Transmigrating as the Female Supporting Character: Dumb with Deep Pockets - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Stumbling Block in Someone Else’s Romance

Su Su felt a bit self-conscious under Chen Jia’s gaze.

“When I got to the shop, I saw so many flavors. I didn’t know which one you’d like, so I bought a little of everything. How about… you try them all?”

She was too embarrassed to admit that her heart had swelled when she saw Chen Jia standing up for her. In that surge of emotion, she had wanted to buy out the entire shop. Even when the people in the milk tea shop looked at her strangely, she hadn’t felt awkward; instead, she felt a burgeoning sense of pride.

Chen Jia took the heavy bags from her. “Even if I had two stomachs, I couldn’t drink all this.”

“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.” Now that she had cooled down, Su Su realized she had been a bit too high-profile. Her eyes drifted to the bag in Chen Jia’s hand. “Wait, what are you doing? I thought you had a while left. Are you off work already?”

Chen Jia answered flatly, “I’ve been laid off.”

“…”

This was clearly not the outcome Su Su expected. She immediately felt that Chen Jia had lost her job because of her. Spending every day with Chen Jia, she knew exactly how much the girl needed the money. A wave of intense guilt flooded her heart.

“I’m sorry.” If she hadn’t followed her, she wouldn’t have been a hindrance, and Chen Jia wouldn’t have lost her livelihood.

Qin Mingxing had actually liked Su Su’s looks earlier, but seeing the two of them acting so close now, a bitter malice brewed in her heart. She snapped nastily, “With all those designer labels on you, I really don’t know why you’d settle for a country bumpkin like her.”

Su Su’s fury allowed her to conquer the lingering fear she felt toward Qin Mingxing.

“Who I ‘settle for’ is none of your business! I like her exactly the way she is, and I can’t stand people like you! She might not have money, but unlike you, she isn’t a hypocrite! Those clothes you’re wearing are just cheap knock-offs, aren’t they? And as for trying to hit on me—you didn’t like me, you liked my money!”

When Su Su decided to be poisonous, she was truly lethal. More importantly, she never lied; every word hit a nerve.

Qin Mingxing’s face turned bright red. It was rush hour at the fruit shop, and students were everywhere. Though they didn’t look openly, many lowered their heads to “pick fruit” while inching closer. Soon, the entrance was packed with curious onlookers.

“Alright, there’s no need to lower yourself to her level. Let’s go.” Chen Jia pulled Su Su away. Qin Mingxing was clearly the type to obsess over her “face.” With Su Su humiliating her in public, there was no telling if she’d do something extreme.

“Chen Jia, I’m so angry!”

“Don’t be. I’ve already figured out what to do next.”

Those words successfully comforted Su Su. Her gaze softened. “Really?”

Chen Jia nodded. “Yes. If we don’t go back, the milk tea will get warm.”

Qin Mingxing was seething. Those two actually dared to “show off their love” right in front of her! She was poor, fine—it was one thing to be mocked by the rich, but what right did Chen Jia have? Chen Jia was just luckier, having found a wealthy, generous, and stupid girlfriend. But no matter how angry she was, she didn’t dare do anything; she couldn’t afford the consequences.

…

On the way back, the more Su Su thought about her behavior, the more she felt she had been exceptionally brave. She hesitated for a long time before asking, “What did you actually say to her?”

She wanted to know why Chen Jia lost the job, and more importantly, how she had defended her.

“Nothing much.” Chen Jia wasn’t trying to be cool; she really hadn’t said anything world-shattering.

Before the sun had even fully set, many couples were already cuddling under the girls’ dormitory. Since military training, many pairs had formed with lightning speed. Usually, the two girls ignored this, but today there was a familiar face. And he wasn’t cuddling—he was in the middle of a heated argument.

The tall, imposing Jiang Hanting was leaning against a large pine tree by the entrance, his face shadowed. Even from a distance, one could feel the low pressure radiating from him.

The girl in front of him was wiping away tears. “Our status is too different. Someone who shines as brightly as a star like you should be with a socialite of equal standing. Can we just let each other go?”

Jiang Hanting replied, “I have never looked down on you for being a maid’s daughter, and I have no intention of being with any socialites.”

A perfectly good day turned into a soap opera, Chen Jia thought. Her toes curled in secondhand embarrassment. She and Su Su instinctively quickened their pace.

Suddenly, Jiang Hanting spoke up again: “Is it because you heard something? Or did someone do something?”

Chen Jia’s footsteps faltered. Su Su looked confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go, it’s nothing.”

If Chen Jia remembered correctly, it was during the first semester of freshman year that a massive stumbling block appeared in the romance between the male and female leads: Su Su.

The catalyst was the male lead’s family believing Su Su had a good background. Since they were in the same social circles and the families were acquainted, Su Su’s family hadn’t refused a meeting—thinking if romance didn’t blossom, they could still be friends.

Who knew that a single meeting would cause Su Su to spiral, leading her down a path of unrequited love and sabotaging the leads’ relationship? Eventually, even her own family became disappointed in her madness and sent her abroad, never to be heard from again.

Before, Chen Jia wouldn’t have cared; she hadn’t planned on becoming close to Su Su. But now, she felt a protective tug. She had to find a way to change Su Su’s ending.

…

In the dorm, the milk tea took up half the table. Sun Yimiao and Li Sisi weren’t back yet. The two girls stared at the cups with heavy expressions.

Su Su’s excitement had vanished. “What now? We can’t drink all this, can we?”

“We can taste a bit of each. You carried them all the way back, after all.”

Su Su’s emotional radar suddenly spiked. “Is something on your mind? You’ve been unhappy since we got back.” She replayed the scene in her head. It seemed to start when they saw those two people arguing downstairs. That guy looked familiar… Her brain began to spin wildly. “Wait… you didn’t actually take a liking to that guy from the other day, did you? I won’t allow it!”

Chen Jia, who had been deep in thought about how to derail the plot, snapped back to reality. Her eyebrows knitted together like two tangled earthworms. “What guy?”

“The scary one from the cafeteria! Ever since you saw him, your expression has been weird.”

“Don’t pin false charges on me. I just wanted to ask… has your family asked you to attend any banquets recently?”

“Banquets?” Su Su’s home was quite far from Jian City; she didn’t go back often. More importantly, she hated those stifling family gatherings. She shook her head without thinking. “No.”

But almost as soon as the word left her mouth, her phone rang. It was her mother, asking in a gentle voice if she was coming home for the National Day holiday because a guest was coming over for dinner.

Su Su shot Chen Jia a suspicious look, wondering if she was psychic. “We’ll see.”

“But I already promised them,” her mother said. “I know you don’t like visitors, but just have one meal and they’ll leave.”