The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Lu Sangjiu had just picked up her chopsticks when she heard a woman’s soft, gentle voice from the courtyard.

"Cousin, are you home?"

The voice struck Lu Sangjiu as exceptionally familiar. The moment she heard it, she couldn’t help but frown, a wave of disgust rising from deep within her.

But after a moment’s confusion, she suddenly remembered... Right, the visitor must be Gu Jue’s cousin, Ye Zhiyao.

She didn’t notice that Gu Jue, beside her, had a similar reaction. He frowned first, then seemed to recall something, the confusion and displeasure in his eyes slowly fading.

"Wife, my cousin is here. Let’s go out and see her."

Gu Jue’s words snapped Lu Sangjiu back to her senses. She quickly stood up and walked out of the wooden cabin with him.

Ye Zhiyao was carrying a bamboo basket. When she saw the two of them... no, to be precise, when she saw Gu Jue emerge, a sweet smile immediately graced her face as she hurried over.

"Cousin, I just dug up some bamboo shoots in the forest. I remembered you like them, so I brought some over for you."

Gu Jue gave a slight nod. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Cousin."

Hearing the term "Cousin," Ye Zhiyao seemed a little displeased.

She said with a hint of reproach, "Didn’t I tell you to just call me Ayao, Cousin?"

Gu Jue: "..."

He stiffened slightly, seemingly unable to bring himself to say it.

Lu Sangjiu, who had been completely ignored, couldn’t help the twitch at the corner of her mouth. ’What is going on here?’

’No way, no way. Is she flirting with my husband right in front of me? And as his cousin, no less? Is this situation for real?’

Just then, another man’s voice rang out.

"Little Jiu, I heard you hurt your head yesterday. I brought you the pheasant I hunted today. You can make some soup with it this afternoon to help you recover."

Lu Sangjiu subconsciously looked up toward the main gate. She froze for a moment when she saw the visitor. "...Xie Ningyuan?"

The name slipped out almost automatically, and only then did she seem to recall his identity.

’Right... He was the older brother from the neighboring family. He later married Ye Zhiyao.’

The two of them lived right across from them.

’Hmm... If we’re going by family hierarchy, Xie Ningyuan should follow Ye Zhiyao in calling me sister-in-law.’

But as Ye Zhiyao’s husband, Xie Ningyuan ignored his wife standing nearby, instead carrying a pheasant straight over to Lu Sangjiu.

"Is your wound any better?"

As he spoke, he very naturally raised his hand to brush aside the bangs on Lu Sangjiu’s forehead to look at her wound.

But before he could touch her, Gu Jue reached out and grabbed his wrist.

Lu Sangjiu froze. She turned her head to look at Gu Jue and saw that the usually gentle man was now staring at Xie Ningyuan with a cold expression.

"Brother-in-law, even though we’re family, this is my wife. It’s not appropriate for you to touch her so casually."

Xie Ningyuan frowned slightly, his own expression turning sour.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Lu Sangjiu snapped out of it and quickly spoke up, "Gu, Xie—"

She instinctively wanted to use his name but stopped herself. She forced herself to say, "...Brother-in-law was just concerned about me. He didn’t mean any harm. Let it go."

Only then did Gu Jue let go of Xie Ningyuan’s wrist without another word.

Xie Ningyuan looked at Gu Jue with a half-smile, his tone tinged with an inexplicable mockery. "Aren’t you going to continue catching up with your dear Ayao?"

Ye Zhiyao seemed to sense the hidden meaning in his words. She stood awkwardly to the side, a hint of fear in her expression. "...Husband, why did you suddenly come over?"

Xie Ningyuan didn’t even look at her, only saying coolly, "I certainly didn’t come looking for you."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’What is with this awkward and bizarre situation?’

As she thought this, more memories immediately surfaced.

’Oh, right. Although Xie Ningyuan and Ye Zhiyao were married, their relationship was never very good.’

’And Ye Zhiyao is in love with Gu Jue, while Xie Ningyuan... is in love with me???’

At this thought, Lu Sangjiu was completely stunned. She felt as if her brain had been smeared with the plot of some trashy, melodramatic soap opera.

’You’ve got to be kidding me. Is the relationship between the four of us really this complicated, this melodramatic, this insane?’

At the same time, the other three also seemed to have just remembered something, and their expressions were a sight to behold.

After a moment of silence, Lu Sangjiu cleared her throat and took the pheasant from Xie Ningyuan’s hand. "Thank you, Brother-in-law!"

Xie Ningyuan frowned in displeasure. "What did you call me?"

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

Seeing her at a loss, Gu Jue spoke up coldly from the side, "Shouldn’t she be calling you brother-in-law?"

Ye Zhiyao, standing nearby, probably also found the situation a bit much. She cleared her throat and handed over her bamboo basket. "Cousin, take the bamboo shoots. I’ll be heading home now."

Ye Zhiyao shoved the basket into Gu Jue’s hands and turned to leave in a hurry.

Xie Ningyuan also gave a cold snort and didn’t linger.

Having finally seen the two of them off, Lu Sangjiu breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Gu..."

Gu Jue grunted in acknowledgment and took the things from her hands. "Let’s go back inside."

Lu Sangjiu once again felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and she quickly turned to go back into the house.

Her mind seemed much clearer now. She couldn’t help but go over the relationships between them all again. Then, for some reason, she suddenly felt a little guilty...

’Xie Ningyuan is in love with me... so, I’m not in love with him too, am I?’

Compared to the tangled loves and hates of the others, Lu Sangjiu realized her own feelings were not so clear.

It was as if her mind held no foregone conclusion on the matter; she would have to figure it out by feeling her way through it.

She ate the meal without tasting a thing, and she subconsciously wanted to avoid facing Gu Jue.

So when Gu Jue came in, Lu Sangjiu quickly grabbed a couple of dirty clothes. "You eat first. I’m going to wash a few things."

Gu Jue quickly said, "Your injury hasn’t healed yet. Just leave them, I’ll wash them in a bit!"

Lu Sangjiu shook her head. "It’s fine. I was feeling a bit stuffy anyway. It’ll be good to get out for a walk."

With her saying that, Gu Jue couldn’t really object further, and so Lu Sangjiu successfully left the house.

She hadn’t walked far from the house when she saw a small river.

She walked over to a shadier spot, squatted down, and began to wash the clothes.

But just as she had wet the clothes, she heard Xie Ningyuan’s voice, "You’re injured, and he still lets you come out to do laundry?"

His tone was hostile and clearly aimed at Gu Jue.

Lu Sangjiu froze, turning her head to see Xie Ningyuan walking toward her.

Seeing it was only Xie Ningyuan, Lu Sangjiu felt an inexplicable sense of relief. She quickly shook her head and defended Gu Jue. "I wanted to come out for some fresh air myself. Why are you out here?"

Xie Ningyuan stated bluntly, "Because I saw you come out."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’What... what does that mean? It can’t be what I think it means, can it???’

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!