Winning the male lead

This world was truly unfriendly to him. Lying on the bed, sucking on a candy ball, Le Tian didn’t dare make a single sound. Across from him, Jiang Yue sat with his arms crossed, silently staring at him.

Le Tian’s eyes darted around. Is he just going to keep staring at me like this?

Jiang Yue scanned him inch by inch.

Ding Le Tian, his classmate. An only child. Born with a stutter, average intelligence, timid personality—nothing particularly remarkable about him.

Except…

He recalled that bright red butt, smooth as jade, delicate as if it could be broken with a touch.

The ice had melted. The towel clung damply to his skin. Le Tian was in pain, cold, and numb all at once. Under Jiang Yue’s gaze, he felt like prey being stared down by a predator. He dared not move, utterly miserable. His only relief was talking to his system.

Le Tian: Mom, I was wrong. Can you get rid of this little psycho?

System: If I had that ability, I’d get rid of you first.

Le Tian: … The mother-son bond was on the verge of collapse.

Finally, Jiang Yue seemed to have seen enough. He stood up, moved his gaze away, walked around the bed, and left the room. On his way out, he casually took Le Tian’s phone with him.

Le Tian watched as his phone was taken but didn’t dare say a word. Forget it, anyway, Jiang Qu bought that phone.

The dormitory door closed with barely a sound. He let out a long sigh of relief. He twisted his shoulders on the bed, lifted the covers, and tried to check on his butt—but unfortunately, he wasn’t flexible enough.

Struggling to sit up, he dragged his battered body into the bathroom. Turning his back to the mirror, he arched his hips, twisting awkwardly to get a good angle. After much effort, he finally caught a glimpse of the damage—and was immediately horrified.

“Whoa! Why is it so red?!”

After an entire night, the right side of his butt was still bright red, almost dripping blood. The pain doubled just from looking at it. He grimaced and pounded the sink.

Le Tian: System, take down that fan forum post for me!

System: … Do I look like I care?

Le Tian compared his reflection for a while, growing more anxious the longer he stared.

“Should I go to the hospital?”

System: For a minor bruise like this? You should go to the hospital to get your brain checked instead.

Le Tian: … Why did it feel like the system had gotten meaner ever since Jiang Yue showed up?

System: Ding Le Tian has thin skin. It’s normal for it to look that red. If you don’t believe me, pinch the left side of your butt.

Le Tian hesitated but cautiously pinched himself. “It’s not red.”

System: Use more force.

Le Tian wasn’t that dumb. Just as he was about to drop his hand, he heard the faint sound of a door opening.

Panic-stricken, he scrambled to pull up his pants. But the more flustered he got, the clumsier he became. His hands and feet got tangled up, and with his already-injured butt, he lost his balance.

“Aaagh!”

Jiang Yue had just walked into the dorm when he heard a tragic wail, followed by two pale arms flailing out of the bathroom. He smoothly sidestepped, watching as Le Tian face-planted onto the floor.

“Ahhh!”

It’s over… Le Tian lay there, tears streaming down his face. Now both his front and back hurt.

Jiang Yue looked down at the pitiful sight of Le Tian sprawled on the floor, and for the first time, a faint smile flickered in his eyes. He bent down and grabbed him by the collar. Le Tian, limp as a ragdoll, was lifted off the floor. Avoiding Jiang Yue’s gaze, he sniffled softly.

“What were you doing out of bed?”

“I… I was l-looking…”

Jiang Yue threw him back onto the bed, swiftly pulled down his pants, and snapped a photo of his butt. Then, with remarkable thoughtfulness, he held the phone right in front of Le Tian’s face.

“See for yourself.”

Le Tian: …

Jiang Yue set down his black backpack, pulled out a thick stack of printed papers, flipped through them briefly, and tossed them onto Le Tian’s lap.

Le Tian was still crying over his butt photo when the thick stack of paper suddenly appeared before his eyes. He hadn’t looked too closely yet, but he had a terrible premonition—could it be that Jiang Yue, like Jiang Qu, was trying to force him to study?

This world was too cruel.

But the world was far crueler than he had imagined.

Jiang Yue: “Open it.”

Le Tian obeyed. He glanced at the first page, and his expression froze.

“Waaahhh…!” Tears streamed down his face. “I-I can’t do this…!”

It was the smutty novel he had been reading.

Jiang Qu had only smacked him once on the butt. Painful as it was, at least the matter had been settled with a single hit. But Jiang Yue—he wasn’t just punishing him. He was grinding him down slowly.

Jiang Yue: “Read it out loud.”

Le Tian sobbed as he stuttered, “I-I d-don’t w-want to…”

Jiang Yue: “That’s fine.”

He hadn’t even threatened anything, but the hairs on Le Tian’s back stood on end. His mind immediately filled with a hundred terrifying punishments. If he didn’t read it, Jiang Yue would definitely find something worse to torment him with.

Then, in an eerily gentle voice, the system said, “Read it. I’ll be right here with you.”

Le Tian suddenly thought back to all the times he had threatened the system with explicit images. Now, he truly understood karma.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong before.”

System: “Heh. What goes around, comes around. There’s always a price to pay. And now, it’s your turn.”

Le Tian: … What kind of messed-up things had his system learned online?

Wiping his tears, he reluctantly started stuttering through the smutty novel. “I-I finished reading…” Le Tian finally got through a page, looking pitifully at Jiang Yue, his face full of “Please spare me, I know I was wrong.”

Jiang Yue nodded. “Water?”

At his question, Le Tian tensed up instantly. “Y-you tell me…”

Jiang Yue: “Keep reading. You can drink water when you stop stuttering.”

Le Tian: !!!

System: Oh wow, Dr. Jiang is making an early appearance.

Le Tian: “Wait, he’s going to be a doctor in the future?”

System: Yep, a neurosurgeon. He’ll be holding a scalpel~

Le Tian’s fear intensified. In his mind, he could already picture him in a white coat, dissecting him on an operating table.

Le Tian: “I’m begging you, help me out this time. I swear I’ll never draw those kind of pictures of you again!”

System (calmly): Swear it on your butt.

Le Tian: “I swear it on my butt.”

System: Alright, hold tight. In an hour, your stuttering will decrease by 80%.

Le Tian let out a breath of relief. He just had to endure this for an hour.

It was the longest hour of his life. Who knew reading those kinds of stories could be such torture? By the time he finished, his throat was dry, but miraculously, his speech had improved—short sentences were now smooth. He turned to Jiang Yue. “I’m better now.”

Jiang Yue glanced up. His eyelashes were long and thick, casting shadows over his sharp gaze. Le Tian shuddered under his stare.

Jiang Yue’s lips curved slightly—a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Not bad.”

Le Tian felt a chill in his heart. This guy is a total psycho. But I used to be one too, so don’t try to scare me.

Jiang Yue closed the book and stood up. “Get up.”

Le Tian, still in his loose yellow and white cloud-patterned pajamas, hesitated. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The shirt was too short, so he had to hold the hem down while getting off the bed, his bare feet hitting the cold floor. He wobbled a little.

Jiang Yue glanced at the messy bed before suddenly asking, “Do you like men?”

Le Tian froze in horror and immediately shook his head. Ding Le Tian is a straight guy. He even has a ‘girlfriend.’

Jiang Yue’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. “Psychological analysis says otherwise.”

“I just—I just looked around out of curiosity!” Le Tian stammered nervously. “I don’t actually like men!”

Jiang Yue nodded and tossed a stack of papers back onto the bed. Without looking at Le Tian, he swiftly changed the bedsheets, replacing the ones he had messed up. He stuffed them into the laundry basket outside the door with practiced efficiency.

Le Tian stood there clutching his shirt, feeling the air conditioning chill him to the bone. He sneezed twice.

After finishing, Jiang Yue sat down on the fresh bed and looked at Le Tian. “Prove it.”

Le Tian was baffled. “Prove… what?”

Jiang Yue crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on Le Tian’s fidgeting hands. “Can you?”

Le Tian’s mind went wild. …Wait, he doesn’t mean what I think he means, does he?

System (panicking): …He doesn’t mean what I think he means, right?!

If Jiang Yue was just a psycho, Le Tian would be scared. But if he was a psycho with a thing for this kind of stuff… then even the system was afraid.

System (warning): Be careful. Jiang Yue hates gay people—he’s broken someone’s nose over it before. And Jiang Qu is his cousin. There’s no way he’d let his cousin live with someone he thinks is gay. He’s testing you. If you slip up, you’ll be dead. Like, completely dead.

Le Tian agreed that made sense. He wasn’t about to test a psycho’s limits. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth. “I’m not.”

Jiang Yue casually crossed his legs. “You look like it.”

His eyes were too sharp. Lying to him was like digging his own grave. But Le Tian wasn’t gay, so he had no choice but to insist, “I—I have a girlfriend.”

Jiang Yue tilted his head slightly. “Zhang Qingning?”

Le Tian nodded.

Jiang Yue remained expressionless. “You two aren’t close.”

Le Tian’s back was drenched in cold sweat. Mom, I can’t take this anymore.

Even the system had no idea what to do. “Forget it. Just admit it. He’s not gonna kill you over it.”

Jiang Yue didn’t seem like a pervert—just someone relentlessly trying to confirm Le Tian’s sexuality.

Le Tian reluctantly nodded.

Silence filled the dorm room. Le Tian started writing a will to the system in his head.

System: “…Are you really that scared?”

Le Tian: “I don’t know… maybe Ding Le Tian’s personality is messing with me. And Jiang Yue is just that terrifying.”

“I really didn’t mean anything by it,” he said quickly. “I was just curious about you and Jiang Qu, that’s all.” His eyes were filled with sincerity.

Jiang Yue remained unreadable. “Does Jiang Qu know you like men?”

Le Tian shook his head frantically. “No one does.”

Jiang Yue slowly uncrossed his arms. “Move out before he gets back.”

Le Tian nodded like his life depended on it.

Jiang Yue didn’t look away, but his shoulders relaxed slightly, his aura easing just a bit. “Start.”

Le Tian hesitated. “Start… what?”

Jiang Yue: “You don’t know?”

Le Tian blinked in confusion.

Jiang Yue smirked—just his lips moving, his eyes still cold. Le Tian got chills. Then, Jiang Yue uttered one word:

“Act?”

Le Tian: “Mom, this really isn’t on me. This guy is just too much.”

System: “…” It agreed—this was not Le Tian’s fault. But it also had no idea what the hell was going on with Jiang Yue.

Under Jiang Yue’s unrelenting gaze, Le Tian had no choice but to comply. Ding Le Tian was young and inexperienced, but he wasn’t. He moved with a practiced ease, no longer bothering to act innocent—because there was no hiding anything from Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue watched him calmly. Le Tian bit his lip, trying not to let his voice sound too desperate. The pain in his lower back dulled any sense of pleasure, and soon, tears slipped down his face.

He was still just a teenager. It didn’t take long before he reached his limit. As he gasped for breath, he realized with horror that he had just made a mess—on Jiang Yue’s pristine black uniform pants.

Jiang Yue glanced down. “That was fast.”

Le Tian: …