I Rely on Gifting the Female Supporting Character to Get Cash Back (GL) - Chapter 1

Qin Ran transmigrated to this world, and it was nearly twenty years ago.

She had pretty good luck; heaven had been kind to her, both in her last life and this one. In her previous life, she was the eldest daughter of the Qin family. Although her father didn’t love her and her mother didn’t cherish her, she was never short of money. In this life, despite being born in an orphanage without parents, she was bound to a system.

The system’s name was very simple and straightforward: Cash Back Tycoon System. The only catch was that she needed to bind a person. Only after binding them and spending money on them could the system give her cash back. The ratio was 100:1—spend 100 yuan on the other person, get 1 yuan back for herself. The cash back ratio could increase as the total amount spent grew.

When she learned about this, she hadn’t even learned to walk yet. She was sitting on the orphanage floor, pushing a small ball. She watched the welfare agency staff talk to the orphanage director, and after their conversation, the staff member gave Qin Ran a sympathetic look and left. From then on, Qin Ran made her home in the orphanage.

In the beginning, the system kept urging Qin Ran to bind someone, whether it was the orphanage director or the kind children around her. Five years later, when Qin Ran would stand in a corner hugging a doll and watching others, the system thought: even if she binds an animal, like a dog, that would be fine.

But Qin Ran still didn’t want to bind anyone else. Perhaps because her previous life was too smooth, her obsession with money wasn’t strong, and she felt having too much money was useless. She wasn’t a person with strong desires; after all, even in her past life with vast wealth, she chose to stay at home as a homebody. Even as an orphan in this life, she could live smoothly based on the knowledge in her head.

Her attitude frustrated the system half to death. By the time Qin Ran grew up and reached fifteen without binding an object, the system had become indifferent. Qin Ran was the type of person who would rather work part-time, like at the convenience store near the school gate in the evenings, than bind an object.

However, everything took a turn when Qin Ran entered high school at sixteen. She fell for someone: an upperclassman two years older than her, Yu Shuman. In a very dramatic sense, Qin Ran would never forget the day she met Yu Shuman for the first time. Yu Shuman was eighteen that year, in her final year of high school (Grade 12), and would soon graduate and head to university.

But misfortune had also befallen Yu Shuman; her mother was diagnosed with leukemia, which required a huge amount in medical fees and a search for a matching bone marrow.

Qin Ran knew of this upperclassman because she was pulled into a fundraising drive right after entering the school. Although she didn’t want to bind the system just for money, she truly was poor and couldn’t pull out even five yuan from her pocket. Before she could speak, a classmate who had moved up from the middle school section explained for her, “Hey, don’t ask Qin Ran. It’s hard to say who’s more pitiful, her or that upperclassman. Qin Ran grew up without parents in the orphanage; she doesn’t have a penny in her pocket.”

Hearing this, the person soliciting donations felt awkward and didn’t press Qin Ran, but Qin Ran remembered the name of the person they were raising funds for: Yu Shuman.

Quite pleasant-sounding.

This was Qin Ran’s initial impression of Yu Shuman, but what truly made her remember her was an evening when Qin Ran finished her class duties and went to take out the trash. It was already dark; the sunset painted the evening clouds red, tinged with pink, making the edge of the sky look exceptionally beautiful. The sunset was so gorgeous that Qin Ran paused for a moment.

When she remembered she had a part-time job that evening, she quickly moved forward, intending to hurry off after throwing away the trash.

But a sound of sobbing, coming from who knows where, made Qin Ran stop. She wasn’t an overly empathetic person, nor did she think she ought to check on someone else crying. It was just that the girl was crying so sadly, so heartbrokenly, that Qin Ran felt a little helpless. She finally followed the sound and found the crying person behind a flower bed.

This was her first encounter with Yu Shuman. She stood there looking a bit dumbfounded, wearing a pair of unfashionable glasses and holding a trash can. Realizing her appearance wasn’t ideal, she put down the trash can and slowly walked over. She pulled a handkerchief from her pants pocket and extended it towards Yu Shuman.

Qin Ran was poor; small packets of tissues were too expensive, a handkerchief was cheaper.

Yu Shuman was sitting with her head down beside the flower bed, her ponytail hanging down behind her, obscuring her face. The faint afterglow of the distant sunset fell upon Yu Shuman, casting a warm yellow light on one side of her hair. She seemed to have heard Qin Ran’s footsteps but didn’t dare to look up, merely reaching out to wipe her tears.

When Qin Ran walked closer, Yu Shuman lifted her head and saw the handkerchief in front of her.

Yu Shuman was momentarily stunned, wondering who still carried a handkerchief these days. Qin Ran’s handkerchief was especially cute. It was white overall, with two rows of pink lines along the four edges. She had folded it neatly into a square, and the side facing up in her hand had a little pink rabbit on it.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected to see such a handkerchief, but Yu Shuman suddenly burst into a smile through her tears.

“What is this… it’s a little rabbit.”

Qin Ran found it hard to describe the scene she witnessed. She stood in front of Yu Shuman, who was sitting on the flower bed. The moment Yu Shuman looked up, teardrops still clung to her eyelashes. The ray of sunset light that hit her hair also fell upon her cheek. Her jawline was outlined by the sunset, and the light and shadow made her features look more beautiful. But none of that compared to the moment she smiled through her tears.

Although her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyelashes were beaded with them, she smiled the instant she saw the little rabbit. Her eyes curved, the tears reflecting the sunlight and becoming sparkly, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up, as if the little rabbit had thoroughly amused her.

A moment later, she reached out, took the handkerchief from Qin Ran’s hand, and said, “Thank you.” She then unceremoniously used the handkerchief to wipe her tears, and she even blew her nose.

At that moment, Qin Ran only had one thought: The handkerchief is dirty, I can’t use it anymore.

Yu Shuman patted the flower bed next to her, inviting Qin Ran to sit down. Heaven knows what Qin Ran was thinking at that moment; between sitting next to this strange person she had never met and rushing to her part-time job before she was late, she chose to sit down.

The strange person wiped her face clean and casually tucked the handkerchief into her pocket, not minding that it was covered in her tears and snot. Instead, she turned to Qin Ran and said, “Sorry for making you see a spectacle. I just couldn’t hold it in and cried. I’m Yu Shuman from Class 3-1. Thank you for the handkerchief, I’ll buy a new one and return it to you later. Which class are you in?”

Qin Ran thought: So, she’s that Yu Shuman.

At this moment, she also understood why Yu Shuman was crying. Anyone encountering something like that would surely break down, right? She also thought that Yu Shuman didn’t need to return it; after all, although Qin Ran was poor, one person’s hunger meant the whole family was fed (a single person has less to worry about), and Yu Shuman’s situation was probably worse than hers now.

At the very least, Qin Ran had a tycoon system, so there was no way she could starve to death.

Yu Shuman was different; she was genuinely troubled by money, and if she couldn’t raise the funds, her family would face a tragedy. Qin Ran knew that money wasn’t everything in this world, but too many people were held back by it. She was grateful that heaven favored her, yet she also disliked the supremacy of money.

As if by a strange impulse, Qin Ran opened her mouth and asked, “Were you crying just now because of money?”

Yu Shuman froze for a moment, then smiled. She tilted her head as she looked at Qin Ran. The sunset light filtered through the gaps in her hair, making her smile seem dreamy. Qin Ran heard her say, “Yes, exactly. The most difficult thing in this world is the word ‘money.’ But money, well, money is a scoundrel. Spend it all and earn it again. I guess you know about my family situation. I plan to list our house cheaply and sell it quickly, get the money, and take my mother for treatment.”

When she said “money is a scoundrel,” her voice had a tone of gritted teeth, but towards the end, her entire demeanor became positive and proactive. Her family’s situation was clearly as dim as the setting sun, yet Yu Shuman was like a rising one.

“Right, what’s your name? Which class are you in? I still need to return your handkerchief!”

Yu Shuman asked again. This time, Qin Ran answered: “My name is Qin Ran, from Class 1-3.”

Unexpectedly, Yu Shuman had also heard of Qin Ran’s name. She smiled exceptionally happily: “What a coincidence! Aren’t we famous for being the two poor kids! I’m your upperclassman, yet you saw me like this—I’m quite embarrassed.” She laughed freely, patted her clothes, stood up from the flower bed, and took two steps forward: “I have to go to the hospital. Thank you for your handkerchief. I’ll bring it to you in a couple of days, so wait for me!”

She waved at Qin Ran with the sunset behind her, radiating a bright smile even during the most difficult time of her life.

In that moment, Qin Ran didn’t want that smile to disappear, but she was unwilling to bind the system just for her. She could only bury this memory and didn’t take Yu Shuman’s words to heart; she needed to take care of herself first, there was no need for her to return a handkerchief.

In fact, Qin Ran’s guess was correct. The fact that she was crying so intensely meant her situation was far from the “I still have a way” position she described. She even took a month’s leave for it. As the current focus of attention in the school, Yu Shuman’s affairs concerned everyone. Even if Qin Ran didn’t pay attention, she would hear about Yu Shuman from others.

Qin Ran didn’t plan to do anything for her until an upperclassman from Class 3-1 came to the classroom door.

“Is Qin Ran here?”

When she went out, the unfamiliar upperclassman handed her a beautifully wrapped square box. Qin Ran opened it; a neatly folded handkerchief lay inside: “Yu Shuman said she’s returning this to you.”