After The Cannon Fodder Died, She Became The Female Lead’s White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 13

Shen Sijin planned to go out today to replenish household essentials. Because she was a bit afraid of crowds, she specifically asked Che Gulai to go with her, which also fulfilled the request she had previously agreed to about taking her out.

Che Gulai did not refuse, as it fit right into her plans.

They went to the biggest supermarket in town. It was busy because the New Year was approaching.

Seeing so many people, a slight chill rose on Shen Sijin’s back, and she felt a little resistant, but fortunately, Che Gulai was by her side, so she wasn’t as scared.

Che Gulai wore a black coat, a baseball cap, and a face mask. She was completely covered, her hands in her pockets, following Shen Sijin with a casual indifference.

“Is there anything you want to buy?” Shen Sijin asked as she browsed.

“No,” she replied coldly.

Her mind wasn’t on shopping. She was preoccupied with figuring out how to shake off Shen Sijin, but Shen Sijin kept turning around to talk to her, making it impossible for Che Gulai to leave.

Gradually, she grew a little impatient. When Shen Sijin asked her again if she liked eating green dates, her tone was unconsciously irritated. “No, I don’t want to eat anything. Don’t ask me again.”

Shen Sijin paused with the green dates in her hand, seemingly puzzled. “Ah, but I remember you liking them.”

Only after speaking did Che Gulai realize her tone had been too harsh. Thinking of her plan, she moderated her voice, returning to her usual calm tone, offering a fake show of concern. “Just pick what you like.”

Shen Sijin beamed, her smile bright. “Thank you for worrying about me, but I don’t really have a preference. I’ll just buy things for you.”

Since she put it that way, Che Gulai didn’t bother continuing the false concern. She just answered with an “Mhm.”

Afterward, it was mostly Shen Sijin doing the shopping. After finally leaving the supermarket, they went to the farmer’s market to buy vegetables.

The market was noisy and crowded with people of all ages. Order was poor, and vehicles were stuck in the crowd, unable to move.

The two were quickly separated by a motorized rickshaw. The crowd was dense. Che Gulai seized the opportunity and quickly mingled with the people, walking in the opposite direction.

She successfully got rid of Shen Sijin. She borrowed a phone from a young woman and made a call.

The call was answered after half a minute.

“Hello, who is this—”

“Xiao Xu,” Che Gulai said curtly.

“Ms. Che?” Xiao Xu on the other end paused for a few seconds, asking with suspicion.

“Mhm.”

“Ms. Che, are you alright now? Is your personal safety at risk?!” Xiao Xu on the phone yelled in a panic. “You suddenly disappeared. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. We only got a slight lead a few days ago and were just about to come and find you…”

“How is the company?” Che Gulai interrupted her, asking pointedly.

“There are no major issues. The fact that you went missing hasn’t been leaked, but—”

“But what?” Che Gulai said coldly.

“We found your location a few days ago, and we were planning to come find you, but—” Xiao Xu said tactfully. “But… your adoptive father suddenly caused a scene at the company, acting crazy and causing trouble, which greatly affected the company’s reputation. We’ve been dealing with that, so we haven’t had time to come and find you.”

“That man isn’t dead?” Che Gulai’s eyes were sinister. “He has nine lives.”

“Ms. Che, your adoptive father seems to be mentally unstable. He keeps mumbling about killing… you.”

The adoptive father Xiao Xu referred to was her last foster parent. The foster mother had died after they decided to abandon her. The man was a gambling addict who had taken out high-interest loans. Desperate, he thought of Che Gulai, his former foster daughter, hoping to leverage the kindness of raising her to make Che Gulai help him pay off the loans.

Che Gulai didn’t lend him any money. This nominal adoptive father had only treated her as a tool to abuse during the time he raised her. Drunken beatings and being scalded with boiling water were common occurrences.

Later, when they had no money to raise her, they decided to give up custody.

Che Gulai had already given the man all the money she owed him when she started earning, and she no longer owed him anything after that.

Afterward, the man shamelessly tried to extort a large sum from her to pay off the high-interest loans. Che Gulai no longer had any feelings for him. His life or death was irrelevant to her, so she refused to lend him the money.

Later, the man had three fingers chopped off by the loan sharks. He felt she was ungrateful and became resentful. He then took a knife and ran to her company, wanting Che Gulai to also experience that pain.

Che Gulai felt utterly disgusted, as if a leech had attached itself to her.

Xiao Xu said cautiously over the phone, “Ms. Che, I think it’s best if you don’t come back to the company right now. Your adoptive father seems determined to cause trouble for you. If he finds you, it will pose a safety risk.”

“I understand,” Che Gulai narrowed her eyes. “I am temporarily not in danger here. Deal with him quickly, then come over.”

“Are you really not in danger?” Xiao Xu didn’t believe her. Lord knew how terrified she was when she found out Ms. Che had been taken away by Shen Sijin.

What kind of woman was Shen Sijin?

Manic, completely unstable, mentally ill.

No one wanted to be targeted by her.

“Mhm.” Che Gulai vaguely thought she heard Shen Sijin’s voice. She wrapped up the call quickly. “I won’t return for now. Get rid of this trash quickly.”

“Yes.”

“Also, what has Zhou Zi been up to lately?”

“He’s been frantically looking for… you. He came to the company a few times. We handled him, and he seems to have quieted down recently.”

Quiet down.

Impossible.

Zhou Zi was arrogant and obsessive. He would never give up on something he wanted. He was probably plotting something new.

Che Gulai felt utterly annoyed.

She ended the call and handed the phone back to the young woman. “Thank you.”

The woman found her to be very elegant and out of place in this small town. Although she couldn’t see her whole face, she felt she was a beautiful and charismatic person.

“Che Gulai!” Shen Sijin’s voice came from the crowd.

Che Gulai turned and saw Shen Sijin running through the crowd. Her body wasn’t well. She was panting after running for just a moment. She said breathlessly, “Where did you go? Didn’t you promise to stay by my side?”

“It’s crowded, I got separated,” Che Gulai said calmly.

“You have to stick with me, or I won’t be able to find you,” Shen Sijin’s concern was genuine. “What if you can’t find your way home?”

Che Gulai thought she was overreacting. She wasn’t a child. If anyone looked like they would get lost, it was Shen Sijin.

Seeing that Shen Sijin wanted to say more, she couldn’t stand being lectured by a girl younger than her, so she coldly cut the conversation short. “That’s enough. If there’s anything else you haven’t bought, buy it quickly. I’m tired.”

“Alright. Then you have to stay with me, okay?” Shen Sijin said uneasily, acting as if Che Gulai were the child.

Che Gulai internally wanted to laugh at her innocence, but then felt annoyed again and responded with a perfunctory “Mhm.”

The two bought a few more things. Che Gulai noticed that Shen Sijin was very easy to fool. Some vendors saw she was young, assumed she was inexperienced, and deliberately raised the prices. Shen Sijin didn’t even notice anything wrong and foolishly paid.

There were even a few vendors who insisted she buy things. Shen Sijin would show an embarrassed reluctance, seemingly unable to refuse, and then obediently paid.

Che Gulai originally didn’t want to interfere, letting her be cheated. But then she realized she was too silly and couldn’t even keep track of how much money she was losing. Che Gulai was a self-serving businesswoman. She always had a reason to demand things from others and would never let herself be taken advantage of. Shen Sijin’s foolishness was clearly unbearable to her.

In a seafood shop, Che Gulai stopped Shen Sijin’s hand as she reached for her wallet.

Shen Sijin looked at her, confused.

“The price of these shrimp is wrong,” Che Gulai said.

The owner was a plump middle-aged woman. Hearing this, she spoke in heavily accented Mandarin. “What’s wrong? Our prices are all the same.”

“The woman in the yellow down jacket bought the exact same shrimp as us, and the weight was the same, so why are we paying twenty yuan more than her?” Che Gulai spoke unhurriedly, her composure carrying a subtle sense of intimidation.

The woman clearly hadn’t expected Che Gulai to be so observant. She had noticed earlier that the short-haired girl next to her was probably a first-timer, unaware of being cheated by the surrounding vendors. Driven by greed, she had also deliberately inflated the price. After all, these two looked like first-time visitors and had no idea about the local prices.

Caught red-handed, the woman became embarrassed and angry. “What are you little girl talking about? You’re lying!”

The woman’s voice was loud and rough, drawing the attention of the surrounding customers.

Shen Sijin was very uncomfortable being noticed by so many people. She cautiously tugged on Che Gulai’s coat, advising quietly, “Che Gulai, maybe we should just forget it. Too many people are looking at us…”

“Be quiet,” Che Gulai whispered.

Shen Sijin pursed her lips and fell silent.

Che Gulai maintained her composed, detached appearance. “Is that so? Do you need me to call that person back and ask her?”

The woman was feeling guilty, afraid that the woman in black would actually do it. The surrounding people were regular customers. If the regulars found out, she would lose face and it would affect new customers’ purchases.

She could only accept her bad luck. She had thought the woman in black was also a pushover.

The plump woman forced a smiling face. “Oh dear, little sister, I apologize. I misread the price just now. I’m sorry.”

With all the shopping finally done, the two walked toward home.

Shen Sijin looked at Che Gulai’s back, wanting to speak but hesitating. Finally, she made up her mind, ran up, and asked her, “Che Gulai, why did you help me just now?”

“What?” Che Gulai didn’t know what she was referring to.

“I mean the matter with the seafood shop owner trying to scam me. You spoke up for me.”

Che Gulai sneered. “And you have the nerve to bring it up, you idiot.”

Shen Sijin wasn’t angry at being insulted. She had already accepted that this was Che Gulai’s temperament. She was just a little surprised that Che Gulai had helped her.

How should she put it?

She felt a sense of closeness between them.

It felt like she wasn’t living alone; someone would also stand up for her.

Even though it was a very small matter.

It was enough to make her emotional and happy.

Thinking this, a soft pleasure bloomed in her heart. Her lips curved into a smile, her dimples faintly visible, and her eyes crinkled.

“Che Gulai, thank you.”

Why is this woman suddenly smiling?

Che Gulai couldn’t understand.

“It’s because you’re so stupid. Don’t thank me,” Che Gulai maintained her indifferent expression, cold as ice and without any warmth.

Shen Sijin was happy, and because of that, she even found Che Gulai’s cold expression beautiful.

The two walked side by side. Shen Sijin looked at their two shadows stretching long on the ground.

Before transmigrating to this world, there was always only her single shadow accompanying her, alone.

Having two shadows next to hers felt like a long-lost sense of normalcy to her.

The ordinary life she couldn’t have in the past.

Thank you for reading 😀