You Were Made to Be Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up a Winner in Life?

Chapter 18: Humble Love 18:

“Pay me for the last ride, or I’m not taking you any further.”

The driver extended his hand.

“I’ll report you!”

Zhang Ya gritted her teeth, her self-esteem crumbling completely under the driver’s harsh words.

“Go ahead, complain all you want, but first, pay up. Don’t think you can ride for free!”

The driver sneered, pulling a spring-loaded knife from his belt. The cold gleam made everyone take a step back.

Wang Fengxia and Zhang Laohan instinctively shrank away, staying silent.

Zhang Xiaobao also stepped back several paces.

“Give me 100 yuan.”

Though fear gripped her, Zhang Ya’s anger still burned. She glared at the driver before turning to Wang Fengxia.

“I don’t have any money!”

Wang Fengxia started to refuse on instinct.

“If you don’t give me the money, you can all go back home right now!”

Zhang Ya spoke each word through clenched teeth.

“Are you threatening me? You…”

Wang Fengxia’s eyes widened, but before she could finish, Zhang Xiaobao grabbed her arm.

“Here!”

Wang Fengxia took a deep breath, pulled out 100 yuan, and threw it at Zhang Ya.

“Now give me back my phone and the change!”

Zhang Ya handed the bill to the driver and demanded.

“As if I care about keeping your phone.”

The driver sneered, handed over the change, and returned Zhang Ya’s phone before turning back to his car.

A moment later, the car sped off.

“He said we were filthy! How dare he! There’s nothing filthy about us!”

With the driver gone, Wang Fengxia’s fear turned into rage.

“Aren’t you filthy, though?”

Zhang Ya looked at Wang Fengxia with disgust and turned to hail another taxi.

Yet, car after car passed without stopping.

It was clear: no driver wanted their vehicle dirtied by her parents.

…

“Got it. Keep monitoring them.”

At ShieldFlash Cybersecurity Company, Chen Nuo listened to the private investigator’s report about Zhang Ya’s parents and brother arriving in the city and the commotion at the train station. A cold smile crossed his face.

A week ago, Chen Nuo hired a well-known private investigator to keep an eye on Zhang Ya.

In his previous life, when Zhang Ya’s parents arrived in the city, his former self had personally picked them up.

Their first meeting at the station ended with his parents-in-law berating him in front of a bustling crowd, leaving him utterly humiliated.

Back then, Zhang Ya hadn’t gone to pick them up; she had been working at her job instead.

But now, it was Zhang Ya’s turn to deal with her family—and their conflicts had already begun.

Zhang Ya had an immense sense of pride and hated discussing her family or background.

Now, publicly humiliated at the train station, she was suffering.

“Things are getting interesting.”

Chen Nuo ended the call, recalling another matter the investigator had mentioned. His eyes sparkled with amusement.

As long as he stopped being Zhang Ya’s provider, her greedy and insecure family would destroy themselves.

His role was simply to watch and strike at the perfect moment.

“Who was that on the phone? You even had to step outside to take it?”

“Yeah, are you seeing someone new already?”

“If so, bring her along to dinner so we can all meet.”

Chen Nuo returned to the office, immediately drawing playful comments from his colleagues.

“It was a friend, not a girlfriend.”

He chuckled and redirected the conversation by asking where they wanted to go for dinner that evening.

The topic quickly shifted.

…

Back at the train station exit, after being repeatedly refused by taxis, Zhang Ya finally flagged down a rickshaw.

All three family members climbed on.

“We came all this way, and you have us riding this? With that fool having so much money, he couldn’t even buy you a car?”

On the rickshaw, Wang Fengxia looked around disdainfully and then glared at Zhang Ya.

This wasn’t what she envisioned.

She had imagined Chen Nuo picking them up in a luxurious car.

Zhang Xiaobao also sneered at the rickshaw, his gaze burning with envy as he watched cars passing by.

“If you hadn’t worn those clothes and avoided bathing, maybe the taxis would’ve stopped!”

Zhang Ya’s eyes burned with hatred. Unlike her family’s contempt for the rickshaw, she felt nothing but utter disgust.

She hadn’t ridden in one for years.

The stares from passing cars made her seethe.

She blamed her parents for everything.

“And now you’re blaming us? I ask you, why hasn’t that fool bought you a car?”

Wang Fengxia exploded in anger.

“If he had bought you a car, would we have to sit here on this rickshaw?”

“And why isn’t he here picking us up? Explain!”

Zhang Ya shot Wang Fengxia a look of disgust, turned away, and refused to speak further.

But deep down, her resentment toward her family grew stronger.

Meanwhile, Wang Fengxia, Zhang Laohan, and Zhang Xiaobao glared at Zhang Ya’s evident disdain, hiding their own simmering anger.

They suppressed their feelings, driven by their agenda.

For now, the rickshaw was quiet, but an invisible wall had grown between them.

Unlike in the previous life, when Zhang Ya’s family united after arriving in the city, this time was entirely different.