The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

The morning light was faint, and the autumn breeze was cool.

He Dongchen opened his eyes and got out of bed. He followed his routine of brushing his teeth and washing his face, then wore his blue and white school uniform. The tall and thin boy wore the bulky school uniform with incredible style.

This time, his identity was that of a second-year high school student in a restructured family with a rather complex situation.

Father He came from an ordinary background but had some skills and luck. He married the rich and beautiful Mother He, who was delicate and frail, and passed away a few years ago.

Now, Father He ran a sizable daily chemical company, and everyone called him President He when he went out, making him look dignified and prestigious.

Half a year ago, Father He remarried, but there were no messy and melodramatic stories. Father He married a tea artist with an elegant temperament, who also brought three children of the same age as He Dongchen.

A pair of fraternal twins were the tea artist’s children with her first husband. The other boy was her second husband’s child, who was her stepson without any blood relation.

The tea artist was extremely beautiful, the kind that would make anyone soften their heart. However, her marriages were very unfortunate. Her first husband failed in business and committed suicide, leaving behind a huge debt. The tea artist couldn’t support two children alone, so she married her second husband, bringing the twins.

Unfortunately, after a few good years, her second husband also failed in business and died in an accident. The tea artist, unable to abandon her stepson, married her third husband, Father He, with three children in tow.

Now, in this restructured family, there were four children, three boys, and one girl, all the same age.

After remarrying, Father He, to help the children get along, went out of his way to get all four children into the same class.

Small classes were in vogue now, with a class size of no more than forty students, and their family made up one-tenth of the class.

It was quite amusing.

[What’s even more amusing is that there are two identity reveal scenes!] The system arrived late, not wasting words, and projected the world’s plot tasks onto the wall.

[Current Small World: “The Three School Hunks Are My Brothers!”]

[Synopsis: Nian Shiyu followed her mother through two remarriages and gained three brothers!

Her biological brother, Nian Shiwen, was a sunny and cheerful boy. Her eldest brother, He Dongchen, was the aloof top student in university. Her second brother, Lu Xuyan, was the school’s top fighter.

Having three school heartthrob brothers at the same time, Nian Shiyu felt both pain and joy. To survive peacefully in school, she had to keep her distance from her eldest and second brothers. Unexpectedly!

Desk mate: Shiyu, I heard you’re dating He Dongchen? Someone saw him give you clothes.

Nian Shiyu was thunderstruck: That’s my brother!

Desk mate: Shiyu, I heard you’re dating Lu Xuyan? Someone saw him give you tissues.

Nian Shiyu shook her head vigorously: That’s my brother!]

[Current Mission:]

[Basic Mission: Reject the sister spoiler persona (Incomplete), get married and have children (Incomplete), combat piracy (Incomplete).]

[Mission Merit: 0]

After reading, He Dongchen saw the system immediately switch to the previous world’s rewards.

[Small World: “The Spy Queen”]

[Basic Mission: Annex Morning Kingdom (completed)]

[Mission Merit: 1,354,600]

[Reward Points: 100 + redeemable merit 1,354,600]

The system suddenly screamed in excitement, [Boss, boss, I actually received faith in the previous world! And in large quantities too!]

In the previous world, the system lived under the guise of a great eagle for decades. Initially, it had the halo of a heavenly messenger. Later, out of boredom, it did some good deeds and was eventually revered by the people as the national beast, worshipped by thousands.

He Dongchen glanced at it and curiously asked, “Is faith useful?”

The system immediately replied with delight, [It can be converted into merit at a ratio of about one hundred to one. Boss, you could also follow the faith route! This would be much easier than accumulating merit!]

He Dongchen casually adjusted his moderately long bangs and indifferently said, “Do I lack merit?”

The system choked, looking at the boss’s long string of merits with envy and tears in its eyes, realizing it was the fool in the situation.

***

Back to the main topic.

This time, the identity He Dongchen assumed was finally not the female lead’s sycophant but a crazy sister-spoiler.

The female lead, Nian Shiyu, was his stepsister in this life.

At school, the three brothers fiercely protected her, making Nian Shiyu the most envied girl in the entire school.

Later, when she started working, Nian Shiyu entered the entertainment industry. As a moderately famous mystery novelist, He Dongchen, the eldest brother, was responsible for writing scripts for her. Nian Shiwen, with millions of fans as a top idol, helped to boost her popularity. Lu Xuyan, who had been rebellious and inattentive to studies, was a musical genius and composed all of Nian Shiyu’s songs.

With scripts, popularity, songs, and the financial support of Father He, Nian Shiyu effortlessly became a highly popular national sweetheart, gaining immense fame.

But that wasn’t all.

The scary part was that all three brothers were destined to live lonely lives, dedicating their entire lives to caring for their sister.

For instance, the original owner dated five girlfriends, all of whom were scared away by his little sister.

The first one left because his little sister suddenly appeared during a date, calling him ‘brother~’ and taking over, showing no tact.

The second one left because a carefully prepared gift ended up in the little sister’s hands, and He Dongchen acted as if it was no big deal.

The third one left because she didn’t get along with the little sister’s best friend, and suddenly found herself dumped the next day.

The fourth one told He Dongchen to keep his distance from his stepsister, fearing gossip, and then received a breakup gift.

The fifth one had the worst luck; both she and the little sister fell into the water, and He Dongchen rushed to save his sister and hurried to the hospital. If it hadn’t been for a passerby who saved her, she would have died.

This incident made the headlines because both He Dongchen and Nian Shiyu were quite famous, causing a huge online stir and dominating the headlines for a week.

Since then, no matter how excellent He Dongchen’s qualities were, no woman dared to get close.

A group of anti-sister fans even emerged online, branding the brother-obsessed maniac and sister-supporting crazies as hopeless cases.

After recalling all that, He Dongchen realized there was a reason the original ended up lonely.

He deserved it.

Fortunately, he had arrived early. Although he was already known as a crazy sister-spoiler at school, he hadn’t yet become notorious outside of school, nor had he accumulated several ex-girlfriends who broke up with him because of his sister.

After gathering his thoughts, He Dongchen grabbed a heavy black backpack and went downstairs.

***

The He family was wealthy and lived in a three-story villa. He Dongchen originally had the entire third floor to himself, but after Father He remarried, he moved all four children to the first floor to foster good relationships.

Even though there were plenty of rooms in the villa, they were made to squeeze together.

He Dongchen opened his door and, having been delayed by the plot acceptance, ran into Lu Xuyan from across the hall.

Lu Xuyan, still half-asleep, had messy hair and a disheveled school uniform. There was a not-so-small wound on his forehead, giving him a decadent and carefree look.

“Wow, the top student also sleeps in?” Lu Xuyan lazily glanced at He Dongchen, then stuck his hands in his pockets and staggered downstairs.

He Dongchen watched his unsteady figure, seeming as if he might fall at any moment, and raised an eyebrow. In this family, Lu Xuyan was arguably the one with the least sense of security.

Nian Shiyu and her twin brother had their mother, Nian Yao, and He Dongchen had his father. Lu Xuyan, being a complete outsider, had an awkward position.

He Dongchen tried to analyze. In the original story, Lu Xuyan was a rebellious and arrogant teenager, always hostile towards everyone and full of thorns, but he was exceptionally kind to Nian Shiyu. Was this purely out of love for his sister?

Probably not.

He Dongchen smiled, grabbed his backpack, and went downstairs. The dining table was already full.

Father He, over 40 years old, was well-maintained. Due to his successful career and lack of worries, he looked cheerful and radiant. He was sitting at the head of the table, occasionally chatting with the woman on his right.

That woman was Nian Yao, wearing a light blue embroidered cheongsam with her hair elegantly pinned up with a jade hairpin. Her demeanor was graceful, making her dining look like a pleasing sight.

Seeing He Dongchen come downstairs, Nian Yao smiled appropriately and gently called out, “Dongchen, you’re up. Come have breakfast. I heard from Shiyu yesterday that you were coughing, so I asked the maid to stew some pear soup for you.”

“Big Brother!” Nian Shiyu, sitting next to Nian Yao, immediately turned her head, smiling brightly at He Dongchen. Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she playfully winked at him, as if to say, “Am I not good to you?”

Nian Shiwen, sitting diagonally across, remarked jealously, “Sister, you’re so biased! I coughed last night too!”

“When do you not cough?”

The siblings started playfully arguing, filling the room with laughter.

Father He felt very pleased seeing this scene. Noticing his son still standing at the stairway, he called out, “What are you standing there for? Come and eat.”

He Dongchen nodded, placed his backpack on the sofa in the living room, and leisurely walked over to sit on the left side of his father. As expected, there was an extra bowl of stewed pear in front of him, with a few bright red goji berries floating in the clear pear soup.

He Dongchen glanced at the silent Lu Xuyan beside him and pushed the pear soup towards him, saying, “To reduce heat.”

Lu Xuyan frowned, looking at He Dongchen in confusion. This guy, who usually ignored me, was suddenly showing concern? Was the sun rising in the west?

“Don’t misunderstand, I just don’t want anything sweet,” He Dongchen explained as he calmly picked up his utensils and began eating.

The others noticed it and immediately saw the wound on Lu Xuyan’s forehead. Nian Yao put down her fork and spoke earnestly, “Xu Yan, you need to get along with your classmates at school and avoid fighting.”

Lu Xuyan felt impatient and mumbled a few responses, then quickly finished a slice of bread in a few bites.

Father He frowned but refrained from saying anything due to the awkwardness of the situation.

The atmosphere became tense, but fortunately, Nian Shiyu was a natural mood-lifter. She and Nian Shiwen quickly began sharing amusing stories from school, warming up the mood again.

He Dongchen watched coldly throughout, as if he were an outsider. However, since the original He Dongchen was known for his aloof personality and sparing use of words, no one found it strange.

***

After breakfast, He Dongchen went to wash his hands. When he returned, he found Nian Shiyu kneeling on the sofa, rummaging through his backpack.

The others saw this but acted as if they hadn’t, clearly accustomed to it.

He Dongchen frowned and walked over in a few steps, “What are you doing?”

Nian Shiyu was startled by the sudden voice. She looked up and saw He Dongchen, then patted her chest while holding a pen and playfully complained, “Big Brother, you scared me! I was just grabbing a pen, nothing else.”

He Dongchen narrowed his eyes and asked, “You lack pens?”

Nian Shiyu’s eyes darted around as she lied, “Yes, I do…”

“Heh.” He Dongchen let out a cold laugh.

The others looked puzzled. Nian Shiwen exclaimed, “He Dongchen, why are you being so weird? It’s just a pen. Don’t be stingy. Sis, you can have all my pens.”

Lu Xuyan, changing his shoes at the entrance, clicked his tongue and said, “Need pens? I’ll buy them.”

Father He frowned and said, “Dongchen, why are you bullying your sister?”

Father He didn’t particularly love this stepdaughter, who came into their lives mid-way, but he had a deeply ingrained sense of masculinity and liked to see his family harmonious. He didn’t want his son to bicker over something trivial; it was undignified.

“Don’t say that, Old He. It’s Shiyu’s fault. Shiyu, return the pen to your big brother,” Nian Yao intervened gently, her soft voice quickly soothing Father He’s displeasure.