It's Actually Not Easy Wanting to be a Supporting Male Lead-Chapter 5.5
Chapter 5.5
On the way back to Liu Mingzhou's house, Sui Yuan and 5237 spend the entire time debating on whether or not his identity has been exposed, or if Liu Mingzhou is trying to sound him out. Sui Yuan bets on the former, but 5237 perseveres to stick with the belief it is the latter no matter how many reasons Sui Yuan comes up with to persuade his system otherwise.
In any case, it doesn't really matter if it is the former or the latter, because Sui Yuan has already set his heart to pretend until the very end. If that becomes impossible…then…we'll talk about it when we reach that step…
Liu Mingzhou's frame of mind is evidently extremely good. Parking his car in the garage, he carries Sui Yuan and strolls up to the door, smiling at him as he turns the key in the lock.
In the capacity of a 'Campus Romance' plot's male lead, Liu Mingzhou's family is apparently very well-off. His house is filled with especially high-end, fashionable furniture, and the interior is a classy, expensive and tasteful design. Placed on the soft, velvety sofa in the living room, Sui Yuan becomes somewhat stiff, unwilling to explore in case he knocks something over. Glancing around, he finally notices the black cat sprawled lazily over the other arm of the sofa.
…For some reason, doesn't this black cat look rather familiar?
Seeing Sui Yuan, this unexpected guest, the black cat's golden eyes narrow slightly, carrying a measure of arrogance and disdain. Seizing the dog up after a short moment, the cat gets to its feet, padding gracefully over and circling once around him. Like a queen inspecting her troops, the cat stops beside Sui Yuan, then lifts a lithe paw and steps directly on his head.
Blatantly bullied by the cat, Sui Yuan's fur instantly puffs out in annoyance. Low growls rumbling in his throat, he flings the paw away with a flick of his head. But the other animal is not the least bit afraid. Instead, sharp, shiny claws are revealed as though determined to let Sui Yuan know who the boss here is.
A standoff occurs between cat and dog, the thick tension brewing signals a fight that can explode at any moment. When Liu Mingzhou emerges from the kitchen, the first scene he sees is this tensed spectacle.
Lips thinning, he barks, "Ah Yan!"
The black cat startles, head whipping around to glance back at Liu Mingzhou. Its ears flatten slightly, putting in a great effort to prove its innocence. A pity that its owner's heart is biased, for Liu Mingzhou quickly steps forward and picks the cat up by the back of its neck, carelessly tossing it away from the Samoyed.
Fortunately, the tiles are covered by a soft, thick carpet, and the cat's reflexes are top-notch. Flipping a couple of times through the air, it lands nimbly on its feet, not a single whisker out of place. Its golden eyes watch attentively as its master cradles Sui Yuan gently to his chest, placing a bowl filled with low fat cow's milk in front of the dog. Being an intelligent creature, it understands it absolutely cannot provoke the dog as long as Liu Mingzhou is in the vicinity. Swishing its tail resentfully, the black cat turns its head haughtily and walks away.
Curled up in Liu Mingzhou's embrace, Sui Yuan absent-mindedly laps the milk from the bowl, still keeping an eye on the departing cat.
"Its name is Ah Yan," Liu Mingzhou says meaningfully as he strokes Sui Yuan's fur. "Surely Little Snow recognises it, right?"
Sui Yuan: "……"
"I didn't expect him to bring his Nightmare beast over!" 5237 is utterly amazed.
Naturally, Sui Yuan is more astonished than his system. "Is it possible to take living animals with you from one world into another?"
"Of course. But it does cost quite a considerable amount of points to do so," 5237 stage-whispers, not bothering to hide his disdain for this local tyrant's way of handling things. "He truly has too many points in his hands that he doesn't know how to spend it!"
"The Nightmare beast has been brought over…makes me wonder how Ah Li is doing." Sui Yuan feels a little despondent, as though he has lost something constant in his life. After all, having lived together for so long in the previous world - and being accustomed to the Crystal beast's innate gift of acting cute - Sui Yuan sincerely loves it from the bottom of his heart. However, he never thought he would be able to bring his spirit pet together with him when he left that world. Nevertheless, even if he wanted to his meagre points is not enough.
Because he has been sick for the entire day, he hasn't had the chance to eat anything. Now that he has fully recovered, the first reaction is naturally hunger. Licking the bowl of milk clean, he still feels unsatisfied.
Sui Yuan has never gone hungry before ever since his creation, so he automatically turns famished eyes on Liu Mingzhou as the man takes the bowl into the kitchen, hoping he will bring more food out to fill his stomach. As expected, Liu Mingzhou doesn't disappoint him - only, Sui Yuan can clearly see the evil intentions lurking in the man's eyes.
"…Will dogs avoid eating half of their owner's meal?" Sui Yuan inquires 5237 as he stares unwaveringly at the half-eaten ham sausage.
"……Most probably not," 5237 replies stiffly.
Wagging his tail weakly, Sui Yuan has no choice but to come down from the sofa and sidle up to Liu Mingzhou, snatching the remaining ham sausage from his hand and gobbling it up.
"Little Snow is really obedient," Liu Mingzhou flashes a satisfied smile as he rubs Sui Yuan's head. Following that, he carries the dog in his arms and half-lays down on the sofa, with Sui Yuan settled comfortably on his chest.
A sudden surge of indignation rises in Sui Yuan's heart, resenting the fact that he is growing so slowly. Wait until he has fully reached adulthood…hehehe…this position will definitely allow him to crush Liu Mingzhou's chest then!
Wriggling around uneasily with the intention of leaping down to the floor, his movements are restricted by a firm arm wrapped around his middle. Incapable of throwing it off, Sui Yuan decides to switch tactics to express his dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, Liu Mingzhou dangles another ham sausage before his nose, easily drawing his full attention.
From the most basic necessities to the most extravagant luxuries, everything Liu Mingzhou purchases is of the highest quality. So it comes as no surprise with the ham sausage's meat is fresh, tender and delicious. One cannot make out any traces of starch when chewing on it. It is extremely enticing to…this dog. In addition, smelling this fragrance on an empty stomach, he immediately recalls the taste of it from the small portion before. Sui Yuan's can't help salivating, inching closer to the food, sniffing it thoroughly - the damned base instincts of a dog cannot be overcome!
Seeing Sui Yuan take the bait, Liu Mingzhou's faint smile grows into a more cheerful one. Then, he places one end of the sausage in his mouth, holding it between his teeth. Sui Yuan is momentarily stunned by the action.
He has a mind to turn his head away, displaying stubborn integrity, but the aroma that wafts to his nose and assaults his brain is too irresistible. Sui Yuan's brain short-circuits for a brief moment. When he becomes clear-headed once more, he realises his body moved on its own, snatching away half the sausage from Liu Mingzhou's mouth. He is also mortified by the fact that his doggie brain made him lick the man's mouth in the process.
Sui Yuan really feels his dog body is faulty!
And Liu Mingzhou! Treating a dog like this! What kind of sadist are you?!
"……Hai…your acting is really not too shabby. If you continue displaying this sort of attitude, I feel Liu Mingzhou will probably come to believe you are really just a simple dog," 5237 says drily, the slightly mocking tone beneath conveyed clearly in its words.
Sui Yuan: "……"
"All right, that's enough, stop with the thunder-struck expression It's not as if you two haven't kissed before," 5237 sighs, tone softening a tad to comfort its partner.
"But that and this are two different circumstances!" Sui Yuan weeps, valiantly trying not to have too big of a mental breakdown.
Whether it is due to abandoning himself to despair, or planning to conform to his identity as a dog to get away with it - or maybe it's a combination of both? - Sui Yuan, who has already discarded his dignity, starts to transition smoothly into a dumb house pet.
At last, with his stomach filled, Sui Yuan is somewhat inattentive, not rebelling the slightest when Liu Mingzhou arranges him so he is standing upright, braced against the man's body. Hind legs on his laps, front paws on his chest and chin on shoulder, Sui Yuan licks his lips absently, savouring the last traces of the delicious sausage. Liu Mingzhou supports the dog with one hand, the other slowly stroking continuously from neck to back. After a period of silence, Liu Mingzhou opens his mouth, tone a little contemplative, "If you insist on maintaining this attitude, it is actually not too bad."
Sui Yuan stiffens, turning his head slightly to study that pair of pitch-black pupils.
"You can only comply with my requests, rely on me, stay by my side. Compared to when you are in a human's body, you are much more obedient like this."
Sui Yuan expresses……he doesn't understand what this human is saying… →_→
"Of course, where there are advantages, disadvantages will also exist," Liu Mingzhou chuckles lightly, the complicated but undoubtedly dangerous glint in his eyes from before vanishing. The hand patting Sui Yuan stops at the root of his tail, as though hinting towards something obscure. "No matter how much I may like you, it's very difficult to create 'sexual interest' in a dog ah. I'm not so perverted I will try bestiality."
Sui Yuan: Are you sure you're not that perverted?! Considering this topic to such an extent should be counted as being perverted, right?!
Looking at the once more puffed-out fur and wary gaze as though facing an enemy, Liu Mingzhou finally decides to show temporary mercy and stop pursuing this matter for the time being. Getting up, he wanders over to the bathroom and pulls the door open, placing Sui Yuan down on the tiled floor. Pointing with a finger to the corner arranged specifically for a dog's business, he says, "Wang Yican always talks about how clever you are, able to remember everything after being showed how to do it once, and will never make a mistake after. I assume you wouldn't make mistakes you ought not to during your stay here, am I right?"
Standing stiffly in the middle of the bathroom, Sui Yuan deeply regrets unprofessionally revealing such intelligence, all in order to wriggle into the female lead's good graces. He had been considering if he should learn to display some genuine mannerisms of typical dogs, like occasionally making mistakes here and there. However, this train of thought is quickly dispelled by Liu Mingzhou's words.
"Just in case you err, don't blame me for giving in and being perverted for a while." Liu Mingzhou's smile is exceptionally good-natured…and carries a trace of anticipation. This really makes all his hair stand on end as he shudders in dread.
Sui Yuan: "…… QAQ"
According to Liu Mingzhou's view, one should take care of their business before heading to bed. However, under Liu Mingzhou's hawk-like stare, an embarrassed Sui Yuan simply cannot bring himself to empty his bladder. Like this, man and dog engage in a deadlock for a whole five minutes. In the end, it is the man who initiatively retreats a step, probably acknowledging he cannot push Sui Yuan too far. If the other is forced to the point of disregarding everything to rebel against him, then things will definitely sour between them.
Once again leaning down to carry Sui Yuan up, Liu Mingzhou gently helps him groom his fur, patiently running a brush up and down his body. With Sui Yuan's long, show-white fur sleek and pretty now, Liu Mingzhou carries him to the bedroom.
It is here that Sui Yuan spots the Crystal beast he was thinking about not too long ago.
Huddling in on itself, the white beast appears somewhat dispirited and wan. With its long, fluffy tail hidden beneath the blanket, it looks no different from a regular bunny. Registering a new presence on the bed, the Crystal beast merely glance at Sui Yuan lazily, clearly not in the mood to do anything else. On the other hand, Sui Yuan subconsciously inches closer, then hesitates.
…Should he refrain from displaying such familiar attitude?
Seeing Sui Yuan dithering, undecided, Liu Mingzhou takes it upon himself to nudge him towards the Crystal beast, pushing the two white furballs nearer together and says coaxingly, "This little thing became very downcast as soon as its master left. In the case of Crystal beasts, without its master, it is very difficult for them to survive. Although I brought it with me to give you a nice surprise, if it continues to be unable to find its master, it might die after a few days. Truly pitiful."
Somewhat anxious, Sui Yuan whimpers lowly. Ultimately, he no longer cares about avoiding anything that will expose his identity. Shuffling closer cautiously, he sticks out his tongue and licks the tip of his spirit pet's nose.
The Crystal beast shrinks back slightly, but doesn't actively moves out of reach. That pair of red eyes are wide, round with shock as it stares at Sui Yuan, apparently harbouring a mixture of doubt and hope. Once it gains Sui Yuan's 'goodwill', it whines and approaches more boldly, sniffing the dog's body.
When Liu MIngzhou finishes his shower and walks out clad in his nightclothes, the two white furballs are cheerfully playing together on his bed, rolling and bouncing around joyfully. The Crystal beast has lost its previous listlessness, full of vigour and spirit, sticking closely to Sui Yuan's side, refusing to leave. On Sui Yuan's side, he sacrifices his dignity for a while, acting like the dog he appears to be and accompanying the rabbit-like creature to play.
Compared with the lively pair of animals, the Nightmare beast, who slipped into the bedroom at some point, maintains its noble bearing as it leaps agilely into its small, exclusive nest. Settling down gracefully with front paws crossed before it, the black cat watches them with contempt.
Liu Mingzhou laughs lightly, scooping Sui Yuan into his arms, before chasing the reluctant-to-part Crystal beast down from the bed. Laying down, he turns slightly to flick off the bedside lamp.
"Goodnight." Leaning over, Liu Mingzhou kisses Sui Yuan's forehead.
"……Arf," Sui Yuan answers a little reluctantly. Circling the mattress once, he relies on his base instincts to find the cosiest spot to rest. In the end, he curls up on the pillow between Liu Mingzhou's neck and shoulder, then closes his eyes.
He doesn't know if it is because he is now in the body of a dog, but Sui Yuan feels the scent wafting off Liu Mingzhou makes him feel very at ease. On the other hand, Liu Mingzhou feels that the warm, fluffy body brushing his cheek and neck is especially intimate, filling in the void in his heart. Even if the other is now a dog, an inconceivable sort of sensation like "he's the one!" rings all the more clearer through his soul.
- Without a doubt, even if Sui Yuan is now an animal, he is still able to find him.
