After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Gong, I Ended Up with the Cannon Fodder - Chapter 5

Liu Siyin was truly afraid of the dark, Yin Man cursed aloud.

Yin Man had found another reason for Liu Siyin’s suicide: someone afraid of the dark would forever live in darkness, making her cannon fodder fate even more tragic.

Liu Siyin hadn’t fully accepted her blindness. Terrified by the overwhelming darkness, her body trembled uncontrollably. Yin Man reached out in mild irritation, but her legs restricted her reach.

She wasn’t sure if Liu Siyin shared the Original Host’s self-harm tendencies, but her lips were already mangled beyond recognition, bl00d gushing out in a horrifying stream.

“Liu Siyin, stop biting yourself!” Overwhelmed by frustration, Yin Man tried to lean closer, only to tumble off the bed. Hearing the commotion, Liu Siyin finally stopped. Her hands groped blindly across the mattress. “Sister Man, are you alright?”

Ignoring the pain, Yin Man seized Liu Siyin’s outstretched hand. “Liu Siyin, don’t bite yourself anymore.”

Liu Siyin froze.

To the people outside, Yin Man was a ferocious beast. But trapped in darkness, Liu Siyin saw only the light Yin Man had offered her.

The few times she had felt genuinely cared for had all been thanks to Yin Man.

Liu Siyin’s nose tingled with emotion. “Sister Man, you’re a good person.”

Am I a fool? she wondered. Can I really forget my pain with just a little kindness? The Original Host was the one who started my tragedy. If she hadn’t humiliated me so publicly at that party, I might have been able to marry into another family. Maybe the Yin Family wouldn’t have been my only option. After all, my beauty was enough for many to overlook my humble birth.

The hands in her palms, trembling with fear of the darkness, had already been scratched raw. Yin Man took hold of them, her palm stained with Liu Siyin’s bl00d. Looking at the bl00d, Yin Man suddenly felt a surge of righteous determination. She wanted to save Liu Siyin, at least to spare her from such a pitiful death.

Even cannon fodder is a living person, she thought.

“Liu Siyin, if you’re scared, you can cry.”

Liu Siyin sniffled. “Thank you, Sister Man.”

Yin Man leaned awkwardly over the edge of the bed, the position making her feel deeply embarrassed. But… she had just felt a flicker of strength in her legs. When she tried to move again, however, she couldn’t budge an inch. Yin Man suddenly felt disheartened. Having grown accustomed to walking freely, losing her legs so abruptly was proving difficult to adjust to.

With a slight shift of her body, Yin Man managed to exert a fraction of her strength and collapse back into her wheelchair.

Yin Man froze, realizing her legs seemed to have regained a sliver of strength.

Could it be a hallucination?

Before she could delve deeper into this possibility, Mei Xuying appeared, leading a teary-eyed Yin Youxia as if to defend her. “Yin Man, you wouldn’t actually force your own sister to marry a blind man, would you?”

Mei Xuying stood on the moral high ground, delivering her accusation. Yin Man scoured the Original Host’s memories but found no explanation for Mei Xuying’s concern for Yin Youxia. The original narrative was told from Yin Youxia’s perspective, where Mei Xuying was portrayed as a radiant, gentle light illuminating her world. Yet even Yin Youxia herself didn’t understand why Mei Xuying had chosen to be her light.

If Mei Xuying were simply an overly compassionate do-gooder, it would have made sense. But despite their limited interactions, Yin Man could tell Mei Xuying was no saint—she was even somewhat hypocritical.

Just as the Original Host’s memories described, Mei Xuying was deceitful, skilled at masking her true nature.

Yin Man remained silent, merely releasing the hand she had been holding.

Yin Youxia glanced at Yin Man, then at Mei Xuying. Mei Xuying calmly patted Yin Youxia’s hand. “Didn’t you have a lot you wanted to say to Liu Siyin? Go ahead and speak your mind. Don’t be afraid of Yin Man.”

She’s already prepared to tear off the mask? The plot is diverging.

In the original story, Mei Xuying only fully aligned with Yin Youxia later, after abandoning her suspicion of her. Even when protecting Yin Youxia in the early stages, she had employed indirect strategies, avoiding direct conflict with Yin Man. Such overt hostility was completely out of character.

Yin Man couldn’t understand. Could the butterfly effect of her transmigrating have caused such a drastic shift?

Encouraged by Mei Xuying, Yin Youxia approached Liu Siyin. “Liu Siyin, you must know there’s no affection between us. Now that you’ve lost your sight, I finally have a reason to break off the engagement with the Liu Family. You know I’ve always yearned for freedom, and I’ll never agree to a political marriage. Since you were injured saving me, I’ll provide you with a settlement. Even if the Liu Family casts you out, you’ll be financially secure for the rest of your life.”

“Youxia, I can’t see anymore.” Liu Siyin’s hands clenched tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Yin Youxia seemed oblivious to Siyin’s distress, calmly continuing, “I know you might be abandoned by the Liu Family. Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a house, give you money, and make sure you’re taken care of.”

A moment of silence hung in the air. Liu Siyin didn’t know how to respond to Yin Youxia’s resolute decision. She could only repeat, “Youxia, I can’t see anymore.”

“I said I know!” Yin Youxia’s voice grew impatient. Liu Siyin lowered her head and reluctantly agreed, “Alright.”

Why did she agree?

Surely she knows how miserable she’ll be after leaving this marriage with Yin Youxia?

Yin Man glanced at Liu Siyin with dissatisfaction, but her gaze met Mei Xuying’s eyes, which held a mocking amusement. A chill ran down Yin Man’s spine, and an unsettling feeling washed over her. Mei Xuying, noticing Yin Man’s stare, quickly masked her expression and said, “Cousin, look, even the person involved wants to call off the engagement. If you’re so eager to play the benevolent bodhisattva, why don’t you marry her yourself?”

“A cripple and a blind woman—perfectly matched, don’t you think?”

Mei Xuying was actually mocking her. Before Yin Man could decide what to say, the Original Host’s body seemed to act on its own, the sarcastic words already spilling out: “Cousin, you’re quite suitable too. Both illegitimate daughters, it’s a perfect match.”

Watching Mei Xuying’s face flush crimson and then pale, Yin Man’s memories clicked into place. It turned out Mei Xuying wasn’t the Madam of the Mei Family’s daughter at all, but the result of a one-night stand by Yin Man’s uncle. Since he had no legitimate heirs at the time, he simply brought Mei Xuying home and publicly declared her to be his wife’s daughter.

Few knew the truth, and the Original Host was one of them.

To put it bluntly, the Original Host was a psychopath. She craved excitement and even more, she loved provoking others. Mei Xuying was a frequent target of her taunts. Though Mei Xuying was favored by the family, Yin Man’s uncle was biased—not toward his own children, but toward Yin Man. To him, the family’s children paled in comparison to the two children left behind by his late sister. As a result, Mei Xuying had grown up being bullied by the Original Host.

In a way, Mei Xuying and Yin Youxia shared a similar fate. Yin Man glanced at Mei Xuying’s livid expression, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Cousin, you’re not losing out either. Liu Siyin is far more beautiful than you.”

Mei Xuying took a deep breath, trying to appear calm. “You should enjoy it yourself, Cousin,” she said.

She grabbed Yin Youxia and stormed off, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor. Watching their furious retreat, Yin Man couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

Perhaps influenced by the Original Host’s body, she found herself increasingly enjoying provoking others.

Their displeasure brought her joy.

This was completely contrary to Yin Man’s own personality, and she knew she couldn’t let it continue. She felt a growing frustration, as if she lacked full control over her own body. She had quickly accepted the fact that she had transmigrated into a novel, but she refused to be influenced by someone else’s will.

The advantage was that her interactions with others retained some of the Original Host’s intentions, making it harder for her to be exposed. But the downside was that she was gradually losing her sense of self, as if her personality was fracturing.

She lived in constant fear that one day she would become the Original Host entirely.

When she used to read novels, she often complained that any of the male leads in those stories would be beaten to death in real life. She had no desire to become the kind of person she despised most, let alone a scum gong.

In her previous life, Yin Man had lived to twenty-five, experiencing two brief relationships that ended before even a kiss or hug. They felt more like childish games than real romance. Yin Man had always believed in the myth of lifelong, exclusive love, yearning for a girlfriend who would stay with her forever, someone who could withstand the test of time. She refused to become a “Scum Gong.”

Yin Man snapped back to reality when she heard a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Liu Siyin asked earnestly, “Sister Man, can you kill me?”

She seemed to have pondered the question for a long time before finally making up her mind.

As she spoke, her entire body trembled. Yin Man could sense Liu Siyin’s fear of death, yet her words carried unwavering resolve.

“Why do you want to die?”

“My mother went blind. We lived in a small town back then, and everyone bullied her. When she went to buy groceries, the old women would give her ghost money as change. And there were so many strange men… I’d see them when I came home from school—” Liu Siyin seemed to sink into a painful memory, unconsciously biting her lip again. Yin Man had come to see this as one of Liu Siyin’s bad habits. Watching the lip, frequently rubbed raw by her teeth, Yin Man couldn’t help but wonder: Does it really not hurt?

Just watching it made her feel pain.

Liu Siyin’s memories ceased. This fragment of recollection filled another gap in her tragic backstory, details the original text had never explicitly revealed.

Liu Siyin gripped her hands tightly. “Sister Man, you’re a good person. You’ll kill me, won’t you?”

She feared pain and death, but she dreaded the darkness even more, and the hopelessness of living without purpose.

Yin Man replied coldly, “Murder is against the law.”

As soon as the words left her lips, a sudden sharp pain pierced Yin Man’s chest. She doubled over, her breathing growing rapid and shallow. Hearing the abnormal gasps, Liu Siyin immediately asked, “Sister Man, what’s wrong?”

Yin Man couldn’t explain it—just an intense, searing pain.

Cold sweat streamed down her face. Liu Siyin grew frantic, reaching for the call bell. Yin Man clenched her fist and stopped the anxious Liu Siyin. “Liu Siyin, since it’s an arranged marriage anyway, marrying me would be the same, right?”

Liu Siyin froze, her hand halting mid-reach. She asked uncertainly, “Sister Man, are you offering me charity?”

Yin Man touched Liu Siyin’s weakened legs and chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I’m crippled, you’re blind. It’s hard to say who’s giving charity to whom.”

Liu Siyin pressed her lips together silently, her lips paling for a moment.

Yin Man pressed further, “I also have a terrible temper and violent tendencies. Are you afraid?”

She was simply soft-hearted. Liu Siyin’s kindness was genuine, unlike Mei Xuying’s feigned benevolence. Despite being raised by the Liu Family, she hadn’t been corrupted. She understood warmth and cold, and she was inherently good. Yin Man wanted to save her, to protect her.

Yin Man wasn’t particularly capable, but growing up as an orphan had forced her to endure much, keeping her perpetually clear-headed. At this moment, she was especially lucid. She simply wanted to give Liu Siyin a reason to live.

Since they would both bear the surname Yin anyway, what difference did it make whose Yin it was?

She wasn’t sure how long she would remain in this world, nor whether the Original Host’s consciousness might eventually overwhelm her. But Liu Siyin was already at a dead end. Even the worst possible outcome couldn’t be worse than dying right now, could it?

Liu Siyin remained silent for a long time, until Yin Man’s patience was nearly exhausted. Finally, she heard Liu Siyin’s weak, hesitant question: “Is that… really possible?”