Leaving now was out of the question—that’d make Liu Muyu despise him beyond measure.

So only the first or second option remained.

The sudden appearance of an option to go upstairs to Liu Muyu’s home likely meant her place was empty or held some secret.

If no one was home, it might build rapport. But such a plot belonged to the protagonist. And with Liu Muyu’s personality? Hard to say.

If there was something secret, he’d be hated with no chance of redemption.

So the second option it was.

Zhou Zhiyi stood motionless like a soldier on guard, lost in thought.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Liu Muyu approached with an umbrella, her tone flat.

“No, thank you,” Zhou Zhiyi said, taking it. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

After his farewell, Liu Muyu headed upstairs without a single glance back.

That shattered the faint delusion Zhou Zhiyi held as he looked after her.

No way would there be a scene where the female lead saw the second male lead home.

Zhou Zhiyi turned away, sighed, and walked into the rain…

At home, he found his foot injury had worsened—or rather, it’d been slowly deteriorating all along.

“Why so late today?” His father frowned at Zhou Zhiyi’s disheveled state.

“Studying. Then waiting out the rain—it didn’t stop, so I got delayed.”

“Whose umbrella is this?”

“A classmate’s.”

Too tired to talk, Zhou Zhiyi headed straight for the bathroom…

After showering, he felt slightly more awake. Lying in bed, he mulled over today’s events and tomorrow’s school sports meet.

Today, he’d almost committed a crime…

He needed to stay calm. After all, he was destined to be the second male lead for life.

An inexplicable sadness washed over him. Anyone nearby would’ve seen the deep sorrow in his eyes.

Now, he could only pray the Rascal Lolita God would let him pursue the second female lead. But if this story was a harem? Hopeless.

He grabbed his phone and messaged Qin Huan.

No reply for ages. She must be asleep—it was late.

What happened at tomorrow’s meet didn’t matter much to an injured second male lead, right?

Most likely, the protagonist would burst with encouragement to win a good rank. Or trip, bleed from the knees, yet stubbornly finish the race.

Still, running 4000 meters injured wasn’t easy…

Just as Zhou Zhiyi drifted toward sleep, a flash of insight struck him—like Conan spotting evidence.

Couldn’t he match the protagonist’s harem members with suitable partners? Then maybe the main couple, second couple, and third couple could all end up together.

Such endings weren’t common, but they existed.

Zhou Zhiyi gripped his second male lead’s Fate Mark, glowing faintly in the dark. He’d found a direction.

Better than blindly following the Rascal Lolita God’s orders.

Well then.

Zhou Zhiyi closed his eyes and sank into sleep…