The System Forces Me to Be a Scumbag Male Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 2

Most of the houses in town were separated by low, waist-high brick walls, barely a meter tall.

Behind these walls, the courtyards were usually filled with various flowers, fruits, and trees. The Ge family’s yard boasted two peach trees. It was only June, so the trees were just beginning to bear fruit, their mostly bare branches dotted with a sparse scattering of tiny, green peaches.

Using these two trees as cover, Shen Siyang crouched behind the low wall, waiting for Sang Xiaoshi to return from his scouting mission.

From his memories, Shen Siyang knew that most of the townspeople loved to gather in front of their courtyards after lunch to chat. This was especially true on scorching summer afternoons like today. In an era where air conditioning had not yet become a household staple, a creaking, slow-whirring electric fan was nowhere near as refreshing as the natural breeze found in a shady spot.

As Shen Siyang was lost in thought, he spotted a tiny figure rounding the corner, running hurriedly toward him. It was Sang Xiaoshi.

The boy was enveloped in an oversized, sky-blue T-shirt that billowed out behind him like a half-balloon in the wind.

“How is it? Are there enough people out there?”

Sang Xiaoshi came to a halt right in front of Shen Siyang. Panting softly, he gave a firm, heavy nod. “Six-sixteen people.”

Amused by his sheer dedication, Shen Siyang chuckled and reached out to smooth down the boy’s wind-mussed hair. “You actually went and counted them so seriously.”

Not wanting to waste any time, he pulled Sang Xiaoshi a little closer. “Let’s double-check one last time. The thing Ge Jiabao treasures the most—the toy he absolutely forbids anyone from touching—is that yellow Transformer currently sitting right in the middle of his desk, correct?”

The section of the low wall where they stood faced Ge Jiabao’s bedroom window.

Right now, the window was wide open. Inside, Ge Jiabao was lounging cross-legged on his bed, sucking on a popsicle and swinging his legs back and forth, his eyes glued to the cartoon playing on the television.

Sang Xiaoshi didn’t know what a “Transformer” was, but he recognized the color and the placement.

His eyes grew wide as he peered through the window, comparing the desk to his memory. Once confirmed, he nodded earnestly at Shen Siyang.

“Perfect.” Shen Siyang patted Sang Xiaoshi’s head. “The moment I start climbing in, you run straight to my house to find my mom. Tell her I’m being bullied, and then lead her to the front of the house where everyone is gathered.”

Sang Xiaoshi nodded like a little chick pecking at rice. After a brief pause, he asked earnestly, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes!” Shen Siyang placed both hands on the boy’s shoulders, spun him around, and pointed to a quiet, shady, deserted spot a short distance away. “Once you bring my mom over, you stand right there, and you watch the show.”

“Understood?”

Sang Xiaoshi nodded his little head.

Shen Siyang spun him back around, gave him a quick signal, and gripped the edge of the low wall with both hands.

While he might not have been a fighter, his childhood had been spent scaling roofs, climbing trees, and raiding bird nests—he hadn’t missed a single mischievous rite of passage. A one-meter wall and a low window were absolute child’s play.

With a final nod to Sang Xiaoshi, he nimbly vaulted over the wall, dashed across the yard, and leaped through the window. With a clear target in mind, he lunged straight for the Bumblebee Transformer on the desk, grabbed it, and initiated a swift parkour retreat.

Ge Jiabao was happily watching his cartoon when he suddenly realized what had just transpired. By then, Shen Siyang was already clutching the precious Bumblebee, flinging the bedroom door open, darting across the living room, and bursting out into the front courtyard.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Realizing exactly what had been stolen, Ge Jiabao sprang off the bed in a flash. He didn’t even care that his popsicle had dropped onto the sheets; he bolted out the door barefoot, chasing after Shen Siyang.

About five meters from the main front gate, Shen Siyang slammed on his mental brakes. He slowed his pace deliberately, adopting a casual stroll as he walked outside.

He had barely taken two steps past the threshold when a furious roar erupted from behind him: “Put down my Bumblebee!!”

Following the shout, Ge Jiabao’s furious figure materialized at the doorway.

Before he could reach out to grab Shen Siyang, a woman’s loud, robust voice echoed from outside the courtyard. “What is going on here? What’s all this racket in the middle of the day?”

Chen Huiju entered the yard holding a handful of sunflower seeds. The moment she stepped in, she saw her son barefoot, his oversized tank top skewed sideways, his entire face flushed so red he looked ready to explode at any second.

A few neighbors who had heard the commotion followed Chen Huiju into the yard. One of them happened to live right across the street from Shen Siyang. Recognizing him instantly, she chimed in, “Oh, isn’t this Xiao Siyang? My goodness, what happened to your face?”

This was the exact cue Shen Siyang had been waiting for.

Clutching the Bumblebee tightly, he turned toward the woman who had spoken. He looked up, his eyes wide, watery, and full of innocent docility. “It’s nothing, Auntie Yun. Brother Jiabao just accidentally bumped into me. It doesn’t hurt at all! Besides, Brother Jiabao is really nice—he even gave me this toy as an apology!”

“You’re full of crap!”

Hearing this, Ge Jiabao instantly lost his temper. He lunged forward to snatch the Bumblebee from Shen Siyang’s hands.

Predicting this, Shen Siyang deftly dodged the grab. He spun around in a slow, controlled motion with his face turned upward, ensuring that every single neighbor present got a crystal-clear look at the bruises on his forehead and the cut on the corner of his mouth. Only then did he look back at Ge Jiabao, asking with a perfect blend of confusion, restraint, and aggrieved sorrow, “Brother Jiabao, are you taking it back now?”

From the day he was born up until he turned twenty-five, the descriptions Shen Siyang received about his looks always boiled down to one word: adorable.

In his mother’s words, he possessed the kind of face that instantly triggered people’s protective instincts. Even at twenty-five, whenever he got into a petty squabble with his nephew, he could rely on his stellar acting skills and innocent face to get his cousin to give his nephew a thorough scolding. It was even more of an unfair advantage now that he was in the body of a seven or eight-year-old.

None of the neighbors gathered in the yard were blind. No amount of “accidental bumping” could leave someone with a bruised forehead and a split lip.

Coupled with the fact that Ge Jiabao had a long-standing reputation for being a brat, someone immediately couldn’t help but speak up.

“Huiju, how can your Jiabao be hitting people again? This can’t go on. What if he grows up to be a real thug?”

“Exactly! I remember the Shen family’s little boy being so well-behaved, and his school grades are excellent too. How could he possibly provoke your Jiabao?”

Ge Jiabao, initially brimming with aggressive momentum, wanted nothing more than to scratch and curse at Shen Siyang for spinning wild lies.

But just as he extended his arm, Chen Huiju bellowed, “Ge Jiabao! Did you cause those injuries on Xiao Siyang’s face?”

If it hadn’t been him, he could have denied it, but unfortunately, he actually did do it.

Feeling guilty, Ge Jiabao stammered a completely irrelevant defense: “I never said I’d give him the Bumblebee.”

“I am asking you if you beat him up! Who cares about your stupid toy?”

Seeing Ge Jiabao hesitate and stammer, Chen Huiju instantly knew the truth. Frustrated by her son’s failure to behave, she stuffed her sunflower seeds into her pocket and stepped forward to discipline him.

At that moment, Shen Siyang, who had been standing obediently among the crowd, suddenly wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye and spoke up to “defend” Ge Jiabao.

“You can’t entirely blame Brother Jiabao. He probably just wanted to play with me. When his fist came flying at me, if Brother Xiu hadn’t held me down so I couldn’t move, I actually could have dodged it. And the second time, when Brother Jiabao pushed me into the wall, if Brother Liu hadn’t tripped me, I probably wouldn’t have hit my forehead. So it’s my fault too. You can’t blame Brother Jiabao completely.”

Ge Jiabao’s legs were trembling from his mother’s glare. He completely missed the underlying trap in the words and genuinely believed Shen Siyang was taking his side. He eagerly chimed in, “Y-yeah! He said so himself, he’s at fault too! And there’s Ma Sixiu and Wu Peiliu.”

Sixiu and Peiliu were Ge Jiabao’s two sidekicks from earlier that afternoon.

Since they were all neighbors, the mothers of those two boys happened to be standing right there in the courtyard.

Upon hearing this, a unified, thunderous roar erupted across the yard: “Ma Sixiu! / Wu Peiliu! Get your butts down here this instant!”

Simultaneously, Chen Huiju stepped up in two strides and pinched Ge Jiabao’s ear, twisting it hard. “Ge! Jia! Bao! How many times have I told you? Do not go out causing trouble for me! It’s bad enough that you do it yourself, but you just had to drag Sixiu and Peiliu into it too! From now on, you are forbidden from stepping a single foot out of this house on Saturdays and Sundays!”

Ge Jiabao’s ear was already throbbing from the pinch, but hearing this restriction, he forgot the pain and began to struggle and protest, glaring at Shen Siyang with sheer resentment.

Unluckily for him, Chen Huiju caught him red-handed. “You still dare to glare at him? Who do you think you’re glaring at, huh? Try glaring one more time and see what happens!”

Just then, Ma Sixiu and Wu Peiliu came running downstairs. The three boys were promptly grabbed by their respective mothers and subjected to a fierce scolding. The scene dissolved into utter chaos.

Eventually, Auntie Yun—the neighbor who had first spoken up for Shen Siyang—decided enough was enough and stepped in as a mediator. “Alright, alright, they’ve been scolded. Just have the three of them apologize to Xiao Siyang. As for that little toy, since it was already offered to Siyang, there’s no reason to take it back. Once they apologize and hand over the toy, we’ll consider this matter settled.”

Ge Jiabao had already suffered immense grievance from the ear-tugging and lecturing.

Hearing that his Bumblebee was still going to be given away even after his punishment, he completely lost it. His eyes turned bloodshot with rage and despair. “No way! My Bumblebee cannot be given to him! My uncle bought that for me! I never said I’d give it away!”

Chen Huiju was a reasonable woman, but looking at the Bumblebee nestled in Shen Siyang’s arms, she felt a slight pang of hesitation.

The toy had been brought back from the city by her younger brother, who worked there. It had cost several hundred yuan. She knew Ge Jiabao treasured it like his own life; he wouldn’t even let other kids touch it when they came over to play. She had no idea how it had ended up in Shen Siyang’s hands today.

Just as she was pondering whether she could negotiate with Shen Siyang and offer him a different toy instead, a sudden gasp echoed from the courtyard entrance.

“Siyang! What on earth happened to your face?”

Shen Siyang didn’t even need to turn around to look. He recognized the voice instantly.

It was his mother, Ms. Yuan Linfei.

Yuan Linfei’s voice drew closer and closer.

“How many times has Mommy told you? We have a photoshoot scheduled for this afternoon! Now that your face looks like this, how are we supposed to explain it to Uncle Xu? We already signed a contract with them. If we can’t do the shoot, we’ll have to pay breach-of-contract damages!”

Having masterfully played along with Ms. Yuan Linfei for over twenty years, how could Shen Siyang possibly fail to recognize this routine?

He immediately clutched the Bumblebee Transformer even tighter to his chest, lowered his head in shame, turned toward Yuan Linfei, and apologized with a choked voice, “I’m sorry, Mommy. It’s my fault.”

Seeing that the victim was the one apologizing while her own son was clearly the culprit, Chen Huiju felt a profound wave of shame wash over her. She turned to Yuan Linfei and asked, “Linfei, what’s this photoshoot you’re talking about?”

Yuan Linfei was tall, had an excellent figure, and worked a white-collar desk job at the local sub-district office. Because she was always polite, well-mannered, and reasonable, she had always been highly popular around town.

“One of my husband’s friends runs a company and was looking for a child actor for a commercial. A few days ago, he saw our Xiao Yang and said his look was perfect for it. So, we signed a contract with them and agreed to let him do a set of advertisements.”

Hearing this, Chen Huiju’s face instantly paled. “Then, how much would the breach-of-contract fee be?”

Yuan Linfei adopted a deeply worried expression and pondered for a brief moment. “Around a thousand yuan or so.”

The moment Chen Huiju heard the price, she slapped Ge Jiabao hard across the back.

Despite how much the financial hit stung, she still turned to Yuan Linfei and said firmly, “Linfei, it was my Jiabao who ruined your boy’s face. Our family will cover this money.”

“There’s no need, Auntie,” Shen Siyang chimed in again, his voice dripping with pure docility. “I’m partly to blame as well. Besides, Brother Jiabao was willing to give me his favorite toy, which really touched me. You and Brother Jiabao really don’t need to blame yourselves anymore.”

Ge Jiabao didn’t care about the money or the photoshoot, but hearing that this shameless Shen Siyang was still trying to keep his Bumblebee, he immediately lost his mind again. “Shen Siyang! When did I ever—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Huiju pinched and twisted his ear yet again. “Ge Jiabao! Xiao Siyang is being so big-hearted and says he forgives you, and you’re still trying to throw a tantrum? Huh? Besides, you were the one who said you’d give him the toy! Hurry up and apologize to him!”

“I won’t!” Ge Jiabao swatted at his mother’s hand.

“If you don’t apologize, don’t even dream of getting another toy ever again! When your uncle comes home for New Year’s this year, I’ll tell him not to buy you a single thing! And you can forget about stepping foot outside for the rest of the summer break!”

Hearing this ultimate threat, Ge Jiabao burst out into a loud, aggrieved wail. “Wahhhhh!”

“Oh, so now you’re the one feeling wronged? Apologize, now!” Chen Huiju completely ignored his tears.

Gnashing his teeth, his small face flushed a violent crimson, Ge Jiabao finally succumbed to the pressure. He glared at Shen Siyang and muttered, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Siyang beamed back at him with a face full of absolute understanding and benevolence. “It’s quite alright, Brother Jiabao.”

With Ge Jiabao yielding, Ma Sixiu and Wu Peiliu naturally lost their nerve to hold out any longer and quickly followed suit with their own apologies.

Once the boys finished apologizing, Chen Huiju turned to Yuan Linfei with an expression full of remorse. “Linfei, I am truly so sorry. About those contract damages, we really should—”

Yuan Linfei stepped forward, took Chen Huiju’s hands in hers, and said understandingly, “No need. We’re all neighbors here, and Siyang already said it’s fine, so please don’t be strangers. Let’s just drop it.”

With that, she turned around and took hold of Shen Siyang’s hand. “Let’s go, time to head home. We need to put medicine on your face right away, or it might leave a scar.”

Hearing the word scar, Chen Huiju didn’t dare detain them any longer. She hurriedly ushered them out, telling them to get home quickly and stay safe on the way.

Though Ge Jiabao had been forced to apologize, his heart was entirely filled with indignant fury. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Shen Siyang, burning with the urge to rush forward and snatch his Bumblebee back.

Just as his eyes were burning with rage, he noticed Shen Siyang—who was walking away with Yuan Linfei—deliberately turn around mid-stride. Holding the Bumblebee tightly in his arms, Shen Siyang looked right back at him.

Ge Jiabao was furious. Just as he was about to glare back in defiance, he watched as Shen Siyang suddenly lifted the Bumblebee, planted a massive, dramatic kiss right on the Autobot’s head, tilted his face, and flashed him a smug, triumphant grin.

Ge Jiabao’s eyes widened in sheer, utter disbelief. In that instant, his blood boiled violently, as if he had just suffered the ultimate, unmitigated humiliation. He leaped into the air, ready to charge.

“You! You total piece of garbage! Ahhhh! I’m going to kill you!!”

But the moment his feet left the ground, he was violently yanked back by the scruff of his neck by Chen Huiju.

Chen Huiju lifted him bodily and tossed him straight back into the house. “Look at you, Ge Jiabao! Who do you think you’re going to kill? Dinner is canceled tonight! You’re going hungry! Lose some weight!”

SLAM!

The heavy front door shut with a resounding bang, abruptly cutting off Ge Jiabao’s final line of sight.