Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 38

“What do you mean by that?” Jiang Shiyan asked ferociously.

“I don’t mean anything.” Yu Lin let out a yawn, leaning listlessly against the wall with his arms folded. His cool, phoenix-like eyes drooped downward, not sparing a single glance for Jiang Shiyan. “If you’re so afraid of death or feel like our relationship is something shameful, you could have chosen not to date in the first place. You’re a grown man; if you truly wanted to refuse, I wouldn’t have been able to force you. Don’t go shifting the blame onto others the moment a slight problem arises. In the end, you’re the only one reaping all the benefits, aren’t you?”

Shen Xingzhuo had indeed changed. Jiang Shiyan managed to retain a shred of his lingering sanity, taking several deep breaths to force himself to scrutinize the person before him.

He couldn’t be certain if these words were Shen Xingzhuo’s true thoughts or just lies meant to provoke and test him. Shen Xingzhuo had used the “playing hard to get” tactic countless times before, and in the end, he always came back piteously, shamelessly begging for forgiveness.

Though he was extremely displeased with Shen Xingzhuo’s attitude, this turned out to be a lucky break that played right into his hands.

“So that’s how you’ve always thought of me?” Jiang Shiyan unclenched his jaw, putting on a wounded expression and speaking in a heavy tone. “I told you at the very beginning that what I wanted was different from what you wanted, and you agreed. Is it my fault now?”

Yu Lin raised his eyelids, watching the performance in silence.

“Shen Xingzhuo, let’s separate for a while so we can both calm down,” Jiang Shiyan said. “It’s hard for us to continue being together when you’re in this state.”

Yu Lin replied briskly, “Fine.”

Jiang Shiyan was taken aback, unsure if he was faking it or truly being that straightforward.

“I’ll find a time to pack up my things from your place.”

“Oh, my place is small, so do it as soon as possible.”

[Why is he still living at Shen Xingzhuo’s house? I thought he was a superstar in the music industry; doesn’t he have his own house?]

007: [Is it possible that people in love are supposed to live together?]

[You call this “being in love”? This is just finding a free landlord with added emotional companionship.]

007: “…”

Seeing his distracted expression, the slight sense of relief Jiang Shiyan had felt earlier was suddenly replaced by a surge of unplanned annoyance.

He had nothing left to say. If he stayed any longer, he would probably be driven to death by Shen Xingzhuo’s attitude. He turned to leave without a hint of nostalgia.

The sound of Yu Lin’s footsteps following closely behind made his heart skip a beat. He thought to himself that Shen Xingzhuo had indeed been trying to provoke him on purpose, but now that he saw Jiang Shiyan was determined to leave, he was likely regretting it and returning to his true nature.

A smug expression appeared on Jiang Shiyan’s face, and he even began planning his rejection speech. But even after he reached the hallway, Yu Lin remained silent.

Those few seconds felt like a roller coaster. Jiang Shiyan was secretly fuming, feeling as though he had been played again. He quickened his pace, ready to leave.

Just then, he heard Yu Lin call out to him—

“…Wait.”

He knew it. As expected. If Shen Xingzhuo could harden his heart and leave him in such a short time, then he wouldn’t be Shen Xingzhuo.

Li Yao had scrubbed himself clean inside and out in the bathroom, and he had rudely stuffed his discarded clothes into the trash can.

Consoling messages from his manager and assistant kept popping up on WeChat. Whenever he thought about the trending Weibo topics praising Shen Xingzhuo—which included his own embarrassing fall—he couldn’t help but burn with rage.

He hadn’t received any decent resources for nearly six months. When he finally got this opportunity, he had specifically learned wilderness survival skills before joining the show, hoping to show off and gain some favor. He had prepared the trending topics and marketing, but he happened to run into Shen Xingzhuo, who had hogged all the spotlight, good and bad, over the past few days.

He feared that when the audience thought of him now, all they would remember was that fall that almost dragged Tang Mo down, and Shen Xingzhuo’s heroic rescue.

Li Yao was filled with resentment. He finished the bottled water provided in the guest room in one go. Since he hadn’t eaten much during the day, he felt hungry and wanted to go downstairs to ask about nearby food.

However, as soon as he opened the door, he saw a figure flash by in the hallway.

This late at night, what was Jiang Shiyan doing out? And that direction wasn’t toward the stairs.

Li Yao was instinctively curious. He quieted his footsteps and followed stealthily. Sure enough, he heard a knock in the hallway, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

Jiang Shiyan went to find Shen Xingzhuo?

But wasn’t it said that it was always Shen Xingzhuo unilaterally chasing the star and riding his coattails, while the latter remained lukewarm and made no gesture?

Li Yao gripped his phone tightly. He felt like he might have discovered a major secret!

While sending a WeChat message to his manager asking him to use his connections to check on Jiang Shiyan and Shen Xingzhuo’s schedules, he approached Shen Xingzhuo’s room.

Unfortunately, the soundproofing of the guesthouse was too good. He couldn’t hear a word of what they were discussing inside.

Li Yao glanced at the camera overhead and pretended to walk aimlessly toward the other staircase—but in reality, he was hiding in the stairwell.

A few minutes later, Jiang Shiyan emerged from the room and left with steady steps. Just as Li Yao was regretting that he hadn’t overheard anything, he heard Shen Xingzhuo call out to Jiang Shiyan.

He peeked out cautiously and saw Shen Xingzhuo walk up and grab the corner of Jiang Shiyan’s shirt, saying with a sob, “Jiang Shiyan, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have acted on my own. I just wanted to give you a surprise; I didn’t think you would be unhappy. Give me another chance, okay?”

“Didn’t you agree quite readily just now? Stop being so willful, Shen Xingzhuo. You always act on a whim, and I’m always the one enduring your pampered and reckless behavior.”

Shen Xingzhuo sobbed as he tried to keep him there. “I don’t want to separate, I don’t want to ‘calm down.’ I can change everything you don’t like.”

Jiang Shiyan brushed his hand away. “How many more people are you going to attract by wasting time? How will I explain it then? Can’t you consider things for me for once? Is this your idea of love?”

“Then… when… will you… stop being angry?”

“Come find me once you’ve figured out what you did wrong.”

Li Yao trembled with excitement as he held his phone. The recording progress on the screen was still moving forward. He covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud.

So Shen Xingzhuo also had times when his “warm face met a cold butt.” Thinking back to his arrogant and dismissive attitude on the first day of filming, Li Yao couldn’t have been happier.

He didn’t notice that after Jiang Shiyan left, “Shen Xingzhuo” slightly turned his head and cast a searching glance toward his hiding spot before slowly walking back into the room.

And he simply added the recording to a private file, setting several passwords while contemplating the right time to use it…

[Deep Affection Value +5, Contributor: Jiang Shiyan.] [Deep Affection Value +5, Contributor: Li Yao.] [Deep Affection Value +5, Contributor: Li Yao.] [Deep Affection Value +10, Contributor: Jiang Shiyan.] [Deep Affection Value…]

[007, block it. It’s noisy.]

Jiang Shiyan and Li Yao were probably both reminiscing about the scene in the hallway just now. The fragmented sound of rising Deep Affection values entered Yu Lin’s mind, making his already aching head even more irritable.

Without a word, Yu Lin threw himself onto the bed and lay motionless with his face buried in the pillow, not even wanting to lift a finger.

[Just now…] 007 hesitated for a long time before finishing the sentence, [Did you forcibly resist the persona restoration?]

Yu Lin let out a few pained groans but didn’t speak.

It felt as though thousands of needles were piercing his brain from all directions, and an iron rod was heartlessly and violently stirring it. The two types of pain took turns wreaking havoc in his head.

Is this the price for forcibly defying the persona?

Actually, after snapping at Jiang Shiyan for the first time, he felt himself gradually losing control of his body. But remembering the previous two times his persona had been corrected, Yu Lin truly didn’t want to spend such a moment pathetically begging Jiang Shiyan to stay.

The thought of resisting arose instinctively, but when the intention reached a certain level, he found that he seemed to have regained some control over his body.

Thus, Yu Lin realized it was possible to forcibly retain his own will during a persona restoration. As for how long he could hold out, to what extent he could remain himself, and what the consequences would be, he had no certainty at all.

He just wanted to see if it was really possible to do so.

Later, he had hoped to relax once Jiang Shiyan was gone, but then he discovered Li Yao eavesdropping in the corner.

So Yu Lin made a bold decision.

The words in the hallway were half due to Shen Xingzhuo’s persona and half a handle he intentionally left for Li Yao. He could only blame this world line for being truly unfriendly to him; it was difficult to treat Jiang Shiyan the same way he treated Xie Zhirang.

Oh, comparing Jiang Shiyan to Xie Zhirang was truly an insult to Xie Zhirang.

[Do you have any idea how much damage this causes to your mental network!?] 007 shouted urgently. [Your mental network was already shattered. It finally recovered a bit in the first world, and now you want to forcibly use your mental power to resist the system—]

Whether it was his imagination or not, Yu Lin seemed to hear 007 panting as if out of breath.

[If your mental network collapses, you really will die.]

Yu Lin said weakly, [I’m still alive, aren’t I?]

This was followed by: [This is the first time I’ve seen you care about me so much. Can you just cancel the restoration function then? It would save me the trouble of fighting against it.]

007 simply didn’t want to talk to him.

[But… it really hurts. I won’t play like this next time.] Yu Lin murmured petulantly. It felt like the iron rod in his head had turned into an electric drill, grinding his brain into a mess.

Yu Lin had a high tolerance for pain. Even at this level, he only frowned as he lay on the bed. If it weren’t for his unusually limp appearance and the faint groans like those of a kitten, it would be hard to imagine that his mental network was undergoing such immense torture.

007 sighed: [Close your eyes.]

[Hm?]

007 said coolly: [I’m going to find some reinforcement with strong mental power to make you feel a little better.]