Translated by Eve
Edited by Wuxian
Chapters in this arc: 11
Even if Sui Yuan was extremely dissatisfied with the ending of the last world, he had no way to disobey the Origin's will. He could only swallow down his words of misery as he was sent off to the next world. The only thing worth rejoicing over was that the flow of time within each world was different. He, at least, did not have to face the protagonist gong and shou, who had 'done bad things with good intentions', too soon.
In the next world, Sui Yuan once again woke up on a large, soft bed, per usual. The surrounding furniture indicated that this was a modern world, and the original host's family was rather well off. He ought to be a rich young master. Sui Yuan sat up and turned his head to look at the mirror on the nearby dressing table. After, he raised his hand to lift his shoulder-length hair. In a modern society, it was very unconventional for a man to have 'long' hair.
This boy was extremely handsome. Sui Yuan narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. However, he could only use the not-quite-suitable 'gorgeous' to describe him. Yes, 'gorgeous'. Once one saw this person, one would associate him with the label of 'tall, handsome, and rich', even if what he wore or used was not high end.
While Sui Yuan was examining his appearance, a sweet-sounding ringtone sounded. Sui Yuan traced the sound to the source and grabbed a cell phone from underneath the pillow. He then glanced at the name on the screen indicating the caller, 'Lili'.
After pondering over it for a while, Sui Yuan answered the call and placed the phone to his ear.
"Hey~Darling~Me and my friends are hanging out at the bar. Do you want to come with, ah?" An alluring female voice sounded through the cell phone. However, the background was a little noisy, making Sui Yuan subconsciously furrow his eyebrows.
"No, I won't be going today. I'm too tired," Sui Yuan's voice was deep and flirty. He was clearly saying very normal things but when other people heard him speak, it carried a provocative flavour. This kind of character setting really made him dizzy, "You guys have fun, ba."
"Ah? What, ah~Really so boring~" Clearly, the girl on the other side of the phone was extremely disappointed by his response. She threw a tantrum for half a day but seeing that Sui Yuan didn't relent, in the end, she could only hang up the phone in anger.
Sui Yuan flipped through the phone's contact list and as he quickly looked through this, he saw the magnificent sight that was the phone numbers listed under 'girlfriend' and fell silent for three seconds.
——Even without looking at his character settings, he could already tell what character he was currently playing.
Throwing his cellphone to one side, Sui Yuan sat on the bed, feeling rather distressed. His first reaction was that 'Zhao Xihe, that fellow, is going to eat vinegar and flip out again'. Only, he was powerless regarding this matter. It was the Origin that chose what role he played—the situation compelled him. Sui Yuan and Zhao Xihe…could probably do nothing but accept it…
Throwing the image of his lover's gloomy face aside, Sui Yuan began to flip through this world's plot. Afterwards, he was a bit surprised to find out that he had returned to the BG worlds. Furthermore, the plot this time was an extremely common campus prince X Cinderella story. In addition, there included some elements regarding the gratitude and grudges of the rich and powerful and also involved a trade war between crime syndicates. This kind of story usually had a flashy, eye-catching male lead, an ordinary but resolute and kindhearted female lead, a gentle cannon fodder supporting male lead who harbours a deep love, and a willful and tyrannical cannon fodder supporting female lead—this kind of standard configuration also applied to this world.
Fortunately, Sui Yuan's current role did not participate in the complex dogblood mess that was 'you love me but I don't love you, you love her but she doesn't love you'. His identity was the best friend of the male lead and supporting male lead. He was a playboy with a harem of girls around him but never gets attached. He would occasionally help the male lead and supporting male lead with love troubles, give advice, and would even act as a very quick-witted emotional dumpster for them to vent into.
Towards this, Sui Yuan heaved a long sigh. He absolutely did not want to have 'feelings as deep as the sea' for the female lead.
Being able to stray from the plot meant that Sui Yuan could dedicate more of his energy towards the Destroyer. In the last world, that Destroyer was probably a newbie. Furthermore, the Destroyer's scope of movement was extremely limited. Each and every one of the Destroyer's movements were right under Zhao Xihe's and Sui Yuan's noses so it was very easy to catch hold of the Destroyer's pigtail. However, this world was not the same. The other's scope of movement was extremely large. He/she might be by the protagonist's side, following the plot, or, they could directly discard the plot and run off to another country to develop their power.
Only, although the scope of movement was large, this did not mean it would be too difficult to deal with. After all, the level of danger across the world was very low. Even if the mafia and firearms were involved, with the points he currently owns, Sui Yuan would not face too great a danger.
Sui Yuan flipped through the plot and ultimately decided to temporarily bide his time. First of all, he would determine the Destroyer's identity by finding discrepancies in the plot. Secondly, he also had to pay attention to any new, abruptly rising powers that may come forth. After all, if the Destroyer wants to destroy this world, it was impossible to only rely on the plot and the protagonists.
After organizing everything, Sui Yuan connected to 0007 via 5237, hoping to get in touch with Zhao Xihe. This time, there was no twists and 0007's response was swift. However, from 0007's response, it could be gleaned that Zhao Xihe's situation was not good.
"So to say, before I settle this inconvenience, it would be best for us to not to meet," 5237 read the message 0007 had sent, "Zhao Xihe's worried that if your existence is detected, it would be disadvantageous for you."
Sui Yuan crinkled his brows, "How dangerous is it?"
"To regular people, quite dangerous," 5237 swayed its body, "Of course, la, if you exchange your accumulated points for self-defensive props, you won't get injured! Only, what Zhao Xihe dada meant was that it's best if you didn't have to use those for now. Otherwise, the plot will change too greatly."
Sui Yuan nodded in understanding. His character's original identity did not encounter any dangers in the original plot. If he accidentally participated in the troubles on Zhao Xihe's side, it may be detected by the Destroyer, and they may end up inadvertently alarming the enemy, causing him to hide all the more deeply. The gains would not make up for the losses. In any case, Sui Yuan trusted in Zhao Xihe's strength and that he could settle this 'inconvenience' on his own. It was only a matter of time.
"However, did 0007 not say who Zhao Xihe was?" After receiving 0007's suggestion, Sui Yuan couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.
His query was met with silence from 0007. Sui Yuan and 5237 exchanged glances, both of them coming up with extraordinary images.
5237: "Hahahaha, no wonder he can bear not running over to you the first chance he gets! Being afraid that you'll encounter danger is nothing but an excuse! An excuse! He definitely does not dare meet with you!"
Sui Yuan covered his face but could not help but admit that 5237's guess was perhaps correct. He truly did not know what Zhao Xihe had become now, for him to unexpectedly not dare to see him. This was definitely the Origin's revenge, ba?
Although he was deeply worried about Zhao Xihe, Sui Yuan still needed to follow the plot. Most of the story in this world occurred on campus grounds so naturally,, Sui Yuan's current identity was that of a student's. After eating breakfast, Sui Yuan took a car to his campus, empty-handed, and felt a bit excited. This was his first time attending school, ne. He also didn't know what school would be like….
Along the way, he was given quite an extensive education regarding all things pertaining to school, for example, homework and exams. This quite worried Sui Yuan. Although he had an extremely high learning ability, he really didn't understand those things called "Math" and "Science". If he encountered a test over those subjects, what will he do then, ne?
While Sui Yuan was worrying over this, he finally arrived at the school. As soon as he stepped out of the car, Sui Yuan heard a burst of ear-piercing shrieks, "Ah------Hao Ning-sama has arrived!!"
Sui Yuan, who had only placed one foot outside of the car: "……………………"
5237, who had also been frightened: "……………………"
In an instant, Sui Yuan whipped out his flirty and confident face's expression, straightened his body, and lightly glanced in the direction of the screams. In the next second, he could only watch on helplessly as a crowd of students —the majority being female—rushed out from the originally neat and tidy school gate. All of them stared at him with fervent gazes, faces flushed with excitement.
The corner of Sui Yuan's mouth rose and he lifted his right index and middle fingers to his mouth and blew out a kiss, as was the original character's habit. Immediately, he evoked a spell of heaven-shaking screams.
Tucking his hair behind his ears, Sui Yuan leisurely walked towards the school gates. Wherever his eyes swept over, pink bubbles seemed to appear. At the same time, he conveniently received the rippling waves of love from those around him. Only, deep inside, he was enduring from fright, face expressionless, "…What the heck is 'sama'?I have no idea what they're shouting. My name is Hao Ning, not 'Hao Ning-sama', ah?"
5237 searched through its language database, "Sama is Japanese. It means 'daren' or 'your highness'. Many young people like to use this to address the people they respect and worship."
Sui Yuan silently appraised this strange appellation and then raised another question, feeling conflicted, "This is a school, right? Why do I feel…like it's not quite like how I imagined? I feel like I've gone back to the entertainment circles…."
"…I also don't know if schools are supposed to be like this…" 5237 hesitated, "The school settings in each world are probably different, ba? The location for the important plot developments is the school, so it would be rather exaggerated. For example, in a story about the power struggle in the harems in ancient times, the power struggle between the women are fiercer than they are in other worlds. En, it'll be fine once you get used to it."
Sui Yuan, who felt like he would soon go deaf, had no choice but to try his best to get used to this rather terrifying school. Fortunately, although the students of this school were crazy they were still rational. They weren't like the fans of the entertainment industry. In contrast, they formed two lines on either side of him, forming a path for Sui Yuan to walk on so that he could peacefully enter the school building.
Sui Yuan walked, appearing confident but was really scared witless inside. He appeared relaxed but in reality, he was stretched taut from head to toe. He was afraid that if the students ran wild, he would not be able to maintain his flirty and confident character settings.
This school, which was said to be a top-notch school for the aristocracy, had a truly expansive campus. Sui Yuan had spent several minutes just walking from the school gates to the school building. This really made him doubt why the car did not directly send him to the entrance of the school building. Weren't they afraid their precious and pampered little young masters and little young ladies wouldn't injure their legs walking this distance? Or, was this an avant-garde method of exercising?
Towards this, 5237 only expressed that 'the settings were like this'. As for a BUG or what not, so long as it didn't affect the plot, it was of no great matter.
Before he even reached halfway, Sui Yuan heard a peal of new screams from behind him. Judging from the name that was being screamed, it was likely the male lead and supporting male lead entering the stage.
As the good friend of both the male lead and supporting male lead, Sui Yuan naturally halted his steps and turned to look behind him.
The male lead, Yun Yi, was tall and he emitted a tyrannical, egotistical aura all over. His appearance was not at all delicate and instead, it was full of masculine pheromones—a strong sense of aggression. He was like a ferocious beast that was prepared to kill at any time. It was dangerous but fascinating at the same time. It was said that he was the crown prince of the mafia. Although he was not truly tainted by his family's 'business', he was still raised with its influence.
As for the supporting male lead, Yue Minghe, he was Yun Yi's polar opposite. He was the gentle and refined type with elegant and soft features. He was extremely scholarly. Whenever he stood quietly, he was just like a stalk of bamboo: quiet, peaceful, and emitting a faint, grassy scent. Even if he was not as ostentatiously charming as Yun Yi, Yue Minghe was not at all inferior to the other when standing next to him. On the contrary, because of his special aura, he was unforgettable.
It had to be said, from looking at just their auras, Sui Yuan's character of Hao Ning was a bit inferior to these two people. It was no wonder the female lead of this world had not taken a fancy to him and had instead turned up her nose to his playboy personality.
"Yi? You, this youngster, decided to come really early today, ah?" Yun Yi noticed Sui Yuan and quickly strode over, wrapping an arm around his neck without any politeness.
Sui Yuan stumbled upon being pulled like this, his expression helpless but he didn't push him away, "En, I woke up early today, so I came to school early."
Yun Yi sized up Sui Yuan as if he was sizing up some kind of rare specimen, "It's rare for you to get up early. Didn't you go out to play yesterday?"
"No," Sui Yuan pursed his lips, discontent, "I've been a bit tired recently. Probably got sick of playing. It's nothing."
Yun Yi revealed a mischievous smile, "Since you've gotten tired of it, wait for me to take you to play something new!"
Sui Yuan looked at Yun Yi skeptically, "I won't touch anything illegal. Don't you dare try it."
"It's not illegal, not illegal!" Yun Yi waved his hand carefreely, evidently very dissatisfied with his good friend's baseless worry, "Do you think I don't know you? Relax! Everything is clean!"
Only then did Sui Yuan relax a bit and manage to nod, "Fine, ba. If I'm in the mood…."
Unlike Sui Yuan's original host that enjoyed being surrounded by admirers, Yun Yi's attitude towards the surrounding students was much more nasty. He preferred to ignore them as if they were invisible. As for Yue Minghe, he was much more polite. Although, it was clear that he also did not like to be excessively watched. However, he would occasionally nod his head at others, acting cold and aloof but not at all impolite.
When he heard Yun Yi inciting Sui Yuan to play his 'game', Yue Minghe furrowed his brows, "Ah Yi, don't carelessly propose rotten ideas. Ah Ning would probably not like that 'game' of yours."
"Who'd know if he doesn't give it a try, ne?" Yun Yi flashed a toothy grin and Yue Minghe, seeming to plan on pulling Sui Yuan out to play reassured, "I have a sense of propriety! Minghe, if you're worried, come along, ah!"
Yue Minghe gave Sui Yuan a smile, as if to say that his hands were tied. He then sighed, "Ok. I understand. At that time, I'll also come along. Otherwise, I really won't be able to stop worrying about the two of you."
"Then that's settled! See you there tomorrow night!" Yun Yi's eyes glimmered and he roped his other arm around Yue Minghe's shoulders, directly and efficiently deciding on their plans for the following night.
Sui Yuan, as a person involved but had not expressed his opinions in time, "……………………"
——Even if I'm not that male lead or supporting male lead, can you please not ignore me? Even passerbys have rights!
Sui Yuan, whose plans were decided by the male lead and supporting male lead without permission, expressed that he was aggrieved. Moreover, this wasn't mentioned in the plot?
Sui Yuan felt rather uneasy, but his misgivings had no justifications. After all, the plot was written from the female lead's point of view. However, right now, the female lead had yet to meet the male lead, so naturally, the plot would not have any descriptions of the male lead's and supporting male lead's 'pleasure seeking'.
…He was probably just overthinking things, ba? Sui Yuan was rather uncertain about this as he was absent-mindedly taken into the school building by the male lead whose arm was still around his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the female lead's plain figure running towards them, in deep concentration, while holding a stack of thick exercise books in her hands.
——Although he didn't know just how nearsighted the female lead had to be to completely ignore the three 'campus idols' who carried a halo effect on their bodies, this didn't stop Sui Yuan from reacting at once: the plot has begun!
Afterwards….
In the plot, Yun Yi, who was supposed to be the one at the very front and end up getting knocked into with a face full of exercise books, currently had his arm around Sui Yuan's neck. Seeing that someone was about to bump into him, his combative instinct that had been cultivated since he was young was activated.
Sui Yuan felt the arm around his neck suddenly tensed. Soon after, it pulled him forcefully, causing him to lose his footing and stumble directly in front of Yun Yi. Then, he was covered in exercise booklets.
The female lead who raised her head in shock: "……………………"
Sui Yuan, who was silently brushing the exercise booklets off of himself: "……………………"
The male lead, who knew that he had unexpectedly used his own good friend to block a bullet: "……………………"
The supporting male lead who had been silently watching everything: "……………………"
——For a moment, the entire corridor, fell, silent.
Eve: 10/10 job protag!ML, well done.