1 – I Choose the Deeply Affectionate Male Second Lead (Revised)
The carriage jolted violently, causing Shi Sui’s head to lurch sideways and slam against the compartment wall. She groggily opened her eyes, raising a hand to rub her throbbing forehead, still dazed and disoriented.
Outside, a guard shouted loudly, pushing aside the curtain with one hand. Sweat beaded his face, and smears of blood stained his cheeks. He urgently called toward the sleeping Little Princess inside the carriage, “Little Princess, be careful!”
The clashing of weapons echoed incessantly from outside, accompanied by the shouts of two opposing forces. Shi Sui furrowed her brows, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she gradually pieced together the situation.
The guard waited anxiously outside the carriage, occasionally parrying the longswords of black-clad assailants. The two sides clashed fiercely, blood and flesh flying as a thick, metallic scent of blood permeated the small grove. Crimson droplets stained the green grass along the roadside. Shi Sui wrinkled her nose slightly, finding the smell of blood almost unbearable.
Shi Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Didn’t I just fall asleep? What part of the plot is this??
Perhaps noticing her confusion, a youth sitting beside her gently tugged at her sleeve, like a lost young creature seeking comfort. With an innocent and youthful face, he called out clearly, “Sister?”
The youth was slender and tall, standing about half a head taller than her. His features were so exquisite they almost blurred the lines of gender, and with the long hair common in ancient times, Shi Sui had initially mistaken him for a beautiful young girl. His eyes were dark and bright, his lashes long and curled like delicate brushes—utterly captivating.
Shi Sui was still clad in a voluminous and ornate red wedding gown, making movement difficult. She glanced at the youth with mixed emotions, patting his shoulder reassuringly. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Stay calm.”
Though Shi Sui was comforting the youth, she herself took deep breaths, mentally steeling herself for what was to come.
She removed the bulky outer layer of her wedding gown and took off the cumbersome jewelry adorning her wrists, instantly feeling much lighter. The carriage was surrounded by guards, and with the black-clad assailants few in number, they were temporarily safe.
Counting the time, she had already been in this world for a month. Shi Sui had originally read this novel because the female protagonist shared her name. Little did she expect that after her death, she would open her eyes to find herself in a soul transmigration.
Exactly one month ago—well, to be precise, thirty days and eight hours ago, at the very moment of her book transmigration—she witnessed a peculiar way to die: “dying from one’s own foolishness.”
From as far back as she could remember, her less-than-virtuous parents had told her that their family was poor—extremely, devastatingly poor. So, they had to live frugally, eating steamed buns, pickles, and porridge every day. Shi Sui had accepted this reality contentedly, embracing a life of simplicity. On that day, as she was chewing on her usual rock-hard steamed bun, her father suddenly called her and confessed—
No more pretending. He laid it all out: their family was actually wealthy. The pretense of poverty was meant to cultivate Shi Sui’s virtues of diligence, frugality, and perseverance. Now that Shi Sui had come of age, there was no need to keep up the charade.
After briefly processing this overwhelming revelation, Shi Sui experienced the first highlight of her life. Having lived in poverty for over a decade only to discover she was a millionaire, her joy turned to tragedy. In her excitement, she choked on a piece of steamed bun and died.
Luckily, it didn’t hurt as much as I remembered, and it was over.
Just that I died.
I struck it rich overnight, didn’t even enjoy half a minute of good fortune, and got killed right away—and in such a humiliating way, too.
If possible, Shi Sui would have preferred her last meal to be a chicken drumstick. After all, even ancient criminals got a decent meal before their execution.
So, when Shi Sui transmigrated into this novel, her first thought was: she was going to enjoy life. In her previous life, she worked diligently and struggled hard, only to end up choking to death. In this life, she was determined to be a lazy, good-for-nothing slacker, living as comfortably as possible.
Although she had read this book a long time ago, Shi Sui could still roughly remember the plot progression. The current situation was—
The female lead married the second male lead, only to be kidnapped by the male lead during the journey, rescued in a cliché, melodramatic twist.
So, with a glance outside, Shi Sui could guess that the group of black-clad figures were likely sent by the male lead, Mu He, to kidnap the bride.
Shi Sui couldn’t help but think these people were idiots. Wearing black outfits in broad daylight—were they trying to make themselves easy targets?
A “whoosh” sound flashed by.
An arrow pierced through a black-clad figure’s shoulder, blood gushing endlessly from the wound, darkening the already deep color of his attire.
See? Speak of the devil. They really were here to be targets.
Shi Sui felt these people might as well have “I’m here to cause trouble” and “Step aside, I’m with the protagonist, I can’t lose” carved on their foreheads. With a quick scan, she could roughly gauge the male lead’s intelligence in this novel.
Thinking back, this novel seemed to have gained popularity precisely because of its melodramatic, illogical plot. The protagonists were all love-obsessed, lacking any sense of morality, and only cared about romance. Shi Sui had found it exhausting to read back then. The only thing that kept her going was the second male lead in the story.
A crazy, dark little flower—just thinking about it was thrilling.
“Sister?” The youth beside her called out again, pulling her thoughts back.
This youth was someone Shi Sui had picked up casually. He looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. When the carriage passed by earlier, she saw him being bullied, pitiful and helpless. Shi Sui couldn’t bear it, and besides, this wedding felt like a little farce to her anyway.
Coincidentally, the youth was also heading to the capital. Upholding the principle of doing a good deed every day and chanting “Amitabha,” Shi Sui casually pulled the youth into the carriage, planning to drop him off once they reached the safety of the capital.
Shi Sui comforted the youth again, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
After all, she was the female lead, with an invincible golden body. Following her, he wouldn’t suffer any losses.
Just then, a man’s voice shouted loudly outside the carriage. Clad in armor, his body covered in fresh wounds layered over old ones, he looked particularly terrifying. While blocking the flying arrows from outside, he yelled, “Princess!”
Shi Sui lifted the curtain and glanced outside, immediately recognizing the newcomer as the male lead, Mu He. Outside, swords and arrows flew indiscriminately, the smell of blood thick in the air. However, the death soldiers Mu He brought hadn’t struck with lethal force, so there were no casualties yet.
As expected of the male lead, Mu He landed lightly on the ground, unscathed and effortlessly dealing with the guards in front of him. His entire demeanor seemed to scream: “Step aside, I’m about to show off.”
Seeing Shi Sui poke her head out, Mu He’s eyes lit up, and he shouted loudly, “Princess! Come out quickly!”
Shi Sui: “…” Are you kidding? Going out now would just make me a target.
In short, having read the entire novel without developing any fondness for the male protagonist Mu He, Shi Sui no longer held any hope of gradually falling in love with him in the future.
What protagonist halo? Utter nonsense—none of it worked on her.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, a sharp arrow, accompanied by the sound of slicing through the air, shot straight into the carriage window. Shi Sui had no time to dodge, but the youth beside her reacted swiftly, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her to the other side, barely allowing her to evade the arrow. She couldn’t help but feel surprised—who would have thought this youth had such good reflexes?
Shi Sui removed the intricate ornaments from her hair, selected a few golden hairpins, and pressed them into the youth’s hands. Lowering her voice, she said, “When you get the chance, run. These are for you.”
The youth glanced down at the ornaments in his arms, momentarily stunned and somewhat puzzled. Tilting his head, his dark eyes fixed on Shi Sui as he asked, “Aren’t these your dowry, sister?”
Shi Sui pointed at the scapegoat-clad black-clad figures outside and calmly replied, “Just say they stole them.”
The youth chuckled softly but said nothing more.
Not far from Shi Sui, Mu He was surrounded by several guards, desperately blocking their attacks with his sword while avoiding fatal strikes. When he saw Shi Sui step out of the carriage, his eyes visibly brightened. “Princess! Don’t worry! I will definitely get you out of here today!”
Shi Sui: Alright, thank you, but maybe you should focus on yourself first.
One of the clichés in cheesy Mary Sue TV dramas—the protagonist’s invincible golden body.
Watching the two sides clash, Shi Sui grew so bored that she yawned, casually plucking a small wildflower from the roadside that was free of bloodstains. The youth remained sheltered behind her, showing no intention of fleeing. Arrows flew chaotically outside the carriage, and before long, many of the guards bore glaring wounds.
Yet, despite the barrage of arrows, not a single one harmed Shi Sui in the slightest—each merely grazing past her by a millimeter or two.
Shi Sui: As expected, when facing the protagonist, even the most skilled archers turn into masters of outlining the human body.
For some reason, watching these so-called master archers, Shi Sui couldn’t help but think of the scene in Boonie Bears where Bald-headed Qiang shoots at Bear One and Bear Two with a gun—truly the epitome of human-outlining masters.
Shi Sui’s gaze fell on the small wildflower in her hand. With the female protagonist halo protecting her, the black-clad figures couldn’t harm her for now, but she found herself troubled.
Should she follow the original plot?
The male protagonist followed the typical underdog-turned-hero trope, set in an old-fashioned Mary Sue storyline—a fallen prince living among the common people. Sticking with him meant accompanying his rise to power, dealing with a host of malicious female rivals, and enduring torment from the first chapter to the second-to-last, only to end up with a tragic BE where the female protagonist dies.
In the original novel’s finale, a female antagonist framed the female protagonist, leading Mu He to misunderstand her until her death, when he finally realized—he had always loved her!
Then came regret and a tragic BE ending.
But the second male lead was different. He was the legitimate crown prince, and aside from having a somewhat unhinged personality, there was nothing to criticize. Most importantly, he was the devoted second male lead! He loved only the female protagonist!!
While reading the novel, Shi Sui had long wanted to complain: Why did the female protagonist treat the male lead like her first love despite his endless cruelty, while turning a blind eye to the second male lead’s unwavering kindness?
Shi Sui: Another day of shedding tears for the devoted second male lead.
But formalities still had to be observed. Shi Sui decided to go through the motions, rubbing the stray hairs on her forehead before starting to pluck petals from a wildflower. With each petal, she muttered: “Choose the male lead…”
“Choose the second male lead…”
“Choose the male lead…”
“Choose the second male lead…”
…
Archers in the grove continued firing arrows relentlessly. Blades clashed and swords flashed as everyone fought desperately for their lives. Only Shi Sui sat attentively and earnestly in the carriage, plucking petals as if she weren’t on a battlefield but at a dining table, pondering which dish to eat next.
The Youth was even more relaxed, sitting on the wooden plank outside the carriage with one leg bent, leaning lazily against the carriage while watching Shi Sui pluck petals with amusement. Occasionally, he raised a hand to block incoming arrows for her, even spinning a caught arrow on his fingertip like a pen, his face still wearing a smile.
Thanks to those dedicated masters of human outline tracing, Shi Sui remained completely unharmed, not even lifting her head. She seemed to radiate an aura of “You fight your battles, what’s it got to do with me?” and “All I see is this flower.”
To put it simply, it was sheer audacity in capital letters.
The guards: “…” How can you be so calm?
The assassins in black: “…” Do we have no dignity?
The male lead Mu He: “…” Not sure what to say.
Just as she plucked the last petal, Shi Sui happened to mutter: “Male lead.”
Shi Sui: …Old man on the subway looking at his phone.jpg
So Shi Sui, with extraordinary calmness, split the last petal in two. She tossed the half representing the “male lead” to the ground and waved the “second male lead” half, finally revealing a satisfied smile.
Shi Sui: See, it’s fate.
Suddenly lifting her gaze, Shi Sui noticed that the male lead Mu He had already broken through numerous obstacles and arrived before her, casting a “loving” glance her way.
Shi Sui: Buddy, could you tone down that overflowing emotion a bit?
Behind them, both sides continued fighting fiercely, yet no one dared step forward to interrupt the male and female leads’ emotional moment.
Cliché trope number two in cheesy Mary Sue idol dramas—cannon fodder side characters stand around like idiots when the male and female leads meet and share an emotional moment, only launching a sneak attack after the sentiment is over.
At this point, Mu He still didn’t know he was a prince who had been living among commoners, taken in by the female lead’s family and raised alongside her. So far, he still saw her as a younger sister, with no other feelings between them.
Hiring the death soldiers now was also to prevent this “younger sister” he’d watched grow up from being forced to marry someone she didn’t love.
Because in the original story, Shi Sui was the minor county princess of Guyu County. Later, the second male lead wanted to marry her because of her beauty. Their statuses didn’t match, but the emperor doted on his only son, so he elevated Shi Sui to Little Princess.
In the original story, this was also when the female lead chose the male lead, creating a rift with the second male lead and leading to a mess of melodramatic angst later.
Honestly, this novel lacked logical consistency. For instance, Shi Sui had always wanted to ask the male lead: How did a mere guard manage to hire so many death soldiers?
Don’t ask—just attribute it to the protagonist halo.
Well, the cannon fodder characters behind them had already very consciously stopped fighting, all silently watching the touching scene between the male and female leads.
Shi Sui: The pressure is immense. Buddy, I know you’re the male lead, but could you dial back that deeply affectionate gaze?