After the Paranoid Female Lead Lost Her Memory, She Insisted on Pursuing This Cannon Fodder - Chapter 31

Crash—clatter!

The tray tilted, sending the desserts and orange juice tumbling off balance.

The cheesecake and mango mousse rolled off the edge, splattering onto the grimy floor, instantly becoming unrecognizable and blending into the surrounding mess.

The full glass of orange juice arced through the air in a clumsy arc, landing squarely on the edge of the booth—soaking Lin Zhaoyue’s expensive white lambskin stilettos.

The orange liquid instantly saturated the pristine white leather, leaving large, glaringly sticky stains.

The air seemed to freeze.

At least, it froze for the three Young Masters, who never missed a chance for drama.

Especially the one who had just grabbed Shen Yuan. Damn it, he thought, I’ve pissed off Miss Lin. Everyone knew Miss Lin had a notoriously short temper. How many people who crossed her had ended up well?

But after a brief moment of panic, his eyes darted around, and he quickly regained his composure. He remembered he had a scapegoat right beside him. He abruptly released Shen Yuan, took a step back to distance himself, and pointed at her, shouting:

“Damn it! Look at the mess you’ve made! Clumsy oaf! You can’t even hold a plate steady! How dare you even touch Miss Lin’s precious shoes?!”

The other two Young Masters immediately understood the situation and joined in the chorus of condemnation:

“Exactly! Look at you, so clumsy and unsteady! No wonder you caused this!”

“Yeah, yeah! You’ve made our Young Miss Lin unhappy! You’re in for a world of trouble now! These shoes are a limited edition, you know!”

After her initial shock, Lin Zhaoyue stared at her soaking wet shoes, then at the two unrecognizable blobs of dessert on the floor. A vein throbbed at her temple.

Couldn’t they have waited until she’d gotten her dessert before starting trouble?!

System: Host, calm down! Now’s not the time to mourn the cake! Focus on the mission! The mission!

Oh, right, the mission.

The plot was late, but it had finally arrived. Though the details were slightly off—like the tragic sacrifice of her beloved dessert—the overall outcome remained the same.

Now was her moment to shine as the “villainess.”

Lin Zhaoyue slowly lowered her head, her gaze settling on her drenched, limited-edition heels. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she forced herself to adopt an expression of disdain… though a faint hint of sorrow for the lost dessert seemed to linger beneath the contempt.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and order another one… and clean this up!”

Lin Zhaoyue nearly slipped up again, silently wiping a mental bead of sweat. She forced herself to steer the conversation back on track.

Turning her head away, Lin Zhaoyue felt uneasy at the thought of Shen Yuan’s impending display of servility.

“Alright!” Shen Yuan replied cheerfully.

Without even reaching for a napkin, she dropped to one knee on the cold floor with a thud. Her movements were as swift as a tiger pouncing on its prey after eight hundred years of starvation, seizing Lin Zhaoyue’s ankle in an instant!

Lin Zhaoyue: “…??!!!”

Wait… isn’t this development a little too strange?!

If you’re just cleaning my shoes, why are you grabbing my foot?!

Before Lin Zhaoyue could react, Shen Yuan was already cradling her ankle like a priceless treasure. With one hand, she deftly reached for the delicate shoe buckle, muttering excitedly under her breath:

“It’s okay, Zhaoyue, don’t move. I’ll take your shoes off and wipe you down properly. This orange juice has sugar, so it’ll get even stickier when it dries. I’ll wipe you inside and out! I’ll make sure you’re sparkling clean…”

As she spoke, she inexplicably licked her lips.

Lin Zhaoyue: ???

“Y-y-you—stop it!!!”

Lin Zhaoyue finally snapped out of her daze, her cheeks flushing crimson, whether from anger or embarrassment she couldn’t tell. She tried to jerk her foot back as if electrocuted, but Shen Yuan’s grip was like a vise, as if welded in place.

“Who told you to take my shoes off?! Wipe—just wipe the outside with a tissue! Do you hear me?!”

Was this even part of the original plot? Lin Zhaoyue now seriously suspected that Shen Yuan had deliberately spilled the juice on her just to get an excuse to touch her!

“Ah…?”

Shen Yuan’s movements froze. She looked up, the excited glint in her eyes dimming noticeably, replaced by a palpable… disappointment?

“…Just the outside?” she asked, her voice tinged with reluctance.

“Of course! What else would you do?!”

Lin Zhaoyue felt her toes curling up in mortification. What was even happening?!

“Oh…”

Shen Yuan pouted, slowly releasing her hand from the buckle she had been about to undo. But the hand gripping her ankle remained firmly in place. She grabbed a handful of tissues from a nearby table, lowered her head, and began wiping the orange juice from the shoe’s surface with resigned, yet meticulous care.

Her movements were still gentle and focused, but her expression clearly conveyed a deep regret: Ah, what a pity we couldn’t take this further.

The three Young Masters watching this increasingly bizarre scene shifted from amusement to bewilderment, their faces settling into a dazed expression that seemed to ask, Who am I? Where am I? What am I even watching?

But seeing Shen Yuan meekly wiping the shoe, they quickly regained their “spoiled rich kids” personas, cleared their throats, and resumed their arrogant demeanor.

“You’re actually wiping it? Hey, little sister, this isn’t something you can just wipe off. This delicate lambskin soaks up juice instantly. Wiping it won’t do any good—the shoe’s ruined!”

“Exactly! These luxury items are designed for single use. They never consider cleaning when they make them. If you can’t wipe it clean, you might as well just replace the pair.”

“Haha, to be fair, Miss Lin, even if you worked for a year, you probably couldn’t afford to replace those shoes.”

Shen Yuan paused her wiping, looked up at the three men still chattering away, then glanced at Lin Zhaoyue. A look of sudden realization crossed her face, quickly followed by a troubled expression.

She sighed and said in an utterly innocent yet matter-of-fact tone, “If I can’t afford to replace them… then there’s nothing I can do.”

She shrugged, set down the tissue, and then, with a perfectly straight face, looked up at Lin Zhaoyue, knelt on one knee, and declared with deep sincerity, “Then I’ll just have to offer myself in compensation for Zhaoyue’s shoes.”

Lin Zhaoyue: “?”

The three Young Masters: “?”

Is this plot development moving a little too fast?!