The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Hua Manman patted her chest, pretending to be scared.

"Whoa, why are you looking at me like that?

That’s quite a fierce glare. I’m just asking you to light a fire, not commit murder and arson. Is there any reason to get so worked up?"

Lin Qingzhi ground her teeth. "I don’t know how to light a fire!"

Hua Manman looked at her with disdain. "You can’t do this, and you can’t do that. What can you even do? You’re completely useless!"

Lin Qingzhi couldn’t help but reach out and pick up the kitchen knife again.

’I swear, I could just chop this little bitch to pieces right now!’

Seeing this, Hua Manman hurriedly tried to placate her.

"What are you doing with that knife? You’re not thinking of killing yourself, are you?

Don’t do anything rash! Even if you can’t do anything and are just a useless piece of trash...

...at least you’re not bad-looking.

You can still make a living off your looks. That’s pretty good, isn’t it?"

Lin Qingzhi didn’t know that in modern society, some people really could make a living off their looks. In her world, only prostitutes in brothels relied on selling their bodies to survive.

Hua Manman’s words were tantamount to calling her a prostitute.

This made her even more furious.

"How dare you humiliate me?!"

Hua Manman’s face was one big question mark.

"I was just complimenting your good looks. How is that humiliating you?

If being called beautiful is a humiliation, then I hope I get humiliated every single day!"

Lin Qingzhi: "..."

A breath caught in her throat, unable to go up or down, nearly suffocating her.

’How can such a shameless person exist in this world?!’

Seeing her standing there, eyes rolling back in her head, Hua Manman worried something might actually be wrong with her. She put down her sunflower seeds, stood up, and spoke.

"Fine, if you won’t help with the fire, you can just go back. I’ll do the rest myself."

Lin Qingzhi’s expression was practically contorted with rage.

"It’s just lighting a fire, isn’t it? I’ll do it!"

’I refuse to believe I can’t deal with this little beast today!’

Hua Manman was overjoyed and immediately began a beginner’s course on how to start a fire.

Once Lin Qingzhi had successfully mastered the basics, Hua Manman continued to direct her.

"Once the wok is hot, you can pour in the oil."

Lin Qingzhi glared at her. "Why do I have to pour the oil too? Don’t you have hands?"

Hua Manman pouted. "I’m just asking you to pour a little oil. Look at you. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was trying to do something awful to you. So stingy."

Lin Qingzhi: "..."

The hand she used to grip the fire poker was trembling.

"Hua Manman, can you please act like a decent human being?"

Hua Manman blinked. "What did you say?"

Mindful of her unfinished mission, Lin Qingzhi could only sullenly reply, "Nothing."

She dropped the fire poker and got up to grab the oil pot.

Hua Manman supervised her while cracking sunflower seeds.

After the carp was in the wok, Hua Manman spoke to Lin Qingzhi again.

"Go to the backyard and fetch a bucket of water."

Lin Qingzhi stared at her in disbelief. "You want me to fetch water?"

Hua Manman retorted as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "If not you, then me?"

Lin Qingzhi said, "But my hand is injured. How can I lift a bucket?"

Hua Manman said irritably.

"It’s just a little scrape, and didn’t you already bandage it?

Besides, you just said it doesn’t hurt anymore, which means you’re fine.

Do you have to keep making such a big deal out of a tiny injury? You’re being so dramatic!"

Lin Qingzhi: "..."

’She was completely certain now.’

’This woman, Hua Manman, had no humanity at all. She was a complete animal!’

Hua Manman urged her, "What are you still looking at me for? Hurry up and get the water. Be quick, or the fish will burn."

Cursing up a storm in her head, Lin Qingzhi got up and walked toward the backyard.

After a while, she was seen returning, wobbling as she carried a bucket that was a little more than half full.

Hua Manman ladled a scoop of water from the bucket into the wok, still nagging.

"I asked you to fetch a bucket of water, and you only brought back half a bucket. You’re so half-hearted about your work."

Lin Qingzhi plopped down on a stool, panting from exhaustion. Her arms were so tired she could barely lift them.

’In her entire life, she had never been this exhausted.’

’What was even more infuriating was that all her hard work hadn’t earned her a single word of thanks—only disdain and criticism.’

’Lin Qingzhi’s mind was now consumed by a single thought—’

’She had to endure this. She had to see the miserable state Hua Manman would be in after being humiliated, a fate worse than death!’

Hua Manman added the tofu and put the lid on the wok.

While the fish soup was simmering, Hua Manman had Lin Qingzhi light another small stove.

Hua Manman placed a marinated carp on the small stove to grill.

Before long, the rich aroma of grilled fish began to waft through the air.

Hua Manman took a deep breath and said, enraptured.

"It smells so good!"

Lin Qingzhi couldn’t help but secretly swallow a mouthful of saliva.

’To maintain her figure, she usually only ate a few vegetable dishes for dinner. After all the work she had just done, the food in her stomach had long since been digested.’

’She was now both exhausted and starving.’

’Faced with the rich aroma of the grilled fish, all her cravings were brought to the surface.’

’She thought about how much she had helped. When the fish was done, she should at least get a small share, right?’

As it turned out, she was being far too optimistic.

Hua Manman placed the grilled fish on a plate, picked up her chopsticks, and began to dig in, not even sparing a glance for Lin Qingzhi, who was sitting right next to her.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lin Qingzhi finally spoke up to remind her.

"We grilled that fish together!"

Hua Manman looked up, swallowed the fish in her mouth, and said indistinctly.

"Thank you for helping me grill the fish. You’re such a good person!"

*BEEP! Friend-zone card successfully delivered!*

After saying that, she went back to devouring her food.

Lin Qingzhi asked through gritted teeth, "Since we grilled it together, shouldn’t you give me a share?"

Hua Manman retorted, "But didn’t you say eating such greasy food at night is bad for you?"

Lin Qingzhi was stumped.

She managed to argue, "Just a little bit should be fine, right?"

Hua Manman thought for a moment. "Alright, then. I’ll give you a little."

Under Lin Qingzhi’s expectant gaze, Hua Manman gave her the fish tail and said with a particularly generous smile.

"This should be enough, right? Hurry and eat. It won’t taste good when it’s cold."

Lin Qingzhi looked down at the fish tail in front of her, which had been picked clean of even its skin.

It was literally just the tail—not a single scrap of meat on it!

’Lin Qingzhi decided that when dealing with a shameless little beast like Hua Manman, she had to be perfectly clear. Otherwise, she would just play dumb and try to get away with it.’

So, Lin Qingzhi spoke again.

"I don’t eat fish tails. I want fish meat."

Hua Manman grumbled in dissatisfaction, "You’re so hard to please."

She pulled off the fish head and handed it to Lin Qingzhi.

Lin Qingzhi stared at her, her face devoid of expression.

Hua Manman said self-righteously, "There’s meat in the fish head, too! Just look carefully, I’m sure you’ll find some!"

Lin Qingzhi finally couldn’t take it anymore and cursed viciously.

"Look for it, my ass!"