When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 26

Jiang Nan couldn’t bear it in the end and walked over, sighing, “…Didn’t you say before that I could bully you as much as I wanted?”

Seeing her return, Xiao Ran’s small face was filled with panic. She hastily wiped her tears and said, “I didn’t lie. I just felt like crying.”

Softly, she added, “Riding in the carriage was too, too tiring.”

Her nose slightly red and her eyes misty as she looked at Jiang Nan, Xiao Ran resembled a little deer lost in the fog.

Jiang Nan’s heart softened instantly.

“Give me the embroidery,” Jiang Nan said, reaching out her hand.

A joyful smile spread across Xiao Ran’s face as she handed over the embroidery.

When Jiang Nan unfolded it, a flash of admiration crossed her eyes. The embroidery was exquisitely beautiful, full of artistic charm. It could easily fetch thirty or forty taels if sold.

She thought about Xiao Ran’s current family situation: an unreliable father and no maids or servants to help with chores.

Perhaps, she should buy this piece.

“This embroidery is beautiful,” Jiang Nan said, taking out a fifty-tael banknote from her sleeve and handing it to her. “I’ll buy it.”

Xiao Ran froze in place, her smile slowly fading.

She wasn’t trying to earn money from her!

Xiao Ran stood there for a long moment. Seeing Jiang Nan still trying to press the banknote into her hand, she clenched her handkerchief and turned to leave in a fluster.

Head lowered, she walked forward without noticing the danger ahead.

By the time she realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Xiao Ran’s pupils dilated, reflecting the brown horse’s face now terrifyingly close.

The man on horseback showed no intention of slowing down. The horse charged straight toward her, the rush of wind and dust hitting Xiao Ran’s face first.

She felt as if she’d gone blind, her ears filled only with the rapidly approaching sound of hooves…

But the expected pain never came.

A strong force suddenly yanked her wrist, pulling her to the side.

When Xiao Ran slowly opened her eyes, the horse and rider that had nearly collided with her were already galloping far away.

Jiang Nan’s heart pounded violently, her expression dark. “Watch where you’re walking. Don’t gamble with your life. If something happened to you outside the Jiang residence, the family would have to take responsibility…”

She didn’t actually care about what responsibility the Jiang family would bear. She had just added that line instinctively.

Unaware, Jiang Nan still held Xiao Ran’s wrist tightly, not letting go.

Xiao Ran gave a soft “Mm.”

Feeling the warmth radiating from her wrist, bubbles of joy rose in her heart. Countless thoughts surged uncontrollably, one after another.

So, this is what Sister Jiang’s body temperature feels like.

Hot like a stove, completely different from her own perpetually cold body.

So comforting.

Sister Jiang touched her again! The last time was a month ago.

She wouldn’t wash her hands for now!

Sister Jiang’s eyes are so beautiful, expressive whether happy or angry. Even when furious, the sparks of anger in her eyes are still captivating!

“Are you listening to me?!” Jiang Nan frowned, noticing her distracted, dazed expression.

“I heard you. I’ll watch where I walk from now on,” Xiao Ran replied earnestly, setting aside her thoughts. “I won’t cause trouble for the Jiang family!”

She didn’t care about the Jiang family. She just wanted to answer Sister Jiang.

Jiang Nan was about to say more when she suddenly spotted a carefree figure emerging from the residence.

She acted immediately.

“Jiang—” Xiao Ran barely got a word out before a hand covered her mouth, pulling her behind a stone lion to hide.

Jiang Nan kept one hand over Xiao Ran’s mouth while warily watching Jiang Huai in the distance.

The person beside Jiang Huai said in confusion, “I think I just saw two people here.”

Jiang Huai looked around, the streets were practically empty.

He replied, “You must be seeing things. It’s the middle of the day, hardly anyone’s around.”

The other person nodded. “Must be my eyes playing tricks on me.”

Xiao Ran stood obediently, motionless, her face gently cupped by a soft hand. Every breath she took carried a faint, soothing fragrance of tea leaves.

All she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat and breathing, along with her rising body temperature.

The person she longed for was just a hand’s breadth away. Without thinking, Xiao Ran leaned slightly closer, just barely brushing against Jiang Nan’s arm. Even that small contact filled her with an indescribable sense of contentment.

Jiang Nan felt something soft press against her and froze mid-breath. She tried to focus her attention on Jiang Huai, but her mind kept drifting to the subtle movements of the person beside her.

Xiao Ran didn’t do anything more just stayed close.

An unspoken, delicate tension lingered between them.

Only after Jiang Huai and his companion had walked away, chatting and laughing, did Jiang Nan finally release Xiao Ran only to find the latter’s face flushed beyond recognition.

“Did I cover your mouth too tightly?” Jiang Nan asked, reflecting on her actions.

Xiao Ran, lost in thought, didn’t answer immediately.

Worried she might have deprived her of oxygen, Jiang Nan pressed, “Are you alright?”

Suddenly, Xiao Ran blurted out, “I won’t wash my face today either.”

Jiang Nan was baffled. “Huh?”

Belatedly realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud, Xiao Ran twisted her sleeve nervously, too embarrassed to face Jiang Nan.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nan wondered if she had accidentally cut off Xiao Ran’s oxygen supply, making her delirious.

So, when she’s delirious, she talks about mundane things…

Since she felt responsible, Jiang Nan struggled to make sense of Xiao Ran’s words and responded carefully, “Well…”

She glanced at Xiao Ran’s tear-streaked face, now smudged like a little kitten’s, and hesitantly added, “You should still wash your face. But if you really don’t want to, you can just wipe it with a handkerchief.”

Xiao Ran’s cheeks burned even brighter, like a sunset in full blaze.

Before Jiang Nan could say anything else, Xiao Ran stammered, “Sister Jiang, I—I should go now.” Then, covering her face, she hurried away in quick, flustered steps.

________________________________________

Qin Wan had already spent nearly a month in Peng Town.

Calculating the days, she figured that if she set out now, she could reach Yang City in just over a month. She shared a final meal with the merchant caravan members before their departure. The next morning, before the sun had even risen, they prepared to leave.

Before they set off, Qin’s mother brought out two bundles—one large, one small. The larger one was handed to Qin Wan, the smaller to Qin Cheng.

Qin Cheng protested.

His mother scowled. “Your sister is a girl. She needs more clothes when traveling. Do you really need that many?”

Then, turning to Qin Wan with a gentle expression, she said, “Inside this bundle are your favorite steamed buns. I made over twenty of them! Eat them whenever you’re hungry on the road.”

“Twenty is too many. I won’t finish them all,” Qin Wan laughed.

Her mother insisted, “Nonsense! Take your time, you’ll finish them eventually. And I packed clothes for all four seasons. By the time you wear them all out, you’ll be back to see us, and I’ll make you more.”

Qin Wan opened the bundle and saw layers of neatly folded clothes, both thin and thick. Her heart warmed, and she hugged her mother tightly.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” she promised.

Father Qin also walked over and handed his treasured bow and arrows to Qin Wan: “If you want some meat in the future, hunt it yourself.”

Qin Wan took the bow and arrows and nodded solemnly.

She returned to her room, picked up paper and brush, and prepared to write a letter to Jiang Nan.

She wrote a long, flowing letter. Words alone couldn’t express her feelings, so she also drew many little figures. Before she knew it, she had used up two sheets of paper. At the end, she added: “My lord, I’m returning to Yangcheng in about a month.”

After finishing, she tied the letter to the leg of a carrier pigeon.

The pigeon struggled to take off twice due to the weight of the letter before finally soaring into the sky.

Qin Wan stepped out of the house.

Her caravan was ready to depart, filling the entire street with people and goods, stretching as far as the eye could see. Many onlookers leaned out of their windows to watch.

This was the result of nine months of hard work.

“Lord Jiang, I haven’t failed your expectations. I didn’t lose to my brother,” she thought.

In the future, she would expand and strengthen her caravan, ensuring prosperity for all her brothers and sisters under her command.

Qin Cheng stood at the doorstep, watching his sister with envy and resentment. Father Qin patted his head and said, “See that? Learn from her.”

Qin Wan mounted the horse at the front of the procession and raised her flag. The entire caravan moved forward in perfect order.

Under the light of the rising sun, the caravan marched out of the town. Every face brimmed with hope for tomorrow, their future bright and promising.

________________________________________

Xiao Ran wound through several alleys, nearly home, when she spotted a crowd gathered in a tight knot, seemingly clamoring for something.

She squeezed through the throng, finally emerging, only to pause at the sound of a hawker’s voice behind her.

“Last chance for ‘100 Ways to Woo a Woman’ guaranteed results! Master these techniques, and you can win anyone’s heart!”

The voice came from the center of the commotion.

“Only a few copies left—first come, first served!”

Someone in the crowd, holding up a silk-bound book, asked the bearded man, “Does this book really work?”

The bearded man nudged a scrawny, unremarkable man beside him. “You tell them!”

The scrawny man said, “After trying the methods in this book, I married a beautiful wealthy lady.”

The crowd expressed skepticism.

Flustered, the scrawny man tugged down his collar, revealing red marks on his neck. “Don’t believe me? These are from her kisses!”

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd.

The bearded man grew impatient. “Are you buying or not? This is the work of the legendary romantic scholar Li Chuan. If you’re not buying, don’t block the way.”

Several people handed over their money.

By the time Xiao Ran reached the front, the bearded man had only one copy left.

“How much?” she asked.

The man grinned. “Five taels, no bargaining!”

Xiao Ran was shocked. “So expensive?”

She didn’t have that much silver on her. What could she do?

“Can you lower the price?”

“No bargaining. Look at these people they paid without question. If I make an exception for you, what will they think?”

“Can I leave a deposit and pay the rest tomorrow?” Xiao Ran pressed.

“Our stall moves around. We might not even be here tomorrow,” the man said irritably. “Young lady, why would a girl like you want this book? Are you just wasting my time?”

“No, I really want it,” Xiao Ran insisted.

She rummaged through her sleeves and pouch, hoping to scrape together enough silver.

Suddenly, her fingers brushed against a banknote. She pulled it out. It was the fifty-tael note Jiang Nan had given her.

She clearly had returned it to Jiang Nan, but she didn’t know when he had slipped it back to her…

While Xiao Ran hesitated, the man saw her take out the silver note, snatched it directly, and gave her forty-five taels in change.

After selling the last book, the bearded man was clearly in a better mood. Smiling, he and the thin man packed up their stall and left the alley.

Back at home.

A flickering candle cast its light on Xiao Ran’s face, making her complexion glow with a deep flush.

She flipped through the pages of the book until she reached the last one. The title on the final page read: “The Eighteenth Move to Win a Woman’s Heart.”

Xiao Ran felt dissatisfied.

It was supposed to have a hundred moves, but there were only eighteen so few. Would it even work?

She turned back to the first page and began studying it carefully.

“First Move to Win a Woman’s Heart: The Forced Kiss.”

Summary: Women prefer a more forceful approach. Kiss her forcefully, and she’ll fall for you faster.

Xiao Ran snapped the book shut, her face burning as if on fire.