201 - I Don’t Want to Be Turned Into the Female Protagonist by the System
# Chapter 201: Easing Tensions In the early morning, a long-lost ray of sunlight filtered through the cracks in the curtains, gently illuminating Su Qi's face. Su Qi murmured uncomfortably, tugged at the bunny-eared hood of her pajamas, and shifted her head to continue sleeping. Beside her, Lu Ran watched her daughter with interest. The cute, little maneuvers Su Qi did in her sleep perfectly portrayed the soft, tender nature of a young girl. Compared to her more tomboyish demeanor when awake, Su Qi appeared much more adorable now in her slumber. Lu Ran gently stroked Su Qi's bouncy, smooth cheek with her fingertip, feeling content. Then, she climbed out of bed to start preparing breakfast. Shortly after Lu Ran left the bed, Su Qi was woken up by the sound of her chopping dumpling filling. The familiar and rhythmic chopping sound made Su Qi momentarily imagine she had returned to her high school summer vacation. Forcibly awake, Su Qi intended to check the time on her phone but was instead drawn to several news headlines being pushed to her device. Normally, the news on her phone would revolve around celebrity gossip and trending videos. Su Qi wasn't one for celebrity culture, preferring niche interests. However, today’s news was not about celebrities at all. "Shanxi Suddenly Hit by Heavy Rain, Widespread Flooding and Disasters Occur" "Analyzing the Impact of Typhoon Haidou's Heavy Rains" "Astounding! Uncovering Why Typhoon Haidou is So Ferocious" Su Qi considered the three articles and chose the first one to read. Despite the dramatic title of the third piece, Su Qi, based on past experience, knew it was likely anticlimactic and dismissed it without a second thought. The first news article immediately showed a photo of a broken bridge, leaving only a bare railway track above a torrential river. It looked as though the entire bridge had been swept away by the water. According to the report, rainfall in some areas of Shanxi reached 280 mm, with an average of 180 mm, the highest in several years. Scrolling down, Su Qi saw photos of landslides in remote areas. Judging by the locations, they seemed off the beaten path, and luckily, no casualties were reported. Su Qi, who had read stories of Yu the Great taming floods, knew Shanxi and Henan were regions he once worked on. In her childhood, Su Qi couldn't comprehend why places like Zhejiang, which had even heavier rainfall, were unscathed by floods, and no one had heard of such disasters happening there. Reflecting on the current images and explanations, Su Qi understood a bit more. Shanxi is situated on the Loess Plateau, where the soil is loose and weak. Coupled with the recent typhoon that brought continuous rain, last night's heavy rain was more than the soil could withstand, thus causing floods and other geological disasters. Being an inland area, Shanxi lacked proper drainage methods, leading to such accidents. Thinking of the flooding in Shanxi, Su Qi grew worried about her stubborn-tempered fifth brother, Su Wu Jun. As far as she knew, he was working as a paramilitary police officer in Shanxi. Though flood relief was mainly the responsibility of firefighters, Su Qi was sure her brother, given his personality, would volunteer to help, causing her heart to feel a slight unease. After closing the news page, Su Qi wondered if anyone in her QQ chat groups was affected by the disaster. As soon as she logged in, she noticed a short video shared in the group. The video showed someone driving their car, saying, "When I bought this car, I didn't understand why I had to pay the vehicle and vessel tax. Now I understand, it's so the car can act like a boat!" The car stalled pitifully shortly after recording. Soon, others shared photos of their beloved cars submerged in water. The group members expressed their condolences collectively. One person even shared a video of someone sitting in a large basin, floating with the current. It indeed seemed to be in Shanxi, but the person appeared quite cheerful. Su Qi was greatly impressed, to remain so optimistic even when their home was gone—they must have a very positive outlook! After checking a few other chat groups, Su Qi found that her groups really did consist of people from all over. There was a surprising number of group members from Shanxi today, but fortunately, none were injured. To Su Qi, that was indeed the greatest relief. After all, possessions and wealth are not worth more than human life. If given the choice between wealth or family, even with her 2 million yuan net worth, she would undoubtedly choose family without hesitation. Putting her phone down, Su Qi left her bedroom to freshen up. She heard Lu Ran on the phone in the kitchen. Since the call was on speaker, Su Qi clearly recognized the voice of her father, Su Lu Jun. Due to her timid nature, just hearing his voice made Su Qi instinctively want to retreat. Only when she bumped into the door did she realize it was just her parents talking. But even this slight noise caught Lu Ran's attention.