Male Lead, Please Don’t Covet the Mob Character Cannon Fodder (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 17

“Princess Wu is truly unlucky to have been saved by Zhang Quan of all people,” Ma Qilin said with a touch of regret while visiting Gu Jiuli to discuss the matter. “That fellow is even worse than I am; he practically treats the Hanxiang Pavilion as his own home. If the Princess marries him, she is destined to spend her nights alone in her chambers.”

Gu Jiuli leafed through the memorials submitted by Li Ming, replying nonchalantly, “I see the Princess has many tricks up her sleeve. Managing someone like Zhang Quan should be relatively easy for her.”

“Pfft, what is this? Did Princess Wu offend you?”

Gu Jiuli let out a cold snort but did not respond.

“Tsk, tsk. You did not happen to have a hand in the Princess’s situation, did you?” Ma Qilin asked thoughtfully.

Knock, knock, knock. There was a knock on the study door.

“Enter.”

Following Gu Jiuli’s permission, Li Ming entered carrying a tray. “General, here are several designs for the invitations I had drawn up. Please take a look.”

“Bring them here.” Gu Jiuli tossed aside the memorial in his hand, his eyes lighting up.

Seeing him flip through several different styles of invitations, Ma Qilin asked curiously, “Jiuli, what kind of banquet are you hosting? You are choosing the invitations so meticulously; one would think you were picking out wedding invitations.”

Gu Jiuli raised an eyebrow. “How do you know these are not wedding invitations?”

Ma Qilin’s hand, which was fanning himself, froze instantly. “Huh? You are serious?” Saying this, he quickly walked to the desk, picked up an invitation, and opened it.

When he saw the names “Gu Jiuli” and “Song Qingshi” signed at the bottom, he gasped. “Impressive, Gu Jiuli! You have actually won over Physician Song?”

“Tsk, tsk. When these invitations go out, all of Yancheng will be shaken. The great General Gu is grandly marrying a man as his wife.”

“You are mistaken,” Gu Jiuli interrupted him.

“Hmm?”

“He is marrying me.”

Ma Qilin’s lips twitched. “Fine, fine, fine.”

“Is Qingshi still sleeping?” Gu Jiuli asked Li Ming as he set a few selected invitations to his right.

Li Ming replied, “General, Young Master Song went to the Qiuzhi Academy early this morning and has not yet returned.”

Gu Jiuli withdrew his hand. “No wonder he has not come to find me at this hour. Leave them here for now; I will pick one out with him when he returns.”

“Oh boy.” Ma Qilin could not bear to watch his doting expression. “A man in love is truly different. I hardly recognize you anymore.”

Gu Jiuli glanced at him. “Are you very idle?”

“You are busy, you are busy! I should go check on my own lady as well.” Ma Qilin walked to the door but suddenly turned back. “Do not forget to send me an invitation.”

“Do not worry, I will not forget you.”

Early in the morning, Ximei woke up to the sound of gongs and drums outside her window. She opened the window and poked her head out, met with the sight of a flowing red river in the street.

Leading the procession was a magnificent black horse with a red silk ball hanging from its neck. Seating on its back were two grooms, two equally handsome and elegant figures who made a striking pair together.

The one in front had his eyes covered by a red silk ribbon, his posture slender and upright. The one behind him was tall and handsome, holding the reins with one hand while the other was wrapped tightly around the front person’s waist.

“Ximei, have some candy.” A candy ball wrapped in oil paper was handed to Ximei.

“Thank you, Brother A’wa,” Ximei said, taking the candy and pointing at the tall horse. “Are they getting married? Why is there no bride?”

“The ones on the horse are the Great General Gu and his beloved,” A’wa said, patting Ximei’s head. “I heard that the General’s Mansion will host a street banquet for the whole city today. Ximei, do you want to go try the food?”

“Yes, yes!”

Gu Jiuli took Qingshi on a horse ride around Yancheng, and the procession did not return to the General’s Mansion until noon.

They skipped many tedious formalities and proceeded directly to the wedding ceremony upon their return. No one raised an objection; after all, they were the first pair of men in Great Qi to marry with such fanfare.

Shen Nuo sat in the festive hall, but his heart was filled with desolation. The image of Gu Jiuli laughing and carrying Qingshi back to their room after performing the bows to Heaven and Earth kept flashing before his eyes.

Glass after glass of wine was poured down his throat as Shen Nuo smiled bitterly.

What could be more painful than watching the one you love marry someone else? For the first time, he felt a flicker of regret for his indecisiveness. If he had confessed his feelings earlier, would he have been one of the people receiving blessings today?

No, it was impossible. Simply because he was a member of the Shen family, there was never a possibility between them.

Today’s wine was truly pungent.

Gu Jiuli went out to entertain the guests while Qingshi sat alone in the bridal chamber. It was then that 886 returned.

886: “Qingshi, the feedback from the company is in. They said there is indeed an abnormality in the Male Lead’s data for this world, but once a mission starts, it cannot be terminated, and they cannot intervene.”

886: “However, the company looked at your mission progress and saw you are only one step away from the death line. They have secretly opened a backdoor for you. Now, as long as you die in front of the Male Lead, the mission will be considered complete. Though, if you do it this way, the World Consciousness rating might be very low, but at least it will not be counted as a failure.”

“If I die, what will happen to the Male Lead afterward?”

886: “Generally, when things deviate this far from the script, the World Consciousness chooses to freeze and reset the world or replace the Male Lead.”

“Is that so?”

886: “Qingshi, when do you plan to die?”

“Let us wait a bit longer.”

Qingshi bit his lip. If he died today, it would be too cruel for Gu Jiuli.

“What are you thinking about? You have bitten yourself until you are bleeding.” A rough fingertip touched his lips, rescuing his mangled lower lip from his teeth.

Gu Jiuli sat down beside Qingshi. “Finally, it is just the two of us.” He placed Qingshi’s hand against his cheek. “Young Master, my heart is filled with both joy and fear. I am so afraid that this is just a dream, and that I will wake up to find only a heart full of empty happiness.”

Qingshi’s heart trembled. “It will not be. It is not a dream.”

Gu Jiuli pressed a kiss into Qingshi’s palm. “Right, it is not a dream.”

“Young Master, let us have the nuptial wine.”

“Alright.”

Qingshi did not receive the wine cup handed over by Gu Jiuli. Instead, a kiss flavored with wine landed on his lips.

The strong scent of wine intertwined within their breaths. The mellow liquid was transferred bit by bit into Qingshi’s mouth, then gathered up drop by drop by a skillful tongue.

He was drunk.

The mission of death was delayed by Qingshi day after day.

Likely because he had suffered too many injuries in his youth, which took a toll on his body, Gu Jiuli’s health began to decline after the age of 40. Qingshi tried many methods but could only barely slow the process.

Song Qingyu was now a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Justice. After watching him marry and have children, Qingshi and the retired Gu Jiuli returned to Sajia Village.

On Gu Jiuli’s 45th birthday, he, who had been bedridden, suddenly got up to cook a large table of food. He even dug up a jar of fine wine they had buried under the tree in the courtyard three years prior, saying he wanted to drink until they were both drunk.

In the end, he did not even finish one cup before falling asleep against Qingshi’s shoulder. “Young Master, do not forget Da Hei.”

With red-rimmed eyes, Qingshi finished the wine in his cup. “I will not.”

At the moment of his passing, Qingshi entered a strange space, a starry sky filled with deathly silence. But when he arrived, a star in the corner suddenly lit up. Its weak, inconspicuous glow was the only bit of color in this gray starry sky.

“Qingshi! Welcome home!”

Qingshi woke up to the noisy voice of 886. Beneath him was the two-meter-wide bed provided in the system space.

“88, is my first mission completed?” Qingshi asked, holding his head.

“Although there were some twists and turns, it is done.” 886, transformed into a cow-patterned kitten, jumped onto Qingshi’s bed.

“I, why can I not clearly remember what happened? Do I have amnesia?” Qingshi felt his empty chest, somewhat dazed.

886 licked its paw. “No, your memories related to the Male Lead of that world have been frozen.”

“Frozen? Why?”

“Because the Male Lead did not follow the plot, the World Consciousness froze him and replaced him with a new Male Lead.”

Qingshi murmured, “It can be like that? Then how was my mission completed?”

“Ahem, because the company gave you a backdoor. But because of that, your salary for this mission has gone down the drain.”

“So I worked for nothing?” Qingshi was shocked.

886 turned its head guiltily. “That is how it is.”

Qingshi opened his character panel:

• • Name: Qingshi

• • Age: 28 (Frozen)

• • Missions Completed: 1

• • Reincarnation Points: 0 (Collect 1,000 points for a chance at reincarnation; average 1-10 points per mission)

Great. He did not even get the lowest end of the average.

Qingshi covered his face. How badly had he failed this mission?

“88, does this happen often in our company?”

“A one-in-a-ten-million chance.”

Fine. Confirmed. He was that one-in-a-ten-million unlucky person.

“It is over. A bad start. Am I going to keep working for nothing from now on?”

886 squeezed itself into Qingshi’s hand. “No, no, Qingshi, trust me. I have snatched a great mission this time. You will definitely get the highest Reincarnation Points.”

Qingshi stroked 886’s smooth fur. “I hope so.”

“Mhm! Qingshi, do you want to rest for a bit, or continue with the next mission?”

Qingshi lay back on the bed. “Let me rest for a bit. I do not want to die suddenly again.”

After waking up from another sleep, Qingshi felt his heavy mood had lightened significantly. He poked 886. “Let us go, 88. On to the next one.”

The Nirvanic Galaxy, which had been silent for ten thousand years, fell into an uproar because of the light that had suddenly turned on.

“1067, what is going on with you? Why did you suddenly light up?!”

“I do not know either, but for a moment, I felt the aura of the Star Lord.”

“What? The Star Lord?”

“You sensed the Star Lord?!”

“It has been ten thousand years. Is the Star Lord finally showing signs of waking up?”

“1067, tell us quickly, what did you do recently!”

“I did not do anything.”

“Think carefully, have there been any abnormalities with you recently?”

“I, recently a maintenance worker from the Milky Way Company took a mission I posted. Does that count?”

“You mean that maintenance mission of yours that has been ignored since it was posted was actually picked up? Was it completed?”

“It was completed, but in the end, he led the Male Lead’s entire plot line completely astray, so I gave him a bad review.”

“Which maintenance worker took the order? What is the ID? I will let him try mine too.”

“Go away, move aside. My star level is higher, let me go first.”

“He is a newcomer. ID: XXXXXX086.”

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