"Son, Qin Huan suggested you join the sports meet."

Selling Qin Huan out right in the opening line… his conscience twinged slightly.

"Why? I’m not some muscle-headed simpleton like you."

"That really hurts your old man’s feelings! Your grades aren’t even that much higher than mine."

Honestly, if not for this deuteragonist advantage, my scores would definitely…

Be even lower.

"Tell her I’m not participating."

"Hey now—she’s your childhood friend! And this puts me in a tough spot, you know?"

"What’s it to me?"

"Qin Huan even begged me on bended knee to pass this on!"

"I don’t believe it. Have her kneel in front of me and say it herself."

"…"

This isn’t my fault, right? Seriously, not my fault! I tried my hardest to persuade him! He just wouldn’t listen!

Zhou Zhiyi felt a flicker of anxiety—but also a trace of delight deep down.

*Do I really not want him to compete?*

"Besides, there are no ti jian (sports-special admits) this year. This is your last shot."

"Even without ti jian, I won’t place top three."

"It’s about friendship first, competition second!"

"Do you even believe that yourself?"

"…"

*I’ve done all I can. If he still refuses, it’s not on me.*

"Fine. But think it over properly."

"No amount of thinking will change my mind. You should get some sleep."

The call ended with a beep. Zhou Zhiyi set down his phone.

*So why did things turn out like this?*

Zhou Zhiyi couldn’t make sense of the plot. In any manga, the protagonist would never skip the sports meet. Yet here it was, happening right before his eyes.

Was he just that lucky?

Impossible—he wasn’t the main character.

Could Wu Feng not be the protagonist?

Even less likely. Sure, a shut-in might randomly attract girls, but not everything could revolve around him. And what kind of deuteragonist wasn’t placed beside the protagonist?

Where exactly did things go wrong?

How would the story unfold?

Zhou Zhiyi feared this off-script development. He dreaded another backlash like last time. Frantically, he flipped through manga pages, scanning for similar arcs to avoid unfavorable outcomes.

By 12:30 AM, his parents’ urging finally sent him to bed.

The night’s manga session yielded nothing useful—and instead showed him something infuriating: a story where the female lead, initially fond of the protagonist, fell for the deuteragonist after he nearly died saving her. A happy ending for Zhou Zhiyi’s taste.

But…

Reading online comments set his blood boiling.

Readers called the author disgusting, claiming they felt "cheated on."

*Must the protagonist hog every girl? Can’t the female lead choose the deuteragonist? Please, stop messing with my confidence!*

Fuming, Zhou Zhiyi fired back at the comments before slamming the browser shut.