I Can't Be This ProtagonistCh1 - Retirement World

“Sign here, and the contract will become effective.”

Yan Shuang looked down with wide-rimmed glasses that covered most of his face. His plain clothes seemed out of place in the high-end restaurant compartment he was in. xDbY1M

A pair of thin, pale hands emerged from beneath the table. They slowly reached up and took away the contract. “Can I have a moment to look it over again?”

His silver-rimmed glasses gleaming with metallic light, Wei Yichen replied coldly, “If you wish.”

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Yan Shuang didn’t read a word of the densely packed terms and regulations on the contract. His eyes were firmly fixed on the title written on the very top.

–Master and Servant Contract.  v8dxf0

Yan Shuang: That’s pretty funny. 

“Apologies for the slight delay in data arrival.” The mechanical tones of the System sounded. “Time will be frozen as the contents of the plot are loaded. Loading is now 100% complete.”

The sounds of turning pages could be heard in Yan Shuang’s mind as the entire plot of the book washed over him like waves.

The story basically went like this–

ObLzHY

Qin Yubai, a man who has a perverted, obsessive desire for his completely non blood related half-brother Qin Qing, accidentally discovered that Yan Shuang bore a striking resemblance to Qin Qing after taking off his glasses. And Yan Shuang, as a poor and naive university student, fell completely into Qin Yubai’s trap without even knowing it. He ended up owing a huge amount of money thanks to Qin Yubai’s schemes.

When Yan Shuang was trapped with his debt and had nowhere left to go, Qin Yubai put on a show and appeared in his time of need, using the master-servant contract to request Yan Shuang to be his servant for a year.

Yan Shuang had no choice but to agree to Qin Yubai’s request and signed the master-servant contract.

The main point of this master-servant contract was that Qin Yubai had complete, unequivocal control over Yan Shuang’s body and time. AjxMdF

Thus, Qin Yubai [redacted] Yan Shuang in a hotel that very day in a scene that was very emotional and angsty.

Yan Shuang couldn’t help interrupting, “The plot of this book is way too archaic!”

System: “This plot was randomly generated.”

Yan Shuang: “…” Fine. Seems like retiring won’t be easy.  5sF1PI

They must’ve deliberately arranged for him an archaic book like this that’s been buried for who knew how long since he was about to retire. Shame on the Transmigration Bureau for being so stingy with pensions!

However, a mere taste of the past was far from enough to prevent him from retiring.

Consider it done!

Yan Shuang: “Continue.” 5ZUhvP

After a period of time, Qin Yubai became dissatisfied with [redacted] Yan Shuang in a hotel. He brought Yan Shuang back to the Qin manor as a servant, making the white moonlight he could never obtain and his lover share a room.

Qin Yubai couldn’t quell his desire for Yan Shuang’s body, so the two of them shamelessly [redacted] in all sorts of locations across the Qin manor. Out of some perverted desire, Qin Yubai’s favourite place to [redacted] with Yan Shuang was actually Qin Qing’s art studio.

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And this Yan Shuang’s physique settings were also quite evil. Basically, it hurt the first time, felt good the second time, and became an addiction the third time.

After having his boundaries crossed again and again as he lived with Qin Yubai, Yan Shuang couldn’t help but fall in love with this wealthy and domineering man. After the contract ended, he willingly became Qin Yubai’s secret lover. 93QVbS

In Yan Shuang’s eyes, he and Qin Yubai’s HE was only one marriage license away.

But in Qin Yubai’s eyes, Yan Shuang was worth nothing at all.

One time, after he [redacted] it with Qin Yubai in Qin Qing’s art studio, Yan Shuang’s legs gave out and he fell onto the easel, crushing one of Qin Qing’s unfinished paintings.

Yan Shuang was very ashamed and apologetic. But before he could even apologize, Qin Yubai slapped him. 8epBd

Then Qin Yubai abruptly broke one of his hands.

Yan Shuang’s hand was so mercilessly broken by Qin Yubai, even when his body still bore fresh marks of the man’s love for him. He was even stripped naked and thrown into the ice-cold basement by the man, left to fend for himself.

After a series of humiliations by Qin Yubai, Yan Shuang finally learned the truth. He was just a substitute for Qin Qing.

Yan Shuang: Oh-ho? DeYpLr

After this incident, Yan Shuang was driven out of the Qin manor and started living in a condo owned by Qin Yubai.

The following parts were suffused with all kinds of 18+ mental and physical abuse.

The turning point of the story happened when Yan Shuang ended up with a high fever of 40 degrees after a sadomasochism session in the rain.

Qin Yubai received a call from the manor while staying by Yan Shuang’s side. The butler told Qin Yubai that Qin Qing didn’t have much of an appetite tonight. He seemed to have a cold. YrEKi9

After a momentary struggle, Qin Yubai chose to not go back and remained at Yan Shuang’s place. He also took the opportunity to enjoy Yan Shuang’s beautiful, fevered body.

The next day, Qin Yubai was hit by a sudden realization after waking up in Yan Shuang’s bed.

Yan Shuang only had a 40 degree fever, but Qin Qing might have a cold! He actually didn’t go home to see Qin Qing for the sake of a little substitute!

Ah, that wouldn’t do. Yan Shuang caused his pure love for Qin Qing to waver. He had to end his relationship with Yan Shuang! q6YEpd

However, Qin Yubai was reluctant to do so.

Even he couldn’t tell if he was reluctant to part with Yan Shuang’s wonderful body or the man himself. In any case, the only one to get hurt during Qin Yubai’s internal struggle was Yan Shuang.

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So the duo’s abusive relationship continued on for a while.

Leaving both of them exhausted, mentally and physically. dlq8HR

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Pc atf fcv, Hlc Teyjl kjr jyif ab qeii tlwrfio yjmx yfobgf ojiilcu boo atf miloo. Lf vfilyfgjafis ibra Tjc Vtejcu lc j kjufg ab Al Tjb, rbwfbcf ktb tjr jikjsr yffc lcafgfrafv lc Tjc Vtejcu.

Mbg Tjc Vtejcu, tf pera kfca ogbw atf jgwr bo bcf rmew ubcu ab jcbatfg.

Ji Yao was interested in Yan Shuang for the same reasons as Qin Yubai.

Because Ji Yao– He also likes Qin Qing! hUH fZ

Yan Shuang couldn’t help but ask at this point, “Can I apply to be Qin Qing?”

System: “There is only one missing character in this book. And there are too many transmigrations into white moonlights to begin with. This book is meant to be a Renaissance of sorts.”

Yan Shuang: “…Fine, go on.”

Compared to Qin Yubai, Ji Yao was even better at playing the game. 1fSnVU

He wasn’t satisfied with taking Yan Shuang as a substitute only physically, he needed the curtains to match the drapes.

Since Qin Qing was a painter, he made Yan Shuang give up his literature major and transfer to the Department of Fine Arts.

Since Qin Qing could play the piano, he made Yan Shuang practice piano day and night.

Basically, Yan Shuang had to be able to do everything Qin Qing could. OFdXhj

Like he wanted to forge Yan Shuang into the perfect substitute.

And as Yan Shuang became more and more like Qin Qing, Ji Yao’s attitude towards him also became better and better. This caused Yan Shuang to subconsciously fall prey to a little delusion.

Was this person ever so slowly falling for me? 

Of course, that– was impossible. bpcrvd

Soon, cruel reality crushed Yan Shuang’s naive fantasy.

Qin Qing developed kidney failure.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

At this point, Yan Shuang could probably guess where the story was headed.

The classic kidney digging! 7A39jT

Yep, Ji Yao ordered Yan Shuang to donate a kidney to Qin Qing.

–If necessary, both of them.

As the holy mother type slag shou in this novel, Yan Shuang actually wanted voluntarily to donate a kidney to Qin Qing after learning that he was sick. But Ji Yao was afraid he either didn’t mean it, he didn’t want to, or he would become jealous of Qin Qing. He drugged Yan Shuang before sending him to the operating table.

This drove an irreconcilable wedge between the two of them. d3Ug41

Yan Shuang paid a kidney as the price to end this abusive relationship.

Then, the surgeon who had operated on him and Qin Qing, Qi Feiyun, slowly got close to him.

Because while he was performing the operation…Qin Feiyun! Fell! In! Love! With! Qin Qing! At! First! Sight!!

Yan Shuang: I can’t even anymore.  gsleax

Of course Qi Feiyun was reluctant to touch such a fragile darling like Qin Qing.

Therefore, as a medical genius, Qi Feiyun brainwashed and hypnotized Yan Shuang while treating him. By the time Yan Shuang was discharged from his hospital, he had completely become Qi Feiyun’s doll with all his past memories wiped.

He would do anything Qi Feiyun asked of him.

Yan Shuang: ? Q2BOw7

Do surgeons have that sort of skill in their repertoire? 

Then, Qi Feiyun began to explore the limits of what being human was with Yan Shuang.

He never treated Yan Shuang as a human at all.

After all, Yan Shuang was nothing but a substitute for Qin Qing to him. IVOh4

Finally, at this time, scum gong #4, who didn’t love the white moonlight, appeared– He was Qi Feiyun’s neighbour, Sheng Guangming. Like his name suggested, Sheng Guanming was a righteous man. He saw what was happening to Yan Shuang and quietly rescued him while Qi Feiyun was out.

Sheng Guangming was your typical good person person. He used his soft warmth to heal Yan Shuang, and the amnesiac Yan Shuang in turn slowly fell for Sheng Guangming.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Sheng Guangming was straight at the beginning, but after bumping into a protagonist shou like Yan Shuang, he was unsurprisingly captivated by Yan Shuang’s beauty as time went on. The two of them fell in love with each other and lived a happy life for a while with plenty of papapa.

Just as Yan Shuang thought he could finally have his HE, Qin Yubai and Ji Yao somehow turned up at their doorstep. After Sheng Guangming found out that Yan Shuang had been ‘kept’ by the two men on the eve of their wedding, he had a mental breakdown. A2bCWE

Yan Shuang was too unclean to be with him.

So Sheng Guangming abandoned him too. After repeatedly being stimulated like this, Yan Shuang finally remembered everything and had a mental breakdown as well. In despair, he decided he didn’t care anymore and went to get drunk at a bar. He was so dirty anyway so he might as well have fun.

In the end, Qin Yubai’s butler Wei Yichen jumped out to pick up the slack.

Wei Yichen, who had been a silent observer this whole time, ‘didn’t mind Yan Shuang’s complicated past’. He was willing to give Yan Shuang a home, as long as Yan Shuang fulfilled a small request of his– donating his corneas to Qin Qing, who was about to lose his sight. bjwWk4

Yan Shuang: “Can I…”

System: “No.”

Fine then. 

Fearing that Yan Shuang would decline and to up the ante, Wei Yichen also revealed a shocking secret! a2Wce4

–Yan Shuang was actually Qin Qing’s long-lost, blood-related little brother!!

Yan Shuang: “…” Of course that’s the case. 

In order to save his ‘poor’ big brother, the kind-natured Yan Shuang donated his corneas without hesitation.

Qi Feiyun was, once again, the person doing the operation. lus8Ed

Yan Shuang: …You know what.

He’s a medical genius. Don’t ask. 

And that’s how the book ends.

Yan Shuang, a blind man lacking a kidney, was discharged from the hospital. The person who came to pick him bowed his head and kissed him. He had a familiar scent about him, but Yan Shuang could no longer tell who it was. FuXz08

Yan Shuang was rendered speechless at how this super duper abusive scum gong novel actually had an open-ended ending.

He took a deep breath after going through the entire plot. “It’s fine as long as I reach the ending, right?”

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System: “Yes. The completion of all relationship plotlines and achieving the original ending will be considered completion of the book.”

Yan Shuang: “How many OOC points did I save?” JCDP56

System: “0.5 points.”

If you failed the retirement world, you would have to start from scratch with the newcomers. Of course, all the pension you have accumulated thus far would also be confiscated.

In the previous worlds he’s transmigrated into, Yan Shuang had always 100% completed his task no matter how demanding his role was. He endured hardship after hardship because his seniors said the difficulty of the retirement world was off the charts. If you didn’t have a bit of OOC point saved up, it was near impossible.

The seniors were exactly right. The retirement world really was disgustingly difficult. W9aydg

“Use them.”

“Alright. Employee, you may modify one of the character’s tags.”

Yan Shuang’s five personality tags appeared before him– Poor, kind, soft, stubborn and studious.

He could only change one word. yAp EI

Each of the five tags had their own disgusting connotations.

But one of these Yan Shuang hated with a passion.

“Change poor to…” Yan Shuang deliberated for a moment, “Poor breasts.”

System: “…The fixed attributes of the character cannot be changed.” lX Brn

Damn it, is the Transmigration Bureau really this poor?! 

Every time. Every single time, his character has the attribute of poverty!

Fine then. Since he can’t change being poor, Yan Shuang could only turn his sights to the second attribute that would hinder him from grinding the plot.

“Change kind to…” OVQhEz

“Employee, this is a secondary fixed attribute which can only be modified to a limited degree. You may modify the original characters by no more than three strokes.”

Yan Shuang; “…” The Transmigration Bureau is a bastard, right? Right? 

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He worked so hard to save up 0.5 points, but what’s with all these restrictions? What was he supposed to do within three strokes? Was this an elementary school Chinese exercise??

However, this problem wasn’t enough to stop Yan Shuang, who was dedicated to retiring. OJdd8x

After repeated contemplation, he said, “Add a water radical beside kind.”

System: “…Acknowledged. The character tag ‘kind’ has been changed to ‘resilient’.

After using up his OOC points, Yan Shuang’s character attributes were changed to: Poor, resilient, soft, stubborn and studious.

Yan Shuang: I guess that’ll do.  e9jWCT

Yan Shang confirmed with the System: “Is there a time limit to achieve the ending?”

System: “No. However, the [redacted] plot mentioned in the mainline plot with each of the protagonists is an integral part of the book. It will directly count towards plot points.”

Yan Shuang: “How many?”

System: “Converted to the day: Qin Yubai 66, Ji Yao 92, Qi Feiyun 108, Sheng Guangming 52, Wei Yichen 7.” cCMibZ

Ying Shuang: “By day you mean…”

System: “…Days as in the unit of time.”

Yan Shuang: “Gotcha.”

System: “Employee, you are reminded that grinding the [redacted] plot of two people at the same time is illegal.” ZRg67X

“I know. What about the other plot lines and relationship plot lines? Any requirements?”

“No.”

“Then can I grind them together?”

The System was silent for a while. “Employee, you may try.” qgRp0W

There was somehow a mocking tone to the mechanical voice, as if it was implying: you’ll die if you try.

Yan Shuang didn’t take it to heart. “Then let’s do it… Oh, right. Can pain shielding be used here?”

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System: “It can be used, but the auxiliary performance function will also be turned off.”

In other words, you can turn off your sense of pain, but any problems you caused with the plot line by not acting as in pain as you should when you should were your problems. whL6Ma

Yan Shuang: “Activate it then.”

Something like acting was not challenging at all for him. With so many physically abusive acts in the game and a lot of organ work, how was he supposed to get by without turning off his sense of pain?

“One last question. Does the money collected in this world count towards the pension?”

“Of course.” IZXsGV

“Okay, that’s all from me. Let’s get started.”

“Starting Employee Yan Shuang’s retirement world. Employee, if you need to end the world, please feel free to contact this system any time. Wishing you all the best.”

As the mechanical voice disappeared, time in the book began to flow once more.

“Is there anything else you don’t understand?” Wei Yichen asked coldly. 1ULaOb

Yan Shuang flipped through the contract, skimming over all the rules. His eyes paused for a moment on the monetary compensation of ‘$1 million’.

That’s it? 

How many fucking years ago was this book written, ah?! 

Haven’t the sums in CEO novels already risen with inflation to hundreds of millions of dollars a long time ago??  m1A3Up

This must be the Transmigration Bureau’s dirty work again!

Wei Yichen noticed his gaze. “One million is enough to pay off your debt.”

Wei Yichen sneered at the cowardly boy who sold himself for such a measly sum. He didn’t feel any goodwill towards him. “People need to know their worth. You fetching this price is already being generous. Don’t be too greedy.”

Yan Shuang reached up. Taking off his glasses, he also slowly raised his head. Inky black hair scattered from his forehead, revealing an extremely stunning face. L6deMD

Snow-white skin, docile deer-like eyes, small nose bridge, slightly raised nose tip, connected by a ridge with plump and bright red lips…

An almost fantastical level of beauty rushed forward.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Wei Yichen’s pupils shrank slightly.

The resemblance really was striking. For an instant, he thought the one seated before him was Qin Qing. orsM3y

So it was like this! No wonder Qin Yubai concocted countless schemes to bury an ordinary university student with a million dollar debt.

Such a face was worth far more than a million!

“Mr. Wei,” Yan Shuang pursed his lips and said coldly, “Since I’m here to sell, I’ll sell to the highest bidder.”

Wei Yichen’s eyes were fixed on the face that was disconcertingly similar to Qin Qing’s. ZQGYfC

“Please pass on a message to Mr. Qin.”

“One million is not enough.”

“Of course,” Yan Shuang put on his glasses, becoming a dull, stereotypical poor university student again. “Maybe Mr. Wei can afford me if you bite the bullet…”

Red lips curled up slightly. His smile was clean, but there was a clear challenge in his eyes. “…For one night, that is.” qdXfG0

[Wei Yichen’s relationship plot line has been opened. Progress: 0%]


Author’s Corner

Those in the comment section, please communicate peacefully. Don’t attack each other.

  Mn7pDL

Rain

Hey guys! To celebrate the beginning of a new year, I’m going to do daily updates for the first week. Then we’ll switch to twice weekly updates (TBD).

I’ve added some ongoing content warnings on the CG novel page. There’s also a spoiler from the author if you’d like to check it out.

Happy Holidays! FX4mt8

Translator's Note

善良 (kind) became 善浪 (resilient)

Translator's Note

日 (day) is another way of saying screwed. Ying Shuang thought these numbers were how many times his role gets screwed by each scum gong XD

Leave a Comment

35 comments

  1. This MC is just so chill with everything HAHAHA

    Oh I’m in a body of an abused tragic shou that was left blind and kidney-less? Yea sure can I be rich tho…

  2. Yes to the calm slag shou setting. Yes to the ridiculous dog blood tropes all in one. Thank you for the chapter from the bottom of my heart. Looking forward to future chapters (ʃƪ^3^)

  3. The original plot was really XDDD All kinds of abusive tropes that are walled behind the R18 tag is stuffed into one plot line… and 5 scum (technically one of them isn’t 100% scum but still) gongs 2333333333

  4. I love the MC’s reactions to this dogblood plot 😂 “Can I apply to be Qin Qing?” Don’t we all, baby

    After reading about these disgusting gongs in more detail, I’m honestly extremely puzzled as to why cn readers would want the MC to choose ANY of them. Honestly, I’m hoping that this story will go down the well-trodden dogblood route of ‘he realised he loved the substitute more than the original after he’s already lost him’, like most of the stories in this genre tend to go. From the MC’s mission, it sounds like a gong having emotional journey won’t prevent him from fulfilling the plot so long as all the plot points are met.

    Oh and I’m super sus about Qin Qing himself. I have this weird (groundless, mind you) suspicion that the man at the end may be him.

  5. Oh wow, we will drown in dog blood… Take care YS, hope you will kick all those scums really hard! Thank You Rain for sharing this title with us! Luv Ya~PS. I read the little spoiler You put and found ending very interesting, it would be refreshing… Well, need to check myself what’s going on with it ^^

  6. I thought I could handle dogblood but the original plot really gave me run for my money. Would love to see how this plays out.

    Thanks for the chapter

  7. Aww, so they were actual twin brothers, I was hoping to ship them together (Qin Qing x Yan Shuang 🔄) if the other twin’s personality isn’t like that of a white lotus btch.. HAHAHAHA so that all of the gongs who liked Qin Qing would be angered and go into a shock to death ψ(`∇´)ψ 🤣👌

    Thank you for the chapter!~ 💕

  8. Lol, Yan Shuang’s questions and protesting reminds me of the “I guess” meme and the Edgar Allen poetry meme where hes staring hard at the piece of paper.

  9. Why did i hesitate reading this after finding out abt the spoiler. Not one gong is salvageable. I support the **

  10. Yeshhh this novel is finally completed I left it on 150 something n I know tht I don’t hv the fricken patience for it but I didn’t wanted to mtl as well Since it was updating on a daily basis so I left it then n now i’m reading it from the starting kyaaaa I’m so exciting cuz I’ve forgotten most of the plotline n only remember some major parts

    Hehehehe can’t wait for them to wag thier tails n lick our mc’s foot kekekeke

  11. The white moonlight’d role looks so godly to have all the scum gongs fall in love with him but not daring to take a step, abusing our mc instead 😅😅😅

    Too many sad restrictions, wonder how our mc will fare, Jiayouuu (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

  12. I can’t even….

    I had to check if I was really reading chaptee 1 HAHAHAHA

    the original plot is so full of dog blood. I wonder how would YS change it by being resilient

  13. I am left speechless by the plot.

    The only thing I can comment on is that I’m once again reminded how versatile chinese writing can be!