The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

After finally getting rid of Mu Xiaoya, Zhuoye Xingchen could feel the goosebumps on his skin finally subside.

The hotel wasn’t far from where they had been, so with a short sprint, Zhuoye Xingchen quickly brought Hai Ku to the hotel.

Once they sat down in the hotel lobby, Zhuoye Xingchen took a deep breath before setting down his suitcase.

“Oh my god, with how shameless she was, why didn’t you just curse her out directly?” Now that both of his hands were free, Zhuoye Xingchen nearly smacked Hai Ku on the forehead. He could barely listen to what had just been said. If it weren’t for considering Hai Ku’s feelings and the fact that the words weren’t aimed at him, Zhuoye Xingchen would have lost his temper on the spot.

Hai Ku looked a bit helpless, but he still blinked his eyes and cautiously said, “I hadn’t even started flirting yet, and you already dragged me away.”

Zhuoye Xingchen: “……” He had no idea how to respond to that.

Seeing more and more people entering the hotel, Hai Ku quickly pulled Zhuoye Xingchen up. “But now we really should head up and rest for a bit. Don’t you have rehearsals this afternoon? After dropping off our things, let’s grab some food.”

At this hour, the number of people arriving at the hotel was steadily increasing, especially tourists coming for sightseeing.

Zhuoye Xingchen was quite well-known. Even though he had dressed heavily to conceal himself today, there were still fans who could recognize him. Because of that, Hai Ku didn’t dare to chat with him too openly in the lobby.

“Yeah, I still need to stream for a little while. Since you’re here, let’s head up first.” Grabbing Hai Ku’s hand, Zhuoye Xingchen habitually helped him pull his luggage and walked toward the elevator.

While waiting for the elevator, Hai Ku couldn’t help but smile mischievously and ask, “What if your fans recognize me later? I remember you have quite a few girlfriend-fans, don’t you?”

(T/N: girlfriend fans = girlfriend wannabes of a celebrity.)

“What does it matter? You’re not a girl. Besides, I don’t rely on a handful of fans to make a living; I’m all about skill.” After entering the hotel, Zhuoye Xingchen took off his baseball cap with an air of confidence. To him, Hai Ku was just another guy, so there was nothing to be concerned about.

Seeing how unbothered Zhuoye Xingchen was, Hai Ku suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Originally, he had planned to reveal his cross-dressing habit in his own livestream, but now, thinking about it, Hai Ku felt like there might be a better way.

***

A hotel costing 2,500 a night had a certain level of elegance. Even the patterns on the wooden bed frame had a luxurious feel to them.

“Do you want to take off your wig first? It’s so hot outside; won’t it get stuffy?” As soon as they entered the room, Zhuoye Xingchen asked.

Casually closing the door, Hai Ku shook his head while pulling out his phone to check something. “I only brought my female outfits with me. After putting in so much effort to get myself ready, how could I just take off the wig now? The day isn’t even over yet.”

“How’s it looking? Has that person contacted you again?” Seeing Hai Ku’s expression, Zhuoye Xingchen furrowed his brows.

“Yeah, I think she might expose me. So, what if we expose it ourselves first?” The corners of Hai Ku’s lips curled up. His smile looked soft, but it sent chills down Zhuoye Xingchen’s spine, making him rub his arms involuntarily.

Hai Ku always believed that people should have boundaries. Being tolerant was fine, but only as long as others didn’t repeatedly push past those boundaries.

He usually had an indifferent attitude toward petty grievances, but having someone constantly biting at his heels and holding something over him felt suffocating.

“How exactly do you plan to expose it first?” Zhuoye Xingchen was a bit confused and couldn’t quite grasp Hai Ku’s intentions.

“Aren’t you going to stream later?” Raising an eyebrow, Hai Ku twirled around in front of him. “Do you think your fans would recognize me?”

Even though they were here for other matters, Zhuoye Xingchen still needed to find time to stream. His plan was to stream for an hour at noon and then continue again in the evening.

At first, he was a bit slow to understand, but after hearing that, Zhuoye Xingchen’s eyes immediately lit up. He instantly grasped Hai Ku’s plan. “We drop this bombshell during the noon stream, then set up a giveaway. If even I can’t recognize you, there’s no way the fans will!”

Fans always formed preconceived notions. If Hai Ku first appeared on Zhuoye Xingchen’s stream, and in this manner no less, then even if Mu Xiaoya later tried to expose his alternate identity, the fanbase would already have a buffer to process it.

Hai Ku wasn’t expecting everyone to accept his true self, but he also didn’t want to be condemned by the entire internet. Even if people didn’t like it, they didn’t need to criticize him.

“Mu Xiaoya said she wants to join us later. What do you think?” While Zhuoye Xingchen was setting up his computer, Hai Ku raised his phone, showing him the message log with Mu Xiaoya. “I thought I had made it obvious enough, but she still seems to think I like her.”

Zhuoye Xingchen: “…”

Even he, a straight guy, could clearly see the rejection in Hai Ku’s messages. How could Mu Xiaoya possibly not get the hint?

[Mu Xiaoya: Xiao Hai, the reason I was so enthusiastic toward Zhuoye Xingchen was because he’s a top player. I’m just a nobody. If I act too cold toward a top player, I’m afraid I might be suppressed in the future. Don’t take it to heart. We’re still good friends.]

[Haiku Shilan: I think there’s been some misunderstanding between us. I don’t like you anymore. Even if I did like you before, that was a long time ago. It’s all in the past, so I hope you don’t overthink it. And as for this whole “we’re still good friends” thing, I might have believed it the first or second time, but you’ve been saying it for years now.]

[Mu Xiaoya: Xiao Hai, don’t throw a tantrum, okay? How about I make it up to you later? I’ll treat you to a meal.]

[Haiku Shilan: No need. I’m going out with Zhuoye Xingchen later. I’ve already made myself clear, and I don’t think there’s anything more to say.]

[Mu Xiaoya: I know you’re still mad. I was really wrong, I get it now~ I’ll apologize to you and to Zhuoye Xingchen as well. How about I treat both of you to a meal later? Can you ask Zhuoye Xingchen what he thinks?]

At this point in the conversation, Hai Ku didn’t bother replying anymore. He even started to suspect that the female lead’s brain had turned to mush. Otherwise, how could she come up with such bizarre logic?

“She just wants to cling to you. Of course, technically, I’m clinging to you too, but at least I don’t want to stoop to her level…” Hai Ku’s tone was full of disdain. Sitting next to Zhuoye Xingchen with his legs crossed. He lifted the hem of his long dress, “Why is this air conditioning so slow?”

“Help me set up the microphone. I didn’t stream yesterday when I arrived, so I didn’t unpack my equipment.” After saying this, Zhuoye Xingchen still looked conflicted.

“I wouldn’t even want to share a single hair off my leg with her… But since she’s already here, if we start streaming later, she might see it. The event we’re doing is a prize giveaway based on guessing games. If she watches, she might directly expose you. What then?”

While organizing his equipment, Zhuoye Xingchen reflected on his time in the anime and gaming community. Over the years, he had encountered plenty of oddballs.

But it was rare to come across such a prime specimen.

He hadn’t even prepared a strategy to deal with someone like this. As the saying goes, ‘barefoot people aren’t afraid of those with shoes.’ In reality, people like him and Hai Ku, who had at least some fanbase, were in a more difficult position than someone like Mu Xiaoya, who had nothing to lose.

(T/N: barefoot people aren’t afraid of those with shoes = the poor, who have nothing to lose, do not fear those in power.)

After all, if any controversy arose, they were the ones who would take the hit. Mu Xiaoya’s handful of fans barely mattered in comparison.

Hai Ku, however, didn’t care at all. Adjusting the microphone’s height, he spoke in a lazy, carefree tone. “If she sees, she sees. Let her expose me… Won’t that just heat up the topic? She wants to expose me? Then I’ll let her have her wish. She’s such a hypocrite; I can’t imagine how much it’ll hurt when she gets slapped in the face.”

If Mu Xiaoya had simply wanted to latch onto someone and had put in the effort to do so properly, Hai Ku wouldn’t have minded. But using him while simultaneously stepping on him to climb higher? That was just disgusting.

***

At this point, Zhuoye Xingchen had already posted the night’s streaming announcement, along with the prize giveaway. He set the stream to recording mode, ensuring that even if someone missed the live broadcast, the footage would still be available on Weibo. That way, any fans who checked in later would be able to see exactly what had happened.

“You sit over there first.” Adjusting the camera position, Zhuoye Xingchen pointed to the couch.

“Knowing how she is; she’s probably already seen the announcement I posted. Don’t reply to her on your phone for now. Let’s wait until after the stream to see how she reacts. If she crosses the line, then we’ll counterattack. If she behaves herself, then we’ll just let it go.”

Even without a massive fanbase, Zhuoye Xingchen was still a well-known figure in the gaming livestream scene. Sometimes, he had no choice but to be tolerant.

When so many eyes were watching, the best option was often to step back. After all, no matter what he did, it was impossible to please everyone.

Stepping out of the camera’s view, Hai Ku watched as Zhuoye Xingchen started the livestream.

“Hello, everyone~ I didn’t stream yesterday; did you all miss me?” As usual, he opened with a playful, grinning introduction before continuing, “Did you all see the message I just posted? This prize giveaway is going to be a big one~”

[Oh wow! I’ve been a fan for ages! No matter what you ask, I’ll guess it right!]

[Humph, the prize is mine for sure! I don’t even need to search on Baidu!]

[What are you all arguing about? He hasn’t even explained the rules yet.]

As the number of viewers in the livestream room grew, Zhuoye Xingchen finally grinned and announced the game rules. “This time, we’re going all out. If you answer correctly, you’ll win a small prize! The deadline is tomorrow morning at 7 A.M. Everyone only gets one guess. I’ll be posting a new Weibo later; once you’ve thought it through, submit your answer there.”

“My assistant will collect all the correct answers. And for those who miss the livestream, don’t worry! Since this stream is being recorded, I’ll upload it to Weibo afterward, so later viewers can still participate. Alright, let’s get to the real game—“

“Who… is this?”

Glancing to the side, Zhuoye Xingchen nudged his chin in that direction.

“Come on over, darling~”

That one word, “darling”, sent the comment section into chaos. The flood of messages nearly made it impossible to keep up. Only then did Hai Ku leisurely walk up to the camera.

With a sweet smile on his face, he tilted his head and blew a kiss toward the camera.

[Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!]

[Who is this?!]

[Mom won’t allow you to date early!!!]

[Don’t tell me this is your girlfriend?!]

[…]

A barrage of comments poured in so fast that even Zhuoye Xingchen struggled to keep up.

Since both his real and fake voices had been exposed before, Hai Ku chose not to speak and let Zhuoye Xingchen take control of the situation.

Anticipating the explosion in the comment section, Zhuoye Xingchen kept his usual cheerful expression. “Alright, alright, I know you’re all excited, but try to stay realistic. This person~ has been staying in the same room as me for the past 2 days. What exactly is his identity? Feel free to head over to my Weibo and leave a comment… Everyone has a chance to win a small prize~”

With that, he pulled up his Weibo account in front of them, typed in the word “answer,” and posted it immediately.

“Everyone, leave your answers under this Weibo post. But remember, each person can only submit one answer; any duplicate or invalid ones will be deleted. If you just want to discuss, I’ll make a separate post for that.”

After a brief moment of thought, Zhuoye Xingchen created a second post specifically for discussion. Once that was posted, he ended the recording. “If you have anything to discuss, do it under this post. I’ll upload the recorded stream now. Everyone, remember; the deadline is tomorrow morning at 7 A.M. After that, even if you guess correctly, there won’t be any prizes~ Alright, that’s it for today’s livestream. See you all tonight~”