Chapter 23: Cannon Fodder Minor Character Not Worth The Ink
Jiang Yan crouched in the same spot with her, his voice flat: “You won’t die.”
Jiang Ning raised her eyebrows in some surprise: “So confident that your hand speed can rescue me?”
His face was expressionless: “Because a scourge lasts for a thousand years.”
Jiang Ning: “…”
How could a perfectly fine person have such a mouth?
Jiang Ning discovered that the original body’s vicious female supporting character was actually quite pathetic.
The younger brother she had bullied since childhood was rebellious.
Xie Jingyan, whom she had bullied for a year, was the most rebellious of the rebellious.
And the female lead Su Wanyuan went without saying; she wouldn’t admit defeat.
In other words, after being vicious for so long, when she looked back, it was all for nothing!
“What are you doing here?” Madam Jiang spoke up.
Jiang Ning came back to her senses, no longer thinking random thoughts, and directly started eating melon.
The original body had seen Grandmother very few times.
Madam Jiang didn’t let them contact Grandmother, so in her memories, the original body had no memory of Grandmother at all.
Old Madam Jiang sneered, reached out to brush away nonexistent dust from the corner of her clothes: “This is my son’s house; why can’t I come?”
“You’re not welcome here; please leave.” Madam Jiang’s voice trembled.
Old Madam Jiang was fearless.
Father Jiang’s heart was in his throat; he hurriedly went to hold Madam Jiang: “Mingzhu, forget it, forget it. I’ll find someone to send her back later; don’t be angry.”
He looked at Old Madam Jiang, his mouth bubbling with anxiety: “Mom, what are you doing here? If you missed me, just send me a message and I’ll come visit you. Why bother coming all the way here?”
Old Madam Jiang pulled a long face and couldn’t help raising her voice: “Can’t I come? You sent me to that godforsaken countryside, while you’re living in luxury here. Is that how a son treats his mother? Sui Mingzhu is still holding a grudge over what happened back then, so what? Who told her belly to be useless, giving birth to a girl as the first child—such bad luck for me.”
After speaking, seeing Madam Jiang’s eyes red, she couldn’t help rolling her eyes dramatically: “You’re just petty, woman. Isn’t it normal for a man to find women outside? And she holds a grudge for so many years; my son was doomed for eight lifetimes marrying you.”
Father Jiang’s facial expression changed drastically upon hearing this: “Mom! Stop it.”
Old Madam Jiang sneered, about to say: “Can’t I even speak? Being petty is one thing, but then abusing your own daughter afterward—I’ve never seen such a heartless woman. Finally gave birth to a son, but won’t let me see my grandson. Wicked woman, where’s my grandson? Let him come out; Grandma’s here to visit him.”
Madam Jiang trembled all over fiercely.
As if stimulated.
Then her eyes rolled back, and she fainted dead away.
Old Madam Jiang jumped in fright: “What’s this? Playing dead?”
Father Jiang’s eyes turned bloodshot with anger: “Mom, stop talking; Mingzhu’s having an episode.”
“Someone come, prepare the car, take Madam to the hospital.”
Old Madam Jiang was just preparing to go upstairs to find her grandson when she was dragged out by security along with everyone else.
“Hey? What are you doing? I’m here for Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, it’s Grandma; come out quick, Grandma’s here to see you.”
Downstairs was chaos, and Jiang Ning watched from upstairs with her mouth agape.
Weren’t they—what was this big drama again?
This grandma had some skills; she fainted Madam Jiang with her very first appearance.
And Jiang Yan had coldly watched from beginning to end.
Even when Old Madam Jiang specifically asked to see him, he remained unmoved.
Jiang Ning also felt this child was really too cold-blooded.
“Grandma was calling to see you; why no reaction?”
Jiang Yan lowered his eyelashes: “What reaction should I have? Respond with ecstatic joy and let her take me away? What’s the use? She’s the culprit who made this family so twisted.”
He turned his gaze sideways, his eyes earnestly looking at Jiang Ning: “I really envy you. You’re the only child in our family who grew up in love, while my older sister and I are just sacrifices. Mom hates Grandmother and also hates me and big sister.”
“Big sister was thrown to Grandmother’s house in the countryside the year you were born, and eighteen years passed without her ever appearing again. Grandmother said she ran off with some wild man and died falling into a ditch, but I don’t believe it.”
What Jiang Yan said was not in Jiang Ning’s memories.
Nor was it in the book.
Perhaps for cannon fodder little people like them, it wasn’t worth spending ink to describe their pasts.
It was like a corner suddenly lifted in a closed world.
Jiang Ning asked: “So what did that old lady mean by those words?”
Jiang Yan smiled mockingly: “Because Mom said she would only have one child, boy or girl, and would only give love to that one child. Dad agreed but deceived Mom, getting together with another woman behind her back. Mom didn’t know, but at that time she also developed depression. Without her husband’s companionship, she often felt insecure, becoming very irritable and paranoid. Grandmother bribed the doctor to find out Mom was pregnant with a girl, so she helped cover it up, hoping Dad’s affair would get pregnant—best if it was a boy.”
Jiang Ning’s worldview was about to shatter.
Done for; she dared not even look straight at Father Jiang anymore.
“So that’s the reason big sister was abandoned and you were hated? Who told you?”
Jiang Yan tugged at his lips: “Dad told me. He told me not to hate Mom, saying she was just sick and that she loves us, but I can’t feel it. Up to now, I’ve never been loved by her.”
“Mom feels it was because she gave birth to older sister that Dad betrayed her. Grandmother instilled the idea that it was because she couldn’t give birth to a son that Dad cheated. While Mom was in confinement, Grandmother stimulated her like this every day. Her depression worsened, leading to a mental breakdown, and she abandoned her daughter too. Maternal Grandmother found her and took her back. Later, Dad came to his senses, begged for a long time, and got Mom to forgive him.”
Jiang Yan’s gaze turned to Jiang Ning again: “Maybe love brain really is hereditary. Your feelings for Gu Lanli are just like Mom’s for Dad—no reason to them.”
Jiang Ning’s face went wooden: “…”
Don’t insult her, okay?
And he had the nerve to say that about her.
Wasn’t he love brained over Su Wanyuan too, even losing his life later to save her.
With Jiang Yan’s full explanation, Jiang Ning understood.
So that’s why Madam Jiang had a second child, giving love to her daughter and hate to her son.
It really was… a bad relationship.
Madam Jiang’s hospitalization alarmed the Sui Family.
Under pressure, Father Jiang could only send Old Madam Jiang back to the countryside, assign people to watch her, and not let her set foot in Jin Cheng.
Fortunately, Madam Jiang woke up that evening and returned home.
As soon as she came back, she kept holding Jiang Ning and wouldn’t let go for anyone.
After knowing these past events, Jiang Ning’s mood was somewhat complicated.
You could blame Madam Jiang, but she was also a victim.
You couldn’t blame her, but she did abandon her daughter and ruin her son’s life.
And Father Jiang returned to the family and begged for Madam Jiang’s forgiveness.
Madam Jiang held Jiang Ning and slept the whole night, as if only with her could she find a sense of safety.
Jiang Ning finally understood why, after the original body’s death in the book, Madam Jiang collapsed and jumped off a building to commit suicide—because Jiang Ning was her crumbling mental pillar, and she gave all her love to her.
A bit stuck on writing; skipping this part quickly to explain Ning Ning’s family matters, then arranging for older sister to appear later.
