Cannon Fodder – Chapter 23 – Make the Heroine Fall in Love With Me

Before long, Su Tao walked in with the doctor, accompanied by Dongfang Yang.

The reason he hadn’t slept all night wasn’t because he was worried about Chi Xiaocheng. Rather, it was because he was worried about Su Tao.

Now that Chi Xiaocheng had woken up, he could finally persuade Su Tao to get some proper rest.

The doctor stepped forward first, observing Chi Xiaocheng’s complexion before checking some of the instruments connected to her. Then he asked, “How are you feeling now?”

“Not bad,” Chi Xiaocheng answered truthfully. “My head feels a bit heavy, my whole body is weak, and it’s hard to even lift my hand. Also, I feel a little cold, but my breath is hot. No coughing or phlegm ¹ the sticky greenish goo that runs down your nose or you cough out whenever you get a severe flu .”

The doctor nodded. “You were already physically weak and anemic. The main issue now is the high fever. Other than that, there aren’t any other serious problems. You need more rest and better nutrition. Stay hospitalized for a few days to monitor your condition.”

“Don’t stop taking your medicine.” After saying this, the doctor fell silent for a while before glancing at Su Tao and Dongfang Yang. Hesitantly, he added, “Also, the… injury on your arm is the main cause of your anemia. Don’t do something like that again in the future.”

After giving a quick look at the IV drip connected to Chi Xiaocheng, the doctor hurried out to adjust the medication based on her current condition.

Once he left, Su Tao gently sat back down on the small stool by the bed.

Dongfang Yang, meanwhile, leaned against the table with an amused expression. “So, care to explain what’s really going on with you?”

Chi Xiaocheng glanced at Dongfang Yang before turning her head away. “Don’t want to.”

“You—” Dongfang Yang suppressed a smile and took a deep breath. “You caused such a huge scene tonight, and now you’re just going to say nothing? Su Tao even got a high fever because of you. Ye Liang probably wants to kill you by now.”

“Sorry…” Chi Xiaocheng lowered her head again, looking at Su Tao, her voice softening.

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This apology was clearly meant for Su Tao.

Her crimson eyes, usually striking, were now misty, evoking tenderness in anyone who saw them.

Su Tao gently held one of Chi Xiaocheng’s hands and turned to Dongfang Yang. “Alright, stop pressing her. Let Xiaocheng rest first.”

Dongfang Yang sighed helplessly at the two of them. “Fine. Su Tao, you should get some rest too. You’re not in much better shape than Chi Xiaocheng here.”

“Mhm, I’ll stay with Xiaocheng a little longer. I’ll sleep after she falls asleep.”

Her hospital room was right next door, and she knew that right now, the priority was to soothe Chi Xiaocheng’s emotions.

Chi Xiaocheng, of course, also wanted to sleep. She was exhausted. But with Su Tao by her side, she couldn’t help but want to keep looking at the girl who had stayed up with a fever just to take care of her.

There were things she wanted to say to Su Tao.

But with Dongfang Yang present, Chi Xiaocheng decided against it.

After the doctor returned to change her IV drip, she finally couldn’t hold on any longer and was coaxed to sleep by Su Tao.

Only after confirming that Chi Xiaocheng was truly asleep did Su Tao stand up, carefully tucking her small hand under the blanket and smoothing out the stray strands of hair that had fallen across her face.

Then, she quietly left the room with Dongfang Yang.

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Once outside, she pressed a hand to her forehead, fighting back the weakness and discomfort in her body. “Dongfang Yang, thank you for tonight. I really wouldn’t have known what to do without you.”

He had helped her so much along the way.

Hearing Su Tao’s praise and gratitude, Dongfang Yang’s lips curled into a faint smile, a touch of sweetness blooming in his heart. “If it’s something related to you, I can’t just stand by and do nothing. You should rest properly now. I’ll have someone keep an eye on both of you.”

“Mhm, I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”

“Sure.”

If Su Tao had been the only one sick, and Dongfang Yang had gone to such lengths to accompany and care for her, she might have developed much stronger feelings for him.

But right now, all her thoughts were focused on Chi Xiaocheng.

What she felt for Dongfang Yang was mostly gratitude.

As for romance? Her mind was too chaotic to even consider such things.

Leaning against the wall as she walked back to her room, she found herself unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The next morning at 8 AM, Chi Xiaocheng, having rested through the night, was awakened by a nurse.

With the nurse’s help, she washed up, had her medication changed, and ate breakfast.

By 9 AM, everything was settled. After eating, her complexion had improved significantly.

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Her energy and spirit were nothing like the previous night.

Propped up in bed, she idly played with her phone. “At the very least, I should be safe for the next few days while I’m hospitalized. Ye Liang won’t cause trouble for me now. But I still need to prepare for after I’m discharged.”

“And then there’s Su Tao. These next few days are crucial for raising her affection. I need to come up with a plan.”

Just then, the system in her mind suddenly spoke up.

[Host, I have a plan that can turn the tides in our favor.]

[The heroine is completely fixated on you now. Based on your actions yesterday, you can continue acting yandere over the next few days to deepen Su Tao’s impression of you.]

[You might not even need to raise affection points. Given the heroine’s personality, as long as you maintain the attitude of “If you don’t listen to me, I’ll die,” you should be able to control her easily, keh keh keh….]

Chi Xiaocheng rolled her eyes at the system’s words. “How many Soul Palace Elders ² random reference to cultivation novels did you eat to sound like that?”

She patiently explained her own thoughts. “Using yandere tactics to bind Su Tao is only a temporary solution. As a friend, she won’t just take it lying down. She’ll try to understand me and ‘fix’ me. If I keep acting suicidal in front of her, what happens after a while?”

“So raising affection is a must.”

“Step one was making Su Tao care about me, placing me above Dongfang Yang, Ye Liang, and the other main characters. The ‘death misunderstanding’ I created last night was effective for that.”

“But she’ll calm down after some time. Right now, I need to strike while the iron is hot.”

“I need to make her realize how cute I am, that I’m her one and only. Only by making her fall in love with me can I truly gain the protection of the heroine’s halo.”

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[But we’re the villains. Shouldn’t we do something more villainous?]

“Shallow!” Chi Xiaocheng snorted. “I never said I was a villain. Sure, my methods are extreme, but my intentions are pure. Just look at Su Tao’s mid-to-late story arcs.”

“Getting wrecked by a random female side character, betrayed by the male lead, losing her family and friends, and ending up killing herself.”

“I’m not doing this for selfish reasons. I’m doing it to save her! That’s why I have to take extreme measures!”

Chi Xiaocheng spoke with righteous fervor.

What evil yandere loli?

Please, my moral compass is perfectly upright!

Just as she was getting into the discussion with her system, her phone buzzed.

It was a message from Chen Qian, sent to her alternate account.

“What exactly did you do to Su Tao? She actually messaged me early in the morning asking such a weird question?”

Chi Xiaocheng’s eyebrows rose, a pleased smile appearing on her face.

She had only recruited Chen Qian and placed her by Su Tao’s side two days ago. She hadn’t expected results this quickly.

Now, her next plan could officially begin!