When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 36

The room was dim, devoid of candlelight, the atmosphere thick with ambiguity. The chirping of sparrows outside the window had also ceased at some point.

Jiang Nan leaned against the desk, her collar damp and disheveled, adorned with a strikingly lifelike blue phoenix. Her eyes were lowered, her gaze tracing the contours of Xiao Ran’s lips with delicate precision.

Her left arm loosely encircled Xiao Ran, while her right hand gently cradled the back of her head.

Thud—thud—

The sudden knocking on the window shattered the moment between them.

With a whoosh, someone opened the window.

“Ran’er, you—”

The woman abruptly stopped speaking upon noticing another person in the room.

The three of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Xiao Wan silently observed them. One leaning against the desk, the other pressing close to her chest, both faces flushed with an unnatural hue. Her expression instantly turned peculiar.

With a snap, she closed the window again.

Startled by the noise, Jiang Nan withdrew her hand, and Xiao Ran took half a step back, putting some distance between them.

An inexplicable sense of regret welled up in Jiang Nan’s heart.

Softly, she murmured, “The blue phoenix is very beautiful.”

Xiao Ran glanced at her, eyes brimming with emotion, then lowered her gaze slightly and gave a faint hum of agreement. Neither seemed to know what to say next.

“I—” Xiao Ran began, but the window creaked open again, this time just a sliver.

A muffled voice came from outside, “Ran’er, come out for a moment.”

Xiao Ran glanced at Jiang Nan and stepped out.

Xiao Wan led her a short distance away, behind a locust tree, and asked what the two of them had been doing.

Xiao Ran bit her lower lip, her hands fidgeting nervously. “N-nothing much,” she stammered. “J-just. Sister Jiang shielded me from some dye a troublemaker threw, and I embroidered a pattern for her.”

“What exactly is your relationship?” Xiao Wan pressed.

“W-we’re not, not anything special…” Xiao Ran’s ears turned as pink as peach blossoms as she vehemently denied it.

Xiao Wan sighed and took her hand. “Alright, I’m not scolding you. Look, you’ve nearly plucked this flower bare.”

Xiao Ran looked beside her. Sure enough, the once lush and blooming white camellia was now stripped down to a bare stem. She quickly dropped her hand.

“All I’m saying is, if you like her, that’s fine. But you two should still follow the proper customs, like any other couple, before sharing a room like that. Otherwise, what will people think if they see you?”

“I don’t care. Besides, Sister Jiang and I are different from others.”

“How so? Your aunt may not understand these things, but I believe feelings are all the same. Even if you truly are different, you should still do things properly to show others you’re serious, not just acting on a whim or fooling around.”

Xiao Ran lowered her head, pondering Xiao Wan’s words.

But Sister Jiang might not be willing…

Jiang Nan had intended to bid Xiao Ran farewell before leaving, but an urgent matter arose.

Once outside the estate, she rubbed her temples and spoke impatiently to the voice in her head, “Stop nagging. If you have something to say, say it.”

The system had been clamoring incessantly in her mind since earlier.

Unable to bear it any longer, she had stepped out first.

The system’s voice abruptly stopped. After a pause, it spoke in a cold, mechanical tone, “The host’s attitude toward this system has grown increasingly hostile. What has this system done wrong?”

“…”

“Get to the point.”

The system said, “The reason I returned from another parallel world is.”

Beep

A noise like static buzzed incessantly in Jiang Nan’s mind.

A few minutes later, the sound stopped.

Jiang Nan called out to the system again.

Her mind was eerily silent not a single sound remained.

Jiang Nan was speechless. After disturbing her for so long, it hadn’t even finished speaking before disappearing.

Before long, she brushed the matter aside. Since the system hadn’t returned, she figured it couldn’t have been anything important.

________________________________________

The scene at Wanbao Teahouse was bleak.

Without the tea leaves that Qu City residents usually drank, the teahouse had lost more than half its customers in just two days.

Wan Jie sat inside, sighing heavily.

The plump manager advised him to swallow his pride and apologize to Jiang Nan maybe she’d forgive him.

Wan Jie shook his head. “This isn’t about forgiveness. No! Why should I beg for her forgiveness? I’d just be asking for trouble.”

He knew full well that even if he apologized, it wouldn’t make a difference. That woman was clearly settling a personal grudge paying him back for all the nonsense he’d spouted in the past.

He was certain she’d come back to the teahouse today.

But he was wrong.

Jiang Nan never returned to Wanbao Teahouse again, as if she had completely given up on it.

________________________________________

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and another half-month slipped by.

One good thing was that Qin Wan’s arm and leg injuries had improved.

Her arm still couldn’t lift heavy objects, but she could manage simple tasks—eating, drinking, writing letters, and the like. Though her leg still made her limp slightly, she could walk on her own now, even covering several kilometers without issue.

As Jiang Nan packed her belongings for the return trip to Yang City, she asked Qin Wan, “Are you really not coming back with us?”

Qin Wan, helping her gather things, grinned and said, “Nope! Big Sis, I want to stay in Qu City to recover properly. Maybe soon, I can set out on my journey again.”

Jiang Nan looked up at her radiant expression and seemed to see the future leader of the imperial merchant fleet, overseeing trade across the nation. She smiled. “You definitely can and you’ll do an amazing job.”

“How amazing? Even better than Uncle Qin, who I know?”

“No one in the entire country will do it better than you.”

Qin Wan gasped. “Really?”

Her imagination ran wild, her grin stretching wide. “If that’s true, then I’ll spread Big Sis’s name and goods across the land! I’ll make sure you have more silver than you could ever spend!”

Having emerged from her gloom, Qin Wan was still that bright, fearless young soul.

After her burst of excitement, she rushed over and hugged Jiang Nan tightly. “Thank you, Big Sis. From now on, you’ll always, always be family to me.”

When she spotted Xiao Ran approaching with a bundle in hand, Qin Wan also gave her a hug. “And thank you too, Sister Xiao or should I say, Sister-in-law? Without all the delicious food you brought me these past days, I wouldn’t have recovered so quickly.”

Xiao Ran stiffened slightly but smiled softly. “Mm. It was my duty.”

Once the packing was done, Jiang Nan and Xiao Ran set off for Yang City.

As the carriage gradually left Qu City’s borders, a lone figure stood in the distance, waving vigorously to bid them farewell.

At the same time, Xiao Wan suddenly received a return gift from Jiang Nan.

When she opened the chest, she was met with a dazzling array of treasures. Gold-threaded pillows, ice-silk fabric, emeralds an entire chestful, far more valuable than what she had given Jiang Nan.

Resting her hand on the vermilion lacquered lid, she stood frozen for a long moment before finally letting out a soft, stunned laugh.

This time, the journey was faster. In just half a day, they arrived in Yang City.

Fang Rui saw Jiang Nan and immediately stopped calculating the accounts in her hands, rushing out to greet her with great enthusiasm. “Boss, you’re finally back! You said you’d only be gone for half a month, but who knew it would turn into two months!!!”

Behind her followed Yu Qian.

Yu Qian gave a slight bow to Jiang Nan. “Manager.”

Jiang Nan nodded and asked Fang Rui, “How’s the situation at Cangfang Tower?”

“Same as before,” Fang Rui replied excitedly. “Boss, was there anything fun in Qu City? Did you encounter any interesting stories? I want to hear all about it!”

Jiang Nan smiled. “I’ll tell you later. I need to go back to the Jiang residence to fetch some things.”

On her way back to the estate, she unfortunately ran into Jiang Huai outside the courtyard.

Ever since Jiang Huai had been angered by Xiao Ran and learned that Yu Qian was working at Jiang Nan’s teahouse to support herself living better and better. He had developed a deep resentment toward Jiang Nan.

This time, when he saw her, his words were dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, so the young mistress finally remembers to come home. Where have you been gallivanting all this time?”

Jiang Nan ignored him and took a step to the left. Jiang Huai mirrored her movement. She stepped to the right, and he did the same.

A-Jiu’s expression turned icy, her hand moving to draw her sword. Jiang Nan stopped her and pulled out a small gray cloth pouch from her sleeve, smiling. “Cousin, you’ve arrived just in time. I bought something interesting for you in Qu City. Care to see what it is?”

Hearing this, Jiang Huai’s interest was piqued.

He stepped forward and opened the gray cloth, revealing a somewhat flat box. He looked at Jiang Nan in confusion, and she gestured for him to open it.

Jiang Huai did so. Inside, there seemed to be a small toy, but he couldn’t quite make it out. Leaning in for a closer look, suddenly a round object shot out, hitting him squarely in the cheek.

Jiang Huai yelped in pain, stars flashing before his eyes. “Ow, ow, ow! Jiang Nan, what the hell is this?!”

Jiang Nan looked at him in feigned surprise, then at the box, adopting a troubled expression. “Oh dear, my apologies. I forgot to mention, it pops out when opened.”

Jiang Huai fumed. “You did that on purpose!”

Jiang Nan, of course, denied it.

She shoved the item into his hands and left.

After retrieving some things from the estate, she returned to Cangfang Tower. To her surprise, Jiang Huai followed her and ended up crossing paths with Xiao Ran outside the tower.

When Fang Rui informed her, Jiang Nan couldn’t sit still. She silently scolded herself for letting her guard down and hurried downstairs.

Xiao Ran, seeing Jiang Huai blocking her way, was far from pleased. At this point, even speaking a single word to him felt like a waste of breath.

“Master Jiang, please do not obstruct my path,” she said stiffly.

Jiang Huai was momentarily taken aback. He circled Xiao Ran a few times before scoffing. “Jiang Nan has truly corrupted you. You’d never have dared to speak like this before.”

Xiao Ran’s expression grew even colder. “Sister Jiang is your elder cousin. You should address her with respect. Calling her by name is both impolite and improper.”

Jiang Huai, stung by her retort, snapped, “You’re taking her side? Look at my face, she hit me! She bullied me first!!”

A fist-sized red mark, slightly swollen, marred his left cheek, making his face look uneven and rather comical.

Jiang Nan arrived just in time to hear Jiang Huai tattling to Xiao Ran.

Her heart clenched, and she immediately wanted to explain.

But then she heard the girl’s soft, earnest voice. “If she bullied you, then you must have done something wrong. Have you apologized?”

Jiang Huai: “…”

Jiang Nan froze, feeling a warm current slowly flow through her heart.

…Did she really trust her that much?

Jiang Huai turned around angrily and stormed off: “You’re utterly hopeless.”

“Wait.” Jiang Nan stepped forward, smiling. “Cousin, why don’t you stay for a while before leaving?”

She gave Fang Rui a meaningful glance. Fang Rui stepped forward with a cheerful smile, inviting Jiang Huai for tea.

Naturally, Jiang Huai assumed Jiang Nan was treating him. Fang Rui introduced several of the most expensive teas, and with a grand gesture, he ordered multiple pots of the priciest ones. When he couldn’t finish them, he even invited the men next door to join.

As the hour grew late and it was time to return home, Fang Rui happily came to settle the bill.

In the end, he reluctantly handed over two hundred taels of silver before leaving.

The Jiang family had recently tightened their control over Jiang Huai, giving him only enough allowance for daily expenses. Two hundred taels was already three months’ worth of his savings.

The sun set in the west.

Jiang Nan lay back in her chair, watching the drifting clouds in the sky.

Suddenly, the voice of the system echoed in her mind; cold, yet with an unexpected urgency.

“Host, I must tell you, something has happened, something very serious!”