I Rely on Gifting the Female Supporting Character to Get Cash Back (GL) - Chapter 6

Yu Shuman was beautiful; she was naturally captivating and a shining light in any crowd. The beautiful and sassy dance outfit perfectly accentuated her figure and matched her makeup. She wore a headset microphone near her mouth, and as the music started playing from the speakers, she began her dance moves.

Yu Shuman’s singing and dancing abilities were not outstanding; she was a self-taught newcomer. But she was diligent. Although it was evident that she lacked a strong foundation in dance, she put forth her best effort into every movement. Coupled with her captivating expressions, she momentarily stunned the audience.

Qin Ran sat in the audience, her eyes fixed on Yu Shuman without blinking. She watched her dance on stage, heard her singing amplified through the microphone from the speakers, saw the sweat dripping from her temples, and most importantly, she saw the smile on her face.

Yu Shuman’s face was constantly alight with a smile—her flamboyant, unrestrained, passionate, vivid, and lively smile. In this moment, she was enjoying being the center of attention; she was happy on stage. Knowing this made Qin Ran feel that all her efforts had not been wasted. She had been afraid that Yu Shuman only wanted to make money to repay her gratitude, and didn’t actually like the feeling of being on stage.

But in this moment, Qin Ran was certain that Yu Shuman also loved her current self.

Just as she had instructed Sister Li, Yu Shuman was having a great time.

After the song was finished, Yu Shuman was slightly breathless from her burst of energy. Her chest heaved up and down, heavy breaths escaped her mouth, and sweat relentlessly streamed down her temples. Her eyes were bright, more dazzling than the stage lights. She bowed to the judges with excitement. After a brief comment from the judges, it was unsurprising that she was announced as having passed the preliminary selection.

When the judges announced the word “pass,” even though she knew the result, Yu Shuman couldn’t help but smile. Her friends and family in the audience erupted in cheers. Someone shouted her name: “Yu Shuman! You can do it! Go, Shuman!” Yu Shuman, at the staff’s prompt, waved to her support group as she walked off stage.

Normally, after Yu Shuman’s performance, her support group would leave. However, Qin Ran decided to stay a bit longer, at least until after the female protagonist’s performance. The others decided to look around and wait for the rest of Sister Li’s team to leave so they could hitch a ride. Before they left, they specifically came to ask Qin Ran if she wanted to go with them. Sister Li interjected, “It’s fine, she can just leave with me later.” That put their minds at ease.

Sister Li, sitting in the staff’s exclusive seating area, gestured for Qin Ran to join her. Qin Ran looked like a well-behaved student, but after she sat down, Sister Li’s words were completely different: “Boss, still planning on checking out the competition?”

“…Mhm.”

Sister Li kept her eyes on the stage but talked to Qin Ran about several artists worth noting. Unsurprisingly, Qin Ran heard the female protagonist’s name mentioned. But the female protagonist was well-protected by her three older brothers and her CEO childhood friend, so not much information about her was leaked, only the name of her company.

“I don’t know her background, but since she’s from that family, she’s definitely not a simple person.”

Sister Li didn’t know her background, but Qin Ran did. So, she laid out all of the female protagonist’s secret identities, even revealing her family fortune and her relationship with the CEO of her company. The more Qin Ran spoke, the more numb Sister Li became. In the end, she could only sigh and remark, “It has to be you; you managed to uncover all of that background.”

Qin Ran wasn’t sure if that was compliment, so she simply said, “Thank you.”

As they spoke, several more artists performed, and soon it was the female protagonist’s turn. She was beautiful, a woman with the untainted, white lotus-like aura of someone emerging from the mud. Unlike the other contestants, the female protagonist wore a white Hanfu dress and sang a traditional Chinese-style song. She didn’t dance much, but she deftly twirled her long silk sleeves, knowing how to play to her strengths and hide her weaknesses.

This was Qin Ran’s first time seeing the female protagonist. She didn’t know how to describe her, only feeling that something was off. She was pretty, she spoke nicely, and her eyes, like rippling water, gently shimmered like a lake surface. But Qin Ran’s preconceived notions made it impossible for her to like her. Qin Ran leaned forward in her seat, trying to observe her more closely, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t spot any flaws.

It wasn’t until the female protagonist bowed and left that Qin Ran withdrew her gaze.

Sister Li’s voice came from the side: “She’s indeed a strong opponent, and she clearly has some talent. Plus, her appearance is the popular ‘aloof and cool’ type right now, and she has her own distinct style. She will be Yu Shuman’s rival.” Although survival shows have scripts, the individual companies can’t decide who the ultimate champion will be. The incident years ago where a contestant with only tens of thousands of online votes suddenly surpassed one with millions to seize the crown is still a mark of shame, and no one wants to repeat their mistake. So, everyone only requests to manipulate the process to advance to the final round; as for who becomes the champion, that depends on who has the highest public support online.

Winning the championship or not wasn’t really important; as long as Yu Shuman was happy.

But she couldn’t say that in front of Sister Li. After all, Sister Li was a career-driven workaholic. Having to relay the message “just have fun” had already nearly broken Sister Li. If Qin Ran said that again, Sister Li might choose to betray her, raise the banner of rebellion, and move to another company. Qin Ran was only able to poach Sister Li because she promised not to interfere with any of her work except for Yu Shuman, offered maximum support, and even promised to poach back an artist that Sister Li had previously managed only to have them stolen mid-way.

This whole process not only reawakened Sister Li’s ambition but also elevated her career.

Qin Ran could only nod, signaling that Sister Li was correct.

She then mentioned a few other names, suggesting that they had great potential and that some didn’t even have a company yet, making them good candidates to sign. Sister Li smiled: “You underestimate my professionalism. I noticed them ages ago; I was just waiting for you to say it.” Qin Ran said no more. After watching a few more performances, Qin Ran stood up, preparing to go back to school.

Sister Li asked if she wanted a ride, but Qin Ran refused, saying she had a ride coming to pick her up.

Sister Li asked what kind of car it was. Qin Ran told the truth: “My part-time boss’s car.”

“???”

Despite Sister Li’s puzzled look, Qin Ran was telling the truth. She had quit many of her part-time jobs, but she had been at this particular one for a long time. When she tried to resign, the boss was overly enthusiastic, asking Qin Ran if she was facing any difficulties. She even offered Qin Ran a raise… Faced with such a kind auntie, Qin Ran found it hard to say, “I struck it rich, so I quit.” Wouldn’t that hurt the woman’s feelings? As a person with social anxiety, Qin Ran could only stammer that she had no difficulties while being constantly roped back into the part-time job by her boss.

Fortunately, this job was relatively easy—serving food at the cafeteria… The auntie knew they were coming to watch Yu Shuman’s competition today, and she happened to be there selling packed lunches. She asked Qin Ran if she wanted to ride back with her. Faced with such a kind person, Qin Ran couldn’t refuse and could only hesitantly agree.

The moment she got into the boss’s car, Qin Ran regretted it. The auntie was too enthusiastic and wouldn’t give her a chance to speak. She kept going on and on: “Yu Shuman, you know, she used to work part-time for me too. I watched her go from entering school until now, and she’s finally able to earn some money. It’s not easy. I know about your background too. We’re all unfortunate people. If you ever have trouble, remember to tell me. If I can help, I definitely will.”

The System grumbled furiously in Qin Ran’s mind: “What is she doing?! I’m the one who can really help the Host! Why ask her?!”

Finally arriving at school, Qin Ran practically tumbled out of the auntie’s car. The auntie didn’t forget to remind Qin Ran: “Don’t forget to come for your part-time shift tonight!” At that moment, Qin Ran firmly decided: I must resign!

But by evening, she was still standing dutifully behind the cafeteria auntie’s stall, serving meals to the students. When her shift ended, she checked her phone during a lull and found many messages from Yu Shuman. Knowing Qin Ran was likely at work, Yu Shuman hadn’t tried to call her with voice messages.

Yu Shuman apologized for not being able to talk much today when they visited; Yu Shuman said she was very happy they came today; Yu Shuman asked how her performance was. Every few sentences, she included a cute emoji, which was completely different from her fierce “Yujie” stage persona today.

Qin Ran smiled, then typed her reply: Your singing and dancing were especially good today. We were all mesmerized.

She really wanted to tell Yu Shuman that she was incredibly beautiful on stage, that she was born to stand on that stage, and that she shone like a star. But Qin Ran couldn’t bring herself to say such things. She was inherently socially awkward; even after being at school for so long, besides her roommates, she couldn’t remember anyone else’s name.

Not long after Qin Ran sent her message, she received a voice call from Yu Shuman. Unprepared, Qin Ran fumbled to answer. Yu Shuman’s voice, low and slightly echoing, came through. Qin Ran guessed she was secretly calling her from a restroom.

“Junior, isn’t your Senior awesome?”

Qin Ran could picture Yu Shuman’s expression as she said that—a proud little face, a lively and animated smile on her lips. Since Yu Shuman was speaking softly, Qin Ran also subconsciously lowered her voice: “Yes, Senior is very awesome.” They rarely called each other by name, always using the titles Senior and Junior. Qin Ran felt this was nice, giving them a sense of closeness.

“I will continue to work hard, work hard to become a great person, work hard to earn big money. Then, I’ll ask you to be my assistant.”