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

Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Because Zhao Xihe had not concealed—or rather, he couldn’t conceal his favour towards Sui Yuan, a rumour that a servant with charming looks had seduced the brilliant Lord very quickly spread throughout the residence. Only, although everyone knew of this rumour, they did not dare expose this fact in the slightest. They only privately discussed it briefly with a few close people as if afraid of being found out by the strict Head Steward.

"Haven’t you been serving by His Lordship’s side? Have you seen that servant?" Madam Li intimately placed the nourishing soup she had specifically made in front of Sui Yuan, urging him to drink it. At the same time, she gossiped in a secretive tone, "It’s said that this servant is extremely beautiful like a fairy that has descended. Otherwise, he would be unable to bewitch the Lord with a single glance. You should know that His Lordship has never cared about beauty in the least!"

Sui Yuan, who was "extremely beautiful like a fairy that had descended," held the bowl. For a while, he couldn’t drink, but he also couldn’t not drink. He felt very stifled: ".............................."

"I really want to see what that servant looks like..." Another servant girl, who was on good terms with Madam Li, snuck over, cheeks flushed, carrying some bashfulness, "After all, even His Lordship was mesmerized. Who knows what he looks like? Even if I can only catch a glance from far away, that would be good, ah...."

Sui Yuan, who had already been seen several times, decided that he should just silently drink his soup.

"What’s so good-looking about this kind of androgynous man!?" Madam Li shot a glare at the servant girl and spoke discontentedly, "There are three cardinal offences against filial piety, and having no heir is the gravest of all! How could it be good that His Lordship is acting like this!?" Upon saying this, Madam Li turned to look at Sui Yuan and warned him, "You best not get too close to this servant. You won’t learn anything good from him!"

Sui Yuan finished drinking the nourishing soup and wiped his mouth, smile embarrassed, "I’ve finished, Madam Li, thank you very much! I have to go wait on His Lordship in a bit, so...."

"Go, go! I’ll leave you some more next time. Since it would cause the main courtyard’s steward to come over, I dare not let you goof off with me anymore!" Madam Li smiled as she waved her hand. She then rubbed Sui Yuan’s hair that was no longer as dry as before and pinched his fair, tender cheeks, expression pleased, "Although you are busy serving His Lordship, it seems that his treatment of you is not bad? Look, haven’t you gotten plumper? You don’t look nearly as pitiful as you did when you first arrived!"

——Far more than just "not bad!" Zhao Xihe nearly treated him like a sick person on his deathbed! If it wasn’t because he was worried that he was in such poor health that he wouldn’t be able to take tonics, Sui Yuan would be drinking tonics like he would eat rice. He’d been nourished so well that he has recently been suffering from excessive internal heat!

Sui Yuan forced out a laugh and bid farewell to Madam Li and co. He quickly walked towards Zhao Xihe’s courtyard. Occasionally, he would greet the passing servants with a nod.

His Lordship’s treatment of him was different than that of the other servants. Everyone knew that the Lord thought highly of him. Whenever the Lord left the residence, he would always bring him along. His manner towards Sui Yuan was always fawning and flattering, eagerly attentive in every way.

Fortunately, although Sui Yuan looked much more fair, his appearance was after all extremely ordinary. Even with the halo’s effect, he only appeared more lovable and likeable. Therefore, no one linked him with the increasingly exaggerated rumour. As for the few higher ups who "knew the truth," their lips were tightly shut. They did not let out a single peep, which made Sui Yuan relieved.

Rushing back to the main courtyard, Sui Yuan was met with the main courtyard’s steward’s hinting expression. It told him to quickly go into the study to soothe their irascible Lord.

Sui Yuan wore a helpless expression but still received his commands as a "servant." He quickly headed towards the study and was met with Zhao Xihe’s discontented expression, "I have no idea what about the kitchen attracts you so much to the point of making you spend the whole day over there!"

Although he didn’t have his memories, Zhao Xihe’s "vinegar vat" instinct still made a brilliant appearance. Even if Madam Li absolutely couldn’t be his rival-in-love with her appearance and age, if Sui Yuan interacted with the other for a little too long, Zhao Xihe would feel all sorts of unease and would wish that he could make a direct beeline to the kitchen and declare his ownership of Sui Yuan. Of course, the main reason why he hasn’t was because Sui Yuan blocked him unwaveringly.

Zhao Xihe was never someone to make things difficult for himself. To be precise, he always did what he wanted. He would always listen to his feelings. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pursued after Sui Yuan so tightly, not letting him go.

Now, even if he didn’t have his memories, his attachment to Sui Yuan was even stronger than in the past. Zhao Xihe was conflicted at first over why he unexpectedly could not control his reactions. When he realized that it was no use to restrict himself, he decisively decided to court the other.

After all, in his mind, the two of them had "just met." Zhao Xihe was worried that if he used too intense of a method, he’d scare the other away. Only Heaven knew just how hard he had endured to stop himself from doing anything to Sui Yuan. Even if he wanted to bind him to his side, he would do his utmost to employ methods that would not incur the other’s disgust.

Who knows if it was because he was too terrible of a person usually, but the currently suffering Zhao Xihe didn’t manage to arouse Sui Yuan, 5237 or even 0007’s sympathy. Instead, the one person and two systems very much liked making the other feel even more aggrieved. For example, Sui Yuan right now. When he heard the underlying discontent and grievance underneath the criticism, he simply folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, "At the very least, there’s no pervert watching me closely in the kitchen. I feel much more at ease there!"

A certain someone, who was like a pervert: "...................................."

Seeing Zhao Xihe who felt sullen but didn’t know how to fight back, Sui Yuan pulled a book out of the bookcase in an extremely good mood. Although they were "master and servant" in name, how could Zhao Xihe be willing to make Sui Yuan do anything? So long as he could stay in front of him, anything would do.

5237, who had enjoyed its share of Zhao Xihe’s misery, quietly approached Sui Yuan’s side and asked quietly, "Treating him like this, aren’t you afraid that he’ll use this as an excuse to ’punish’ you when he gets better?"

"Punish me?" Sui Yuan raised an eyebrow, undaunted, "Even if I don’t do this, he’ll always come up with some sort of reason to ’punish’ me."

5237："...................................."

——What you said is so reasonable that I am unexpectedly left speechless!

"...Actually, 0007 thinks that since his host is so attached to you and wants to be with you...mn, after doing it once and letting him get what he wants, maybe he’ll get his memory back?" 5237 didn’t really want to continue speaking as he passed on 0007’s suggestions.

Sui Yuan’s hand paused in flipping through the pages. He hesitated, "Really?"

Although Sui Yuan couldn’t help but pierce Zhao Xihe with a few words on the surface, deep down inside, he was very worried about getting the other back to normal and would not put a stop to whatever little tricks the other was up to in the dark. Sui Yuan scrunched up his brows a bit and turned to look at Zhao Xihe, who was absentmindedly thumbing through a document. For a moment, he indeed wavered. action

——Perhaps he should do something intimate that only lovers would do for the sake of helping Zhao Xihe get his memory back?

Zhao Xihe, who always kept the majority of his attention on Sui Yuan, naturally noticed this concentrated yet hesitant gaze. He couldn’t help but become restless, heart beating like a drum. Although he didn’t know why he felt this way, his intuition told him that a big wave of good stuff was gradually approaching. Zhao Xihe did his best to control his movements and earnestly looked at his document. Every cell in his body, however, was focused on each and every one of Sui Yuan’s movements. He could feel that the other had put his book down, stood up, and then walked behind him.

Two arms wrapped around his neck. A soft body carrying the youth’s honey locust scent stuck against his back. Fair cheeks rubbed against his face like a kitten. Then, the other tilted his head as if sounding him out and kissed him on the lips. Zhao Xihe froze, not moving in the slightest. He was afraid that if he moved, he would awaken from this beautiful dream.

Zhao Xihe didn’t know why this good fortune had suddenly occurred. Actually, he kind of didn’t want to know why. At this moment, his head was flaring up. Aside from focusing on his extremely sensitive senses, his mind was blank. He didn’t want to think about anything. He only wanted to pull the youth fiercely into his arms and attain his long-desired wish.

Muddle-headed, Zhao Xihe heard the youth’s voice sound, full of anticipation, "You still haven’t remembered?"

Zhao Xihe pressed against Sui Yuan’s arm, stopping him from leaving. He subconsciously responded, "Mn? Remember what?"

"...Don’t you think this feels very familiar? Like...deja vu?" The youth sounded rather disappointed.

This disappointment scared Zhao Xihe. He subconsciously agreed with the other’s words, afraid that the other would be so vile as to escape after provoking his desire, "Familiar! It’s obviously familiar! You don’t know how long I’ve been hoping for this!"

Sui Yuan："...................................."

——He felt like there was zero effect. Why?! 0007, are you playing me?!

Just as Zhao Xihe was planning on taking a mile after being given an inch, there came a deferential knock on the study door.

Sui Yuan was startled and suddenly pulled away from Zhao Xihe. Meanwhile, Zhao Xihe hated the unexpected visitor on the other side of the door. He suppressed his anger and lashed out in a low voice, "Come back in a moment if you have something to report!"

The person outside hesitated for a moment but still withstood the pressure of receiving the Lord’s anger for the sake of the situation. He coughed and said, "You said before to quickly report any information concerning Hao Prefecture, that it must not be delayed...."

Hao Prefecture? What’s that? Zhao Xihe’s brain slowly regained function. He ruminated over this place’s name for a while and finally pulled up what this name meant.

Seeing that Sui Yuan had already hid in a corner of the study, huffing and puffing while tidying his messy clothes, Zhao Xihe sucked in a deep breath to calm himself down. He then calmly responded, "Come in!"

The main courtyard’s steward, whose forehead was covered in sweat from being scared, opened the door nervously. He didn’t dare to look around and respectfully lowered his head as he walked towards Zhao Xihe. He handed over the urgent document in his hands with a bow. Although the windows in the study were closed, and the soundproofing was not bad, as a normal man, the courtyard’s steward could naturally guess all sorts of things from Zhao Xihe’s tone just now.

If it wasn’t because this was truly an urgent matter, even if you had bolstered his courage, the main courtyard’s steward would absolutely have not dared to interrupt his Lord’s wonderful affair at such a critical moment. Even if it was an urgent matter, at this moment, he was still a bit worried about whether the Lord would settle accounts with him later.

A moment of silence befell the study. There was only the sound of Zhao Xihe quickly flipping through the letter. Very quickly, he furrowed his brows and asked darkly, "Is the information verified this time? This isn’t a smoke bomb meant to trick us, ba?"

Although he wasn’t quite clear on the contents, the main courtyard’s steward still recited woodenly, "It is said to be true. It seems that the person who passed this on also thought it to be rather unbelievable, so they checked it again. Only then was this information passed on...."

Zhao Xihe fell silent for a while and then waved for the main courtyard’s steward to leave. After the door to the study was closed, he handed the letter to Sui Yuan and frowned, "The Destroyer was killed."

"What?!" Sui Yuan widened his eyes in shock. He quickly walked to Zhao Xihe’s side and took the letter, quickly skimming its contents, "...He’s truly dead? This is rather...too easy, ba? Besides—"

——Besides, you haven’t regained your memory yet! This means that there will always be a part of you fused with Mo Ziyou, ah! Sui Yuan silently swallowed down the latter part. He didn’t quite believe that things had ended this simply.

Likewise, Zhao Xihe didn’t believe it, "There is something up. I’ve fought against him for so long. I naturally know just how prudent and cunning he is. I sent some people to assassinate him this time only because I wanted to find out about the other’s situation. I never actually thought that they could kill him. Therefore, I believe that the other has done this intentionally. He deliberately faked his own death, or...he’s escaped?"

"Didn’t the Origin lock onto the Destroyer’s spiritual force? Perhaps we can use the systems to confirm the other’s situation?" Sui Yuan suggested.

Zhao Xihe nodded. He turned his head to one side as if communicating with 0007. Meanwhile, Sui Yuan didn’t just sit around. He also used 5237 to connect with his Creator.

Probably because it had been tracking their movements this whole time, the Origin very quickly replied, "Although there is still a portion of their spiritual power fused, Mo Ziyou’s main body has indeed been destroyed. The majority of your mission has already been achieved. What’s left is to ensure that Zhao Xihe frees himself from the fusion to wrap things up smoothly."

After receiving this feedback, Sui Yuan and Zhao Xihe looked at each other. Even if the Origin confirmed that their mission was complete, this still didn’t dispel their doubts.

"...Since the mission has been completed, then let’s stop here. In any case, there’s no deep grudge between us and that Destroyer. We just had to complete our mission," Zhao Xihe shrugged in the end, forcing himself to relax. He then looked at Sui Yuan with eager eyes, "When do you plan on leaving this world?"

Sui Yuan opened his mouth. He didn’t quite know how to respond. Zhao Xihe "thought" that the mission was complete, but his solo mission to help Zhao Xihe free himself from the fusion was not complete, ne!

"Probably...a while later, ba?" Sui Yuan hesitated for a while and then gave an ambiguous reply.

Zhao Xihe’s eyes lit up. He vainly thought that Sui Yuan was reluctant to leave him. Although with his authority, he could chase after the other to any other world, the current Zhao Xihe did not plan to say this. He wanted to get some benefits, get a firm hold on the other, and then...give the other a pleasant surprise?

With one glance, Sui Yuan could tell that Zhao Xihe was scheming some inharmonious things. He was too lazy to haggle with him though. He instead turned around and returned the book that he had placed on the desk back onto the bookshelf.

When Sui Yuan’s back was to Zhao Xihe, he was suddenly brought into the other’s embrace. Sui Yuan struggled a bit. When he failed to free himself, he didn’t bother struggling anymore. That is, until "Zhao Xihe" suddenly chuckled in his ear, "I’ve been waiting for you in this world for several years, Ming Hui...or rather, you’re currently ’Sui Yuan’?"

Sui Yuan froze. He immediately began to struggle out of the other’s hold again, and "Zhao Xihe" didn’t seem to really plan on trapping him. He readily let go of him.

Sui Yuan’s eyebrows were furrowed. He faced "Zhao Xihe’s" familiar gaze that seemed like it could see through you and pursed his lips, "Mo Ziyou?"

Mo Ziyou smiled, tone rueful, "I finally get to see you again...Ming Hui."

The author has something to say:

Eve: Almost there at the end of this main text! I’m starting to get very emotional.