Author’s Note:
Warning: super brief sexual attraction. Clarification: it’s only attraction, nothing more.
Second male lead, a male character who falls for and helps out the main character as a reliable alternative to the male lead…until the actual male lead arrives and kicks them out of the picture. I, Jiang Ren, am such a second male lead. I didn’t expect the transmigration. Who would? I was just merrily taking my afternoon nap, ready to dream up some new cocktails for my bar (which I’d just finished inspecting) when, viola. I found myself in the body of a four year old!
I was short and squatty, in what looked like a strange house set in ancient times, and worst of all I was below the drinking age. I later discovered that they didn’t have a drinking age during those times but that was later. So at the time I was about ready to start bawling when, what appeared to be a door, was rudely pushed open. There stood a nearly bald, snot nosed squirt. “JIANG REN LETS GO PLAY!” I blinked, then under my stunned gaze the kid, who I later learned was named Huo Ran, dragged me off to go create mud balls and play with toy swords. Maybe I was like a chick attaching myself to the first thing I saw, the legendary imprinting, but I attached myself to Huo Ran like glue. Or more accurately, he was attached to me and I was more than grateful because it alleviated much of my loneliness from being thrown into a new world.
We were basically inseparable for a little more than a year until…that day. It was Ran’s 6the birthday and he was having a massive celebration. I was well aware since he’d been talking about it nonstop for a week. I’d begged my father (I suppose the original body’s father, but I honestly have no idea where the original soul went. I did try and look for it, but to no avail) to help me forge a sword with the spirit stone he’d brought back from one of his exploits and I was planning on surprising Huo Ran with it.
Then came the long awaited day and…he arrived. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on him, the youngest foundation level cultivator, the great Azure Lord, titled at even a young age. And something, maybe instinct, caused me to turn back to glance at my friend…also captured by the Azure Lord’s elegance, with his eyes fixed on the other. From that day on it was like a switch flipped in him. He was constantly chasing after Mo Lan like a bullet and any time spent with me, he was talking about defeating the other. I felt replaced. But, convincing myself that I was being childish and that I was still Huo Ran’s best friend, I dismissed the negative feelings in my chest.
Then came puberty. I’m bisexual, I’ve always been that way. It doesn’t matter whether the person is a girl or guy, just so long as they’re my type. Even then, I don’t really have a strong preference…or so I thought until that day. The day Huo Ran came to me, blushing and avoiding my eyes to confide in me his deepest secret, is one of the darkest days in my memory. That day I happened to be fiddling with a new stone I obtained from a spirit beast in the northern forest.
As I was trying to shape the stone, Huo Ran barged in. Since that was his usual way of arriving, I paid him no heed.
“…Ren.”
“What?”
“I…well, you see…”
“Well, get on with it, can’t you see I’m doing something?” I snap looking up. Then I freeze. Huo Ran is…blushing?
“You…”
“Ithoughthewashandsome.”
“Huh?” I blink.
“I thought he was…handsome.”
“Who?” But the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me that I may know who it is.
“…Mo Lan.” He whispers the words. I blink, then manage a laugh that sounds dry and forced. “Well, you’re not alone then. His appearance is peerless and-”
“No, not like that! Not just appreciating his appearance! I-” Huo Ran grits his teeth, his face beet red. “You’re busy now, I’ll come back later.” He turns and disappears from the room.
I call after him. “Hey, Huo Ran, hey wait-” But he’s gone.
On that day I came face to face with two things I’d been trying to deny for a long, long time.
- Huo Ran likes Mo Lan.
- I like Huo Ran.
Honestly, I should have known. From Beatrice and Benedick from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” to Elizabeth and Darcy from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, the trope of enemies to lovers has been repeated again, and again, and again. Why should this occasion be any different?
And me? I’m simply the second male lead, the leftover guy, the one who’s incomparable to the male lead but consoles and supports the main character while the male lead is off. Ha! There was a time where I questioned it. Why am I the leftover? Why don’t I get the guy? But Huo Ran’s gaze has remained strained on that white clothed figure, even through the course of an 800 year long closed door cultivation. How can I compare to that?
So, I resigned myself to my role…or so I thought. But what in the world is going on now?
“Say that again?”
“I like you.” I stare at the pale young man, prim and proper in a suit like a little prince. The spot of red in his lips is the only dot of color to his otherwise monochrome figure, however his large, dark, soulful eyes are what truly draw one in. Despite being expressionless, his gaze captures me and sends uncomfortable prickles down my back.
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.
“Tbe-” yea yfobgf P mjc rjs jcsatlcu oegatfg j tfjgas qfji bo ijeutafg rbecvr ogbw yftlcv wf.
“Ljtjtjtj! Ubqeijg, jgfc’a sbe Efc?” Ulcmtlcu ws ygbkr, P aegc jgbecv ab ojmf atf yegis yibcvf.
“Ktf tfii vb sbe kjca, Pjc?”
“Rbatlcu, cbatlcu, P’ii pera ub yjmx ab ws mifjclcu jcv ifjnf sbe akb yf.” Lf wbmx kjnfr, rcluufglcu. P rlut, atfc ribkis aegc jgbecv ab ojmf atf sbecu wjc.
“Do you even know what like is?”
“Yes. It means being dao companions.”
“Okay…then why me?”
“I like you.” I’m speechless. I didn’t see this coming at all.
“Haven’t you been in closed door cultivation all this while?”
“Yes.”
“And then you suddenly decided to confess to me? How did you even get here?”
“Brother helped me.” I pause. That brat Bai…Huo Ran wasn’t enough for him? I groan internally, “alright, give me a sec to make a phone call.”
Turning, I slip deeper into the bar and make a phone call.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing man?!”
“I take it Ru-er made it there?” Bai’s drawling voice sounds from the other end, laced with humor.
“The hell? You didn’t even make sure he made it here? Besides, what the hell is this, a joke? Was Huo Ran not enough for you?!”
“It is whatever you think it is. Anyway, got to go get my facial done, toddles!” Click. He hangs up. Speechless, I slowly bring the phone down. I lean my forehead against the cold brick wall and contemplate. Finally I sigh, turn, and stride back to the counter.
“Ian!”
“Yes, boss?”
“You take care of things here, I’ll-” I stop short, noticing the previously pale young man suspiciously flushed, his eyes slightly out of focus. In front of him sits an empty glass.
“You-” I look up at Ian, then back at the young man speechlessly, “how much did you give him to drink? What did you give him to drink???”
Ian shrugs. “He wanted what you were having boss and he’s only had one glass.”
“What I was having!?” Being used to various types of alcohol and being a centuries old cultivator, my usual isn’t something the average person can stomach. Not to mention that I bet this person has never had alcohol before. Feeling an incoming headache, I walk forward and crouch down so that I’m level with the drunkard whose head is beginning to droop.
“Yin Ru?” I wave a hand in front of his face. No response. “Yin Ru!” Still nothing. “Ru-er?” He blinks. Then his entire face lights up like a bulb and his face softens like a melting ice cap and a hint of a smile graces his, normally expressionless, visage.
“Ren Ge~” (Note: Ge means Brother in Chinese and is an appellation used for older brothers or close older males). A sticky sweet voice spills from his lips and, before I process it, a warm body falls into my arms and a pair of arms clasp around my neck. “Mm…” The soft, fragrant body in my arms shifts and winds around me, a pair of legs clinging to my waist like a koala. I blink.
“Damn Ren! I thought you were an ascetic monk, guess not!” Ian hollers from the side.
“Shut up!” I feel my ears blazing. What the hell is this?
Five minutes later I’m hauling the koala out to find a taxi. He’s still stuck to me like glue and I’m not looking forward to prying him off. Despite being centuries younger than me (he and Bai are twins) Yin Ru happens to be a once in ten centuries years seen genius, therefore he was shuttled off to cultivate as early as his roots were tested. Furthermore, he, unlike his brother, is actually diligent about cultivation so by now his cultivation is probably approaching mine. Of course, there’s still a bit left to go but it’s not going to be easy getting out of his grip. I sigh, throwing a gaze of lament up at the night sky, no stars visible due to the numerous polluting street lights.
It wasn’t like this a century ago but I suppose change is inevitable and now the world is polluted by the numerous impacts people have had on it. Everything and everyone changes, whether the world, or people, or…The person in my arm shifts yet again and I look down at him, his pale face pure and untainted. That’s right. There are some people who’ve remained untouched throughout the centuries, untainted by the secular world, still in their own bubble, cultivating diligently, no different than when they started.
I thought Yin Ru was such a person. Unlike Huo Ran, Bai, and I he was never interested in the world beyond his cultivation…or so I thought. But he confessed to me…I clutch my face. Heavens, what are you even thinking Jiang Ren? This is Yin Ru, Ru-er! The Ru-er you carried as a baby, the Ru-er whose knee you bandaged when he fell down and cried, the Ru-er…Besides, an innocent child like him doesn’t know what he’s talking about! I feel Yin Ru drunkenly shift in my arms. Well, old enough to be drinking I suppose…What are you thinking! He got this drunk after one glass! He’s still a sweet little-
“Oy!” Hmm…? I glance up. There’s several people standing in front of me. They’re dressed in ragged t-shirts with mean looking smirks on their faces. Their appearance just screams “we’re hooligans here to make trouble”. But surely that’s only something that happened centuries ago, aren’t we in a civilized society now…?
“Can I help you?”
“Hmph! You’re the owner of that bar?” He points.
“Yes.”
“Well you’ve been stealing our boss’s business!” Hmm…? No way, is this really happening? This movie like scenario is actually happening in the 21st century???
“And your boss is…?” They proudly say a name. Ah. So it’s the boss of that other less popular bar down the block.
“So you’re here to…?” Although it’s quite obvious by now, I’m not one to jump to conclusions so I’ll give them a way out instead of making assumptions.
“We’re here to teach you a lesson!” Ah. They said it. I gaze up at the sky helplessly. Are they really not embarrassed doing this in the 21st century? Is their boss really not ashamed at all? And even then, what’s with these cheesy lines??? Furthermore, maybe it’d work with a normal mortal but I’m a cultivator, a centuries old one for god’s sake! Well, not that they know that.
I pause, contemplating the cleanest way to end this when suddenly I hear a pig like scream. I look up sharply. One of the thugs goes flying into a building, another one is stuck in a trashcan, the third hits a lamp post,…etc. One by one each of the thugs goes down in a whirlwind. I blink, and my arms poised to attack, flop back down. Then I realize something, my arms are empty. Then…
“Ren Ge…” I look up sharply. In the center of the circle of passed out bodies stands a teary eyed Yin Ru, sniffling with red eyes. “Ren Ge!” Blinking, I hurry towards him while trying to process what happened.
“Yin Ru? Ru-er? Come on, Ru-er what’s the matter?” Stepping over an arm I quickly arrive by Yin Ru’s side and hug him, lightly patting his back to coax him. “Come on now, what’s the matter? Were you scared?” I conveniently ignore that he was the cause of the bloodshed in the first place. He shakes his head, tears streaming from his eyes.
“Then what is it?”
“Th-this.” He holds out something. I grab it and lightly tug it from his grasp. It seems to be a piece of paper. I bring it up to my eyes. It appears to be…an amusement park ticket? “This…” I look up at Yin Ru.
“Brother gave it to me and I wanted to give it to you but-but-” He blubbers. “What-” I pause, catching sight of a little drop of blood on one corner of the ticket.
“This?” I ask, pointing at it. He nods, teary eyed. “Now you won’t go with me and-and-”
“I’ll go! I’ll go.”
“Huh?” He looks up at me, his large eyes wide and glistening, a shining spot of hope peeking out of the corner of them.” Argh. I flinch, avoiding his gaze.
“You will?” He asks.
“…yeah.”
And that’s how I wound up here, at the amusement park on a searing hot day with my ex-crush, his boyfriend, and Yin Ru. While nonchalantly leaning against a fencepost, I frantically text Bai.
Me: You never told me they were also coming!
Brat Bai: It’s a double date, you’ll love it~ Now, go have fun~
Groaning, I look back up to meet Yin Ru’s gaze. Since he’s no longer drunk, he’s back to being pale and expressionless but his large soulful orbs are still fixed on me.
“So, what shall we do first?” Huo Ran bounds over to us cheerfully. Mo Lan follows behind him like a tail. I walk up to meet them and behind me my own little tail follows along expressionlessly. I look up at the blue sky and sigh, this is going to be a long day.
“Alright, make sure to fasten your seatbelts, everyone!” We start with the roller coaster. Huo Ran and Mo Lan are seated in front of Yin Ru and I. Huo Ran whispers to Mo Lan and the latter responds with something that makes Huo Ran burst out laughing. It causes his peach blossom eyes to crinkle in that familiar manner-I feel a tug on my arm and look down. It’s Yin Ru who’s clutching the end of the seatbelt and looking up at me with his large eyes.
I blink. “…Ah, do you need help with that? Here.” I turn to buckle it in for him and in that time the ride starts. Screams echo around us but, being cultivators, we’re used to flying much faster on our swords so the excitement is greatly reduced. However, Huo Ran whoops just to join in the atmosphere. I feel myself smile. He’s always been like that– I feel another tug on my arm and I look down.
“Yes?” Yin Ru looks up at me. “Is something wrong?”
I examine him, he looks fine, still as expressionless and pale as usual although his lips are pressed rather tightly together. “Are you okay Ru-er?” By the time I finish checking him over the ride ends and we move on.
Next is the haunted house. Being cultivators, none of us are actually scared and, once again, Huo Ran tries to play along, screaming when a Frankenstein appears. However, after Mo Lan attempts to decapitate the employee dressed as Frankenstein, Huo Ran quickly stops. Next to me Yin Ru clutches my arm.
“Are you scared?” I ask. He gazes up at me and starts to shake his head, before quickly changing to nodding.
“Well, which is it?” I ask helplessly. He purses his lips and darts a glance off to the side. I follow his gaze to see Huo Ran and Mo Lan. Why…wait, could he possibly be imitating Huo Ran’s earlier behavior? I feel torn between laughter and tears.
“You don’t have to do what he did. That was just his choice.” Yin Ru purses his lips and looks down, revealing the edge of his pale clavicle. I hastily turn away, and come face to face with a pair of glowing eyes belonging to a ghost. We gaze at each other for a few moments and I blink.
“Uh…keep up the good work?” The ghost storms away to find a better victim and I sigh. That employee is probably complaining about me somewhere. Acting as a mortal is hard. I pause, then bark out a laugh. Ha! And I was once a mortal. “Roar!” I blink looking up to see an employee dressed as a beast. Bam! In his shock Yin Ru punches the employee full in the face and the poor man goes down not knowing what hit him.
I blink, then rush over and press my hand to the employee’s neck. A pulse, thank god. I look up at Yin Ru, speechless. His gaze is downcast and his lips are puckered, looking like a wronged little bunny. Well, a bunny that can take out a fully grown man, a gang of then for that matter. I hold back a laugh.
“Alright, alright don’t worry. We’ll just move him over here for now…”
After trying several more rides and attractions, our final destination is, of course, the ferris wheel. Naturally, Huo Ran and Mo Lan pile into a seat while Yin Ru and I get in one of our own. I gaze over at the other two, watching them whisper to each other. Thud! I blink seeing Yin Ru punch our handlebars causing our seat to shake violently. I turn to look at him.
“…Yin Ru?” His gaze is down and his lips are tightly pressing together. He mutters something.
“What?”
“Always, always! You’re always, always looking towards Ran Ge! You never look at me!”
I open and close my mouth. My first thought is, wow I’ve never heard him speak that much. My second is, he noticed me gazing at Huo Ran?
“Holdup-”
“I really, really do like you. See!” Before I have time to process he leans towards me and I feel warm lips pressing against mine. My mind goes blank. While unskilled, I feel his enthusiasm and earnestness as his tongue innocently probes its way into mine. His mouth is warm, moist and rather fresh tasting, just like the fragrance that surrounds his soft, mellow body filling my arms…shit. I’m hard. We both freeze at the same time before gazing down at the bulge in my pants. I feel my ears blaze.
“So, how did you both end up together in the end?” I blink, looking up at one of my buddies in my bar.
I bark out a laugh before answering. “Well, he seduced me.”
“What?” I hear amazement in my friend’s voice. He points towards my innocent looking boyfriend making his way over to us.
“That kid seduced you?” I laugh again. He’s centuries older than you, you know. But it’s not surprising my friend thinks that way. Yin Ru has this aura of purity about him that has never diminished.
“Ren Ge.” I look up to see him in front of me. “Let’s go home.”
“Yup.” I get up and pull Yin Ru into my arms before striding towards the door.
“You’re leaving already?” I hear a voice calling from behind me.
“Yup.” I answer without turning back. “I’m a taken man, I’m no longer as free as you single dogs!” Ignoring the curses behind my back, my eyes crinkled in laughter, and a spring in my step, I take my adorable boyfriend home.
Cute haha. Yin Ru is a cute bunny that cab pack a punch XD
Yup XD
They’re so cute and adorable, what a lovely couple 🤩