Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, He’s a Darling Wife! - Chapter 3

“I know you’re not asleep, Wifey.”

….

341 was a reliable system. To help Yuan Su complete his mission, it offered some very practical advice.

For example: 【You should flirt with Qu Zhilan.】

Yuan Su: “…?”

The system couldn’t help but feel that the way the Protagonist Uke looked at Yuan Su… wasn’t entirely innocent.

Before Qu Zhilan left, his stiff parting words—whether they were meant as comfort or an explanation—carried a hint of an indefinable ambiguity.

Qu Zhilan had said: “The people in the guild don’t hate you. Don’t overthink it.”

The man’s expression and tone weren’t exactly gentle; in fact, they were quite rigid. Yet his deep, dark gaze kept drifting back to Yuan Su’s face as if observing his reaction, only to pointedly dodge Yuan Su’s eyes whenever he looked back.

341: How strange.

Yuan Su was stunned for only a moment before he caught on to the system’s logic.

If Qu Zhilan developed feelings for him, wouldn’t that create the perfect emotional conflict between the Protagonist Seme and Uke?

He was a natural at being a vicious cannon fodder!

As a loathed character, he was destined to be hated by the masses anyway. If he entangled himself with a protagonist, he could push the plot forward, finish his work, and he wouldn’t have to worry about being pursued by actual creeps.

What a secure and sensible suggestion!

“Okay then,” Yuan Su, who was somewhat homophobic, readily accepted. 341 is such a mature and reliable system!

Seeing how quickly Yuan Su agreed, 341’s internal thoughts were complicated. As expected of a master flirt who has seen it all.

*****

Qu Zhilan hadn’t forced the key away, which Yuan Su attributed to his own stellar performance. That display of lingering affection and deep devotion for his “late” husband, even he had moved himself!

“It’s getting late. I’ll go find him tomorrow.” Yuan Su glanced at the sky outside, rummaged through the fridge for some food, and cobbled together a simple meal.

He had gone out today and was feeling a bit sweaty. Being someone who loved cleanliness, he insisted on a shower before bed.

However, when he ran to the master bedroom and opened the wardrobe, he was dumbfounded. “Where are my clothes?”

【This is Qin Zhao’s house. You two lived separately.】

Yuan Su moved aside the clothes in the closet, all of which were a size too large for him. “Then why did you give me directions to his place?”

341 sounded frustrated: 【Shouldn’t you be looking to see if he has anything valuable left behind?】

Yuan Su had an epiphany. “I’ll look after my shower.”

The wardrobe only contained Qin Zhao’s clothes. Yuan Su picked out a soft-textured shirt and headed into the bathroom.

The bathroom door clicked shut, and the sound of splashing water soon followed.

In a corner of the living room where Yuan Su couldn’t see, the window was quietly pried open. A mass of mist, black as ink, seeped in like liquid. Eventually, it coalesced into a semi-solid, eerie form “standing” in the center of the room.

A single, massive eye that looks violet-blue and more jewel-like than human, was set into the black mist, beautiful yet terrifying. Its inorganic gaze fixed steadily on the bathroom door.

“He” moved like a giant black python, slithering closer. Yuan Su’s discarded clothes lay in a heap by the door.

A shirt, trousers, and then… underwear.

“He” still remembered the snowy, warm white skin glimpsed through the cold glass earlier. Skin like that should be hot to the touch; it would probably tremble piteously if handled.

The black mist condensed into a tentacle. It ignored the rest, seizing only the white, intimate garment and pulling it close.

Shameless, as if merely satisfying a curiosity devoid of desire…

After a long time, the water stopped. A moment later, the bathroom door opened, and a cloud of hot steam rushed out. The slender, white fingers gripping the doorframe were a tempting shade of pink at the tips—damp and glistening, like the flesh of a ripe peach dripping with juice.

It was enough to inspire the most lewd thoughts of touch and taste.

The bathroom had been steaming hot. After his soak, Yuan Su felt a bit lightheaded from the lack of oxygen; his cheeks were flushed a deep crimson and his gaze was slightly unfocused.

The hot water had turned his pale skin a soft rose-white. He looked like a hibiscus flower trembling under a rainy mist, his dark lashes wet and his amber eyes shimmering. He was incredibly tender.

His jet-black hair hung loose, droplets of water gathering at the tips and dampening his collar. His elegant, distinct collarbones also caught the light with a watery sheen.

With every step, a sweet fragrance followed him, as if the air itself was thick with the scent of his skin…

So fragrant.

Gulp.

Yuan Su tilted his head back to take a sip of water. He pursed his moist lips, still feeling unsatisfied. He walked while drying his hair with a towel, leaning over to grab a popsicle from the freezer. As he stood up, he gave the fridge door a light kick to close it.

A puff of cold air hit the bridge of his pale, pinkish foot. Yuan Su, holding the popsicle wrapper in his mouth, didn’t look down. He assumed it was just the chill from the fridge.

But in reality, a few wisps of pitch-black mist had coiled around his slender, delicate ankle like a shackle. Though thin, they were strikingly prominent against his snow-white skin.

“Where are my clothes?” Yuan Su tugged at the hem of his shirt and searched around the bathroom door, but he couldn’t find his underwear.

He could manage with Qin Zhao’s shirts, but the underwear… it was definitely too big.

Since he couldn’t find it, he gave up. Fortunately, there was no one else in the house, so walking around with bare legs “commando” wasn’t an issue.

Remembering the system’s reminder, Yuan Su did a sweep of the room. Finally, in the drawer of the master bedroom’s nightstand, he found a jewelry box containing a necklace.

The pendant was a black crystal with a faint blue tint. It appeared natural, with no signs of artificial cutting—the shape wasn’t particularly “pretty,” but the luster was unique.

Yuan Su held it up against the light, curious. “What is this?”

341: 【I can’t disclose that yet, but it is indeed important.】

Yuan Su understood. Without thinking much of it, he put the necklace on and crawled into bed.

….

“Remember to take some water.”

“Be careful on the road.”

“I’ll wait for you to come back.”

…

Yuan Su dreamed of how he and his husband had met, and the reason “he” had killed him.

After the apocalypse, civilization had vanished. Human flaws twisted under the harsh environment; thoughts and lifestyles became primal, worshipping strength and martial prowess.

Before entering this base, his husband, Qin Zhao, had already been the leader of another sanctuary. He had taken in a large number of survivors and trained his own combat force.

To ensure better survival, Qin Zhao led his people into this base and founded the guild. His charisma was immense.

Qin Zhao was a brilliant strategist and a formidable fighter. Even without the base’s high walls, he could organize hundreds of people. Since joining the base, he never returned empty-handed from a scavenging mission.

During several small-scale outbreaks, he had led his team to bring back medicine and vaccines, saving people from the brink of death. Over time, his reputation within the base soared.

In public, Qin Zhao was cold and accustomed to the slaughter of mutated beasts, but he was meticulously gentle and tender at heart.

Yuan Su had fixated on this point, guessing that Qin Zhao was likely an “honest man” who was easy to coax. As luck would have it, a traitor within the team tried to ambush Qin Zhao, and Yuan Su had lunged forward to take the hit.

He had taken a blade to the back, earning himself a life-saving debt.

The transition from the flashback to the terrifying present is seamless. Here is the natural English translation of the sequence:

….

When Qin Zhao came to visit him in the infirmary, Yuan Su—choosing the moment when he was at his weakest and Qin Zhao at his most defenseless, confessed his “feelings.” Qin Zhao didn’t agree immediately, but Yuan Su didn’t give up. He waited until Qin Zhao was fast asleep after a night of heavy drinking, stripped off his clothes, and nestled into the man’s arms.

The next morning, met with the man’s bewildered and shocked expression, Yuan Su simply whispered a pained “it’s okay,” playing the part of a fragile soul struggling to hold back his tears…

He kept up the act until he heard the words: “I will take responsibility for you.”

Mission accomplished.

Yuan Su didn’t care about love. He only cared about living a slightly better life in this harsh, dying world.

After the marriage, Qin Zhao treated him with the utmost respect in their daily lives, but Yuan Su was never satisfied with their material circumstances. He wanted more—more exchange points, better food, and even the gaudy, impractical luxuries of a bygone era. He craved a life of opulence that felt impossible in an age of scarcity.

This worldview clashed fundamentally with Qin Zhao’s. Yuan Su threw countless tantrums until Qin Zhao eventually chose a “cold treatment” approach, moving into a separate apartment closer to the guild headquarters.

Yuan Su found this arrangement—where they didn’t bother each other—to be quite ideal. He would occasionally soften his attitude and visit Qin Zhao. He wasn’t worried about anyone stealing his husband away; after all, he viewed Qin Zhao as a dull, bookish “blockhead” who would never dream of seeking a divorce.

He was gentle, soft-hearted, and easily fooled.

That perception shattered completely the night Yuan Su accidentally walked in on his husband swallowing a raw, bloody rabbit whole.

Only a single overhead light flickered in the kitchen. His husband stood by the sink of the open kitchen, one hand braced against the counter, the other gripping a skinned rabbit. He forced it directly into his mouth.

The man’s neck distended into a horrific, distorted arc as he gulped it down. The sickening crunch of bone and muscle being crushed was loud enough to make Yuan Su’s skin crawl in the dead of night.

Bright red blood leaked from the corners of his mouth, trickling into his collarbones, rising and falling with the rhythm of his swallowing. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

The man’s handsome features relaxed, looking like a sated, lazy python. His deep blue eyes narrowed as he let out a satisfied sigh.

Under the cold white light, Qin Zhao’s sharp features were carved into high-contrast shadows. He looked beautiful, yet macabre—like a ghost or a demon.

His heart drumming against his ribs, Yuan Su collapsed to the floor, covering his mouth in terror. The realization finally hit him: My husband isn’t human.

But what was he? An infected human? Would he eat me? Yet, he seemed never to have harmed anyone while at the base…

Yuan Su lived in a trance until the morning of Qin Zhao’s departure, his hands trembling as he held the water bottle he had laced with poison.

Approaching the armored vehicle, Yuan Su whispered a small, nervous reminder: “Take the water with you.”

Suspecting nothing, Qin Zhao took the bottle. Then, his large hand cupped the back of the youth’s neck, and he leaned down to press a kiss to Yuan Su’s pale forehead. “Wait for me.”

Two low, tender words. Yet Yuan Su reacted like a prey animal under the scorching gaze of a predator; his body went rigid, and the blood seemed to freeze in his veins.

Yuan Su kept his head down, so he missed the flicker of playful mockery in those glowing blue eyes.

It took a long time before the youth could dryly lift his head and force the words out: “I’ll wait for you.”

Since then, Yuan Su had spent every night tossing and turning. He was torn between the guilt of the poisoning and the paralyzing fear that the toxins wouldn’t be enough to kill his monster of a husband.

It wasn’t until two weeks later, when the expedition team returned with the news of Qin Zhao’s death, that Yuan Su finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But just when he thought he could finally get a good night’s sleep, he heard an abrupt rustling in the dark silence.

It sounded like a snake slithering, or perhaps an invisible force dragging a heavy corpse, slowly drawing closer…

His thoughts slid uncontrollably into the darkness. The sounds, whether made by man or ghost, grew clearer and clearer… But he was supposed to be alone in the house!

Yuan Su’s breath hitched. He curled up on the bed, motionless, until a tentacle-like limb peeled back the covers and slid inside, gently and firmly coiling around his slender waist.

It was cold and slick, like the squeeze of a serpent.

“Didn’t you say you’d wait for me?”

A voice both familiar and terrifyingly strange pressed against Yuan Su’s ear like a demon’s whisper.

“Why did you poison me?”

The breath was hot and damp, and cold lips brushed against his cheek.

“Did you want me to die out there so you could live happily ever after with other men?”

The questioning tone was as lingering and tender as a lover’s flirtation, but Yuan Su shook like a leaf, his eyes brimming with tears…

“I know you’re not asleep, Wifey.”

Support Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, He’s a Darling Wife!