The Cannon Fodder 'Seme' is the Center of Attention Again (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 1

“Come and hook up with me instead, Gege.”

Autumn in Nancheng was prone to rain. It had been drizzling all night and showed no signs of stopping.

The rain was as fine as silk, like a giant gray net enveloping the entire laboratory building. Looking out from the inside, everything was a hazy blur. For an Alpha stepping into this laboratory for the first time, it was hard to tell if this was reality or an illusion.

That feeling of having wandered into a virtual world reached its peak the moment he saw a young man in a white lab coat, tilting his head back to examine the ice-blue liquid in a test tube.

“He, he’s the one,” the Alpha said, unable to help himself from tugging at his companion’s sleeve.

Compared to his starstruck behavior, the companion, who had spent a full year with Li Qingran, was much calmer. “Yes, that’s the legendary Senior Li.”

“But isn’t Senior Li an Alpha? How can he look so—”

“What? Can’t an Alpha be beautiful?”

The companion rolled his eyes and yanked his sleeve back, then raised his voice toward the room. “Senior Li!”

Hearing his name, the person inside turned around. The white overhead light passed through the test tube in his hand, casting a shimmering, pale blue glow at the corner of his eye, like a teardrop diamond placed there as an ornament.

It was eye-catching and evocative.

The Alpha at the door flushed bright red, his hands fidgeting restlessly.

“Xiao Su? Is something the matter?” Li Qingran looked at the person next to the Alpha.

Xiao Su didn’t waste time and answered directly. “Professor Fang wants you to go to his office. He said he called you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“Oh.” Li Qingran instinctively reached for his coat pocket. Finding only air, an apologetic smile appeared on his face. “I forgot to take my phone out when I changed clothes. I’ll go right now. Sorry for making you both come all this way.”

“No trouble at all!” Xiao Su waved his hands hurriedly. “I was going to bring the new member here to get familiar with the lab anyway.”

“Alright, enjoy the tour then.” Li Qingran smiled at Xiao Su and gave a polite nod to the new face. He disposed of the liquid, cleaned the equipment, and placed it in the sterilizer, then hurried out. The hem of his white lab coat billowed behind him like a wave.

Only after he left did the blushing Alpha finally relax, gasping for air as if he hadn’t breathed in centuries.

“Holy crap! He is way too good-looking!”

Xiao Su glanced at him with disdain. “Haven’t you been on the school forums?”

“I have,” the Alpha said. “But there are only text descriptions and zero photos. I knew Senior Li was handsome, but I didn’t know he was this handsome. He doesn’t even look human.”

“Who are you calling names?”

“No, no, I don’t mean it like that,” the Alpha said, waving his hands. “I mean he’s too beautiful. He looks like an immortal, or a deity.”

He caught himself before Xiao Su could glare at him again and lowered his voice in curiosity. “So, why isn’t there a single photo of him on the forums?”

“Want to know?” Xiao Su gave a fake smile. “You’ll understand once you have a boyfriend who is rich and incredibly possessive.”

“Huh?”

“Senior Li is fully geared up with a hat and mask whenever he goes out,” Xiao Su sighed. “Wait until you have a chance to work in the lab with him. With that outfit on, forget about people taking photos; most Omegas with small hearts would just stay out of his way.”

The Alpha looked conflicted, holding back his urge to complain about the boyfriend. He only managed one question from the bottom of his soul. “And the Senior is willing? He just accepts such an over-the-top request without getting angry?”

Doing that in winter is one thing, but in the height of summer? Is the sun not hot enough?

Xiao Su looked at the Alpha. “What was your first impression of him just now?”

“Good-looking!” the Alpha said without thinking. Under Xiao Su’s speechless gaze, he added, “Gentle?”

“Exactly!”

Xiao Su showed the Alpha a notification he just received from Li Qingran, followed by a message saying he was treating them to milk tea.

“Senior has a great temper. I haven’t seen him angry once this year. I heard from other seniors that he really loves his boyfriend. To us, those restrictions might be a burden, but to them, it’s probably just a private game. He might even enjoy it.”

“How long have they been together?”

“Maybe a year?”

“A year in that get-up. Then he really must be the Senior’s true love.”

Outside the lab building, the man they thought was in true love was currently looking at a newly received message on his phone.

[Room 1603, Yaxi Hotel, 16th Floor. 8:00 PM. Be there or be square.] Sender: Strawberry 175, Dance Academy.

Li Qingran’s expression didn’t change, but an excited voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Finally! We finally reached this plot point! After tonight, we can officially clock out of this world! Host, are you excited?]

The sharp voice, accompanied by static, made Li Qingran rub his ear.

“I wouldn’t say excited,” he said.

But he was certainly relieved.

Lately, Su Jingyi’s desire for control had become increasingly severe. If the mission dragged on any longer, Li Qingran feared he would end up locked in a remote house with a chain by a triggered Su Jingyi. If that happened, he’d never complete the mission or leave this world, let alone gain a real body in the real world.

He confirmed one last time with System 888. “You’re sure that after tonight, Su Jingyi’s disgust meter will hit 100%?”

Li Qingran had a bad feeling. On the task panel, the bar for Su Jingyi’s disgust was still at the absolute bottom, with no sign of rising.

888 was confident. [Don’t worry, Host! The lead is a total clean-freak when it comes to emotions. If you cheat, he will 100% despise you. Once he says the word ‘Breakup’, our mission is complete!]

Li Qingran didn’t speak. He reached his hand out from under his umbrella, feeling the rain hit his palm.

It felt vivid. Real. Unlike a program, this rain fell wherever the wind took it. This sensation often gave him the illusion that this was a real world. But 888 had reminded him repeatedly that this was just a novel world, no different from the game world he came from.

He just needed to play his role as the greedy, lecherous ex-boyfriend, hurt the lead, and lay the foundation for the main lead to come and save him.

Maybe he was just overthinking it.

His eyelashes fluttered in the mist. Li Qingran gripped his umbrella, withdrew his wet hand, and pulled out his phone. He typed a single word in the reply box.

“Okay.”

Anxious to finish the mission, Li Qingran didn’t make “Strawberry” wait long. After discussing research with his professor, he took a taxi directly to the hotel.

Coincidentally, or perhaps intentionally, this hotel was right across the street from the bar where Li Qingran usually worked. After getting out of the car, he kept glancing at the neon sign of the bar, feeling as if Su Jingyi would walk out at any second.

But Su Jingyi had told him he was attending an important banquet tonight and wouldn’t be able to accompany him at the bar.

Relieved, Li Qingran even had the headspace to haggle with 888 in the elevator.

“The task only says he needs to find me lying in bed with someone. It doesn’t say I have to actually do it. I just need to be in bed with my clothes off, right?”

[At the very least, you should hug and kiss. Just lying there might not be enough to break the lead’s heart.]

Finally, Li Qingran only agreed to a hug.

888 didn’t push further. In its experience, no matter how pure a Host claimed to be before entering the room, they usually ended up being quite wild once the scene started.

Li Qingran stood before Room 1603. He tapped the keycard. With a beep, the gray door swung open, revealing a dark abyss.

The room was pitch black. This was likely part of the play. Li Qingran didn’t understand, but he respected it.

He didn’t turn on the lights. He closed the door and felt his way through the dark toward the bedroom. His footsteps were hurried, not out of anticipation, but out of a desperate desire to finish his shift.

However, that desire turned into a red alert for mission failure the moment he opened the bedroom door.

He smelled it. A familiar, sharp lemon scent that had lingered on his body for an entire week.

Before 888 could even scream, it was instantly tossed into the small black room.

Li Qingran froze at the door. His reflexes told him to turn and run, but before his hand could leave the doorknob, a warm body pressed against his back.

The lemon scent wrapped around him dominantly, accompanied by a hand that went straight for the target.

“Where are you going? Didn’t you want to hook up?”

The muffled voice was like a supple snake, leaving a wet, stinging trail against Li Qingran’s neck.

On his fair skin, the creator of these marks began to suck the skin again, reclaiming the spots that had just faded. Then, Li Qingran felt his earlobe being bitten. A damp, sticky whisper followed.

“So, let’s hook up, Gege.”

“Hook up with me.”

And only with me!

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