The Cannon Fodder 'Seme' is the Center of Attention Again (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 35
[Host, what should we do?! Theyāre going to make you choose again!]
Inside the dim room, the Alpha, with his head buried under the covers, rolled over sluggishly. He offered no reaction to the systemās early warning.
Inside his mind, 888 was frantic. [Host! Host! Stop sleeping! Theyāre about to come in!]
“Let them come,” Li Qingran muttered, rubbing his ear, his eyes still closed. “It’s not like they’re setting the place on fire. There’s no need to be so anxious.”
Besides, even if they did set it on fire, he couldn’t run away. Since he couldn’t change the current situation, he might as well make himself as comfortable as possible under these limited conditions.
Li Qingran felt there was no point in being anxious; he had no power to stop them from entering anyway.
As for what they would say or what choices they would force upon him, he would find out the moment they stepped through the door. Fretting about it now was just “borrowing” anxiety from the future.
All projected anxiety and internal friction were a waste of time. Li Qingran had no interest in that.
So, regardless of how nervous 888 became, Li Qingran simply lay quietly on the bed, closing his eyes to conserve his energy and sharpen his mind.
Finally, a crisp clicking sound came from the door. The chain slid inch by inch from the handle, followed by the creak of the door opening. As a figure slipped into the room along with a beam of sunlight, Li Qingran finally opened his eyes.
He sat up in bed.
Within his sight, Jiang Siran practically stumbled toward him.
It was the middle of summer, yet the Alpha who grabbed his wrist was as cold as if he had just returned from a trip to the South Pole. His entire body was terrifyingly icy.
Jiang Siran pressed Li Qingranās palm against his own face, nuzzling it longingly. After kissing it several times, his voice finally trembled as he spoke.
“Qingran, Iāve settled everything. Over there, the Jiang family, no one will hurt you, Qingran. Soā”
“How did you all decide to handle this?”
Before Jiang Siran could finish his sentence, Li Qingran interrupted him with a soft question.
Jiang Siran froze for two seconds before realizing what Li Qingran was asking. He stammered in response.
“Because we used to argue every time we were together, we never actually understood your own thoughts. So this time, I made an agreement with them to see you one by one. This way, everyone can talk to you properly and learn more about your true feelings and thoughts.”
“Thatās actually a good idea,” Li Qingran nodded. He then pulled his hand back.
It was too cold. His hand was freezing.
Li Qingran simply felt that Jiang Siranās body temperature was too low, but Jiang Siran interpreted the withdrawal of the hand as an expression of displeasure.
As the warmth in his palm vanished, Jiang Siran felt a sense of emptiness, and his body grew even colder.
He knelt on the bed on one knee and looked up at Li Qingran. His dark green pupils quivered slightly before large teardrops began to pour out.
“Qingran, are you angry because I came too late?”
Jiang Siran reached out, wanting to touch Li Qingranās fingers resting on the quilt. Countless frantic thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, his fingertips only landed near Li Qingranās hand.
“I actually wanted to find you a long time ago. But you said back then that you didn’t want to be in danger, so I endured it. I didn’t stay away on purpose. Believe me, Qingran!”
“Of course I believe you.” Li Qingran proactively reached out and touched his cheek. His fingertips lightly tapped the pale skin, making Jiang Siran squint in comfort. However, the quick withdrawal that followed made the emptiness in his heart grow even more intense.
He wanted Li Qingran to touch him, look at him, and stay with him with that gentleness forever.
The silver chain was still on the Alpha’s wrist, sliding back and forth on his forearm as he moved his hand. In his mind, Jiang Siran had already replaced it with other colors, and even other types of chains used to bind a person.
However, before he could act on those wild thoughts, he felt the Alpha gently ruffle his hair twice.
“Let’s play a game,” he heard Li Qingran say to him.
Jiang Siran blinked blankly.
Li Qingran continued, “Let’s do this one more time. If you are the first one to stand before me next time, I will choose you.”
Jiang Siranās fingers near Li Qingranās side twitched. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, all the long arguments he had prepared to persuade Li Qingran to leave with him right now dissolved into a single sentence.
“As long as I find you first, you’ll choose me?”
“As long as you find me first.” Li Qingran smiled at him.
Teardrops were still streaming from the latter’s eyes. Sharp canines pierced his soft lips; Li Qingran could even see his lips trembling slightly.
Ultimately, Jiang Siran didn’t say another word. He nodded heavily to Li Qingran, slowly climbed off the bed, turned around, and left the cageāthough it was unclear if the cage held Li Qingran or himself.
Waiting at the door was the second person, Gu Shiyu, who was startled when Jiang Siran emerged.
“Why are you crying so hard? Were you rejected?”
Gu Shiyu asked with a mix of curiosity and schadenfreude.
Jiang Siran ignored him, walked straight back to the living room, gathered the people he had brought, and left immediately.
His decisive, straightforward departure was almost no different from that rainy night long ago.
Su Jingyi and Qi Ziyan, who were waiting in the living room, glanced at each other. Confusion flickered in their eyes, but because of their current awkward relationship, they didn’t huddle together to analyze the situation as they usually did. Instead, they each pursed their lips and looked away simultaneously.
When Gu Shiyu entered the room, Li Qingran was stretching.
The Alphaās slender arms extended upward, causing the hem of his white short-sleeved shirt to ride up slightly. This revealed the white drawstring of his black sweatpants and a small section of his fair, narrow waist that flashed before Gu Shiyuās eyes.
Gu Shiyuās breathing hitched involuntarily. “A-Ran…”
Li Qingran lowered his arms and smiled, finishing the other half of the sentence for Gu Shiyu.
“Long time no see.”
“…Long time no see.” Gu Shiyu bit his lip and walked quickly to the bedside. He paused before continuing.
“I know that in your heart, Iām probably at the bottom of your list of options. But A-Ran, Iāve settled all the issues within the Gu family. The engagement with Su Jingyi has been completely canceled. I have nothing to do with him now, and we won’t have any more dealings in the future. So, I want to ask, can you give me a chance to formally pursue you?”
Clearly, Gu Shiyu had a very clear understanding of his own position.
If they were to compete in a normal way that didn’t repel Li Qingran, he had no advantage. He couldn’t compare to Jiang Siran, and even Su Jingyiāwhom Li Qingran had always wanted to stay away fromāmight be ranked ahead of him.
After all, though Li Qingran didn’t like Su Jingyi now, the two of them had a real history together. The feelings might be gone, but the memories remained. Li Qingran was a gentle and kind person; he might get kidnapped by those memories and agree to reconcile with Su Jingyi.
So now, Gu Shiyu wanted to reserve a chance to be with him before Li Qingran could dwell on those memories.
Moreover, as long as Li Qingran agreed to this request, Gu Shiyu could guarantee that during the pursuit, he would never let Li Qingran recall a single moment of his time with Su Jingyi.
Li Qingran listened quietly and then blinked. “Itās possible.”
The corners of Gu Shiyuās mouth began to turn up, but before the smile could fully form, he heard the Alpha add another condition.
“But before that, you need to be the first one to stand before me.”
Gu Shiyu froze.
Li Qingran read the confusion in his eyes and explained patiently.
“My choice today is the same as before. But next time, I will choose whoever stands before me first.”
The Alpha looked up at him. His gray eyes seemed to glow even in the dim light.
“Gu Shiyu, can you do it?”
“See? This time, you weren’t the first to kidnap me, and you weren’t the first to come in.” Li Qingran sat up straight and beckoned Gu Shiyu closer. When the Alpha uncontrollably lowered his head and offered his chin to Li Qingranās hand, the latter gently caressed his cheek. His voice was a soft blur.
“So, next time, can you be the first one to find me? Gu Shiyu?”
“I…” Gu Shiyu opened his mouth.
Li Qingran withdrew his hand.
“Did you choose neither of them?” Qi Ziyan asked curiously after entering and looking at Li Qingran.
Li Qingran smiled. “What do you think, Mr. Qi?”
“I obviously hope you rejected them both.” Qi Ziyan sat down directly next to Li Qingran. His light brown eyes sparkled when he looked at him, as if they were filled with starlight.
“So, what exactly did you say to them?”
“Did you come in just to gossip with me?”
“I just wanted to understand the situation.” Qi Ziyan said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “To know your enemy is to be victorious in a hundred battles!”
Li Qingran laughed out loud. “That way of thinking…”
“Whatās wrong?” Qi Ziyan tilted his head toward him.
“Nothing, itās quite good.” Li Qingran coughed twice before answering the question.
“It wasn’t exactly a rejection. I just played a game with them.”
Qi Ziyan became even more curious. “What game?”
“A game where Iāll choose whoever finds me first next time.”
Inside the enclosed room, the ice and snow pheromones lightly stirred the thick syrup. Li Qingran smiled and tilted his head back at Qi Ziyan.
“So, do you want to join?”
“…Yes!”
The blue of the sky gradually faded, leaving only the deep black of night.
Su Jingyi was the last to enter the room.
At this moment, just as he expected, the handcuffs on the Alpha’s wrists had been removed.
But he did not leave. Instead, he sat quietly in his original spot, patiently awaiting the Omega’s arrival.
Su Jingyi walked slowly to the window and pursed his lips. The fingers at his side curled, then unfurled, before tightening even harder.
“Brother,” he couldn’t help but call out.
“You know already, don’t you?” Li Qingran said. “About the game.”
Su Jingyi nodded slowly.
“So, what are your thoughts? Are you going to participate?” Li Qingranās voice was soft and calm, as if he were merely a customer service representative for a competition, routinely asking a contestant if they wanted to join a high-stakes, winner-take-all game.
“I…” Su Jingyiās lips moved.
He wanted to say he didn’t want to participate!
He had already found Li Qingran. He had taken him away and hidden him. Why should he have to let him go all over again?
He couldn’t do it!
But as he looked at the Alphaās bare wrists and recalled the various behaviors of the other three before they left, he knew that if Li Qingran wasn’t willing, he could never truly keep him here.
The Alpha was a person, not an object to be toyed with at his whim.
Though he could turn Li Qingran into an object, that wasn’t what he truly wanted.
Su Jingyi bit his lip hard.
Right then, he heard Li Qingran say, “If you are the first one to appear before me again next time, then I will let you hide me away.”
Su Jingyi snapped his head up, realizing the Alpha had walked over to stand right in front of him.
Li Qingran leaned down, leaving a gentle kiss on the Omega’s forehead. His deliberately lowered voice sounded dangerously alluring.
“As long as you are the first to appear, Iāll go with you. You can hide me wherever you want, and I’ll never see anyone else again. How about it? Do you want to participate?”
“Yes! I want to participate!” Inside the dim room, the Omegaās voice was resolute.
Li Qingranās lips curled into a smirk.
[So, Host, which of the four do you think will find you first?]
In the airport lobby, the line of people waiting to board was like a long, winding dragon.
Li Qingran handed his ticket to the staff. Once the remaining half was returned to him, he stepped into the boarding bridge.
He had purchased a business class seat; it was spacious and comfortable. As soon as he sat down, a flight attendant offered him a warm towel and champagne.
Li Qingran took a sip of the wine, feeling the bubbles burst one by one in his mouth. He then replied lazily to 888:
[What do you think?]
888 seemed to have developed a betting addiction. It replied immediately:
[I still think it’ll be the protagonist.]
After all, that Omega was truly insane. Compared to the other three, he was far more willing to take drastic action! In this game launched by Li Qingran, 888 had high hopes for him.
[What about you, Host? Who do you think will be the first?]
[I think…] Li Qingran turned to look out the window. Watching the massive clouds drift past him against the golden sunlight, he felt as if he were falling into the clouds himself. Even his voice became ethereal.
[I think it will be Jiang Siran.]
[Why?]
[Because…]
Li Qingran leaned over to pick up a stone and threw it with force. He watched it skip across the water, creating a string of splashes until it finally sank into the lake. Only then did he turn to face the figure who had been waiting behind him for a long time.
The mountain forest was quiet, the small river flowed gently, and amidst the lush greenery, the dark green in the man’s eyes became even more vivid.
[Because a puppy will always be the first to find its owner.]
Li Qingran smiled and beckoned the “puppy” over.
At the same time, the blue pillar of light that had been blank for so long finally received its final punctuation mark.
“So, you’re saying the last mission world was ended by that cannon fodder participant?!”
Inside the employee cafeteria of the Space-Time Management Bureau, a staff member from the Villain Department looked shocked, his eyes full of disbelief.
“You’re joking, right?! How could a cannon fodderā”
If it were a “Deep-Loving Male Lead” or one of the participants from the Villain Department who entered a world and completely disrupted the plot, causing the world line to reorganize around themselves, he might be able to believe it.
After all, they had more screen time and deeper bonds with the protagonists.
But a cannon fodder? A character who usually finishes their scenes in two episodes and exits the world? For that character to become the sole protagonist?
Even a ghost wouldn’t believe that!
The colleague sitting opposite him wasn’t offended by his disbelief. He leisurely popped a peanut into his mouth and spoke slowly:
“If you don’t believe me, go ask anyone else. It’s practically common knowledge in the Bureau now. By the end, that world had so many bugs that the Main System had to open a real-time monitoring window. You think I’m messing with you?”
The colleague snorted. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gossiped with you. I thought Iād catch you up on the big news since you just finished a mission, and here you are doubting me!”
The Villain Department participant quickly apologized. “Don’t say that. I just thought it was impossible, too fantastical. So, he really became the protagonist in the end?”
“How could it be a lie? I heard from the veterans in our department that if he hadn’t made a choice at the very end, the world’s plot might have just kept going indefinitely.”
“That incredible?!” The Villain participant was so shocked he stopped eating. He grabbed his colleague and asked, “Has this world-flipping participant returned yet? What’s his name? What does he look like? Have you seen him?!”
“Stop, stop! Don’t get so excited. I’m not going anywhere. Why are you asking so urgently!”
The colleague pulled his hand away and took a sip of water. Under the participant’s urging gaze, he finally spoke:
“As for your questions, I can answer them all with one sentence: I don’t know.”
“…”
“It’s not that I’m intentionally hiding it,” the colleague explained. “It’s just that, like you said, this is so bizarre. To prevent that participant from being disturbed or exploited by people with ulterior motives, all his informationāincluding that worldāhas been sealed by the Main System. No one can find out who that cannon fodder actually was.”
“Does he still have to do missions?”
“Of course! Even if he doesn’t want to, the higher-ups will definitely push him into new worlds.”
“After all, those people at the top probably want to see if this cannon fodder participant can flip the world line in a new world just like he did before.”
“If that’s the case, he’s going to have a hard time in the next mission world,” the Villain participant sighed.
In any place, once you become a target of high-level monitoring, the restrictions on you become much tighter.
Flush!
The sound of a toilet flushing echoed.
Li Qingran sat on the toilet, looking down at the ice cream he had just thrown into the trash can.
The cold cream was slowly sliding down the black plastic bag, leaving a white streak. It looked very sticky and viscousāmuch like what was on his hands.
Li Qingran shifted his gaze to his left hand.
On his fair, slender fingers were dots of white paste. When he pressed his fingers together and pulled them apart, they even created thin, silver threads.
This was the masterpiece he had created under 888’s guidance using the ice cream.
Li Qingran pursed his lips, his expression hesitant.
[888, are you sure this is the kind of photo the cannon fodder sent to his idol in the original text?]
[Strictly speaking, no.]
Li Qingranās eyes brightened.
But before his mood could lift, 888 continued:
[In the original text, the cannon fodder actually performed some “hand-to-hand combat” for real. The stuff on his hands was the real deal.]
Li Qingran: “…”
[So Host, I’m really just using a bug here. The ice cream is a bit sticky, but at least you don’t have to actually take off yourā]
[Enough! You don’t need to say the rest.]
Li Qingran stopped 888ās impending “NSFW” comments. He looked at his left hand again, struggling internally. He slowly pulled out his phone.
[Just one?]
[Just one is enough!]
However…
888 paused. It thought about the upcoming plot and looked at Li Qingran, who was still agonized on the toilet. It couldn’t help but give him a warning.
[But Host, you might have to take more later. And the scale will be… even larger.]
Li Qingran: “…”
888 continued: [So Host, you need to get used to it early. This photo today is like playing house compared to whatās coming later.]
Li Qingran: […Should I be thanking you then?]
[Hehe, no need for that.]
888 scratched its head shyly.
[As long as you take a good photo. We have to be quick, otherwise that guy Qin Yanyun is going to give you trouble again.]
“…Fine.”
Li Qingran sighed again. Under 888ās urging, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and took a photo of his left hand. Then he opened Weibo, clicked on the pinned profile, and entered their private message interface.
[Are you sure he won’t see it?]
[I’m sure. Host, you don’t realize that these celebrities’ Weibo accounts are usually managed by assistants or agents. Even if they use them personally, they receive so many private messages every day that they never click through them one by one. Besides, in the plot, the fact that the cannon fodder was sending private photos to Chu Yu didn’t leak until he was about to exit. Just go ahead and send it. I guarantee no one else will see these photos before then!]
Thatās a relief.
Li Qingran relaxed slightly and clicked send.
At that exact moment, an anxious shout came from outside the stall.
“Brother Li, are you going to be much longer? Brother Qin is…”
“I’m coming!” Li Qingran called out. He stood up and flushed the toilet for show.
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
The darkened screen hid the notification that the photo had been sent successfully. It also meant Li Qingran failed to see that a second after the successful send, the little green checkmark turned into a bright “Read” status.
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