It's Actually Not Easy Wanting to be a Supporting Male Lead

Translated by Eve

Edited by Wuxian, Cat & Juurensha

After ascertaining one another’s identity, Sui Yuan spent more and more time with [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves] in-game. Fortunately, Zhao Xihe also knew that there was a limit to everything and did not act too hastily. Thus, for the time being, in front of other people, [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves] maintained his warm but slightly impassive appearance and never acted excessively intimate with [Disdaining the King of Hell]. As for what the two people were like in private, well, no one would know.

At the very least, Sui Yuan had already gotten used to the other’s persona in the public channel: he treated each word like gold and was serious and calm. In private however, he was like a completely different person, acting completely without morals or integrity. Sui Yuan also worriedly reminded him to make sure he selected the proper channel before sending each message. In case he messed up...hehe, that would be extremely awkward.

Luckily, Zhao Xihe was always prudent. With 0007’s help, it was very unlikely for him to make that kind of low-level mistake.

As for the protagonist shou, [Wind-Like High Official], Sui Yuan naturally had to start to get in touch with him. Only, at this time, the sharp-minded [Wind-Like High Official] had already faintly detected the change in [Disdaining the King of Hell]. He realized that an issue regarding their emotions had arisen between the two of them and also noticed the existence of [Hua Xinlei] who was bouncing up and down, becoming happier and happier. [Wind-Like High Official] gradually treated [Disdaining the King of Hell] more indifferently. Aside from helping out with the guild’s official matters, he would very seldomly take the initiative to talk to him, let alone play together.

Naturally, Sui Yuan wouldn’t pay much attention to the protagonist shou either. All of his mental and physical efforts were directed to figuring out how to placate a jealous Zhao Xihe and on how to respond to [Hua Xinlei]. Soon, he would simply worry himself to the point of growing white hair!

[Wind-Like High Official] naturally knew about how Sui Yuan’s and [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves]’s relationship was gradually getting better. Towards this, he held complicated emotions.

If it had been when he was madly in love (?) with [Disdaining the King of Hell], [Wind-Like High Official] would have certainly felt happy and delighted that his lover and good friend got along. After all, he had plenty of headaches from trying to figure out how to get the two people to reconcile with one another. But now, there was a fissure between [Wind-Like High Official] and [Disdaining the King of Hell]. Right now, he needed his friend’s comfort and support. However, when he turned around, he discovered that his good friend had unexpectedly started to get along with [Disdaining the King of Hell] at some unknown point in time. [Wind-Like High Official] truly felt a bit stifled.

Carrying this kind of conflicted emotions, [Wind-Like High Official] sent [Disdaining the King of Hell] a private message, asking in a manufactured casual way about the reason for the change in the relationship between him and [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves].

Sui Yuan looked at this message and deliberated over it for a long time.

【Disdaining the King of Hell】：I don’t really know the specifics either? I just suddenly thought that this person wasn’t all that bad and was worth making friends with. Didn’t you always say that he was good and that I should get in touch with him more often? I know that what you say is usually justified. Before, I was too narrow-minded. When I saw how close the two of you were, I felt jealous. Hehe, isn’t that kind of childish?

Sui Yuan’s response completely made it so [Wind-Like High Official] could not dig any deeper. He obviously didn’t clear up anything but he still made it so [Wind-Like High Official] had nothing he could say. He even faintly hinted at the split between them — this was poles apart from [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s usual carefree and straightforward mannerism!

So it turns out that [Disdaining the King of Hell] disliked [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves] because he was jealous. He didn’t like [Wind-Like High Official] anymore, so he wasn’t jealous any longer Naturally, he felt that [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves] wasn’t bad...[Wind-Like High Official] laughed bitterly while supporting his forehead. Unfortunately, he couldn’t conjure up any anger at [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s tone that said that he ’recognized his own mistakes and wanted to make amends’. After all, the other man had frankly praised him for his sensible words. Furthermore, it was him who had tried to get [Disdaining the King of Hell] and [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves] to get along well.

[Wind-Like High Official] muttered to himself for a long while before typing out a reply.

【Wind-Like High Official】：Elegant and Humble is indeed not a bad person. I’m relieved that you two get along now. He’s much more reliable than those people that used to surround you.

【Disdaining the King of Hell】：Haha. Although they aren’t at the same level as [Elegant and Humble Autumn Leaves], and although they have some shortcomings, those people aren’t all that bad either. It’s just that your expectations are too high and you are unwilling to turn a blind eye.

[Wind-Like High Official] hesitated for a moment. In the end, he didn’t continue to discuss this topic with [Disdaining the King of Hell]. They had a dispute over this matter many times before. This time, however, [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s attitude and tone was much milder than before. [Wind-Like High Official] didn’t want to make the mood bad again, nor did he want to part on bad terms. After all, even if they broke up, they both would still play the same game along with still being in the same guild as each other. Nonetheless, they still needed to maintain an amiable relationship on the surface.

For a rational person like [Wind-Like High Official], a 2D romance could not compare to one in real life. He also understood that it was his constant refusals that extinguished [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s passion. Thus, although he wasn’t happy about the other’s change in affection, [Wind-Like High Official] could calmly accept it.

As Sui Yuan had just said, [Wind-Like High Official] could never be willing to turn a blind eye. Since there were signs that [Disdaining the King of Hell] had fallen in love with someone else, [Wind-Like High Official] gradually reclaimed the feelings that he had invested in him. He did not plan on picking up the pieces of their relationship and trying to reignite their flame. He only hoped that they would peacefully break up. Right now, he was just waiting for an appropriate time to do just that.

——If it wasn’t for [Hua Xinlei]’s unwillingness to forgive [Wind-Like High Official] and [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s indulgence and inaction, perhaps they could still be friends and would not have reached the point of having to fight to the death.

After successfully duping the protagonist shou in his attempt to sound him out and settling that annoyance, Sui Yuan leisurely wasted time online for a few days. At last, he bitterly welcomed the day of his suffering — February 13th.

At dawn, Sui Yuan crawled out of bed. He hadn’t slept well that night, tossing and turning, imagining all sorts of situations and ways to respond. The most awful part though was that he still had no idea how to get the best of both worlds — how to satisfy Zhao Xihe and the plot.

Although he had gotten up early, Sui Yuan didn’t want to go online. Thus, Sui Yuan resolutely decided to begin preparing for his meeting. He got a map and familiarized himself with the surroundings while also choosing a suitable location. After all, following his arrival into this world, he hadn’t even taken a step outside. At the same time, he sorted out his own appearance.

As a qualified actor, Sui Yuan naturally knew how to show off his body’s best features, making him seem even more charming. Likewise, he also knew how to cover up these features to make himself fade into the crowd.

After spending some time, Sui Yuan who was originally a young, handsome boy turned into a youth dressed in clean, plain clothes who looked like a sloppy, half-awaken otaku. If that [Hua Xinlei] looked at his appearance right now and still threw himself at him without any misgivings, then Sui Yuan would definitely send him a big red flower for being a supporting male lead who ’endured humiliation for the sake of the mission’.

When he was satisfied with his appearance, Sui Yuan finally made his choice — since he couldn’t think of a good plan to have it both ways, then he would let go of the plot! After he made his decision, his nervous heart finally gradually calmed down. Sui Yuan even had the mind to think about what he would eat tonight while driving to the train station.

In order to show that he was not very enthusiastic, Sui Yuan arrived at the station late. Midway, he received a call from [Hua Xinlei]. Then, he explained that he couldn’t help it as he was stuck in a traffic jam and that he was really sorry. Meanwhile, the traffic outside his window was nonexistent. He drove at 40km/hour without feeling any pressure. Congratulations, Sui Yuan! Your ability to tell lies without even blinking has evolved yet again!

After arriving at the train station, he found the place that [Hua Xinlei] had said he was waiting at. Sui Yuan casually swept a look around but he didn’t see anyone who looked like [Hua Xinlei]. He had no choice but to take out his phone and give the other man a call. Very quickly, he saw a clean, handsome, and refined youth pick up his phone and look towards Sui Yuan.

Sui Yuan was flabbergasted.

The youth looked a bit younger than Sui Yuan. He had indeed grown up well. He was very much in line with the norm for supporting male leads: slightly uplifted phoenix eyes slanted faintly into a smile, his skin was fair but healthy-looking, his stature was slender and upright, his whole person was elegant like bamboo, he had a well-educated appearance — where was the enchanting, soft, cute, effeminate, and coy shou he was promised?! Wasn’t this fraud?! Was his association ability lacking, or was it the plot’s unreliable descriptive ability?!

——The majority of people online were two-faced. This saying was unexpectedly very justified....

The youth hung up. He pulled his suitcase and advanced towards Sui Yuan. His arched eyebrows clearly expressed his excellent mood. He didn’t show any hint of dislike towards Sui Yuan’s outer appearance.

"Are you...Disdaining Gege?" The youth’s voice was refined and smooth, not at all like the sweet, soft and lively tone he used online. It made listeners feel very comfortable. The slight rising tone at the end when he said ’Disdaining Gege made him sound a little bit spoiled ’, making Sui Yuan’s heart race a bit. He was stunned to discover that he seemed to have been seduced!

Probably because he had seen Sui Yuan’s stupefied expression, the youth’s smile deepend a bit. He introduced himself, "I’m Hua Xinlei."

Sui Yuan：".................."

——Calm down! You need to calm down! Pick up your integrity! Think of Zhao Xihe!

Instantly, Sui Yuan calmed down. Although he still felt a bit conflicted, he had already accepted [Hua Xinlei]’s appearance, which had been contrary to his expectations.

"Hi, Huahua," Sui Yuan spat out [Hua Xinlei]’s online nickname. He felt that his name really didn’t fit the youth before him, so he felt a bit uncomfortable, "I’m Disdaining the King of Hell".

"Disdaining Gege can just call me Xinlei," Evidently, the youth felt a bit embarrassed to be called ’Huahua’.

"That’s also good, Xinlei," Sui Yuan willingly accepted and changed his words. He didn’t plan to reminisce much, "The car’s outside. Let’s quickly get on."

"OK. Thank you Disdaining Gege for specially coming here to pick me up," Xinlei smiled. He very naturally extended the hand that wasn’t pulling his suitcase and grabbed Sui Yuan’s arm. Their posture looked very intimate.

Sui Yuan went rigid. He subconsciously wanted to pull his arm away, but he didn’t expect that the other would be so strong. He was unexpectedly unable to move at all. Looking at the passersby who were coming and going, Sui Yuan endured it and temporarily let Xinlei do what he wanted.

...Indeed, he should send [Hua Xinlei] a big red flower for ’enduring humiliation for the sake of the mission’! He was obviously so good-looking but still passionately took a fancy for this die-hard otaku who didn’t have a single redeeming feature. It was definitely a terrible shame!

Furthermore, the most important point was that...why did Sui Yuan feel that their gong and shou positions reversed after meeting? Obviously, [Hua Xinlei] was the shou, and he was the gong. However, right now, it seemed like he was being suppressed by the other’s aura. This was just unscientific!

5237: "...Two shous meet. One of them has to become a gong. In other words, you are even more of a shou than an effeminate, seductive, and coy shou. Please let me try to make a sad face for you.

Sui Yuan: "...Shut up!"

He awkwardly took [Hua Xinlei] to his car. He took advantage of the time when the other was putting his suitcase in the trunk to finally escape. Sui Yuan firmly kept a safe distance, out of arm’s reach, between him and the other man.

After placing the suitcase into the trunk, [Hua Xinlei] turned around, not noticing Sui Yuan’s actions, and continued to intimately and naturally behave in a spoiled manner, "Disdaining gege, I didn’t book a room at a hotel in C City, and I don’t have much money. Can I stay at your place?"

"Sorry, my place is too small. It’s not suitable for someone to stay over. It was difficult for you to come to C City, how could I wrong you like that?" Sui Yuan had prepared himself against this beforehand. There was no hesitation whatsoever, "I have already booked a room for you. Although it’s cheap, the accommodations are not bad. You’ll like it."

[Hua Xinlei], who was so bluntly rejected, looked a bit disappointed. He still tried to appeal a bit. His tone softened, and he added in a voice that made people’s hearts itchy, "I don’t care about the conditions of the lodging. I just want to spend more time with Disdaining Gege. I don’t take up much space. Can’t I stay with you?"

——Although he didn’t seem like an effeminate, coy shou right now, Sui Yuan truly believed that the other was the seductive type. He quietly recited ’Zhao Xihe’ three times in his head to calm down. Sui Yuan then firmly shook his head and opened the driver side door before going in, "Can’t. I already made the reservation. Moreover, I don’t like living with other people. Sorry, Xinlei."

"...Fine. I won’t make things difficult for Disdaining Gege," [Hua Xinlei] quietly sighed but did not continue to argue. He only hung his head and sat in the passenger seat, disheartened. He put on his seatbelt. He looked very pitiful, like a puppy who was drenched by the rain.

Sui Yuan silently glanced at him, telling himself that he absolutely could not become soft-hearted! He had to continue to think about the fierce Zhao Xihe!

"Right, Disdaining Gege, I didn’t eat dinner at the train station. Before going to the hotel, can we eat first?" Probably since he saw that acting pitiful would be of no use, [Hua Xinlei] very quickly pulled himself together, cautiously giving the suggestion while revealing a rather soft smile.

This request was very reasonable. If he were to refuse, then he’d be the unreasonable one. Moreover, Sui Yuan was indeed feeling a bit tender-hearted, so in the end, he nodded, "OK. No problem. I know a good family restaurant near the hotel. It’s good and cheap."

"Awesome!" [Hua Xinlei]’s eyes lit up, as if Sui Yuan’s casual approval had lit up his whole world. His earlier dejection was completely swept away.

Sui Yuan...completely had no idea as to what to say, so he straightforwardly kept his silence.

All the way, [Hua Xinlei] kept the conversation going. He talked a lot about himself. For example, he said that he was a student who had just started his break. He was completely unlike his in-game persona. Unfortunately, [Hua Xinlei]’s important scenes were all in-game. The plot did not touch on his real identity all that much. Sui Yuan thus had no way of verifying anything that he said.

Sui Yuan didn’t want to become good friends with him. He would just respond with ’en,’ ’ah,’ or ’oh’. He spoke very little of himself — he just mentioned that he was unemployed and was a NEET through and through.

"I also want to live like that, ah...I really admire Disdaining Gege," [Hua Xinlei] smiled in reply.

Sui Yuan felt that his every strike was like hitting cotton. He felt rather depressed.

The restaurant Sui Yuan chose was indeed...100% "good cheap eats". The restaurant was tiny and the seating looked shabby under the yellow lighting. Unfortunately, his hints failed once more. [Hua Xinlei] did not scorn him at all. He very naturally found a table to sit at, showing no disdain whatsoever.

Sui Yuan sat silently in front of him and handed him the menu, "I already ate dinner. You order what you like."

[Hua Xinlei] very quickly ordered two dishes. Unexpectedly, they fit Sui Yuan’s taste.

Because it was already so late, there were very few customers. The restaurant’s efficiency was very high. Not long after, their food arrived. [Hua Xinlei] set up his tableware, rinsed it a bit with hot tea, and then firmly began to eat. He seemed really hungry. [Hua Xinlei] ate very quickly but he didn’t seem crude at all. On the contrary, he looked rather pleasing to the eye, cultured even. His appearance of eating with gusto even made Sui Yuan a bit hungry.

"It’s definitely worthy of being a restaurant that Disdaining Gege recommended. It tastes really good!" [Hua Xinlei] didn’t forget to praise it while he ate. Sui Yuan really couldn’t see any holes in his behaviour, "Won’t Disdaining Gege eat a bit?"

Originally, he was getting a bit restless. Sui Yuan, who has never wronged himself, firmly accepted this proposal and happily ate another meal.

It was just a pity that, after satisfying his stomach, Sui Yuan’s heart felt very tired.

Since he went to get [Hua Xinlei], Sui Yuan had worked hard all the way to show that he was a ’poor loser’. No matter if it was talking about his life, or the choices in hotels or restaurants — he meticulously projected this image of himself. As long as [Hua Xinlei] had even a shred of common sense, he’d throw away this ’unrealistic’ idea of cultivating feelings between them.

From the plot’s description and from his interactions with [Hua Xinlei], Sui Yuan had thought that the other was a rather frivolous person who was obsessed with money. He liked [Disdaining the King of Hell] only because of the other’s online reputation, his extravagant spending, and his image of being a local tyrant. Thus, if he discovered that the other man was not tall, handsome, and rich like he had thought during the offline meeting, then after his fantasy was shattered, not only would he be disappointed and give up, he would very likely become a hater. However, the problem now was, why was everything different from what Sui Yuan had imagined?

Sui Yuan watched [Hua Xinlei], who was gorging himself, with an obscure, dark gaze.

In front of [Hua Xinlei], he acted as an unattractive, penniless, talentless person who refused to work hard or better himself and happily chose to stay an otaku while wasting all his time playing an online video game. What was there to like about a person like this? [Hua Xinlei], please tell me quickly! I’ll definitely change! QAQ

It couldn’t be that...this was true love? Did [Hua Xinlei] really love [Disdaining the King of Hell]? This absolutely could not be true!

"En? What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" [Hua Xinlei] raised his head, meeting Sui Yuan’s dull gaze that was sort of falling apart. He blanked out for a moment before he extended a hand with a smile, very naturally wiping a grain of rice from Sui Yuan’s lips.

Sui Yuan：".................."

——What the f*ck?! Was he being flirted with?

Sui Yuan felt that his heart was in utter chaos....

Compared to his online persona that Sui Yuan felt hard-pressed to deal with and always wished wouldn’t come online for the whole day, the [Hua Xinlei] right now unexpectedly didn’t make Sui Yuan feel any sort of ill will. Although he still took the initiative to stick to him, whilst acting familiarly since the beginning, as well as acting spoiled — his aura made it seem fitting. The way [Hua Xinlei] acted online made Sui Yuan shun and fear him. However, when he acted as he did online now, Sui Yuan can’t conjure up any dislike. On the contrary, he felt especially intimate. It felt rather apt, as if it was only right for them to be this intimate.

Each and every one of [Hua Xinlei]’s movements were very natural. Sui Yuan accepted it and did not reject him too much. As long as the other man didn’t want to trick him into bed, then Sui Yuan really wanted to be friends with him and develop — key point: purely friendly — emotions between them, even if it would only be temporary.

After eating, the hard-pressed Sui Yuan who had inexplicably gotten closer to the other man, callously (?) rejected [Hua Xinlei]’s proposal to see the nightscape. He bluntly and smoothly threw him to the hotel.

The hotel was very small but it was very clean. A single room was not expensive. Sui Yuan helped [Hua Xinlei] receive his keys from the front desk, but he didn’t enter the room with him.

——The night was dark and the wind was roaring, two lonely man in a hotel room — as soon as you heard about it, wouldn’t you think it sounded really unsafe?!

"Sorry, I’m a bit tired today, so I won’t send you off," Sui Yuan handed over the keys to [Hua Xinlei]. The exhaustion on his face was not at all fake — he was truly, really tired! His heart was tired!

[Hua Xinlei] examined Sui Yuan’s complexion and obediently didn’t continue to insist, "It’s fine. I really troubled Disdaining Gege. Even when you were so tired, you still specifically came to pick me up."

"It’s nothing! I already agreed to it after all!" Sui Yuan smiled weakly while shaking his head —– if I didn’t come get you, then I wouldn’t be so tired!

"Then, Disdaining Gege should go back home early and rest. Tomorrow...Tomorrow, can you accompany me on a stroll around C City?" [Hua Xinlei] really knew how to make use of his advantages. His tone was packed full of anticipation and apprehension. It made anyone who had even the tiniest conscience unable to decline, "I’m new here. It’s not safe to be by myself...."

The frantic hearted Sui Yuan opened his mouth, preparing to reject him.

"Don’t reject me. I beg you, Disdaining Gege~" as if he knew what Sui Yuan was about to say, [Hua Xinlei] didn’t give him a chance to speak, "You promised me before. You can’t back out now! Anyway, Disdaining Gege has no work right?"

"..." Sui Yuan, who had described himself as a NEET who has nothing to do all day, felt that he had unexpectedly dug a hole for himself...there was simply no excuse he could use to reject him here, was there?!

"Just tomorrow!" Seeing Sui Yuan’s wavering expression, [Hua Xinlei] persisted, "It’s just one day!"

"...Fine," Sui Yuan bitterly smiled while wiping his face in his mind. He honestly wanted to destroy the him who had agreed to accompany [Hua Xinlei] to play all those days ago. At that time, he hadn’t known that [Hua Xinlei] was so difficult. There was no good way of getting rid of him!

"Awesome! Many thanks la, Disdaining Gege," having reached his goal, [Hua Xinlei] smiled gorgeously. Without any warning, he wrapped his arms around Sui Yuan’s shoulders, hugging him. His lips seemed to discreetly brush against his ear and cheek, carrying along a fiery temperature.

Sui Yuan suddenly stiffened, dumbstruck.

"Then I’ll first go up. See you tomorrow~" As if he hadn’t at all realized that he had just done some frivolous action he should not have done, [Hua Xinlei] let go of Sui Yuan without fooling around. He waved his hand with a smile, pulling his suitcase as he decisively left. Meanwhile, Sui Yuan covered his cheek where the other man had brushed his lips against, dumbfounded.

...So tired. He feels like he can love no more....

5237: "...I don’t know if I should light a candle for Zhao Xihe or you."

Sui Yuan: "...Light one for me QAQ."

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little sisters who comforted me yesterday. This silly author feels a lot better. Especially after tormenting Little Sui Yuan, I feel particularly refreshed! I completely did not stop so it’s rather crude and long wwww. As for the contents of this chapter, this silly author will only smile silently....

Eve: Can’t stop cackling at Sui Yuan getting seduced. Our baby is also a man, ok? He’s had his sexual awakening and is also interested in boys now. Sorry ZXH. At least SY is trying to be faithful. (I still think SY will get pushed down by this ’shou’ *cackles*)

Juurensha: Personally, I don’t get Xinlei’s appeal (or seemingly unemployed SY’s appeal, but maybe he’s just that hot?). ZXH is going to be maaaaaad.

Cat: Please appear ZXH, please appear, so you can bridle swoop your man away!!

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