“Next time, can you let my setting be a wealthy, saintly 'White Lotus' heiress?” Que Tang grumbled. Having finally finished her shift, she trudged home, exhausted as a dog, carrying the cat who was currently busy gnawing on a dried small fish. “This storyline—orphaned, working for a living, yet still having to be a top-tier student striving for success—is way too tiring.”
“Meow~”
“And I’m living in such a dilapidated place. A rooftop unit! It’s exposed to the wind, sun, and rain; freezing in winter and sweltering in summer!” To save money, she even had to walk about half an hour from her workplace to get home. “By the way, I don't think I’ve asked yet—how is the completion of this story determined?”
“It’s finished once the male lead’s favorability toward the female supporting character is maxed out, meow~”
“Oh?” Que Tang was surprised. “Why isn't it when they get together or get married? Why is it just the male lead’s favorability? At the very least, it should be the mutual romance level between the two of them, right?”
“This is the resentment of the female supporting character; I don't know the specifics either, meow.” Little Shiitake sat contentedly, nibbling on his dried fish.
Que Tang looked at the expensive treat in his paws with a pang of heartache. That fish had cost her two hours' worth of wages. She forced herself to look away and continued her questioning. “So, what is the male lead’s current favorability toward her?”
“Twenty, meow.” Having finished the fish, the cat began meticulously cleaning between his claws, not missing a single spot. “Because the male lead dislikes his family manipulating his life, and the female supporting character’s status is that of a fiancée arranged by both families. So, even though they are childhood friends who grew up together, his favorability dropped after he found out about the arrangement. By the way, one hundred is the maximum. Meow, meow~”
Hearing him call out twice, she knew he wanted more fish. She reached into her bag and stuffed another one into his mouth. “Only twenty… Gosh, it’s going to be a long road.” Que Tang walked on, dejected. “Anyway, how much longer until we get home?”
“The second building after this alley is where you live in this world. Meow.”
Hearing this, she picked up her pace, desperate to get home, take a shower, and lie in bed—refusing to leave even if the sky fell or the world ended. However, as she passed the entrance of the alley, she sensitively detected the sounds of shouting and screaming coming from deep within. Her footsteps faltered.
“The female supporting character is inside. Originally, the female lead would pass by at this time and rush in heroically to save her. Of course, the host can choose not to save her, meow.”
The latter half of that sentence sounded thick with malice. Unable to withstand the prickling of her conscience, she let out a deep sigh and turned into the alley.
*This feeling of walking straight into the tiger's den even though I know it's there is just awful, meow.* Que Tang was so frustrated she unconsciously started mimicking Little Shiitake.
Before she had walked far, the standard lines of a street thug drifted from ahead.
“You’ve got a pretty nice figure. Why don't you come out and play with us?”
“We brothers guarantee you’ll have a great time, a lot of fun.”
Then came a chorus of lewd laughter.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Que Tang walked up behind them. She estimated there were three boys, about seventeen or eighteen years old, surrounding… her eyes instinctively drifted upward to the line of text glowing in shimmering gold, font size 100, Microsoft JhengHei Bold: *“Female Supporting Character of This World”*… surrounding the female supporting character.
A flicker of an unidentifiable emotion crossed the girl's cold eyes when she saw Que Tang.
“Leave, quickly. This has nothing to do with you,” the young lady commanded.
“Oh, another cute little sister has arrived. Then you two can just accompany us together. We brothers have some very cool cars.” They burst into laughter again.
“Can’t you get some new material? Why do thugs always love saying such stupid lines? However…” Que Tang gave a sweet smile. “Even if you changed your lines, I still wouldn't go out with you.” With that, she threw the cat in her arms directly at the face of the boy closest to the girl. The boy instinctively tried to catch it, only to be clawed across the face. He clutched his face in pain and crouched down.
Que Tang took the opportunity to deliver a powerful kick to the crotch of the boy in front of her, followed by a right hook to the one in the middle who was still standing there like an idiot. “This is the wrath of a part-time girl! Take this! KO!” Her strike sent his head snapping back, and he slammed into the wall.
Que Tang immediately grabbed the girl’s hand. “Run!” Without looking back, she sprinted toward the alley entrance.
Just as the three boys behind were about to catch up, shouts calling for "Young Lady" echoed from ahead.
“I’m here,” the girl responded, her voice remaining calm. Bodyguards immediately rushed forward, blocking the pursuing boys.
Seeing that the situation was safe, Que Tang immediately let go. She scooped the cat up from the ground. Seeing that the girl was now surrounded by bodyguards and unharmed, she left without hesitation.
“…Do you think my dinner is still edible?” Que Tang held the cat, belatedly remembering that her convenience store dinner was in her bag. After that series of sprints, the food must be a complete mess…
“Don't know, meow meow~”
Que Tang angrily pulled a dried fish from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth. Then, she pushed open the door to her dilapidated apartment building and walked in. She didn't notice that the girl, still standing where she was, kept her gaze fixed on her.
“I forgot to tell you, after the original female lead rushed in, she realized she was powerless and ended up dragging the female supporting character down. In the end, the male lead appeared and saved them both. Meow~”
“So you mean I didn't need to do anything just now? I just had to stand there and scream at the top of my lungs: 'Help! Don't come any closer! If you come closer, I'll scream!' Like that?” Que Tang’s eyes went dead again. Stifling the urge to strangle the cat, she stomped up the stairs.
When the male lead passed the alley entrance, only the disheveled girl and her bodyguards were standing there. He walked past nonchalantly, as if he hadn't seen a thing, not even offering a greeting.
A look of sadness appeared on the girl's face, but it was replaced by indifference in an instant. Under the protection of her bodyguards, she got into her car and left.
After showering, Que Tang sat enjoyably on her bed, eating at the only table in the room. “Sigh, thinking about having to go to work tomorrow and the day after, and then the exam on Monday… this tragic life. It’s truly impressive that the female lead can be so hardworking and persistent.”
“As the female lead, one must have some merits, meow~” The cat rolled around on the bed.
“But these merits are not even worth mentioning compared to the female supporting character. I remember she’s also a top student, always in the top three of the grade, right?” Since no one was around, Que Tang didn't care about her manners and wolfed down her lunchbox. “But the male lead is a textbook 'Chunibyo' case, yet he can still charm thousands of girls. Even the high-and-mighty, mature female supporting character is head over heels for him. He really is the winner in life.”
“The male lead’s family is the most influential family in this world, meow~” The cat pounced forward, jumping into Que Tang’s lap. “And although he’s only a high school freshman, his IQ is as high as two hundred. He has already independently researched the secrets of human genetics and developed a specialized drug that can treat cancer. He is currently pursued by experts in various fields all over the world.”
“…Just which author wrote this? The male lead is the real Mary Sue here.” Que Tang was speechless.
“Meow~ Just now, the female supporting character’s favorability toward the male lead dropped. Host, please work harder.”
Que Tang was stunned. “Didn't you say I only needed to make the male lead’s favorability for her go up?!”
“But if the female supporting character’s favorability drops, she will ignore the male lead and take no action, which means the male lead will have no way to increase his favorability either, meow~”
“…No, you’re wrong. That 'Chunibyo' male lead likes exactly the type that ignores him. In the original story, the female lead only caught his attention because she didn't buy into his act!” Que Tang instantly established a strategy. A fiery, determined light of victory shone in her eyes.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 圣母白莲花 | Saintly White Lotus | A trope referring to a character who is overly kind, innocent, and often self-sacrificing to a fault. |
| 好感度 | Favorability / Affection level | A common gaming/system term for how much one character likes another. |
| 资优生 | Top student / Gifted student | A student with excellent academic performance. |
| 中二 | Chunibyo | Refers to "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome," used here to describe an arrogant, edgy, or delusional personality. |
| 玛莉苏 | Mary Sue | A character archetype who is overly perfect, talented, and beloved by all. |
| 微软正黑体 | Microsoft JhengHei | A common sans-serif typeface for Traditional Chinese. |
| 小鱼干 | Dried small fish | A common cat treat. |
