When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 28

Jiang Huai’s face turned green with anger as he left without a backward glance, his arm wrapped around a beauty.

Xiao Ran watched his retreating figure and sighed in relief.

As long as Jiang Huai didn’t come looking for trouble with her, that was enough.

After this incident, Xiao Ran abandoned her plans to go out and turned back home.

In the courtyard, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, she mustered her courage and flipped to the second technique in 100 Ways to Woo a Girl.

Wooing Technique #2: Give Flowers and Speak Sweet Words.

“No woman dislikes flowers. Pair them with heartfelt words, and the effect doubles. Follow this method, and she’ll fall for you effortlessly.”

Xiao Ran felt somewhat confident about this one.

Picking flowers was within her capabilities. If she could gather a beautiful bouquet, she’d already be halfway to success.

She spent two days gathering orchids and anemones, deep blue orchids that resembled butterflies in flight, paired with purple anemones. Bundled together, they looked stunning.

On the third day, after selling her embroidery, she set aside a bit of money to buy a few romance novels from a street vendor, specifically choosing ones filled with love stories. She needed to learn those sweet, moving words.

“Give you my heart, and you’ll know how much I love you.”

“Not a night passes when I don’t miss you.”

“For you, I’d gladly die on the battlefield!”

After memorizing these lines, Xiao Ran silently added one more: “Orchids symbolize noble purity, anemones grace and elegance. These flowers are meant for someone who deserves them.”

Once she had recited everything flawlessly in her mind, she let out a big sigh of relief. Now, there should be no problems.

All she needed was to run into Jiang Nan.

On the fourth day, Xiao Ran happily carried the bouquet to see Jiang Nan.

But the moment she met Jiang Nan’s cool gaze, her confidence deflated, and her face burned with embarrassment.

Jiang Nan watched as Xiao Ran slowly approached, head bowed, revealing her snow-white neck, and murmured softly, “I… you… flowers…”

Xiao Ran’s mind buzzed. Everything she had memorized vanished instantly.

Jiang Nan glanced at the bouquet and seemed about to say something, but Xiao Ran, having taught her lesson this time, shoved the flowers into her arms and fled.

Back home, Xiao Ran wrote a note beside 100 Ways to Woo a Girl—Technique #2:

Reason for failure: Only remembered one word per line.

For the next several days, Xiao Ran didn’t seek out Jiang Nan again.

First, she felt too embarrassed by her poor performance last time. Second, more customers started commissioning her embroidery.

It wasn’t until much later that Xiao Ran finally ventured out again.

Just as she reached the foot of Cangfang Tower, someone called out to her. Turning, she saw a sharp-eyed stranger waving at her.

Wei Su smiled. “Little girl, come play mahjong with us.”

Xiao Ran hesitated. “I… I’m not very good…”

Wei Su waved it off. “No worries, you’ll learn as you play. If you lose, you don’t have to pay just come to my teahouse and have a cup of tea.”

Xiao Ran still wanted to refuse.

Then Wei Su said meaningfully, “Jiang Nan will be joining us soon.”

That was a devastating blow. Xiao Ran stopped hesitating and agreed.

As Wei Su shuffled the tiles, she asked, “You like Jiang Nan, don’t you?”

Xiao Ran’s face instantly turned crimson. She pressed her lips together, eyes darting away, refusing to answer.

“So easily flustered,” Wei Su chuckled, covering her mouth. “Forget I said anything.”

A short while later, Jiang Nan arrived.

Seeing Xiao Ran there, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Wei Su began setting up the tiles. “You were just complaining yesterday about always being one short. Well, here’s our fourth.”

Would Jiang Nan not want me here?

Xiao Ran cast a worried glance at Jiang Nan, who said nothing in return, merely giving her a sidelong look before taking her seat.

At least she hadn’t been driven away.

But…

She frowned at the neatly arranged tiles on the table, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Xiao Ran had played mǎdiào before, but only casually with children from her clan, barely grasping the rules.

The first round began.

Xiao Ran’s luck was astonishingly bad. Right from the start, Wei Su robbed her twice, and her heart sank little by little.

Yet, as the game progressed, she somehow found her rhythm.

“Pung.”

“Kong.”

“Hu.”

Xiao Ran stared in disbelief at the row of tiles she had just played.

She had actually won.

A flicker of joy crossed her face, and she instinctively turned to look at Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan slapped a silver ingot onto the table and grinned at Wei Su and Wei Hui. “Pay up, ladies.”

Wei Su was quick to comply, placing two ingots on the table.

Xiao Ran waved her hands in refusal. “No, no, keep the silver. We’re just playing for fun.”

Jiang Nan said, “The rule at our table is to play for real. Take it.”

Reluctantly, Xiao Ran accepted.

Given her skill, she’d probably lose all that silver later, maybe even end up owing more.

She silently calculated whether the money she’d brought would be enough.

In the second round, Xiao Ran’s starting hand was mediocre, while Wei Su’s face lit up with delight—clearly, her tiles were excellent.

After a few bold and confident moves, Wei Su’s enthusiasm gradually waned.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ran, as in the previous round, found her groove and soon won again.

In the third round, Xiao Ran was the dealer, and her hand was exceptionally strong. She felt a bit more confident. But midway through, she accidentally played the wrong tile.

She thought to herself, This time, I’m doomed.

And yet…

“Kong… Kong Shang Hua.”

Bewildered, Xiao Ran laid her tiles face-up for everyone to see. Wei Su and Wei Hui exchanged wide-eyed glances.

The fourth round… the fifth round… Wei Su’s expression grew increasingly sour, but she refused to call for a stop. To her, quitting after a loss was a sign of weakness.

Xiao Ran played in a daze and won in a daze. Sometimes, she didn’t even realize she had won until a spectator behind her pointed out, “You’ve won! You have a pair of triplets.”

Only then would she understand.

Finally, Jiang Nan called an end to the game, citing business at the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, and stood to leave.

Xiao Ran didn’t take the pouch of silver she’d won.

She was already overjoyed that she wouldn’t have to go to Wei’s Teahouse.

After ordering tea on the first floor, Xiao Ran paused at the corner of the second-floor staircase upon hearing a woman’s complaints.

She stopped in her tracks.

“That wasn’t fair! You were feeding that girl tiles,” Wei Su accused Jiang Nan.

Xiao Ran didn’t understand, what was “feeding tiles”?

“You knew she was just a girl, yet you still tried to swindle her out of silver,” Jiang Nan retorted.

Xiao Ran froze, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Wei Su huffed, “When did I ever swindle anyone? If she lost, she’d just have to come to Wei’s Teahouse for tea, no silver involved. You cost me seven or eight taels! That’s enough for ten pots of tea.”

Jiang Nan replied, “Fine. I won’t charge you for the last batch of tea you bought from my shop.”

After hearing the exchange, Xiao Ran realized Jiang Nan had been helping her win. She bit her lower lip and quietly returned to the first floor.

________________________________________

Jiang Nan packed her things, preparing to spend a few days in Qu City to investigate the teahouse scene and scout locations.

This was the first time expanding the business to another province, and Jiang Nan felt it necessary to go herself.

Xiao Ran received the news and hurried over with a bundle in hand.

“Sister Jiang, could you give me a ride? This bag is full of pastries I made. We can eat them on the way.”

Jiang Nan looked at her.

Afraid that Jiang Nan might think it wasn’t enough, Xiao Ran quickly took out twenty taels of silver and a newly crafted pair of ornamental gourds.

Blushing, she lowered her head to avoid Jiang Nan’s gaze and asked softly, “Is that okay?”

Jiang Nan asked, “Didn’t you just go to Qu City not long ago?”

Xiao Ran fell silent for a moment before replying, “I forgot to bring something for my aunt last time.”

“I can help you deliver it,” Jiang Nan said, recalling how Xiao Ran had once tearfully claimed she got carsick.

Xiao Ran bit her lower lip, remembering the excuse she had casually made up back then.

In her urgency, she blurted out, “I suddenly miss the feeling of getting carsick.”

Jiang Nan: “…”

Fine.

Jiang Nan only accepted the gourds, telling Xiao Ran to keep the silver. She didn’t need that bit of money anyway.

The ornamental gourds were small, about five centimeters long, with an elegant shape and a delicate golden hue that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. The surface of the gourds was carved with two tea trees.

Jiang Nan had only ever played with beginner-level ornamental walnuts before and had never tried gourds. But the moment she held them, she was instantly captivated.

For the sake of these gourds, Jiang Nan agreed to take Xiao Ran along.

Jiang Nan’s trip was ostensibly for leisure, so she had only brought A-Jiu. With Xiao Ran joining them, there were now three people in the carriage.

Jiang Nan had never ridden in a carriage before and quickly grew nauseous. She lifted the curtain for fresh air and caught a glimpse of Xiao Ran sitting upright, showing no signs of motion sickness.

Xiao Ran handed her a plate of plums, which Jiang Nan ate to soothe her stomach.

The carriage moved swiftly, and before long, they arrived at the neighboring town, Shaoshui Town.

Shaoshui Town seemed to be celebrating something today. The streets were packed with people, all wearing joyful expressions.

Jiang Nan’s carriage was stuck in the middle of the road.

A-Jiu casually stopped a passerby to ask, “What’s happening in Shaoshui Town?”

The passerby replied, “Nothing major. It’s just that the rumored most handsome young man from the capital has returned to Shaoshui Town to visit his parents. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of the man who’s charmed so many noble ladies.”

Listening from inside the carriage, Jiang Nan had a thought.

Hadn’t the system mentioned arranging a chance encounter for Xiao Ran? Was it not over yet? Could it be that every time Xiao Ran left Yang City, it would automatically trigger?

Perhaps to confirm Jiang Nan’s suspicion, a commotion arose not far away.

The rumored young man rode in on a white horse, leisurely making his way from the distance. A crowd of men, women, and children surrounded him, following him of their own accord.

The spectacle was grand.

The young man was strikingly handsome, wearing a jade crown and a gentle smile that enchanted everyone around him.

The carriage was stuck on a remote path in Shaoshui Town, yet the crowd had somehow squeezed their way there. Jiang Nan could hear a few passersby wondering why the young man had chosen such an out-of-the-way route.

Jiang Nan turned to look at the girl beside her.

Xiao Ran was staring intently at the young man, her gaze unwavering.

A pang of discomfort struck Jiang Nan’s heart. She turned to A-Jiu and said, “Let’s stop here for now. We’ll move once the road clears.”

But Xiao Ran wasn’t looking at the young man. She was watching the girl beside him.

A bashful maiden passed by the handsome youth, and a small handkerchief slipped from her sleeve, fluttering to the ground.

The handsome young man saw this, dismounted, and picked up the handkerchief. Instead of returning it to her, he tucked it into his own sleeve. The woman’s eyes sparkled with delight.

The crowd let out a collective “wow,” casting envious and jealous glances at the young maiden.

Soon after, the young man and maiden walked side by side.

Xiao Ran felt she had learned something.

She vaguely recalled what her mother had once told her when she was still alive: If you fancy someone, walk past them and deliberately drop a handkerchief. If they are indifferent, they will either return it or ignore it. But if they have feelings, they will pick it up and keep it.

Her mother hadn’t been wrong, this trick actually worked.

Xiao Ran was fastidious and never let others touch her handkerchiefs. She had never tried this trick on anyone before. Even when she had accidentally dropped one at the Jiang residence, it had genuinely been a mistake. After Jiang Huai had threatened her last time, she knew he was lying. It hadn’t been touched by a beggar but she still found it unbearable and burned it in a fit of anger.

But now, witnessing this scene, Xiao Ran was tempted.

She wanted to give it a try.

Xiao Ran, Jiang Nan, and A Jiu got off the carriage to stretch their legs.

Jiang Nan went to a nearby stall and bought three steaming buns and a small basket of oranges, sharing them with the group. Then she sat on a stone bench, eating while watching the endless romantic dramas unfolding among the young men and women around them.

The opportunity had come.

Xiao Ran tightened her grip on her handkerchief.

She walked past Jiang Nan, pretending to be careless, and let the handkerchief fall just ahead of her.

To make it seem truly accidental, she couldn’t just stop in front of Jiang Nan. Xiao Ran took small, deliberate steps, moving a little farther away.

Jiang Nan watched her retreating figure with some confusion.

In an unfamiliar place, where was she going?

It took a while before Jiang Nan noticed the handkerchief on the ground.

She picked it up and examined it. Embroidered with plum blossoms, it looked exactly like the one Xiao Ran had been holding earlier.

A bitter feeling rose in Jiang Nan’s heart.

Was this meant for that handsome young man?

The more she stared at the handkerchief, the more unsettled she felt.

Jiang Nan wrapped an orange in the handkerchief and, without batting an eye, tucked it into the carriage.

A short while later, Xiao Ran returned.

She immediately spotted her handkerchief in Jiang Nan’s hand, and joy flashed across her face, only for her smile to fade slowly when she noticed Jiang Nan had used it to wrap an orange.

A Jiu asked Jiang Nan, “Master, why are you wrapping an orange in a handkerchief?”

“I just saw a clean handkerchief on the ground. I had a peeled orange with nowhere to put it, so I wrapped it up and brought it back,” Jiang Nan replied, avoiding Xiao Ran’s gaze. “Can’t waste food.”

A Jiu swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Since when had her master ever been this particular.

Xiao Ran sat to the side, her expression shifting unpredictably.

She hated oranges now!