After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 4

Chi Wei obediently sat on the sofa opposite her elder sister. Feeling guilty, she stole a glance at her brother, who had scooted over on his rolling chair. She lowered her head slightly, purposely staring at the lone box of tissues on the coffee table, not daring to look up.

As the youngest child of the Chi family, she had been pampered since birth. Her parents, her paternal grandparents, and even her maternal grandparents thousands of miles away all doted on her excessively.

Her brother, too, acted exactly as a protective older brother should. Only her eldest sister was consistently and exceptionally strict with her.

Thus, for as long as she could remember, Chi Wei had lived in fear of her big sister.

Once fear lasts long enough… it becomes a habit that is hard to break.

Over the years, Chi Wei’s fear of her sister had seeped into her very marrow. Even though Chi Yu’s face showed no signs of anger at the moment, Chi Wei didn’t dare relax—one could tell just by her ramrod-straight posture.

Leaning back on the sofa, Chi Yu looked at her “quail-like” little sister and couldn’t help but sigh internally. As her biological eldest sister, she still remembered exactly what Chi Wei looked like when she was first born.

Back then, Chi Wei’s tiny feet weren’t even as long as her finger.

With an eight-year age gap between them, who could say that she—already a big kid herself—hadn’t wanted to dote on this adorable little baby?

But the adults in the family spoiled Chi Wei far too much. How could that be allowed? Someone had to be the one to…

Forget it, there was no point dwelling on that. What mattered most was that Chi Wei hadn’t been completely warped by that overwhelming indulgence.

Chi Yu let out a soft breath and asked, “Why aren’t you speaking? Have you caused trouble again?”

Chi Wei: “…” In her sister’s eyes, it seemed she was an endless fountain of trouble.

Beside them, Chi Tu had long since put away his phone. Unlike Chi Yu’s cold exterior, his anxiety was plain to see: “Yeah, Little Sister, speak up! What actually happened? Did someone bully you? Or are you feeling unwell?”

Chi Wei felt conflicted. Her hospitalization the previous night was purely because she had fainted upon returning from the future. In her past life, none of that had happened; she had only gone to the emergency room early this morning because her stomach hurt so much she couldn’t stand it.

In her memory, she had taken her medicine and diagnostic report and rushed to the company to ask for leave. Instead, she was met with her sister’s fury for being late. Her sister had tossed the medical report aside and forced her to sit in the office for a full eight hours…

Back then, her sister didn’t give her a single chance to explain, convinced she was just throwing a tantrum because she was used to a carefree life and didn’t want to work.

In reality, that was exactly what had been happening.

Now that the game had restarted, the starting point was the same, but the path taken had changed significantly. Seeing her sister talking to her so calmly, she suddenly didn’t know how to answer.

Should she tell the truth? Or tell an “unfinished” lie?

It was a dilemma.

Under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, Chi Wei slowly spoke: “I was eating dinner last night and suddenly fainted for some reason. Feng Zhi and Yueyue took me to Siren Hospital. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me. Yueyue dropped me off after I woke up this morning… I just woke up too late…”

“So that’s why she’s late! See, Big Sister? I told you she wouldn’t be late on purpose. You wouldn’t listen and didn’t give her a chance to explain—you totally misunderstood her,” Chi Tu said with a hint of reproach in his tone.

Chi Yu glared at Chi Tu, who immediately pursed his lips and recoiled.

Chi Wei kept her head down, not daring to say more.

Chi Yu knew exactly what her younger siblings were like. Especially Chi Wei—forcing her to work wasn’t because she actually expected her to be a massive help. It was more out of concern that her little sister would lose herself in a life of idle pleasure and turn into a truly useless person.

All her “heartlessness” was merely an attempt to give the girl something to do.

She understood Chi Wei’s social circle. Those girls were different from her sister; they were all only children. Ming Rui was already helping at her family’s company, and it was only a matter of time before Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue returned to inherit their family businesses. They couldn’t truly play with her forever.

Chi Yu nodded. “As long as you’re okay. How are you feeling now? If there are no issues, I’ll have Li Sheng take you to the Marketing Department.”

“Eh? Really the Marketing Department? Not coming to my place?” Chi Tu craned his neck to look at Chi Wei.

As the children of a “shrewd merchant” and a “talented woman,” their talents were particularly prominent.

Chi Yu took after their father; on the business battlefield, she was unstoppable, a force of nature.

Chi Tu and Chi Wei had inherited their mother’s traits—both had been masters of drawing since they were young, though their styles and personalities differed.

The brother, Chi Tu, was both gifted and hardworking. Chi Wei, on the other hand, had coasted through graduation on her bit of talent and had no further ambitions.

Based on professional skills, it would be best for Chi Wei to work under her brother. However, the sight of Chi Tu frequently staying up late under a lamp drawing design drafts terrified her.

She admitted Chi Tu was a good brother, but his meticulous attitude toward work made Chi Wei firmly believe he would not be an easy-going boss.

Having one impartial, cold-hearted elder sister in the family was enough; her brother absolutely could not become like that too.

In her past life, Chi Wei had indeed verified this. From the moment she became her brother’s employee, she never again enjoyed Chi Tu’s blind, unconditional praise!

However, her greatest enemy from both her past and present lives was also in her brother’s Design Department. She kind of wanted to go there now… what should she do?

Chi Wei’s gaze flickered. Chi Yu and Chi Tu both noticed her wavering.

Chi Tu immediately spoke up: “Little Sister, think about it carefully. You’re such a ‘salted fish’—the Marketing Department definitely won’t suit you. You have to fight for performance targets there. Even though you have your own resources, they’ll run out eventually. Listen to your brother: come to the Design Department. You like sleeping in, right? If you come to my place, as long as you turn in one draft a week, you don’t even have to clock in or sit in the office!”

“Chi Tu,” Chi Yu glanced sideways. “The company has rules. There is no base salary for those who don’t work in the office.”

At the beginning of the month, she had emphasized at the dinner table that once Chi Wei started working, no one was allowed to secretly give money to this “hand-fed” little sister anymore, except during holidays. Although the Design Department had commissions, a newly hired design assistant who didn’t show up to the office would have nothing left after the base salary was docked.

Chi Tu quickly patted his chest. “Don’t worry, Little Sister! If the company docks your pay, Brother will make it up to you! Come to my place! I’ve got your back!”

Looking at Chi Tu’s hand on his chest, a smile finally appeared on Chi Wei’s face. “Is that okay? Then I think that’s alright.”

“Of course it is!” Chi Tu nodded in guarantee.

Having reached an agreement, the two siblings looked at each other, then simultaneously and silently turned to look at the higher authority.

The gold frames of Chi Yu’s glasses reflected the brilliant sunlight. She nudged the edge of the lens with the back of her finger and checked the red watch on her wrist. “I have a lunch meeting with a client. Chi Tu, you take Xiao Wei to eat.”

“Leave it to me,” Chi Tu nodded with a grin, knowing that Big Sister’s lack of objection was her way of agreeing.

As Chi Wei watched her sister leave with her coat, her shoulders immediately slumped. She pressed a hand to her chest and stood up. “Director Tu, care to show me your office?”

Chi Tu’s Chief Designer office was adjacent to Chi Yu’s. The space was roughly the same size, but it was cluttered, making it look much smaller visually.

Chi Wei followed him and sat in the swivel chair opposite his desk. The smile on her face looked rather roguish. “Brother, I just started this week, so this week shouldn’t count, right?”

“Shouldn’t count for what?” Chi Tu leaned back boldly in his office chair, tossing his phone aside.

The phone landed on a mess of blueprints with a light thud.

Chi Wei said shamelessly, “The drafts! Can I start turning them in next week instead?”

“You brat, only a wall away from Big Sister and you’ve already shown your true colors and started haggling?” Chi Tu looked at his sister, who was also slumped in her chair. “A girl like you shouldn’t be so slouchy. This is just the beginning. I have to remind you, Little Sister: perform well. Turn in a satisfactory draft by Friday. I’ll take it to Big Sister and brag a bit, say some good things for you so you can pass your probation quickly. There’s no future for a design assistant; a designer’s salary is much higher.”

Chi Wei pursed her lips. “How much higher could it be?”

Chi Tu laughed. “A design assistant gets 8,000 a month. A designer’s base salary is 10,000, plus another 10,000 for every draft used. There are plenty of talented designers in our department; the competition is brutal.”

Chi Wei was about to say “That’s all?”, but the moment she met her brother’s eyes, her tone shifted sharply: “…The difference is that big?!”

Chi Tu smiled. “So you have to take it seriously. No joking around.”

Chi Wei hummed an “oh.” Remembering her brother’s seriousness toward work, she didn’t dare say anything else reckless. She picked at the solid wood desk for a moment before finishing the thought she had started back in her sister’s office: “That person is my romantic rival.”

“What? Who?” Chi Tu looked at his cluttered desk. He seemed distracted, but his reaction was lightning-fast. “What did you say? You’re in love?”

Chi Wei smiled, her eyes curving. “Unilateral love, I suppose.”

“Oh, unrequited love,” Chi Tu nodded, then suddenly looked up. “Who did you say was your rival? Is it—that Chu person you asked about?”

Chi Wei watched Chi Tu’s finger pointing toward the office next door and nodded her head vigorously.

Seeing that Chi Wei wasn’t joking, Chi Tu’s brows gradually knit together. “Little Sister, we have to have principles. Stealing someone’s partner is not okay.”

“What are you talking about?!” Chi Wei waved her hand dismissively at the implication. “They aren’t together yet; I’m not being a homewrecker. I’m saying we are pursuing the same person. We’re competitors.”

“Competitors? Oh, that’s fine then. Go ahead and chase them. Tell me whatever help you need from Brother,” Chi Tu sat up straighter, clasping his hands together and looking at his sister with a serious face.

When it came to dating, the three of them were very open-minded. They had no hang-ups—anyone could date, and they could date whoever they wanted. As long as the other person had a good character and wasn’t a total creep, they would support one another.

As the old saying goes: “When one is warm and well-fed, one’s thoughts turn to lust.” As children of the Chi family, they never had to worry about where their next meal was coming from. Wanting to be in love was perfectly normal.

When Chi Tu was Chi Wei’s age, he’d already had three to five relationships. Chi Wei was actually a late bloomer. As an experienced hand and her biological brother, he was definitely going to give her his full support.

Chi Wei thought for a moment and said, “It’s nothing major. I just wanted to ask, Brother… can you make that Chu person work overtime tonight? Help me hold her back.”