Winning the male lead

Jiang Qu was silent for a moment before asking in a rough voice, “If you like him, then why are you crying?”

Le Tian cried even harder. “Because… he doesn’t like me.”

Jiang Qu’s temper flared. “If he doesn’t like you, why did you still kiss him? Are you out of your mind?” He kicked Le Tian’s bed in frustration. Luckily, it was sturdy and only shook slightly. Jiang Qu, as restless as a porcupine with its quills plucked, paced in circles before grabbing Le Tian’s arm and demanding, “Tell me, did you… did you sleep with him?”

“N-No!” Le Tian hiccupped through his tears and nearly collapsed. Jiang Qu reacted quickly, catching him just in time. Le Tian’s head bumped against Jiang Qu’s solid arm, leaving him momentarily dazed. Was this guy made of steel?

Jiang Qu let out a relieved sigh, ruffling Le Tian’s hair in exasperation. “Then just stay away from him.”

Le Tian, still sniffling, mumbled that they were never together in the first place.

Jiang Qu nearly lost it. “You weren’t even in a relationship, and you still…? You’re driving me crazy!” He yanked Le Tian’s pajama collar aside and saw that, besides his neck, there were scattered red marks elsewhere too. His hands trembled as if he had lost control, his lips quivering, eyes turning red with anger.

Le Tian pulled at his clothes, feeling utterly humiliated, and mumbled, “I… I won’t do it again.”

“You better not!” Jiang Qu snapped, gripping his neck lightly in frustration. “If I ever catch you doing something like this again, I’ll break your legs!”

Le Tian shook his head, his teary eyes shimmering. “I… I don’t like him anymore.”

Jiang Qu looked at his tear-streaked face, a mix of emotions swirling in his chest, all of them unpleasant. He took a deep breath to steady himself. “You’re not stupid, but you’re too gullible. People will take advantage of that. Learn to recognize who’s sincere, got it? Don’t just… just—anyway, if I catch you messing around again…”

“You’ll break my legs,” Le Tian muttered, finishing his sentence.

Jiang Qu nodded. “That’s right. Be careful.”

Le Tian wiped his tears and nodded obediently.

Jiang Qu finally let go and slumped into his chair, his broad frame curling slightly against the backrest. “Go take a shower.”

Le Tian pulled his clothes back into place, still wiping his tears, and went to the bathroom. The moment he closed the door, his tears vanished. He stared at himself in the mirror and muttered, “Jiang Qu acts just like a husband who found out his wife cheated on him.”

The system: “…” Can you be serious for once?

Le Tian added, “But instead of saying ‘it’s fine as long as you come back,’ he’s the ‘don’t ever do it again’ type.”

The system: “Jiang Qu is innocent in all of this.”

Le Tian pouted. “I didn’t even do anything wrong.”

The system thought: Yeah, right. You just enjoy watching two guys fight over you.

After showering, he still seemed down. He wordlessly climbed into bed, but Jiang Qu immediately called him out. “Aren’t you going to dry your hair?”

Le Tian hesitated, then reluctantly got back up. Jiang Qu motioned for him to sit down, then took the hairdryer and started drying his hair for him.

The soft hum of the hairdryer filled the room. Jiang Qu’s movements were unexpectedly gentle. A couple of stray tears fell from Le Tian’s eyes, landing on his light blue pajama pants. Jiang Qu noticed but casually said, “Stop crying already. Everyone runs into a couple of jerks when they’re young. You’re just too naïve. I told you to focus on your studies, but you never listen. That’s why you get tricked so easily, understand?”

Le Tian wiped his tears and mumbled, “Got it.”

“And stop crying all the time.” Jiang Qu’s hands paused for a second before he added, “The more you cry, the more people will want to take advantage of you.”

Le Tian nodded softly. “Thank you.”

Jiang Qu turned off the hairdryer and ruffled his hair. “You’re my roommate. Of course, I’ll look out for you.” Then he added, “If any guy tries to hit on you again, tell me. You don’t know how to tell the good ones from the bad ones, so I’ll do it for you.” And if I find out who it is, I’ll deal with him myself.

Le Tian obediently nodded. “Okay.”

From that day on, he stopped talking to Jiang Yue. Jiang Yue texted him once, asking him to meet up, but he didn’t go. When Jiang Yue didn’t get a response, he never reached out again.

Le Tian threw himself into studying and often went to Zhang Qingning for help with problems he didn’t understand. In just a few days, he had gotten quite familiar with his so-called “girlfriend.” Zhang Qingning was straightforward—she wasn’t overly warm, but she was patient whenever he asked for help.

Back in the dorm, whenever Le Tian had questions, he’d go to Jiang Qu. Seeing him “turn over a new leaf” made Jiang Qu ecstatic, and he happily helped him with his studies every night.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yue carried on as usual. Even though he and Le Tian sat one row apart, he never spoke to him in class, never spared him a glance, and never reached out again.

The day before the monthly exams, Le Tian leaned against the hallway railing, chatting with Zhang Qingning.

“Feeling confident for tomorrow’s test?” she asked.

Le Tian smiled shyly. “I still have a lot to catch up on. There’s a lot I don’t know yet.”

Zhang Qingning wasn’t concerned. “That’s okay. Progress is what matters.” She knew that for someone like Le Tian, exams were never truly a problem.

From a distance, Jiang Yue saw them talking and laughing. His gaze briefly flickered over them like a bird skimming the surface of a lake—then, without any change in expression, he walked past them.

Zhang Qingning, however, took notice of him. She turned to Le Tian and asked in a hushed voice, “What happened between you and Jiang Yue?”

Le Tian stiffened, startled. “N-Nothing happened!”

Zhang Qingning raised an eyebrow. “You two seemed pretty close before.”

Geniuses really do think alike—while the rest of the class remained oblivious, she had caught on.

Jiang Yue was an aloof person. Zhang Qingning considered herself reserved too, but compared to him, she was far from it. To her, it seemed like there was no one in the entire school—maybe even the entire world—who could truly capture his attention.

The first time she noticed that Jiang Yue treated Le Tian differently was the day Jiang Qu had confronted him. Everyone else was fixated on the two top students facing off, but she had glanced at Le Tian instead. That’s when she noticed—when Jiang Yue stood at the doorway, whether intentionally or not, he had positioned himself protectively in front of him.

When passing by Le Tian’s seat, his steps would pause slightly. In class, he would occasionally lift his eyes to glance at the back of Le Tian’s head. When someone attempted to approach Le Tian to tease him, his slender almond-shaped eyes would sweep over them slightly, and that person would immediately retreat.

In some ways, Zhang Qingning and Jiang Yue were the same kind of people. That’s why she could perceive the subtle changes in him. What was as clear as day to her, however, was something that Le Tian—an ordinary person—would completely miss.

“We were never even close.”

Zhang Qingning was briefly stunned. She leaned back slightly, her gaze drifting across the classroom. Her eyes met Jiang Yue’s as he lifted his head—tsk, what a fierce look. She smirked inwardly, leaned forward against the railing, and murmured, “I must have been mistaken.”

Jiang Yue caught sight of her and Le Tian entering the classroom from the corner of his eye. Le Tian had a shy smile on his face as he whispered something to her. Unexpectedly, she reached out and pinched Le Tian’s cheek, causing his thin skin to flush pink instantly.

Le Tian shot her a playful glare and rubbed his face, thinking that doing so would make the redness fade faster. But Jiang Yue knew—Le Tian’s skin was the kind that only reddened more the more he rubbed it. Red enough to… almost bleed.

Le Tian had ignored him for a whole month. He watched as he kept dodging him, slipping in and out of places to avoid him. He didn’t feel angry—just puzzled. He couldn’t figure out what had happened.

There were very few things in the world he couldn’t understand. And he thought—eventually, he would find the answer.

The next day, after the monthly exams, there was a rare break. Le Tian packed up some things to head home. His father had told him there would be guests over the weekend and asked him to return. Jiang Qu mentioned that he was going home as well, so the two of them slung their bags over their shoulders and walked toward the school gates. Along the way, Jiǎng Qú held a test paper in hand, discussing the exam answers with Le Tian.

“Are you stupid? Do you even need to think about this one? You should’ve picked B at first glance!” Jiang Qu scolded, pointing at an English question.

Le Tian thought to himself: We’re not the same—I really couldn’t tell. He shrank his neck and muttered, “The answer for C was longer, and they say if you’re unsure, always pick C.”

Jiang Qu smacked him on the head. “I’m not even sure if you have a human brain.”

Le Tian, lost in thought, stumbled forward from the impact. Jiang Qu reached out too late to catch him, but suddenly, a hand shot out from the side and grabbed the strap of Le Tian’s bag. Due to inertia, Le Tian fell backward, only to be steadied by a pair of familiar, strong hands. A faint scent of fresh grass reached his nose.

Dazed, he looked up—straight into Jiang Yue’s cold expression.

Jiang Qu immediately pulled him back from Jiang Yue’s grasp and positioned himself protectively in front of him. His eyes were wary. “What do you want?”

Jiang Yue spoke indifferently, “Not everyone is cut out for studying. Don’t force someone to do something they’re incapable of.”

That was too harsh. It wasn’t just Le Tian—Jiang Qu felt instantly provoked too. He snapped, “Oh, so you’re the genius? You’re amazing, huh? Should the rest of us just stop existing?”

Jiang Yue remained emotionless. He casually shrugged his backpack higher onto his shoulder and looked down at Le Tian, who was staring at the ground. “People should know their own limits.”

“Fuck this!” Jiang Qu threw his bag to the ground, unable to hold back his rage anymore. “Come on, let’s fight! I can’t stand you anymore!”

Le Tian noticed that passing students were starting to slow their steps, sneaking glances at the scene. Ah, my stage has finally arrived, he thought.

Jiang Yue chuckled softly, his gaze icy, as if looking at a child who didn’t understand the world. Normally, he ignored Jiang Qu’s provocations, but this time, he responded: “Do you think you can beat me?” The question came out with a cold, mocking tone.

Jiang Qu flared up instantly and raised his fist, but Le Tian clung onto his arm tightly. “You c-can’t fight at school!”

Jiang Qu shouted, “Let go!”

Le Tian held on with all his might, trying to suppress his trembling voice. “N-no fighting… y-you’ll get punished!”

Jiang Qu froze. His raised fist hovered in midair. He had received twelve disciplinary punishments before—no one had ever cared. The school didn’t care, his parents didn’t care, and even he himself didn’t care.

Le Tian continued clutching his arm and turned his teary eyes toward Jiang Yue. This person’s features were too deceiving—so bright and beautiful, like clear moonlight. Le Tian held back his tears and spoke bravely, “M-maybe I’m not good at studying. I’m not as smart as you. But… but I work hard! My efforts aren’t meaningless! Someone like you—a genius—will never understand how precious hard work is for ordinary people like us!”

He turned his face away, refusing to look at him again. Then, he whispered to Jiang Qu, “L-let’s go.”

Jiang Qu shot one last glare at Jiang Yue. Seeing that he was still staring at Le Tian without blinking, he stepped forward, shielding him behind him. He said in a low voice, “I’m warning you—if you have a problem, deal with me. Leave the little stutterer alone.” Then he picked up his bag and strode off, pulling Le Tian along.

Le Tian turned to his system, grinning wildly. “Ahahaha! I’m totally going to be the talk of the school forum tomorrow! Yay yay yay!”

System: …This guy has lost his mind over being the main character of the school.

Jiang Yue stood there for a long time. He still… couldn’t figure it out.