The Cannon Fodder Roles I Play All Become White Moonlights [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 3

The soundproofing in the tube-shaped apartment building was poor. Su Qingmeng had just laid down when she was disturbed by the noise outside, whether it came more from the alley or the hallway, she couldn’t tell.

She picked up her phone and glanced at the time: 6 a.m.

The original host of this body was also a student at Capital University, majoring in finance like the female lead, Lu Yaoqing. Her first class started at 8 a.m. that morning.

The commute from here to the university wasn’t short. The original host had chosen to rent here not only because of the low rent but also to avoid being discovered as “poor” by her classmates.

Vain, materialistic, and two-faced, such a character could hardly be considered positive. Still, Su Qingmeng had played similar roles before and had even won a Best Newcomer Award for one.

She smiled faintly at the thought.

Like the original host, she took great care with her appearance. But compared to the original, Su Qingmeng was more skilled at makeup and knew how to maximize the beauty of her face. After all, she had spent ten years in the entertainment industry, and her skills were on par with professional makeup artists.

When Fang Mo encountered Su Qingmeng at the bus stop, he was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected to run into her again so soon.

The young woman wore a light blue short-sleeved top and a pure white skirt. She seemed to favor white, and the clean color suited her well. Under the bright morning light, her flawless skin and sparkling eyes stirred even his cold heart with a flicker of admiration.

But it was only a fleeting, insignificant feeling. Fang Mo quickly averted his gaze, staring straight ahead as if he hadn’t noticed Su Qingmeng.

“Good morning,” Su Qingmeng greeted him with a smile, slightly surprised herself. She stood beside him, waiting for the bus.

“…” Fang Mo didn’t know what to make of her. There was no admiration for his looks in her eyes, nor any fear of his aloofness. Yet she repeatedly crossed the boundaries of his defenses.

Keeping his expression cold, Fang Mo subtly shifted a step to the side, widening the distance between them. Even so, her faint fragrance drifted toward him unavoidably, and from the corner of his eye, he could still see the top of her dark hair.

He was a head taller than her; he could easily reach out and touch her head…

The bus arrived quickly. Su Qingmeng and Fang Mo stepped forward almost simultaneously. The narrow door made it inevitable for them to brush against each other.

Though it lasted only a moment, Fang Mo quickly stepped back to let Su Qingmeng board first. Yet when she turned to look at him, she still caught sight of his expressionless face and the faint blush coloring his ears.

She smiled at him, like an early autumn breeze, cool yet carrying the lingering sweetness of summer blossoms.

Fang Mo lowered his gaze, maintaining his detached expression. He deliberately waited until two other passengers had boarded before getting on, keeping a clear distance from Su Qingmeng.

Passengers came and went on the bus. After a period of crowding, it grew quiet again. By the time they neared Capital University, only a few people remained in the cabin. When Fang Mo turned around, he found Su Qingmeng standing just a foot away, close enough to touch.

He paused, not yet able to look away, when Su Qingmeng suddenly turned her head, and their eyes met.

Su Qingmeng’s eyes darted around playfully before a smile spread across her face, as if she had caught him peeking at her. Fang Mo felt a flicker of annoyance; he shouldn’t have turned around just now.

The car came to a stop, and the two of them got out together, walking side by side toward the school. Fang Mo furrowed his brow slightly, seemingly puzzled as to why he had never encountered Su Qingmeng before.

In the next moment, Su Qingmeng answered his unspoken question. “Senior, I’m a freshman in the Finance Department. If there’s anything you need help with, feel free to come find me there. But let’s keep it a secret that we live together, okay?”

The way she said “Senior” was particularly lingering and intimate, almost like a special nickname. And the phrase “live together” carried an even more ambiguous tone, deepening the crease between Fang Mo’s brows. He shot her a cold glare without saying a word, then strode ahead, leaving her behind.

Behind him, the girl’s clear, melodious laughter rang out. Even without turning around, Fang Mo could picture the mischievous sparkle in her eyes. His usually steady emotions stirred with an inexplicable irritation, though he wasn’t sure who he was angry at. He could only quicken his pace and walk away.

Su Qingmeng’s smile didn’t fade until Fang Mo was completely out of sight. Still smiling, she entered her classroom.

The lively chatter and laughter in the classroom paused for a moment as she walked in. Su Qingmeng noticed the unusual looks from her classmates but acted as if nothing was wrong, taking a seat in the front row.

She had started working earlier than the original owner of this body, struggling in the film industry right after high school and never making it to college. Now, she had a genuine opportunity to study, something she had to thank the system for.

Just as she sat down, a fair hand extended a phone screen toward her. A soft voice whispered, “Cui Minmin is slandering you on the campus forum.”

Su Qingmeng glanced at the post on the phone. Unlike the original owner, she had escaped quickly yesterday and hadn’t been caught on video. This time, Cui Minmin was doubling down on the forum, posting under her real name and accusing Su Qingmeng of seducing Chen Li. Although the original owner had only been at the university for a little over a month, she was already quite well-known at Jing University, and many people in the comments were siding with Cui Minmin.

Watching the view count of the post hit 4,999, Su Qingmeng took out her own phone, refreshed the page to make it 5,000, took a screenshot, and left a comment: [The internet is not a lawless space. As students of Jing University, we should not engage in defamation or cross legal boundaries. Evidence has been screenshotted and preserved.]

She then opened WeChat. Chen Li had sent her a message early in the morning, not only cursing Cui Minmin but also confessing his feelings: [Qingmeng, after all this, I’ve realized that it’s you I truly like.]

Su Qingmeng hadn’t replied to Chen Li earlier, but now she forwarded the post to him: [I’ve always considered you both as friends. I never expected Minmin to see me this way. Are you sending me this message now to help her smear my reputation? I’m sorry, but I shouldn’t have considered you friends. Please leave me alone. I wish you and Minmin happiness :)]

After sending the message, she backed up her chat history with Chen Li and blocked him.

Once she had finished, Su Qingmeng finally looked up at the girl who had warned her. The girl looked like a doll, with large, round eyes full of innocence, making it impossible not to like her.

It was the female lead, Lu Yaoqing.

Su Qingmeng gave her a grateful smile and said with unease, “I didn’t get involved in their fight, they started it themselves and dragged me into it. I hate guys who hit girls, but I also dislike being falsely accused like this.”

Her eyes were half-lowered, the corners tinged with red, and her pitiable expression was something even other girls found hard to resist.

Lu Yaoqing felt her heart struck hard. This classmate of hers was truly as beautiful as a fairy, and she had always been defenseless against good-looking people!

Although Su Qingmeng had almost no interaction with the other girls in the class, Cui Minmin had a bad reputation in their circle, and Chen Li seemed sleazy at first glance. So, it must be their fault, definitely not her fairy-like classmate’s.

“I believe you!” Lu Yaoqing declared firmly.

Su Qingmeng thought this female lead was infinitely more likable than the cold male lead and couldn’t help but flash her a radiant smile. “Thank you, Yaoqing.”

Her peach-blossom eyes curved into crescents, gazing at Lu Yaoqing with seemingly boundless affection. Lu Yaoqing blushed under the gaze and enthusiastically said, “Let me add you on WeChat. If they bother you, just come to me for help.”

Su Qingmeng readily agreed and took the opportunity to add Lu Yaoqing on WeChat.

[Don’t add extra scenes for yourself.] The system chimed in at an inopportune moment.

“The female lead approached me first,” Su Qingmeng said with a laugh. “Maybe you should try managing the female lead instead?”

[This system is a short-lived cannon fodder system.] The system’s voice was flat, but Su Qingmeng felt it emphasized the words “cannon fodder.”

“In situations like this, where the male and female lead approach me on their own and there’s no script to follow, what should I do?” Su Qingmeng asked patiently.

[…] Just as Su Qingmeng thought the system wouldn’t respond, it squeezed out a dry reply: [Please handle it on your own without altering the plot.]

After morning classes ended, Lu Yaoqing enthusiastically invited Su Qingmeng to lunch. Despite coming from a wealthy family, the female lead was very down-to-earth, getting along well with her classmates and usually eating in the school cafeteria. In contrast, the original host would leave right after class, so some classmates still didn’t know her.

At first, the girls eating with Lu Yaoqing regarded Su Qingmeng with some curiosity and wariness. But when Su Qingmeng genuinely wanted to befriend someone, no one could resist her. By the end of the meal, the girls had bonded, with Lu Yaoqing and the others viewing Su Qingmeng as one of their own, even indignantly vowing to seek justice for her.

“Forget it. Cui Minmin and Chen Li both have some influence. I’m just happy you don’t misunderstand me,” Su Qingmeng said with a bitter smile.

When her sparkling peach-blossom eyes dimmed, the girls felt heartbroken and quickly assured her, patting their chests and promising to protect her.

Su Qingmeng thanked each of them. As soon as she left the cafeteria, she received a call from Chen Li: “Su Qingmeng, how dare you block me?! I need to see you right now!”

Just as Su Qingmeng was about to hang up, Chen Li added, “Don’t think you can shake me off so easily. I have plenty of photos of us together, and you’ve accepted many gifts from me. Believe me, I’ll post them online right now and prove Cui Minmin right!”

“Alright, I’ll come find you.” Su Qingmeng let out a soft sigh.

Chen Li had arranged to meet her at a KTV outside the school. Su Qingmeng glanced at the address, paused briefly, and then smiled faintly. This was the exact location where Ling Yuanbai would make his first appearance in the story.

When Su Qingmeng pushed open the door to the private room, only Chen Li was there, drinking alone in a gloomy mood. The marks from his scuffle with Cui Minmin the day before were still visible on his face. When he saw Su Qingmeng, his eyes couldn’t hide his astonishment at her beauty. He set down his glass and lunged toward her, but she deftly sidestepped him.

Chen Li stumbled forward and ended up outside the private room. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he heard Su Qingmeng ask with concern, “Chen Li, are you okay?”

He turned to see the slender girl leaning against the doorframe, delicate as a willow branch. Her brows were slightly furrowed as she looked at him, as if genuinely worried about him. Then he heard her gentle voice again: “We were friends once. Do we really have to make things this ugly? I thought you were different from Cui Minmin.”

“Of course I’m different from her,” Chen Li said bitterly, but the movement tugged at the wound on his face, making him hiss in pain.

Su Qingmeng took a tube of ointment from her bag and handed it to him. “The pharmacist said this is the most effective medicine for reducing bruises. Apply it for a couple of days, and the pain will go away.” She lightly touched the bruise on his face, then withdrew her hand before he could process the gesture.

“You…” Chen Li met her captivating peach-blossom eyes, his heart racing. For a moment, he almost forgot why he had asked to see her in the first place.

“Given the relationship between the Cui family and yours, it’s not like you can just cut ties with Minmin. Go talk to her and ask her to take down that post. Out of respect for you, I won’t take her to court over it. As for us…” Su Qingmeng gave him a faint smile. “Let’s not see each other again, to avoid any further misunderstandings with Minmin.”

Chen Li took the ointment from her, feeling a surge of gratitude. Since the chaos of yesterday, he had been surrounded by people either fanning the flames or mocking him, no one had shown him any genuine concern.

Su Qingmeng said nothing more and straightened up to leave. Just then, she noticed a man standing outside the private room across the hall.

The man was about the same height as Fang Mo, with fair skin and expensive casual wear. The glasses perched on his high nose bridge perfectly concealed his narrow, upturned eyes, making him appear far more approachable than Fang Mo.

But Su Qingmeng noticed that even in casual clothes, the top button of his collar was fastened meticulously, and his watch fit snugly against his wrist without a hint of gap.

Ling Yuanbai, the “fake young master” who had swapped identities with Fang Mo, and the story’s ultimate antagonist.

[Su Qingmeng followed Ling Yuanbai into the private room. Thinking he was her savior, she agreed without hesitation to his demands, adding, “If I’m to seduce a man, I’ll probably need clothes and bags.”]

[This is the next plot point you must complete.] The system emphasized heavily.