High-Altitude Worker, Unfortunately a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role - Chapter 2

Although Zhao Ke was currently being universally vilified online and had lost all her endorsement deals, as the saying goes, “Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse.” Surely she could afford a few thousand yuan in medical expenses, right?

“No,” Zhao Ke replied honestly.

Under the nurse’s skeptical gaze, she pulled out her phone and showed her the balance.

“Uh…”

The nurse was shocked. How could an artist be this broke?

She cast a pitying glance at Zhao Ke.

“Do you have medical insurance?” she asked kindly. “If you do, you can get some of it reimbursed.”

Zhao Ke closed her eyes briefly and replied honestly, “I don’t think so.”

The original owner of this body had been a wealthy heiress who only ever went to private hospitals. Why would she ever need medical insurance?

“You… hang in there,” the nurse said, patting Zhao Ke’s shoulder reassuringly. “We only call to remind patients if the medical bills aren’t paid within a month of discharge.”

Zhao Ke nodded and thanked her sincerely.

The young nurse looked earnest, as if genuinely advising Zhao Ke: “With a face like yours, even the most terrible drama would still draw viewers. Being infamous is still being famous, you know.”

Zhao Ke forced a stiff smile and shuffled back to her hospital room, her steps unsteady.

In the cramped bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her features were identical to those in her previous life, only this time they were meticulously cared for, lacking the roughness that came from years of sun and wind exposure.

Bold, angular brow bones and a straight nose, captivating peach blossom eyes, and full, rounded lips.

Too bad this beautiful face is about to be ravaged by UV rays, Zhao Ke thought wearily.

To pay off her medical bills, she had no choice but to return to her old job.

She’d need to work at least half a month to settle the debt.

There was no going back to the entertainment industry. As a rough-edged woman who only knew how to climb walls, she lacked any marketable skills—even feigning cuteness was a struggle.

Zhao Ke pulled out her phone, navigated to the official website for High-Altitude Operations Certificate registration, and scheduled her exam for the day of her discharge.

Following the overhead signs, Zhao Ke walked past rows of hospital rooms until she finally reached her own at the end of the corridor.

Bed 58 was the innermost bed, and she had two roommates.

On Bed 56, the outermost bed, sat an auntie peeling an apple. Seeing Zhao Ke enter, she pulled another apple from the plastic bag at her feet and offered it to Zhao Ke.

“Want an apple, dear? My son brought these when he visited earlier.”

Zhao Ke stared at the perfectly round apple, her body, which hadn’t had a proper meal in days, let out a silent, desperate cry.

She accepted the apple without hesitation.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” the auntie waved her hand dismissively. “You seemed so down the past few days. Have you finally come to terms with things?”

“Yes, I’ve come to terms with it.”

How could I not, after becoming a completely different person?

Zhao Ke didn’t bother peeling the apple. She rinsed it briefly in the bathroom and took a big bite.

Her unrestrained way of eating amused the auntie on Bed 56.

The auntie gave her a thumbs-up. “I like girls who are so straightforward! So, have you got a boyfriend yet?”

Boyfriend?

Since her debut, the original Zhao Ke had been plagued by scandals. No one would dare date her.

And for Zhao Ke herself, it was even more impossible. Hanging off skyscrapers every day, her only chance at a boyfriend would be if Spider-Man crossed over from another dimension.

But facing Auntie’s direct, admiring gaze and her right hand reaching for her phone, Zhao Ke nodded firmly.

“Yes, I’ve been dating someone for several years now.”

“Ah, that’s good, that’s good,” Auntie said, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

In contrast to the friendly Auntie in Bed 56, the young woman sitting cross-legged in Bed 57 seemed less approachable.

From the moment Zhao Ke entered the room, the woman had been glaring at her with a venomous intensity.

“How come I never heard about you having a boyfriend?” Sun Yue demanded coldly.

As Qiao Shuxue’s most loyal “snowflake” (fan), Sun Yue had already dug up every detail of Zhao Ke’s life. She would never have missed such a major scandal like a romantic relationship.

Zhao Ke crunched loudly on her apple, her words muffled: “Why would I tell you?”

She couldn’t understand why Bed 57 was acting so familiar with her.

Sun Yue scoffed. “Whatever your boyfriend is like, he can’t possibly be better than Shu Xue’s!”

That slicked-back guy who can barely string a coherent sentence together? Zhao Ke thought, inwardly embarrassed.

What a small world, she mused. This girl is actually a fan of the female lead, and a die-hard one at that.

Sun Yue, unwilling to look at Zhao Ke’s face any longer, pulled out her tablet and propped it up on the bed’s small tray table. She prepared to watch Qiao Shuxue’s new drama, hoping to cleanse her eyes.

But Zhao Ke, still munching on her apple, brazenly sat down beside Sun Yue’s bed and leaned closer.

“What are you watching? Qiao Shuxue? Let me see too.”

Sun Yue startled at the sudden proximity. She was about to jump up when a soft, delicate fragrance reached her nose—the scent of the beautiful, fragrant woman she had always imagined.

She awkwardly scooted to the other side of the bed, her voice stiff. “Why do you want to watch Snow Treasure? What, are you here to confess your sins?”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao Ke replied casually, nodding between bites of her apple.

She was simply curious to see what the female lead actually looked like.

The novel described the female lead as breathtakingly beautiful, especially with the Beauty System’s enhancement. Everything paled in comparison to her, and the entire nation revered her as a precious treasure.

Zhao Ke had been itching with curiosity while reading the novel, but her limited imagination struggled to visualize such extraordinary beauty.

Qiao Shuxue’s new drama was an inspirational workplace drama featuring a strong female lead. Qiao Shuxue played a newly hired intern lawyer who speaks out for victims, challenges injustice, and fights for justice, ultimately becoming a top-tier lawyer.

After the dreamy opening theme song ended, Qiao Shuxue appeared on screen in a meticulously tailored gray-black business suit, embodying her professional image.

“Ahhh! Snow Treasure is so beautiful!” Sun Yue beside her shrieked like a chicken.

Zhao Ke: …

To be fair, Qiao Shuxue wasn’t unattractive. After all, she had the looks required to enter the entertainment industry.

Qiao Shuxue had started as an ordinary contestant on a singing and dancing idol survival show. During the show, she awakened the Beauty System, successfully transforming from a bottom-ranked participant into the center of the debut group.

After her debut, Qiao Shuxue consistently portrayed herself as an independent and powerful female lead. She transformed from someone terrible at singing and dancing into a natural method actor, dominating trending searches and starring in one blockbuster drama after another.

Yet, to Zhao Ke, amidst the dazzling constellation of stars in the entertainment industry, Qiao Shuxue seemed utterly unremarkable.

She had ordinary double-lidded eyes, a common upturned nose, and thin lips. Her slightly sunken cheeks, framed by drab gray and black clothing, gave her an oddly rustic air.

She was nothing like the radiant, dazzling beauty described in lavish detail across pages of novels.

Zhao Ke stared at the tablet for one second, two seconds, three seconds. Suddenly, the camera cut back to Qiao Shuxue from a supporting character, and she instantly became radiant, as if a high-intensity beauty filter had been activated. Her beauty was almost unreal.

Zhao Ke: Holy sh1t, she can do that?

The enhanced image of Qiao Shuxue gradually erased Zhao Ke’s shaky impression of her as an ordinary person. Zhao Ke’s heart pounded. This is the System? This is way too much!

Now that Zhao Ke knew Qiao Shuxue possessed a beauty filter, she looked at her more intently and felt that Qiao Shuxue exuded an artificial, tech-enhanced aura.

Unable to ignore the overwhelming sense of unreality, Zhao Ke turned to Sun Yue.

“Do you really think Qiao Shuxue is that beautiful?”

“Of… course,” Sun Yue replied almost without thinking. But when she turned her head and saw Zhao Ke’s stunningly beautiful face, with its perfect bone structure, so close to her own, her voice involuntarily faltered.

Damn it! When I was a kid, I planned to grow up looking just like that!

Sun Yue silently swallowed and looked back at her tablet.

The self-produced drama she had been eagerly anticipating suddenly seemed utterly dull.

Discovering the case, helping the victims, encountering difficulties, solving the problems… How utterly formulaic! Sun Yue could barely resist speeding up the playback.

No, I need to boost Snow Treasure’s data. I have to watch this whole episode properly.

Zhao Ke, on the other hand, grew bored after just ten minutes.

She got up, tossed the apple core, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

As she passed Bed 57, she suddenly heard Sun Yue ask, “What are you planning to do after you’re discharged?”

Zhao Ke was staying in the nutrition ward; she didn’t have any serious illness and didn’t even need to be discharged. She was already bouncing around with energy.

Hearing Sun Yue’s question, Zhao Ke began to ponder.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she replied honestly.

Saving up some money and returning to the countryside to live a simple life seemed like a good option. The orphanage where she grew up was in the countryside, and even now, when she looked back on that childhood, she remembered finding joy amidst the hardships.

Sun Yue pursed her lips and scoffed, likely thinking Zhao Ke lacked ambition.

But after a moment of silence, she spoke again. “Why don’t you just go back to the entertainment industry? Even being ‘blacklisted’ is still being talked about. Who knows, maybe some brainless fans will be willing to spend money on you.”

Zhao Ke: Why does everyone keep trying to push me back into the entertainment industry…?

After finishing the hospital’s free patient dinner, Zhao Ke lay on her bed, propping her head on her arm, and began to think about her future plans.

Should I really go back to the entertainment industry? But I don’t know how to do anything!

The original owner of this body was at least an art student. How could she, a rough-and-tumble person who only knew how to swing on ropes and kick her legs in the air, face the cameras?

The more Zhao Ke thought, the heavier her eyelids grew.

No, this brain-taxing stuff isn’t for me.

Suddenly, her phone, which had been on silent all day, buzzed twice.

Zhao Ke, struggling to keep her eyes open against the overwhelming drowsiness, glanced at the conspicuous red notification dot in WeChat.

A message from someone named Qiao Qinglu.

There’s more to the story about your family’s coal mine.

What could she mean by “more to the story”? Zhao Ke wondered, puzzled.

The coal mine had belonged to her father in the original timeline, but the male lead had already acquired it. What did it have to do with her now?

Her mother had died long ago. When her father faced imminent danger, he fled the country with cash and his illegitimate son, leaving Zhao Ke alone to face the male and female leads’ overwhelming fury.

What does the coal mine have to do with me, Zhao Ke?

Wait a minute… Qiao Qinglu? Isn’t she the fake heiress?

Zhao Ke suddenly snapped awake.