Chapter 3: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (3)

Luo Xue still refused: “No, no, no. This is all money you earned from your hard work. You don’t even bear to spend it on food or clothes for yourself.”

Tang Qi forced the envelope into Luo Xue’s hand: “Settle the bill first.” Luo Xue hesitated, then finally grit her teeth and accepted: “I will pay you back.”

Under the streetlamp, the girl’s tear-glistening eyes reflected her delicate, pretty brows and eyes, as if coated in a layer of light. Tang Qi felt little toward human concepts of beauty or ugliness. She gave a low, muted acknowledgment: “Mm.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. After talking and lecturing all evening, her voice was slightly hoarse: “Perfect timing, I haven’t eaten either. Let’s eat together.”

Tang Qi followed Luo Xue to the private room. Their dorm of five, plus Li Chengyu, had ordered seven dishes total, a mix of meat and vegetables. Seeing Tang Qi, Mai Lingling was surprised: “Tang Qi, you came?”

“Just got off work and ran into Luo Xue.” Tang Qi pulled out a chair: “I haven’t eaten anything, so I came to scrounge a meal.”

The others arranged to order a fried rice for Tang Qi. Tang Qi didn’t show any disdain, eating a few bites alongside the leftover dishes. Watching Tang Qi not mind at all eating their leftovers, Luo Xue suddenly didn’t know why she thought of Li Chengyu, who never ever ate anyone else’s leftovers. Sometimes when she couldn’t finish her bread and offered it to him, he’d throw it away in disgust.

He’d even said that giving him food someone else had eaten was looking down on him.

“Chengyu had a dorm matter and was called away. Let’s eat first; he already paid the bill.” Luo Xue smiled forcefully, her face slightly flushed from lying. The others had no doubts, though Tang Qi noticed Luo Xue’s hand was continuously clutching the hem of her own clothes.

At night, when the other dorm mates were asleep, Luo Xue went into the hallway. Tang Qi was standing at the far end of the corridor. There seemed to be a flame flickering, bright one moment, dim the next, in her hand.

Only when she got closer did Luo Xue realize Tang Qi was smoking a cigarette. Luo Xue was somewhat shocked: “You smoke?”

Tang Qi stubbed out the half-burned cigarette in her hand, not answering Luo Xue’s question: “Why did you come out?” She’d learned to smoke during previous missions. Perhaps because she had interfered with the World Line’s plot, she felt an indescribable irritability in her heart.

“I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for today.” Luo Xue bit her lip. The oversized cartoon pajamas made her look exceptionally petite. Tang Qi was still wearing her usual white button-up shirt. One tall, one short, from a distance they seemed to have an oddly harmonious quality.

“Host, when someone thanks you, you should reply with something!” the System suddenly chimed in. Tang Qi hesitated for a moment, then reached out and ruffled Luo Xue’s hair. Luo Xue’s hair was very soft, carrying the scent of shampoo: “It wasn’t a big deal. Don’t worry about it.”

As long as it was someone she knew, she wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. Although ten thousand years of experience had caused her to lose her emotions and reactions, the principles in her heart remained.

She couldn’t just watch a girl crouching on the side of the road crying, could she?

“You gave me two thousand. There’s still one thousand seven hundred left; I put it in your backpack. The remaining three hundred, I… I’ll pay it back next semester — no, I’ll pay it back as soon as possible.” Luo Xue clenched her fists: “I’ll go find a part-time job tomorrow.”

Tang Qi didn’t want to dwell on this issue any longer. She walked towards the dorm room: “No rush. I’m not short on money.”

To her, ten thousand and one hundred million weren’t much different. She simply enjoyed this process of earning money through her own efforts.

Perhaps because of this exchange, the relationship between Luo Xue and Tang Qi improved considerably.

Because of this, Tang Qi witnessed the process of her interactions with Li Chengyu. After many explanations from Luo Xue, Li Chengyu finally, reluctantly, accepted it.

In the end, Li Chengyu even added: “Don’t be like this in the future. It’s very annoying, and I don’t like it. You can’t be that kind of vain girl who loves wealth, you know?”

Luo Xue obediently replied, “I understand.”

The System couldn’t help but jump out: “Host, why is this Male Lead… why is he kind of a turn-off!”

“I thought you thought he was great?” Tang Qi answered the System while listening to the lecture, the notes in her hand written meticulously and perfectly. The System pursed its lips: “That’s what the Book of the World wrote.”

Seeing Tang Qi wasn’t going to answer it anymore, the System couldn’t help but ask again: “Li Chengyu is going too far. Under the banner of helping others, he kept five thousand for himself. Do you know what he did with that money? He spent several hundred buying a birthday gift for his dorm mates and used the rest as his own living expenses. Why doesn’t Luo Xue just break up with him?”

Tang Qi couldn’t help but laugh: “Under the interference of the World Line, everyone who encounters the protagonist experiences a drop in IQ.”

Luo Xue really did go and find a few part-time jobs, one at the back kitchen of a fast food restaurant. A few times, she came back with burns on her hands.

The System squawked loudly: “Host, why don’t you tell her to quit the part-time job? Look at all the wounds on her hands.” Tang Qi naturally wouldn’t interfere in this kind of matter. She only gave Luo Xue a tube of burn ointment.

Amidst the System’s incessant noise, Tang Qi’s phone rang. Or rather, it was the Original Host’s phone. In the memories the Original Host left behind, her parents had died in a car accident when she was young, leaving behind a house and a sum of insurance money. She had been taken in by her Eldest Uncle’s family.

But her Eldest Uncle had treated her poorly from childhood, skimping on food and drink as much as possible. Had the Original Host not consistently done well in her studies, and her Eldest Uncle feared gossip, he would have pulled her out of school long ago to work.

Once the Original Host entered university, her Eldest Uncle even forced her to send money home every month. That’s right — the Original Host gave him money. Because he claimed raising the Original Host had cost a lot of money and demanded she give him several hundred thousand.

After Tang Qi arrived, she stopped sending money. But her Eldest Uncle proved more composed than she’d thought. It took him a full extra month before calling.

The phone kept ringing. Tang Qi unhurriedly finished the bread in her hand, then picked up.

“You little brat, got too big for your britches, huh? Why aren’t you calling home? I knew you were a white-eyed wolf! I fucking raised you for nothing.” A string of profanity followed. Tang Qi composedly spoke: “Eldest Uncle, perfect timing. I have something to discuss with you.”

“I’m sick, very serious. I need over a hundred thousand for treatment costs. Can that house my dad left me be sold to pay for my medical treatment?” She twirled the pen in her hand, her gaze turning faintly cold.

She didn’t have many emotions, but she cared deeply about principles. Her Eldest Uncle had taken a considerable sum from the Original Host’s parents’ compensation. By rights, he should have properly provided for the Original Host.

“What did you say?” Her Eldest Uncle’s cursing took a sharp turn.

“I’ll come home during the short holiday break. Eldest Uncle, please find the property deed.”

“I… I paid for your schooling. This house should belong to me.”

“Now I need money for medical treatment. Eldest Uncle, you wouldn’t just watch me die, would you? Keeping my house without paying for my treatment — what would the neighbors think of you? What would your colleagues think of you?” Tang Qi shifted into an even more comfortable position: “Eldest Uncle, I’m so young, you couldn’t just watch me pass away early, could you…”

“Beep, beep!” A busy signal came from the phone.

Tang Qi curved her lips. She had no interest in that house, but she didn’t want to create a bloodsucker for herself. The Original Host’s honest nature meant her Eldest Uncle never even considered she might be lying.

“Tang… Tang Qi!” A trembling voice came from behind. Tang Qi turned her head. Luo Xue stood frozen at the dorm room doorway, staring at her wide-eyed. She rushed over in a single bound, speaking incoherently: “You… you’re sick? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I’m fine!”

But Luo Xue wouldn’t give her a chance to speak. Tears glistened in her eyes: “Wait right here, I’ll gather money for you for treatment.” Saying this, she frantically moved to make a call. Tang Qi hastily grabbed her hand to stop her from reaching for the phone: “I’m not sick.”

“I heard everything. Don’t worry, my parents are very rich. If I beg them, they’ll give it to me.” Luo Xue comforted her: “We’re good friends. Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. We’ll go to the hospital this afternoon.”

Thinking that Tang Qi was ill yet still lent her money, Luo Xue was even more distressed. Tang Qi experienced what it meant to not know whether to laugh or cry for the first time: “I really am fine. I was lying to my Eldest Uncle!”

Tang Qi patiently explained the whole story. Luo Xue was dubious: “Really?”

“Do I look sick to you?” Tang Qi’s eyes were sincere. Luo Xue looked at Tang Qi’s skin, fairer than before, and her complexion, much rosier. She finally nodded, but still said, half-convinced and uneasy: “If there’s anything wrong, we go to the hospital immediately.”

Tang Qi discovered that since that day, aside from the time Luo Xue spent with Li Chengyu, all her remaining time was used to “monitor” her. If Tang Qi had the slightest headache, sniffle, or any sign of discomfort, Luo Xue would immediately run over anxiously.

Time came to the October long holiday. Tang Qi’s tutoring hours increased and she got a few more students. Luo Xue found several part-time jobs, leaving even earlier than Tang Qi every day.

After the holiday started, the number of students on campus visibly dwindled. Tang Qi once again returned to the school under the moonlight. Walking to the bottom of the dormitory building, she saw two people involved in a tugging match.

“It’s Li Chengyu and Luo Xue.” The System no longer called Li Chengyu “Male Lead” anymore.

Getting closer, she could hear Li Chengyu’s dissatisfied voice: “Little Xue, what’s the meaning of this? You avoid me every day. Are you trying to break up? If you want to break up, just say so. No need for this passive-aggressive cold shoulder act.”

“I’m not. I told you, I went to work,” Luo Xue hastily explained.

“Work? With your family’s situation, you need to work? I was supposed to go home, and now I’ve stayed at school because of you, but you leave me here alone?” Li Chengyu was even angrier: “I get it. You’re still mad about last time, aren’t you? Trying this method to tell me you really have no money. Is this interesting, Luo Xue?”

“Listen to me explain, that’s not what I meant. I really…” Luo Xue was already tired from standing all day. Now, she was so anxious her voice turned hoarse: “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m just a little short on cash and didn’t want to ask my family for money.”

Seeing Luo Xue’s tears falling steadily, Li Chengyu sighed and reached out to wipe her tears: “I understand. I wasn’t blaming you. I just want more time with you, because I like you so much.”

Luo Xue’s tears pattered down. Li Chengyu coaxed her: “Alright, alright. What would people think if they saw this? How about this: tomorrow after you get off work, I’ll take you to see a movie, okay? Haven’t you been wanting to watch that new movie?”

“Really? Didn’t you say before that watching movies is a waste of money?” Luo Xue rubbed her eyes.

“I’m not lying. Tomorrow after work, I’ll come pick you up.”

After Li Chengyu left, Luo Xue saw Tang Qi in the distance. She looked a bit embarrassed and proactively explained: “Actually, he… he’s not a bad person. He treats me well too. He’s just a bit childish sometimes.”

The System squawked angrily: “What’s this called? Love-brain!”