Chapter 2
Editor and proofreader: Fherlie Paguio

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“And you’ve already broken character! From the very first scene!” the system cried in despair.
The system was panicking, but after a brief moment of shock, Ye Qingyun quickly regained his composure.

“How is this breaking character? I thought he was one of the Scumbag lackeys. Isn’t it normal to smile at him because I like the Scumbag? It’s not too late to turn hostile once I realize he’s a rival.” Ye Qingyun comforted the system. “Besides, I don’t feel any discomfort, which means the main system doesn’t think I’ve broken character.”

If a character breaks their persona, the main system verifies it and then inflicts five minutes of brain pain on the actor. Since Ye Qingyun felt fine, it confirmed that he hadn’t broken character.

Seeing that Ye Qingyun seemed to be okay, the system calmed down as well.

However, Ye Qingyun’s excitement faded because, with the protagonist’s cold personality, the likelihood of him being a fan of Ye’s book was even lower than the chance he was using the book to fan himself.

The car smoothly reached the ship, and a hatch opened on the side of the ship. A ladder extended from inside, allowing the car to drive straight into the ship.

The car stopped in an open area, and the burly man who brought Ye Qingyun opened the back door and politely said, “Mr. Ye, please follow us.”

Ye Qingyun had no objections and followed the man inside, knowing that he would soon meet the Scumbag.

In the original story, the cannon fodder was filled with joy when meeting the Scumbag, thinking that his sincerity had touched the scumbag’s heart. He was told that the scumbag only saw him as a tool to explain books to the protagonist and, at the same time, subtly praise the scumbag in front of the protagonist.

The cannon fodder was madly obsessed with the Scumbag, and the scumbag knew it well, using it to his advantage. He threatened that if the cannon fodder didn’t comply, he would never see him again, forcing him to agree.

Ye Qingyun reached a closed door, and the burly man knocked, announcing, “Boss, the person has arrived.”

“Let him in,” a man’s voice responded from inside.

The man opened the door and gestured for Ye Qingyun to enter. He remained standing at the door.

Ye Qingyun took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

The decor was lavish, and the air was filled with a mix of perfume scents. Ye Qingyun looked inside and saw a tall man lying lazily on a large chair, wearing an eye mask. Beside him, a man and a woman were massaging his shoulders and legs.

This was Scumbag, Pu Tian.

Hearing someone enter, Pu Tian didn’t even bother to remove his eye mask. He lazily said, “Sit.” Then, scolding the people next to him who had stopped massaging out of surprise, he snapped, “What are you staring at? Keep massaging!”

The two beauties, who had been staring at Ye Qingyun in a daze, hurriedly resumed their work after being reprimanded.

“Pu Tian!” Ye Qingyun started getting into character. His hands clasped together, and his eyes glowed with excitement. “Did you call me here because you’ve decided to be with me?”

Pu Tian sneered as if he had just heard the most absurd joke. “Be with you? What kind of dream are you having? You’ll never have that chance in this lifetime.” Pu Tian paused before continuing, “But… if you agree to do something for me, I’ll let you stay here, by my side.”

Here it comes, the trap!

Ye Qingyun understood clearly but kept a look of joy on his face.

Pu Tian went on, “There’s someone on this ship who likes your book. You, go explain it to him when he doesn’t understand something. And, when the time is right, say some good things about me. If you can do that, you can stay. Got it?”

How could Ye Qingyun not get it? As he listened, the smile on his face slowly faded. His already pale face became even more colorless, and his bright amber eyes dimmed.

One of the beauties massaging Pu Tian’s shoulders was so stunned by the sight that she unconsciously increased the pressure, causing Pu Tian to yelp in pain.

“What the hell? Why can’t anyone even massage right today?”

Before Pu Tian could scold her, Ye Qingyun softly spoke up, “You… you want me to help you… help you…” Ye Qingyun’s tone became more agitated, “I won’t do it!”

Ye Qingyun wiped away a few fake tears and delivered the sappy lines he’d memorized in the most melodramatic tone, “Pu Tian, I’m the one who truly loves you. Don’t be fooled by those little vixens. They don’t love you sincerely!”

Pu Tian was so disgusted he furrowed his brows. He was confident that Ye Qingyun wouldn’t leave the ship, so he sat up from the lounge chair and angrily tore off his eye mask, about to yell, “If you don’t want to do it, then get the hell—”

The word “out” got stuck in his throat, and silence filled the room.

Ye Qingyun watched Pu Tian, who was still in the middle of removing his eye mask, freeze in place. He realized something was wrong.

In the original story, Pu Tian had no problem throwing insults during their first meeting!

“Ugh, transmigration issues—this face is going to cause trouble.”

This part of the plot couldn’t afford any major changes. If Pu Tian didn’t kick him off the ship, and instead let him stick around, the whole story would fall apart.

Ye Qingyun quickly thought of a solution. He discreetly pinched his thigh, making his eyes redden, and pulled out his ultimate adoring expression. With teary eyes, he looked at Pu Tian and softly murmured, “Pu Tian… Pu Tian.”

Pu Tian had a huge flaw—he was only interested in people who ignored him. Those who liked him never received a second glance from him.

According to Pu Tian, those who already had feelings for him gave him no sense of conquest. He found it repulsive and boring.

Ye Qingyun maintained his adoring gaze at Pu Tian, while Pu Tian’s expression shifted before finally settling into a look of disdain.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Qingyun covered his face, choking back sobs. “Pu Tian, you know I love you. Why are you forcing me like this?”

Pu Tian reclined again and slowly said, “If you don’t want to do it, then leave. No one’s forcing you.”

Though his tone was much softer than in the original story, at least the plot was back on track.

Ye Qingyun let out a sigh of relief and reluctantly agreed to Pu Tian’s request, sobbing as he asked, “Who is that person, and where are they?”

Pu Tian stood up. “Follow me.”

He strode out of the room, with Ye Qingyun trailing closely behind, sneaking glances at him every so often. As the disposable side character, this was the first time Ye Qingyun had interacted with Pu Tian face-to-face like this. Previously, their contact had only been a fleeting glimpse at a certain port, where side character Ye Qingyun had been completely taken, using all sorts of methods to make himself known, making Pu Tian vaguely familiar with him.

Pu Tian seemed entirely unaffected by the lovestruck glances, and instead coldly reminded him, “You know what to say when you’re with him, right?”

Inwardly cursing Pu Tian, Ye Qingyun put on a sad yet obedient expression and answered, “I-I know. I’ll talk about how wonderful you are and help him see how great you are.”

Pu Tian seemed satisfied and led Ye Qingyun through a maze of corridors until they reached a room.

Without knocking, Pu Tian pushed the door open and said in a gentle voice, “Shenyuan, can you guess who I brought to see you?”

Ye Qingyun followed him inside, taking in the room’s decor. It was extremely tidy, like a standard guest room, without any signs of someone living there.

A desk stood in front of the window, and a person sat at it with their back to them, reading a book. Hearing Pu Tian’s voice, the person didn’t turn around and simply flipped to the next page.

This indifferent person, who showed little interest in anyone, was undoubtedly the protagonist of the book—Gu Shenyuan.

Pu Tian, feeling a bit embarrassed by the lack of response, continued, “Weren’t you reading those books a few days ago? I brought the author over, so if you have any questions, you can ask him directly.”

Pu Tian wanted to earn Gu Shenyuan’s favor, but having read the entire book, Ye Qingyun knew his place. To Gu Shenyuan, he, as the disposable side character, was probably less important than a bowl of rice.

After all, Gu Shenyuan wasn’t interested in what Ye Qingyun had written—he had merely glanced at the books a few times. How could someone like Ye Qingyun make the main character even notice him?

As these thoughts ran through Ye Qingyun’s mind, he saw Gu Shenyuan slowly turn his head.

Ye Qingyun was stunned as he watched Gu Shenyuan turn around. It wasn’t until their eyes met, and he looked into those deep, pure black eyes, that Ye Qingyun snapped out of it.

Ye Qingyun: “…???”

“Why did Gu Shenyuan turn around? Wasn’t he supposed to be indifferent to small characters like him?”

Pu Tian saw potential in the situation and patted Ye Qingyun’s shoulder, smiling as he said, “I’ll leave the two of you to it, Qingyun. This is your task now, hmm?”

Pu Tian squeezed Ye Qingyun’s shoulder suggestively and shot him a look before leaving the room.

With Pu Tian gone, the room fell into silence, as there was no one left to break the ice.

Ye Qingyun noticed that Gu Shenyuan was still looking at him, which made him feel uneasy. He straightened up and glared back, trying his best to maintain his envious and resentful expression.

There was no denying it—Gu Shenyuan was incredibly good-looking, more than deserving of the author’s endless praise for his appearance in every chapter. But his cold demeanor somewhat subdued the impact of his looks.

“Ye Qingyun?” Gu Shenyuan suddenly spoke.

Ye Qingyun didn’t answer, remembering his character as a jealous small fry. His previous friendly smile disappeared, replaced by a look of envy and resentment.

Gu Shenyuan didn’t seem surprised by the sudden change in expression, maintaining his calm composure.

With his heart full of jealousy, Ye Qingyun had no intention of obediently giving a lecture. He took a few steps forward and spotted his book among the pile on the table.

The very book he had painstakingly written himself.

“Reading my book?” Ye Qingyun picked up the book he had personally authored and sneered, “Do you even understand it?”

Gu Shenyuan said nothing. Ye Qingyun scoffed again and began flipping through the book.

In the original novel, the side character Ye Qingyun had also flipped through his book, but since Gu Shenyuan wasn’t interested in it, the pages were blank, causing Ye Qingyun to fly into a rage, feeling utterly humiliated.

Ye Qingyun was prepared for this, his lines already on the tip of his tongue, but as he looked at the contents of the book, he was stunned.

The book wasn’t blank. Though there weren’t many notes, the key points in the content were all meticulously underlined.

This book… had been read carefully.