Chapter 1: The Green Tea Cultivation System

**Chapter 1 – Green Tea Training System**

"Your girlfriend is so selfish. You're such a great guy, yet she doesn't appreciate you."

*At a modern film studio.*

Jian Ye got into character, walking through the role he was meant to portray.

He carefully worked on the expressions for this character, delivering his lines with exaggerated flair: "It's my fault. Maybe I should explain things to her?"

"No need. She's too spoiled. You've suffered enough," replied the male lead with a tight-lipped expression.

Jian Ye immediately responded, "Don’t mind me. Go comfort her, or she’ll get angry with you again. You really don’t have to worry about me..."

As soon as he finished the line, the male lead gave Jian Ye a conflicted, sympathetic glance before saying, "Sorry," and hurrying away.

"Cut—!"

The director barked through a megaphone.

Jian Ye instantly dropped character and bowed first to the cast and crew. "Thanks for everyone’s hard work!"

The director got up from his chair and smiled at the young man. "Jian Ye, that’s a wrap on your scenes. Great job today."

"Thanks for the opportunity," Jian Ye replied politely.

A staff member nearby handed him a bouquet. "Congrats on your wrap!"

"Thank you, everyone!"

Accepting the flowers, Jian Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead. His beaming, genuine smile was a stark contrast to his earlier performance.

With a personality like his, Jian Ye was a favorite on set.

This was the first decent role he had landed during his college years. Though he was still a nobody in the industry, his natural talent and understanding of acting made playing a minor role relatively easy for him.

It wasn’t until he was in the car on his way home that the belated pride finally hit him.

"Hell yeah!"

"So damn good!"

Back home, Jian Ye carefully placed his first wrap bouquet ever into a vase.

Whistling a tune, he headed into the bathroom.

Being an Acting Department student, landing a role was the best thrill—especially when praised by the director afterward. Heh...

Soaking in the bathtub, Jian Ye let out a happy sigh, idly scrolling through his phone.

He casually opened a green reading app, and a featured recommendation on the homepage caught his eye—

**"The CEO’s Beloved White Moonlight"**

*Genre: Modern Pure Romance*

*Reader Rating: ★★★★★*

Jian Ye subconsciously clicked on the comments section, only to see that nine out of ten comments were bashing *him*?!

"Jian Ye is such a disgusting green tea guy! When's he gonna get written off?!"

"I'll sign in blood if it means getting Jian Ye killed off!"

"They should’ve had Jian Ye die in the chapter where he tried to commit suicide. Why bring him back at all?"

"If Jian Ye doesn’t even like the top, why interfere when the top goes looking for his White Moonlight? And then he has the nerve to throw shade at her? The fakeness is overwhelming—I’m gonna puke!"

"Post the next chapter already! I wanna see Jian Ye get slapped down!"

"If a green tea guy like Jian Ye existed in real life, I’d bury him six feet under and show him what justice looks like!"

Jian Ye: "…"

What the actual fuck?!

For a moment, Jian Ye thought these readers must’ve stolen the script from his director.

In the drama they just finished shooting today, he played a fucking green tea guy!

Reading the netizens’ insults toward the “Paohui Jianye” in the novel, Jian Ye himself felt an uncanny sense of recognition.

It was almost like… he was born to play green tea characters?

If he hadn’t opened the comments, Jian Ye wouldn’t have known what a villain he was written as.

His curiosity about the book grew even stronger, so he quickly opened it and started reading.

The novel had only reached 300,000 words and was still being serialized. Jian Ye speed-read through the updated chapters, focusing only on the parts with his character.

Though he skipped many sections, he got the general idea of the plot.

In the novel, *Paohui Jianye* not only acted like a lovesick fool over a scumbag and threw dramatic fits after being dumped, but after being forced into an arranged marriage with the top protagonist, he made everyone’s life hell.

He not only blocked the top from reuniting with his beloved White Moonlight, but also used his fake-nice tactics to scheme against the bottom protagonist.

In short, *Paohui Jianye* was just a stepping stone in the love story between the top and his White Moonlight, making significant contributions to advancing the plot.

Even Jian Ye couldn’t stop swearing.

"No wonder everyone hates you…"

Surviving under the protagonist halo until 300k words is no easy feat!

Jian Ye put down his phone and sank deeper into the water. He'd been reading so long that the bathwater had gone cold.

Thinking about how this universally hated green tea cannon fodder shared his name, Jian Ye felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

Unconsciously, he grew drowsy in the water, his consciousness drifting… further and further away…

—

He snapped back to consciousness, pulled by a panic of suffocation.

He realized with horror that he was drowning.

He thrashed toward the surface—splash—

His head emerged from the water, sending splashes flying as ripples expanded in widening rings from the center, hitting the bathtub walls before bouncing back.

Staring at the oversized circular tub big enough to hold multiple people, Jian Ye took deep breaths while his mind slowly sharpened.

Where was he?

Just by the shape of the tub, he knew he wasn’t in his cramped apartment bathroom.

The interior decor before his eyes radiated sheer luxury—an opulence he’d never known.

Holy shit!

This bathroom was bigger than his entire master bedroom, wasn’t it?

Still reeling, Jian Ye wondered: Had his bathtub somehow become a gateway to another dimension?

Suddenly, a stabbing pain exploded in his skull. A flood of memories surged through him, nearly blacking him out.

About five minutes later, his mind finally snapped back into focus.

The idiotic stunts of that familiar green-tea cannon fodder revealed one undeniable truth—

He had transmigrated into a book.

Not just any book—it was the rich-family CEO boys’ love novel he’d barely glanced at earlier that night.

And, of all characters, he was now “Paohui Jianye.”

A full-time, scheming green-tea side character whose sole purpose was to interfere with the main romantic plot between the protagonist and his love interest.

As the memories connected, Jian Ye instantly recalled what scene this was.

This was when Paohui Jianye, after being dumped by a scumbag and forced into an arranged marriage with Third Young Master Yi, lost all hope and tried to drown himself in the tub!!!

When he read this part in the novel, Jian Ye thought it was utterly ridiculous!

But now, having actually stepped into Paohui Jianye’s shoes, that terrifying brush with drowning made him realize—the author wasn’t just making this shit up!

A tub this huge could really kill someone…

Before getting in, the original host had apparently taken some sleeping pills—no wonder his head was spinning.

Was he afraid he might instinctively try to save himself? Seems like he was hell-bent on offing himself.

Unfortunately, according to the novel, he didn’t succeed in dying.

Instead, the mansion’s butler rescued him.

Following the story, the butler would be knocking any minute now. In the original text, when he heard no response, he’d kick the door in.

At the thought of being seen completely naked by a stranger, Jian Ye felt totally mortified. He quickly grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around himself.

As he stood up, another dizzy spell washed over him.

Afraid of falling back into the tub, he clenched his jaw and braced himself.

He couldn’t stop ranting about the original guy’s dumbass move to take sleeping pills—like, seriously, what the hell?

Why, of all people, did he have to end up in this cannon fodder’s body? Talk about suffering!

After changing into his pajamas and stepping out of the bathroom, the expected knock on the door came right on cue.

"Master Jian, you've been in there for over an hour. Are you done?" Butler Zhang asked from outside.

Jian Ye stretched his neck to reply, "Done, done! Quit nagging!"

"Young Master, dinner is ready. I know you're bitter about the marriage alliance, but you should still eat something."

Butler Zhang mistook Jian Ye's impatience for resentment over the arranged union and softened his tone accordingly.

Unbeknownst to him, at the exact moment he spoke, the towel wrapped around Jian Ye’s waist had slipped to the floor. Flustered and flustered, Jian Ye blurted out his response in haste, a tinge of panic creeping into his voice.

He was terrified that the butler might defy logic and barge in, just like in the original storyline.

Fortunately, after his rushed refusal, the other man merely offered a gentle reminder without taking any further action.

After a beat of hesitation, Jian Ye mimicked the original host’s affected tone and called out, “Uncle Zhang, I know you care about me the most. However mad I am, it’s not your fault. You go on ahead—I’ll change and join you soon.”

Hearing Jian Ye agree to eat, Butler Zhang froze in surprise before replying nervously, “Oh! R-Really? Alright then, take your time!”

He’d bet on this brat throwing a hunger tantrum and had only half-heartedly gone through the motions of persuasion. Yet somehow, Jian Ye actually intended to come down for dinner!

He hadn’t even told the kitchen to prepare anything—he’d sent the cook home earlier!

You couldn’t even last half a day? Where’s your resolve?

—

Completely unaware of Butler Zhang’s inward rant, Jian Ye was now blindsided by a shocking development of his own.

The moment he finished responding to the butler, a loud *ding!* blasted through his mind.

Then, a series of mechanical tones barraged his thoughts:

*"Green tea elements detected—"*

*"Character interface bug fixed—"*

*"Ding—Green Tea Cultivation System loading!"*

*"Ding—Successfully matched with host!"*

The sudden voices made Jian Ye’s hair stand on end. Given his extensive reading experience, the concept wasn’t entirely unfamiliar—but still!

Nobody warned him this was a damn *system* novel?!

*"Greetings, Host. I am System 748."*

Huh? *System ‘Drop Dead’* (748 = qī sǐ bā in Chinese)? Who cursed you with that name? What kind of unlucky designation is that? How’s a system supposed to thrive with a name like that?

System 748: ...

Unaware that his thoughts had been overheard, Jian Ye was still trying to parse the system’s earlier announcements when it piped up again.

*"System 748: Host, you have replaced the original host. From now on, your words and actions must stay in character."*

Stay in character? The original host was a green tea, meaning...

*"System 748: Bingo. Exactly! This system specializes in cultivating premium-grade green teas, dedicated to transforming every host into a scheming pro!"*

Jian Ye: "..."

This system even answers before being asked!

Suddenly realizing that all his thoughts were completely exposed to the system, Jian Ye just started talking openly with it.

"Jian Ye: I just want to ask, can I still go back to my original world?"

"System 748: Sorry, no can do!"

"Jian Ye: Why?"

"System 748: Because you have to stay and fix the bugs in this world!"

After a lengthy back-and-forth with the system, Jian Ye roughly summarized the situation like this—

Each novel is like a parallel dimension, but the "Cannon Fodder Side Character Jian Ye" from this world had escaped, leaving an empty spot that needed filling.

System 748 was sent by the main system to repair character and plot inconsistencies in this world. As the Green Tea Cultivation System, it was naturally the most suitable choice to ensure that this world’s Jian Ye wouldn’t break character (OOC).

And he—was the unlucky one dragged in to fill the gap...

One of the conditions for surviving in this world was not to deviate from the role. Since the original body belonged to a green tea-type person, he had to fully commit to playing the green tea persona. If he failed to comply, he would receive automatic penalties from the system.

Conversely, if he performed well, once his Green Tea Points accumulated to a certain level, he could unlock achievements and reputation upgrades, along with physical enhancements granted by the system. These enhancements would help him better understand the "Green Tea Arts."

Jian Ye didn't fully grasp this last part yet, but he didn’t have the mental energy to dwell on it.

Since returning to his original world was impossible, he had no choice but to play by the system's rules.

He had no close family in his original world, having lived alone for so long that switching worlds wasn’t that devastating.

For now, he needed to quickly adapt to this new body and maintain the original’s persona. Fortunately, he had just played a green tea-type male character before transmigrating, so getting into character shouldn’t be hard.

Perhaps it was all fate.

Same name, same surname, and he just happened to come across this novel.

If he didn’t transmigrate, who would?

He could only hope this world would be kind to him—fingers crossed.

Jian Ye remembered the barrage of hate comments aimed at this cannon fodder green tea character, as if he’d committed unspeakable crimes.

Why was this novel still ongoing?

If it were completed, Jian Ye would’ve liked to know how it ended.

The author hadn’t said much about the “Cannon Fodder Jian Ye” in the early chapters, which was why he’d finished reading all of the character’s content during his shower.

Would he get written off early?

After all, readers were practically banding together, begging for “Cannon Fodder Jian Ye” to die.

Other people who transmigrated knew the entire story, but he only knew that the original Jian Ye was a green tea cannon fodder—everything else was a mystery.

He could only take it one step at a time—or play it by ear—and had no clue what was coming next.

P.S.

First-time author here! Appreciate the support!