Chapter 6: Supporting a Useless Brother? Not Happening!
The car didn’t stay for long. After slowly driving out of the street, the scrutinizing gaze disappeared as well.
Lin Zhifeng withdrew her gaze and stopped thinking about it. Whether it was the protagonist or a side character, as long as they didn’t interfere with her, they could develop however they liked.
The novel she had transmigrated into was called As Cool as Moonlight. The early plot focused on family strife involving the female lead, while the later parts were mainly about romance. She couldn’t see much of the story—only a brief summary.
Right now, it was still the beginning of the novel, and Bai Ruyue’s family drama was just starting to show signs of unfolding. The male lead hadn’t even appeared yet.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Zhifeng noticed Bai Ruyue’s eyes glowing with admiration.
“I won’t tell anyone about what happened yesterday. When I got home last night, I even sent them texts to test the waters. Don’t worry, I’m the only one who recognized you!”
“Got it. I trust you.”
The girls who were with Bai Ruyue last night weren’t in the same class as them, so they wouldn’t recognize someone as low-profile as Xie Zhaodi.
With the memories of the thugs altered, only Bai Ruyue and Zhao Xiao knew about her violent outburst. Everything was within her control—there was nothing to worry about.
After a few awkward exchanges, Lin Zhifeng’s eyes shifted past Bai Ruyue’s shoulder and saw Manager Zhang walking over with a key in hand, his face extremely tense. He clearly wasn’t in a good mood.
“You go wander around for a bit. The fried chicken will take a while.”
“What fried chicken?” Bai Ruyue looked confused. It took her a second to realize she had just used wanting fried chicken as an excuse to come over.
No way she’d admit she had been lurking around early in the morning, thinking about how to properly express her gratitude.
“Ah, right, the fried chicken! I’ll come back later then!” She turned and dashed off. Only when she got close to the mall did she realize—she still hadn’t managed to say thank you.
“Maybe I should buy her a little gift? Subtle and restrained, says it all without words. Yeah, I think that’ll do!”
Manager Zhang of Quanjiale Fast Food, was a young man in his early twenties. No one knew what he was constantly brooding over, but he always wore a serious expression—and this morning, it was worse than usual.
He treated his employees fairly well, but no one wanted to risk provoking him when he was in a bad mood. Lin Zhifeng gave a quick greeting, then quietly got to work once he unlocked the door.
There weren’t many people in the county who ate fast food. The store had only four employees working in shifts, and today it was just the two of them. The place was so quiet, you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.
After finishing her cleaning duties, Lin Zhifeng stood at the front counter spacing out, when suddenly she heard Manager Zhang’s voice shouting from the kitchen where he was heating oil.
“Xie Zhaodi!”
“Huh?”
“Have you heard about the county’s upcoming literary competition?”
“No. Why?”
Lin Zhifeng turned to look at him. Could it be that this young man stuck working in a fast-food joint actually harbored a grand literary dream?
“I heard the first prize is 50,000 yuan.”
“Fifty thousand? Where do I sign up?”
Lin Zhifeng’s interest was instantly piqued. She was a dignified deity—wouldn’t it be perfectly reasonable for her to write something worthy of first place?
“You want to participate?” Zhang didn’t look down on her at all. In fact, he seemed to feel a sense of shared passion with her after seeing her enthusiasm. “I’m planning to give it a shot too. Even if I just place, it’ll help me land a clerical job in the future. Can’t stay stuck in this dump forever.”
Manager Zhang was unwilling to spend his whole life working here. He was often seen with a furrowed brow, lost in thought about his future. Lately, it was the literary contest that had been troubling him.
He couldn’t skip work without a valid reason, and the boss refused to give him time off. After much deliberation, he came up with a plan—have Lin Zhifeng mind the shop by herself for half a day so he could go register at the Cultural Center.
If the boss happened to drop by on a whim, at least someone in the know would be there to help cover for him.
Manager Zhang hadn’t expected Xie Zhaodi, who was usually quiet and reserved, to show such strong interest in the literary competition. So, he simply pulled out a piece of paper and pen to jot down his personal details, then dug five yuan out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“Take a tricycle to the Cultural Center and sign us both up. The contest is divided into youth and young adult groups—make sure you don’t register under the wrong one. If you can gather any extra info, even better. Consider today a paid day off.”
“Got it. Leave it to me!” Lin Zhifeng agreed without hesitation—how could she turn down such a good deal?
She didn’t take the manager’s money. The county was small, and the Cultural Center wasn’t far—about a 30-minute walk. No need to indulge in the luxury of a deluxe open-air tricycle ride.
Besides, was she, Lin Zhifeng, someone who’d be short five yuan?
The moment she stepped out of the air-conditioned fast food joint, a wave of heat slammed into her. Though it was only mid-morning in July, the sun was already so intense it was hard to keep her eyes open.
She stuck to shaded areas as she walked and would pause in alleyways now and then to enjoy the cool breeze that swept through.
“Once the original owner turned eighteen, she’d be eligible for an ID and a bank card. If I win the prize money and deposit it, I won’t have to worry about it being stolen.”
This money was important—not only would it cover the original owner’s tuition and living expenses, it would also help save up for Xie Laidi.
If they were frugal, it might last until Xie Laidi turned eighteen. Once she was an adult, they could both leave home.
“What a shame the system’s money can’t be left to them—otherwise, I’d just drop a pile of cash and turn them into the richest sisters in town.”
After checking the system functions, Lin Zhifeng discovered that the money provided could only be used by the current host. If she tried to leave it for the original owner, it would vanish.
She wasn’t a saint—she had no intention of wasting her time trying to turn the original owner into some world-class figure. Entering a writing competition wasn’t time-consuming or difficult. Earning some pocket money along the way? Just a handy bonus.
By digging through the original owner’s memories, Lin Zhifeng discovered that the girl wasn’t exactly meek or submissive—otherwise, the system wouldn’t have labeled her a “plot disruptor” due to her rebellious nature.
She didn’t resist because she had been overwhelmed by fear, and more importantly, because she lacked the strength to fight back. If she’d had the chance to escape, she would’ve definitely taken her sister, Xie Laidi, and run without ever looking back. She wouldn’t have stuck around to be drained like a parasite’s host.
The original owner lacked the courage to act—but Lin Zhifeng? She had courage in spades. Whatever the original owner couldn’t do, Lin Zhifeng could and would make happen.
She had lived through countless eras, her spirit strong and unmatched. And yet, the first major task she now faced… was writing an essay. For the youth division, no less.
“Name, age, school—you need to fill those out clearly, understand?”
A gentle, enthusiastic female teacher spoke in a tone one might use with elementary schoolers, pointing at the application form and going over each item one by one.
Under the shade of a large tree outside the Cultural Center, two long tables had been set up—one for the youth division, one for the young adult division. Besides Lin Zhifeng, many others had already registered and were chatting in small groups nearby.
Lin Zhifeng filled in the forms for herself and Manager Zhang, and even went ahead and registered Xie Laidi as well.
Just as she finished, she heard a timid voice ahead. Looking up, she saw Yang Xiaofang from the neighboring class standing in the shade, wearing a shy smile.
“Zhaodi, you’re signing up too?”
“Yeah. How long have you been here?”
Lin Zhifeng squeezed through the crowd to get to her—hoping to gather some information.
The Yangs and the Xies were from the same village. Yang Xiaofang had it nearly as rough as the Xie sisters, and the two could at least talk to each other when they crossed paths. She had three older brothers, and her parents gave birth to her only to bring good luck to her seriously ill third brother and ward off disasters.
“I’ve been here a while, just cooling off before I head home. Want to sit over there for a bit?”
“Sure. I wonder how many people are signing up.”
The two of them went to sit under a quieter, shadier tree. Once they were settled, Yang Xiaofang began to softly share what she had heard.
