The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

Her roommate remained silent after hearing her out. None of them knew what game Bing Jingxue was playing, but judging by how engrossed she seemed, they thought it best not to say anything, especially now that she was throwing such a big tantrum.

Silently shutting her mouth, her roommate continued applying her face mask, unaware that her behavior was making Bing Jingxue feel looked down upon.

In this dormitory, everyone either came from wealthy or prominent families. Although Bing Jingxue’s family was well-off, they could never compare to her roommates’ level of affluence. While a middle-class family background had once been a source of pride for her, after seeing better things, she couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Taking a deep breath, she forced a fake smile and asked, “I’m heading out to buy some food. Want me to bring you something?”

“No need, I have a date tonight.” Her roommate patted her face and replied nonchalantly with her eyes closed.

“Another date with your boyfriend, huh? I’m so jealous,” Bing Jingxue said. The remark reflected her true feelings. Although she’d had her share of admirers since starting college, those with poor conditions didn’t meet her standards, while those with good conditions didn’t find her appealing.

She felt like both her appearance and family background were stuck in an awkward middle ground. Her looks were only in the ‘pure and sweet’ category; nothing extraordinary. There were plenty of girls prettier than her, and many who were just as pure and sweet.

In other words, girls like her were a dime a dozen on the streets. Besides, her family background didn’t hold a candle to others’.

Sighing, Bing Jingxue thought it might be easier to find a partner in the game world. People who lingered in the game world usually had some resources of their own. Moreover, since the game only activated 40% of the beauty filters, many guys didn’t even bother using them. If someone looked good in the game, chances were they wouldn’t look bad in real life either.

Bing Jingxue felt like her actions now resembled boyfriend shopping. However, a lingering sense of stubbornness led her to justify her behavior as simply looking for a kindred spirit in the game world.

But then the game went into maintenance just like that. So frustrating!

Whoever is responsible for cheating in the game is utterly detestable!

At this point, Bing Jingxue didn’t even fully understand what the concept of cheating entailed. All she knew was that it had cost her significant opportunities.

Even if she didn’t find a boyfriend in the game world, making friends there was still beneficial. After all, the larger her social circle, the easier it would be to find a job after graduation.

Humming a tune as she left to get some food, Bing Jingxue envisioned a bright future ahead. The 2 days passed quickly, most of which she spent lounging in the dorm and refreshing the game’s official announcements. However, she also spent a lot of time chatting with her teammates.

During the 2-day maintenance period, they created a group chat for easier communication when they logged back in. Bing Jingxue was fairly active in the chat during this time.

She was the only girl in the group, and after joining, all the other members added her as a friend. That was when Bing Jingxue learned her teammates came from various parts of the country, with one even attending the same university as her.

Still, she remained reserved and didn’t arrange to meet him in person. After all, she didn’t know what he looked like. If he turned out to be a disappointment in person, it would’ve been better not to meet at all.

Finally, when the game servers reopened, Bing Jingxue couldn’t wait to log in.

***

Hai Ku and the others logged in right away too.

Once in the game, they found themselves in the same location as before. After checking their equipment, Hai Ku breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though he had Lan Bai with him, it seemed the system hadn’t flagged him for cheating. Everything on his end appeared normal.

Lan Bai, still acting like a lazy rabbit, spoke in an utterly languid tone, “I’m an NPC in this world. They can’t flag me, nor can they detect any anomalies in my data. The only thing they’ll do is confiscate Bing Jingxue’s map since it’s something I gave her. But according to the game’s data, Bing Jingxue was never supposed to have that map.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Hai Ku asked, perplexed.

Lan Bai had been head over heels for her at first. How could he let go so easily now? Had the female lead’s charm diminished?

“I just think I’m too handsome to waste my time on her.” Finding a random excuse, Lan Bai avoided admitting that his recent self-reflection had led to an epiphany. As an NPC in the game, it was better to find a partner among other NPCs. Getting involved with humans was too troublesome.

If he ever found a girlfriend in the future and she asked whether he’d had previous relationships, it would lead to an awkward situation. To spare his future girlfriend any distress, Lan Bai decided to retract his foolish past actions.

In some ways, this made him quite the scoundrel.

Hai Ku: “…”

Even though Hai Ku knew Lan Bai wasn’t telling the truth, he didn’t want to waste time arguing. They still had a journey ahead, so he and his teammates hopped into their vehicles and began heading toward the temple.

***

The moment Bing Jingxue logged into the game, she eagerly pulled up her map.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t retrieve the map. She couldn’t even see any trace of it.

A bad feeling crept into her heart, and she quickly checked her inventory.

But the once-bulging bag, which had been packed with equipment before she logged out, was now nearly empty. The few items remaining were pitifully useless; junk that served no practical purpose.

Her body trembled with rage. Just as she was fuming, the game system sent her a short message.

[Dear user (ID383838), after detecting a violation involving the use of cheats, we have issued penalties against your account. As a warning, we have deducted your rewards from the first three levels.]

Bing Jingxue: “…”

Her face darkened. Bing Jingxue had never realized that her map was considered a cheat. She had always maintained an aloof, uninvolved attitude, as if none of this concerned her. But she never imagined that she herself would be the one flagged for cheating.

To make matters worse, the announcement of her cheating was broadcast across the global chat.

The world channel immediately exploded.

[Oh my God, I knew it! How could someone advance so quickly? Turns out they were using cheats.]

[Tsk tsk tsk, a cheater.]

[…]

[…]

Additionally, many players started sending her friend requests through the global announcement. Furious, Bing Jingxue disabled the friend request feature.

But before she could even catch her breath, she received a message saying she had been kicked out of her team.

Her teammates were right in front of her, so she stiffened her face and demanded, “What’s the meaning of this? Abandoning me after crossing the river?”

“You’re a cheater. If we associate with you, we’ll get endlessly criticized,” the team leader said, turning hostile in an instant. Not only did he kick her out of the team, but he also blocked her.

Some of the team members who had disliked her all along felt immensely satisfied at this turn of events.

Bing Jingxue clung to the mayor’s son, her teeth clenched in frustration. No one could tell what she was thinking beneath her furious expression.

***

Hai Ku and his group had naturally seen the announcement about Bing Jingxue’s cheating.

Longde Chuanren, who had previously been in a team with Bing Jingxue, also had his rewards from the first and second levels deducted as a result. However, since he didn’t have the map, the system only penalized his rewards and didn’t broadcast his name globally.

Even so, Longde Chuanren felt deeply embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was cheating. My rewards for the first and second levels were deducted, so I might not be much help to you…” He had felt somewhat inferior when he first joined the team, but the generous rewards had given him some confidence. At least, he thought, he could contribute a little to the group.

Now that most of those rewards were gone, Longde Chuanren didn’t want to hide anything. He openly shared his situation.

“If you decide to kick me out of the team, I’ll understand…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Hai Ku interrupted with a raised eyebrow, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Our destination is the temple. Focus on driving and stop overthinking.”

“Exactly,” Xi Hai chimed in with a cheeky grin. “Don’t think we’re that shallow and petty.”

“You guys…” Longde Chuanren was genuinely moved to tears. While only a few days had passed in the real world, in the game’s timeline, he had known these people for nearly six months.

Though he hadn’t held the team back during that time, he had always felt a knot of insecurity in his heart. He believed he wasn’t as good as the others and had felt ashamed of his previous association with Bing Jingxue.

But now, he finally felt relieved.

He had desperately wanted to prove his worth to these teammates, but after all this time, he finally understood that some bonds didn’t need proof. They already treated him as one of their own.

The feeling was wonderful, and Longde Chuanren felt a sense of ease in his heart.

By contrast, Bing Jingxue wasn’t nearly as lucky.

Her name remained pinned in the global announcements, and her team members had all kicked her out. Her current situation was unbearably awkward.

The announcement would remain visible for 7 days, and Bing Jingxue, humiliated and furious, quit the game. She decided to wait until the 7 in-game days had passed before returning. By then, she planned to create a new ID and start over as if nothing had happened.

After logging out of the game, Bing Jingxue felt like coughing up blood.

Not only had those people removed her from the game, but they had also kicked her out of their previous group chat.

To make matters worse, the ones who had eagerly added her earlier were now nowhere to be found on her contact list.

A surge of humiliation and anger instantly welled up in her heart. Bing Jingxue felt like she had been played, used, and discarded. The burning irritation consumed her, and the defiance rising within her suddenly gave her a renewed sense of determination.

She would make sure those people understood that without her, they were nothing but trash.

“Heh…”

Letting out a cold laugh, she turned on her computer. Bing Jingxue had to admit she was fortunate to have previously backed up a copy of the map. When she first acquired the map, she didn’t understand it at all, so she had taken a screenshot and saved it to her computer.

Who would have thought it would come in handy now?

Even though the map in the game had been deleted, the screenshot she had taken remained with her.

Staring at the map, Bing Jingxue’s smile turned chilling. She would make those people realize the consequences of leaving her behind!

Bing Jingxue had always been the kind of person who held grudges. If someone hit her, she would make sure to hit back even harder. If someone humiliated her, she would return the humiliation tenfold!