I Rely on Gifting the Female Supporting Character to Get Cash Back (GL) - Chapter 10

Qin Ran admitted that initially, she was bewitched by Yu Shuman’s smile. That flower bed at school, bathed in the setting sun, was the beginning of her heart’s flutter. But moments of attraction are numerous, and in a moment of impulse, she bound Yu Shuman. There was always a possibility that she would later regret it, feeling that her trust was misplaced.

Yu Shuman, however, would never make Qin Ran feel such regret, because she was worth it.

The more time Qin Ran spent with Yu Shuman, the more she felt that her initial decision was not wrong. The more certain she was that she hadn’t erred, the more easily she was drawn to Yu Shuman, with her heart sinking deeper and deeper, unable to be pulled out. She now even sighed in private that she was completely smitten.

After lunch, Qin Ran went to work, and Yu Shuman went to vocal practice, later continuing with dance practice and rehearsing with her teammates. When Qin Ran finished a stage of her work, Yu Shuman’s team practice had also concluded. Yu Shuman then went to find a staff member to request an empty practice room for more solo training.

Qin Ran, carrying a mop and a bucket, found Yu Shuman. She knocked. When she heard “Please come in,” she brought her tools inside. Through the mirror, Yu Shuman saw Qin Ran and turned around in surprise: “Junior?”

Qin Ran rattled the keys in her hand: “Senior, I need to clean up and lock the room.”

Only then did Yu Shuman realize she was delaying Qin Ran’s work. Yu Shuman quickly wiped the sweat from her face and smiled at her: “Junior, I’ll be done right away.” After saying this, Yu Shuman realized her throat was a bit hoarse, so she went to grab her water bottle to drink, but after tilting her head and taking a few sips, she found she was out of water.

Yu Shuman put down the bottle, slightly embarrassed. Qin Ran, however, took a bottle of mineral water from her pocket, put her tools aside, and walked towards Yu Shuman. Yu Shuman took the water from Qin Ran, twisted the cap open, and quickly downed more than half the bottle.

She looked a little sheepish: “I even stole your water.”

“Senior, let’s talk.”

Qin Ran’s words made the smile on Yu Shuman’s face look a bit guilty. Qin Ran sat down on the floor and patted the spot next to her. Yu Shuman obediently sat down beside her. Once she sat, she stretched out her legs and couldn’t help but massage them with her hands.

Seeing her like this, Qin Ran asked, “Are your legs hurting?”

Yu Shuman paused her massaging and was about to say something, but finally just nodded.

“I thought so. You’ve always been like this. Once you commit to something, you throw yourself into it as if your life depends on it. You fell behind in high school, and then you studied like crazy. Senior, studying that hard in your final year of high school was okay, but if you push yourself like this now, your body won’t be able to handle it.”

Qin Ran sat on the floor with her legs crossed. In front of them was the enormous mirror of the practice room, and next to her was Yu Shuman, who looked slightly dejected. Qin Ran was not articulate. As a socially anxious person, Qin Ran actually disliked communicating with others. She even often felt that, apart from being rich, she was completely useless. She didn’t know if her words would be able to convince her Senior, but she had to say them, even if it meant being annoying.

Yu Shuman froze for a moment, then sighed. She was a straightforward person who said whatever she thought, so she wouldn’t make excuses or try to laugh it off and tell Qin Ran she was fine. She simply said, “I know, but I feel like I have no choice. If I don’t work hard, I can’t compete with others. So many of them are amazing. Some have been dancing since elementary school, and they’re truly excellent. I feel like I’m the one holding the team back. If 99 Interactive Entertainment hadn’t given me such a boost, I’d probably be on the verge of elimination right now.”

“So I have to work hard, otherwise I’ll be letting the company down, and I won’t earn money to repay others’ kindness.” Yu Shuman looked up at Qin Ran in the mirror, her gaze meeting Qin Ran’s in the reflection: “I also want to hire you as my little assistant. You said ‘Don’t forget me when you get rich,’ and your Senior remembers that. When I have meat, you’ll have soup. Don’t worry, Senior definitely won’t let you do heavy, tiring work like this again!”

Qin Ran hadn’t expected Yu Shuman to have this intention. Her words were incredibly sincere, and the emotion bursting forth made Qin Ran involuntarily look away. She buried her face in her arms, turning her head to the other side, afraid that if she looked up again, Yu Shuman would see her flushed cheeks.

Yu Shuman was a difficult person not to like. This straightforward, genuine nature would attract anyone. Qin Ran was no exception. With her head half-buried in her arms, her tone was muffled: “Senior, then you should take better care of yourself. Otherwise, if you burn out and have to withdraw from the competition, how will you take me along to reach great heights?”

“Your feet are swollen, your legs are sore, and your voice is hoarse. How will you perform on stage then?”

Qin Ran’s words were a bit blunt, and someone she wasn’t close to might have felt offended, but Yu Shuman couldn’t help but chuckle. After sitting on the floor for a while, her legs already felt much better. She got up from the floor, stood next to Qin Ran, then bent down and reached out to gently rub Qin Ran’s slightly messy hair: “Junior, I got it! I will adjust myself!”

As she leaned in, there was a scent of sweat on her, not strong or offensive, but still undeniably the smell of sweat. The hand resting on her head was soft and warm. Qin Ran lowered her head and quietly mumbled, “Mhm.”

After that, Yu Shuman helped Qin Ran clean the practice room, then returned to eat dinner and prepare to rest in the dorm for the night. Having finished her day’s part-time work, Qin Ran got into Sister Li’s car and headed back to school. The school was indeed too far from the filming location. She arrived at the dorm just in time, nearly missing the curfew. Even so, the auntie in charge scolded her a little but didn’t make things difficult.

For students like Qin Ran, the teachers at the student center usually gave special instructions to the dorm mother. The auntie knew she was an orphan and often worked outside, so she naturally showed her some favoritism. Her scolding wasn’t about anything serious; it was simply that she was a young girl, and returning so late at night inevitably made people worry.

Qin Ran lowered her head and quickly entered the dorm building, but she thought to herself: Maybe I should buy a house outside of school. It’s really inconvenient to always cut it this close to curfew. Mainly, she was socially anxious and really didn’t want to communicate with the auntie. Qin Ran hesitated for a moment, then called the special assistant she had hired that evening. She had hired an agent in her first year of high school to manage the funding of Yu Shuman. Over the past few months, as the money in Qin Ran’s hands increased, this person became her special assistant, handling various matters.

Her special assistant was a middle-aged woman who chose not to marry or have a family, dedicating herself entirely to her career. Initially, she didn’t want to work as Qin Ran’s assistant, but Qin Ran offered too much money. Receiving Qin Ran’s call close to 11:30 PM, she didn’t show any displeasure.

“Special Assistant Wu, I’d like to purchase an apartment. The requirements are: single floor, open view, located between my school and the suburban filming complex, with good security and property management. The price should be under 20 million yuan.”

Qin Ran’s requests were always brief for the highly capable Special Assistant Wu, because Special Assistant Wu could certainly meet her requirements and provide quick feedback. After hanging up, Qin Ran went to bed early. The next day, after classes ended, she got into Sister Li’s car again to work part-time at the suburban filming complex.

Unsurprisingly, Yu Shuman’s practice schedule was disrupted again by Qin Ran. Yu Shuman couldn’t stall and prevent Qin Ran from doing her job. She was just puzzled as to why Qin Ran had been assigned to clean her practice room for two consecutive days. By the third and fourth day, even Yu Shuman realized that Qin Ran was doing it on purpose.

She looked at Qin Ran with an aggrieved look: “Junior, are you doing this on purpose?”

Qin Ran had no trouble admitting it: “I asked Sister Li to let me clean your practice room. Sister Li also said you can’t keep training like this every day, or you’ll burn out eventually.” She even used Sister Li’s authority to curb Yu Shuman’s efforts. Yu Shuman had no choice but to slow down her practice time.

In Qin Ran’s opinion, Yu Shuman’s dancing was already good enough. Girl group dances are generally less difficult than other professional dances, and since Yu Shuman’s sports performance was good and her limbs were coordinated, her dancing was decent after all this practice. She could certainly keep up with the rhythm of the other team members and wouldn’t hold them back.

Moreover, she was truly beautiful when she danced. Her eyes sparkled, and when her sweat flew, it was like bright diamonds scattering around her. This Yu Shuman was born for the stage, so dazzling that people couldn’t look away.

Qin Ran desperately wanted to tell her: “You’ve done enough; you are amazing.” But Qin Ran couldn’t say it. She had a difficult personality; otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone so long without binding the System. Qin Ran sometimes felt her personality was flawed. She only dared to stay in the corner, secretly supportive.

Qin Ran worked part-time at the production team for several days, and Special Assistant Wu finally had news. She said she had contacted and viewed several properties and asked if Qin Ran needed to inspect them in person. Since she would be living there, Qin Ran wanted to check them out in person and choose a room that suited her preferences.

So, on Saturday, Qin Ran skipped her part-time job and chose to accompany Special Assistant Wu to tour several luxury housing complexes in the capital. Special Assistant Wu’s taste and competence were excellent. The homes she selected had decorations that perfectly suited a girl her age. While Qin Ran found some of them a bit childish, she thought about it carefully: if one day Yu Shuman also came to live with her, she might like such decor.

Qin Ran shook her head, trying hard to dismiss the thought that had just popped into her mind.

—Stop thinking about it. You and Yu Shuman are impossible!