Winning the male lead

Le Tian woke up to a cacophony of noise. He lifted his head from his arm and realized that he was sitting in a classroom, having just been napping on his desk.

Le Tian: “Wow, I’m back in school! So exciting! I haven’t been in school for hundreds of years~”

The system sneered: “Hah, as long as you’re happy.” Given Le Tian’s inability to even understand basic segmentation problems, he was undoubtedly a hopeless student.

Le Tian continued, “Classrooms really have the best sleeping conditions.”

System: “…”

In this world, Le Tian’s surname was Ding—Ding Le Tian. He was attending Yangde High School, the city’s top private aristocratic school, where students were either rich or noble. Ding Le Tian fell into the “rich” category; five years ago, his father won a huge Le Tianry prize and instantly became one of the city’s top hundred wealthiest people.

Le Tian: “What kind of insane luck is this? I love it.”

After winning the Le Tianry, his father didn’t squander his fortune but invested in industry and actually succeeded. In just five years, his wealth had tripled.

Le Tian: “What a great dad! My amazing dad! I’ve decided to stay in this world and stick with him forever. I’m not leaving.”

System: “I have to inform you of a fact.”

Le Tian, feeling happy and generous, asked, “What is it?”

System: “You are the second poorest student in your class.”

Le Tian: “…”

Is there no justice in this world?! He asked in frustration, “Then who is the poorest?”

System: “Your girlfriend, Zhang Qingning.”

Compared to Ding Le Tian, Zhang Qingning was a true pauper—an orphan who got into Yangde through a full scholarship and financial aid.

Le Tian: “Did I start dating her just to feel better about myself?”

System: “Of course not…”

Le Tian sighed in relief. “Phew, I was afraid I was some kind of edgy, toxic character.”

System: “…” What nonsense is he talking about now?

Zhang Qingning, being truly poor, was constantly bullied and excluded by her wealthy classmates. Ding Le Tian, having experienced poverty himself, couldn’t stand it and spoke up for her once. As a result, the other students started teasing them and forcefully pairing them as a couple.

The two poorest students in the class became the laughingstock of their peers.

Le Tian: “I’m furious! How dare they treat me like this…”

System: “Relax, they only joke about your ‘relationship.’ They don’t actually bully you—they just ignore you.”

Ding Le Tian, being a nouveau riche, was at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy among the wealthy students.

He gritted his teeth. “There’s no way my CP (couple pairing) is a girl. Hmph!”

System: “…” He’s not even trying to hide it anymore.

Just as Le Tian was about to ask about the male lead, a loud clatter sounded behind him. It seemed like something had fallen over. Turning around, he saw a group of girls gathered around a desk, where books had been knocked to the floor.

The desk belonged to a delicate-looking girl with a cold expression. The system informed him that she was Zhang Qingning.

It was obvious—the rich girls were bullying her again. Le Tian was outraged. “I won’t allow anyone to bully my baby girl!”

System: “…” He’s at it again, treating the female lead like his daughter.

Le Tian stood up and grabbed a thick book, slamming it hard onto the desk.

The loud “BANG” drew everyone’s attention—even Le Tian himself was startled. The girls surrounding Zhang Qingning turned to look at him, as did she, her expression puzzled. Le Tian glared at them and shouted, “D-Don’t b-b-bully our c-classmates!”

Le Tian: “???????”

System: “Oh, I forgot to tell you—Ding Le Tian is a natural stutterer.”

What should have been an imposing statement lost all its power due to his stuttering, making it sound ridiculous instead. The entire class burst into laughter.

“Oh wow, Ding Le Tian, standing up for his girlfriend now?”

A girl teased him mockingly. The group of girls surrounding Zhang Qingning dispersed, but now they turned their snide remarks toward him instead.

Le Tian turned to the system. “This is unbearable.”

The system thought he was about to explode in righteous fury. But instead, Le Tian spun on his heels and ran out of the classroom, wailing, “Mommy, I’m dropping out of school!”

“Mommy”: “…Suit yourself.”

The original Ding Le Tian was, at best, a mild-mannered person, and at worst, a pushover—someone who never fought back. Even though his classmates treated him like air and occasionally used his “relationship” with Zhang Qingning as a joke, he always endured it in silence. But the current Le Tian? No way. He refused to tolerate this nonsense. He decided to head back to the dorms for a nap.

Yangde High School’s dorms were all two-person rooms, with two single beds placed side by side, desks in front, and a private bathroom—pretty much like a hotel.

It was the middle of summer, and the entire building had central air conditioning. Le Tian happily curled up under his blanket, only to find that he couldn’t actually fall asleep.

“As expected, the classroom really is the best place to sleep,” he muttered, pulling out his phone. He casually asked the system, “So, who’s the male lead?”

The system sneered, “Do you really need to know who the male lead is?”

It had finally figured it out—if it wanted to protect the male lead from being corrupted by him, the best solution was to keep his identity hidden.

Le Tian “hmphed” in dissatisfaction. “Fine, don’t tell me. I can figure it out myself. It’s obviously the richest guy in the class.”

The system was horrified and fell silent again.

Seeing the system’s reaction, Le Tian knew he had guessed right. Smugly, he said, “I’ve seen through all the clichés in these stupid stories.”

After all, as a guardian, he had played so many roles that he was practically a connoisseur of melodramatic tropes.

Just as the system was considering damage control, the dorm room door suddenly slammed open with a loud “BANG.” The impact was so forceful that Le Tian almost dropped his phone. Was his roommate some kind of raging lunatic?

Then the “lunatic” stepped into view, and Le Tian’s expression instantly changed. “Wow~ what a handsome lunatic~”

The young man was tall and lean, with tanned skin, sharp features, and an impatient scowl that made him look rebellious. Sweat trickled down his forehead, soaking into his wrinkled white shirt, which was buttoned haphazardly. He was the type of “bad boy” who was undoubtedly the most popular among schoolgirls.

Le Tian stared, mesmerized, even forgetting to pick up his phone.

The young man muttered curses under his breath as he yanked off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Then, without hesitation, he peeled off his undershirt, balled it up, and threw it aside.

Le Tian, practically drooling, whispered, “So fresh and youthful.”

The system coldly remarked, “He’s seventeen.”

Le Tian instantly deflated. The League had strict rules—getting involved with a minor meant instant termination.

The young man, irritated beyond belief, was about to take off his pants when he suddenly felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and saw Ding Le Tian watching him like an idiot. He scowled fiercely. “What the hell are you looking at, you stuttering freak?!”

Le Tian: “…”

Ding Le Tian seemed too shocked to respond, still staring blankly. The young man frowned, spat, “Idiot,” and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Le Tian: “Wow, he really loves slamming doors.”

System: “Maybe he enjoys falling on his face, too.”

Le Tian had a feeling that this roommate had an explosively bad temper, like the kind of guy who’d punch someone at the slightest provocation.

Le Tian was shocked. “What does his family do? They must have some serious connections.” Twelve disciplinary actions, yet he hadn’t been expelled.

The system didn’t expect his focus to be so odd but continued, “There was once a boy who confessed to him, and he broke the guy’s nose.”

Le Tian picked up his phone and kept playing. “Oh.”

Seeing his calm reaction, the system pressed on, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Le Tian: “Afraid of what? It’s not like I’m going to confess to him.”

The system had already given up on reasoning with him, but it still felt a sense of relief—thanks to the violent teen Jiang Qu, at least the system had some peace of mind.

Le Tian muttered, “Who knows? Maybe he’ll confess to me.”

System: “…”

Ding Le Tian’s phone had no games at all—just study-related apps, one for learning English, another for studying classical Chinese. He stared at them, feeling dizzy. “Was Ding Le Tian a good student?”

The system replied, “Your last exam report is in the drawer by the bed.”

Le Tian eagerly pulled it out—Chinese: 54, Math: 52, English: 49, Physics: 41, Chemistry: 47. Ranked dead last in the class.

He stared at it for a while. “At least I’m not particularly bad at any one subject.”

The system almost burst out laughing.

“Ahhh, how can Ding Le Tian be this terrible at studying?” Le Tian was furious. “Back in my school days, I was at least in the top three of my class.”

System: “Bullshit.”

Le Tian: “Believe it or not, up to you.”

“Well, now that I’m here, I’m going to work hard and turn things around!” he was filled with determination. “Can’t let my character setting crumble too much, so let’s start with a small goal. Next exam, I must rank second-to-last!”

System: “…Good luck with that.”

Le Tian casually stuffed the report card back into the drawer and pulled out his phone—downloading a match-three puzzle game.

System: “Weren’t you going to study?”

Le Tian: “Do I need to study to rank second-to-last? I could do that with my eyes closed.”

System: “Alright, then.”

Match-three games were perfect for killing time. Le Tian hadn’t played in ages, so he was having a blast. Ding Le Tian had a lot of pocket money, so he even spent on power-ups. “I just climbed another spot on my friends’ leaderboard!”

System: …Judging by this intelligence level, the top three in his old class probably only had three students.

Just as Le Tian was immersed in his game, a loud voice suddenly came from the bathroom. “Hey!”

He was startled. He asked the system, “Is he calling me?”

“Stuttering idiot!”

Yep, that was definitely directed at him.

He put down his phone and walked to the bathroom door, speaking softly through it. “W-w-what d-do y-you w-want?”

Before he could even finish, Jiang Qu impatiently said, “Get me a towel.”

Oh, he forgot to grab a towel. He asked, “W-where’s the t-towel?”

Jiang Qu didn’t have the patience to explain. “I can’t tell you, just grab one of yours and lend it to me.”

Le Tian shuffled to the balcony in his slippers, picked up a Doraemon cartoon towel, and knocked on the bathroom door. “T-t-t…”

Before he could finish speaking, the door swung open abruptly, revealing Jiang Qu’s wet, handsome face. He snatched the towel from Le Tian’s hands and slammed the door shut again.

Le Tian touched his nose, disappointed. “Ah, too fast. I didn’t get a good look.”

The system mechanically stated, “He’s seventeen…”

Le Tian: “Ugh, that’s why I’m just looking.”

System: …I better check his birthday. Until then, he might still be safe.

After a while, Jiang Qu came out of the bathroom. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of summer sports shorts. His teenage body was lean and well-defined, muscles smooth and toned. As he bent over to dry his hair, the motion revealed the distinct shape of his eight-pack abs.

Le Tian: “Wow, I really miss my six-pack.”

System: “Hah, as if you ever had one.”

Jiang Qu noticed Ding Le Tian staring at him again. Sure enough, the guy was watching him without blinking. Annoyed, he flicked his towel sharply, the force making a crisp, slicing sound in the air. He then casually draped it around his neck and looked at Le Tian menacingly. “What are you staring at?”

Le Tian shrank back, lowering his eyes and darting his gaze around, face turning red. “T-that t-towel… i-is f-for… w-wiping feet…”

Jiang Qu: …