The Real Daughter Needs Saving by This Vicious Female Cannon Fodder? - Chapter 45

What?! 8,000 yuan for a bottle of wine?

That shameless woman Gu Xia must be out of her mind for money!

Cheng Chen was stunned. If this weren’t a banquet hosted by the Gu family, he probably would have already pointed at Gu Xia’s nose and started cursing.

“Xiaxia, what’s going on?”

“Don’t be angry on your birthday—wrinkles will show~”

At this moment, all of Gu Xia’s usual fair-weather friends gathered around. Though their words sounded like persuasion, there was an unmistakable teasing undertone.

Everyone knew how desperately Gu Xia had been infatuated with Cheng Chen before. It was impossible for her personality to change so drastically in just a few weeks—to suddenly stop liking him out of the blue.

“Oh, you’re right.”

“Today’s my birthday—I shouldn’t get angry.”

With a graceful motion, Gu Xia wrapped her arm around Ning Anran’s, her eyes curving into a sweet smile.

This gesture made her friends mistakenly think she was about to target Ning Anran, so they all leaned in closer.

“Exactly, Xiaxia. You can’t just let any random riffraff in on your birthday.”

“Some people, even after receiving such courtesy from our Xiaxia, can’t even manage to bring a birthday gift, huh?”

The conversation inevitably circled back to the topic of gifts. Gu Xia shot a glare at the woman who spoke.

This idiot just had to bring up the worst possible subject!

Right now, Ning Anran was flat broke—how could she possibly afford a decent gift? Besides, Gu Xia didn’t lack things like bags or lipstick. As long as Ning Anran’s heart was in the right place, that was enough.

Today, the dress Ning Anran was wearing had even been specially picked out by Gu Xia—it perfectly accentuated the female lead’s elegance.

Gu Xia thought ahead to the later parts of the novel, when Ning Anran would return to Yuanye Group to take charge of finances. She’d wear gold-rimmed glasses, her slender fingers—worth hundreds of millions—signing contracts with a pen.

That would be the time to talk about money—that was how things should be done!

These people still had a lot to learn!

Ning Anran pressed her fingertips into her palms, biting her lip. She truly had nothing of value to give as a gift.

But there was one thing she could offer—herself.

If Gu Xia had grown tired of Cheng Chen and lost interest, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity for Ning Anran to fill that void?

Ning Anran never considered herself some well-behaved, rule-following goody-two-shoes, nor did she see herself as the model student teachers and principals praised.

“Gu Xia, I prepared a birthday gift for you.”

“But I can’t show it to you yet.”

Her voice was gentle.

Ning Anran’s dark hair was elegantly tied up, revealing her long, swan-like neck. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful.

If most of the guests here hadn’t already had dealings with Gu Xia—or weren’t trying to curry favor with the young heiress—many would have already swarmed Ning Anran for her contact information.

A birthday gift? What birthday gift?!

Gu Xia didn’t remember ever asking Ning Anran to prepare one!

The scene from that day was still vivid in her mind—Gu Xia had only made one small request of the sickly Ning Anran: to stay after the guests left and share a small cake with her.

The cake had been pre-ordered from a restaurant known for its eccentric owner—a graduate of a prestigious French pastry school. The shop had a limited daily supply, and once sold out, they wouldn’t make more.

If you missed it, tough luck!

If it weren’t for the delicious food, Gu Xia would never tolerate such a boss!

“Ning Anran, what kind of birthday present can’t be shown now? Could it be you can’t afford a decent gift and are just making empty boasts here?”

Gu Xia’s so-called friends, seeing their provocation take effect, immediately became smug, practically wagging their tails in delight as they tried to make Ning Anran’s embarrassment known to every guest at the party.

“Tsk tsk, I knew it—this is just so tacky…”

The woman’s face was full of disdain, but before she could add more fuel to the fire, Gu Xia raised her hand and—smack—slapped her across the face.

Five bright red fingerprints instantly appeared on the woman’s pale cheek. She clutched her face in shock, staring at Gu Xia in disbelief.

“Who did you just call tacky?”

“Say it again.”

“Who’s tacky?”

Gu Xia losing her temper was nothing new—the Gu family relatives were used to it. But what was surprising was that Gu Xia had always gotten along well with these friends of hers.

They drank and fooled around together all the time, yet she had never outright turned on them like this before.

From the second floor of the villa, Madam Gu frowned as she watched the scene unfold. She was about to go downstairs and stop her precious daughter from assaulting a guest when Gu Lindong grabbed her wrist.

“Mom, don’t go down yet.”

“Xiaxia is just worried about Miss Ning being bullied.”

Madam Gu hesitated. Since when had both her daughters become so hard to understand?

“Xiaxia! What… what’s the meaning of this?”

“Didn’t you hate Ning Anran the most? I was helping you vent, so why did you hit me instead?”

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

The others froze in place, not daring to intervene.

They had no idea why Gu Xia had suddenly changed like this. Normally, she would have been the first to bully Ning Anran, mocking her for being a third-generation pauper.

“I hit you because you deserved it.”

“What kind of person Ning Anran is isn’t for you to judge in front of me!”

These people pretended to respect her, but in reality, they only cared about her money.

Back when she was down on her luck, Ning Anran had at least discreetly sent her money through an assistant a few times. But these so-called friends? They not only blocked her but even posted mocking comments on social media, calling her a plucked phoenix turned barnyard chicken!

The insults had been vicious.

Ning Anran could feel Gu Xia’s rapid heartbeat as she shielded her.

Did… did she really care about her this much?

“Gu Xia, what kind of act are you putting on?”

“Weren’t you the one who told us to bully Ning Anran before?”

The woman finally dropped her hand from her stinging cheek. Since Gu Xia had already humiliated her in front of everyone, there was no point pretending anymore—their friendship was over!

“Ning Anran, why don’t you tell everyone how Gu Xia usually treats you?”

“Do you even dare?”

The lively chatter in the hall had died down, replaced by a crowd of guests encircling them, their expressions dripping with schadenfreude.

“Oh dear, what’s all this commotion about?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, the Gu family’s little firecracker really lives up to her explosive reputation…”

Amid the chaotic accusations hurled at Gu Xia, Ning Anran—the person at the center of it all—stepped forward.

Her voice was calm, yet it struck like a sudden clap of thunder.

“Gu Xia treats me very well.”

“There’s no need for you to interfere in our relationship.”

Standing frozen in place, Cheng Chen felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.

Had he heard correctly? Ning Anran actually said—Gu Xia treats her well?!

Since when did being beaten and kicked count as “good treatment”?

He never knew Ning Anran could endure to such an extent.

“Ding ding ding~ Congratulations, Host~ Female Lead’s Favorability +1~ Host has earned 10 points~”

“System, could you cut down on the excessive tildes next time? It’s giving me a headache ^^!”