High-Altitude Worker, Unfortunately a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role - Chapter 3

In the novel’s climax, even Zhao Ke, a minor cannon fodder character, had been dealt with by the male and female leads. As the ultimate villain, the Fake Heiress Qiao Qinglu naturally couldn’t escape total defeat.

Her once-kind adoptive parents severed all ties with her, and Qiao Qinglu, formerly a rising starlet, had her childhood photos leaked, leading to widespread mockery online for her alleged plastic surgery.

After her downfall, Qiao Qinglu didn’t choose to lie low and protect herself. Instead, she recklessly attempted to obstruct the Main Lead through various means: buying damaging information, stealing roles, and snatching endorsements. She even resorted to using her own body as leverage, desperate to crush the Main Lead beneath her heel once more.

But the results were predictable: she suffered repeated, humiliating defeats at the Main Lead’s hands and had now been abandoned by her agency.

Zhao Ke frowned at her phone. What could the Fake Heiress possibly want from her?

Scrolling through their chat history, she realized their last exchange had been months ago, when the Fake Heiress had instigated the original Zhao Ke to spill red wine on the Main Lead at a banquet.

I’m on the hospital roof.

Another message popped up.

What does she mean?

Zhao Ke felt a growing sense of dread.

She tossed and turned in bed before finally sitting up, slipping on her slippers, and heading up the emergency staircase to the rooftop.

What if something happens to her?

The night was dark and windy, and the cold wind howled across the twenty-fifth-floor rooftop. Qiao Qinglu’s meticulously styled hair was instantly undone by the gale.

She gripped her phone tightly, refusing to let this minor setback unsettle her.

The moonlight reflected off her carefully applied Daiyu-inspired makeup and her pristine white dress, making her appear fragile and helpless at first glance.

In short, she looked utterly out of place on a rooftop at night.

The phone in her hand glowed faintly, its camera meticulously recording the scene before her. In the lower-left corner, a barrage of comments scrolled rapidly:

What’s the Fake Heiress up to now?

Qiao Qinglu, just die already!

The last time I saw Qiao Qinglu, she was trending for losing a bet with Qiao Shuxue over their new drama’s popularity and posting a video of herself kneeling to apologize. How does she still have the nerve to livestream?

Where is this? It’s pitch black!

Zhao Ke followed the emergency staircase to the rooftop, pushed open the heavy iron door, and was immediately hit by a bone-chilling gust of wind.

The wind on the rooftop was fierce.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, who is that?

Who is it? I can’t see clearly!

Qiao Qinglu stood leaning against the railing, her body remaining within the building’s perimeter, yet the scene still looked incredibly dangerous.

Zhao Ke, unsure of Qiao Qinglu’s intentions, cautiously kept a distance of two or three meters.

Qiao Qinglu had nothing on her except her phone. She turned around and switched the camera from front-facing to rear-facing, capturing Zhao Ke’s entire figure on video.

Fvck, the two people I hate most are on the same livestream!

Compared to Qiao Qinglu, Zhao Ke is the real b1tch!

Clicked!

What are these two up to? A collab stream?

Collab my ass! Didn’t they have a falling out already?

“Zhao Ke, do you remember the first drama we filmed together?” Qiao Qinglu spoke first, her voice laced with a feigned sob.

The hospital gown was loose, and Zhao Ke felt the wind piercing through her. She frowned and replied, “Not really.”

She genuinely didn’t know; the novel hadn’t provided those details.

What was her debut drama? Can anyone elaborate?

Hasn’t Zhao Ke always been Qiao Qinglu’s sidekick? Whenever Qiao Qinglu played the main lead, Zhao Ke would always play her best friend.

They used to be so close they shared everything, like sisters. But then Zhao Ke went crazy and tried to stab Snow Treasure’s face with a wooden sword, almost disfiguring her! That b1tch!

Zhao Ke’s cold reply struck exactly where Qiao Qinglu wanted.

Tears streaming down her face, Qiao Qinglu sobbed, “Of course you don’t remember. I’ve always been the one who carries our memories.”

“What are you trying to say?” Zhao Ke asked, confused. The wind was giving her a headache; she just wanted to go home and sleep.

“Zhao Ke, how can you be so selfish!” Qiao Qinglu suddenly screamed. “Our friendship has always depended on me alone!”

“You’ve insulted my sister in front of me countless times, and I always endured it! When you tried to disfigure her, I was the one who apologized for you! How can you remember nothing?”

Holy sh1t, this is huge!

Wait, is this the real story? I thought the trending news at the time claimed Zhao Ke was acting on Qiao Qinglu’s orders.

Fake news! Qiao Qinglu was just thrown under the bus to protect the real culprit. After all, they’re sisters.

Zhao Ke:…

If she hadn’t read the original plot, she might have believed it.

As a cannon fodder character, she would normally have no interaction with the Main Lead, let alone any reason to harm her.

Yet now, Qiao Qinglu was turning the tables, pinning all the blame on Zhao Ke.

Seeing Zhao Ke’s silence, Qiao Qinglu’s wavering confidence surged.

She glanced at the livestream comments and, finding no one questioning her claims, continued her tearful plea: “You couldn’t swallow your anger and made me vent it for you. I was tricked into accidentally ruining the gown my sister was supposed to wear on the red carpet! Waaah!”

“Now you’ve destroyed everything I have! How will you compensate me?!”

Ah, so Zhao Ke was the mastermind behind it all?

Zhao Ke, why don’t you just die already?

What a joke! Qiao Qinglu is just trying to whitewash her image by stepping on Zhao Ke. Let’s be real—you’re the one who cut Snow Treasure’s dress, aren’t you?

Your hands are your own, Qiao Qinglu. Stop playing the victim!

Speechless with frustration, Zhao Ke pulled out her phone, which she had been carrying in her pocket, and opened their chat history from several months ago.

Holding her phone aloft, Zhao Ke strode forward until she stood face-to-face with Qiao Qinglu.

“What… what do you want?” Qiao Qinglu instinctively retreated two steps, her back pressing against the concrete railing.

Zhao Ke’s composure was unnerving. With one hand casually tucked in her pocket and the other holding her phone, her forceful approach left Qiao Qinglu feeling cornered.

Zhao Ke thrust the phone screen close to Qiao Qinglu’s face, her voice devoid of emotion. “Take a good look. Who was instigating whom?”

What’s this? Let me see!

Ahhh, move the phone down a bit! I’m dying of suspense!

Why is Zhao Ke getting so close? Doesn’t she know she’s live-streaming?

Wait, I think she does. Qiao Qinglu is such a schemer!

“Do you understand now?” Zhao Ke pressed, seeing Qiao Qinglu’s lips pressed into a tight line.

Ugh, this damn wind is giving me a headache.

Why isn’t Qiao Qinglu saying anything?

Ugh, what’s the point of these two showbiz rats fighting over scraps?

Um, just saying… if the camera keeps focusing on Zhao Ke’s chest like this, I think…

I think so too…

Her grandpa’s lover looks seriously hot!

In the darkness, Qiao Qinglu’s expression shifted rapidly.

She never imagined that Zhao Ke, despite her repeated private requests to delete their chat history, had never actually done so.

Now, she had no choice but to resort to her final move.

Her fingers stealthily swiped across her phone, minimizing the live stream to the background. She opened WeChat and sent a message to her pinned contact:

Follow my previous instructions.

The gossiping netizens watching the live stream only managed to catch Qiao Qinglu’s terrified scream:

“Ahhhhh! Help me!”

The next moment, the camera abruptly switched to an aerial view from a drone hovering high above.

The footage showed Qiao Qinglu’s upper body dangling precariously outside the building, her life hanging by the thread of her slender wrists gripping the wall.

Before her, Zhao Ke stood unharmed.

Holy sh1t, what’s happening?!

Has Zhao Ke gone mad? Is she trying to silence her for good?!

Call the police! Someone call the police now!

The drone’s deafening noise drew Zhao Ke’s attention.

Even she, usually slow to catch on, realized she had been played by the Fake Heiress.

Zhao Ke glared at the drone, the red recording light blinking ominously beneath its camera.

How brazen, Zhao Ke!

Has she lost her mind? She must be insane!

That’s attempted murder, right?!

How can someone disregard the law to such an extent? Thank goodness Qiao Qinglu had the foresight to start a livestream.

Damn it, Qinglu, get away from there! Zhao Ke, don’t move!

Qiao Qinglu knew she had achieved the desired effect. Just as she was about to pull herself back onto the ground, the concrete beneath her hand suddenly crumbled.

Her body lurched backward uncontrollably, and she teetered on the brink of falling from the high-rise building.

“Watch out!” Zhao Ke shouted in alarm.

Dropping her phone, she lunged forward to save Qiao Qinglu.

Zhao Ke had previously stood by, coldly observing Qiao Qinglu’s reckless antics on the edge of disaster. Having worked in high-altitude construction for years, she knew that even the slightest disturbance in such a precarious situation could disrupt one’s balance. She had remained motionless, patiently waiting for Qiao Qinglu to finish her performance and retreat to safety.

But perhaps the hospital building was too old and poorly maintained, or perhaps the parapet had never been designed to support the full weight of an adult. Whatever the reason, the concrete cracked, Qiao Qinglu lost her grip, and she was about to plummet from the building.

Zhao Ke swiftly grabbed the thick hemp rope that was always kept on the rooftop, looped it twice around her right wrist, and lunged forward like a panther.

In a split second, Zhao Ke’s left hand snagged Qiao Qinglu’s right foot, which was dangling at the highest point of her fall.

The massive momentum dragged Zhao Ke’s entire body crashing into the concrete parapet.

The weathered wall cracked, its barrier gone. Zhao Ke’s worn-out slippers offered no grip, and the two of them plummeted uncontrollably toward the ground.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

The live chat erupted in panic.

The coiled rope whipped through the air, leaving a blur in its wake.

Bang!

With a deafening crack, the rope reached its limit. The momentum flung Zhao Ke and Qiao Qinglu against the building’s glass facade.

A single rope now held them both.

Zhao Ke clung desperately with her right hand, her left hand gripping Qiao Qinglu’s ankle. She hung spread-eagled against the glass, facing the dizzying heights below.

Qiao Qinglu dangled upside down, her head pointing straight toward the ground.

The drone faithfully recorded the scene.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Holy sh1t! Holy sh1t! Holy sh1t!

Ahhh! They’re alive! They’re alive! Call 911!

Holy crap, that was close!

Wait, Zhao Ke is amazing! She actually saved her!

Zhao Ke’s back slammed against the tempered glass, sending a sharp pain through her body.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” Qiao Qinglu, dangling from her hand, had lost her mind with terror, screaming incessantly.

How long can Zhao Ke hold on? Even if 911 gets here right away, it’ll still take at least ten minutes.

Does anyone know where this building is? Can we contact building security?

Hanging like this is impossible! Zhao Ke’s going to run out of strength any second now!