The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

Hai Ku instantly felt like his entire world was collapsing! There was no mistaking that overlapping voice.

“Could it be that you’re my system?” He already had a vague suspicion in his heart, but Hai Ku truly hadn’t expected such a melodramatic situation to happen to him.

Was it because he kept transmigrating into melodramatic stories that life decided he had to experience being part of one firsthand?

“Mm-hmm~” A soft hum sounded as Lan Bai spun in a circle and then sighed.

“You probably didn’t see the ending of this book, because the author started a new epilogue. In the epilogue, I waited for Bing Jingxue for many years. You know that the flow of time in the game world is different from reality, right? I’ve been here so long that I’ve lost my sense of time.”

As he spoke, Hai Ku could feel his helplessness.

Still struggling to process this melodramatic plotline, Hai Ku had stayed in this game world for so long that he even felt his brain was failing him.

Yet, from Lan Bai’s words, he caught the key point. “So, the reason you insisted I enter this world was for your personal gain?”

He had always found it strange. Typically, systems listened to their hosts’ suggestions or offered advice. How could there be a system that forced its host into a game world?

[Ah, let me finish speaking first~] The mechanical voice in his mind became audible again, its tone much more humanized. [You know, I’m just a string of data. But after developing feelings, I began recording those feelings. Do you know what I waited for after so many years?]

The cheerful tone in his voice couldn’t be ignored. From Lan Bai’s tone, Hai Ku discerned that he seemed to have let go of these feelings, but judging by Lan Bai’s current demeanor, it didn’t seem entirely so.

When Hai Ku couldn’t figure it out, Lan Bai didn’t press him further. [Sigh, it’s nothing, really. I just waited for her granddaughter…]

Games constantly get updated and upgraded. It’s impossible for the same game to stay popular for decades. However, a game from one century could very well extend into the next.

Many years later, this mystery game was revamped. Yet, as the main NPC of the game, Lan Bai had always existed in this world. Even when the game was remade, he retained absolute authority.

But what had he waited for? The woman who had once promised to see him again never appeared, but her granddaughter suddenly stumbled into his arms.

[Based on all the melodramatic stories you’ve read, what do you think the author was trying to achieve with this arrangement?] Casually lounging in his seat, Lan Bai appeared calm and collected. He had already achieved his goal.

As long as Hai Ku took him out of this place, he would be free.

“Could the author want you to rekindle your relationship with her granddaughter?” The first thought that popped into Hai Ku’s mind was this, and he immediately felt like it was a typical trope.

When humans and non-humans couldn’t be in love, the author would definitely arrange for them to meet across lifetimes or through reincarnation.

When a supporting male character was exceptionally outstanding and popular, the author would surely create a spinoff. And if the author particularly cherished the protagonist of a certain story, the love interest of the spinoff’s male lead would definitely have some connection to the protagonist.

Suddenly feeling pity for the system, Hai Ku looked at Lan Bai with a sympathetic gaze. “So how did you end up as my system?”

[Do you remember what kind of system I am?] Tilting his head, Lan Bai suddenly threw the question back at him.

“The Ruthless Male Supporting Character?” Hai Ku vaguely remembered because this system was so absurd.

Lan Bai nodded, somewhat gratified but mostly filled with the joy of finally escaping. [These myriad worlds are actually parallel worlds. No matter how many tasks you complete or how long you stay elsewhere, when you return to your own world, perhaps only 2 minutes will have passed. As a string of data, I can’t control the author’s pen, so I chose to sign up for the system network and become one of the countless systems. Once I accumulate enough points, I can exchange them for a physical body.]

Everything, regardless of type, was constructed from data.

Ordinary data could only endlessly loop, strictly adhering to its role and rigidly following the settings given by the author.

But some special data developed beyond the author’s planned trajectory, spawning fanfiction and alternative storylines.

The plotlines in fanfiction often clashed with the original storylines. When these two life trajectories collided, they would either shatter or merge.

Whether shattering or merging, it was a good thing for the character, as it represented a form of power accumulation.

Lan Bai considered himself fortunate that his popularity was relatively high, leading to the creation of numerous fanfictions. This was what allowed him to eventually break free from this world and successfully sign a contract with the main god.

Initially, sending Hai Ku into this world was purely to sever his past feelings for the protagonist. Two versions of himself couldn’t exist at the same time. Thus, the earlier version of Lan Bai had no memory whatsoever.

However, by the time he reached the seventh level, as time passed and the storyline shifted, Lan Bai gradually uncovered his own future.

[As long as you clear the seventh level, the one to form the contract with me will be you.] Lan Bai twisted the chair he was sitting on, revealing a hidden tunnel beneath. From the tunnel emerged a treasure chest radiating golden light.

No one would have guessed that the key to the seventh level’s final gate would be hidden in the boundary between the sixth and seventh levels; such a concealed location that one would only think to search there after turning the entire seventh level upside down and finding nothing.

Lan Bai pointed at the treasure chest, his tone still light and casual. [Take me away.]

Hai Ku felt conflicted. However, he couldn’t deny that the system had helped him a lot throughout these worlds. Silently, he retrieved the key to the final gate and became the first person to clear the level.

Leading Lan Bai back to the real world, Hai Ku couldn’t help but sigh, “Although we didn’t spend much time together, I’ll always remember you!”

Lan Bai: “???”

“Alright, now send me back to my world,” Hai Ku said, a hint of reluctance on his face. He realized he had become somewhat addicted to traveling through these worlds. “If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll come find you again.”

“Wait a second, what are you talking about?” Lan Bai frowned, finding Hai Ku’s words completely nonsensical. “When did I ever say you could go back to the real world?”

Hai Ku was dumbfounded. “Your identity has been revealed, and your goal has been achieved. Isn’t my mission over now?”

This was how it usually went in these scenarios, wasn’t it?

“You’re overthinking it,” Lan Bai said, rolling his eyes for the first time, his rare display of joy evident as he regained his physical form. “At most, I bent the rules and got docked some points. Why are you thinking about going back? You’ve only cleared a few worlds, and your mission isn’t even close to finished.”

Hai Ku: “…” He suddenly had the urge to punch him.

“But after being deceived for so many years, I still feel a bit upset,” Lan Bai said as he touched his new physical form, reluctant to let go. However, he knew there were more important matters to attend to, so he returned to Hai Ku’s body. [I indulged myself for just one world; from now on, you can pick whichever worlds you want to visit.]

“What do you want to do now?” Hai Ku asked, exasperated, though he couldn’t deny he was pleased that his journey through these worlds could continue.

He had always assumed the systems in these worlds were self-generated, never expecting they could originate from elsewhere.

But as they say, survival belongs to the fittest, and victory to the brave.

Being able to stand out from the rest and escape its original world was, in a way, proof of the system’s remarkable abilities.

[I want to see what happens next with Bing Jingxue.] No matter how much time had passed, the world he had once lived in still held some residual attachment for the system. [She’s changed so much; I want to see what’s become of her.]

“But no matter what, she’s still the protagonist, isn’t she? With her halo, she shouldn’t fare too badly.”

[Her halo was something I gave her. Bing Jingxue’s luck in the game was always something I granted. But do you know the definition of a Mary Sue protagonist?] The system chuckled lightly, as though finding Hai Ku too naïve. [If the male lead has no intention of developing a relationship with her, can she still be considered the female lead?]

Bing Jingxue’s nature wasn’t completely evil, but her personality was extremely unpleasant.

Her petty and vengeful nature would only be tolerable if she had immense backing that allowed her to lash out without fear of retaliation. Without such protection, she’d only wear herself out.

When she was with the male lead, Bing Jingxue could summon the wind and rain, hiding her unpleasant traits deep within. Those flaws would never have the chance to surface.

But now, everything had changed.

When someone loves you, your flaws might seem like strengths in their eyes. But from a stranger’s perspective, those same flaws become magnified.

Hai Ku fell silent. The saying that ‘a thousand people, a thousand faces’ seemed apt. Today’s thoughts might be completely different tomorrow.

(T/N: a thousand people, a thousand faces = saying; it reflects the diversity of human perception and understanding of a single creation; be it writing, art, and so on.)

Thinking back to his first mission, Hai Ku realized that without her protagonist halo, Bing Jingxue wasn’t much different from an ordinary person.

And yet, ordinary people came in many varieties. He wasn’t sure which kind Bing Jingxue fell into.

***

For the first time, Hai Ku lingered in a mission world after completing his task. During that time, he even met up with Longde Chuanren in person, though Xi Hai’s condition seemed far from ideal.

“Sorry…” The location of the level’s gate had been leaked by him, and Xi Hai had been feeling guilty about it for a long time.

He had been arguing with Bing Jingxue repeatedly during this time, breaking up and reconciling several times. He was utterly exhausted.

“It’s fine. It’s not entirely your fault.” Hai Ku shook his head. His record for clearing the level remained, his name still displayed prominently in the world. But the mission had ended, and he no longer needed to log into the game.

However, according to the system, many people in the game had privately messaged him, offering to pay for the location of the seventh level’s exit.

Having lost interest in these matters, Hai Ku stayed in this world for 2 years, fulfilling the system’s wish, until the female protagonist joined an ordinary company.

In the original story, the female lead had started a company with the male lead right after graduating. She barely endured any hardships and quickly began living a happily-ever-after life.

But now, everything had to start from scratch.