Chapter 7#
World 1: The Tragic Supporting Male Lead Changes the Script Online#
Zhou Linlin walked into Qin Qing’s home carrying many high-end gift boxes.
“Oh my god, your house is too messy, right? Are you alone? No one taking care of you?”
Zhou Linlin looked left and right, not knowing where to put the gift boxes, because the living room floor was littered with garbage, and the sofa was also piled with clothes, leaving no place to step.
Qin Qing was sitting on a wire bed on the balcony, playing with his phone absent-mindedly.
“Come sit.” He waved to Zhou Linlin.
Zhou Linlin walked to the balcony, looked around, and then let out a breath.
Unexpectedly, the cleanest place in this house was the balcony. The narrow wire bed was covered with clean white sheets, the floor was spotless, and a rich floral fragrance floated in the air, intoxicating with just a gentle sniff.
“What perfume are you wearing?” Zhou Linlin put the gift boxes in the corner of the balcony, and sniffed incessantly near Qin Qing’s head like a puppy.
She was still wearing that awkward lace dress and high heels today, with long hair over her shoulders, dressed like a lady, but her face had tough contours.
996 immediately jumped into a pile of gift boxes, accurately found the box with food, and pawed it open. Its movements were large, but Zhou Linlin couldn’t see it at all.
Qin Qing shook his head, “Just ordinary shower gel.”
“Liar! If there really was such a fragrant shower gel on the market, it would have sold out long ago!” Zhou Linlin put her hands on her hips, pretending to be fierce.
Just then, Qin Bao’er walked out of the room. Seeing Zhou Linlin, she immediately showed a fawning smile, her eyes constantly glancing at the pile of gift boxes.
“The room is so messy, don’t you know how to clean up?” Zhou Linlin pointed at the garbage on the floor and questioned.
“My brother cleans all this.” Qin Bao’er felt wronged.
“Your brother’s hand is injured!”
“Only the right hand is injured, isn’t there still another hand?”
“Are you even human? Is a right hand injury a small matter?”
“He can run and jump, why isn’t it a small matter? The doctor also said that after the plaster is removed, the right hand can still be used.”
“But he can’t use it now and needs someone to take care of him! You have nothing to do all day, don’t you know how to help your brother? Can’t even do housework?”
“How do I have nothing to do? I have to take the postgraduate entrance exam!”
“Exam my ass! Your thesis was written like a piece of shit, you almost couldn’t graduate from undergraduate! You take the postgraduate exam? Are you kidding! You are just lazy and don’t want to go out to work!”
“Who are you? Do I need you to manage my affairs?”
Zhou Linlin was spoiled by her grandparents, and Qin Bao’er was also Shen Mingshu’s darling. Both had bad tempers, and as they talked, they started quarreling, and very fiercely.
Qin Qing didn’t stop them either, just sat aside, resting his chin on his left hand, hooking his thin lips and watching with a faint smile.
996 dug out a bag of bird’s nest from the gift box, took two bites and spat it out, then rushed between the two women, jeering: “Fight, fight…”
Qin Qing changed his hand from resting on his chin to covering his face, looking seemingly helpless, but the corners of his lips curled higher.
Zhou Linlin, known as the female tyrant of Hai City, had never lost a quarrel. She soon scolded Qin Bao’er into tears. Qin Bao’er wanted to go back to the bedroom to hide. She immediately followed, and seeing the luxurious decoration in the bedroom and the high-end cosmetics filling the dressing table, she exploded again.
“Damn! Qin Bao’er, you and your mom are really not human! Qin Qing works so hard every day and can only sleep on the balcony when he comes back, but you and your mom live in such a good room! What do you take Qin Qing for?”
“None of your business! Get out!” Qin Bao’er pushed Zhou Linlin out forcefully.
Zhou Linlin banged on the door and cursed: “Qin Bao’er, come out! Give the room to Qin Qing! You contribute nothing to this family, go sleep on the balcony! Have you no shame? Graduated and not working, still letting your brother support you! Do you have no hands or feet?”
“Forget it, stop knocking.” Qin Qing stepped forward to stop her.
“No, Qin Qing, don’t you think it’s strange? Your mom and your sister treat you—”
Qin Qing raised his slender index finger and gently pressed it against his thin lips: “Shh…”
Zhou Linlin quieted down. At the same time, the sound of the door opening came from the entryway, followed by Shen Mingshu’s impatient scolding: “Qin Qing, Qin Qing, where are you? The house is so messy, don’t you clean up?”
Obviously, in her view, Qin Qing with a broken right hand still had to undertake housework. As long as he didn’t die, he must dedicate everything to this family.
Two balls of fire appeared in Zhou Linlin’s eyes.
Qin Qing still smiled so calmly: “It’s meaningless to argue with them, go home.”
Qin Qing pushed Zhou Linlin out to the corridor.
Seeing the eldest miss of the Zhou family, Shen Mingshu, who had an impatient face, immediately showed a flattering smile.
Zhou Linlin opened her mouth to curse, but heard a helpless yet gentle whisper in her ear: “Be good, go back first.”
Since her grandparents died, no one had spoken to Zhou Linlin in such a caring tone. Her cheeks blushed, and the anger in her heart naturally extinguished by half.
When walking into the elevator, Zhou Linlin turned back and said to Qin Qing who was standing at the door watching her off: “I will definitely save you, wait for me.”
Qin Qing just waved his hand and smiled silently.
The elevator went down, and Qin Qing closed the door and entered the house.
“Clean up the house. I’m tired and want to sleep.” Shen Mingshu threw her bag on the sofa and ordered with a tired face.
The bedroom door slammed shut, leaving only Qin Qing standing in the living room, looking helplessly at the mess around him.
“The original host was right to leave this world early.” He sighed in his heart, then slowly walked to the balcony, closed the sliding door, and isolated himself from that dirty, indifferent, and selfish world.
“This is your task, you can’t quit.” 996, who followed into the balcony, immediately warned.
“I have completed all the plot points so far.” Qin Qing smiled slightly.
“But you are disrupting the plot in disguise! You want to get rid of the original host’s troubles.”
996 said angrily: “I tell you, this is impossible! Even if you dislike Shen Mingshu and Qin Bao’er, in the plot, you still have to support them for a lifetime! You’d better adapt quickly!”
“Support them for a lifetime? Stipulated by the plot?” Qin Qing raised his slender sword eyebrows and asked with an uncertain expression.
“Yes. The original host was a very filial person. After returning to his own home, he didn’t forget Shen Mingshu and Qin Bao’er, and kept buying things and sending money to them. Get up and clean the room quickly. For this half year, adapt well to the life of a filial son. Half a year later, I will find a way for you to go through the plot point of recognizing ancestors and returning to the clan. Don’t make any trouble then, otherwise we will die here!”
996 warned sternly.
Qin Qing sighed lightly and stood up slowly.
996 thought he was going to endure the severe pain in his right hand to clean the room, but saw him take out his phone and call a cleaner using a housekeeping APP.
Two hours later, the house became clean and tidy. Shen Mingshu, who woke up after playing mahjong all night, scolded Qin Qing upon learning the situation, blaming him for wasting money, and asked him to transfer all the balance in his card to herself.
The phone was snatched away, and when it was returned, the deposit had been completely transferred away.
Qin Qing sat alone on the balcony, holding the empty phone, muttering to himself: “Support them for a lifetime…”
996, squatting on the windowsill, grinned: “Yes, support them for a lifetime! For this half year, just serve them like a beast of burden.”
Qin Qing rolled his eyes and scanned the narrow balcony lightly, smiling: “It really is a life like livestock.”
“You can still smile? Is half a year too short? Should I let you enjoy another half year?” 996 threatened grumpily.
However, it didn’t take half a year at all. Half a month later, Zhou Linlin brought a middle-aged couple, a young man, and two old men to Qin Qing’s home.
She put a stack of documents on the coffee table and said: “This is the paternity test report, take a look.”
Shen Mingshu looked at the young man standing at the entryway with fearful eyes, stunned. This person was Qin Zishi, her son!
The water cup in Qin Bao’er’s hand fell to the ground with a bang.
Only Qin Qing remained calm and composed, picking up the paternity test report and flipping through it page by page seriously.
“Half a year?” He chuckled softly in his heart.
996, squatting on the sofa, was dumbfounded.
Meow? What is going on with this world, meow? Why did something that would happen half a year later happen so many days in advance? Isn’t Zhou Linlin a vicious female supporting character? Why did she follow Zhou Yurou’s plot?
Qin Qing lowered his eyes and flipped through the report with a calm expression, as if completely undisturbed by this sudden news.
But careful people would find that his left hand opening the report was trembling slightly. This uncontrollable physical reaction leaked the unrest in his heart.
The two old men sat opposite him, looking at his extremely handsome but unmistakably haggard face, and his right hand in plaster, tears of pity appearing in their eyes.
“No need to look, you are our family’s child. You look exactly like your grandmother.” The old man leaning on a cane said with a slight choke: “I am your maternal grandfather Ji Mingtang.”
The spirited old man sitting next to Ji Mingtang spoke immediately: “I am your paternal grandfather Qin Guangyuan.”
The two old men looked at the middle-aged couple and the young man with stern eyes, and these three people spoke with slight unnaturalness.
“I am your father, my name is Qin Huaichuan.”
“I am your mother Ji Lan.”
“My name is Qin Zishi.” Qin Zishi didn’t introduce his identity. He was the most awkward person now.
Qin Qing was still reading the report. He read the short sentence of the test result for fully five minutes, his left hand pressing on his knee, trying hard to suppress the trembling.
996 curled its lips: “I give you ten points for this acting.”
Ji Lan stared at Qin Qing, her eyes slightly red.
Qin Huaichuan was also sizing up this son. There was no excitement of finally meeting in his eyes, but scrutiny and deliberation.
Shen Mingshu keenly sensed Qin Huaichuan’s thoughts, looked at Qin Zishi, and said with a trembling voice, “You, you graduated from Harvard, right? I’ve seen your interview. Your parents taught you really well!”
Tears of gratification welled up from her eyes.
Mentioning studies, Qin Huaichuan frowned and asked: “Qin Qing didn’t go to university?”
They had investigated this situation long ago, but they would still mind it in their hearts.
“Yes, he went out to work after graduating from high school. Really ashamed.” Shen Mingshu lowered her head, appearing extremely cramped. Her answer avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial gave people the illusion that Qin Qing gave up his studies because he was playful.
Qin Qing raised his head and smiled bitterly: “At that time, the family had no income. If I didn’t work, who would support mom and sister. Actually, I also wanted to study at Hai University very much. The admission letter was sent, but thinking of the family situation…”
Sudden sadness made this sentence choke and unfinished. Qin Qing hooked his thin lips into an open-minded smile, but a touch of thin red quietly climbed up the corner of his eyes.
He was embarrassed, and also sad.
Hai University was a top university in the country, and he was admitted while working part-time. If given sufficient conditions, he would inevitably have superior achievements.
Shen Mingshu’s intention was to use Qin Zishi’s high education to set off Qin Qing’s mediocrity, but Qin Qing’s answer made people see his extraordinary mind and exceptional perseverance. He was a responsible, filial, and intelligent child.
The two old men nodded frequently, full of appreciation.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. If you are willing, we can send you for further studies. A diploma can be obtained anytime. The years of training in society are your wealth!”
“Good child, you have suffered these years. It will be fine after returning home.”
Ji Mingtang and Qin Guangyuan’s liking for Qin Qing was simply visible to the naked eye.
Ji Lan hurriedly took out a tissue to wipe her tears, saying with heartache: “It’s all over, you won’t suffer anymore.”
Qin Huaichuan patted Qin Qing’s shoulder. That little bit of grudge had disappeared, leaving only gratification. Not having a diploma wasn’t a big deal, as long as the person was smart.
At this time, Qin Zishi appeared even more awkward.
But only for a moment, he adjusted, then stepped forward, gently put his arm around Qin Qing’s shoulder, and said sincerely and apologetically: “I’m sorry, I should have suffered these hardships. Thank you for taking care of my mother and sister for me. I came to take you home, and also to bear the responsibility I should have borne. Leave this family to me to take care of in the future, you be filial to mom and dad.”
Qin Qing turned his head and looked at Qin Zishi.
Qin Qing was fully 185 cm tall, with a handsome face, a tall and slender body, and a noble temperament that couldn’t be erased no matter how hard life was. Qin Zishi was at most 1.75 meters tall, and his appearance was just delicate.
Standing together, if not looking at clothes and resume, Qin Zishi was really far behind Qin Qing. What kind of root bears what kind of fruit, this sentence was never wrong.
The more the two old men looked at Qin Qing, the more they liked him. Ji Lan also stepped forward and hugged this lost and found son tightly.
Qin Huaichuan silently held Qin Qing’s hand and patted it repeatedly to show closeness.
Shen Mingshu frowned tightly watching this scene and asked uneasily: “You want to take Qin Qing away? Then Zishi?”
Never switch back, never! She screamed in her heart.
The Qin family had discussed it before coming. They wanted both children, no switching back. Qin Zishi and Qin Qing would be biological brothers in the future.
Qin Huaichuan stated his decision and comforted: “In the future, our two families will interact as one family. Qin Qing is both your son and my son. Both our families are surnamed Qin, this is fate.”
Shen Mingshu nodded excitedly with tears: “Good, good, good. I, I can’t bear to part with Qin Qing. I’m very grateful that you can let him continue to stay by my side.”
Great, this is the result she wanted! Great!
Zhou Linlin watched this scene sarcastically.
996 licked its paws and said with schadenfreude: “Can’t get rid of her, meow! You can’t get rid of this cheap mom for a lifetime! Before you were her beast of burden, in the future you will be her ATM!”
Meow meow meow, Qin Qing must be furious now, right? 996 turned to appreciate Qin Qing’s expression, but saw the other party pursing his thin lips and looking at Zhou Linlin.
Zhou Linlin clenched her fists and suddenly spoke: “So strange, Auntie Shen. Qin Qing was admitted to Hai University back then, which is a top five university in the country. Why did you make him drop out, and instead let Qin Bao’er, whose grades were terrible, go to study? Auntie Shen, this is unreasonable! Which mother would force her son to destroy his future? What were you thinking at that time?”
Shen Mingshu was stunned by the question.
Qin Bao’er hid in the corner and dared not speak, but felt resentful in her heart. Couldn’t she study if her grades were bad? What logic?
Qin Zishi, who was hugging Qin Qing, took a step back and looked at Shen Mingshu, suspicion flashing in his eyes.
Ji Lan was stunned, and then showed an expression of disbelief. She already had a guess.
Qin Huaichuan, Qin Guangyuan, and Ji Mingtang were all stunned, and then their expressions changed suddenly. The originally harmonious scene of recognizing relatives cooled down completely in an instant.
Shen Mingshu was stiff all over, breathing rapidly.
Before she could think of a reasonable answer, in fact, she couldn’t think of a reasonable answer, Zhou Linlin dropped another bomb: “Auntie Shen, did you know long ago that Qin Qing wasn’t your biological son?”
Yes, this was the crux of the problem. Only by knowing beforehand that Qin Qing was not her son would Shen Mingshu make such an unreasonable decision.
“No, no! I didn’t! I didn’t know at all!” Shen Mingshu shouted in panic. This time, without the original host repeatedly excusing her and saying that dropping out was his own decision, she had no way to whitewash herself.
Qin Bao’er hurriedly echoed: “Who would know about such things! Don’t slander people!”
996 complained wagging its tail: “Meow, the script isn’t written like this, meow! Zhou Linlin, don’t add scenes for yourself!”
When 996 pounced to scratch Zhou Linlin’s shoe lightly, Qin Qing looked at Shen Mingshu quietly across the crowd, suddenly his eyes reddened, and his voice was slightly hoarse: “Is what Zhou Linlin said true? You knew long ago? So you saved so many photos of Qin Zishi in your phone?”
This accusation was purely Qin Qing’s guess. He wouldn’t peek at Shen Mingshu’s phone, but he could be certain that a mother missing her son would inevitably do so.
Shen Mingshu, who was still quibbling a second ago, revealed her true form the next second.
“You peeked at my phone!” She first questioned sternly, and then realized she had exposed herself.
996 was shocked: “Qin Qing, you also add scenes for yourself?!”
Shen Mingshu threw herself onto the sofa, dug out her phone and wanted to delete the entire album, but Ji Lan snatched the phone, unlocked it facing Shen Mingshu’s face, and finally found the album.
There was a category in the album, signed “Son”. Opening this category, it was full of photos of Qin Zishi, some collected from the Internet, some secretly taken in reality.
No need to ask again, the answer was already obvious.
“You knew long ago that Qin Zishi was your son? So you didn’t let my son go to university? You deliberately destroyed his future?” Ji Lan trembled with anger.
Qin Zishi, who was graceful and appropriate just now, had lost that calmness at this moment. If Shen Mingshu was such a vicious woman, he would be very uncomfortable staying in the Qin family in the future.
The faces of Qin Huaichuan, Qin Guangyuan and Ji Mingtang were terribly gloomy. The thought of recognizing Shen Mingshu and Qin Bao’er as relatives was completely gone, leaving only full anger.
“Uncle Qin cultivated your son so well! Why did you destroy his son? No matter what, Qin Qing was raised by you. How could you bear to deprive him of the right to education? How could you bear to let him go out to work at a young age? How could you bear to ruin his whole life?” Zhou Linlin was still adding fuel to the fire.
Shen Mingshu couldn’t answer any of these questions. Could she bear it?
Of course she could. The child wasn’t hers, what did it matter if he lived or died?
The hatred in the eyes of the Qin family deepened a few points.
Qin Qing’s eyes were red, and he asked in a hoarse voice: “When did you know? The year I went to junior high school?”
This sentence touched Shen Mingshu’s deepest hidden hatred. Originally extremely guilty, she exploded in an instant.
“Qin Qing, do you know how your father died? The year you went to the first year of junior high, he got your entrance physical examination report and saw your blood type. No one in our family has Rh-negative blood! He was distracted and got into a car accident! He was killed by you! It was you who destroyed my family! Why didn’t you die!”
Shen Mingshu pounced to tear at Qin Qing, her face distorted by hatred.
“Go die! Go die!” She screamed, tears rolling down from her flushed eyes.
Ji Lan also pounced and wrestled with Shen Mingshu, “Don’t touch my son! Your husband’s death has nothing to do with him! Why did you destroy him? Why?”
Tall Ji Lan slapped Shen Mingshu’s head askew.
Qin Zishi actually stood out, blocking Qin Qing, looking like a guardian.
“This is not Qin Qing’s fault, this is all fate.” He said word by word in a voice full of pain.
The two old men, who were originally quite dissatisfied with him, showed expressions of gratification again at this moment.
Zhou Linlin felt that this matter was not big enough, and asked loudly: “Then does Qin Zishi know that you are his mom? Did you mother and son keep this matter secret all along just to seize the Qin family’s property?”
Shen Mingshu, who was venting her resentment righteously, froze on the spot. Ji Lan caught the gap and slapped her hard a few more times.
Shen Mingshu didn’t fight back, but shouted loudly: “Zishi doesn’t know about this! I swear I never looked for him! It’s enough as long as he lives well. I won’t annoy him, nor will I harm him. I am his mother!”
Qin Zishi’s back was trembling, was it because of anger or embarrassment?
A trace of banter flashed in Qin Qing’s pitch-black eyes, but his face was even more sorrowful. A pair of slightly reddish peach blossom eyes overflowed with broken tears at this moment.
“You won’t harm him, so you come to harm me? But the person who called you mom for twenty-five years is me…”
Qin Qing said this sentence almost crying, didn’t wait for Shen Mingshu’s response, turned and left.
This cold home never had a place for him. What was even sadder was that he only discovered this fact now.
Two bitter tears fell on the floor, and the door slammed shut.
996 watched in a daze. Meow the kitty, it only discovered now that Qin Qing was also an acting master!
996 hurriedly jumped onto the window, climbed down the drainpipe, and blocked Qin Qing in the lobby on the first floor.
Qin Qing, who walked out of the elevator leisurely, had no trace of tears on his face, and his slightly reddish eyes became clear and bright.
With his left hand in his pocket, walking leisurely along the street bathed in the setting sun, his thin lips slightly raised, sighing in his heart: “Support them for a lifetime? Hmm?”
996: “…Meow the kitty, you are amazing!”
Qin Qing: “Did I get the score for the plot point of recognizing ancestors and returning to the clan?”
996 looked at the script, then at the task list, and said reluctantly: “Got it, but the script isn’t written like this. You deliberately destroyed the plot, didn’t you?”
It didn’t get Qin Qing’s apology, but instead got a careless chuckle.
At this point, it finally understood that Qin Qing was only responsible for following the plot, and would not use the correct way at all!
What is the correct way? 996 flipped through the script again, feeling like crying. The plot of two families merging into one and living happily together from then on was butterflied away just like that!
“Qin Qing, if the plot asks you to die, will you die?” 996 raised its head and asked, and finally emphasized with a heavier tone: “You saw it too, right? The power of fate is irresistible. What should happen will definitely happen, sooner or later.”
Qin Qing’s eyes flickered slightly, and he answered with a chuckle: “I know the unchangeability of fate. If destiny asks me to die, of course I am willing, but I will choose a comfortable way.”
So, no matter what he does, even if it is death, he wants to be happy.
996 took a deep breath and vowed: “Qin Qing, just you wait, I will have a way to deal with you!”