Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Devoted Second Male Lead Is a Good Guy! Su Mian had never imagined she could end up in such a miserable state that she couldn’t even afford a single dinner. It wouldn’t matter if she went hungry herself. After all, she was already so fat—she wasn’t going to starve to death, was she? But the two kids were another matter. They were practically skin and bones. “Mom, my sister and I aren’t hungry. You don’t have to go out looking for food.” Seeing that Su Mian seemed about to leave, Dabao tugged at her sleeve. The child was so considerate. He really didn’t want to be a burden to her. “No, you have to eat. How can you go without food? I’ll go see if I can borrow some rice or flour to cook for you.” Luckily, they still had a little firewood at home, enough to cook a meal. If they ran out of firewood, there’d be no point in bringing back rice or flour. They could collect firewood on the hill behind this poor neighborhood, but with dusk settling in, going up there now clearly wasn’t a wise idea. Just as Su Mian and the two kids were at an impasse, someone knocked on the door. “Knock, knock, knock…” Su Mian’s heart clenched. The three of them were a helpless mother and her two children. What if some bad person had come looking for them? Then Su Mian glanced down at her figure and decided it was unlikely anyone would try to abduct her for her looks. And robbing them? That was even less likely. Suddenly, Su Mian remembered her pocket watch. But she’d just put it back where it belonged. She’d take it out again tomorrow morning. “Su Mian? If you’re home, open the door. It’s me, Qin Chuan.” A young man’s voice suddenly came from outside. At once, Dabao and Erbao both grabbed the hem of Su Mian’s clothes. Dabao said excitedly, “Mom, it’s Uncle Qin!” Uncle Qin? Right! Su Mian had nearly forgotten about Qin Chuan. He rarely appeared, so she’d almost forgotten he existed. According to the novel’s plot, Qin Chuan was the devoted second male lead, and he’d been in love with the heroine, Chen Zhiyi, for a long time. After the male lead, Lu Zheng, and his family were sent away to the countryside, Qin Chuan began pursuing Chen Zhiyi fiercely. Chen Zhiyi herself wasn’t moved, but the Chen family was. Their daughter had once dated Lu Zheng, and her reputation was already ruined. If someone was willing to take her on, and he came from a decent family, what more could they ask for? So Chen Zhiyi’s parents disregarded her wishes and agreed to her marriage to Qin Chuan. Just as the wedding drew near, however, the Lu family returned from the countryside. Now, wasn’t that an exciting plot twist? Even a dog would have to stop and watch! And since Qin Chuan and Su Mian were the devoted second male lead and the villainous supporting woman, naturally they were supposed to team up to break up the main couple. Su Mian had no connections or family backing, which was why she’d ended up in such a miserable state. But Qin Chuan was different. Even though he’d done other things to target the main couple, he was still a son of the Qin family, with his family protecting him. After the main couple cleared up their misunderstandings and the Lu family kicked Su Mian out, Qin Chuan occasionally helped her out of consideration for their past partnership. So why had Su Mian been able to live in the city for so long despite doing no work at all? Part of the reason was that Qin Chuan was a loyal, kind-hearted man! As expected of the devoted second male lead. He’d probably come to bring her some warmth. There was no way this character was going to fall apart. Su Mian hurried to open the door. When she saw Qin Chuan outside, dressed in a way that looked both fashionable and lavish, yet somehow also careless and roguish, she immediately felt tense. She absolutely had to lose weight! When you were fat, it was easy to feel inferior without even realizing it—especially when the person in front of you was handsome or beautiful. “What brings you here?” Su Mian asked. Qin Chuan clicked his tongue at her with a faintly disapproving look. Then he glanced inside before replying, “What brings me here? I came because I was worried about your two kids. Honestly, Su Mian, how long are you going to keep wallowing like this? Lu Zheng is already married to Chen Zhiyi. It’s time you let go.” Su Mian was helpless. She’d only just woken up inside this body today. What could she do about it? Of course, she wasn’t going to explain that to Qin Chuan. “I’ve pulled myself together. I really have,” Su Mian stressed. “Are you serious?” Qin Chuan asked, unconvinced. “I am! Today, today I suddenly came to my senses. From now on, I’ll take good care of the kids and raise them properly. I won’t bother Lu Zheng and Chen Zhiyi anymore.” In fact, ever since the Lu family kicked her out, Su Mian hadn’t seen either of the two leads again. At the mention of Chen Zhiyi, Qin Chuan fell silent. After a while, he suddenly took out a wallet and pulled out all the money inside. “Su Mian, I’m leaving.” Su Mian: “…” She didn’t know whether to take the money or not. The money would be a huge help to her right now, but Qin Chuan’s words left her in a difficult position. Wait—he wasn’t thinking of killing himself, was he? After all, the devoted second male lead couldn’t just give up! If she remembered right, there was some kind of epilogue after the novel ended. It said Qin Chuan never married or had children in his whole life. “Where…where are you going?” Su Mian couldn’t help asking. Qin Chuan smiled and shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Now that private businesses are allowed, I want to go do business in the far south. I don’t want to stay here anymore. I haven’t been in Xiangcheng lately because I went to the far south to look around. It’s developing fast there, and I want to give it a try.” Su Mian figured Qin Chuan simply didn’t want to stay in Xiangcheng, the city that had broken his heart. Come to think of it, Qin Chuan looked like a playboy, but he was actually quite devoted. “Then go. I wish you a safe journey,” Su Mian said. It wasn’t as if she truly had feelings for Lu Zheng, so it made no difference where she lived. But she certainly wouldn’t stay here for long. The two kids were already over four years old, old enough to understand things and remember them. She couldn’t let other people keep calling them bastards forever, could she? So once Su Mian learned the whole truth, she decided that after saving up some money, she’d take the kids to find their biological father. In Su Mian’s own memories, she had no idea who she’d slept with after drugging him that night. But the novel had revealed his identity. He seemed to be a soldier, and his family background was no ordinary one. Never mind his family background—being a soldier in this era was already a highly valued status. The kids were having a hard time with Su Mian, and in this world, a woman with two children had no money, connections, or family protection. Even if she managed to start a business and make money, she probably wouldn’t be able to keep it safe. So for the sake of the kids, she decided to find that man and tell him about their existence. What happened between the two of them after that could be discussed later. Su Mian wasn’t irrational. She knew that, with nothing to her name and her life a complete mess, raising the kids alone would only mean they’d continue to suffer. But if she could find their biological father and give them a better life, she was willing to let them go. After all, the Su Mian she was now had a terrible reputation, an unattractive appearance, and nothing at all. She couldn’t even go back to her own family. Until she’d gotten her life in order, Su Mian didn’t have the face to see her parents and brothers.