I Rely on Gifting the Female Supporting Character to Get Cash Back (GL) - Chapter 7

From being the boss to becoming an artist’s assistant, Qin Ran’s position suddenly plummeted, but Qin Ran didn’t mind. Her eyes, smiling beneath her glasses, curved as she readily agreed: “Then I’ll rely on Senior to promote me.”

Yu Shuman’s laughter was hearty. Just as she was about to say something else, there was a knock on the door. With a quick “Oh no, I’ve been caught!” she hung up the phone.

The phone screen lingered on their three-minute call. Qin Ran smiled and put her phone away. The conversation with Yu Shuman gave her the strength to do certain things, such as telling her boss she was quitting her job.

Her boss still asked Qin Ran if she was having any difficulties, but Qin Ran shook her head: “The job is affecting my studies. I still want to prioritize my academics. The money I’ve earned is enough for several months’ living expenses. I’ll come back for part-time work if I need money later.” The boss reluctantly agreed, also telling her to feel free to come back if she ran into any trouble.

Qin Ran agreed but forgot about it the moment she walked out. The only thing she remembered was that the free dinner the boss insisted she take was quite tasty. But to avoid any future awkward encounters, Qin Ran decided never to go to that cafeteria again. As a socially anxious person, this was the best way for her to avoid trouble.

Qin Ran brought her meal box back to the dorm. Her roommates asked her how Yu Shuman’s performance was today. Qin Ran said it was pretty good. Her roommate then mysteriously told her to check the school forum. Qin Ran didn’t understand what she meant. She sat down at her desk, opened her computer, and started eating her dinner. After the computer booted up, she clicked into the school forum and immediately saw the brightly highlighted post.

[Go Yu Shuman! Your signed photo will be worth a fortune when you get famous!]

The original poster heavily praised Yu Shuman’s amazing stage performance and included many photos they took today. In the comments below, many juniors admired her: Senior is indeed beautiful. Other upperclassmen chimed in to explain how Yu Shuman, with just her face, had fought her way to the top three in the university’s “Campus Belle” elections three times.

In short, as students of A University, they should support A University’s “Campus Belle” as she bravely enters the entertainment industry.

Of course, some people disagreed, posing questions like: You’ve already been accepted into A University, isn’t running off to the entertainment industry as an idol a bit of a waste and putting the cart before the horse?

Immediately, a senior swooped in: I hope you remember that you enter university only to have more options, not to confine your choices strictly to your major.

While eating her dinner, Qin Ran liked all the comments praising Yu Shuman and left a message at the very bottom of the post: Go, Senior!

Yu Shuman was indeed going for it. After the initial selection of 50 people, they were required to form teams to prepare for the first official stage performance. Thanks to the company’s efforts, Yu Shuman was teamed up with four members who were all highly capable and somewhat well-known trainees. Her skill level was arguably the lowest in the group; her only advantage was her good looks.

She was happy about this, but her teammates were less so. Where there are people, there will inevitably be friction, and Yu Shuman naturally felt the hostility directed at her. When she was talking on the phone in the restroom, someone knocked on the door and was quite rude. Yu Shuman came out of the restroom with a smile on her face, not wanting to start a conflict.

The other person, however, was persistent, narrowing her eyes and sizing Yu Shuman up and down. Finally, she spoke: “It must be nice to have a big tree to shade you. Look, even with subpar skills, you can be placed in a good team. Advancing is practically guaranteed.” Yu Shuman initially thought the person had caught her using her phone, but she realized the person was talking about her company the moment she opened her mouth.

Yu Shuman watched her with a smile for a while, and only after the person finished speaking did she respond: “Don’t you have a company backing you?”

The person was speechless, and before she could say anything, Yu Shuman interrupted: “I remember you were also an artist recommended by a company, right? If you hadn’t been recommended by a company, could you have even made it into the preliminary selection by signing up yourself?” Those who signed up individually were already somewhat famous, and successfully signing up was a huge achievement. This person, Yu Shuman remembered, also had a company backing her, just like her own previous small company, which had tried many ways just to squeeze her in.

“You came here intentionally to say those things to me simply because you think my company is better than yours, and you’re jealous. There are many artists like me in this show. You’re not seeking them out because I’m a newcomer with zero fame. If I were backed by a small company, you might just assume I’m far inferior to you.”

She was always the type to speak her mind directly. Her straightforward speech made the person who came to pick a fight blush and unable to utter more than a few sentences. The person was good at being passive-aggressive, but when everything was laid out, she became less articulate. In short, she cared about her image. Yu Shuman, however, didn’t care; she was even willing to dissect the situation and explain it clearly to the person.

“I don’t know why you suddenly came to find me today, but this move is very stupid. You will offend me. You already know I’m backed by a big company, yet you still came to offend me. Isn’t that something only an idiot would do?”

Yu Shuman was partly thinking of the other person, but also herself. She didn’t want her positive experience on the show to be ruined by the person, nor did she want the person’s words to get out and damage the show’s image, dragging her down. As for whether her own words would get out… Yu Shuman was indifferent, especially since Sister Li had told her to just be happy. She didn’t take that as a polite remark, because Sister Li had been operating that way ever since taking her on.

She wouldn’t force her to do anything, everything was open for discussion, and she wouldn’t ask Yu Shuman to adopt a persona; just being herself was enough.

So, so far, Yu Shuman was having a very good time on the survival show. There weren’t many contestants like her who acted so spontaneously. The others’ true personalities were suppressed, hidden beneath layers of thick packaging.

Yu Shuman even suspected that this person came to find her because she was overly suppressed and needed to vent. Her venting wouldn’t harm Yu Shuman, who was kind enough to explain to the person just how foolish her actions were.

Yu Shuman truly had a heart of gold.

However, the person might not have grasped Yu Shuman’s kindness. She just gave Yu Shuman a cold glare, snorted, and left. Yu Shuman didn’t react as the person walked away. She simply returned to her bed and hid her phone. Moments later, a smile returned to Yu Shuman’s face. She thought about her friends coming to watch her competition today. Sister Li was nice enough to take them out for a big meal.

Yu Shuman was used to saving money and had never been to such a luxurious restaurant. She figured Qin Ran was the same. Qin Ran’s situation was even more dire than hers; she was an orphan from a young age, was never adopted from the orphanage, and had survived on her own until now, which was incredibly difficult. Qin Ran was even more determined than she was; she relied on donations from a social benevolent person, while Qin Ran was completely self-reliant.

She heard that Qin Ran paid for her university tuition herself, and her living expenses relied entirely on her own hard work. Thinking of this, Yu Shuman couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Qin Ran.

It was a good thing she insisted on bringing Qin Ran along today; at least she got to eat some delicious food. She smiled even more broadly, remembering how constrained Qin Ran looked when she served her food at lunch. Yu Shuman patted her own cheek, rousing herself.

—Go, Yu Shuman! Not just for yourself, not just to repay others’ kindness, but also for Qin Ran! We promised to remember each other when we get rich. Now is the time to get rich!

While Yu Shuman was plotting her continued success, Qin Ran, back in the dorm, couldn’t help but sneeze. She had no idea Yu Shuman was thinking about her this way. If she knew, she would probably feel guilty, embarrassed, and want to dig a hole and bury herself.

Because in reality, Qin Ran was never adopted as a child because she didn’t want to be. Every time potential adoptive parents came to the orphanage, she hid at the back; before high school, she had compulsory nine-year education and didn’t suffer much hardship. The local leaders were good; knowing she was an orphan, they would check on her during every festival. Furthermore, after entering high school, she bound Yu Shuman. Although the cash back initially wasn’t much, a mere fraction compared to now, it was enough for the Qin Ran, who wasn’t driven by strong material desires, to get by.

As for delicious, expensive food, that was something Qin Ran had eaten so much of in her previous life that she was a little tired of it.

Qin Ran rubbed her nose, wondering if she was catching a cold in early autumn, when it was still warm… She refocused her attention on the paper in front of her, no longer thinking about anything else. First-year university students were required to attend evening study sessions. Qin Ran should logically have been in the classroom right now, but Qin Ran skipped class. She was in the same major as Yu Shuman, and the ones checking the evening session were third-year students. Since they had all gone to the competition together today, the seniors would simply turn a blind eye to Qin Ran.

In fact, the senior who was on duty tonight had already told Qin Ran that if she was tired, she shouldn’t bother going, as she would definitely let it slide.

Qin Ran immediately skipped it, staying put in the classroom. In early autumn, the air at 7 or 8 PM already held a slight chill. The night breeze blew through the window, slightly messing up Qin Ran’s hair as she wrote furiously at her desk, also lifting one corner of the paper on her desk.

Qin Ran reached out to press down the paper, her fingertip landing precisely on the words “Female Protagonist,” followed by the female protagonist’s name: Ling Miaohan. Below the name was a densely written list of her achievements, including the secret identities Qin Ran had recalled earlier.

In addition to this, the original plot summary was clearly laid out on the paper.

As darkness fell, a desk lamp turned on. The bright light reflected off Qin Ran’s round-framed glasses, casting a cold gleam. Her fingertip tapped lightly on the name Ling Miaohan, her finger pressing the paper against the desk, making a soft “tap-tap” sound.