The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 90

Mo Huai called to check in, and Sang Nian replied simply, “I’m at the hotel.”

“What’s going on over there?” Mo Huai asked, puzzled. “It’s so noisy. Is that a child’s voice I hear?”

Sang Nian tossed her coat onto the sofa and looked up to see the “little rabbit” using her bed as a trampoline. Sensing her gaze, the little girl froze, turning her head with one long rabbit ear flopped over her shoulder.

Sang Nian couldn’t help but smile. She cleared her throat and told Mo Huai, “It’s nothing.”

“…” Mo Huai paused. “As long as you know what you’re doing. Our flight is tomorrow afternoon. Get yourself some lunch; I’ll pick you up around 2:00 PM.”

“Alright,” Sang Nian replied and hung up. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you going to sleep or not?” she asked, beckoning the little rabbit.

The girl hopped into her arms. “Mommy~” her voice was soft and high-pitched. “You smell so good!”

“Sweet-talking me now?” Sang Nian lifted her up, tugging gently on one of the onesie ears. “Compliments won’t let you stay up late.”

The little rabbit pouted. She shook Sang Nian’s arm. “Sleep with me, Mommy!”

“You go first.” Sang Nian hadn’t even taken off her makeup from the banquet. she tucked the girl in and whispered, “I’ll tell you a story.”

The little one nodded obediently. Since they didn’t have a book, Sang Nian had to improvise. “Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived two cute little rabbits…”

Sunny grinned, showing her tiny canine teeth. “Little rabbits!”

“Mhm.” Sang Nian stroked the girl’s soft hair. “The two rabbits loved each other very much and lived happily together. But one day, they had a fight. One rabbit left the village without a word and never came back…”

Sunny’s face fell. “Huh?”

Sang Nian realized her mistake—this wasn’t exactly a cheerful bedtime story. But she continued, following her own heart. “Well, one day, the first rabbit was out looking for… carrots, when she unexpectedly found the rabbit who had run away! The runaway rabbit was sorry and wanted to be together again.”

“Wow…” Sunny might not have understood the subtext, but she was an excellent listener.

“But the first rabbit was conflicted! They had only fought; she could apologize and make up, but she couldn’t forgive the other rabbit for leaving without saying goodbye.”

Sunny buried half her face in the pillow and yawned. “So… the rabbit doesn’t want her back?”

Sang Nian rubbed her nose. “Not exactly. The rabbit was thinking… thinking…”

“Thinking what?”

Sang Nian’s brow furrowed. “She wanted an explanation and an apology?”

“I’m sorry~” Sunny said in her milky voice. “Like that?”

Sang Nian laughed and pinched her cheek. “She isn’t nearly as cute or well-behaved as you.”

Sunny didn’t hide; she nuzzled Sang Nian’s fingers. Sang Nian’s heart melted. “The rabbit wasn’t that angry; she was just scared. She didn’t know if they could stay together forever this time. What if the other one left again?”

Her voice grew low and sad. “She couldn’t handle a second departure…”

She looked down to find that the little one had finally fallen asleep. Sang Nian tucked her in, washed up, and later handed the sleeping Sunny back to the nanny.

Sang Nian didn’t sleep well that night, her dreams filled with fragments of the past. She woke at 9:00 AM, but when she knocked on the door across the hall, there was no answer. The front desk informed her that the guests had already checked out.

Thankfully, she had Sunny’s contact info. She sent a voice note but received no reply. By the afternoon, she was on a plane back to China with Mo Huai.

Mo Huai, a true workaholic, spent the ten-hour flight discussing the future. “The moment you won, my inbox exploded. SAYC wants an interview, and big brands are reaching out. Next week—”

“No.” Sang Nian stared at the clouds outside. “I want to rest this month.”

“The whole month?” Mo Huai checked the calendar. It was only the 5th. “No work at all?”

“Mhm.”

Mo Huai tapped her screen. “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy with the offers?”

“No,” Sang Nian adjusted her seat. “I just want to rest.”

“Fine,” Mo Huai conceded. “You’ve worked yourself to the bone these past few years. Now that you’ve won the award, you deserve a break. Do you want to move? Your current apartment is crawling with paparazzi.”

“No need,” Sang Nian said, closing her eyes.

Sang Nian returned to her quiet apartment in City A. For several days, she didn’t leave the house. She gave her cleaner the week off and ordered groceries to her door. The silence was deafening. She stared at her front door until her eyes turned red.

“Liar!” she hissed, leaning back against her sofa, feeling drained of all energy.

That evening, her phone pinged repeatedly. The messages were from an account labeled [Little Rabbit].

“Mommy! We moved to a new house!” “Mommy, come quickly! Sunny misses you!” “Mommy? Mommy Mommy Mommy!” “Mommy… come live with us, okay?”

Sunny’s voice filled the room, warming Sang Nian’s heart. She pressed the record button. “Sunny, I’m back in the country… I can’t come see you right now.”

Five minutes later, a reply came. “I asked Mama. We are in City A! Mama says you are here too.”

Sang Nian froze. City A? They are from City A? It wasn’t a secret she lived there, but for them to meet abroad and then both return here… it felt too coincidental.

Sunny sent another note: “Mama says we live here now, and Mommy will live here too!”

Sang Nian messaged back: “Sunny, is your mama there? Give the phone to her, I want to talk.”

In a detached villa in City A, Shen Zui took the phone from her daughter. She typed: [Miss Sang Nian?]

Sang Nian noticed the use of her new surname. [Sunny isn’t there, is she? If you’re typing, she can’t read it. What is your goal in having her get close to me?]

Shen Zui rubbed her temples. [I’m sorry if you feel offended… but it truly was a series of coincidences. She liked you and accepted you faster than I imagined. Sometimes I couldn’t keep her away from you.]

Sang Nian frowned. [You’re blaming a child? She didn’t just learn to call me ‘Mommy’ on her own.]

After a moment, the reply came: [I’m sorry. But I truly just want to invite you over for a meeting. No ill intent.]

“Is Mommy coming?” little Sannie (Sunny) asked, clutching Shen Zui’s leg. “Didn’t you say that once we moved into the new house, Mommy would live with us?”

Shen Zui smiled and nodded. “Of course she will.”

“But is she still angry?”

Shen Zui kissed her cheek. “Yes, so Mama has to find a way to apologize…”

Sang Nian received the address—a luxury river-view villa district where property prices were the highest in the city. She agreed to visit the next day.

As she got ready, she opted for a simple look. Looking in the mirror, she noticed her own eyes—tired but brilliant. Suddenly, a realization hit her like a bolt of lightning.

Sunny. Sunny’s eyes look just like mine.

She opened her phone and looked at photos of herself as a child. While they weren’t identical, there was a 30-40% resemblance. Could it be? A two-year-old daughter? Unless…

The elevator opened, cutting off her dangerous thoughts.

At the villa, she found Sunny playing in the garden. The child dropped her ball and ran toward the car. “Mommy! Mommy!”

Sang Nian scooped the girl up. In that moment, she felt a visceral connection, as if Sunny truly was her own flesh and blood.

She noticed the villa’s layout as she walked in. The servants seemed perfectly comfortable leaving her alone with the child.

“How many mommies do you have?” Sang Nian asked.

“One!” Sunny chirped. “Just Mommy, one!”

“But you don’t have my surname…” Sang Nian started to say, then stopped.

“I do!” the girl insisted, puffing out her chest. “I do!”

“Surname Sang?”

“Yes!”

“But Sunny is an English name…”

“Sannie (Sang Ni)!” the girl pouted. “Just like Mommy!”

Sang Nian was stunned. A nanny passed by, and Sang Nian asked for clarification.

“It’s ‘Sang’ like the mulberry fruit, and ‘Ni’ as in a little girl,” the nanny explained.

Sang Ni… Sang Nian’s brain stalled. Was a fan really this obsessive? But if so, why hadn’t the mother shown her face?

“What is your mama’s name?” Sang Nian asked the child.

Sunny covered her mouth with her hands. “Can’t tell! Mama said she has to tell Mommy herself.”

“Is she home?”

Sunny nodded. “Mhm!”

The villa was huge, decorated exactly like the apartment Sang Nian and Shen Zui had shared near the university. The realization hit her with full force.

“Sannie, when is your birthday?”

The little girl thought hard. “February… February… I forgot the rest.”

Sang Nian had marked Shen Zui in early summer. The timeline fit perfectly.

“Mommy, are you cold?” Sannie asked, noticing Sang Nian was trembling.

“I’m not…”

“But you’re shaking.” The little angel hugged her neck. “I’ll keep you warm!”

Sang Nian buried her face in the child’s shoulder, wiping away a stray tear. Shen Zui… how dare you! How dare you!

She took a deep breath, composed herself, and knocked on the study door.

“The door is unlocked,” a voice said from inside.

Sang Nian opened the door. Shen Zui stood behind a massive desk. When she saw Sang Nian and Sannie, she froze.

“Go to the living room,” Shen Zui said softly.

In the living room, Sang Nian sat on the sofa, her limbs feeling weak. She remembered a night long ago when she had asked Shen Zui if they should get a cat for company. Shen Zui had said, “I don’t think anything can replace your company. Another member in the family would just take your attention away from me.”

Shen Zui had never wanted their world to be disturbed. She had taken birth control. So how did Sannie exist?

“When we lived in the UK, Sannie’s bedroom was covered in your posters,” Shen Zui began. “She’s loved you since she was a baby. Before she could talk, she watched your movies with me. I told her you were her Mommy and that we would live together one day.”

Sang Nian’s throat felt dry. “You’ve had her with you this whole time?”

“Yes. It was hard at first, but I’m glad I did it.”

In this technologically advanced world, an embryo could be moved to an external incubator at two months to save the mother from the pain of pregnancy. But raising a child was still an exhausting task. Despite her wealth, Shen Zui had done most of the caretaking herself.

Sang Nian felt a flicker of sympathy but quickly suppressed it. “You deserve it,” she hissed.

Shen Zui smiled faintly. “I do.”

“I’ve finished all the paperwork,” Shen Zui continued. “We are staying here for good.”

Sannie cheered, throwing her arms up. “Mommy! That means we’ll be together forever, right?”

Sang Nian’s heart broke. She stroked the girl’s cheek and nodded. “Right.”