After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead's Stepmother (GL) - Chapter 9

For the first time, Jiang Zhaolie felt like she was being teased by someone else. This sensation left her feeling both humiliated and strangely conflicted. She didn’t know how to describe it, only that Xu Chun was being utterly unreasonable and obstinate right now, and she was increasingly at a loss for how to handle her.

Jiang Zhaolie finally fell silent, much to Xu Chun’s satisfaction. “Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just behaved like this from the start?”

Before Xu Chun could even finish speaking, Jiang Zhaolie shot her a glare. Uncharacteristically, she didn’t retort. Instead, she silently walked over to pick up the car keys and the envelope containing grocery money, looking as though Xu Chun had thoroughly subdued her.

When Yu Sui’an arrived to join them, she immediately noticed the odd tension between the two or more accurately, Jiang Zhaolie’s uncharacteristic awkwardness. Without a word, she studied Xu Chun for a long moment before subtly moving closer to Jiang Zhaolie. “Zhaolie, Sister, let’s go.”

Xu Chun gave a perfunctory nod and strode ahead to the parking lot, pulling open the car door and sliding into the backseat without hesitation. Jiang Zhaolie, gripping the keys, took the driver’s seat, while Yu Sui’an hesitated, unsure whether she should sit beside Jiang Zhaolie or Xu Chun.

After inserting the key, Jiang Zhaolie noticed Yu Sui’an’s hesitation. She paused, blinking slowly before looking up. “Sui’an, why aren’t you getting in?”

Xu Chun’s ears perked up at this, and her mind reeled was this really something an outsider like her should be hearing? She couldn’t help but stare at Jiang Zhaolie with a strange expression.

Her gaze was so intense that Jiang Zhaolie couldn’t ignore it. Reflexively, she glanced at Xu Chun through the rearview mirror, only to find the other woman wearing a peculiar, hesitant look. It took Jiang Zhaolie a second to realize what was going on, and half her face flushed red with anger. “Xu Chun, what the hell is going on in your head all day?!”

Was that tiny brain of hers filled with nothing but dirty thoughts and nonsense?

Xu Chun had the decency to look a little sheepish under Jiang Zhaolie’s scolding. She blinked innocently and lied without hesitation. “Of course, I was thinking about you and Sui’an.” She raised a hand to cover her mouth in an exaggerated gesture. “Who else would I be thinking about? You two are the only women I’ve ever genuinely liked in my life.”

With utmost seriousness, she raised her other hand. “I swear, I’m not lying at all.”

Jiang Zhaolie was rendered speechless. For fvck’s sake, could you just stop being so shameless?

Yu Sui’an turned her head slightly, her gaze settling on Xu Chun. The woman sat with her legs crossed, leaning lazily against the seat, her dark, bright eyes accentuated by flawless makeup. Unlike the cold, aloof impression she had given when they first met, there was now an alluring, almost seductive air about her as if one more glance would drown in the depths of her expressive gaze.

She had changed so much, it was almost like she had been reborn into an entirely different person. Yu Sui’an quietly reflected.

As Yu Sui’an took her seat, Jiang Zhaolie instinctively reached out to fasten her seatbelt, but under Xu Chun’s burning stare, she restrained herself. Xu Chun, however, wasn’t pleased. Ever the instigator, she egged Jiang Zhaolie on. “Don’t chicken out now. If you love someone, you should pursue them boldly. I clearly saw you reaching out, why did you pull back? Tell me, what are you afraid of?”

“Ah… Don’t tell me you suddenly remembered you should care about my feelings right now?” Xu Chun had an epiphany. “But actually, I don’t care at all. I’m not sad or upset in the slightest, because my heart has long turned cold and numb, stiff as a stone…”

Her incessant chatter was unbearable. Jiang Zhaolie couldn’t take it anymore and instinctively lowered his voice to roar at her, “Xu Chun, shut the hell up!”

The backseat fell silent for a moment before Xu Chun’s voice came through, choked with tears. “You yelled at me? You actually yelled at me? So after being together for so long, you’ve grown tired of me and don’t cherish me anymore.” Xu Chun couldn’t help but wipe away the nonexistent tears at the corners of her eyes. “Jiang Zhaolie, I finally see you for who you are today!”

Jiang Zhaolie: “…”

(I’ll fucking crash this car.jpg)

Dragging his battered heart along, Jiang Zhaolie started the car. The supermarket wasn’t far, but driving would still take a good while. After her dramatic outburst, Xu Chun casually pulled out her phone to check messages. Since waking up, she had been entangled with Jiang Zhaolie and Xu Chun, leaving her no time to properly surf the internet.

As the backseat quieted down, Jiang Zhaolie focused on driving ahead, while Yu Sui’an glanced at the rearview mirror, a faint, fleeting smile playing on her pale lips.

Xu Chun first checked her agent’s messages plenty of them, ranging from work to personal relationships. One thing was clear: stay away from Yu Sui’an.

In the agent’s eyes, Yu Sui’an, with her deceptive innocent-flower persona, had a peculiar trait anyone who got close to her would eventually have their luck drained, plagued by misfortune and bad luck. Meanwhile, Yu Sui’an herself would thrive as if nourished, growing stronger day by day until she had sucked everyone around her dry.

There were other specific manifestations, which the uninformed agent couldn’t quite articulate, but Xu Chun knew all too well: Yu Sui’an possessed the protagonist’s halo.

This halo wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, but it wasn’t weak either. Perhaps the protagonist came from a poor, destitute background, but she made up for it with an unyielding, stubborn heart, coupled with the favor of fate and her own charisma. Her career and love life would flourish as if blessed by the gods, inciting envy. Yu Sui’an was precisely such a character, her protagonist halo elevated to the extreme.

In the future, Yu Sui’an would rise to meteoric fame, her career soaring. She would even marry a promising young heir like Jiang Zhaolie, bear their love’s fruit, and enjoy a blissful old age, a textbook life winner.

After comparing their fates in her mind, Xu Chun couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Compared to the fortunate Yu Sui’an, she was nothing but an unloved, pitiful wretch who could be kicked around anytime, anywhere.

The thought that the person who had ruined her current life was sitting right in front of her made Xu Chun glare at her fiercely. Jiang Zhaolie, who had been peacefully listening to music and driving, finally calming down, suddenly felt Xu Chun’s murderous gaze and was genuinely baffled. “?”

She hadn’t done anything to provoke her just now.

…Wait, could it be because Sui’an was sitting beside her, making Xu Chun jealous? Jiang Zhaolie sneered inwardly. What right did someone who had shattered Sui’an’s heart into pieces have to be unhappy now?

Xu Chun glared at Jiang Zhaolie before averting her gaze. Her manager’s words had reminded her since Yu Sui’an and Jiang Zhaolie were the unchangeable protagonists destined to fall in love, marry, and have children, then as the nominal villainess, she simply needed to avoid causing trouble during their courtship, marriage, and family life.

Not only should she not interfere, but she should actively play matchmaker for them.

If she stopped stirring up trouble, could she avoid the tragic ending written for her in the book? Xu Chun rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought. Yu Sui’an happened to glance back and saw the woman in the rear seat, her bright eyes gleaming with an almost dazzling brilliance, her entire face radiant.

Yu Sui’an froze for a moment, her gaze inexplicably drawn to Xu Chun as if under a spell.

She seemed… even more beautiful than before.

The more Xu Chun thought about it, the more she felt like a clever little genius. Clearing her throat, she lifted her eyes, ready to continue her matchmaking mission, only to unexpectedly meet Yu Sui’an’s gaze in the rearview mirror. She stiffened slightly, then instinctively licked her dry lips, her mind instantly on high alert.

What was the female lead plotting now?

Was she still secretly scheming to ruin Xu Chun’s reputation and turn everyone against her?

Xu Chun shuddered. No way! I think we can still talk this out! Her eyes flickered away briefly before she steeled herself and looked back. Well, if that’s the case, she might as well start with Yu Sui’an.

“Suisui, actually, Zhaolie is a really good person.”

Jiang Zhaolie, suddenly hearing her name: “?”

“We grew up together, childhood sweethearts. Aside from her parents, I’m the one who knows her best in this world. Usually, if she so much as lifts a finger, I can tell exactly what she’s thinking.”

Jiang Zhaolie: “…” Rude much?

She whipped her head around, brows furrowed. “Xu Chun, what are you up to now?” She was thoroughly sick of Xu Chun’s erratic behavior. If not for basic human decency, she’d have grabbed Xu Chun by the scruff of her neck and tossed her out of the car.

Xu Chun ignored Jiang Zhaolie. In the book, Jiang Zhaolie was just a henpecked husband anyway, obedient to Yu Sui’an in all matters, big and small. Xu Chun remembered clearly after marriage, Jiang Zhaolie had to hand over her entire salary to Yu Sui’an, who then doled out a pitiful allowance, leaving her practically penniless.

So, since Jiang Zhaolie would ultimately listen to Yu Sui’an, Xu Chun just needed to win Yu Sui’an over.

She cleared her throat again and continued, “Suisui, don’t let her rough exterior fool you. Sure, she’s rude, inconsiderate, and a bit of a chauvinist, but after all these years together, I can confidently say she’s just a paper tiger. If you’re firm with her and lay down the law, she’ll fall in line in no time.”

Jiang Zhaolie could tell Xu Chun was trying hard to help her make a good impression on Yu Sui’an. But the things she was saying… made it hard to tell whether she was praising her or subtly insulting her.

Moreover, she didn’t believe Xu Chun would suddenly become so eager to help her without reason. Clearly, Xu Chun would rather see her and Suisui grow apart until they became strangers only then could Xu Chun seize the opportunity to meddle and win Suisui’s heart back.

Yu Sui’an showed no reaction, so Xu Chun thought her flattery hadn’t been effusive enough. She racked her brains to heap more praise on Jiang Zhaolie, and this time, Yu Sui’an finally responded. Slowly raising her face, her gaze fixed intently on Xu Chun.

Leaning against the car door with the window half-open, Xu Chun was bathed in golden sunlight streaming in from outside, her entire body seemingly coated in a soft, radiant glow. The rosy hue emanating from Xu Chun’s fair skin momentarily dazzled Yu Sui’an, and the well-prepared retort she had in mind involuntarily transformed into,  “Oh? So Zhaolie is that wonderful in your eyes?”

She heard an uncontrollable trace of jealousy seep into her words. “Then shouldn’t you like her even more?”

Though Yu Sui’an’s tone was calm and unreadable, Xu Chun’s eyes widened in panic. Oh no! That’s not what I meant! I wasn’t deliberately flaunting my childhood friendship with Jiang Zhaolie!

Believe me!