Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 92: The Eldest Sister of the 90s Quits Sacrificing Herself (4)

　　Senior year was packed with classes and nonstop studying, but the students in her class were warm and friendly, and the atmosphere on campus was genuinely nice.

　　Meanwhile, over at the Zhao family home...

　　The elderly Zhao’s couple had originally been counting on getting their hands on the compensation money, but Zhao Laidi, that “damn girl,” was nowhere to be found, so the money issue never got settled.

　　At first, the eldest uncle and eldest aunt treated the four children fairly well. But as time passed and they still couldn’t get any money, their patience gradually wore thin, and even the way they spoke started becoming harsher.

　　After staying there for barely over ten days, Zhao Pandi and Zhao Handi were already reaching their limit.

　　Back at home, all the chores had always been handled by their eldest sister. They had never needed to lift a finger.

　　But after moving into their grandparents’ house, not only did they have to cook and do housework, they even had to wash laundry for the entire family.

　　As for Zhao Hu and Zhao Long, even though they were grandsons, they still weren’t as favored as the eldest uncle’s two sons. Little by little, they also stopped wanting to stay there and began missing the days when their eldest sister used to take care of them.

　　Later on, the elderly couple returned to the countryside for the autumn harvest and left the matter of finding Zhao Laidi to the eldest uncle.

　　They figured that once the harvest was done, they could come back and deal with the compensation money properly. After all, Zhao Laidi’s household registration was still here, so there was no way she could just disappear forever and live as an unregistered citizen.

　　But something went wrong during that trip.

　　News of the elderly couple’s deaths soon arrived.

　　The eldest uncle burst into loud sobs, while the eldest aunt was so furious she started smashing bowls and plates.

　　“Those two old fools spent half their lives in the countryside and couldn’t even seal a coal stove properly. They really had no luck at all!”

　　Now that the elderly couple were dead, what would happen to the compensation money?

　　Without the grandparents stepping in, how were they supposed to get their hands on it openly and legitimately?

　　The couple cried and cursed for half the day before rushing back to help arrange the funeral.

　　The moment they returned, they immediately sold off the elderly couple’s house. Whatever money they could recover was still money.

　　With the elderly couple gone, they quickly shifted their attention to Zhao Long and Zhao Hu. They planned to adopt the two boys so they could at least secure half of the compensation payout.

　　But Zhao Long and Zhao Hu refused no matter what.

　　During their time at their grandparents’ house, the two boys had constantly been bullied by their eldest uncle’s sons.

　　And because their grandparents’ house had been sold off, the four siblings had nowhere else to stay and could only move back into their own home.

　　After less than a month of all this, the four of them had matured quite a bit. Once they returned home, they unexpectedly started missing their eldest sister.

　　After all, she really had treated them well before. She cooked for them, washed their clothes, helped them with homework, and handled everything so they never had to worry about a thing.

　　At least Zhao Pandi and Zhao Handi still had some money in their pockets, so the siblings weren’t starving.

　　But the two sisters each had their own little schemes.

　　The meals they gave the younger brothers were plain and cheap, while the two of them secretly bought good food outside for themselves.

　　Zhao Pandi spent money freely. In her mind, their eldest sister would just give them another hundred yuan each next month anyway, so she had no reason to hold back.

　　Zhao Handi, on the other hand, had grown up terrified of poverty. She carefully saved most of her money and hardly spent any of it. What truly worried her was the fact that they couldn’t contact their eldest sister at all. What if she had really run away for good?

　　Their grandparents were gone, their eldest uncle’s family couldn’t be relied on, and the two younger brothers were still kids.

　　Zhao Pandi was naïve and foolish, while the younger brothers were lazy and spoiled. Zhao Handi didn’t want to drag around so many burdens. She wanted to study, get into university, and work in a big city someday.

　　So right now, the most important thing was finding their eldest sister and figuring out a way to coax her back home so she could continue taking care of everything.

　　Zhao Handi really was clever.

　　Starting from the fact that her eldest sister had returned to school that day, she went straight to the school administration.

　　There, she tearfully told them about the family’s hardships and asked the principal to help contact her eldest sister.

　　And honestly, it was a smart move.

　　Because that very afternoon, while Zhao Fuyao was on break between classes at her high school in Haishi, she was suddenly informed that there was a phone call waiting for her in the guidance office.

　　She ended up receiving a call from the administration office of her former school.

　　The school leaders told her that Zhao Handi had been looking for her. Feeling sympathetic toward her younger siblings, they had even given Zhao Handi the address of Zhao Fuyao’s high school in Haishi.

　　Zhao Fuyao was speechless.

　　That weekend, she returned to the Zhao family home once again.

　　The moment the four siblings saw their eldest sister back, they became unbelievably excited.

　　“Big Sis, you’re finally back!”

　　“Big Sis, you got prettier! You finally came home!”

　　“Big Sis, where have you been all this time?!”

　　Zhao Pandi was happy because she wanted money.

　　The two younger brothers were happy because now they wouldn’t have to do chores anymore.

　　The three of them crowded around her excitedly, completely forgetting the slaps they had received before.

　　Zhao Handi, being the smarter one, took the initiative to explain.

　　“Big Sis, I couldn’t get in touch with you, and I was worried something might’ve happened, so I went to your old school to ask the principal. I didn’t expect I’d actually manage to find out where you were.”

　　Zhao Fuyao glanced at her and didn’t bother exposing her little trick. She just said casually, “Oh? Third Sister, you’re pretty clever, huh.”

　　Zhao Handi thought about everything she had heard at school. Looking at her eldest sister, who seemed like a completely different person now, she quietly clenched her fists.

　　“Big Sis, why did you go to Haishi for high school? Are you planning to stop taking care of us?”

　　Her eldest sister’s grades were clearly not as good as hers, so how did she manage to get into such a top school in Haishi? That alone left her feeling a bit uneasy.

　　Zhao Fuyao raised a brow. “Got in, so I went. Besides, wasn’t it you all who said you didn’t need me to take care of you?”

　　The other three looked a little awkward at that.

　　Zhao Long and Zhao Hu quickly crowded around her and said, “Big Sis, we were wrong. Now that Grandpa and Grandma are gone, and Uncle and Aunt don’t care about us at all, you should still take care of us. We’ll definitely behave ourselves.”

　　Zhao Fuyao only found it ironic and let out a soft scoff. “Take care of you? I still have school. I don’t have time to cook, do laundry, and serve people. Mom and Dad are gone, and you’re all teenagers now. Just take care of yourselves.”

　　Zhao Long and Zhao Hu pouted when they heard that, clearly unhappy.

　　But they still didn’t dare talk back. After all, there was no one left to back them up anymore.

　　Zhao Pandi rolled her eyes. Life wouldn’t fall apart without the eldest sister anyway. She immediately said:

　　“Big Sis, you don’t need to cook or do laundry for us. Since you’ve got the compensation money, just let me keep it. I won’t go to school anymore, I’ll stay home and take care of the younger ones.”

　　In her mind, it was perfect. She could casually cook something for the boys, skip school, and enjoy life at home. Eat what she wanted, buy what she wanted, wear what she wanted. Honestly, it sounded like heaven.

　　Normally, Zhao Handi would have definitely stopped her sister from dropping out of school. She knew very well that education was the only way out.

　　But right now, the eldest sister was clearly not easy to control. If the second sister stayed home to look after the younger boys, it might actually work out. She could also find a way to get the compensation money back. No matter how she looked at it, there was no downside.

　　So Zhao Handi also chimed in, “Big Sis, that money belongs to all five of us. You can’t just keep the compensation for yourself. We used to worry Grandpa and Grandma, and Uncle and Aunt would take it, but now Grandpa and Grandma are gone, and we’ve seen what Uncle’s family is really like. So we should split everything properly. Me and Pandi will take care of the younger brothers, and you can go study in Haishi without worrying.”

　　Zhao Fuyao pushed through the group surrounding her and plopped down on a chair, legs crossed, chin resting on her hand.

　　“I’m the head of this household. The reason I was the one who got the compensation in the first place is because I’m the eldest.”

　　She pointed at Zhao Handi. “Put your little schemes away. This family is not yours to run.”

　　Zhao Handi’s expression stiffened from the scolding, but she gritted her teeth and said, “You’re already in Haishi, so why should you get to take all the money?”     

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