The Cannon Fodder Stole the Male Lead’s Script GL - Chapter 19

Jiang Yun narrowed her eyes and tapped the system panel.

“Is there any way to steal Yan Kuo’s male lead halo?”

After a few encounters, Jiang Yun was well aware of her system’s mischievous nature. Whenever there was trouble to stir up, it always showed the most enthusiasm. As expected, it popped out instantly.

[That’s not possible~ The protagonist halo is bound to the character it has approved.]

“Judging from your sly tone, it can’t be taken by force… but can it be outwitted?” Jiang Yun raised her brow.

[This system never said such a thing~ Please refer to the guidelines carefully.]

As it spoke, lines of legal provisions appeared on the glowing screen.

Article 132 of the Protagonist Identity Code: To preserve the uniqueness of the protagonist identity and the stability of the world, the halo is bound to the protagonist and can automatically adjust the story as it develops. Once the halo is bound, it cannot be forcibly taken away.

“It really cannot be taken by force?”

Jiang Yun was irritated. But as she read further, she saw another clause.

Article 133 of the Protagonist Identity Code: Protagonist Obligations: 1. Complete missions and accumulate luck. If the luck value stays below zero for more than one week, the protagonist identity will destabilize, affecting the protagonist halo. 2. Advance the female lead’s romantic progress and achieve a sweet love ending. When the romance progress reaches 60%, an identity review will occur. If approved, the protagonist status is further solidified. If failed, changes to the protagonist identity will be made accordingly. Note: This is the only review in the entire mission process. It cannot be altered once completed, so the tasker must take it seriously!

When she saw the words “identity” and “change,” Jiang Yun’s eyes lit up.

“The halo can’t be taken, but the protagonist identity can change? Even if there’s only one chance, it’s enough!”

[Yawn~ There is no explicit clause in the law, so this system doesn’t know~ This system is sleepy now. Going to nap~ Good luck, dear~]

Jiang Yun couldn’t help but smile.

Was this not the clearest hint possible?

That meant Yan Kuo was still doing fine simply because the protagonist halo protected him. Since the halo was bound to him, it could not be taken.

But what if he was no longer the protagonist? What if he became just a minor supporting character? What if he became a spiteful side character? Then how powerful would the halo really be? Or worse, would it turn from a protective golden finger to a death-reaping scythe?

She could not steal the halo.

But she would trample Yan Kuo’s protagonist status deep into the mud.

Jiang Yun and Zhan Rao spotted Yan Kuo across the crowd, and Yan Kuo, unsurprisingly, noticed them just as quickly.

He walked straight toward the group.

As he slowly approached, the group of girls grew visibly excited. Hands over their hearts, they lowered their voices to squeal in delight.

“Oh my gosh, Yan Kuo is walking toward us.”

“He looked at me! Does that mean he likes me?”

“Didn’t he say he wasn’t coming? If he’s here now, it must be for me!”

“Ah, I hereby declare I’m the future Mrs. Yan!”

The girls chattered and jostled one another, scrambling to strike the most flirtatious poses to catch the school heartthrob’s attention.

Li Yue squeezed herself into the group. While annoyed at the other girls’ behavior, she quickly smoothed her hair and glanced shyly at Yan Kuo.

“I just don’t get it. Have they all lost their minds? It’s only Yan Kuo,” Xin Keke, who stood beside Li Yue, muttered in disbelief. Then she looked at her friend and saw her blushing. “Yueyue, what’s with you?”

Li Yue patted her cheeks and shook her head. In a soft voice, she said, “It’s nothing. Maybe it’s just a little hot.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the white curve of her neck.

Her eyes drifted toward Yan Kuo. As he drew close, she loosened her knees intentionally, and with a subtle nudge from the girls behind her, she stumbled forward.

“Yueyue!” Xin Keke cried out and tried to grab her. She missed. But when she looked up and saw someone had caught Li Yue, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yueyue, are you alright?”

Li Yue felt a pair of strong hands supporting her waist. Her face had landed against the chest of a boy. She smelled a sweet strawberry-milk scent.

Her heart pounded, and her face grew red with embarrassment. She quickly stood up. “I-I’m fine…”

She touched her burning cheeks and dared not look at the one who held her. Standing properly again, she murmured, “Thank you, Yan Kuo.”

“Huh? Yan Kuo? Li Yue, take a better look. I’m Cai Minhao,” a slightly hoarse voice said with a laugh.

The girls around them giggled.

“Was she trying to fall into Yan Kuo’s arms just now?”

“That fall was so fake. Good thing Yan Kuo saw it coming and moved out of the way. No chance she could touch him.”

Li Yue looked up sharply.

She looked up and saw a wide, pale face marked with freckles, the cheeks round and full from baby fat. The boy grinned and scratched his head.

His school uniform was stained with red and white liquid that had not yet dried.

Li Yue was dumbfounded. She looked again and saw Yan Kuo standing far away, chatting with Zhan Rao.

Xin Keke didn’t like the comments she heard and stepped in to defend her friend.

“What are you saying? Li Yue is delicate. She couldn’t take all that pushing.”

“Heh~ Then how come out of all of us, only she fell?” one girl from Class 18 sneered.

Another chimed in, “Exactly. I thought she was sweet and innocent, but she’s just a schemer? Can’t even admit it.”

Xin Keke was fuming and ready to argue, but Li Yue grabbed her arm.

“Keke, let it go.”

She gritted her teeth as tears welled in her eyes, carefully dabbing at the stains on her dress.

She had intended to fall into someone’s arms but now, the milk tea stain on Cai Minhao’s chest had transferred to her own outfit. Unfortunately, her white dress made the mess far more visible than his dark uniform.

Now she looked completely disheveled.

Cai Minhao felt awkward seeing her cry. “Sorry, Li Yue. Someone bumped into me and spilled the milk tea. I didn’t mean to get you dirty.”

He reached for a tissue to help, but Li Yue fixed him with a glare that made him freeze in place.

Her eyes were teary, and she looked hurt and angry. She clearly didn’t want him touching her. She even looked heartbroken about the ruined dress.

Cai Minhao froze. It was the first time he had ever made a girl cry.

“I’ll… I’ll buy you a new one. I think I’ve seen your dress before. I think my sister’s store carries it. Except that version has a little gold crown on the chest. Yours doesn’t. But don’t worry, the crown is tiny, just about the size of a pinky nail. You probably won’t mind, right?”

Li Yue stiffened, then glared at him in fury and ran off.

Cai Minhao was still clueless, but the others around him burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! No wonder her dress looked a little off. It’s a knockoff!”

“Always pretending to be a sweet flower, but she’s just a vain little snake.”

“Heard her family isn’t well-off. No princess fate, but still chasing princess dreams. Used to trail after Miss Jiang and wear her hand-me-downs. Now she’s got no golden backer, she’s stuck buying street stall fakes. Hahaha…”

Yinchuan High was a school full of wealthy students, quick to judge with their eyes and even quicker to cut with their words.

Li Yue wept uncontrollably in Xin Keke’s arms, her eyes swollen and burning with fury.

Cai Minhao finally realized he had made things worse. He wanted to fix it, but Tong Xue stopped him. “Don’t. You’ll only make it worse.”

Cai Minhao hesitated, then nodded. It was his fault for speaking carelessly, but he still felt guilty. “I caused the trouble. I’ll pay for everyone’s tickets.”

Tong Xue rolled her eyes. “You idiot.”

But she said no more. Instead, she turned to Jiang Yun and Zhan Rao. “Everyone’s here. Let’s go.”

They lined up for tickets. True to his word, Chubby Cai stepped up first to pay for the tickets, while the rest gathered in small groups, waiting to go in.

“Classmate Zhan, you’re here too?” Yan Kuo approached Zhan Rao with a casual greeting.

Zhan Rao wanted to gag just looking at him, let alone talk. She wanted to respond with all the hostility in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to punch his smug face. Yet, every time Yan Kuo spoke to her, something within her forcibly suppressed all her hostility and compelled her to respond with nothing but kindness and gentleness.

This overpowering compulsion suffocated her. It drove her mad.

Then, someone grabbed her hand.

The oppressive feeling vanished in an instant, as if someone had reached into her chest and pulled it out, restoring both her clarity and emotions at once.

She turned and saw who held her hand.

Who else but Jiang Yun?

“Tickets are ready. Let’s go in,” Jiang Yun said calmly, still holding her hand.

Zhan Rao smiled and nodded quickly. “Sure.”

Now that she was in control of her feelings again, she did not even want to spare Yan Kuo a glance.

Watching the two girls walk in hand-in-hand, Yan Kuo’s jaw tightened with rage, his fury centered squarely on Jiang Yun.

That damned villainous supporting role was infuriating. She always ruined everything for him.

She had interfered at the opening ceremony, then at the library, and now even at the haunted house?

If he failed this task again, his luck would drop back to zero, and his protagonist status would once more become unstable.

He never wanted to relive the nightmare of losing his halo and being labeled a “pervert” again.

With luck on his side, even side characters treated him like a god.

The police station incident had faded from memory, and even the related posts on the school forum had vanished without a trace. Thanks to the halo, all his past stains were erased.

As long as he had luck, he remained the flawless male lead everyone loved.

So he had to get closer to Zhan Rao, the female lead, trigger more tasks, gain more luck, and push their love story forward to secure his role.

[Ding~ You have a new mission update.]

[Current tasks: 1. Rescue the female lead from the cage set by the villainous supporting role Jiang Yun using a bridal carry, and lock the villainess inside as punishment. 2. Receive a grateful kiss from the female lead inside the haunted house. 3. Advance romantic progress to 19%. Each successful task earns 1 luck point.]

[Your current total luck: 0.]

Yan Kuo smirked.

Look, the mission had arrived.

Jiang Yun was holding Zhan Rao’s hand and heading toward the haunted house when she suddenly froze.

Zhan Rao noticed her strange expression. “What’s wrong?”

What she could not see was that Jiang Yun was rapidly scanning the glowing screen that appeared the moment the system beeped.

It showed the following passage:

[Villainous supporting role Jiang Yun, jealous of Yan Kuo’s interest in Zhan Rao, lured Zhan Rao to a hidden trap she had discovered in the haunted house. While Zhan Rao was off guard, she pushed her into the trap and locked her inside. As the narrow cage slowly lifted into the air, Zhan Rao pounded the bars and screamed. Jiang Yun watched with a smug smile.

Jiang Yun kept Zhan Rao locked up for a whole hour. No one noticed she was missing when the haunted house tour ended. Only the male lead realized it and rushed back to rescue the injured Zhan Rao with a bridal carry. Touched, Zhan Rao kissed him. Their bond grew stronger. Amid admiring looks and Jiang Yun’s resentful glare, the male lead carried the heroine away and threw the villainess into the same cage. He ordered the staff to keep her locked up until closing time.]

[Ding~ Would you like to use the Skip Villain Plot function?]

Jiang Yun’s gaze darkened as she read.

She smiled faintly. “What a wonderful storyline~”

“What’s going on?” Zhan Rao asked, confused.

Jiang Yun turned to her with a smile. “Nothing. It just means the haunted house is going to be very exciting.”