After the Bankruptcy of the Supporting Male Lead – Chapter 1

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001
First chapter of my new project, y’all. I love this novel; I think it’s 100% the most hilarious light novel I’ve ever read. Every character has their own ridiculousness without the whole story being ridiculous so it’s quite a lovely read. If you’ve read this story introduction, then you know what to expect. If you haven’t, I do recommend you check it out here for a quick run-down of how I’m doing this translation project, schedule, etc. Otherwise, happy reading!

T/N: Before we get into this novel, I’d like to give a quick explanation on a couple lines/concepts that will be showing up throughout this novel. I’m giving you guys a quick(ha!) rundown now since I won’t be explaining these in text. But don’t worry if you don’t really get it or it’s a ton of information. Just try to familiarize yourself with the concept and you can pretty much use context clues within the story to get it.

Code/codeword: ‘Code’ is an internet slang way of saying ‘to write’ (born from the novel website age that pays based on chapter length). ‘Codeword’ is another way of saying written words/chapter/writing a chapter/etc. It’s kind of a hassle changing all of these with how often they appear, so, just in case I miss some here or there- or stop changing them altogether, just know this is what it means.

Red/hot: Throughout this novel, you’ll hear people/things described as ‘hot’ or ‘red’ or said to have ‘heat’. These all mean that it’s extremely popular (usually suddenly). Pretty much anything that has to do with fire -whether it’s color, temperature, or things similar to fire like explosions, etc.- will denote something becoming super popular.

Red to/and ___(color): Now, once we’ve established someone is popular, there are some ways to distinguish the method in which a person gains popularity. For now, I really only know of two, but I’ll add on if any more pop up as we go through the novel. Red and purple: Someone who becomes popular in the normal way- make good works of have seemingly good personality -> people really like them -> tons of fans. Red and black: Someone who becomes popular by being hated. Someone who is on everyone’s tongue, the subject of their conversations, and has tons of followers on social media all so other people can scold them and talk about how much they hate them.

Continuing the previous train of thought, fans of popular people are sometimes referred to as “powder” (I figure the reason is because fans stick to their favorite stars like powder sticks to everything). But this powder can be further broken down by color (and other descriptors) to denote what kind of fans they are. This pretty much runs the gamut as you can see things like “mother powder”, “girlfriend powder”, “sister/brother powder”, etc. that all pretty much indicate the fans’ imagined relationship with the person. If you see “red/white powder” or just “powder”, it’s pretty much just a normal fan who really likes the star. Now, if you see the term “black powder”, it’s someone who absolutely hates the star but still follows their social media/watches their shows/buys their products like normal fans just for the opportunity to scold the star and share how much they hate him or her.

With all that out of the way, let’s get started!

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Opening

Tea restaurant.

Chen Zhan’s eyes focused on the black fruit tea on the round table, sighing at the expensive price.

“My treat, what are you melancholy about?”

The man sitting opposite him had a buzzcut and was pretty good-looking.

Chen Zhan poured himself another cup of tea silently.

Buzzcut spoke with a tone of hating iron for not being steel: “You started as a king. Look at you now, dropped to the point of picking up trash.”

Chen Zhan’s eyes flickered for a moment.

Buzzcut was surprised: “Are you really going?”

“Unsuccessful.” Chen Zhan lightly said: “The old man next door said he picked it up every day, and those several trash bins belong to him.”

” …… ”

Chen Zhan:” And I learned yesterday that he pays taxes on his recycling money on time, and his retirement salary is 8,000 a month. ”

” …… ”

Chen Zhan pouted: ” But it doesn’t matter. I went to the nearby recycling station to ask— the price they pay isn’t even enough for me to pay the water and electricity bills. ”

Although Buzzcut hated what he had done in the past, they were friends after all. After struggling, he finally asked: ” Would you like me to lend you first? ”

Chen Zhan waved his hands in an indifferent manner: “No, I found a new channel for making money.”

His tone was more arrogant than before.
Buzzcut thought he was going to repeat the same mistake.

“Half a year ago, you threatened people with photos, and you were almost put in prison. Haven’t you gotten enough lessons?”
Chen Zhan raised his eyebrows and searched for such a period in his memory and chuckled.

“I won’t fall twice in the same place.”

The real Chen Zhan was already living a life worse than death from his own actions. When he walked through, the room was very messy, and noodle boxes piled on the table.

Besides, he went to karaoke with his friends before crossing. He’d just shouted out “I want a life in full bloom”, and, the next second, he appeared in an unknown place. After realizing it was definitely not a dream, his first reaction was not panic, but loss.

Before crossing, he was about to enter the university. In the blink of an eye, he turned from a young boy to a young man with nothing.

“Youth fed the dogs.”

It should have been expected that a young man like him with the standard “three plights of the family” would disappear and no one would worry. It fully meets the standards of crossing. lives in shared housing). In short, his name isn’t on any books; no one would notice if he disappeared. href=#ft1>¹

Buzzcut listened to him and cursed quietly, wondering if he was mentally abnormal. He coughed and tried to get his attention back: “Don’t you have a way to make money?”

Even though he said that, it was totally unbelievable.

Chen Zhan took a sip of tea; his mind suddenly shook.

Others crossed with the support of a system, and effortlessly reached the pinnacle of the world. His golden finger… who knows what traffic jam it was stuck in.

【Dear I am here. 】

Chen Zhan’s fingers shook.

Buzzcut saw he was shocked and anxiously asked: “Are you all right?”

Chen Zhan laughed: “The cigarette burned my hand.”

Crew cut looked at his empty hands and speechless asked: ” Are you joking?”

Chen Zhan stood up: “I have something to do so I’ll go first. Waiting for this brother to take you to fly. ”

Buzzcut was choked with coughs, and he couldn’t help saying what they often said in university:” If you hit it big, don’t forget me. ”

【System: Please, don’t panic. The host can return to the real world after completing the clearance conditions. 】

Chen Zhan: “Dad doesn’t pet me, mother doesn’t love me, and college entrance examination failed. Returning isn’t worth mentioning.”

【System: …… the host is currently in the novel world of “Billions of Stars”.
Role: Vicious male with Chen Zhan.
Status: Bankrupt. 】

Chen Zhan heard about this book. He was not interested in romance novels, but his tablemate once mentioned that the supporting male lead in it had the same name as him, and joked: “The other novels’ supporting males are gentle and considerate of the overall situation, how is it that all the bad things to the supporting role with your name? ”

Now that the novel has reached the point of death of a malicious supporting male, even if the system does not introduce it, Chen Zhan can learn the plot from the original memory.

This is a sweet essay, and there are few misunderstandings between men and women throughout the course of the plot. Of course, this does not mean that there are no conspiracies and tricks against them in the book, but that all conspiracies are superficial. That is to say, the vicious supporting male is crazy to take out all kinds of tricks because of love and hatred, and finally falls to the point of being mocked by the entire network.

Forgot to say that the heroine is a popular actor. After the original’s conspiracy was debunked, it unleashed an unprecedented backlash.

The system repeats the final description of the vicious supporting male: locked in a dark room with cheap furniture, tables covered in instant noodles, worn clothes; a man who has lost everything.

As a bystander, Chen Zhan felt the treatment of the original was quite benevolent.

【System: Task 1 (Whitewashing for supporting male): Requesting the host to acknowledge the mistakes and go to the door to kneel in apology to the female lead (Jiang Ying). 】

“Oh, no time to accept your invitation.” ²

【System: ……】

Chen Zhan: “You kneel down.”

【System: I can help the host to reach the peak of life! 】

Chen Zhan: “No, I have already figured out a way to make money. Just stay quiet.”

【System: The host can’t do anything! 】

Chen Zhan narrowed his eyes with a smile: “At this stage, I can still write a memoir.”

【System: Writing a memoir in your 20s? 】

Chen Zhan yawned, walked slowly home and opened the door with the key and said: “The content is inexhaustible, such as ‘The Years After I Persecuted the Shadow’, ‘Striking Stones with Eggs, Hatred of the Rich Made Me Repeatedly Defame the Wealthy President… ”

【System: Please stop dangerous actions. Do not destroy your reputation. 】

“Reputation?”

Chen Zhan said in surprise: “I have this kind of thing?”

The room was cleaned and bright long ago, and a few pots of green vegetation were added to the windowsill.

Chen Zhan stood by the window; it seemed that the air had become a lot fresher. The original could be described as notorious, but he left two fortunes: one is that the house will not be displaced, and the other is his Weibo account.

After the past methods were dismantled and revealed, the Weibo rose millions of fans overnight. Without exception, they all followed specifically to scold him.

Red to purple and red to black are all red, and people should know how to cherish.

Chen Zhan registered an author account on NJStar, a relatively well-known platform for online novels, and registered an article. The title was “Confessions: The Birth and Death of a Rebellious Teenager’s Emotions.”

Immediately afterwards, a weibo was published: a new book to be written.

Followed by a web link.

Almost at the moment when the registration was successful, he heard the news of notifications nonstop, and Chen Zhan turned off the message prompt without looking at it. He knew without looking that they were wanton insults.

He got up and made a fruit salad, rubbed his stomach on the sofa after eating, and walked around the house for a while. After the digestion is completed, it has been more than half an hour since confirmation of the novel’s registration. He logged back on to the NJStar website-the collection has already easily broken through 3,000. ³

Because the text has not yet been published, if you want the author to see a comment, you have to give a reward. ⁴ Chen Zhan dragged the mouse and clicked on the comments from the people who rewarded him. None of the content wasn’t abusive:

【Jiangnan Xiaocao: In order to scold you, I specially charged a dollar. 】⁵

【Mrs. Emperor: Who gives you the face to write a memoir. Even if you kneeled in front of Jiang Ying, you can never expect her forgiveness! 】⁶

【Happy every day: Trekking over mountains and wading through water only to feed you. 】

【Happy every day: !!! Rushed to register the article, but didn’t add any content, you bastard! Causing me to recharge one more time! 】

****
The editor of the website was the first to negotiate with him to sign a contract. From a commercial point of view, Chen Zhan’s book indeed set records.

Chen Zhan sighed at the power of the internet: “The reward money is almost enough for me to pay the water bill.”

【System: Request the host have a little self-esteem. 】

Chen Zhan: “You regret forcing me to apologize?”

The question was not answered.

Originally a wealthy second generation, his parents accidentally died in an airplane crash, but, unfortunately, the money he inherited has been used up by him in all these years.

Fortunately, before doing anything more excessive, he waved goodbye to the world. Otherwise, if he came even half a year later, it is estimated that Chen Zhan would be facing high debt.

At dusk, Chen Zhan put the computer on the bay window and, when he raised his eyes, he could see the half of the sky rendered by the afterglow of the sunset.

Such a gentle environment is suitable for drinking tea or reading.

Long white fingers continually tapped on the keyboard.

Gradual exposition is appetizing, but it is easy to lose readers after a long time. Chen Zhan’s narrative method is very neat, and the opening chapter skips the irrelevant memory fragments.

Recalling the journey of the original owner’s heart, the narration is very realistic——

People in the airport are coming and going, and I was attracted to her alone. She painted very light makeup. Her foundation was very thin, and the wheels of the suitcase seemed to be broken, so that it was very laborious, and her face showed a thin red.
The green short sleeves and red color pants are inexplicable.
She walked past me without squinting.
I look so handsome, a normal girl would take a glance at least; she doesn’t.
I suspect she is seducing me.

****

After publishing the chapter, he didn’t read the commentary. Chen Zhan took a shower and lay in bed quickly.

The same time, Jiang Ying just finished filming. Her agent looked at her hesitantly: “You searched hot.”⁷

Jiang Ying generally doesn’t like to watch Weibo since, no matter how good things are, there are disturbing comments, so any major things are usually reported by the agent.

The agent unexpectedly handed the phone over: “Look at it yourself.”

But within half a minute, a scoff sounded.

“I seduced him?”

Jiang Ying was taking the cold and glamorous route, and her long curly hair perfectly set off her charm. Her habit of teasing her hair was very feminine at this moment.

Agent: “The author has explained that it is the three illusions of life.”

“Forget it,” Jiang Ying turned down and turned off the screen of the mobile phone: “It’s just a grasshopper after the autumn.” (T/N: Last foray before death, so to speak)

The agent smiled and said: “At least he sent you a hot search. This is also good for the following propaganda. ”

Jiang Ying didn’t take it for granted, stretched her cervical spine that was stiff because of filming, and returned to the nanny car to rest.

The car was warm and comfortable, and right before she relaxed, Jiang Ying suddenly thought of something. She brushed up the circle of friends, and the other people’s dynamic routines were all a bunch of beautiful photos and small business. She pursed her lips and got off to walk towards the director.

The director was in his early thirties this year and was very strict but, because he had a good relationship with Jiang Ying’s boyfriend, he treated Jiang Ying quite tolerantly.

“Yan Dao, can you borrow your circle of friends to see it?”

Yan Chengze frowned: “Why?”

“My boyfriend occasionally sends a circle of friends to shield me.”

Yan Chengze frowned deeper: “If you have time to be clever here, it’s better to put more thoughts on acting. ”

Jiang Ying bowed slightly:” Please, just this once. ”

Although Yan Chengze was dissatisfied, he still opened the circle of friends. He doesn’t have many friends. Jiang Ying quickly turned to her boyfriend, and sure enough he posted a message this afternoon. The message is accompanied by a picture of a sentence in Chen Zhan’s article, in which ‘green short sleeves with red color pants’ are specially circled. The content read: red with green = so tacky it’s elegant?

It was followed by numerous likes.

Yan Chengze stood beside her, randomly swept his eyes over the message, and immediately felt his eyelids jump. He wanted to say a few words to speak for someone: “It must have been a joke, not malicious.”

Jiang Ying was ready to return reply but her sixth sense caused her to turn to the phone. She refreshed her circle of friends twice and actually saw a new circle of friends sent by her boyfriend a minute ago: A few hours later, it is still …… Unbelievable!⁸

Pictured is a girl in a green cotton-padded jacket with red pants.

The white fingers were slightly twisted due to excessive force, and Yan Cheng quickly pulled out his phone before it was scrapped.

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Footnotes

1. Three plights= recognition of identity for low income people. Specifically, no housing, no social security, and no separate meter (power/water meter –> lives in shared housing). In short, his name isn’t on any books; no one would notice if he disappeared.^
2. Joke here is that the system uses the word ‘请’, which can means request or invite.^
3. So novel websites have something called ‘collection’ where users can basically add any books they’re currently reading so they get notifications when they update, save their spots, etc. So already more than 3,000 people have signed up to be notified whenever he updates. Of course, it’s so they can scold him.^
4. You change real money into the site’s currency, and you can then use that currency to purchase chapters, send gifts, etc.^
5. ‘Charging’ is the term for when you change real money into the site currency. So she converted one dollar- yuan.^
6. Just in case you don’t read my other novel, ‘face’ is a term that refers to your degree of shamelessness. Having a thick face means you’re shameless -will do things that would normally embarrass a normal person; having a thin face means you’re easily embarrassed. In a line like this, the poster is basically saying, ‘how can you not be ashamed to say you’re writing a memoir!’^
7. She’s trending^
8. Note, ‘Unbelievable’ is in English to fully convey his shock^

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