The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

“Milk tea. No beer for now. Hey, don’t talk yet—I’ve started streaming.”

Even though he had stopped him, the people who had been lurking in the chat exploded immediately.

[Aaaaaah! I heard a guy’s voice!]

[Could it really be him? Oh my god!!!!]

[This CP is kindda shippable, but I still want confirmation!]

“Hehe…” Zhuoye Xingchen chuckled and waved at Hai Ku. “I assume everyone here has seen Weibo by now. But who exactly is this person next to me? I can’t reveal that just yet. The correct answer will be announced tomorrow at 7 A.M., so anything said before then doesn’t count~”

“Ahem~” Hai Ku cleared his throat and raised his voice. “As for my identity… why don’t you guys take a guess~”

[The young lady is so pretty, and her voice is nice too.]

[Aaaaah!!! I know it! Xiao Hai!! Mom won’t let you wear women’s clothing!]

[As a longtime fan, I can tell you!! This is definitely Xiao Hai! No more talking—I’m going to submit the correct answer. The gifts tomorrow are mine!]

[…]

[…]

The discussion in the comment section grew livelier. Thanks to the golden finger’s effect, there weren’t too many hate comments, and any negativity was quickly drowned out.

Seeing that things were still under control, Zhuoye Xingchen continued, “Those of you who guessed correctly, don’t spoil it in the comments! Everyone who gets the right answer will receive a gift, so if you reveal it now, I’m done for~ Also, my stream tomorrow starts at 8 A.M., and we’ll have a special guest, so stay tuned!”

Watching the chat, Zhuoye Xingchen picked a few comments to respond to. “Today’s rehearsal was a bit tiring, so I’ll see you all tomorrow morning. The event schedule is already posted, and after the performance, there will be a photo session and autograph signing. No game streaming tonight, but I have a few edited videos ready; I’ll upload them later.”

The so-called special guest was actually Hai Ku. This was a last-minute addition during the rehearsal that afternoon. Many of the people attending the convention were acquaintances of Zhuoye Xingchen, and among them were a few well-known cross-dressers.

Since everyone followed online trends, they were all aware of what had happened. The internet was unpredictable, and things could change in an instant. Most of them were signed to the same streaming platform, so helping someone out today could mean receiving help in return in the future.

It just so happened that Hai Ku had brought a Snow White costume, making the last-minute, revised version of the Snow White skit a perfect fit.

Once the segment aired tomorrow, everyone would assume it was just a publicity stunt.

Even though he wasn’t gaming that night, Zhuoye Xingchen still chatted with his viewers for a while. After answering a few questions, half an hour had already passed.

Right then, the food delivery arrived, and Hai Ku went to pick it up.

“Alright, I’m going to eat now. See you all tomorrow~”

After ending the stream, Zhuoye Xingchen let out a sigh of relief.

***

Before eating, he habitually checked Weibo. His recent posts were still flooded with comments.

Since he had already turned off his private messages, his inbox remained quiet, but the mentions tab was completely blown up.

He wasn’t in the mood to go through them, so instead, he clicked on the post from Gossip Queen to check the latest reactions.

It seemed that her assistant had stepped in to manage the situation, as the comments were mostly skeptical. Most people believed it was just a publicity stunt.

“I spoke to my assistant today, and Gossip Queen said she’ll leave the post up for a day before deleting it. Once she takes it down tomorrow, this whole CP stunt will be solidified. By the way, has that person still been messaging you?”

Putting down his phone, Zhuoye Xingchen suddenly remembered Mu Xiaoya.

When his assistant reached out to Gossip Queen, things had gone surprisingly smoothly. The woman probably hadn’t expected her post to gain so little traction. The comment section had an unusually unified stance.

On top of that, Mu Xiaoya hadn’t paid her much. Gossip Queen didn’t want to get involved in such a messy situation. If this affected her credibility and made people think her exposes weren’t effective, it would be much harder to make money in the future.

“Of course she’s still messaging me. I’m taking screenshots right now. Want to see what she sent?” Hai Ku smirked. He was finally ready to strike back.

Mu Xiaoya was beyond comprehension. After doing something like that, she still had the audacity to act concerned.

People tolerated her because they didn’t know her true nature.

But if this incident revealed her true colors to her fans, Hai Ku wanted to see how she’d recover from it.

That being said, it was important to leave some room for maneuvering.

Hai Ku only planned to expose Mu Xiaoya’s online ID. He wouldn’t dig into her real-life identity. As long as he completely distanced himself from this mess, his goal would be accomplished.

And once the female lead’s “tolerance” buff failed even once, it would be useless in the future. Unless she was willing to start from the bottom, there was no way someone as manipulative as her could survive in an online world filled with “keyboard justice warriors.”

[Mu Xiaoya: I saw everything on Weibo. Xiao Hai, why aren’t you defending yourself? That person just exposed your secret about being gay. Aren’t you even a little scared? [screenshot]]

[Haiku Shilan: …I think you’re mistaken. I like girls. Cross-dressing is just a hobby. As long as it doesn’t affect anyone else, it’s not really a big deal, is it?]

[Mu Xiaoya: I’m your best friend. Even if you like guys, I won’t judge you.]

Mu Xiaoya was getting anxious.

The situation online had completely deviated from her expectations. She thought that once the post was up, Haiku Shilan would get burned. But after all this time, the comment section was still full of people assuming it was a CP stunt. Instead of getting hate, both Zhuoye Xingchen and Haiku Shilan had gained more followers.

This was the complete opposite of what she had planned.

Even Haiku Shilan’s alt account had gained 120,000 followers.

Seeing all the simps in the comments made Mu Xiaoya furious.

Some people were even saying, [I wouldn’t mind if he were a guy.]

What kind of disgusting nonsense is that?!

This is just too much!

[Haiku Shilan: If you have an eye condition, go get it treated. I’ve always liked girls. Anyway, I don’t have time to chat. I have a performance tomorrow, so I need to practice.]

Reading Mu Xiaoya’s messages made him feel nothing but disdain.

Zhuoye Xingchen was baffled. “You already know she’s trying to set you up, so why are you even replying?”

“She might leak these screenshots later. Why not let her get what she wants?” Hai Ku calmly saved the screenshots and sighed.

“I don’t want to push things too far, but I also don’t want to let someone keep a stranglehold on me. You can’t be too ruthless, but you can’t be too weak either.”

“Don’t think about these things so much. Have you memorized the lines from Snow White?” After taking a sip of milk tea, Zhuoye Xingchen felt that the past few days had been particularly exciting, giving him a sense of being a righteous warrior.

Hai Ku nodded. The little skit was originally a parody, almost like a ridiculous plot dressed in the Snow White script. As Snow White, his lines weren’t many; just a couple of sentences to wrap it up. There was really nothing to worry about.

He opened his secondary account and felt happy. “It’s almost done, but my secondary account has really gained followers. The trend seems pretty good.”

His secondary account had always been marked as male, and his recent posts had also indicated he was a boy. The fans who followed afterward were mostly disappointed in the comments, but they still wanted Hai Ku to reveal his face.

Still maintaining his aloof attitude, he didn’t reply to any comments. Even if he revealed his cross-dressing later, Hai Ku didn’t want to attract followers on this account. Originally, this account was just for saving pictures of his cross-dressing. Although part of him wanted others to admire them, he wasn’t yet at the stage where he was ready to show his face.

After finishing their meal, the two of them took a shower and rested. There were a few tough battles to fight tomorrow, so they had to conserve their energy today.

***

Zhuoye Xingchen’s performance was in the morning. Early in the morning, Hai Ku changed into the Snow White costume he had brought.

Hai Ku had a defined face, but not in the rugged way; it was more on the softer side, yet still sharp. He planned to let the makeup artist do his makeup after they got to the venue, but for now, he was still sporting a bare face.

Although he was a flat-chested Snow White, she was still captivating.

Zhuoye Xingchen stared at his face, his gaze lingering on his long eyelashes. Those long, thick eyelashes looked like two fans and were even more beautiful than a girl’s. Zhuoye Xingchen was beginning to understand what those rainbow fart praises meant by ‘swinging on your brother’s eyelashes.’

(T/N: swinging on your brother’s eyelashes = being very close or intimate with someone, like a sibling, to the point of being playful and familiar.)

Even though he already knew about Hai Ku’s cross-dressing skills, he couldn’t help but praise, “It’s so pretty! You could mesmerize a whole crowd!”

“Really?” Hai Ku became a bit smug. Lifting his skirt, he twirled his hips. Proudly, he said, “I’m the most beautiful princess at this convention!”

“Yes, yes!” Zhuoye Xingchen clapped his hands, cheering him on, “Not only the most beautiful, but also the most seductive!”

“Hey, hey, I’m Snow White right now. The ‘most seductive’ joke will only work when I wear other clothes!” Hai Ku corrected him, clearly displeased.

Zhuoye Xingchen nodded, signaling that he understood. “So, the most beautiful Snow White, are we leaving now?”

“Mm-hmm, the most beautiful Snow White will take you to the street corner. We’ll stand there, and you’ll make 1,000 yuan in a day!”

Zhuoye Xingchen couldn’t help it, “Are we begging for money, or selling… butt?”

Hai Ku: “…”

The long, heated atmosphere had officially exploded since this morning. When it was time to leave, Hai Ku and Zhuoye Xingchen took a couple of pictures together and posted them on Weibo.

[Zhuoye Xingchen: The correct answer to yesterday’s question is Snow White (Haiku Shilan), we’re going to perform now~ For those who answered correctly, my assistant will be contacting you one by one. Everyone, just wait for your gifts. [image] [image]]

[I knew it!!!! You two little perverts made me worry all night for nothing.]

[These two pictures are so good. Lick, lick~]

[Sorry! Let me just say, these two are perfect together…]

[Ahhhh! Come over here, my camera is ready!]

[Sisters, check me out! (eye signal)]

Meanwhile, in the system space, Lan Bai couldn’t help but sigh, thinking; What happened to my host, ahhhh??