It's Actually Not Easy Wanting to be a Supporting Male Lead

Translated by Eve

Edited by Juurensha, Cat & Wuxian

Thank you guys so much for the ko-fis <3

Since he had agreed, even if he was unwilling, Sui Yuan had no choice but to crawl out of bed in the early morning of the second day. Compared to the night before, he had slept rather well. His head was still swimming with thoughts of the unresolved situation, but he unexpectedly had blacked out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Who knew whether it was because he was truly just that tired or if he had straightforwardly given up.

——In any case, there was no use in thinking about it so he might as well not worry about it....

After ’tidying up’ his appearance, Sui Yuan stuffed himself with whatever he could find for breakfast and drove to [Hua Xinlei]’s hotel. As soon as he entered the lobby, he discovered that the other had already been sitting on a sofa, and had been waiting for him there for an unknown period of time.

When he saw Sui Yuan, [Hua Xinlei]’s eyes shone, and he stood up at once. His glittering smile was blinding, "Disdaining Gege, you’ve come? I was a bit worried that you wouldn’t...."

"...How could that be. Since I promised you, I will naturally come," Sui Yuan replied, without even a hint of enthusiasm in his words. He and [Hua Xinlei] and were complete opposites. Although, He did refrain from saying anything outright that could possibly insinuate that he hadn’t wanted to come.

[Hua Xinlei] didn’t seem to mind as he pulled Sui Yuan by the arm with a smile — Sui Yuan couldn’t dodge in time! — and was pulled out of the hotel by [Hua Xinlei]’s unquestionable strength. In very high spirits [Hua Xinlei] shouted; "Then, let’s go quickly!"

Sui Yuan let himself be helplessly pulled along. He quickly adjusted to the situation, giving up on struggling, "Then, where do you want to go? Do you need me to recommend any places?"

"No need. I’ve already planned everything. Disdaining Gege just needs to accompany me," [Hua Xinlei] turned around and smiled, really looking like his namesake ’a gorgeous spring flower’.

Sui Yuan sat in the driver’s seat and first drove towards C City’s largest pedestrian shopping street as per [Hua Xinlei]’s request. The shops on both sides of the street were like glittering jewels and there were couples coming and going in both directions — after all, today was Valentine’s Day. Although it couldn’t be said that it was particularly incongruous for Sui Yuan and [Hua Xinlei] to be walking side-by-side, the scene of these two men together seemed to be bathed in an ambiguous light.

Sui Yuan feigned ignorance and [Hua Xinlei] cared even less, so the two of them continued their intimate actions. Without the slightest hesitation, [Hua Xinlei] pulled him into a high-end male clothing store. Sui Yuan had originally thought that [Hua Xinlei] had wanted to buy clothes for himself. He never expected that the other man would grab a set of clothes and hand it over to him after browsing a bit.

"Disdaining Gege, do me a favour and try this on, ba~"

"Me?" Sui Yuan was stunned.

"Yep. I want to give someone a present. That person’s size is about the same as Disdaining Gege. Troubling Disdaining Gege to help me try it on and see if it fits, la!" [Hua Xinlei] nodded magnanimously.

Sui Yuan hesitantly accepted the clothes. Although it didn’t feel right, he couldn’t come up with any grounds for refusal. Without any better option, he entered the fitting room and changed into the clothes that were given to him.

He had to say that [Hua Xinlei]’s eye for things wasn’t bad. Not only were the clothes form-fitting but they also made Sui Yuan look much more spirited and lively, compared to his original washed out appearance.

After exiting the fitting room, he spun around once in front of [Hua Xinlei] to give him a good look of the effects of the clothing. [Hua Xinlei] rested his chin on his hand while looking him over with a nitpicking gaze. In the end, he nodded. Soon after, he extended a hand to press down onto Sui Yuan’s shoulder.

With one hand, he stopped Sui Yuan from retreating and with the other, he stroked his hair, his fingers very deft as he quickly and effortlessly brushed away and tidied up Sui Yuan’s messy hair, as well as his bangs that had been intentionally styled in a manner that obstructs his eyes. Afterwards, he turned Sui Yuan around so that he faced the changing room’s mirror. He smiled very contently, pleased with himself, "Look. Disdaining Gege, don’t you look much more handsome like this?"

——Of course, I look more handsome! Laozi went through a lot of trouble to look like such a loser!

Sui Yuan’s expression stiffened, and he wanted to flip a table in his heart.

Clothes make a man; put that together with a good hairstyle, and a person can become much more pleasing to look at. There was no need to even mention this in regards to Sui Yuan, whose body had a good foundation and was originally a little handsome fellow. The man in the mirror wore a set of casual clothes that had a subdued aura of luxury. His hair was a bit ruffled, looking somewhat charming and unruly. He was obviously donning the same expression as before but there was no longer that depressing air about him that evoked people’s dislike. On the contrary, there was a languid charm. The him before and after he had changed his clothes were as different as heaven and hell.

This heaven-shaking change even startled the saleswoman. It was like watching the Ugly Duckling’s transformation into a white swan — her words of praise were especially sincere.

It was pretty obvious that [Hua Xinlei]’s grasp of styling was not at all inferior to Sui Yuan’s. He so easily unearthed the good features that Sui Yuan had painstakingly concealed, even managing to highlight them further, making his temperament appear even better.

With regards to [Hua Xinlei]’s question, Sui Yuan could not deny it in good conscience and could only rigidly nod his head, "Indeed, Xinlei, you really have a good eye...."

"It’s good if Disdaining Gege likes it, la~" [Hua Xinlei]’s eyes bent into a smiling expression, "After all, this is the present that I’m giving to Disdaining Gege!"

After saying this, he didn’t give Sui Yuan any time to decline and directly handed over his card to the salesperson, "I’ll pay now. He’ll wear it out. Help me take off the tag. As for the clothes in the fitting room, please help us handle it!"

The saleswoman naturally had no objection and immediately took the card to the counter. Sui Yuan sighed in his heart, ’as expected, it turned out like this’. When he tried to refuse, it had already been done and could not be reversed.

"Why are you unhappy? Does Disdaining Gege not like my gift?" [Hua Xinlei] took back the card he used to make the payment and asked for forgiveness, looking miserable, "Don’t look at me with that kind of reproachful look. I didn’t trick you just now! This is really a gift I was planning on giving, and the recipient’s size is really the same as Disdaining Gege!"

Sui Yuan：".................."

——That’s right, ah, you didn’t say a single lie. The recipient’s size is the same as mine...hehe, obviously I would wear the same size as myself! You’re so cool!

For a while, Sui Yuan was speechless, unable to retort. In [Hua Xinlei]’s eyes, it looked like he was wavering. Thus, he indicated to the salesperson to secretly take off the tags on the clothes while piling on more pressure, "I mean, I keep causing trouble for Disdaining Gege. I would feel uneasy not giving you anything in return."

"There’s no need. Besides, this present is too expensive." One should not get a reward if it’s undeserved — of course, this excluded Zhao Xihe. Sui Yuan who had received a gift and thus felt compelled to act more humbly, felt uncomfortable from head to toe, "How much did these cost? I’ll return the money to you."

Sui Yuan’s expression was serious and earnest. [Hua Xinlei] seemed to have been intimidated and obediently took out the receipt. However, when he handed it over to Sui Yuan. he blinked, his gaze crafty and mischievous.

Sui Yuan silently looked at the price on the receipt: "........................"

——What the f*ck! What the heck was he doing buying such expensive clothes?! He didn’t have this much money on him, what to do?!

Putting away the receipt, Sui Yuan’s expression became slightly awkward and evasive, "...Wait until we go home. I’ll give you the money then."

"OK~" [Hua Xinlei] agreed, seeming to rather enjoy seeing Sui Yuan’s powerless tormented appearance.

Next, Sui Yuan kept [Hua Xinlei] company as they strolled around several more stores. Fortunately, the other man knew when to stop while he was ahead and did not try to trick Sui Yuan into getting more clothes. Instead, he only picked a few items for himself.

On Valentine’s Day, the streets were packed and bustling with activity. Products targeted towards lovers were especially hot commodities. [Hua Xinlei] also bought a pair of phone straps, keychains, necklaces, rings, and other similar accessories. He, however, did not express a desire to give Sui Yuan the other half of these products. Since it was like this, Sui Yuan could not comment and could only watch [Hua Xinlei] use his sharp aesthetic judgement to fuss over the small accessories.

Although the street was long, it didn’t take much time for the two men to reach the end of it and with their rather fast pace, they had bought things quickly and efficiently. Afterwards, they went to C City’s most famous tourist attraction located in the middle of the plaza.

The plaza was full of beautiful flora and in the center was a terrace for events. Flower gardens were hidden amongst the greenery all around. On one side was C City’s vast lake, on the other side was the City Museum that had long been acclaimed as a ’cultural corridor’. It could be said that this was a must-see location for any C City tourist and was also a sacred dating spot for lovers.

When Sui Yuan and [Hua Xinlei] arrived at the plaza, ’Ballade Pour Adeline’ played from the plaza’s musical fountain, water swaying with willowy motions. At times, the water flowed gently as if in love; at other times, it rushed into the skies, causing quite a few tourists to stop and marvel at the sight. Meanwhile, couples sat on benches under the shade of the surrounding trees, happily nestling against their loved ones or whispering soft words to one another. The sweet smell of love filled the air of the entire plaza.

Sui Yuan pulled at his collar, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He felt that he shouldn’t be out sightseeing with [Hua Xinlei] on such a day — even if there wasn’t anything between them, in this kind of atmosphere, it felt like there could be. Look! That couple over there was looking at them differently!

While inwardly scolding himself for being so stupid, he had no choice but to wander around the plaza with [Hua Xinlei]. Very quickly, the two people found themselves at the plaza’s lake.

"I want to go canoeing. How about it?" [Hua Xinlei] eagerly suggested, seeming not to feel the stares of the surrounding people who clearly took him as a gay person — fine, that was probably true.

"Whatever you want," Sui Yuan shrugged unenthusiastically. Afterwards, he was pulled into a boat and he sat down in front of [Hua Xinlei].

[Hua Xinlei]’s rowing technique was not bad. He very quickly rowed the boat far away from the area that was densely packed with couples. They finally arrived at the centre of the lake which was relatively emptier compared to before.

Although the temperature was approaching spring in February, it was still a bit chilly. The cold air that blew onto their faces was not comfortable at all. However, perhaps the rocking of the boat was too soothing as it, unexpectedly, gradually made Sui Yuan sleepy.

No matter how you looked at it, for two people to be all alone together on a boat in the middle of the lake on Valentine’s Day didn’t seem quite right. Sui Yuan forced himself to stay vigilant. He absolutely could not afford to fall asleep. However, he didn’t closely examine as to why he always subconsciously relaxed when he was around [Hua Xinlei] — over and over again, he was taken advantage of.

[Hua Xinlei] did not start any sort of conversation with him at this time. Furthermore, for the sake of avoiding the awkwardness, he shifted his gaze onto the surrounding scenery. The two people were quiet, but it did not feel awkward. Rather, there seemed to be a silent, tacit understanding that silence was better than words between them. Sui Yuan did not realize this, but [Hua Xinlei], being completely aware, lifted the corner of his mouth in satisfaction.

After wasting away the rest of the morning on the lake, the two men went to a restaurant near the plaza for lunch. They were escorted to what was normally called a two-person booth, but was now called a window seat for lovers for Valentine’s Day. [Hua Xinlei] opened up the menu, swept a glance over the items, and then looked coquettishly at Sui Yuan, "Disdaining Gege, let’s eat a couple’s meal!"

Right now, Sui Yuan was rather sensitive to the word ’couple’ and frowned, "Eat what couple’s meal!"

"Because it’s cheaper, la! Moreover, it looks really delicious," [Hua Xinlei] said especially calmly, "It’s cheap and good. Isn’t this what Disdaining Gege likes?" action

Sui Yuan, who once again had a hole dug for him and had his face slapped by his past self, stubbornly fought back despite being pushed into a corner, "But it’s for couples...."

"Don’t mind the details! Who said that only couples could eat a couple’s meal, huh?" This was said to the server who stood to the side. The waitress who was blinded by this handsome boy’s smile naturally nodded her head several times. Soon after, she directly wrote down [Hua Xinlei]’s order — ’the couple’s meal’.

Sui Yuan comforted himself, thinking that since he’s already compromised so many times, one more time wouldn’t hurt. Moreover, eating a couple’s meal didn’t mean that they were lovers — of course, the most important part was that the couple’s meal seemed to really suit Sui Yuan’s taste buds.

Putting aside the problem with the ’couple’s meal’, Sui Yuan and [Hua Xinlei] ate rather well that afternoon. Sui Yuan, who was cured by the delicious food, seemed to regain his energy and was finally able to continue to fight against [Hua Xinlei], that hussy.

After lunch, the next place [Hua Xinlei] chose to go to was the ’cultural corridor’. The City Museum was free and open to the public. Usually, , there weren’t many couples that went to the City Museum on regular days. Now that it was Valentine’s Day, the only couples who would choose to have their date here would be bookworms.

Sui Yuan had to admit that [Hua Xinlei]’s choice allowed him to sigh in relief, and he relaxed quite a bit. He no longer seemed as tense as he was before, as if he were facing a formidable enemy. However, this so called ’capturing one’s prey’ — one should not put too much pressure on one’s prey, in order to avoid forcing the fish into a life or death struggle. This was common sense to all fishermen — that one should loosen and tighten the net at appropriate times in order to finally catch the prey.

Sui Yuan, who was unaware that he had been baited and hooked, happily passed time in the museum. This place was free of other people, and thus no one was there to cast that particular gaze at them. Furthermore, Sui Yuan had to admit that [Hua Xinlei] was a great travel companion.

Sui Yuan, who had already experienced quite a number of worlds, could be considered more experienced and knowledgeable than any regular person. His knowledge was extensive but it was limited to the identity of the roles he had played. For example, when he was training to be a Mecha Fighter, he learned how to operate it and wield it as a weapon. When he was a singer, he learned how to sing and how to play instruments. However, with regards to other aspects, he was more or less the same as an ordinary person — perhaps even a bit worse off. After all, he hadn’t received much education from his system on these aspects.

[Hua Xinlei] was different. He was very well-educated and well-informed, causing Sui Yuan to look at him in astonishment! Whether it was history, antiques, astronomy, geography — [Hua Xinlei] had the information on the tip of his tongue and could explain everything neatly with his soft and elegant voice. He would also insert jokes at the appropriate time and place, fascinating Sui Yuan with his words. He subconsciously followed [Hua Xinlei], staring at the other with wide eyes full of his thirst for knowledge and adoration, making the other feel even prouder of himself. He seemed to be giving it his all to elicit a smile from Sui Yuan.

In his mind, Sui Yuan added the tag ’talented’ to [Hua Xinlei]’s description, alongside ’handsome and bright’, ’rich,’ and ’educated’. Therefore he felt more and more that the other man was simply so dazzling that it made people mad! This kind of good youth who seemed perfect — why on earth was he so hell-bent on hanging himself on the tree known as [Disdaining the King of Hell]?! This was simply a case where all who see it would become heartbroken, and all who hear of it would shed tears!

Sui Yuan felt that even if it wasn’t for Zhao Xihe’s sake, he would never let [Hua Xinlei] end up so miserable at [Disdaining the King of Hell]’s hand as ordained by the plot. The responsibility of saving this misguided youth was heavier than Mount Tai!

——En, in this way, he’ll happily and easily make this decision!

The tour of the museum brought the good feelings between the Sui Yuan and [Hua Xinlei] to the max. Although the two people were a bit reluctant to leave, for the sake of the next development, [Hua Xinlei] still pulled Sui Yuan out of the museum and to their next stop — the movie theatre.

Sui Yuan’s expression was a bit strange as he stood before the theatre’s entrance, "You want to watch a movie?"

"Yes, ah," [Hua Xinlei] fished out some money to pay for their tickets while replying, not forgetting to tell the ticket seller, "We want couple seats!"

The startled female ticket seller: ".................."

Sui Yuan, gnashing his teeth, "...No need for couple seating. Regular seating is fine."

[Hua Xinlei] was slightly disappointed but chose to yield, "...Fine. If you want regular seats, then so be it. We want seats that are together!"

The ticket seller who accepted the cash, was stupefied: ".................."

——This single dog curses for these goddamn gay couples who go around PDAing on Valentine’s day to all break up, one after another! All the good guys either have a girlfriend or are gay. This world is simply so cruel and ruthless that it makes people want to get revenge!

The author has something to say:

...Once I started writing about a date between one who harbours wicked intentions and one who is ignorantly enjoying the sweetness (?) of the date, I can’t stop! This is definitely the curse of the single dog’s complaints! This silly author vows that the date will end next chapter and will return to the game! After all, the main part of the story takes place in the game. We can’t let the minor players upstage the main attraction...probably....

Eve: Wishing for ZXH to be aware of SY’s slightly wavering heart and eat that vinegar. It would be beautiful. Also hoping for Huahua to end up pushing SY down ehehehehe. Though ofc only for nothing to happen in the end. SY’s body is only for ZXH to touch after all.

Juurensha: I really want to see ZXH’s reaction...

Cat: *secretly hopes ZXH can split his soul and just transferred into HXL’s body*