It's Actually Not Easy Wanting to be a Supporting Male Lead-Chapter 9.14- part9
Translated by Eve
Edited by Juurensha
Although Eason and Sui Yuan coming out had started with a great uproar, eventually the furor died down to a peaceful quiet.
As a band that was in a league of its own in the music industry, no one had the capability to go and fight against the might of their ridiculous number of fans. Even if they were to drive Fashion Mix out of professional music circles, it would have little impact on the band. They had the support of most of their fans, and neither Eason or Sui Yuan cared about the opposing voices coming from the outside world. Therefore, those that wanted to jump around and cause a fuss could go ahead and do just that—they would continue to focus solely on their music. Gradually, the people against them grew more and more powerless. The public opinion of the outsiders began to hold even less influence over Eason and Sui Yuan, and the people against them could only choose to temporarily yield.
There were quite a few people who were waiting— waiting to see if this couple who had become the 'model gay couple' would break up. Then, they'd have the grounds to call into question and criticize these unconventional feelings.
Over time, after the public had accepted their relationship and gotten used to their incessant, subtle shows of loving affection, and people stopped using their orientation as a weapon to attack them with, the masses began to pay more attention to their music.
Fashion Mix had promised their fans who supported them that they would continue to work hard and produce even better music. They had never gone against their word nor left their fans disappointed.
Fashion Mix continued to release 2 albums a year. Although there were some voices that criticized their quality, that was never the popular opinion. Thus, their music saga and legendary love story continued on until the year that according to the plot, Huo Ke was to be crowned Film Emperor.
This year was the most grievous year for all music fans alike because Fashion Mix had announced their retirement from the music industry. They had already dedicated their prime years to music and now wanted to choose a more ordinary, leisurely lifestyle—the two people wanted to travel the world, devoting the rest of their lives to each other.
They solemnly apologized to the fans who were choked with sobs. Moreover, they promised that if they made new music, they would continue to release it. Eason and Sui Yuan did not bow under the fans urging them to stay and left the conference under the protection of their bodyguards. Very soon after, they ascended an airplane headed overseas to enjoy their much belated honeymoon.
At the beginning of their honeymoon, the two people would occasionally update their Weibos with some news, pictures, and even some instrumentals, letting the fans know where they were and whether they were doing well, comforting their fans' bitter yearning. Sometimes, fans could see their silhouettes in the streets of their own country, bringing them joy and happiness.
Little by little, as time passed, Eason and Sui Yuan slowly faded from the public eye. That is, until one year, they emerged once more following the news of another gay couple coming out.
This pair of lovers was the Film Emperors, Le Sen and Huo Ke.
The feelings between Le Sen and Huo Ke were not as warm as they were in the original plot because of Sui Yuan's existence jabbing its way between them. However, after spending so much time together, as the saying goes: where water flows, a canal is formed. Huo Ke's feelings were resolute. Even if it was unrequited, he continued to chase after Le Sen as his junior and accompanied him as his good friend. As Le Sen grew older, he suddenly looked back on his life and discovered that Huo Ke had long since become a big part of it.
The two of them had a long, deep talk and finally decided to be together. Perhaps it was because he held feelings for him, or perhaps it was just because he had gotten used to the idea of being together. Of course, the condition was that they would temporarily hide their relationship, even if the country's attitude towards homosexual couples was much warmer due to Eason and Sui Yuan.
When Huo Ke was crowned Film Emperor, Le Sen declared his retirement. Before retiring, he attended the ceremony as an esteemed guest and handed over the trophy that represented the title of Film Emperor to Huo Ke, symbolizing the complete hand over of the title from the previous generation to the current.
When Huo Ke and Le Sen's hands met while holding the trophy, the two people looked each other in the eye and smiled, sharing a tacit understanding.
Huo Ke calmly made his speech. Soon after, he sucked in a deep breath, "There's one last thing I'd like to talk about. I want to thank Eason and Li Kun. They were the ones who gave us the courage to speak the truth— Le Sen and I are partners. We are together."
The venue burst into an uproar.
Eason and Sui Yuan who were watching this on television felt a bit regretful but also felt relieved. They felt regret because now that the plot had ended, they had to bid farewell to their leisurely and carefree trip around the world. The relief was because the plot had proceeded smoothly. Although the fate of Eason and Sui Yuan's roles had changed, as long as the protagonist's was good, then there wasn't a problem.
When the entertainment reporters discovered that Eason and Sui Yuan's long abandoned Weibos had suddenly updated with their blessings for the couple, they tried their best to hunt down the other couple. They hoped that they could unearth them for an interview and squeeze out some additional details. However, no matter what they did, they couldn't find them in the end.
—— That was because at this time, Sui Yuan and Eason — rather, Zhao Xihe— had already returned to the space between worlds and were checking their scores for this world.
"It seems not bad?" After skimming through, Zhao Xihe closed the window with a lack of interest and turned his head to look at Sui Yuan.
Meanwhile, Sui Yuan was holding onto his score, so moved that his eyes were brimming with tears of excitement.
Zhao Xihe lowered his head and touched his nose. He briefly reflected on his own behaviour, realizing that his troublemaking had been really too excessive in the past. It was unexpected that such a low score actually made Sui Yuan feel as happy as though he had won the jackpot.
"How is this just 'not bad'? I've never gotten such a high score before!" Sui Yuan could barely restrain his joy and felt a bit incredulous, "Clearly this time…I didn't even do anything. I completely didn't even try to follow the plot!"
Zhao Xihe patted Sui Yuan's head, "As long as you follow me from now on, you'll absolutely live well. You won't have to suffer anymore."
Sui Yuan nodded his head repeatedly. When faced with this unadorned evidence, he didn't doubt whether Zhao Xihe was deceiving him or not— even though Zhao Xihe had frequently done so.
"…Right. Anyway, why did you change to a supporting male lead?" Pushing down on his excitement a bit, Sui Yuan suddenly thought of the question he had forgotten about, "Is it possible that you made a deal with my creator at the Origin to get me back?"
When he saw Sui Yuan's slight frown and concerned appearance, Zhao Xihe's heart was for once soothed, "Although I want to say 'yes' and make you feel uneasy so that you'll be more obedient, I won't trick you."
Zhao Xihe shrugged, pulling Sui Yuan into his chest in an appeasing manner, "I voluntarily gave up my male lead identity and became a supporting male lead. After all, the male lead and supporting male lead together is like a natural chasm, while two supporting male leads is true love, ah."
Sui Yuan fell silent for a moment, deciding to not acknowledge this "talk about true love".
"Then, how did you pull me out from the Origin?" Sui Yuan raised his head, trying to find any clues in Zhao Xihe's expression, "My creator said that you were special. How are you special? What's going on?"
"That…" Zhao Xihe blinked, "I can tell you, but I also don't want to give it away so easily."
"Then what do you want in return?" Sui Yuan felt a bit vexed. He was aware that there was no such thing as a free lunch. It was only expected that he'd have to exchange something in return.
Even though he knew that this was because of Sui Yuan's settings, Zhao Xihe still felt discontent and defeated by the alienating implication of this sentence, "Before, weren't you so good at acting spoiled? Now, why aren't you throwing a tantrum? Maybe I'll become soft-hearted and tell you everything, hm?"
Sui Yuan: "………………"
—— Is that so! So it turns out that acting spoiled had this kind of use as well?!
"…Then, will it work now?" Sui Yuan was a bit upset.
"Too late," Zhao Xihe rejected him cold-heartedly, "Since you mentioned an exchange, then let's do an exchange."
A pause, then Zhao Xihe raised a brow, "I want you to give me your body in exchange."
Sui Yuan was a bit baffled, "What do you mean?"
"I want you to be with me. Every time we finish a world, I'll tell you a bit about the truth, until I tell you everything, or you guess it," Zhao Xihe's request had obviously been brewing for quite a while now.
After this explanation, Sui Yuan immediately understood. He straightforwardly nodded his head but immediately after discovered that Zhao Xihe who was smiling, but not smiling, didn't seem happy at all. After a moment of silence, Sui Yuan understood.
"…Even if you told me everything now, or you decide not to tell me, I won't leave you anymore…so you don't have to be like this," After all, they've been together for so long. Sui Yuan has had a lot of experience on how to deal with Zhao Xihe and immediately grasped the most important point.
When he heard Sui Yuan say this, Zhao Xihe's expression indeed warmed up a lot. He raised his hand and flicked Sui Yuan's forehead in a criticizing but loving manner, "You've lost all of my trust since that time you left without even saying goodbye! I didn't even get your apology until I forced you to parrot everything that I said. Do you think that your guarantee is worth anything?"
Sui Yuan covered his forehead that had begun to turn red from having been flicked: "…Sorry. QAQ"
Seeing Sui Yuan's small, miserable appearance, although he knew that he hadn't used any force and that the other man was just putting on an act, in the end, he couldn't bear continuing his act of superiority. Zhao Xihe gently rubbed Sui Yuan's forehead and muttered a 'serves you right,' but his expression and tone were gentle.
Understanding that he had gotten away with it, Sui Yuan exhaled. The gears were turning inside his head again, and he planned to try and scoop up a bit more of benefits for himself, "Then, are we good now? How about you tell me a bit of your secret?"
Meeting Sui Yuan's expression full of anticipation and thirst for knowledge, Zhao Xihe did not have the heart to turn him down. He muttered to himself for a moment, probably choosing which part to tell him.
A moment later, he slowly opened his mouth, "Do you remember what I told you in the ABO world—my life before becoming an actor?"
"About how you died in a car accident that was set up by your rival?" Sui Yuan's memory was particularly excellent, "En. I remember!"
"That experience was fake," Zhao Xihe said very bluntly.
Sui Yuan felt incredulous. His tone subconsciously sounded a bit criticizing and hurt, "You lied to me?"
"I didn't lie to you," Zhao Xihe kissed Sui Yuan, appeasing him, "When I told you that, I had thought everything was true. However, I later discovered that this was fake."
"So what you're saying is, someone implanted false memories inside of you?" Sui Yuan instantly understood, "Who did it? Why did they do it? What are they trying to cover up?"
"If you want to know, well, you'll just have to wait until we finish the next world before asking again!" Zhao Xihe patted Sui Yuan's head. Soon after, he turned him around so that he was facing 5237 and gently pushed him, urging him on.
Sui Yuan who was still thinking about what Zhao Xihe had just revealed lovably complied with Zhao Xihe's actions subconsciously. Soon after, he was unjustly angrily glared at by 5237.
Sui Yuan："…………？？？"
"So you still remember me, huh?! I had thought that you were too busy being all kissy-kissy with Zhao Xihe and had already forgotten all about me!" 5237 tried its best to use its plump body to express its anger.
Sui Yuan who was being inexplicably attacked right now cast his innocent gaze to 0007 who was beside 5237. Thinking back to the love/hate relationship between the two systems, Sui Yuan deeply felt that he had been implicated by 0007.
——Who knew what 0007's poisonous tongue has done to 5237 to make it this angry.
0007: "…I am also innocent. I didn't say anything at all!"
"Fine. I'll apologize on 0007's behalf. Don't be angry." Seeing Sui Yuan get beaten up because of his own system, Zhao Xihe naturally stood up honourably and smiled at 5237 to express his apologies.
5237 had yet to escape the shadow that had been cast on its heart by Zhao Xihe in the past. When it saw that he was watching it, it immediately shivered. Its haughtiness instantly disappeared, vividly depicting what it meant to bully the weak while fearing the strong.
It also knew that it was just taking its anger out on Sui Yuan. 5237 felt embarrassed. It recognized its mistake and tried to rectify its behavior, quickly becoming friendly and speaking to Sui Yuan in a soft manner, "Fine. It was my tone that wasn't good just now. What kind of world do you want next? I'll help you out as long as it's within my scope of authority!"
Sui Yuan tilted his head as he pondered over this. Very quickly, he said, "I don't want any worlds with weird settings. It'd be best if it was a leisurely world. Last world, it was always practice dancing, practice singing, recording albums, doing promotions…it was way too tiring."
"Ok, no problem! Conveniently, there's one that matches your request!" 5237 didn't elaborate and rapidly locked onto the next world according to Sui Yuan's request.
Sui Yuan turned to glance at Zhao Xihe. Seeing that the other man was smiling at him, he nodded. After, he peacefully entered the next world….
—— Say, just why on earth was Zhao Xihe given fake memories?
The author has something to say:
Come~ Let's see who can guess the truth! The one who guesses it… well, there's no prize. = = Actually, this silly author feels that it's easy to figure it out.
Eve: Raise your hand if you forgot about 5237. *raises hand* This silly translator is too dumb and brain dead so she can't guess it. Also, that’s a wrap! Next arc will take place in the modern gaming world. Our SY and ZXH will be playing video games~
sere: is it cuz hes also an artificial being or something
Juurensha: ^ going to go with sere's idea. Or maybe he's a system that ascended?
