The Real Daughter Needs Saving by This Vicious Female Cannon Fodder? - Chapter 31

People I’ve loved?

Ning Anran’s mind went blank, unable to reach any conclusion after much thought.

When she opened her eyes again, they were already tinged with exhaustion and drowsiness.

Shaking her head slightly against the pillow, Ning Anran denied Gu Xia’s words.

“I don’t have anyone I like.”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend, nor have I ever had a girlfriend.”

“I’m not dirty.”

“Please rest assured, Second Miss Gu.”

Wait, how did the conversation suddenly veer so far off track?

Gu Xia nearly bit her tongue trying to speak—ahhhhhhh! Her stupid mouth had once again made the already fragile and broken female lead overthink things!

“Ning Anran, I… I didn’t mean that you… you’re dirty,” she stammered out in explanation.

Feeling she couldn’t abandon her pure original intention, Gu Xia pressed on with her advantage.

“What I meant to ask was, do you know what it feels like to like someone?”

Damn, why did her words suddenly sound like an old cucumber trying to paint itself green and act young?

“No.”

“I’ve never liked anyone.”

Ning Anran watched as Gu Xia’s earlobes gradually turned bright red, a hint of confusion rising in her heart.

Wasn’t it Gu Xia who had brought up this topic? Why was she the one getting embarrassed now?

Didn’t she want to see Ning Anran flustered?

The female lead’s firm voice made her sound like a righteous successor, unbound by trivial matters of love.

Gu Xia let out a sigh of relief, though for some reason, her heart also felt inexplicably hollow.

Idiot, Ning Anran had never liked anyone in the first place. What was she even expecting?

Expecting the female lead to say she liked her?

“But these things… I’ve only ever done them with Second Miss Gu.”

“I’ve never slept with anyone else, never bathed anyone else.”

That sounded a bit…

Gu Xia couldn’t help biting her lip. Why did Ning Anran’s words of loyalty to her sound so heart-fluttering and blush-inducing?

Could the female lead have some kind of natural talent for sweet talk?

Like some protagonist-exclusive buff aura—just one sentence from her was enough to make Gu Xia’s heart race unbearably.

“Then… Ning Anran, have you never kissed anyone else either?”

For some reason today, Gu Xia felt as if she were drunk, her thoughts spilling out unfiltered.

It was all the system’s fault for telling her to just charge forward!

But now that she had, Gu Xia felt like she was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off—not that it mattered who was the tiger and who was the rider!

“No.”

“Why does Second Miss ask?”

“Do you… want to practice kissing with me?”

Before, Gu Xia had indeed cornered her in the bedroom, saying that to prepare for kissing Cheng-ge in the future, she needed Ning Anran to help her practice how to make kissing feel good.

Ning Anran had naturally refused Gu Xia’s request—she didn’t like hearing Cheng Chen’s name from Gu Xia’s lips.

“Ah… Ning Anran… Mmm…”

Her pert nose brushed against Gu Xia’s cheek as Ning Anran captured her lips, swallowing her breath whole.

“Congratulations, Host! Female lead’s favorability +10!!!”

Gu Xia had no idea how much time had passed—only that her brain was starved of oxygen, nearly suffocating.

Only then did Ning Anran release her.

Lowering her gaze, Ning Anran hugged her again, staring at Gu Xia’s slightly swollen lips glistening with moisture.

Her voice was low and husky as she whispered, “Alright, Second Miss Gu, I’ve kissed you now.”

“Now you won’t keep chasing me about my romantic history, will you?”

Despite the tenderness of the kiss moments ago, her tone now carried a hint of gloom. Was Ning Anran… still bothered by what had happened before?

Gu Xia clearly remembered her own foolish actions from that time when Ning Anran had been rushing to get to Imperial Capital University.

Without giving her a chance to explain, Gu Xia had dragged her into a room and locked the door.

Glaring fiercely at Ning Anran, she’d demanded that they kiss, insisting Ning Anran needed to learn how to kiss properly first before going to find…

Stop! There was no need to replay this high-definition, uncensored black history any further!

A few more scenes and she’d be recalling how she was nearly chopped into mincemeat and dumped in the bay.

“Host, you must trust your own choices—those 10 favorability points didn’t just appear out of thin air~”

“Besides, once you raise the female lead’s favorability to about 5%, you can unlock our system store!”

“Keep working hard, host, and unlock the store soon~”

“Holy crap, you actually have a store system?”

Gu Xia suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in her otherwise doomed future. With a store system, wouldn’t she be able to strut through this world like those reincarnation novel heroines, unbeatable and invincible?

Her swollen lips were gently touched—Ning Anran had somehow retrieved a tissue from the side table.

Folding it carefully, Ning Anran wiped away the moisture at the corner of Gu Xia’s lips.

“Goodnight, Second Miss.”

Once again, Gu Xia was lifted into an embrace. Ning Anran seemed genuinely worried she might get cold, turning the air conditioning up another degree.

Gu Xia’s heartbeat quickened, but she didn’t dare move.

Damn it. Rather than Ning Anran liking her, she suddenly realized she might be the one falling for the female lead.

No!!! Gu Xia, how could you be so spineless?

Even if she fell for the female lead first, she absolutely couldn’t be the one to confess! Otherwise, she’d face a 100% rejection rate and lose all her dignity in the process!

……

After nearly staying awake all night, Gu Xia finally drifted off in the early hours of the morning.

Curled up like a kitten in Ning Anran’s arms, she thought—well, since Ning Anran held her every night anyway, she might as well take advantage. No point wasting a perfectly good opportunity!

Ning Anran smelled so good. Gu Xia felt that every inch of her, down to each strand of hair, exuded an intoxicating allure.

And she really did listen to everything Gu Xia said.

Thinking back to the later plot of this cheesy Mary Sue novel—how she had pestered the male lead, waiting outside his door all night while he practically wanted to strangle her—it was no surprise he wanted nothing to do with her.

Only Ning Anran had stepped out, holding an umbrella for her, even bending down to place it on the steps.

By then, Ning Anran was no longer the struggling student working odd jobs to make ends meet.

She had become a winner in life, the sole heir to the Yuanye Group.

Dressed in a tailored suit that accentuated her noble bearing, the only thing unchanged was the emptiness in her pitch-black eyes, still devoid of desire.

“Gu Xia, go home.”

“He doesn’t like you.”

This was just a fleeting scene in the novel. Gu Xia had no concrete image of it in her mind, but she could easily imagine how striking Ning Anran would look in the attire of the Yuanye Group’s heir.

It would undoubtedly be breathtaking.

Ning Anran wasn’t as cold as she appeared; her personality was as soft as her lips.

Gu Xia allowed herself to be a little willful for the first time, burying her head in Ning Anran’s chest.

“Ning Anran… do you know that taking the initiative to kiss someone means you like them…?”

She murmured to herself.

How could Ning Anran possibly know?

Ning Anran had never been properly loved before.

But this time, it could be her turn.