After the Paranoid Female Lead Lost Her Memory, She Insisted on Pursuing This Cannon Fodder - Chapter 41

In Zhang Wei’s small apartment, Shen Yuan tossed and turned, her head throbbing relentlessly, unable to fall asleep.

Suddenly, a soft “ding-dong” broke the silence of the night.

It was a WeChat notification.

Shen Yuan frowned, irritably reaching for her phone, assuming it was another message from a work group.

But when she saw the sender’s name on the screen, she froze.

It was that familiar profile picture she had just unpinned and renamed in her contacts—

Lin Zhaoyue?

The single word on the screen pricked Shen Yuan’s taut nerves like a tiny needle.

Why is she messaging me?

Shen Yuan pressed her lips together. Lin Zhaoyue used to send her messages, but they were always bossy commands, telling her where to go or what to do.

She never asked, “Are you there?”

Past experiences flooded Shen Yuan’s mind with countless negative thoughts, making her instinctively want to ignore the message—even block and delete it.

But…

Her fingers seemed to have a will of their own, uncontrollably tapping to open the chat window.

Shen Yuan stared at that single word for a long, long time.

Her fingertips were icy, and the throbbing pain at the back of her head served as a constant reminder of the danger she had just escaped.

She shouldn’t have replied.

She should have done what she had done countless times before: ignore any message from Lin Zhaoyue or brush her off with the coldest, most curt responses.

But…

Zhang Wei’s words kept echoing in her mind.

As if possessed, her fingers began tapping on the screen.

Shen Yuan: What’s up?

Sent.

Almost the instant the message went through, Shen Yuan regretted it.

Why had she replied? What good could it possibly do? Did she really expect that woman to suddenly develop a conscience and care about whether she lived or died?

Don’t be so naive, Shen Yuan, she told herself.

Yet before she could fully sink into her regret, her phone vibrated again.

Lin Zhaoyue had replied almost instantly.

Lin Zhaoyue: Mm-hmm.

Shen Yuan: “……”

Shen Yuan felt her bl00d pressure rising again.

Interacting with Lin Zhaoyue always seemed to effortlessly dredge up all her negative emotions.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and resolved to ignore her from now on.

Lin Family Residence.

Lin Zhaoyue stared at the cold, impersonal “What is it?” on the screen, the flicker of inexplicable anticipation in her heart instantly extinguished.

Hmph, now that she’s regained her memories, she’s completely different—not cute at all anymore…

System: Could it be that, for Shen Yuan who has recovered her memories, this is already a very gentle reply to you?

Lin Zhaoyue: Absolutely not!

Fine, she admitted it. When Shen Yuan suddenly regained her memories and lashed out at her with harsh words, she had indeed felt a pang of anger.

But it wasn’t Shen Yuan’s fault, after all. It was her past self who had acted so terribly.

Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little resentful.

Therefore, she resolved to reply coldly.

And then coldly transfer the money.

She immediately opened the transfer interface, her finger hovering over the amount field, hesitating.

How much should she send?

Too little would make her seem stingy, not like a proper villainess.

Too much… well, there didn’t seem to be any downside to that? She had plenty of money anyway.

Might as well just type in a lucky number at random.

Lin Zhaoyue casually entered “88888”, then paused, thinking for a moment, and added “.88” at the end.

Confirmed.

Transferring funds.

The process was seamless.

A payment success notification immediately popped up, but the chat window on the other end remained silent for an agonizingly long time.

Lin Zhaoyue stared at the conversation box, watching the “对方正在输入中…” (“The other party is typing…”) indicator flash several times before disappearing.

She couldn’t help but start speculating.

She wouldn’t refuse it, would she?

Refuse money? She must be some kind of saint.

Is she still holding a grudge? Or does she think I’m insulting her?

Could she have fallen asleep? Impossible, she was just typing.

She’s probably agonizing over whether to accept this “charity.”

Lin Zhaoyue pursed her lips and added:

Lin Zhaoyue: Medical expenses.

After sending those three words, she felt it wasn’t enough.

What if Shen Yuan thought this money was the same as the cash those Young Masters had thrown at her earlier, meant to humiliate her?

To emphasize the “purity” of her funds, she quickly typed another message:

Lin Zhaoyue: My money is nothing like those Young Masters’ dirty cash. Theirs is tainted, mine is clean.

Send.

Perfect.

Lin Zhaoyue nodded in satisfaction, convinced her reasoning was flawless. It showcased her wealth and generosity while distancing herself from those utterly depraved young masters, and subtly hinted to Shen Yuan to “hurry up and accept this Young Miss’s clean money.”

This time, the silence from the other end stretched even longer.

Lin Zhaoyue: Sister System, explain your Female Lead’s behavior.

System: I believe… the Female Lead is probably feeling bewildered. You’re clearly cut from the same cloth as those other men, so how can you possibly think your money is clean? Something like that.

Lin Zhaoyue was shocked. How could you think so badly of me?

With a ding, a message finally arrived from the other end.

Shen Yuan: How is yours clean?

Lin Zhaoyue: “……”

She typed furiously.

Lin Zhaoyue: Cash has passed through countless hands, so it’s obviously dirty.

Lin Zhaoyue: But this is an electronic transfer, so it’s clean.

System: If I were the Female Lead and received such a ridiculous answer, I’d regret ever asking you that question, or even speaking to you at all.

True to the System’s prediction, Shen Yuan’s side once again fell into a deathly silence.

Lin Zhaoyue waited for about five minutes, long enough to start wondering if Shen Yuan had fainted from anger.

Just then, a soft ding sounded.

The screen displayed: “Shen Yuan has received the payment.”

Immediately afterward, a new message arrived:

Shen Yuan: Thank you. I’ll pay you back.

Seeing those words, Lin Zhaoyue couldn’t suppress a slight upward twitch at the corners of her mouth.

In that moment, the resilient White Lotus Female Lead seemed to briefly overlap with the amnesiac, clueless version of herself.

System: Host, stop smiling! What if the Will of the World suddenly awakens…?

Lin Zhaoyue: Ahem, don’t worry, I’ve got this under control.**

As long as she saved Zhang Wei, even if Shen Yuan later did bad things, she’d at least have someone by her side to help.

Lin Zhaoyue: Then I won’t have to kiss her cold shoulder anymore, hehe.**

System: ……

It felt like she was setting a flag.

The next day, Lin Zhaoyue was jolted awake by a series of urgent knocks on her door.

She irritably pulled the blanket over her head, mumbling groggily, “Who is it…? I told you not to bother me…”

“Young Miss! Young Miss! Something terrible has happened!”