Picked Up the Female Lead When She Was Young (GL) - Chapter 3

[System]: Host, I found it, I found it!

[System]: Ah! The male lead!!!

[Xia Wanshuang]: Stop being so jumpy.

Because the little boy was there, Xia Wanshuang and the system started a mental conversation.

[System]: Shuangshuang, you absolutely cannot break character in front of the male lead. Your persona has already been established with him. If the world’s pillar notices something is off, it’ll be very dangerous!

[Xia Wanshuang]: So, with people where the original owner hasn’t established a persona, I can be my own persona?

(The teacher-style analysis of the question.)

[System]: …You’ve found the key point, my student! So you must be very careful about this.

[Xia Wanshuang]: Okay, I’ll be careful.

“Shuangshuang, it’s your turn to play.”

Zhao Tianhang handed the phone to Xia Wanshuang. Xia Wanshuang looked at the old-school keypad phone and put it back in front of him.

“You play. I want to watch you play.”

“Okay, I’ll do my best!”

Zhao Tianhang took it back, his face filled with excitement. Xia Wanshuang sat beside him, watching the “2G” symbol. She couldn’t quite remember when 4G came to the market or when touch-screen phones became common.

[System]: Shuangshuang, don’t worry. The female lead has already escaped from that orphanage.

[Xia Wanshuang]: So she’s on the streets now, right?

In the plot, Zhou Qinglang had to wander for more than half a year before a kind person would help her.

A six- or seven-year-old girl, alone in an unfamiliar city, having just escaped danger, would have to endure that for another six months. Xia Wanshuang couldn’t imagine what kind of life that was.

[System]: Host, please don’t get involved. If you try to help her, the male and female leads will meet early, and our plotline will get messed up.

The system’s words made Xia Wanshuang feel a little self-righteous. Just because she was the fated female protagonist, did that mean all her hardships had to be ignored?

But Xia Wanshuang decided not to argue with the system. She continued to watch the boy play Snake and began to think back to what this world was like in 2005.

After a while, she realized she couldn’t remember anything besides what was directly related to her. So, Xia Wanshuang gave up.

Zhao Tianhang was at the age where he just wanted to play. He had already spent a whole day on homework. While he couldn’t watch TV, he could play Snake and “Pushing Blocks,” which kept him excited.

He didn’t know why his little sister was so quiet today. He just assumed she was scared by the storm outside and didn’t think much of it.

“Shuangshuang, the rain isn’t going to stop, and my mom isn’t coming back tonight, so she told us to eat instant noodles. Can you go turn on the water dispenser? I’ll make them for you in a bit.”

Xia Wanshuang, who was being gently coaxed and having her head patted by the boy, stiffly got off the sofa. She turned on the water dispenser and watched as Zhao Tianhang prepared the noodles, worried he might burn himself.

After they finished eating, Zhao Tianhang plopped down on the sofa, staring intently at the TV screen. He glanced at the heavy rain outside and looked a bit dispirited.

“Brother, I’m not scared anymore. I’m sleepy. You should go home. You don’t have to stay with me.”

Xia Wanshuang smiled sweetly at the boy and waved her hand.

“You’re really not scared?”

“Nope!”

“Shuangshuang is so brave. Then I’ll go.”

Zhao Tianhang was also eager to get back to his toys at home. He walked to the door.

Xia Wanshuang watched him enter the house next door before she closed her own door.

“System, why does this child look so much like me?”

[System]: This is a newbie perk. Usually, in the first mission world, the character’s name and appearance are adjusted to match the host to help you adapt.

“I see.”

With that question answered, Xia Wanshuang went to the study to start cleaning.

The study was simply furnished with only a computer desk, a chair, and a bookshelf. However, the amount of dust made cleaning a difficult task.

She moved the stool over and stood on it, wiping each book one by one. But there were still places she couldn’t reach.

The smell of wet dust hung in the air. Xia Wanshuang looked over the room, poured out the dirty water, and finished cleaning everything. She stood by the study window, watching the rain.

The world outside was dark, and the relentless sound of the rain hitting the window seemed like it would never stop.

Xia Wanshuang was a bit tired. She went back to the bedroom, lay on the bed, and closed her eyes.

Outside the window, trees danced wildly in the wind, and flowers fell, unable to withstand the storm. The streets were deserted, with only a few cars passing by.

Zhou Qinglang shivered, hugging herself in a trash bin.

The air was filled with the nauseating smell of rotting garbage mixed with rainwater, but Zhou Qinglang had grown used to it.

She had nowhere to go. The cardboard box and tattered blanket she had been using for shelter on the street were already soaked. There was no place to hide from the wind and rain. She was filthy, and no one was willing to take her in.

She had to brave the rain to tip over a trash bin, pull out the garbage, and hide inside. Through the open top of the bin, she watched the world outside—a small, filthy world.

Her stomach ached from hunger. Zhou Qinglang pressed her hands to her belly and curled up tighter. Her clothes were soaked, and the trash bin couldn’t block the wind, bringing a wave of cold.

“If I fall asleep, I won’t be hungry.”

Zhou Qinglang murmured, her body trembling again.

She closed her eyes, thinking that she had to leave when the rain stopped, or the sanitation workers would find her with all the garbage scattered on the ground, leading to another round of scolding and being chased away.

The rain continued off and on until the next morning. Xia Wanshuang woke up from a nightmare, touching the back of her head and panting on the bed.

[System]: Shuangshuang, did you have a nightmare?

Xia Wanshuang gave a quiet response and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Memories of her past and the moments before her death mingled and assaulted her. Even after waking up, Xia Wanshuang could still feel the pain of that stick hitting her head.

“System, do you know what happened after I died?”

Xia Wanshuang wondered how the student she saved was doing and if the bullies had been punished. She believed they had, as the school board member’s influence, while significant, couldn’t have been so all-encompassing.

[System]: I know. The leader, the one who hit you, was sent to a juvenile detention center, and the others were all expelled.

“A school board member would let his own son go to juvie?”

Xia Wanshuang was a bit surprised. She thought they would have used their influence to get him transferred to another school, to make it seem like it never happened.

[System]: Your colleague contacted a TV station, and the incident’s impact spread. Then, someone stepped in to handle it—it was a former subordinate of your grandfather’s. After that person went to juvie, he died in a fight.

Xia Wanshuang was stunned for a moment. She wasn’t surprised that the system knew about her family, but she felt a little wistful. In the end, she just sighed.

[System]: That’s good, at least you got your revenge. That kid was so bad at his age. Who knows what he would have become when he grew up.

“I was just thinking about the student I saved. I hope he doesn’t have too much psychological pressure.”

[System]: Shuangshuang, do you think it was worth it?

If things had gone according to plan, the system would never have asked this question. Being disconnected from its network made the system feel a bit listless.

“Of course it was worth it. Why wouldn’t it be? I was twenty-seven. That kid was only thirteen or fourteen, and my life was already over, but his future was limitless.”

Xia Wanshuang shrugged. She didn’t have much to hold on to anyway.

Her dad was hit hard by the incident that changed their family’s fate when she was in high school. His health failed, and he passed away. Her mom was already in poor health, and a series of setbacks made her give up during Xia Wanshuang’s university years.

If she had to do it all over again, she’d still save him, but she’d definitely do it differently. Standing by and doing nothing was impossible for her. It was simply the kindness a person should have, especially as she was a teacher in a school.

Thinking about the female lead and the plotline gave Xia Wanshuang a bit of a headache.

“System, has the rain stopped outside?”

[System]: It has stopped. It’s six in the morning now.

Xia Wanshuang was no longer sleepy. She opened the curtains, then ran to open all the windows in the house, and grabbed some clothes to take a shower.

The child’s body was very thin. Xia Wanshuang looked at her skinny frame and thought she needed to eat well and exercise.

After washing her clothes and hanging them out to dry on the balcony by standing on a chair, Xia Wanshuang took her small pouch, pulled out twenty-five yuan, put it in her pocket, hid the pouch in the wardrobe, and got ready to go out for breakfast.

What could a child under ten do?

Hard labor was out of the question, and she had to consider the local context. Xia Wanshuang strolled down the street and came up with an idea.

Street stalls are always common and convenient, found on every street corner. As she left her residential area, Xia Wanshuang saw stalls selling mixed noodles and fried crepes.

This was an old neighborhood with a lot of foot traffic. Xia Wanshuang settled on her idea and happily continued walking.

The people in the neighborhood knew her and knew what happened to her. The elderly men and women who were out for their morning walk all greeted her.

“Hello, grandpa and grandma.”

“Shuangshuang, don’t you have school today? Why are you up so early? Where’s your brother Tianhang?”

“He’s probably still sleeping at home. I came out to get breakfast.”

The little girl had long hair, so Xia Wanshuang tied it into two pigtails that bounced as she walked, making her look lively and adorable.

“Shuangshuang, did something good happen? Why are you so happy?”

Usually, when they saw this child, she’d be looking down, shy and not very talkative, and a bit timid. Today, she seemed much more cheerful and wasn’t so gloomy.

“I dreamed about Mom and Dad last night. They told me to be happy, so I’m being happy.”

Xia Wanshuang’s eyes curved into a smile, which made the grandparents feel a pang of sympathy.

“Grandpa and grandma, I’m going now.”

“Go slowly, don’t fall.”

“Okay!”

Prices were still very cheap back then. A meat bun was fifty cents, two vegetable buns were fifty cents, three small steamed dumplings were fifty cents, soy milk was also fifty cents a cup, and a box of fried noodles was one yuan. Xia Wanshuang bought a meat bun, three steamed dumplings, and a cup of soy milk. The owner recognized her and even gave her an extra meat bun.

After thanking him, Xia Wanshuang walked and ate, wanting to see the surroundings, but then she saw a ragged child flipping through a trash can by the side of the road.

Xia Wanshuang looked at the bun and steamed dumplings she hadn’t finished in her hand, and without hesitation, she walked over.

[System]: Host, don’t go! That’s the female lead! Get away!

The system’s voice was hoarse and desperate, as if it was weeping blood with every word.