Chapter 9: Third Brother Wants Her Courage

Jiang Dai: 【I’m craving spicy hotpot, KFC, and giant steamed buns!!】

【Other people transmigrate and end up as nobles or legitimate daughters of prestigious families!】

【Oh wait, maybe I got the farming novel route. But I’m an actress—I don’t know the first thing about farming! What’s the point?!】

Bai Tian: 【I’ll never complain about the food in Cafeteria No. 3 again. I miss the cafeteria!!】

【Suddenly, I feel like maybe you don’t need to rise from nothing to the top. Just sitting at the top from the start sounds pretty good.】

Juanjuan gnawed on her flatbread, watching her seemingly calm but inwardly screaming parents.

Their family still owed Dachui’s family a bunch of copper coins.

“Papa, Mama, aren’t you going to eat?”

Second Brother had already finished his flatbread and was now eyeing the ones in front of Jiang Dai and Bai Tian.

Juanjuan: This scene feels oddly familiar.

Off to the side, Third Brother Yun An, who had barely touched his food and was eating at a snail’s pace, suddenly sped up.

【Eat a few more bites. I can’t keep surviving on one tiny piece of compressed biscuit a day.】

【Today I have to figure out how to unlock the permissions in the space. At the very least, I can’t keep eating these wild veggie flatbreads.】

After breakfast, the family dispersed.

Juanjuan instinctively went to feed the chickens, but then remembered—they’d been pawned to Dachui’s family.

“Mama,”

The little girl called softly, “Our chickens are still at Dachui’s house.”

Even though Papa wasn’t the same as before, Juanjuan still felt Mama was more reliable.

Jiang Dai: 【Damn! I forgot—this family not only has to eat wild greens and has no money, but now we’re in debt from yesterday’s doctor visit too.】

Juanjuan blinked. As long as Mama knew, that was enough.

The tiny girl slung the back basket over her shoulders. “Mama, I’m going to pick wild veggies.”

With that, she walked out on her own, just like usual.

Only, today wasn’t like usual.

“I’m coming too.”

Juanjuan turned around and saw Third Brother approaching with a pure, innocent smile on his face, limping slightly as he walked over. He even helped her carry the back basket.

He was clearly trying to help her.

But Juanjuan felt a sudden chill crawl up her spine.

Because…

【Damn it! The way to unlock the space’s permissions is to win over this little kid—gain her favor and trust points.】

【And the worst part? If I don’t do it right, I’ll have to pay with my life! What kind of garbage System is this?!】

【After surviving the horrors of the Apocalypse, why would someone like me—selfish and clinging to life—choose to self-destruct? It was all to find a peaceful place to retire!】

【No powers, but I’ve got a space. I just want to lie low and enjoy a zombie-free life!】

【And now I have to earn Favorability Points from a little kid?!】

Juanjuan swallowed hard.

She didn’t quite understand what Third Brother was saying.

But she could sense the resentment radiating from him.

It felt like he wanted to take something from her—her courage, maybe!

She took two steps forward, but still felt unsafe.

The back basket, normally a source of comfort on her back, was now gone. And in its place, she could feel a gaze boring into her—one she couldn’t ignore.

Juanjuan clenched her tiny fists.

“Thir—”

The child turned around, trying to ask Third Brother for her back basket back.

And was met with a dazzling smile.

Her little body trembled involuntarily.

You had to understand—Third Brother used to be the second most silent person in the whole family, right after their depressed mother. He was always dazed and quiet, never smiling, barely showing any expression.

But now—

The boy who used to be expressionless had a bright, harmless smile plastered on his face. Anyone else would’ve found it endearing.

But Juanjuan instinctively took a step back.

She didn’t know why, but Third Brother’s smile looked fake—like someone had forcibly glued another person’s grin onto his face.

And it had the same calculating feel as Aunt Liu from the village when she was scheming.

Yun An wore the “pure and innocent” smile he’d perfected during the Apocalypse, trying to win over the little girl in front of him.

【This smile should be the most likable.】

【Back then, I used this harmless smile to stab one scumbag after another!】

【If even those cunning survivors in the Apocalypse were fooled, this four-year-old kid should be a piece of cake!】

Juanjuan: took another small step back.

Stab… people!

Juanjuan wasn’t dumb. In fact, for a four-year-old, she was remarkably clever.

Even Uncle from the neighboring Wang family once said that if Juanjuan were a boy, she’d definitely earn scholarly honors one day.

She’d already pieced together from her parents and brothers’ odd behavior that they weren’t the same people as before.

She didn’t understand everything her parents said, but she could understand her Eldest and Second Brothers.

Compared to how they were before, her parents and brothers now seemed… better.

But Juanjuan didn’t know if they were truly good or bad.

Just like kidnappers never wear a sign saying “I’m a kidnapper.” They always act kind and friendly.

Don’t ask how she knew.

Just know that last year, when Dachui almost got kidnapped while playing with her, she was the one who sensed something was off and ran to the village for help.

So, this Third Brother in front of her—she didn’t dare let her guard down.

Four-year-old Juanjuan: Stay alert. Stay cautious.

Confident Third Brother: 【System! Show me the Favorability Points!】

Yun An didn’t think winning over the little girl would be difficult.

She was just a four-year-old—easy pickings.

But the next second, Yun An froze in place.

Staring at the bright red number floating in mid-air.

Favorability Points: -36. It had dropped even lower than the original -30!

【I smiled so nicely—why does she look like she’s seen a zombie?!】

【Why is her favorability going down instead of up?! It was already negative, and now it’s plummeting!】

【I want to kill someone! This is seriously pissing me off!】

Watching the Favorability Points nosedive, Yun An’s mood tanked.

And so, Juanjuan saw Third Brother’s once-sunny smile slowly twist into something more sinister.

Third Brother… wanted to kill someone!

Kill!

Juanjuan gulped and took two steps back, abandoning her back basket entirely—she just wanted to run.

She was smart, yes, but she was still only four. A clever little bean, but not that clever!

“Juanjuan!”

A chubby little figure burst onto the scene, his cheerful voice shattering the eerie tension in the air.

Wang Dachui came bouncing over and immediately noticed something was off with Juanjuan.

He looked around in confusion—

And spotted someone he hadn’t noticed earlier: Er Mao.

Wang Dachui’s brow furrowed in a lopsided scowl as he glared at Bai Family’s Third Brother. He planted his hands on his hips, mimicking his grandma’s stance, and launched into a fierce tirade:

“Bai Er Mao! What are you doing?! Are you bullying Juanjuan again?!”

“Bai Er Mao! I’m telling you—don’t you dare bully Juanjuan!”

“Juanjuan, come on! Let’s go together!”

Wang Dachui spoke at lightning speed, then grabbed Juanjuan’s hand without waiting for a response and started to drag her away.

Juanjuan went along with him, eager to escape.

But the next second, her other wrist was suddenly grabbed—hard.

Yun An: “Don’t you dare leave.”

【A little chub like you dares to challenge me?!】

【Heh!】

A cold sneer sent chills down Juanjuan’s spine. It was the kind of sound that made you afraid without knowing why.

“Ptooey!”

Dachui bravely spat a glob of saliva right onto Yun An’s hand.

Yun An, who had a cleanliness obsession, instinctively let go.