Fang Ning: [I'm not helping Ji Xiangchen. I've simply always had a sense of justice. I can't stand this repulsive guy, and I just want to tear up his umbrella.]
[Besides, me, the villainous female supporting character, facing off against Zhou Li, the villainous male supporting character-don't you think that sounds exciting? Don't you want to watch? Can you really resist?]
The system imagined that exciting scene: [What are you saying? Am I the sort of system that enjoys watching drama? I have my own principles, okay!
[If you can't beat him later, I'll provide support from the sidelines!]
Hehehe, a showdown between the villainous female supporting character and the villainous male supporting character-just thinking about it was exciting! Sitting back and watching the drama! It was all for that!
Fang Ning: [*...*] Your principles sure are cheap.
Fang Ning walked over to the two men and stopped, surprise in her eyes. "Xiangchen, you're here too! Ahhh, you're having hot pot too! You don't mind me joining you, do you?"
With someone suddenly appearing, Zhou Li, the manager, shut his mouth and shifted his gaze to Fang Ning. Seeing how young she was, he assumed Ji Xiangchen had secretly been getting involved with girls behind his back. "Who's she now?"
Ji Xiangchen frowned and was about to speak.
Fang Ning sat right down and beat him to it. "Don't get any wrong ideas just because I'm young and pretty. I'm the wife Ji Xiangchen's damn older brother got himself."
"And that makes me Ji Xiangchen's sister-in-law by marriage. Isn't that right, little brother-in-law?"
With that, she flashed them both an exceptionally bright smile.
Ji Xiangchen: "..." Was she nuts?
After hearing the words "sister-in-law," Zhou Li stopped running his mouth and even greeted Fang Ning very warmly.
Fang Ning glanced at him.
The bastard was pretty good at reading the room. He knew that even if he was going to manipulate Ji Xiangchen, he couldn't do it in front of his family.
Fang Ning wanted to have a proper go at this Zhou Li, who was every bit as disgusting as the original owner's fake friends.
Fang Ning called a server over to bring another bowl and a set of chopsticks, then asked casually, "By the way, what were you two talking about just now? You were so loud that anyone who didn't know better would think you'd both cheated with each other's partners."
"..."
At the mention of this, Ji Xiangchen's gaze turned cold.
Zhou Li had been berating him over his cutting that male celebrity's hand yesterday.
He had already more or less forgotten about it.
But Zhou Li insisted on making a fuss, calling him out first thing in the morning and going on until now, berating him for his explosive temper and finding fault with everything about him.
He knew he had a bad temper, but apart from kicking table legs and smashing a few things when he was angry, he had never laid hands on anyone or hit them.
He had never thrown his weight around, either, using his money to bully this person or that person.
Yet every actor, celebrity, and crew member who had worked with him avoided him, as though he would eat them alive.
He had tried to explain, but no one believed him.
Ji Xiangchen gave a self-mocking smile.
Forget it. It didn't matter. He never forced things he couldn't have.
Whether it was affection from his family or attention from others, if he couldn't have it, he could do without it.
After hearing what had happened, Fang Ning suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to complain.
[Ugh, this little brother-in-law really is stupid. He doesn't know how to use his mouth at all.]
[He doesn't even know how to tear up someone's umbrella. He can put up with being berated like this-he's not even human!]
Chapter 4
A trace of cold menace crossed Ji Xiangchen's expressionless face.
Even Ji Xiangnian, who gave him spending money every day, had never berated him like this.
What right did she have to say he wasn't human?
Just as Ji Xiangchen's gaze grew colder and colder, he heard the following a moment later:
[You poor handsome boy. Since you don't know how to tear up someone's umbrella, let your big sister do it for you. Watch closely and learn what tearing up an umbrella means. I'll shove the umbrella into someone else's mouth while I'm at it.]
[The umbrella-tearing show begins. Watch your big sister perform!!]
After hearing those two remarks, Ji Xiangchen's cold mood immediately vanished.
He paused and stared blankly at Fang Ning, a hint of astonishment in his eyes.
So she wanted to help him...
Zhou Li, however, couldn't tell that Fang Ning was about to tear up his umbrella.
He thought that whenever two children got into a fight, every parent would look for the fault in their own child.
So as soon as the incident came up, he eagerly smeared Ji Xiangchen, recounting the whole thing with plenty of embellishments.
After listening, Fang Ning didn't agree with the manager. Instead, she slowly set down her chopsticks and said, "Zhou Li, whose side are you on?"
Zhou Li didn't understand what she was asking. "What? What side?"
Fang Ning looked at him with a smile, picked up her chopsticks, and slowly put a bite of meat into her mouth. "I'm asking whether you're on our Xiangchen's side, or whether his enemies sent you and you're on their side."
Hearing the words "our Xiangchen," Ji Xiangchen felt something unfamiliar stir inside him. No one had ever called him that before...
Zhou Li caught on. She was taking sarcastic jabs at him. "What exactly do you mean?"
Fang Ning's lips curled upward. "That celebrity only had a bit of broken skin. Anyone who didn't know better would think our Xiangchen had killed him. You're berating him so viciously, as if you're desperate for the whole world to know."
"Instead of sending that celebrity fifty yuan to get his finger looked at, you're berating our Xiangchen."
"No matter how I look at you, you look an awful lot like a five-hundred-thousand-yuan spy bounty."
"You're not really a spy sent by the other side, are you?"
Fang Ning looked grave. "Xiangchen, I suggest you fire him outright."
Zhou Li: "..."
Was she nuts?!
After putting Zhou Li in his place, Fang Ning popped another bite of meat into her mouth, set down her chopsticks, and widened her eyes, saying with a half-smile:
"Also, Ji Xiangchen, send that celebrity fifty yuan later and tell him to give his finger another cut himself. Otherwise, his finger will have healed by the time he gets to the hospital, and he won't have any evidence to smear you with. How awful, how embarrassing!"
"As an adult, it's so rude to put someone else in that position."