Chapter 2: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (2)

Tang Qi hadn’t expected that just as she’d resolved to avoid getting tangled up with the protagonist, the very next moment she’d run into the World Line’s main character at the entrance of the teaching building.

Li Chengyu sported a short buzz cut, with striking eyebrows and sharp, handsome features. When he smiled, it seemed to brighten the very weather around him. Dressed in a simple sportswear set, he held a basketball: “Luoluo, come watch me play.”

Tang Qi heard the System exclaiming in her mind: “This is the quintessential first-love face! What a great Male Lead! And yet Luo Xue, that Supporting Female Character, didn’t cherish him, despising poverty and loving wealth. Tsk, tsk!”

Every Small World Line’s protagonist was doted on by the Universal Will, exceptionally blessed in appearance, talent, and temperament. Li Chengyu standing there was like a natural luminary, and quite a few girls were stealing glances at him.

Mai Lingling pretended to be jealous: “Oh wow, our Senior Li only sees Luo Xue and totally misses us. I bet you’ve forgotten about that treat you promised last time too!”

Li Chengyu immediately begged for mercy: “Of course I remember I owe you all a meal. Definitely next week.”

Luo Xue’s face was full of smiles, and her eyes practically glowed when she looked at Li Chengyu. The System clicked its tongue and shook its head: “Later on, it all still lost to money.”

The System was tallying Li Chengyu’s merits: a great talent from the music department, an excellent piano player, gentle and kind, with excellent social connections at school.

“How could such a good protagonist be let down like this?” the System asked. Tang Qi silently muted it. Sometimes, having a chatterbox System was a real headache.

When Luo Xue returned that evening, her dorm mates clamored for Li Chengyu to treat them to a meal. Tang Qi sat on her bed; lowering her head, she could catch a fleeting glimpse of distress in Luo Xue’s eyes. Yet, she still nodded in agreement: “Next weekend.”

On the weekend, Tang Qi had tutoring in the morning and worked at a coffee shop near the school in the afternoon.

She was making coffee when she heard a slightly familiar voice: “Two iced Americanos, please.” It was Li Chengyu. He didn’t recognize Tang Qi. After ordering, he returned to his seat, gently pulled out a chair for the girl across from him, and politely invited her to sit.

But the girl opposite him wasn’t Luo Xue.

The System jumped out urgently: “Could the protagonist be cheating… I won’t allow a protagonist with such moral failings.”

The shop wasn’t large, and Tang Qi could clearly hear the girl’s voice, see the tears at the corner of her eyes: “Senior, I really don’t know who else to turn to. I’m begging you, please help me.”

“Don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong, and we’ll figure it out together.” Li Chengyu handed her a napkin.

“I… I took out an online loan before… and now I can’t pay it back. They say they’re going to come to the school. I don’t dare tell my family. I can’t let them come to the school; it would ruin me.” The girl’s eyes were misty with tears, looking profoundly pitiable.

Li Chengyu was shocked: “You dared to touch that stuff?”

“I swear, I didn’t mean to. I have no other friends at school, Senior, you have to help me. Once I patch up this hole, I’ll never touch it again. I’ll work to pay you back.”

Li Chengyu hesitated: “How much?”

“Fifty thousand.”

Tang Qi looked up at this girl. Her appearance was extremely beautiful, especially enchanting when she cried, like a flower glistening with raindrops. The System flipped through the Book of the World: “She’s the Small World Line’s second female supporting character, Chu Fei. A loyal follower of Li Chengyu, later his Agent, who remained unmarried her whole life. The book says Li Chengyu showed her immense kindness.”

Seeing Li Chengyu’s silence, Chu Fei looked ready to kneel: “Senior, I beg you, help me.”

Li Chengyu hastily moved to support her. Looking at Chu Fei crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, a pang of sympathy hit him: “It’s not that I won’t help, it’s just that I…” He sighed helplessly: “Get up first, I’ll think of a way.”

Li Chengyu walked aside to make a call. The System was curious: “Let’s eavesdrop on who he’s calling. I knew the protagonist was kind-hearted; it wasn’t cheating, hahaha!”

Tang Qi could clearly hear Luo Xue’s voice coming from the other end of the phone. Li Chengyu didn’t say who it was for, just explained the situation: “Luoluo, I know this puts you in a difficult spot, but I can’t just watch her be ruined. I know our Luoluo is kind-hearted. Can you help her, just this once?”

Luo Xue asked cautiously: “How much?”

“Sixty thousand.”

“But there’s only just over sixty thousand in my card… That’s my living expenses for the whole semester. You know my parents barely take care of me. How am I supposed to live without money?” Luo Xue was torn.

“Your family’s situation is so good, I know sixty thousand is nothing to you, just one semester’s living expenses. But for her, it’s a matter of her whole life. We can’t just stand by and watch her be destroyed, can we? Wouldn’t your conscience bother you?” His voice was gentle, coaxing.

Luo Xue wanted to say something more, but Li Chengyu continued, his tone now tinged with exasperation: “Besides, even if your parents are divorced and ignore you, they can’t just watch you starve if you have no living expenses! This concerns a classmate’s future. What does our own hardship matter? I’ll work and earn money to pay you back, alright!”

Luo Xue was silent for a few seconds: “I’ll transfer it to you now.”

“Good Luoluo, I knew you were the kindest.” He brightened up. Soon the money was transferred. Li Chengyu returned to his seat and forwarded the money to Chu Fei.

“Why is there an extra five thousand?” Chu Fei asked, surprised.

Li Chengyu sighed helplessly: “I can see you haven’t been eating or sleeping well lately. After repaying the loan, you probably don’t have much left. Use this five thousand for now. Forget about paying me back. If you really want to thank me, just don’t touch these harmful things again.”

“Senior, thank you.” Chu Fei wept.

System: …

Tang Qi returned to the dorm. The others weren’t there; Luo Xue was sitting at her desk in a daze. Seeing Tang Qi return, she forced a smile: “You’re back. I just went to the cafeteria and accidentally bought an extra meal. It’s on your desk.”

On the desk sat a container of tomato and egg rice, along with a chicken leg. Tang Qi sat down: “Let me know how much, I’ll transfer it to you.”

“No need. I originally thought I’d eat two portions, then realized I couldn’t finish. If you eat it, it saves waste.” Luo Xue smiled. The System spoke up: “Actually, I don’t think this Supporting Female Character is all that bad.”

Luo Xue’s low spirits gradually dissipated over an evening phone call with Li Chengyu, and eventually she was cheerful again. Every day, without fail, she went to watch Li Chengyu play ball. After buying him water, they’d walk hand-in-hand back to the dorm, then go to the cafeteria for dinner in the evening.

Tang Qi inadvertently saw that Luo Xue’s meal card had several thousand yuan left on it. Li Chengyu ordered stir-fry, and Luo Xue naturally swiped her card.

Time flew until the day the dorm mates were supposed to have their meal. The chosen place was a restaurant near the school that catered to students. The environment was decent, the prices fair, and previous dorm gatherings had always been held there.

Luo Xue had also invited Tang Qi, but Tang Qi had tutoring on weekend evenings and, furthermore, didn’t want to intersect with the World Line protagonist, so she politely declined.

The dorm group chat buzzed nonstop during the meal. Mai Lingling sent photos of the dishes in the group, specifically tagging Tang Qi to make her look and asking if she was envious.

Tang Qi glanced at them, hesitated, and replied with a sticker.

She didn’t know what to reply at that moment. Watching them praise Li Chengyu in the group chat, she silently closed the dialog box.

Tutoring ended at 8 PM. Tang Qi returned to school precisely at 9 PM. Walking along the lamp-lit path towards the campus, she unexpectedly ran into Luo Xue and Li Chengyu.

The two were standing near a large tree not far from the restaurant. Luo Xue’s voice seemed choked with tears: “Chengyu, before, when we were together, I always paid. But this time is different.”

“What’s different? Isn’t it all just eating a meal?” Li Chengyu’s voice remained very gentle: “Besides, I didn’t agree to this meal in the first place. You’re the one who said we had to treat them.”

“It’s our dorm rule. Their boyfriends treat too.” Luo Xue tugged at the hem of Li Chengyu’s shirt: “And it’s not that I won’t pay. My money… it’s all with you now…”

“You don’t even have three hundred yuan left?” Li Chengyu’s expression clearly showed disbelief: “Luoluo, I know you’re not a vain girl. Dating is a matter between two people. Making a big show of buying a meal already turned me off. I also know you’re unhappy because of me borrowing money from you, but you shouldn’t lie to me, right?”

Luo Xue’s expression was stunned, still carefully appeasing him: “I’m not unhappy. Besides, you didn’t object to treating them at the time either!”

Li Chengyu interrupted her: “I really don’t believe you have no money. If you’re dissatisfied or unhappy, you don’t need to use this as an excuse. And while I didn’t object, I didn’t say I would pay the bill.”

Luo Xue lowered her head. Li Chengyu shook off her hand: “I really didn’t expect you’d treat me like this just because I helped someone else. You’ve really disappointed me.”

He turned and walked away. Luo Xue stared blankly in the direction he left, urgently explaining: “I didn’t mean that, Chengyu!” She wanted to chase after him, but then thought of her dorm mates still in the restaurant and hesitated. She could only call Li Chengyu, but several calls were hung up on.

Tang Qi swore she hadn’t seen all this intentionally. She’d just arrived here, happened to be walking past the two of them, and had to find a hiding spot to avoid the awkwardness.

She’d just perfectly witnessed the entire thing from start to finish.

Li Chengyu hung up on Luo Xue’s call for the Nth time. Heartbroken, Luo Xue crouched down on the roadside. She pulled out her phone, wanting to bring up the contact labeled “Mom,” but hesitated for a long time without making the call.

What could she possibly say?

Tang Qi suddenly asked the System: “When you receive help from others, should you repay it?” After experiencing ten thousand years, she’d long since become fuzzy on all things concerning human interaction.

Before, the plot told her when to cry and she cried, when to laugh and she laughed. Every action, every word, was pre-set. Her acting was first-rate, but her own thinking had long since vanished.

The System nodded: “Naturally.”

Tang Qi didn’t like the World’s Protagonist Plotline, but she remembered the snacks and meals she’d been given earlier. She still walked out, helped the weeping Luo Xue to her feet, and placed an envelope in her palm.

“What is this…”

“My tutoring wages for this month.” Because the child’s monthly exam scores had improved, the parent had generously given a bonus. “I accidentally overheard. Take this for now.”

“Tang Qi.” Luo Xue looked up at Tang Qi’s face. She was a head shorter than Tang Qi. Looking up, she met the other girl’s completely unruffled eyes.

Yet the words spoken were exceptionally warm: “Wipe your tears, or the others will find out. Just say Senior got a call and had to leave.”

“I can’t take your money.” Luo Xue’s first reaction was to refuse. Tang Qi smiled slightly. Luo Xue watched her eyes curve into a pleasing crescent: “Just consider it payment for the food you’ve given me.”