After the Paranoid Female Lead Lost Her Memory, She Insisted on Pursuing This Cannon Fodder - Chapter 23

After Lin Zhaoyue finished washing up and reached the top of the stairs, her nose suddenly caught a tantalizing aroma.

In the dining room, a slender figure stood with her back to her, busily working at the table.

The person wore a pink apron trimmed with lace, her long hair tied back with a ribbon, revealing a stretch of fair, graceful neck.

Hearing footsteps, the figure turned around.

It was Shen Yuan.

“Zhaoyue, you’re awake!” Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up at the sight of her, and a gentle smile bloomed on her face. “Perfect timing! I just finished making lunch.”

Lin Zhaoyue paused, her gaze falling on the table.

The long dining table, which could seat over a dozen people, was now laden with a variety of dishes.

Unlike the Lin Family chef’s elaborate Western-style or traditional banquet fare, the dishes on the table looked more like… home-cooked meals? Yet they were prepared with extraordinary care.

The braised pork glistened with a rich, inviting red-brown hue, its oily sheen radiating warmth. The steamed fish was garnished with vibrant green scallions and crimson chili threads, promising tender, savory bites. Beside it lay a plate of golden-crisp fried shrimp, a bowl of emerald-green stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a pot of creamy, milky-white bone broth that looked like it had been simmering for hours.

Each dish was exquisitely plated, steaming hot, and clearly freshly cooked.

Lin Zhaoyue unconsciously swallowed, her stomach betraying her with a loud rumble.

Shen Yuan clearly heard it, her smile deepening. She untied her apron and smoothly pulled out the chair beside Lin Zhaoyue.

“Come, try some. I’m not sure if it’s to your taste, I just whipped up a few things…”

Lin Zhaoyue didn’t hesitate. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for a villainess to treat the main heroine like a servant?

With that thought, she picked up a piece of braised pork and popped it into her mouth.

It melted on her tongue, rich yet not greasy, perfectly balanced between salty and sweet, with a deep, savory aroma…

Mmm, this is heavenly!

Shen Yuan stood beside her, not sitting down, watching Lin Zhaoyue eat with a tender gaze that seemed to drip with affection. She occasionally added more food to Lin Zhaoyue’s plate, who was so entranced by the deliciousness that she forgot to refuse.

As she served the dishes, Shen Yuan casually remarked:

“Oh, Zhaoyue, last night… after you fell asleep, it looked like someone sent you a message. And the notification that popped up on your lock screen said… ‘fiancé’?”

“Pfft—cough cough cough!”

Lin Zhaoyue choked on a pork rib, coughing violently.

What the hell?!

Fiancé?!

Where did she get a fiancé?!

Lin Zhaoyue stared blankly at Shen Yuan, her mind freezing for several seconds.

She frantically searched her memories, and fragmented information slowly surfaced.

It seems… maybe… as if… there was something like that?

In the original novel, since there was a cannon fodder female supporting character named Lin Zhaoyue at the beginning, there naturally had to be a corresponding cannon fodder male supporting character.

The cannon fodder female supporting character was responsible for relentlessly bullying the main heroine, while the cannon fodder male supporting character was responsible for relentlessly pursuing the main heroine.

The ending was predictable: both were deservedly crushed by the powerful main heroine.

That man’s name was… what was it again?

System: Lu Ren.

Lin Zhaoyue: Ah, right, Lu Ren!

After transmigrating, she was so overwhelmed by the mess she’d inherited that she completely forgot about this person.

In the original plot, Lu Ren was essentially a lapdog of the Lin Family, eager to curry favor. The villainess, to make Lin Wangba jealous, had deliberately bribed him to publicly claim he was her fiancé. They later formed a partnership: whenever she’d bullied Shen Yuan enough, she’d have Lu Ren stage a “hero saves the damsel” scene.

But now that she no longer needed to bother with Lin Wangba, this fiancé was entirely unnecessary.

Lin Zhaoyue grabbed her phone and tapped the familiar green chat app icon.

Her fingers flew across the screen, and sure enough, a conversation window topped the list, its glaringly obvious contact name screaming at her:

“Fiancé”

“Ugh—”

What idiot set this ridiculous nickname?

She muttered a curse under her breath, not even caring that Shen Yuan was watching. Her fingers stabbed furiously at the screen.

She found the notes section and fiercely deleted those three words. Then, with a blank expression, she typed in his real name:

“Lu Jun”

She confirmed the change.

Only after completing this did she feel like she had finally cleared away the trash. She let out a sigh of relief and returned to her chat interface with Lu Jun.

There were two new messages.

One had been sent late last night, or rather, at 00:05 this morning: “Still awake? Let’s have lunch together tomorrow.”

Lin Zhaoyue didn’t even glance at this message before scrolling down.

The other message, timestamped just five minutes ago, read: “Almost there.”

“What?!” Lin Zhaoyue nearly threw her phone. “How could he be here so soon?! Now?!”

She instinctively jerked her head up, her gaze immediately locking onto Shen Yuan across the room.

No! I can’t let them meet!

“Um… you!” Lin Zhaoyue put down her phone, forcing herself to appear calm as she pointed upstairs. “Go up there for a bit!”

Shen Yuan paused mid-motion with her soup spoon, lifting her luminous peach-blossom eyes. A layer of confusion quickly clouded her gaze.

“Why? Is that ‘fiancé’ coming? Why should I hide? Zhaoyue, do you care more about that ‘fiancé’? Is that why you don’t want him to see me?”

Lin Zhaoyue: “……”

This hat was so embarrassing she wanted to die right there and then!

“He’s not a guest! He’s a salesman selling insurance!” Lin Zhaoyue blurted out in desperation. “He’s so annoying! Go upstairs before he tries to corner you!”

Shen Yuan blinked, clearly unconvinced. “An insurance salesman would come all the way here? Sigh, you don’t have to lie to me…”

“……”

Why is her IQ suddenly spiking? Seeing that reasoning was futile, Lin Zhaoyue lowered her voice and resorted to bribery.

“If you go upstairs and hide quietly right now—not a peep!—until I get rid of him, I’ll let you… let you… sleep a little closer to me tonight!”

Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up, but she immediately pouted, as if the offer wasn’t quite satisfactory. Mimicking Lin Zhaoyue, she leaned closer, her warm breath brushing against Lin Zhaoyue’s ear.

“Just a little closer? That doesn’t sound like enough, does it?”

Lin Zhaoyue felt her ears burning. She suppressed the urge to shove Shen Yuan away and gritted her teeth. “Then what do you want?!”

Shen Yuan’s eyes curved into a mischievous smile, like a cat who’d just stolen the cream. She reached out with her pale hand and gently took hold of Lin Zhaoyue’s wrist.

“Could we… hold hands while we sleep?”

Lin Zhaoyue: Sister System! She’s taking advantage of me!

System: This isn’t the first time she’s pulled this stunt. Given how skillfully she’s taking advantage of you, Host, you should shoulder 50% of the blame.

Lin Zhaoyue glared at Shen Yuan’s innocent, pure-hearted act, nearly grinding her teeth to dust.

But the situation was pressing, leaving no room for hesitation.

“Fine, fine! Now, hurry upstairs!”

Only then did Shen Yuan smile contentedly, obediently rising to her feet.

“Alright, I’ll do as Zhaoyue says.”

She leisurely straightened her collar, her movements unhurried as she strolled toward the staircase.

If she hadn’t learned last night that these two had no connection, she would never have agreed. Shen Yuan congratulated herself for sending that message, which had earned her this leverage to push her luck.

However, just as she stepped onto the first stair—

“Young Miss, a Mr. Lu has arrived.”

Lin Zhaoyue whipped around to see Aunt Wang standing there, her face radiating “I’ve got the gossip, but I’m trying not to laugh.”

Behind her stood a man in a sharply tailored suit.

It was Lu Jun.

Shen Yuan, who had just reached the foot of the stairs, also heard the announcement. She paused, turned, and her gaze locked with Lu Jun’s as he entered the dining room.

Lin Zhaoyue: “……”

Ha ha, why don’t you just kill me already?