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

Translated by Eve

Edited by Wuxian

The frightened girls did not have any appetite. They withdrew themselves into their room, listless, not taking a single step out. The men didn't dare leave them alone and could only helplessly skip out on dinner.

In any case, they've starved for a whole day before. It was nothing to miss a single meal. These girls, who had once been used to being spoiled and pampered, had clearly been taught what it meant to suffer hardships by this manner.

The curtain of night gradually descended and the manor's lights all lit up. Everyone was silent and lost in thought, or were closing their eyes and resting their minds, or were chatting in low voices. Suddenly, a knock sounded against the door to this room.

At first, three knocks sounded. After stopping for a while, there was another two knocks. The knocks were neither hurried nor slow; they were refined and courteous, but still managed to cause the hair on everyone's bodies to stand.

——All of them were already inside the room, so who then was the 'person' knocking on their door? A ghost?

Deathly stillness befell the room. No one dared speak, let alone move. Each and every one of them hoped that the other would leave upon receiving no reply.

It was just a pity that the 'person' outside was exceedingly patient and continued to knock on the door in a mechanical fashion. One knock after another, each sound knocking against the hearts of the people inside the room.

"W-what should we do?" The robust girl trembled as she spoke in a tiny voice. She curled herself up tightly into a corner of the room, panicked and helpless.

"…Should we open the door?" The bespectacled youth swallowed and added hoarsely, "Don't tell me that…we have to let it continue knocking forever?"

The two people could still be considered rational. Meanwhile, the quiet and gentle girl was quaking violently on the floor, her eyes gradually growing frenetic, as if she was on the edge of exploding.

Ming Hai noticed that she was fishy and promptly restrained her. Soon after, he gazed questioningly towards Yang Yue. Yang Yue composed himself and patted Sui Yuan's shaking shoulders in comfort. He then stood up, "…I'll go open the door."

Except for Ming Hai's 'be careful', no one else responded. Everyone's gazes were tightly glued on the door, as if they would stand up and bolt at the smallest abnormality. Unfortunately, aside from the door that was being blocked by the ghosts, the entire room was completely sealed with no other exits—even the window was unbreakable. Where could they even escape to?"

Yang Yue was a bit nervous at this moment. The palm of his hands were clammy, but it wasn't because he himself was afraid of the ghosts. It was just that the fear of the surrounding people had transferred over to him, making him unable to help but feel his own heart speed up.

His hand slowly made contact with the door knob. He turned it slowly and the door to the room opened noiselessly. However, there was nothing on the other side of the door. Even Yang Yue didn't see a thing.

Everyone held their breaths. In the next second, Yang Yue seemed to have perceived something and subconsciously stepped back. When he stepped back from his original position at the door, everyone could see a series of floating trays entering the room, one after another. Furthermore, atop of these trays were delicious food and beverages. It was most likely the dinner that they had been originally intending on missing.

The trays seemed to be carried by something. They bounced up and down in midair as they came in. Some of the trays were higher up, some were lower, as if to indicate that the 'people' carrying these trays were of different heights.

While everyone stiffly watched this scene while keeping quiet out of fear, the six trays were very quickly distributed. Each of them directly floated before every person before slowly drifting down. It was just like the owner of this manor had dispatched well-trained servants to receive the guests with magnificent hospitality. It was just a pity that these guests had no way to perceive this 'goodwill'. Each one of them stared unwaveringly at the tray and food placed in front of them, as if they were looking at some extremely terrifying thing.

For a long time, no one spoke nor moved. Meanwhile, those 'servants' did not seem to show any indication of wanting to leave. When they thought about how there were ghosts standing by their side watching them eat dinner, no one had even the slightest bit of an appetite. They only wished to flip this tray over and throw it away, the farther away, the better.

"Did they…did they leave yet? Yang Yue, can you still see them?" The bespectacled youth shook while trying to push his glasses up. However, because he was trembling so fiercely, he failed to do so several times.

"…I can't see them," Yang Yue stood at the entrance, back erect while gently shaking his head, "However, my senses are telling me that…they…probably haven't left."

"Then what should we do?! We—do we need to eat this stuff?! No! I won't eat!" The robust girl refused, emotionally stirred. Furthermore, her reaction provoked the quiet and gentle girl who was situated not far away. She suddenly threw off the caught-off-guard Ming Hai's hold and suddenly flipped the tray before her into the air and let out a hysterical screech.

The food sprinkled across the floor emitted a tantalizing aroma. Meanwhile, the quiet and gentle girl who had just exploded panted heavily, eyes flickering around like a bird that could be startled by the mere twang of a bow. Her eyes were full of alarm and insanity intertwined.

No one reacted. The ghosts on the side did not seem to be angered either because of this. Everyone relaxed slightly. Just as they were about to copy the quiet and elegant girl and refuse the food, another tray of food floated in through the wide-open door, neither slowly or rushed, and once again situated itself before the quiet and gentle girl.

The quiet and gentle girl's pupils constricted. She subconsciously wanted to retreat but something suddenly pressed down against her limbs, locking her onto the floor. Meanwhile, the fork on the new tray stabbed into a piece of meat and flew over, firmly sticking itself into the mouth of the quiet and gentle girl that was opened because she had been screaming and struggling.

Everyone averted their eyes, finding the scene unbearable to behold. Ming Hai, who was beside the quiet and gentle girl wanted to stop the ghost that was 'feeding' her, but his hand could only pierce through the ice-cold empty air. It fundamentally had no way of touching the enemy's body.

This lasted until the quiet and gentle girl broke down and screamed "I'll eat, I'll eat!" Only then did the ghost's 'feeding' cease. The quiet and gentle girl that recovered her freedom shook so hard that she couldn't hold her knife or fork steadily and could only use her hands to stick the food into her mouth. She ate, cried, and retched, all at the same time.

With the quiet and gentle girl taking the lead, nobody else wanted to enjoy the ghost's feeding. They picked up their utensils one after another, as if they had flashbacks to their very first meal in this manor where they clearly had no appetite yet had no choice but to eat. No, perhaps this time was even worse than the last. At least at that time, they could choose how much to eat. But this time, they did not dare leave any leftovers. Even if their stomachs were so full and close to bursting, they still had no choice but to brace themselves and continue eating.

The only thing to be glad about was that the ghosts did not really seem to intend to let them eat until they burst. With just a bit of hard work, they were still able to finish it all.

Probably because they had the mindset to quickly get things over with, everyone ate at a very quick pace. After a period of stuffing themselves, the only one to remain was, unexpectedly, Sui Yuan. His tray still contained at least half of the food.

Sui Yuan, who was holding his utensils while bearing the stares of other people: "……………………"

——Can't you eat at a normal pace?! With that speed, you guys seem like ghosts that had been reincarnated after being starved to death, ah! QAQ

"What, can't eat it?" Yang Yue looked at Sui Yuan in concern and cautiously approached his side.

Sui Yuan…silently nodded. This body's constitution was weak and its appetite was never good. To want to finish all of the food here was indeed rather difficult. Right now, he had barely eaten half of it and his stomach already felt like it was extremely bloated.

Yang Yue was very conflicted. He originally wanted to help Xiao Xiao settle it a bit more quickly, but he really didn't know whether he could eat anymore.

Ming Hai also noticed Xiao Xiao's issue. He had just stood up, intending to help him, when he suddenly saw the tray in front of Xiao Xiao move.

Yang Yue reflexively stood in front of Xiao Xiao, coming between him and the tray. However, he never expected that the tray would only steadily float up and then converge with the other trays in midair before neatly and tidily floating out of the room. Furthermore, the door that was wide open slowly closed without a sound, serene as if it was wishing them to 'have sweet dreams'.

Everyone："…………………………"

——Originally, they didn't need to finish it all?! Then for what reason did they painstakingly stick it all into their stomachs until their stomachs felt like bursting?! Say this earlier, ah! QAQ

Bathed in the bitter and/or jealous gazes of the other people, Sui Yuan, who was the only one with a comfortable stomach, silently shrunk behind Yang Yue. In that moment, he felt extremely overwhelmed.

Yang Yue sighed, feeling gratified as he rubbed Sui Yuan's head. He then supported his bulging stomach as he slowly shifted his body into a resting position, lying down.

——Simply don't want to move at all, ah….

This was the thought of everyone except for Sui Yuan. Thus, although they were all sorts of envious and hateful towards Sui Yuan, this lucky b*stard, they did not have the energy to do anything more. Each and every one of them were paralyzed in place and could only painstakingly try to struggle against their stomachs that were about burst.

As they struggled and struggled, sleep began to gradually take over. Their eyelids grew heavy and their minds became muddled. Unlike the incessant, grotesque, and variegated nightmares of the previous couple of days, tonight, they slept especially deep and sound.

Sui Yuan was awoken by some furry thing after falling into a deep slumber. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up, conveniently pressing down onto the Crystal Beast that was slipping down from his chest.

The white beast had already reinstated its original appearance of a long-tailed rabbit. It was incessantly acting pampered as it went 'wuwuwu' on his body, rubbing and digging against him. Sui Yuan casually stroked its body comfortingly a few times before turning his head to examine the situation regarding their surroundings.

Everyone had fallen into a very deep sleep. Even the person who was originally supposed to be standing guard had their head bowed and did not move. When he recalled the 'forced' meal that had occured before they fell asleep, Sui Yuan realized that this was likely Zhao Xihe's doing. Could it be that aside from his, everyone else's had a strange ingredient added into theirs, for example…a sleeping drug?

Sui Yuan shifted his gaze and stared at the robust girl that was huddled up against the wall. His gaze gradually sharpened—this was a good opportunity to kill her. To die in her sleep was a painless and inescapable opportunity. It was simply charitable and straightforward.

Of course, the premise was that the other was not feigning sleep.

That's right. The robust girl was this world's Destroyer. Sui Yuan was very certain about his judgement. As someone who had once been an Actor, there were very few holes in her acting. However, it was unfortunate that she was still inexperienced.

The bespectacled youth was calm and rational by nature. Although this was the settings of the original character, it was very in-line with a Destroyer's temperament. Sui Yuan had doubted him, but he always felt that something wasn't right. It was only after he had taken the initiative to probe at the study did he completely disperse his doubts.

If the bespectacled youth was the Destroyer, then he would definitely know the cause of his own character's death and absolutely would not touch that book that Sui Yuan had handed to him without any misgivings. That book would lead to his death. Even if he did touch it, he would inevitably feel nervous and would not act so ignorant as he had at the time.

Sui Yuan was perhaps inexperienced in some aspects, but his perception when it came to acting techniques was especially keen. He was very certain that if it wasn't for the sudden accident from next door interrupting his movements, the bespectacled youth would have definitely flipped through the book, just as provisioned by the plot.

The Destroyer absolutely could not have anticipated just when a situation would erupt next door. If it had occurred a little later and he held the book without flipping through it, then that would expose him. Thus, following his motives, he would definitely not have touched the book.

As for the quiet and gentle girl…Sui Yuan had to say, that pitiful girl had indeed been forced into insanity by this manor. First, there was the bathroom murder. Then, there was the murder while bathing. All of the misfortune fell on her. Over the course of time, if she didn't go crazy, who would, ne? Moreover, true madness was not something many people could believably act out.

If the Destroyer wanted to feign madness, well, that was honestly not the brightest plan. If they did it poorly, then they'd be exposed. After all, the plot did not speak about the quiet and gentle girl going mad. Furthermore, the Destroyer was but a normal person and did not have Sui Yuan's innate gift for acting and imitation ability. Thus, if the quiet and gentle girl was the Destroyer, she ought to choose to play a normal person and not a mad one.

If the quiet and gentle girl and bespectacled youth's probabilities were lowered, then that only magnified the robust girl's suspiciousness.

Of course, aside from the process of elimination, Sui Yuan's most important reason for believing that she was the Destroyer was that when he had advanced the sealing of the door with the Crystal Beast's help, he had clearly seen that the expression in the robust girl's eyes was not at all that of joy from being rescued but of astonishment. Although it was but a flash, it was still enough.

First, she had rescued the quiet and gentle girl from the bathroom murder. Then, she had used her as a shield and to logically settle her own death trap. The Destroyer had truly come up with a good plan. It was just unfortunate that in the eyes of analytical people, she was still underripe.

Sui Yuan was full of killing intent and began to ponder over the probability of his success were he to personally act. Meanwhile, the Crystal Beast that was snubbed, used its head to push at his hand and raised its neck. Sui Yuan lowered his head and saw a little white pouch tied around its neck. When hidden amongst its white fur, it was not eye-catching in the least. If it wasn't for the Crystal Beast's specific reminder, Sui Yuan would likely have missed it for real.

After taking the pouch down and opening it up, Sui Yuan saw that inside was a dark green, sparkling, and translucent bead. Sui Yuan had just raised an eyebrow in astonishment when he heard 5237 yell loudly, "Silly host! It's the psychic bead that you were always longing for!"

Sui Yuan silently pinched the bead: "…How do I use it?"

"Give it to me, give it to me!" 5237 pounced at the bead and swallowed it at once. In the next second, Sui Yuan could immediately see the icy blue, transparent arm that was draped around his shoulders.

Sui Yuan："……………………"

Although he knew who the other was, Sui Yuan still couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end. He abruptly shrunk away from the arm's reach and then comforted his own wildly beating heart while staring at Zhao Xihe, who was sitting beside him.

Zhao Xihe, who was posing, entire body covered with a swallow-tailed coat, revealed a helpless and hurt expression, "Am I that frightening?"

Sui Yuan: "…No matter who it is, they would still be extremely startled to suddenly see a hand noiselessly appear on their shoulder, OK?"

Zhao Xihe smiled, not guilty in the least. He leaned towards Sui Yuan and stuck his own face to Sui Yuan's cheeks, as if enjoying his warmth, "Right now, you can finally sense me, ba?"

Sui Yuan furrowed his brows slightly. The cold seeping into the side of his face made him feel rather unwell. He stretched out a hand, wanting to push the other away, but discovered that his hand went completely through Zhao Xihe's body. He only felt that ice cold feeling, but didn't touch any physical substance.

Sui Yuan silently cast his dissatisfied gaze at 5237 and said, conflicted, "The psychic bead can only let me see and hear the ghosts? I can't touch them? Simply too worthless."

5237 felt extremely wronged, "…This has nothing to do with me, ah! The highest grade psychic bead can naturally do that! However, the problem is that you are only using a medium grade one!"

Sui Yuan cast a knowing glance at Zhao Xihe. Hehe, truly resourceful. To be unable to touch meant that he would have no way to resist. He could only let him do as he pleased, huh?!

"My dear, why are you looking at me like that? Are you really that happy to be reunited with me?" Even though he knew that he had been seen through by Sui Yuan, Zhao Xihe could still thicken his face and adopt an 'I don't know anything' appearance. He then purposely 'misread' the other's response to something that was beneficial to himself.

Sui Yuan laughed coldly, "Just what did you do those times I couldn't see you?!"

Zhao Xihe spread his hands out in shock, "I didn't do anything, ah?"

Sui Yuan："……………………"

——It'd be weird for me to believe you!

"It seems that you probably played around really happily these last few days? And only now thought to give me the psychic bead?" Sui Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, fuming as he glared at his willful lover. Zhao Xihe sighed lightly and spoke, rather vexed, "No. I wasn't happy at all. No matter what I did to you, you couldn't feel a thing. I was truly quite frustrated, ne…."

Sui Yuan: "…So you had indeed done something to me, ba?"

Zhao Xihe: "No, I didn't."

Seeing that Sui Yuan was about to explode in anger, Zhao Xihe quickly began to soothe him, "The reason why I didn't give you the psychic bead before was because you were always with the Destroyer. If you made any special reactions upon seeing me, then you'd be suspected and would face danger. After all, according to the plot, Xiao Xiao cannot see ghosts."

Sui Yuan's expression eased up a bit, but he still furrowed his brows in discontent, "I don't think that I would have forgotten myself nor make any reactions I shouldn't make."

"…No, I think that you would have," Zhao Xihe fell silent for a while before responding honestly.

Sui Yuan: "…Isn't that because you were doing something you shouldn't have been doing to me. Thus, you definitely did something, right?"

Zhao Xihe: "…My dear, can stop talking about this? ^_^"

0007: "…Hehe, my host is simply always courting death."

5237: "…I truly don't dare believe that this shameless fellow is unexpectedly a part of my boss. My faith has collapsed. QAQ"

Eve: The last convo of angry!wife SY and guilty-doesn't-want-to-continue-getting-grilled!ZXH is so funny and cute. I love that SY has really come a long way from being a passive party to an active member of this relationship.

Wuxian: I'm ready to read a whole chapter of just SY and ZXH bantering back and forth.