The Real Daughter Needs Saving by This Vicious Female Cannon Fodder? - Chapter 26

“If you like them, you can take some with you for emergencies, so you don’t end up starving with your vision going blurry.”

Gu Xia stepped forward to make her selections. She’d always been particular about food and wouldn’t take anything from unfamiliar brands.

She didn’t want Ning Anran to get an upset stomach.

“This one has a pretty good taste from what I remember. Take more of these.”

Only after filling an entire large bag did Gu Xia finally feel satisfied enough to place the candies into the shopping cart.

Ning Anran remained motionless where she stood.

The chocolate she had tasted earlier was soft, still bearing the marks of Gu Xia’s bite.

At that moment, she had wondered—did the lips of the Second Young Miss Gu taste just as sweet as the chocolate?

“Alright, if you say it’s good, then it must be.”

When Ning Anran was a child, she had really wanted to eat snacks, but her parents had never fulfilled that wish for her. Instead, they would only lecture her about why she couldn’t be more considerate of the family’s situation.

Why couldn’t she be as sensible as other people’s children?

Eventually, she stopped craving them altogether, even losing all desire for snacks.

“Let’s go.”

Gu Xia’s fingers hooked around hers again, this time with the excuse that she was afraid of getting lost in the supermarket.

Ning Anran didn’t expose the Second Young Miss’s little act, continuing to play along.

She never tired of it.

Once they reached the vegetable section, Gu Xia was completely out of her depth. She had only ever eaten prepared meals and had no idea how to pick out fresh produce.

Even in the later parts of the novel, before her awakening, when she had been reduced to poverty and had to shop at supermarkets, she still hadn’t learned how to choose vegetables properly.

It’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance to frugality.

That saying couldn’t be more accurate.

Because of her lack of knowledge, Gu Xia often ended up buying rotten fruits and vegetables.

But since she had bought them with money earned from selling off her designer items secondhand, she couldn’t bear to throw them away. Instead, she would simply wash them in her cramped rented apartment and stir-fry them.

Having never cooked before, Gu Xia’s hands would end up covered in red splatter marks from hot oil, yet she would still grit her teeth, wiping away tears as she made half-salted, half-bland, inedible cabbage.

Thinking back on those foolish times, Gu Xia wished she could wring all the water out of her brain. Seriously, had the author injected her with botox back then?!

To go so far as to dig for wild vegetables for the male lead—absolutely ridiculous!

Ning Anran’s slender fingers expertly picked through the vegetables. With practiced ease, she quickly gathered everything Gu Xia wanted to eat.

She also added a few more home-style dishes, all light and cooling.

Looking at the bright green bitter melon, Gu Xia felt like she was about to turn into one herself.

She didn’t want bitter melon!!!

Ning Anran could easily read the reluctance plastered all over Gu Xia’s face and calmly said,

“Consider it as buying it for me. Bitter melon reduces heat and detoxifies.”

Though Gu Xia couldn’t agree with Ning Anran’s peculiar taste, she didn’t stop her either.

“How about we buy some meat too?”

Clearly, Gu Xia’s shallow knowledge of the kitchen had betrayed her.

“Meat and vegetables should be balanced. Too much of either ruins the flavor.”

“If you’d like, I can add a little more.”

Ning Anran conceded.

…

The afternoon sun was just right.

A woman in an apron tended to the flowers in her garden, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

“Xiao Jin, you’re back?”

The roses were in full bloom, but Ning Jin’s expression was far from pleasant.

She said with some frustration, “Mom, that deal with Shengding ended up costing us quite a bit again.”

“You and Dad won’t think I’m useless, will you?”

Seeing Ning Jin’s distressed expression, the woman said nothing, merely setting aside the small shovel in her hand.

She comforted her, “Don’t worry about company matters. Your father and I will handle them.”

“Go inside and have some pastries first. Auntie made them fresh this morning, and they’re still warm.”

Ning Jin knew her mother never liked discussing business at home, so she only dared to complain briefly before nodding and entering the house.

The emerald-green pine needles rustled as the woman untied her apron and glanced up at the silent driver standing by the roses.

“Speak. What happened today?”

“Uncle Yang, you’re not usually one to fuss over trivial matters. Why do you seem so troubled after just one outing with Xiao Jin?”

“Did those old bones at Shengding bully her?”

Yang Wenbin, addressed by the madam, felt a chill sweep over him. Despite the cold, sweat poured down his back, his entire body drenched in a cold sweat.

“Madam, nothing happened to Young Mistress Ning. It’s just that today… today I saw someone!”

He looked around cautiously, ensuring the young mistress hadn’t returned, then swallowed hard before continuing.

“What kind of person could make you so flustered?”

Pulling out his phone, Yang Wenbin didn’t dare hide anything.

“Outside Shengding, I saw a woman who looked just like… like you and the master!”

“Those eyes and brows don’t lie!”

“Here, Madam, see for yourself!”

Wen Wanbai took Yang Wenbin’s phone and walked under the pine tree. Upon closer inspection, her heart jolted in shock!

The woman in the photo bore an uncanny resemblance to her and her husband in their youth—she had Ning Yunshen’s striking eyebrows and her own distinctive eyes.

In her arms was another woman, radiant like the spring sunshine of March. A gentle breeze stirred, and in her eyes lay an indescribable emotion.

Looking at the woman beside her who so closely resembled herself and her husband, Wen Wanbai’s fingers trembled, gripping the phone tighter as a suspicion rose in her heart.

Ever since Ning Jin was little, members of both the Ning and Wen families had remarked that Ning Jin didn’t resemble their daughter at all.

An unremarkable figure, unremarkable features—were it not for her noble bearing, no one would have given Ning Jin a second glance.

Wen Wanbai had always hated hearing such comments.

She believed that even if her daughter wasn’t particularly gifted, lacking the natural talent she and her husband had for business and investments…

She was still the child she had carried for ten months, the one she had cared for personally in every matter, big and small, since birth…

A sharp pain twisted in her chest, and Wen Wanbai nearly collapsed. Fortunately, the pine tree beside her supported her faltering body.

“Madam… Madam…”

Yang Wenbin hurried forward to steady her, sighing heavily before continuing, “After that woman left, I asked around at their company.”

“They said… that woman also shares the Ning surname.”

“Her name is Ning Anran.”

Hearing those three syllables, Wen Wanbai felt fury surge through her!

How could this be? How could it be such a coincidence?

There couldn’t possibly be so many coincidences in the world!

“How… how old is she?”

Closing her eyes as she asked, Wen Wanbai already knew the answer in her heart.

Yang Wenbin dared not conceal anything. When he chased after her to ask, his thoughts aligned perfectly with Madam’s suspicions.

How could there possibly be someone in this world who looked so similar?

Resembling both Madam and the Master!

“Twenty-two years old, in her final semester of university.”

“Still interning at Shengding before graduation. Said she had a conflict with her team leader and came to submit her resignation today.”

Holding a plate of pastries, Ning Jin stood frozen at the doorway, absorbing every word exchanged between Yang Wenbin and her mother.

Her mind went completely blank in that moment.