The Real Daughter Needs Saving by This Vicious Female Cannon Fodder? - Chapter 11

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Gu Xia let out a yawn. Although she didn’t have any art academy classes today, she had made plans to meet two close friends for a meal.

At this thought, Gu Xia suddenly sat bolt upright!

She absolutely had to stop her two besties!

In this novel, her best friends were completely on her side, constantly bullying the female lead while trying to set her up with the male lead.

In the end, one met with family ruin and death, while the other fell into prostitution.

All thanks to the male lead’s doing.

As the female lead, Ning Anran looked down on her and these two supporting characters, but Ning Anran also disdained using such lowly methods.

The male lead’s actions in this clichéd Mary Sue novel were all justified as “removing obstacles for the female lead.”

Hah, this kind of refined social climber was utterly untrustworthy.

Later came an entire saga of misery—the male lead’s infidelity, followed by the classic “chasing his wife through cremation” trope.

But eventually, Ning Anran saw through the male lead’s true nature. After three years of intense battles of wits within Yuanye Group, she kicked him out of what was never rightfully his to begin with.

After becoming poor, the male lead had a change of heart.

He began pursuing Ning Anran again.

Yes, this was exactly how trashy the novel was.

Yet such emotionally manipulative stories were inexplicably popular. As the saying goes, even negative publicity is still publicity.

Just as Gu Xia was about to get out of bed, a clear voice sounded beside her. Ning Anran was holding her white socks.

“Put these on.”

She knelt on one knee, posture deliberately submissive.

Gu Xia was so startled she didn’t dare make a sound. Before her awakening, she had indeed made Ning Anran serve her like this—dressing her, putting on her shoes and socks.

Her butt felt weighed down by a thousand pounds, making it impossible to lift her foot.

“System! Save me! System!”

Screaming internally, Gu Xia was about to refuse when Ning Anran pulled back the blanket.

Slender fingers clasped her ankle. Already fully dressed, Ning Anran’s pitch-black eyes showed no emotion whatsoever.

As if helping Gu Xia with her socks was no different from solving a math problem.

“It’s quite cold today. You should wear thicker ones.”

The socks weren’t cold against her feet.

Ning Anran must have been holding them for a while.

“Um… I can do it myself.”

The thought of Ning Anran—whose hands would later sign billion-dollar contracts—being wasted on helping her with socks filled Gu Xia with guilt!

“Is my service unsatisfactory?”

“Second Miss Gu.”

Over the years, Ning Anran had grown accustomed to Gu Xia’s imperious demands.

Their relationship hadn’t always been this bad. It was only after Gu Xia met Cheng Chen and fell hopelessly in love that she began threatening Ning Anran in various ways.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“I just feel…”

Before she could finish, Ning Anran had already put on her other sock and was about to help her change clothes.

Gu Xia could no longer worry about being impolite to the female lead. She yanked the blanket aside and fled to the bathroom, clutching her chest.

In her haste, she even put her slippers on the wrong feet.

Staring at her flushed reflection in the bathroom mirror, Gu Xia rubbed her face, suddenly feeling like the worst person alive.

But having someone as beautiful as Ning Anran serving her first thing in the morning was undeniably tempting!

Had her awakening made her this desperate?!

No, no, it must be because Ning Anran is too good-looking, which is why she inexplicably feels her heart pounding wildly.

Seeing Gu Xia flee with her slippers on the wrong feet, Ning Anran grew puzzled—had she been too frightening this morning?

The faint dark circles under her eyes were from staying up all night.

Ning Anran was always on high alert, worried that Gu Xia might have some urgent need for her in the middle of the night. If she fell asleep, she wouldn’t be able to attend to her in time.

And that would only make Gu Xia even more demanding.

Well, it wasn’t like she was a mind reader—there was no way she could guess what was going through the Second Miss Gu’s head.

Fingers gripping the bedding, Ning Anran tidied up Gu Xia’s bedroom before laying out a few of the outfits Gu Xia usually liked to wear.

She had long grown accustomed to doing these things.

In the past, if Gu Xia didn’t force her, she wouldn’t have done them.

But after every humiliation, Gu Xia would give her a sum of money—money Ning Anran couldn’t afford to turn down.

She needed it to get by, and she needed it to pay her expensive university tuition.

Aside from the 20,000 spent on tuition, she hadn’t touched the rest of the money in her account.

But to repay Gu Xia for lending her the money, she was willing to play along with the Second Miss for a while.

Gu Lindong was always busy, and Gu Xia’s parents were hardly ever home, leaving Gu Xia alone in that enormous villa.

Their first meeting had been nothing more than two lonely souls crossing paths.

Standing still, Ning Anran watched the hazy silhouette behind the frosted glass of the bathroom shift closer, then farther away. She took a long stride forward.

Raising a hand, she knocked on the glass.

“Gu Xia, don’t hide in there.”

“It’s time to change.”

Hearing the female lead’s voice, Gu Xia’s restless pacing came to an abrupt halt. Well, now there was no way to keep hiding in the bathroom.

She had no choice but to steel herself and step out, silently cheering herself on.

Come on, Gu Xia, you can do this! If you don’t put in the effort today, tomorrow you’ll end up as shark food!

You have to stop that male lead—the one who turns you into mincemeat—from becoming the live-in son-in-law of Yuanye Group and gaining power!

Ugh, what a ridiculous…pep talk!

“Are you going somewhere today?”

Ning Anran simply handed her the clothes, this time making no move to help her change, holding them in the crook of her arm instead.

Gu Xia suddenly felt a little pathetic—why did she feel so empty now that Ning Anran wasn’t dressing her?

She really needed to be wary of sugar-coated bullets!

“I’m meeting friends for lunch. Do you have plans today, Ning Anran?”

Gu Xia’s tone had returned to normal, the flush on her cheeks fading as she fiddled with her clothes.

Glancing down at Ning Anran’s worn-out outfit, she added another item to her mental itinerary—maybe after lunch, she could take her shopping for some winter clothes.

“I have work this afternoon.”

“From around three to nine.”

“Other than that, I’m free. The Second Miss should still remember my number, right?”

“If you need me, just call.”

Having laid out her schedule, Ning Anran realized it had been a long time since she last knew what a day off felt like.

She was numb, like a millstone that never stopped turning, grinding out nothing but her own bl00d and tears.

“Then, which store do you work at… I mean, I could come find you directly if I wanted to.”

Gu Xia nearly blurted out that she wanted to get Ning Anran a better job, but then she realized—wouldn’t forcibly interfering with the female lead’s work make her no different from before?

So, she decided that after learning who the female lead’s boss was, she could properly put in a good word. At worst, she could slip them a few red envelopes to convince the boss to give the female lead a few days of paid leave.

Hmm, not bad. This plan was quite brilliant!