The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

The progress made in the last century left Hai Ku quite satisfied. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t experienced any real harm, so he maintained a mindset of letting things go whenever possible.

The notion of ‘an eye for an eye’ actually had some merit, especially in a world where one could continuously transmigrate and reincarnate. If he were to retaliate too decisively, who’s to say that the female lead wouldn’t be reborn and come back for revenge in another world?

But there was no point in dwelling on such things now. The world had already been left behind, and the experience points were already in his possession.

After returning to the system space, the system had been unusually silent. Hai Ku thought something might have gone wrong until a blank document suddenly appeared before him. At the same time, a soft, teary voice incongruent with the system’s typical image wailed…

[I stayed here while you were on your mission and read what you were reading before. This book moved me so much…]

Hai Ku was speechless but still clicked on the book the system was referring to.

It was a full-immersion MMORPG with an infinite flow storyline. However, back when it was written, such themes weren’t very popular. The author, desperate to attract readers, had incorporated a clichéd love triangle.

The story revolved around a game called [The Seven-Tiered Pagoda.]

This game was a hit at the time, as its name suggested, consisting of seven levels of challenges.

Each level contained various mechanisms and a final boss. No one had successfully cleared all levels of the game, so no complete strategy guides existed.

When playing the game, players were immersed in the virtual world, which meant they couldn’t easily hunt for items like in traditional 2D games. It required significant effort and time investment.

In the story, the game had gained immense popularity, and the plot began with this game as its focal point.

Because of the game’s difficulty, many players had already formed teams to clear it together before the servers opened.

The female lead initially joined the game at her roommate’s insistence. She wasn’t particularly interested in it but decided to play out of boredom.

However, her disinterest didn’t diminish the power of her protagonist aura. Right at the start, she had the incredible luck to gain a “cheat code,” a golden finger that revealed how to navigate the game’s future plot.

Yet, being a novice gamer, the female lead didn’t realize at first that this cheat code was unique to her.

At that time, stories without romantic subplots weren’t popular. As soon as the female lead entered the game world, she happened to fall onto the supporting male character, Liu Haiku. Naturally, this was supposed to trigger the beginning of a fateful encounter leading to romance.

However, in the game, Liu Haiku was just a weakling…

The author had intended to portray him as a cunning character, someone who feigned weakness while secretly being a powerhouse. Unfortunately, they overdid it, turning him into a frail and effeminate man instead.

Unable to salvage the character, the author replaced him with a new male lead. Liu Haiku, originally the “chosen one,” was demoted to a supporting role.

The three characters spent most of the story leveling up and fighting monsters, with the female lead vacillating between the two men. By the end, when all three met in real life, the female lead chose the male lead after much deliberation.

There wasn’t much to complain about here; different people liked different things. Hai Ku quickly forgot about the story after reading it. He had no idea where the system had dug it up from.

Just as he was about to toss the book aside, the system pitifully whimpered, [The supporting male character in this book is so tragic… Wuwuwu…]

Its tone was supposed to sound sympathetic, but since the system had no physical form and only appeared as a cloud of white mist in the system space, its sudden rush toward Hai Ku made him instinctively flinch.

Hai Ku: “…”

This love triangle was consensual. Both the male lead and the supporting male character were strung along by the female lead. However, the female lead was just a naive and Holy Mother white lotus type. The story’s warnings were clearly stated, emphasizing it was all about gaining experience. Everything was spelled out plainly, so Hai Ku didn’t see what else there was to say.

(T/N: Holy mother/ holy Mary type = sanctimonious. White lotus = characters who appear to be naive or innocent & pure such, but they use this reputation to back stab, blame, or sling mud on others.)

Plenty of people enjoyed such stories. Even if he entered that world, what could he do? At most, he’d just stay far away from the female lead.

“Then tell me, if I were to enter that world, what should I do?” He scratched his head. He only remembered the general plot of the story since he hadn’t taken detailed notes or written an in-depth review.

The system seemed to be waiting for this exact response. It suddenly opened a panel.

[The supporting male character was originally supposed to be the one who cleared the final level. However, just as he was about to reach the end, he used his last chance to confess to the female lead and lost the trophy he deserved. It’s so heartbreaking!]

Hai Ku wasn’t a fan of games, so he couldn’t grasp why the system found this so tragic. Based solely on what the system had said, he still didn’t feel any interest in entering this game world.

“Isn’t that just how it’s set up? Here, the male lead and the male supporting character being willing backups is clearly stated beforehand. I don’t think there’s anything to ridicule about it. After all, the author already put a warning; maybe there are people who enjoy this kind of story?” Hai Ku sighed, trying his best to recall the plot of the book.

However, aside from the earlier details, the only thing he could remember was that the female lead was a white lotus.

He remembered that when he initially read the book, it was solely for the gaming aspect. As for the romantic drama involving the female lead, Hai Ku had completely skimmed through those parts.

Feeling he had explained himself clearly and reasonably, Hai Ku thought that should suffice.

But the system, acting as if sulking, didn’t utter a word after Hai Ku’s explanation. Even the interface in the system space was unresponsive.

Never before had Hai Ku seen the system so temperamental. After repeatedly trying to interact with the interface and failing, he finally relented. “Alright, alright, alright. Tell me, what exactly should I do if I go to that world?”

[Get first place!]

Hearing that the host had conceded, the system finally seemed a bit pleased. When Hai Ku went on his missions, the system was often bored out of its mind in the space. Aside from going through Hai Ku’s past readings, it occupied itself by playing games.

For a character like the female lead, who snatched credit for others’ hard work in the game, the system harbored immense disdain! While others toiled tirelessly to progress, she casually reaped the rewards. It was absolutely unforgivable!

Hai Ku: “…” He wasn’t sure if it was because he had taken care of too many “sons” and “daughters” in his past missions, but he found himself indulging the system like a parent spoiling a child.

Hai Ku couldn’t help but feel startled. I’m only a 25-year-old youth. Why do I already feel like an old man?

However, at that moment, he was abruptly transmitted into the world.

****

Before he could stabilize himself, Hai Ku was hit directly. He felt as if his head had been concussed, his vision darkened, and the world around him turned black.

“Hey, hey, hey! Are you dead? Are you okay? I didn’t mean to! Don’t die! Oh my God, I’ve messed up! Wuwuwu…”

Although his body was unconscious, Hai Ku retained some awareness. Feeling himself being shaken vigorously, he started to feel nauseous. It seemed highly likely he was being shaken into unconsciousness.

He desperately wanted to open his eyes, but the force of the shaking felt like it might dislocate his bones. Hai Ku genuinely felt unlucky.

What’s worse, he could hear the voice of the person beside him incessantly talking, and there was no way to block it out.

“Oh no, am I going to have to give you CPR? Wuwuwu… Is my first kiss going to end here? Even though you’re pretty handsome, still, still…”

These early Mary Sue-style lines hadn’t felt awkward when he read them years ago. But hearing them now, Hai Ku found them unbearably cringeworthy. He wished he could tape that person’s mouth shut.

Forcing himself to open his eyes, he pushed the person away just as her face was about to press against his lips.

Hai Ku clutched his chest, still in shock, his face pale as he looked at the girl in front of him like she was a monster. “What are you doing?”

The girl’s name was Bing Jingxue. She embodied all the early Mary Sue female lead traits; fair and tender skin, rosy lips and white teeth, large watery eyes, a height of 1.5 meters, a curvaceous figure, and long, flowing hair.

In summary, she was written to be nearly perfect. But seeing her in person, Hai Ku felt her proportions were a bit off. Still, she wasn’t unpleasant to look at.

“I accidentally knocked you out, didn’t I? I shook you and couldn’t wake you up,” Bing Jingxue pouted slightly, her expression showing a mix of annoyance and blame as she looked at Hai Ku. Her big eyes carried a hint of reproach. “Good thing you woke up; otherwise, I might’ve had to give you CPR, and my first kiss would’ve been gone! Humph ╭(╯^╰)╮.”

Hai Ku: “…” Goosebumps visibly rose on his arm. He was momentarily speechless.

Since you already know this is a game, why would you even consider giving CPR?

This logic was utterly baffling.

“Alright, since you’re awake now, and it was my fault for accidentally knocking you out, I’ll apologize. I’m sorry! My name is Bing Jingxue. This is my first time playing this game, so I’m still learning how to control things. What’s your name?” She patted the dust off her dress and blinked, looking adorable.

For some reason, seeing her act like that made Hai Ku feel awkward. He furrowed his brows, struggling to squeeze out a response after a long pause. “I’m Hai Ku…”

Her expression instantly turned disdainful. Bing Jingxue found Hai Ku’s name completely at odds with his appearance. “Ugh… There are still people with such an old-fashioned name? Is this your game name? If so, I suggest you change it.”

Rubbing his arm, Hai Ku didn’t understand what was wrong with his name. “According to you, what should I change it to?”

“Hmm…” She tapped her chin with her finger, sizing up Hai Ku from head to toe. “You’re pretty handsome, and when you’re silent, you have a cold aura, like winter snow. How about ‘Prince of the Night’?”

Hai Ku: “…”