Chapter Nine: The Supporting Actress Goes on Strike, Others Take the Stage

Ji Han had tucked those few shirts away at the bottom of his trunk. He had originally intended to throw them out, but fearing that Song Miaoke might discover them, he had no choice but to find a place to hide them.

Su Zhihan had been waiting to watch the two of them quarrel, but after waiting for several days, there was no news. She even specifically asked Song Miaoke how their relationship was going, and Song Miaoke smiled with a look of pure sweetness.

"Our relationship is great! The method you taught me last time was really effective. Zhihan, thank you so much!"

The expression on Su Zhihan's face nearly cracked: ...So why didn't you call me! Do you have any idea how much drama I've missed?

Over the past few days, the relationship between Song Miaoke and Ji Han had been very good; this could be seen from the marks on her neck. Su Zhihan glanced at them several times and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Ji Han really is a beast! She has such delicate skin, yet he bites so hard. Looking at those red, blue, and purple marks, she felt the pain just by looking at them. If her boyfriend dared to gnaw on her neck like that, she would definitely slap him across the face. It must be said that the "white rabbit" heroine is far too good-natured; being a heroine really isn't a role just anyone can handle.

Suddenly, Su Zhihan spotted a few familiar figures. Oh, look! The villainous female leads are making their entrance. Just because she, the villainous female lead, had stopped working didn't mean the others had gone on strike. They didn't come often, but when they did, they came in a trio.

"Oh my, isn't this our dear Miss Song? Not out working today?"

The three villains aimed their fire directly at Song Miaoke, their tone filled with undisguised hostility. As soon as Song Miaoke heard their voices, the smile on her face vanished instantly. It seemed this wasn't the first time she had been bullied.

Su Zhihan raised an eyebrow. She knew these three as well; they all had a crush on Ji Han. The one in the middle, wearing red, was named Lin Pingting. She had the best family background of the three and also had a decent relationship with Ji Han’s mother. In the original story, aside from Su Zhihan, this Lin Pingting was a major supporting character. Most importantly, she had the support of Ji Han’s mother.

Yes, just like in most old-school CEO romance novels, Ji’s mother was the legendary "wicked mother-in-law." She had always hoped Ji Han would marry a woman from a family of equal status, so she had never looked favorably upon Song Miaoke.

"Miss Song, you’re here for coffee? I imagine half a month’s salary is gone just like that," Lin Pingting said. As soon as the words left her mouth, the two women beside her let out mocking laughs.

Song Miaoke instinctively wanted to stand up to defend herself, but Su Zhihan pressed her back down. Su Zhihan truly couldn't stand it anymore; while reading the novel, she had always despised these villainous women. They came from wealthy backgrounds but lacked the slightest bit of morality. So what if someone is poor? Are they eating your food or wearing your clothes? And they were so keen on being mistresses; did they read their books in vain?

"Miss Lin, you’re so concerned about Miaoke’s salary. If you care so much, why not contribute some?" Su Zhihan never turned down money. She smiled and said, "I’m treating her to this coffee, but this cafe is indeed a bit pricey. How about you sponsor me a little, Miss Lin?"

Facing Su Zhihan, Lin Pingting didn't have as much confidence. "Su Zhihan, why are you helping this poor wretch? You didn't like her much before, did you? What, have you been won over by her flattery now?"

Su Zhihan replied, "Yes, I have been won over. If you're capable, you can come and flatter me too. I don't turn anyone away!" Su Zhihan was dying for all of Ji Han’s admirers to come and flatter her.

"Miss Lin, instead of targeting Song Miaoke here, you’d be better off going to flatter Auntie Ji. Your talent for sucking up to people is something even Song Miaoke can't match. If this were ancient times, you’d definitely be the head maid!" After saying this, Su Zhihan gave a thumbs up with an admiring expression, as if she were genuinely complimenting her.

The surrounding customers couldn't help but laugh at her words. That was a brilliant insult, delivered without a single dirty word. The commotion drew quite a bit of attention; even the waiter serving coffee walked past them several times.

Lin Pingting was red with rage, her fists clenched so tightly her nails were digging into her palms. Seeing this, Su Zhihan pretended to be scared and retreated two steps, leaning weakly against Song Miaoke’s shoulder, saying, "Oh my, is she about to hit someone? That's truly terrifying."

"I wonder if Auntie Ji knows how short-tempered you are, Miss Lin. Just last time, I heard her praising how gentle you were."

"Your 'gentleness' wouldn't happen to be using fists the size of sandbags to beat people, would it? That would be absolutely horrifying."

Pfft! The surrounding customers couldn't help but burst into laughter, and even Song Miaoke was trembling as she suppressed her giggles. Lin Pingting’s facial muscles were twitching with anger, and the two followers beside her were whispering to calm her down.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. If you get really angry, you'll fall right into her trap."

"That's right, Su Zhihan’s relationship with the Ji family is not ordinary. If you lay a hand on her, all your previous efforts will have been in vain."

In the original story, Su Zhihan was set up as Ji Han’s childhood friend, and since they were childhood friends, they had naturally grown up together. Su Zhihan had a much closer relationship with Ji’s mother than Lin Pingting did. It was just that Ji’s mother had always treated Su Zhihan like a daughter, so she had never thought of having Su Zhihan and Ji Han together. She felt that their relationship was like that of siblings—and how could siblings be together? That was why the original Su Zhihan loved Ji Han but never dared to confess.

Watching Lin Pingting, who was so angry she looked like she might explode, Su Zhihan shook her head in disdain. Her offensive capability was truly poor. She hadn't even started to play for real yet; the villainous female leads of these old-school novels were a bit lacking in stress resistance.

Song Miaoke’s eyes were already sparkling as she looked at Su Zhihan. So amazing! Zhihan is truly amazing! That Lin Pingting couldn't even be arrogant in front of her, and was so infuriated by her. If only she could be as formidable as Zhihan.

Receiving her little fan's adoring gaze, Su Zhihan gave her a playful wink. *Don't fall in love with me!*

Under the constant soothing of her two cohorts, Lin Pingting finally calmed down. Looking at Song Miaoke, who was being shielded behind Su Zhihan, she glared at her fiercely and turned to leave. Before leaving, she didn't forget to drop a harsh warning: "Song Miaoke, you won't be this lucky in the future. Su Zhihan can't protect you forever. Just you wait!"

If she couldn't offend Su Zhihan, surely she could still mess with a Song Miaoke.

Su Zhihan scoffed, rolled her eyes, and muttered, "Dropping a harsh line before leaving? Isn't that the classic line for a villainous antagonist?"

Seeing that Song Miaoke looked a bit frightened, Su Zhihan patted her shoulder and comforted her: "Don't worry. When soldiers come, block them with generals; when water comes, block it with earth. She’s just a bully who picks the softest persimmon to squeeze. As long as you stand your ground, there’s nothing she can really do to you."

Song Miaoke nodded, her face full of worry, though it was hard to tell how much of that she had truly taken in. But Su Zhihan didn't count on her understanding anyway. Besides, wasn't there a Ji Han waiting in the wings? He couldn't possibly stay invisible while his own woman was being bullied like this.