Cannon fodder whose lives are controlled strive to rewrite their destiny (9 chapters). Please add to your collection...

After the funeral, Chen Xia returned to the home where the original owner and Li Qian had lived for many years. She used the key to open the door and took out a cleansing talisman to thoroughly clean the room.

I turned off the doors and windows, turned off the main gas valve, and turned off the main power switch. Just as I was about to go downstairs after locking the door, my neighbor, Aunt Zhang, called me back.

"Xia, Auntie knows that you and your mother had some misunderstandings before. People our age may not be good at expressing their feelings sometimes, but everything we do is for the good of our children. Although your mother is a bit strict with you, she also hopes that you can get into a good university and find a good job in the future."

Chen Xia nodded perfunctorily: "I understand, thank you Aunt Zhang. I'll be going now. My dad is still waiting for me downstairs. Goodbye, Aunt Zhang."

Aunt Zhang watched Chen Xia's departing figure, feeling indignant for Li Qian. She had raised Chen Xia with such care for over a decade, and just because Li Qian changed Chen Xia's college application, Li Qian still held a grudge, even after Chen Xia's mother's death. Meanwhile, that scumbag Chen Lihui hadn't cared about her since the divorce, yet Li Qian was clinging to him.

After sitting in the back seat, Chen Xia handed the keys and property certificate to Chen Lihui: "Dad, I plan to stay in Beijing after graduation. You can decide what to do with this house. If you can, then get rid of it; if not, just leave it for now."

Chen Lihui took the keys and property certificate: "Okay, I'll find a reliable real estate agent to list the house first. I don't think anyone will be willing to take it in the short term. In a couple of years, when things have changed, if someone doesn't mind that a murder happened in this house and wants to buy it, it's not impossible to sell it at a loss."

On the way back, the father and daughter chatted casually. Chen Xia remembered something and asked Chen Lihui how much Li Qian's funeral cost.

Chen Lihui glared at him: "Why are you asking this? Although your mother and I are divorced, we were husband and wife for so many years. They say even a night of marriage is worth a hundred days of kindness. You're still a child, so I should pay for this. Don't think too much about it. Just focus on your studies when you get back to Beijing."

Xiaxia, Dad knows that with Mom gone, your heart must be in turmoil, filled with bitterness and pain. But no matter how painful it is, we must learn to look forward and not let ourselves be trapped in sadness forever. If you feel really suffocated, just cry it out. In front of Dad, you never have to pretend to be strong.

"It's only been a few days, and you've lost a lot of weight. Your face is so thin, you look like you could float away in a gust of wind. It breaks my heart to see you torturing yourself like this! I'll transfer some money to you later. When you get back to Beijing, eat well and stop thinking about dieting all the time. A girl should be plump and healthy to look beautiful."

Chen Xia hadn't expected her antics to cause her father, Chen Lihui, so much worry, leading to his constant nagging the whole way. She had indeed lost weight, but it had absolutely nothing to do with being upset or heartbroken. In her hometown, it was believed that the more heartbroken and haggard the children looked during their parents' funeral, the more filial they were.

It's easy to make someone cry their heart out; the talisman gift pack she bought included a tear talisman. Once applied, tears immediately streamed down her face, and everyone who saw it would praise her for being filial.

She looks haggard, which is a problem. She can either wear makeup, but she cries every day and her makeup might come off, and it's also a hassle to wear makeup every day.

She either stopped eating and sleeping, making herself look haggard. After much thought, she decided to take a diet pill to lose several pounds quickly, and coupled with a lifeless expression, she could also create the effect of looking haggard.

Unexpectedly, the weight loss pills were incredibly effective; she lost ten pounds in four days. Her two uncles, who clearly had ill intentions, were incredibly kind and gentle to her, except for the day she defended her father and was scolded as an unfilial daughter and an ingrate. They even advised her that the deceased was gone and she should try to think more positively.

After handling Li Qian's funeral arrangements, Chen Xia returned to the provincial capital on October 6th. His National Day holiday was completely ruined. He didn't stay in the provincial capital and went straight to Beijing with a high-speed rail business class ticket.

As she pulled her suitcase out of the high-speed rail station, Ling Yi, who had been waiting outside the exit, saw her come out, took the suitcase from her hand, and protected her as she walked out with the crowded people.

"You should have called me to pick you up. Xiaxia, why have you lost so much weight? Did you get sick from the change in environment when you went back to your hometown?"

Chen Xia smiled and said, "No, I took a diet pill. I originally thought that if I took a diet pill, I would lose a few pounds and look haggard without makeup, which would help me maintain my image as a filial daughter. But I didn't expect to overdo it and lose ten pounds with just one diet pill."

Ling Yi was relieved when she heard that the reason for her rapid weight loss was because she had taken diet pills. Although the diet pills from the system store made people lose weight quickly, they did not harm the body, and she could gradually regain her weight.

“Yiyi, I have an 8 AM start the day after tomorrow. Since I’m staying at GA Mansion, I have to get up early to catch the 8 AM start. Let’s go straight back to Rose Garden. I haven’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days back home, and there’s been a lot of trouble. I need to make up for it when I get back. Tomorrow I want to eat your boiled beef, cumin lamb chops, and braised shrimp.”

"Okay, I knew you were coming back today, so I started cooking the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup you wanted yesterday. I just turned off the heat before you came, so you can open the lid when you get back."

On the way from the airport to the Rose Garden, Chen Xia, who had been cooped up for several days, rattled off a long list of things she wanted to eat.

Ling Yi's main strength is her emotional value. Whenever Chen Xia says she wants to eat something, she agrees in a good-natured manner. She even makes a table and remembers exactly what dishes to make on which day.

After lying at home all day, Chen Xia, fully recharged, rode her bicycle to school early on the 8th. After a busy day of classes, the group of friends lay in bed that night and started sharing their experiences from their National Day holiday trip.

After the other three finished speaking, they looked at Chen Xia expectantly: "Xiaxia, weren't you going on a road trip to the Bashang Grassland with your cousin? How was it? Was the Bashang Grassland fun?"

"I couldn't go. I had already packed my bags and was ready to leave when my dad called to say that my mom had passed away, so I went home for the funeral."

After hearing this, Guo Xiaofan and the other two quickly comforted Chen Xia. Chen Xia smiled and said, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern. My relationship with her is just so-so, so I'm not really that sad."

Although Chen Xia's three roommates didn't say it aloud, they didn't believe her. They thought it was because Chen Xia was too proud to let others know her sadness.

If it were really as she said, that the relationship and feelings were just so-so, and that she wasn't sad at all, then how could she have become so thin in just a few days?

Chen Xia originally had a very ordinary relationship with her three roommates. None of the four of them were the type to talk and laugh a lot, and they would usually just chat for a few minutes when they returned to the dormitory.

This was in stark contrast to the other girls in the dorm room next to her, who were as close as sisters. Unexpectedly, this incident actually strengthened the bond between the four of them.

The other three, in particular, were incredibly caring and protective of Chen Xia. Whenever they went out, even if they only brought back a single piece of candy, they would save it for Chen Xia.

Hu Yun, who was in the food club, would always bring Chen Xia some treats whenever she went to the club. After more than a year of the three of them tirelessly feeding her, Chen Xia finally started to look a bit plump and healthy.

Four years of university life passed quickly, and as graduation approached, the four students made different choices regarding their future plans.

Hu Yun chose to take the national civil service exam and the Beijing municipal civil service exam. Parents in Shandong have a strong attachment to taking the civil service exam; if they have the opportunity, they will take it, and if they don't, they will create the opportunity.

Zhang Xiaofan started preparing for graduate school recommendation in her junior year, while Yan Nana planned to study abroad. Chen Xia, who didn't want to pursue graduate studies or find a job, decided to open an animation studio.

When Chen Xia was a sophomore, she fell in love with 3D animation. To support her hobby, Ling Yi customized a top-of-the-line computer for her that could do CG animation rendering and became her tutor, guiding her to learn from the basics of animation and art.

Opening an animation studio requires investment in various aspects, including hardware, software, input devices, and audio equipment. In terms of computer hardware, high-performance workstations are needed. After consulting with the system, Chen Xia, with his deep pockets, directly customized an enterprise-level rendering cluster.

The animation studio is located on the top floor of an office building, offering a wide view and an office area of ​​over 2,000 square meters.

After the previous tenant's lease expired, the top assistant, Ling Yi, notified the property management to take back the rooftop and renovate it, with the main focus being the server room upgrade.

When ordering the equipment, Chen Xia made a snap decision and chose the extremely expensive enterprise-level rendering cluster over a high-performance workstation.

The result was that the server room renovation alone cost 50 million, mainly due to the high cost of the liquid cooling system and anti-static engineering. Adding in other miscellaneous renovations, the entire floor renovation cost her 20 million.

The office area is divided into a core functional area and auxiliary spaces. The core functional area includes a rendering cluster server room and a creative production area.

The rendering cluster server room is equipped with ten 42U server racks, a liquid cooling system, and an operation and maintenance monitoring room. It is the most valuable place on the entire top floor.

The creation and production area includes an open workspace that can accommodate a team of 50 people, and 10 cubicles dedicated to special effects and modeling.

The auxiliary spaces include a multi-functional meeting room, a portfolio showroom, an equipment and material storage warehouse, a rest area, and a coffee bar.

With over 30 small targets invested in hardware such as clusters, workstations, and audio/video equipment, plus the costs of licensed software, hiring employees, electricity, and maintenance, the total expenditure of 10 billion yuan has already exceeded half of the target.

Chen Xia's initial idea was simple: open a studio, be her own boss, and not be subject to any constraints. She could start working whenever she wanted, or slack off whenever she didn't want to, since she wasn't short of money anyway.

However, after receiving the total cost list from Ling Yi, she fell silent. Was there any possibility of breaking even in her lifetime for the studio she had built with fifty small goals?

Ling Yi: "The money has already been spent. Isn't it a bit late for you to start thinking about getting your money back? There's a cashback system for spending money, so you shouldn't be worrying about whether you'll get your money back or not. You should be thinking about the 5 billion you still have in your account that you haven't spent yet."

Time is running out for you. If you don't complete the task, you'll have to pay the 5 billion yourself, and you'll only lose more in the end.