildered, and startled look, as if a long-held wish had unexpectedly been granted.

Suspecting she had misread the look, Shen Nian blinked. When she opened her eyes again, Shen Que had already marched over. She grabbed Shen Zhuan by the shoulder. “Where are your manners?!”

“Let go of me!” Shen Zhuan couldn’t hear a word, struggling violently. “Let me strangle this bastard! Let me kill her!!”

Realizing her persuasion was useless, Shen Que’s face darkened instantly.

At that moment, Shen Zui spoke from the bed.

“Have you had enough?”

The voice wasn’t loud, yet it possessed a strange power. The hysterical Shen Zhuan froze instantly. She relaxed her strength and slowly turned to face Shen Zui’s furrowed brow.

Shen Zui pointed toward the door. “If you’ve made enough of a scene, get out.”

“Auntie…” Shen Zhuan was lost, her voice trembling with the hint of a sob. “Auntie, I… I’m sorry, but…”

“I said,” Shen Zui repeated with a look of disgust, “Shen Zhuan. Get. Out.”

Shen Zhuan’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the floor. Qi Yun was quick to step forward and catch her arm. She frowned slightly, glanced at Shen Zui, and then turned to the doctor.

Amidst the silence, she asked, “Does the Madam know about this?”

“Huh?” The doctor was momentarily confused, then nodded quickly. “Yes, she knows.” After a pause, she added, “The Madam already visited this morning.”

“Heh.” Hearing this, Qi Yun actually let out a light laugh. She turned a meaningful, lingering look toward Shen Nian. She gripped Shen Zhuan’s wrist. “Xiaobao, don’t be angry. Come back with Mommy.”

Shen Zhuan steadied herself, her eyes filled with poisonous resentment as she glared at Shen Nian. However, she couldn’t resist Qi Yun’s urging and was half-dragged out of the room.

Once the mother and daughter left, the air in the room felt significantly fresher.

“What happens going forward?” Shen Que smoothed her expression, her hands resting on the foot of the bed. Her fingers were pressed so hard against the frame that her knuckles were white. “Between you and Shen Nian…”

Hearing this, Shen Nian also looked up at Shen Zui.

On the bed, the “Pearl of the Shen Family” still wore an air of detached indifference. She popped the last bit of pineapple into her mouth, set down the utensil, and dabbed the corners of her mouth with a wet wipe.

“It will be the same as it was before, and the same going forward. It’s merely for the sake of treatment.”

She looked back at Shen Que lazily. “Don’t you agree, Sister?”