I Can’t Be This Protagonist

There was no superfluous emotion in the boy’s voice, as if this was just business. It was like the two-syllable title held no meaning for him. He was far from surrendering.

In the darkness, Qin Yubai slowly approached Yan Shuang and lifted Yan Shuang’s chin. He couldn’t see the expression on Yan Shuang’s face, only a pair of shining glasses. So he simply took off Yan Shuang’s glasses, put his arms around Yan Shuang’s waist and pressed the two of them tightly together. 

Despite his eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness, Qin Yubai still couldn’t see the expression on Yan Shuang’s face. Was it shame, resentment, or his usual indifference?

Actually, Yan Shuang did nothing wrong.

Like a precious stone, his face, which was too similar to Qin Qing’s led him to damnation, causing Qin Yubai’s heart to become unsettled. But even the best of counterfeits was not worth his care. That would be disrespectful to the original one dear to him.

Qin Yubai lowered his head, allowing the tip of his nose to touch the bridge of Yan Shuang’s nose. As their breaths mingled, he chuckled slightly. “So cheap.” 

Bright eyes faintly shimmered in the darkness. Originally as pure as a stream, a whirlpool had been forcibly stirred up at the moment. Just what was Yan Shuang thinking right now, Qin Yubai thought. Was he cursing? How would this silent and stubborn boy curse him? Qin Yubai suddenly became interested in the answer.

Realizing that he had become interested in a substitute other than the flesh of their body, Qin Yubai face became cold as he pushed Yan Shuang away abruptly. Yan Shuang staggered back thanks to his sudden movement and fell onto the ground.

The boy was obviously unprepared. He fell onto the carpet with a grunt before becoming motionless, his head down.

He resembled a toy that had been discarded after someone was tired of playing with it.

Qin Yubai knew very well that Yan Shuang had done nothing wrong. It was him that orchestrated Yan Shuang’s father falling into debt, him that forced Yan Shuang into bed, him that robbed Yan Shuang of his body and self respect. He was like a mercurial tyrant, cruelly plundering this innocent boy.

He was the knife ever so slowly cutting off slivers of the live fish that was Yan Shuang, deriving satisfaction for his unexpressed desire for perversion.

He was at the complete mercy of the chopping block.

It wasn’t his fault that the world was so cruel. 

Qin Yubai casually threw the glasses in his hand onto the carpet and walked away without a single glance back, as if the sensual events of last night had never happened.

It wasn’t until he heard the door closing heavily that Yan Shuang got on his knees and retrieved his glasses. He wiped the lenses on the corner of his close and checked the progress of the plot and relationship line with Qin Yubai.

Plot line: 4%.

Relationship line: 2%. 

Yan Shuang’s hands trembled slightly as he put on his glasses. His thin lips moved slightly to spit out a single word.

–“Miser,”

Damn it, he was so angry now.

Why was the progress bar going up so slowly when he was already working so hard?! Was that guy an iron miser?? 

After collecting himself, Yqan Shuang glanced at the time. It was 7 in the morning. If he hurried back immediately, he should be able to make the morning class.

Being forced to stand outside as a punishment wasn’t a problem, but being late would cost him attendance marks which would affect his scholarship evaluation.

Yan Shuang hurried to the door of the hotel and unexpectedly found Wei Yichen there waiting for him.

In the original book, this butler didn’t make that many appearances in the beginning. Most of the time, he was coldly observing the romance and strife of other people. 

To the point that it wasn’t even clear in the original novel if Wei Yichen actually liked Qin Qing or not.

He was like a cold-blooded, poisonous snake, perfectly hidden in the shadows, awaiting an opportunity to strike. No one knew what he was thinking or what he was after.

“Mr. Yan,” Wei Yichen was still indifferent. “Mr. Qin asked me to take you back.”

“No need.” Yan Shuang refused, bypassing Wei Yichen and the black luxury car. 

Wei Yichen chased after him. He stood in front of Yan Shuang with unreadable eyes.

“Mr. Yan,” his tone was still on the gentle side, but the words he said were cruel, “You’ve already sold the most important of things. Is there really still a need to persist?”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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How caring of him.

Yan Shuang smiled, and replied, also in a soft tone: “At this hour, you’ll be stuck in traffic halfway back to school. Then the teacher would scold me for being late.”

Yan Shuang pouted, putting on a fake expression. “If you really want to humiliate me like this, Wei-gege, toss me a fiver for the subway, ba.” 

Yan Shuang had expressed his mocking vividly through his soft and light call of ‘Wei-gege’, as well as his playful expression and smile that seemed to see through all the tricks.

The eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses flickered slightly.

Yan Shuang bypassed Wei Yichen again. However, his arms was pulled by Wei Yichen when he passed by.

Yan Shuang turned back to meet Wei Yichen’s eyes behind his lenses. He clearly saw the suppressed light there. 

Perhaps Qin Yubai could reserve the use of the saying ‘So cheap’ to use on his own subordinates.

Yan Shuang said flatly: “I’m very willing to stay and flirt with you,” Wei Yichen’s expression changed as Yan Shuang continued, “But I’m really going to be late now.”

He mercilessly jerked his arm out of Wei Yichen’s grip. “A promise for next time will have to do.”

“Wait–” 

Wei Yichen opened his mouth. In front of Yan Shuang’s impatient expression, he unbuttoned his smoky gray suit jacket and took out a leather wallet from the inner pocket.

Yan Shuang wondered if he was really going to toss five dollars at him.

Whatever, five dollars is also a form of love! 

The long, slender fingers that should be used to hold a pen or play piano were now holding a brank new pink $100 bill. Wei Yichen held it out to Yan Shuang and commented indifferently, “Keep the change.” 

Of course Yan Shuang accepted the money unceremoniously, giving him an unadulterated, bright smile in response.

“The rest I’ll keep as a deposit.”

“You’ll be given priority in the future.”

Yan Shuang turned and walked a few steps before suddenly turning around again. Wei Yichen was still looking at him, his meticulous butler’s suit still unbuttoned, lending the man an unruly quality. His expression remained calm even as Yan Shuang turned around. Yan Shuang smied and put the pink bill in his hand to his lips. 

The boy’s littered with injuries lips pressed up against the bank note. Then, in the glimmer of an eyes, his white hand extended skyward, sending the man a chic and playful kiss.

This kiss was worth a hundred dollars.

In the morning light, Wei Yichen stood beside the car for a long time. His leather shoes scraped against the ground. With a chuckle, he got in the car.

Thanks to public transportation, Yan Shuang successfully arrived for and attended his morning class without being late. 

His mental collapse after being punished was entirely an act he put on alone, so skipping the punishment wouldn’t actually have a big impact. However, the scene between him and Young Master Ji in the dormitory afterwards was important to grind.

Since the initial scene of revealing his face had already been done in advance, there was no need for boring scenes where he was being care for today. It was time to catch little student Ji up to pace.

Yan Shuang was moved to tears by his own efforts. Diligently working today for a future retirement on the beach, fighting!

It wasn’t until after the morning dismissal bell rang that Ji Yao set foot on school property. 

Witnessing Yan Shuang being taken away by Wei Yichen yesterday sapped Ji Yao’s patience for attending classes. The professor didn’t say anything when he just up and left during the break, and it wasn’t because he was afraid of Ji Yao’s family background.

Ji Yao was a genius who entered the school with nearly perfect marks. He was originally a student in the Department of Finance. Yet becaue he was quarreling with his family, this genius insisted on transferring to the Department of Literature a month before school started.

The school was very lenient towards talents and let him do as he wish. However, the professors of the Literature Department all agreed that this genius would eventually return to his rightful department, so they turned a blind eye to Ji Yao’s spotty attendance.

Walking on campus surrounded by his peers only made Ji Yao more upset. Their laughter, fights and conversations about boring or even vulgar topics only pissed Ji Yao off. 

Athough the strictness of the Ji family repulsed him, it seemed like coming to live in the dormitories wasn’t working out either.

The smell of cheap oranges still seemed to linger. Even now.

In this rare moment of silence, Ji Yao relaxed. Yet as soon as he stepped into the dormitory, he heard a quiet sob coming from the bathroom on the left.

Ji Yao froze. 

The moment Ji Yao opened the door, Yan Shuang knew that Ji Yao was back.

The temperature in the bathroom dropped instantly, a sure sign that the humanoid air conditioner had returned to the dormitory. Thank you Ji Yao, for bringing a bit of coolness to this humid university dormitory on this sweltering summer day.

The sobs were very quiet, as if someone was forcibly suppressing them as soon as they came out. Their intermittent nature made them sound particularly aggrieved.

Ji Yao thought about yesterday, when Qin Yubai’s butler had taken Yan Shuang away in front of him. Like a shivering lamb, Yan Shuang had near incoherently said that he was going willingly. 

Ji Yao frowned. He decided not to bother with this.

Despite making up his mind, his feet still took him in the direction of that bathroom.

The bathroom door wasn’t shut tight by any means. There was quite a crack peeking inside. Ji Yao came over to close the door, but an exclamation came from within as soon as his hand touched the doorknob.

Yan Shuang, who was sitting on the floor near the entrance of the bathroom, noticed the movement. He looked up and stared at Ji Yao blankly with tears still streaming down his face. 

“S-sorry…” Yan Shuang stammered an apology as he stood up while bracing himself against the wall. “Do you need to use the washroom?”

He moved slowly, sticking to the wall like a gecko. Ji Yao’s gaze swept struck Yan Shuang like a searchlight. Anger lit up those cold eyes.

“Stop.”

Yan Shuang froze as if he had been frightened. 

The bathroom wasn’t very well lit. It was dim even in broad daylight. Half of Yan Shuang was exposed to the outside of the bathroom. Only now did Ji Yao see the marks on Yan Shuang’s neck.

Red and purple hickys stacked on top of each other. A gruesome sight.

Irritation consumed Ji Yao’s being.

Why was he so dirty when he practically shared a face with Qin Qing?! 

Ji Yao held back his anger, spitting out each word through gritted teeth, “You just come to school like this?”

Yan Shuang shivered against the wall. “I, I…”

Yan Shuang couldn’t say anything else for the longest time. Only his head bowed lower and lower, until his chin almost touched his chest.

Faint sounds of talking and laughing came from outside. Ji Yao frowned and pushed Yan Shuang back into the bathroom. He headed in as well before immediately locking the door from the inside. 

An exact repeat of their first meeting.

The dormitory door opened, bring in a wave of heat, the sound of boys talking loudly, and the smell of breakfast.

Yan Shuang recoiled like he had been stabbed in the washroom. His head lowered even more. Like a wounded little beast, he curled up to protect himself, so consumed by panic that he just froze.

The sound of footsteps approached the bathroom. Someone tested the doorknob, only to find it was locked. So he shouted loudly, “Who locked the door, I need to fucking shit!” 

There was a burst of laughter from the dormitory.

“Me.”

A cold and perfectly neutral voice instantly silenced the dormitory.

The person at the bathroom entrance also instantly panicked. He apologized in a hurry, backing away several steps. 

Ji Yao’s cold gaze fell on Yan Shuang. Yan Shuang’s head was lowered, and a portion of the neckline of his white T-shirt was soaked through, obviously with tears.

Ji Yao retracted his gaze and started neatly unbuttoning his shirt.  After that was done, he tossed it on Yan Shuang’s head.

“Wear it.”

Yan Shuang looked up from within the shirt, his eyes as red as a rabbit’s 

“Did you not hear me?” Ji Yao frowned. He lowered his voice and said sternly, “Button up already!”

“T-then what about you?” Yan Shuang timidly asked, his eyes tracing Ji Yao’s naked upper body before his head jerked down in shock.

As expected of one of the five big scum gongs, he was muscled all over despite having the looks of a white-faced scholar. Yan Shuang didn’t doubt that Ji Yao could punch through a weak little shou like him with his physique.

“That’s not for you to worry about.” 

“Put it on.”

Yan Shuang accepted Ji Yao’s kindness and pulled Ji Yao’s shirt over his T-shirt. Ji Yao’s was much taller than him, making his shirt fit big and loose on Yan Shuang. The fabric felt very comfortable and even exuded a faint fragrance. Yan Shuang buttoned up all the way, completely covering the hickeys on his neck. However, the collar was so high up that it almost seemed like a hand gripping his throat.

He hurriedly tucked the hems of the long shirt into his pants and washed his face to make himself presentable again. Yan Shuang gave Ji Yao a hesitant look.

Ji Yao: “Go out and get me something to wear.” 

Yan Shuang nodded vigorously, and determinedly pushed open the door.

Ji Yao’s voice came out of the washroom before, but it was Yan Shuang who stepped out. This turn of events shocked the entire dormitory.

The people in the dormitory did not dare to ask about Ji Yao, so everyone stared at Yan Shuang instead. They watched him go to Ji Yao’s suitcase, take out a shirt and walk back into the bathroom.

By then, someone had noticed the shirt that Yan Shuang was wearing also seemed to be Ji Yao’s. Soon everyone else noticed too. A poor kid like Yan Shuang just had a few shirts he cycled through. How could he afford to wear such a high quality shirt, ah? 

The people in the dormitory exchanged glances. They all seemed to be wonder what was up.

A moment later, Ji Yao emerged from the bathroom with a frosty expression. Yan Shuang followed behind him with red eyes, like he had been bullied.

“Let’s go.”

A simple phrase was enough for Yan Shuang to obediently follow. 

It wasn’t until the two left the dormitory that the stiff atmosphere eased.

Zhang Shuai took a bite of his fried pancake and looked at the other. “My friends, did we just witness a bout of school violence?”

“Don’t joke around, that was Ji Yao.”

Yes, that was Ji Yao. The big young master and genius who had eyes growing on the top of his head. Why would he deign to bully a little nobody? 

So what just happened?

Everyone exchanged glances again. Even if Ji Yao had left, they still didn’t dare to gossip about him behind his back.

That was Ji Yao, after all.