177 - I Don’t Want to Be Turned Into the Female Protagonist by the System

### Chapter 177: The Woes of a Working Person Su Siyang sent off his younger sister. Though in the past, he frequently plotted alongside their parents against Su Qi when she was younger. However, since discovering Su Qi was his sister, this latest plot left him feeling unprecedented guilt. After replying to Lu Ran’s message about his departure on WeChat and sending a photo of the chauffeured vehicle, Su Siyang quickly received a response from his mother. A “kissing” emoji. Su Siyang hesitated slightly but decided against directly telling his parents that Su Qi was actually a girl! How could it be a surprise if he spoiled it? After all, he was quite astonished himself upon finding out! Yet, he'd regret missing their expressions. Lu Ran watched her son send the message and display an expression of impending surprise. Now she was sure the surprise was related to her younger son. Could it be that Su Qi would come back dressed as a girl? No matter, Lu Ran thought. With six hours until the car’s arrival, she prepared to drive out for groceries, interrupted by a humph. Following the sound, she saw Su Lujun turning his head away, muttering, “Ah, some people just can't manage their temper; they’d blow a fuse!” Lu Ran chuckled quietly, approached Su Lujun, squeezed his shoulder, and said playfully, “Honey, I miss Xiao Qi too. You secretly went to see him, didn’t you? While you don’t express it, I genuinely miss him!” Caught out, Su Lujun blushed, rose from his chair, and said, “I wasn’t there to see him! What’s there to see about that brat? I went to see my old war buddies!” He exchanged a gaze with Lu Ran, who was smiling knowingly. “Your massage lacks any real strength. I'm off to play chess with Old Zhao, perhaps blow a few fuses myself!” Su Lujun waved his fan as he strode out. “Hopeless old man,” Lu Ran called after her retreating husband. With Su Lujun gone, Lu Ran pondered the surprise Su Siyang mentioned. What could it be? Oh well, she’d find out soon enough. What should she cook for Xiao Qi? Deciding to take the car for a spin around the city, she lamented the inconvenience of sourcing good food options while living in the villa area. Underneath a large tree, two middle-aged men were engrossed in a game of chess in the shade. Suddenly, a Volkswagen slowly passed by. “Hey, isn’t that your car?” The speaker, if Su Qi had been present, would be recognized as Old Man Zhao. “What do you mean, ‘your car’? Checkmate!” Su Lujun set down his piece with finality. Old Man Zhao examined the board and remarked, “If that’s not my car, have you taken it?” “You never watch the roads, never impounded a car?” Su Lujun replied with a poker face. “Heh, you old cheat, then I’m taking your piece!” Old Man Zhao declared, capturing Su Lujun’s piece. “Oh, you dare take my piece?” Su Lujun retorted, capturing Old Man Zhao’s knight. “You dare take my knight! I’ll take yours!” The playful squabbling continued as a pile of litter amusingly grew at the entrance to the villa area, refusing to land in their own dustpan. Inside a chauffeured vehicle, a driver in a suit and tie glanced into the rear-view mirror. The little girl, elegant in her traditional Hanfu, appeared slightly dispirited, missing much of her usual vibrant energy. After some thought, he offered, “Passenger, there are sugar sticks in the back seat. Eating one might lift your spirits.” “No, no thanks,” said Su Qi, socially anxious and too embarrassed to accept the kindness, quickly declining. Zhang Ru, however, took a strawberry-flavored candy and popped it into Su Qi’s mouth mid-sentence. “Thanks so much, driver!” Having candy already placed in her mouth, Su Qi had no choice but to mumble her gratitude. The driver responded warmly, “No problem, they’re not expensive! Good to see you’re feeling better!” Zhang Ru, observing the parent-daughter relationship, thought this family was particularly mischievous, worrying the little girl so. However, she couldn’t expose the truth. From her experience as an officer, revealing the truth now would lead to blaming her. Being somewhat complicit, she had to admit, she felt uncomfortable for having transgressed her principled nature. She briefly rationalized, shifting the blame to Su Siyang, and felt somewhat relieved. With the sweet taste distracting Su Qi, who hadn’t had this candy in eight years, only to find it tasted just as it did when she was younger. In elementary school, it was a trend to secretly eat these during class. Back then, she recalled they’d try to sneak the candy along with the wrapper into their mouths as the teacher approached, naively believing the teacher wouldn’t notice. Now, looking at her cheeks, she realized it was almost cartoonishly obvious. Zhang Ru, observing Su Qi's cheek-puffing antics, thought she was a treasure of a girl, even while eating candy, she was so adorable. The driver briefly looked back at Su Qi, noticing the renewed brightness in her eyes, like she was the carefree little girl he remembered his daughter once being. The car continued on its journey. Just then, there was a growling sound. Su Qi thought it was her stomach, but realized it was the driver's. “Driver, why don’t we stop at the city ahead for some food?” Zhang Ru kindly suggested, feeling tired after nearly two hours on the road. “No need, it’s an old habit,” the driver replied. Frequent riders like Zhang Ru knew the ride-share policies well. Long stops could negatively impact the driver’s service rating due to automated assessments. While it seemed quite inhumane, unfortunately, that’s how the system functioned, embodying the woes of a working person. “Driver, let’s stop at the highway rest area for a break, I’m getting hungry too!” Zhang Ru strategically suggested, knowing the car recorded audio. So if the system detected a service lapse, the driver could appeal the deduction. “Alright, I’ll stop at the next rest area,” the driver agreed. Su Qi listened to their exchange, lightly licking her candy, oblivious to the multiple layers of meaning behind their words. So sheltered, she only absorbed the first layer: they’d be stopping for food soon!