The Outcast Male Sub-Lead Stole the Female Lead’s Role - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Voice package loaded. System starting.

A cold, mechanical voice jolted Jiang Xu awake. He clearly remembered being in a car accident on his way home—could this be the electronic equipment in a hospital? Since when did medical tech become this advanced?

He blinked his eyes open in a daze, only to be startled by a white, furry ball with massive eyes hovering before him. He scrambled back into the corner of the bed. “Holy crap! Who—what are you?!”

The fur-ball looked at him coldly. Hello, Host. Welcome to “The Outcast Who Became a Heartthrob.” You have been bound to a Book-Transmigration System. I am System 001.

“What kind of nonsense is this?” Jiang Xu stared at the fur-ball from the corner of the bed. “Transmigration?”

The title sounded vaguely familiar. Jiang Xu frowned, and a spark of realization flashed through his mind. He remembered a friend forcing a romance novel recommendation on him with that exact title! Had he really transmigrated into a book? He reached down and gave his thigh a hard pinch. The sharp pain sent his heart sinking to rock bottom: This wasn’t a dream.

Due to certain reasons, the plot of this book has deviated. The host must complete missions to push the plot forward and reach the original ending of the book.

Although the fur-ball’s voice was icy, its appearance was cute, and Jiang Xu wasn’t as afraid anymore. He sat up straight and asked, “What about the me in my original world?”

001 replied coldly: Dead.

Jiang Xu: Thank you for being so incredibly blunt.

“So, what’s in it for me if I do these missions?”

Upon completing all missions, the host will receive a chance at rebirth as a system reward.

Jiang Xu’s eyes instantly lit up. “Really?” Seeing 001 give a cold, indifferent wiggle of its round body as a nod of affirmation, he cleared his throat and straightened his posture, his voice now tinged with anticipation. “Alright then, hurry up and give me a mission.”

He had read the book anyway; completing missions shouldn’t be too hard.

001: This host is certainly unusual.

Suddenly, faint footsteps echoed from outside the door. 001 shivered and glanced at Jiang Xu, giving a prompt: Target character Shi Jingyu has appeared. Host, please find a way to lead him to the back mountains.

Jiang Xu nodded repeatedly. He knew that Shi Jingyu was the absolute male lead of this book. He and the original villainous host were disciples under the same sect. In the beginning, he was very kind to the original host, but after discovering the original host was a major villain, he was the one who personally executed him. In short, he was the main character.

“So, what am I taking him to the back mountains for?” Jiang Xu was mentally reviewing the plot. He looked up expectantly, only to find nothing but thin air. 001 had already vanished.

You could have at least finished the sentence before leaving.

With 001 gone, the room fell silent. Only then did he begin to take in his surroundings. Before him was a room of carved beams and painted pillars. Plain gauze curtains were tied back with light blue cords. In the center of the room stood a small table with a minimalist vase holding a single, elegant camellia branch. Beside the deep blue white-porcelain tea set sat a small bowl.

Everything looked very ethereal and “immortal.”

He grabbed a handful of the long, straight black hair he suddenly possessed, stood up, and walked to the table. He poured a cup of tea and drank it down. “The environment is pretty good. Wow, the tea tastes great too!” Jiang Xu sat down happily, but before he could even get comfortable, there was a knock at the door. He jumped up, frantically straightened the tea set, scrambled back into his small bed, and let out a weak, delicate voice: “Please come in.”

The door clicked open, letting in a splash of soft light before it was shut again. Jiang Xu glimpsed the visitor out of the corner of his eye. The man wore a green robe that fluttered as he moved, giving him a celestial appearance. Jiang Xu coughed and looked away. As the visitor reached the bedside, Jiang Xu struggled to sit up, but the man quickly pressed him back down, saying softly, “Junior Brother, your injuries haven’t healed. There is no need to rise.” His voice was as warm and smooth as jade.

Jiang Xu nodded and looked apologetically at the man’s face, only to freeze instantly.

The face was exceptionally outstanding. His features were clear and bright, and the slight curl of his lips seemed to carry the warmth of spring. His lashes were like raven feathers, and his eyes curved slightly; looking into them was like seeing ten thousand stars.

As expected of the male lead!! The author had spent a great deal of ink describing the male lead’s transcendent beauty. But reading the words was one thing; seeing the person in the flesh was a different experience entirely. It truly prompted a gasp of admiration.

Jiang Xu was a bit pathetic; a grown man actually dazing out while looking at a handsome guy. It wasn’t until the man waved a hand and asked with concern, “Junior Brother? Junior Brother Jiang?”

“Ah! Senior Brother!” Jiang Xu snapped back to reality and gave a sheepish laugh. “I’m here, I’m here.”

The man in green seemed taken aback by his response. Noticing this, Jiang Xu asked cautiously, “Senior Brother, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just that you used to always call me by my name. Hearing you suddenly call me ‘Senior Brother’ today… I’m just not used to it.”

Jiang Xu’s expression turned awkward for a moment. He then remembered that the original host had absolutely no good feelings for this male lead. Forget calling him “Eldest Senior Brother,” he probably only used the man’s name while suppressing deep-seated annoyance.

He paused, then smiled. “Don’t blame me, Senior Brother. I was ignorant of etiquette in the past.” He blinked and spoke carefully. “I’ll call you Senior Brother from now on.”

Suddenly, 001’s voice rang in his head: Host, please complete the mission as soon as possible.

Jiang Xu’s head throbbed. He muttered “I know” in his heart, then looked at Shi Jingyu, opening his mouth tentatively. “Senior Brother, were you the one who brought me back?”

In the original work, Jiang Xu’s body was badly damaged due to a poisoning incident. Although he eventually recovered, it left him with a lasting weakness. Aside from the influence of the heroine, this was another reason why he later turned to practicing demonic arts.

He vaguely remembered that Shi Jingyu was the one who brought the original host back. However, instead of being grateful, the original host felt humiliated and became even more disrespectful toward his Eldest Senior Brother, eventually causing the entire sect to lose all affection for him.

Unexpectedly, Shi Jingyu hesitated for a moment before speaking. “When I received word and went to the back mountains to find you, you had already been moved to a safe location. I don’t know who did it, but later we worked together to bring you back.”

Huh? Could there be a bug? In the original book, the original host was supposed to be floating in the Cold Stream for a long time until Shi Jingyu appeared to save him.

“What is it, Junior Brother?” Seeing Jiang Xu frown, Shi Jingyu thought he was unwell. He pulled a small celadon bottle from his sleeve. “If you feel uncomfortable, take this medicine first and rest for a bit.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother.” Jiang Xu took the beautiful little bottle. Keeping the mission in mind and seeing Shi Jingyu’s concerned expression, he let out a long sigh, lowered his head, and stared at the green bottle in silence.

Although the original host was a villain, he was truly “beautiful, strong, and miserable”—literally. He was good-looking but had a tragic fate. If his temper hadn’t been so foul and his personality so gloomy and fickle causing people to ignore his looks—he probably would have been on par with Shi Jingyu.

It was precisely because of this overly delicate and feminine face that the original host was bullied constantly as a child, gradually developing his prickly personality.

His most striking features were his eyes. Despite his young age, his gaze was always cold and unfathomable. Combined with his porcelain-pale skin, those eyes appeared incredibly deep. His lips were pale to begin with, and after the ordeal in the back mountains, he looked even more ghostly. Now, with his head down and lashes lowered, he looked utterly despondent.

While Jiang Xu kept his head down, he was screaming internally: Why hasn’t he asked me what’s wrong yet?!

Just as he was about to peek up, his eyes met Shi Jingyu’s. The other man awkwardly looked away, his ears turning red. “Junior Brother, is something troubling you?”

Jiang Xu couldn’t for the life of him figure out why the guy was blushing, but now that he had been asked, he was thrilled. He coughed and lowered his voice. “Seeing the small bottle you gave me just now, Senior Brother, I couldn’t help but think of an item my mother left for me. I couldn’t find it anywhere after I woke up. Now that I think about it… it probably fell in the back mountains.”

After saying that, he sighed again. “I haven’t seen my mother since I was six years old.” As he spoke, his eyes actually began to redden.

Shi Jingyu had never seen his usually ill-tempered Junior Brother like this. Caught off guard and seeing him so lost, he couldn’t help but offer comfort. “Junior Brother, don’t panic… if it was lost in the back mountains, if we search thoroughly, we should be able to find it…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Xu grabbed his hand, his eyes filled with hope. “Senior Brother, are you willing to go to the back mountains with me to find it?”

You have to say yes!

Looking at the face so close to his own, Shi Jingyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Even his face began to flush; since he had a fair complexion, the blush was very obvious. He coughed lightly and turned his head. Yes, of course.

“Really!?” Jiang Xu gripped his hand tighter. He let out a smile. “Thank you, Senior Brother. But Senior Brother, why is your face so red?” As he spoke, he reached out and touched the man’s face. “Whoa, it’s really hot. Are you feeling sick?”

“No! It’s not…” Shi Jingyu abruptly pulled his hand back and stood up awkwardly. He looked at Jiang Xu, who was staring at him, and turned his eyes away again a moment later. “Junior Brother, please get dressed.”

His reaction was truly strange, but Jiang Xu was naturally laid-back and didn’t pay it much mind. He briskly finished changing. “Let’s go, Senior Brother.”

The moment he stepped out the door, he heard 001’s voice in his ear: Experience Points +50.

Mount Lingyun was a place of spiritual beauty, consisting of six main peaks. Each peak housed disciples, and Jiang Xu belonged to Jingming Peak.

The back mountain was a treasure trove, but because of that, it hadn’t been overly managed or modified, maintaining its most primitive and natural state. Consequently, there were many spiritual beasts, and they appeared and disappeared without a trace. Most spiritual beasts possessed human-like intelligence, but some were still un-awakened. Therefore, general disciples were usually forbidden from entering the back mountains; entry was only permitted once one’s spiritual stage reached a certain level.

The two climbed a set of steep stone steps. Shi Jingyu raised his hand slightly, a flash of blue light appeared, and then he turned to Jiang Xu. “Junior Brother, come up.”

Jiang Xu followed and jumped up, rubbing his chin. It seemed this mountain had a barrier. Was the original host already this powerful? He could just walk in. But why couldn’t he feel any power flowing through this body right now?

Spiritual herbs were everywhere. As Jiang Xu followed Shi Jingyu, he kept an eye on his surroundings, marveling that this was indeed a spiritual land; even the air seemed fresher.

Please launch a sneak attack on the target character, Shi Jingyu, from behind.

001’s cold voice suddenly appeared in his ear. Jiang Xu was startled and stepped on a smooth stone. Fortunately, there was a tree nearby to catch him, or he would have fallen.

“What kind of ghost-talk are you saying?” he whispered, but 001 didn’t respond again, as if it had vanished once more.

The person in front, who was carefully searching for the item, turned around at the noise. Seeing him leaning against the tree, Shi Jingyu frowned with concern. “Are you alright, Junior Brother?”

Jiang Xu gave an awkward laugh. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just stepped on a stone.”

Shi Jingyu nodded, walked a few steps closer, and reached out a hand. “Since you’re fine, let’s go look over there.”

Jiang Xu looked at that hand with a complicated expression and opened his mouth. “Senior Brother…”

“Yes?”

“…It’s nothing.” Jiang Xu took the hand to pull himself up and gave him a bright smile. “Thank you for coming with me to look, Senior Brother.”

Shi Jingyu was momentarily dazed by that pure, unfiltered smile. He then returned the smile and turned around. “No need for such formality. Let’s go.”

Why does Junior Brother seem like a completely different person since he got injured?

Jiang Xu didn’t know what he was thinking; he was focused entirely on how to complete the mission. In the original work, though the original host’s power wasn’t bad, how could he compare to the exceptionally gifted male lead? It was precisely because of this that he always harbored resentment and jealousy toward Shi Jingyu, which led to the events that followed.

In the book, the original host used the heroine to lure the male lead to the back mountains and injured him.

But this Senior Brother clearly looked much stronger than him. Wouldn’t a sneak attack be discovered immediately?

While Jiang Xu was fretting, Shi Jingyu suddenly called out to him in surprise: “Junior Brother! It seems I’ve found the item you mentioned!”

That thing was completely made up, how could it actually exist?