Chapter 35: Can a Gloomy Extra Be Locked in a Dark Room? [1]

Chapter 35: Will the Gloomy Cannon Fodder Be Locked in a Small Dark Room? "1"

"Brother Mu! I'm here to pick up my flowers~"

A lively, cheerful voice rang out from behind him.

Mu Jin turned around and saw Ye Luochen, dressed in sportswear with curly chestnut hair, holding two cups of milk tea, a bright, carefree smile on his face.

He was also the male supporting character in this world.

Mu Jin had been in this world for nearly half a month and had a general understanding of it.

He didn't understand why Ye Luochen had shown up a week early, or why he came by every day to buy a bouquet.

But if Ye Luochen wanted to buy, he wasn't about to refuse.

Mu Jin's eyes curved into a gentle smile as he handed the pre-wrapped flowers to Ye Luochen, speaking in a warm tone:

"Perfect timing. I was just about to close up."

Ye Luochen stared at him, a faint blush creeping across his tan face.

He cleared his throat, looked away, and asked in a deliberately casual tone:

"Brother Mu, closing up this early? Got something going on?"

Mu Jin turned and picked up another bouquet he'd wrapped, nodding. "Yeah, I've got to go pick up a friend today."

Today was the day the male lead, Ji Fengyan, came back to the country.

As the male lead's "childhood friend"—someone he hadn't seen in seven years—and the vicious cannon fodder obsessively infatuated with him, Mu Jin obviously had to be there in person to pick him up.

Ye Luochen let out a disappointed "Oh," then quickly handed Mu Jin one of the cups of milk tea.

His eyes lit up as he said, full of anticipation:

"Brother Mu, on my way here I passed a milk tea shop with a buy-one-get-one-free deal. But I can't finish a whole one by myself, so this one's for you."

Mu Jin was caught off guard for a second, but he smiled and took it. "Thanks."

On the way to the airport, Mu Jin fiddled with his phone, running through the plot of this world in his head.

The male lead, Ji Fengyan, had been a genius since childhood and was also a total sweetheart everyone adored.

Ji Fengyan was only twenty-five, already had his own career, and was coming back now to take over the family business.

Good-looking, successful, talented...

Anyone who'd ever met Ji Fengyan couldn't help but like him.

Of course, the protagonist's halo wasn't that strong—most people just had a good impression of him—but plenty of supporting characters, male and female, were head over heels for him.

That Ye Luochen from earlier was one of them. He'd fall for Ji Fengyan at first sight and then chase after him like crazy.

Even the villain of this world, He Zhize, went dark because of unrequited love, and eventually went so far as to kidnap Ji Fengyan.

The reason Mu Jin was in this world was the kidnapping that would happen three months from now.

In the original plot, He Zhize kidnapped Ji Fengyan, but Ji Fengyan only got minor injuries and He Zhize ended up in prison.

But for some reason, He Zhize dragged Ji Fengyan into an explosion with him, killing them both and causing this world to collapse.

Mu Jin's task this time was to stop the kidnapping, or at least keep Ji Fengyan safe during it.

As for the identity he'd been given this time—sure, he was Ji Fengyan's childhood friend, but only because their families lived in the same villa neighborhood and had some business dealings.

But "Mu Jin's" family was a stark contrast to Ji Fengyan's.

Ji Fengyan's parents were loving, their family was harmonious, and he'd been likable since he was a kid.

"Mu Jin's" parents had only married for business, with zero feelings between them. His very existence felt like just another task to check off.

After he was born, they went their separate ways, each having illegitimate kids on the side.

Aside from putting on a show together during the holidays, they never even came home, leaving "Mu Jin" alone with a careless nanny.

Ji Fengyan's mother felt bad for "Mu Jin" and took him in to live with them for a while.

But all the differences stood out in comparison. The more clearly you saw how happy others were, the more you felt how miserable you really were.

That made "Mu Jin" grow up twisted, and by adulthood he was completely gloomy and paranoid.

Later, "Mu Jin" had a huge fight with his family. Not only did he refuse to inherit the family business, he ran off on his own and opened a flower shop to get by.

It wasn't until Ji Fengyan came back that "Mu Jin" heard the news from Ji's mother and offered to pick him up. Later, to get closer to Ji Fengyan, he got back in touch with his family.

"Mu Jin" was gloomy and paranoid. His feelings for Ji Fengyan were more obsession than love.

After all, Ji Fengyan had easily gotten since childhood what "Mu Jin" desperately struggled for—including his own parents' affection.

Before Ji Fengyan went abroad, "Mu Jin" had already started obsessively imitating his every move.

After Ji Fengyan came back, "Mu Jin" got even worse. He installed cameras in Ji Fengyan's office and home, started following him, taking secret photos, and sending harassing texts every day.

In the original plot, "Mu Jin" only got away with it for half a month before Ji Fengyan caught him.

The Mu parents didn't want the scandal getting out and shaming the family, so they voluntarily handed a project over to the Ji family and shipped "Mu Jin" off abroad.

And that was that...

Mu Jin sighed, biting down on his milk tea straw.

"Mu Jin" lived a foggy, aimless life abroad until he was fifty, which meant he could stay in this world for a long time.

But what gave Mu Jin a headache was that he had to follow the plot and do it even more carefully than "Mu Jin" had, so he wouldn't get caught and shipped abroad too early.

Because he had to stay to stop the kidnapping three months from now.

Soon they arrived at the airport.

Mu Jin stood at the arrivals gate holding the flowers, quietly waiting for Ji Fengyan.

When Ji Fengyan walked out with his suitcase, he frowned at the message his mom had sent him.

"Feng Yan, you should be there by now, right? I already asked A Jin to pick you up. Don't forget to bring that kid back for dinner."

Mu Jin?

Ji Fengyan barely had any memory of that name. He only remembered that a few years ago, there really did seem to be someone who used to trail after him.

But he didn't like this Mu Jin. He wasn't even nearsighted, but he wore glasses 24/7, kept his hair long enough to cover his eyes, and gave off this whole gloomy vibe.

More importantly, the way that person looked at him—there wasn't a hint of affection in it, just this crazy, obsessive intensity.

Ji Fengyan thought back to that dark shadow in his memory and couldn't help sighing.

He really didn't get why his mom was into someone like that.

But hey, he'd do it for his mom's sake.

Ji Fengyan scanned the crowd waiting at arrivals, and he immediately zeroed in on the guy standing in the crowd in an off-white trench coat.

His slightly long, ink-black hair was a little messy, half-hiding his delicate features. The gold-rimmed glasses did nothing to hide those gorgeous eyes, with a thin chain hanging from the frames down to his shoulder.

He was holding a beautifully wrapped bouquet, but more than the flowers, it was those pale, glossy lips that caught Ji Fengyan's eye.

They looked like they'd feel nice to kiss.

Ji Fengyan startled himself with that thought, froze mid-step, and narrowed his eyes.

This guy was a total stranger, but Ji Fengyan couldn't help wondering who he was here for.

He even felt this tiny, barely-there pang of jealousy toward some random stranger he'd never even met.

Just then, the young man looked up and met his eyes, and Ji Fengyan instinctively tightened his grip on the suitcase handle.

Just as Ji Fengyan felt his heart start to race and was trying to figure out how to ask for his number—

the young man's eyes curved into a smile and he walked over with the flowers.

For a split second, Ji Fengyan's mind went blank, but his hand was already pulling out his phone and opening the add-friend screen.

Mu Jin walked up to Ji Fengyan, hesitated for a second, then held the flowers out to him.

Ji Fengyan watched Mu Jin standing in front of him, thinking about how many people had asked for his number over the years just because of his face.

He was ecstatic inside—never been so thankful for his own face—but on the outside, he calmly held out his phone.

But instead, he got a bouquet of flowers.

For a second, they both just froze.

Ji Fengyan hesitated. "These... for me?"

Mu Jin let out a soft laugh. "Ji Fengyan, long time no see."

Ji Fengyan: "?!?!"

That one sentence made Ji Fengyan start doubting himself—did he even know anyone by that name?

That couldn't be right. If he actually knew a guy this much his type, how would he have only found out today...

Wait—Ji Fengyan suddenly remembered the text his mom had just sent him.

The person picking him up today was that Mu Jin who'd annoyed him countless times!

So the guy in front of him was Mu Jin?!

Ji Fengyan's feelings right now were complicated as hell.

It had only been seven years—could someone really change this much?

This was basically a whole different person.

Ji Fengyan tried to remember if the "Mu Jin" in his memory had ever looked like this.

But he realized he'd never actually paid attention to "Mu Jin." When he thought of that name, all he could picture was a shadow trailing behind him.

He felt a strange pang of regret.

"Auntie Ji asked me to come get you—she didn't tell you?"

Mu Jin remembered that, according to the plot, Ji Fengyan didn't really like "Mu Jin," and figured he'd annoyed him by standing too close, so he quietly stepped back.

Even though Ji Fengyan was internally freaking out trying to accept that this guy was Mu Jin, he calmly put his phone away, took the bouquet from Mu Jin, gave a small nod, and said evenly:

"Mom already told me. Let's go home."

Mu Jin went "oh" and reached for Ji Fengyan's suitcase, but Ji Fengyan stopped him.

Ji Fengyan couldn't remember if he'd ever done anything too much in the past, but right now he didn't want to make a bad impression on Mu Jin.

So with flowers in one hand and his suitcase in the other, he said softly, "No need."

Mu Jin figured Ji Fengyan didn't want him touching his stuff, so he didn't push it and quietly followed behind.

Watching Ji Fengyan's back, Mu Jin remembered his persona and quietly pulled out his phone to snap a few pics.

Ji Fengyan, as the universally adored darling, truly had the looks to back it up.

Not only was he handsome, but his proportions were excellent too—nearly 1.9 meters tall, broad shoulders, a narrow back, a slim waist, and long legs. Just standing there was enough to draw plenty of attention.

Once in the car, Mu Jin looked at the photos he'd secretly taken and thought about how to add some harassing messages to send to Ji Fengyan.

He mulled it over and decided to ask 648: [Xiao Liu, how should I harass him? Can you find some harassing texts for me to send directly to him?]

Taking photos was fine, but writing harassing messages—he really had no idea how to do that.

648 hinted tactfully: "Host, these back-view shots aren't provocative enough."