The Cannon Fodder Roles I Play All Become White Moonlights [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 2

Su Qingmeng took a taxi to the address the system had provided for the original host.

The taxi driver was visibly surprised upon hearing the destination. “Young lady, are you going there alone? It’s late, and that area isn’t safe.”

Su Qingmeng merely hummed in response. When they arrived, she finally understood why the driver had said that.

Dilapidated tube-shaped apartment buildings were crammed together, and under the only two functioning streetlights, a late-night snack stall was set up. Three or five burly men sat in front of the stall, drinking and shouting loudly, making the already narrow alley feel even more cramped.

The original host lived on the sixth floor of the innermost building.

Su Qingmeng instinctively furrowed her brows and said to the system, “This environment seems even more unstable.”

[The stability of the environment is determined by the system’s evaluation.] The system replied flatly.

Su Qingmeng asked half-jokingly, “Could it be that transmitting the plot requires a fixed location?”

[…] The system remained silent for a moment before replying stiffly, [Host, rest assured, you won’t die before completing the plot.]

“Then I can do whatever I want?” Su Qingmeng pressed.

[Only the guarantee of not dying. Moreover, if the host fails to complete the designated plot, they will face the most severe pain-based punishment.] The system refuted her mercilessly.

Su Qingmeng let out a meaningful chuckle and looked up again. The group of drunkards had noticed her presence and were casting sticky, lecherous glances her way.

Standing at the entrance of the alley, she contemplated whether to take a risk for the sake of the plot or find another place to stay for the night.

Suddenly, the sound of a bicycle came from behind her. Su Qingmeng immediately turned around alertly and saw a slender young man riding the bicycle.

When he caught sight of her, even his perpetually cold expression faltered for a moment. He abruptly stopped the bike.

Fang Mo hadn’t expected to run into Su Qingmeng so soon, right at his doorstep. He frowned as he scrutinized her. Apart from the sneakers he had lent her, every part of her was exquisitely dressed, she was not someone who belonged in a slum.

Inappropriately, he recalled the gossip at the restaurant about Su Qingmeng being caught as the other woman by the legitimate girlfriend. His brows unconsciously tightened.

Noticing his expression, Su Qingmeng’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes shifted, as if she were considering how to speak. She glanced back at the men who kept staring at her and quickly moved to his side, whispering, “Fang Mo, do you live here too? Can… can you walk with me through the alley? I live inside.”

She lowered her head slightly but looked up at him from beneath her lashes. Fang Mo glanced down and could see the clarity in her eyes and the cautious hope within them. Even with his cold heart, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her in that moment.

After a moment of silence, he said indifferently, “Follow me.”

Fang Mo got off his bicycle and pushed it, walking on the outer side to shield Su Qingmeng from the drunkards’ improper gazes.

Walking side by side, the handsome man and beautiful woman made a strikingly well-matched pair. Most of the drinking men recognized Fang Mo. As they passed, they called out teasingly, “Hey, Fang, you’ve got a girlfriend now?”

Fang Mo walked past without even glancing their way.

Someone tried to stand up and approach, but the man next to him grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Have you forgotten this guy is reckless? Watch out, or he might pull a knife on you!”

The drunken troublemaker, reminded by the man, immediately abandoned his intentions. He clicked his tongue twice while staring at Su Qingmeng’s retreating figure, feeling somewhat regretful.

Only after entering the building did Su Qingmeng let out a slight sigh of relief. She turned to Fang Mo and asked, “Which floor do you live on? I’ll wash the shoes clean and bring them to you myself.”

Fang Mo replied directly, “I’ll walk you up. Just return the shoes to me.”

“How could I trouble you like that?” Su Qingmeng started to say, but her words trailed off as she met Fang Mo’s dark, icy gaze. His aloof demeanor and eyes like frozen pools seemed to lower the temperature around them.

Su Qingmeng stopped her polite chatter but wasn’t intimidated by his coldness. Instead, she curved her eyes into crescents and smiled at him. “I live on the sixth floor. The hallway is too dark, and I’m a bit scared. Could you walk ahead of me?”

Fang Mo stared at her smiling eyes for a moment longer, as if questioning why she would be afraid in her own building.

Still, he didn’t bother asking and simply walked ahead. Suddenly, he felt a slight tug on the corner of his clothes. Turning back, he saw Su Qingmeng holding onto his hem, just as she had before.

The girl looked up at him with an innocent expression, her face even more deceptive under the flickering hallway lights.

Yet Fang Mo never forgot the slyness hidden in her eyes.

“Let go,” he said, no longer indulging her as he had earlier.

Su Qingmeng blinked and obediently released his clothes before he could frown, quietly following him the rest of the way.

When they reached the sixth floor, Su Qingmeng took her keys from her bag and unlocked the door. The apartment inside was pitch black.

Fang Mo wasn’t sure if she lived alone or if her family was already asleep, but it had nothing to do with him. His interaction with her ended here.

“Thank you. Oh, by the way, my name is Su Qingmeng,” she said again, casually picking up a bag by the door, placing the shoes inside, and handing it to Fang Mo.

Their hands inevitably brushed against each other.

The delicate sensation at his fingertips reminded Fang Mo of the moment in the Western restaurant when this same hand had covered his mouth.

His eyes darkened briefly but quickly returned to normal as he took the shoes and turned to leave without another word.

[You shouldn’t have crossed paths with the male lead at this point in time.] The moment Su Qingmeng closed the door, the system couldn’t hold back any longer and brought up Fang Mo’s identity.

“First, I didn’t know he was the male lead,” Su Qingmeng said with a smile. “Second, when we bound, you said that as long as I complete the predetermined plot, it’s fine. Even if I met the male lead early, I haven’t disrupted the original storyline, have I?”

[…] The system had no response. After a moment of silence, its mechanical voice seemed slightly faster than usual. [Suitable environment for receiving the plot confirmed. Transmitting plot to the host now.]

Without giving Su Qingmeng time to prepare, it directly transmitted the storyline to her.

Countless fragments of memories and scenes from the plot were forcibly crammed into her mind, accompanied by a splitting headache. By the time Su Qingmeng had fully absorbed all the plot details, she was drenched in sweat, as if she had just been pulled out of water.

The world she now found herself in was the setting of a novel titled The One I Secretly Admire Was Actually the Swapped True Young Master.

The female lead, Lu Yaoqing, was the only daughter of the prestigious Lu family in the capital. Having grown up in a life of luxury, she was innocent and cheerful, devoid of the typical bad temper of a rich heiress. Through her own efforts, she even managed to get admitted to the nation’s top university, Capital University. On the day of freshman registration, she fell in love at first sight with Fang Mo, a junior in the computer science department. Unfortunately, before she could make a move, Fang Mo had already gotten a girlfriend, forcing her to bury her feelings deep in her heart.

One day, however, Lu Yaoqing accidentally overheard a conversation between her childhood friend, Ling Yuanbai, and Fang Mo’s girlfriend. It turned out that after learning about her crush on Fang Mo, Ling Yuanbai had deliberately paid someone to get close to Fang Mo and become his girlfriend, both to prevent her from pursuing him and to keep an eye on Fang Mo’s every move.

Furious, Lu Yaoqing immediately revealed the truth to Fang Mo. To her surprise, Fang Mo reacted with utter indifference upon hearing the news.

Confused by his coldness, Lu Yaoqing couldn’t help but feel a secret sense of joy, at least it meant Fang Mo didn’t care about his girlfriend. So, she launched the most passionate pursuit of him, convinced that her warmth would one day melt his icy heart.

And indeed, Fang Mo was gradually moved by her sincerity and unreserved affection. Yet he continued to reject her, because he understood better than anyone why Ling Yuanbai was targeting him.

From the moment he was old enough to understand, his mother, Fang Tinglan, had told him that he was the illegitimate son of the Ling family. His very existence was the result of her youthful indiscretion, and he was born with original sin. No matter how the Ling family or Ling Yuanbai treated him in the future, he was supposed to endure it.

Fang Mo didn’t agree with his mother’s words, but he didn’t want to cause her pain either. So, he kept his distance from the Ling family and Ling Yuanbai’s circle, which was why he consistently pushed Lu Yaoqing away.

It wasn’t until after Ling Yuanbai caused Fang Tinglan’s death that Fang Mo finally freed himself from his emotional shackles and got together with Lu Yaoqing.

In the end, through his own efforts, Fang Mo avenged his mother, crushed the entire Ling family under his feet, and sent Ling Yuanbai to prison. It was then that he uncovered the truth from years ago, he was actually the biological son of Mrs. Ling, while Ling Yuanbai was Fang Tinglan’s son. Fang Tinglan had deliberately switched them at birth, and Ling Yuanbai, having learned the truth earlier, had killed Fang Tinglan to cover it up.

Suddenly, all the hatred felt meaningless to Fang Mo. He let go of his resentment toward the Ling family but disappeared from the public eye.

The story ends with Lu Yaoqing finding Fang Mo on a deserted mountain after a long time, and Fang Mo offering her a rare smile.

As for the original host, she was Fang Mo’s ex-girlfriend in the story, a minor character with little screen time.

The original host was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. Perhaps because she was terrified of poverty, she used her beauty and feigned gentleness to manipulate various men, hoping to strike it rich through them. Skilled at playing ambiguous games, she managed to gain many advantages from men.

However, if you often walk by the river, you’re bound to get your shoes wet.

In the original plot, she failed to escape Cui Minmin. Cui Minmin and her clique of friends pinned her to the ground, stripped her naked, and recorded a video that was later posted on the school’s online forum. Although the video was blurred, her identity was quickly exposed by busybodies, along with her disgraceful behavior of stringing along multiple men and swindling gifts from them.

In an instant, she became a social pariah, not only subjected to scornful stares from her classmates but also pressured by her former flings to return the gifts. However, she had long since sold off those gifts and had no way to repay them.

Just when she found herself cornered and desperate, Ling Yuanbai, the heir to a top-tier wealthy family, approached her. He offered to resolve all her problems and even pay her a substantial sum, on the condition that she become Fang Mo’s girlfriend and spy on him for Ling Yuanbai.

Naturally, she didn’t refuse. She smoothly became Fang Mo’s girlfriend, but her materialistic nature made her look down on Fang Mo’s lack of wealth, no matter how outstanding he was in other aspects. While pretending to be devoted to Fang Mo, she also attempted to seduce Ling Yuanbai. However, after spotting Fang Tinglan at Ling Yuanbai’s place, curiosity drove her to follow Fang Tinglan, a decision that ultimately cost her life under mysterious circumstances.

Her role in the story, aside from causing minor complications for the main couple early on, was to provide the male lead with a clue about the murderer just before her death.

Su Qingmeng waited until her headache subsided before asking, “If I’m here to play the cannon fodder, then where did the original host go?”

[That has nothing to do with the host,] the system replied immediately. After a brief pause, it added unnecessarily, [The host can think of the original host as another version of you in a parallel world, both of you are cannon fodder in a novel.]

Su Qingmeng lowered her gaze, concealing the slight chill in her eyes.

When she looked up again, the coldness had vanished. She walked into the bathroom and studied her reflection in the mirror, a face identical to her original one. Slowly, a smile spread across her lips.

Even though in her original world, she had become a vegetable after a car accident, prior to that, she had spent ten years climbing her way up from the lowest rung as an extra to the prestigious title of Best Actress. She would never allow herself to be crudely labeled as “cannon fodder”, whether in a script or in real life.