14: Chapter 14 You Are My Moonlight: The Substitute Male Supporting Character 13

"What did you and Grandpa talk about in the study?"

After a moment of silence, Su Qingxue finally couldn't help but ask.

The man opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her, his eyes shining brightly as if filled with light.

"Nothing much. The old man tested me a bit, thought I was a talent with a promising future, and decided to give me a chance."

"What chance?"

Could he be planning to groom Meng Zhu?

Su Qingxue was puzzled.

"What else could it be? The chance to become the son-in-law of the Su Family!"

He laughed unrestrainedly, his eyes curving into crescents.

But Su Qingxue didn't believe a single word. She was no longer sure she understood Meng Zhu, but she knew her grandfather.

Since Meng Zhu clearly didn't want to say, Su Qingxue remained silent for a moment and unexpectedly stopped pressing him.

Perhaps she was a little afraid, subconsciously fearing to hear what price Meng Zhu had paid. She didn't want to owe him.

"Why?"

Probably because she felt she couldn't repay it.

A person like Su Qingxue was always tolerant toward those she felt guilty about.

Deceiving Meng Zhu regarding the stand-in situation was something she might never be able to let go of.

She lay down and covered her head with the quilt.

Meng Zhu calmly retracted his gaze.

Su Qingxue's thoughts were very easy to guess, but this was not a consequence Meng Zhu had intentionally created.

The reason he didn't say anything was still just as simple: trouble.

Everyone was satisfied with the current situation. But if Su Qingxue knew that Meng Zhu had already confessed to the old man, or even made a deal...

...then without a doubt, complications would arise, leading to endless trouble.

Some say that whatever a man does for a woman, he must let her know, and that missed opportunities and misunderstandings often stem from this.

But Meng Zhu thought differently. He knew clearly that this was a movie world. Frankly, even if Su Qingxue didn't love him by the end of the movie, it wouldn't matter.

He firmly believed he could complete the movie well. It was just that if the female lead fell in love with him, the movie would surely be more exciting and perfect.

But how did that saying go?

Guilt and gratitude—neither of those is love.

At least not before establishing a relationship; that's called a debt of gratitude.

Mistaking gratitude for love means that when one finally sees their own heart clearly, it will inevitably be the time to part ways.

Snapping back to reality, Meng Zhu focused his gaze on the bullet comments once again.

There was naturally a reason why he was paying so much attention to the bullet comments today.

He had been too busy and forgotten that today's scene of sharing a room was the final scene before the time skip.

Because this scene wasn't in the original novel, it caught Meng Zhu a bit off guard.

Should he chat with Su Qingxue?

Meng Zhu knew that if he chatted with Su Qingxue now, under the real-time calculation, the scene definitely wouldn't transition. This would be a good way to buy time.

But after thinking it over, Meng Zhu decided against it.

There was no need. In fact, he had done everything he was supposed to do. He was just a bit nervous because it was his first time skipping such a long period.

Before sleeping, he went over his future plans in his mind once more, giving himself enough psychological suggestions before falling asleep peacefully.

The company, home, The Old Mansion.

And most importantly, do not fall in love with Su Qingxue.

...

"[What are the odds now? Is 1:13 for real?]"

"[Newbies, take it easy. Seriously, don't end up meeting on the rooftop. I'm telling the truth, this newcomer is really off.]"

"[It's fine if you're just fooling others, but if you're trying to set up a scam, don't shoot yourself in the foot.]"

"[Exactly. You guys posted saying this actor broke the main storyline and won't fall in love with the female lead in three years. Are you even speaking human?]"

"[I did some quick cramming on the original novel. The supporting male lead is set to have a crush on the female lead since childhood. You guys are talking absolute nonsense.]"

"[Just editing some clips to try and mislead us. It's just a new type of pig-butchering scam. Now with 1:13 odds, let's see what you do.]"

"[I'm seriously speechless. Who posted that on the forum? Although there are thousands of viewers now, they're all here to gamble. You guys have had enough.]"

"[Actually, there are quite a few actors who break the main storyline, quite a lot in fact, but those are basically collapsed houses. If the behavior fits the plot development but the romance line doesn't, it makes no sense at all.]"

"[Exactly, the plot serves the romance storyline. That is an absolute truth.]"

"[Everyone shut up, okay? The answer is about to be revealed. Facts speak louder than words.]"

Amidst the noisy chatter, thousands of viewers watched Meng Zhu fall asleep with their own eyes.

As night fell and stars dotted the sky, the screen gradually went dark.

...

Two years later.

Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, it felt like yesterday.

When Meng Zhu regained consciousness, he was at Jinlan Mansion. As usual, he was sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, seemingly studying.

A massive flood of memories surged in. After a brief moment of dizziness, he accepted it all.

Without any surprises, during the two years of auto-play, his company and career had been flourishing. Whether at home, The Old Mansion, banquets, or Su Qingxue's company, everything was going well.

Everything was in perfect order, exactly as he had anticipated.

Unfortunately, during the auto-play period, he would only act according to his past habits or psychological suggestions, without doing anything extra.

This resulted in Qingzhu Intertainment merely flourishing rather than truly taking off.

Fortunately, he had prepared for this. Before the time skip, he had suggested to himself to reserve funds, leaving major expansions and transitions to be decided after three years.

With a brief mental review, the funds he could currently mobilize had reached a staggering ten billion.

After all, this was a female-frequency novel world where a CEO worth a hundred billion could go bankrupt overnight, so ten billion wasn't exactly enough to act without restraint.

But it was still enough for him to conquer new territories.

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as various plans came to mind.

But the most pressing matter at hand was the bullet comments.

In the original novel, the time skip should have been three years, but now it was only two. Did something go wrong?

Just as he thought, the bullet comments were currently in utter chaos, noisy and bustling with activity.

"[What's going on? Why did the movie betting settle directly?]"

"[I'm on the rooftop of Zijin Road. Brothers, where are you guys?]"

"[We lost just like that? This actor really doesn't love the female lead? He doesn't like men, does he?]"

"[The original narration is gone, and three years became two. This is a total collapse, right? Right?]"

"[Theoretically, it's not a collapse. After all, there are no major issues with the plot.]"

"[What do you mean 'no major issues'? If the supporting male lead doesn't love the female lead, how is he supposed to act as the catalyst for the male and female leads?]"

"[It didn't say he doesn't love her either. How are you guys so sure?]"

"[Exactly. The betting even settled. I don't accept this, I want to appeal!]"

"[Appeal my foot. Let me, a novel fan, clear things up for you.]"

"[In the original novel, there is a narration after the time skip. Simply put, it states how much time has passed and roughly when the supporting male lead's childhood crush blossomed into love during their daily life together.]"

"[And later, when the male lead returns to the country and the supporting male lead's love turns into an obsession, there is also a narration introducing it.]"

"[The problem now is, the narration is gone...]"

"[So the answer is simple: the childhood crush is still just a crush, and didn't turn into love.]"

"[Does this make sense? This guy definitely likes men in real life.]"

"[Agreed with the above.]"

"[Stop agreeing. The rooftop is pretty cold. Can someone give me a hand?]"

"[Still on the rooftop? It's just pocket change. I'm really interested in this actor now. Does he have other works?]"

"[No, this is his first one, and it's highly likely to be his final one.]"

"[Completed? Can this even continue? Personally, I think it has already collapsed. Generally, without the supporting male lead acting as a catalyst, there's a high probability of endless misunderstandings between the male and female leads.]"

"[Calling The Analyst, care to analyze this?]"

"[Aba aba aba...]"

"[Alright, stop talking. Gu Qingyang's growth has caused the male lead to return to the country ahead of schedule. The next part is definitely going to be very interesting.]"

"[Agreed, agreed. Just watch the movie. Gamblers, quiet down. Those who need to go to the rooftop, hurry up and double-time it!]"