Chapter 15: From Now On, Call Me Er Tong

**Chapter 15: I’ll Call You Er Tong from Now On**

"Jian Ye!"

A shout interrupted Jian Ye’s train of thought, and he reflexively called out, "Here!"

Tang Ying watched this student—who had attended very few of her classes—with amused curiosity. Her lips curling playfully, she said, "You looked downright blissful doing the fundamentals drill just now. Come up and demonstrate the entire sequence for everyone."

Jian Ye: ?

"Jian Ye: Was my expression of enjoyment really that obvious?"

"System 748: Want me to replay that pleasure-drunk look you had a moment ago?"

"Jian Ye: Watch your wording, or I’ll report you!"

At that moment, every pair of eyes in the class was fixed on him. Jian Ye was pushed forward like a lamb to slaughter.

He stood straight, then casually dropped into a split. Starting from the basic seated posture, he flowed seamlessly through the entire set of movements.

"Holy crap, this guy's such a show-off."

"Even when sitting down, he has to do a split first? Can’t he just sit like a regular human?"

"Hello? Is that even the point? The real deal is he doesn’t need any recovery time between moves!"

"Didn’t they say he skipped most of class last semester? Did he get extra coaching?"

"What are his bones made of? I want that."

"Sure, the split’s basic, but my groin still aches every time I do it."

"Right?! And he actually looks like he’s enjoying it. I don’t get it—I only make that face when someone’s giving me a massage."

After finishing all the movements, Jian Ye cautiously glanced at the beautiful woman beside him.

His expression practically screamed, “I’m done—what do you think?” That puppy-dog look even made Tang Ying crack a smile.

The razor-tongued Tang Ying—who usually never held back—actually held her sarcasm in check this time, offering an unexpected praise: "Jian Ye did the movements perfectly. From now on, follow his form as the standard."

Everyone was stunned.

Did they just hear what they thought they heard? The ruthless 'Spicy Tang' actually praised someone? And it was this guy who barely showed up to class?

"Don’t get salty," she continued. "Some people are just born for this. Don’t whine—those with advantages should use them, and those without should grind harder."

"You think it’s unfair that Jian Ye skipped half a semester yet still nailed the basics? So what? Let’s see if he dares skip another class this term. No matter how much of a superhuman freak he is, he won’t graduate!"

"His credits from last semester were already mostly deducted. If he loses more this semester, he’ll have to retake freshman year."

The whole class broke into snickers.

Jian Ye: "..."

So much for thinking she’d gone soft. The infamous Pepper Tang never sugarcoated anything. But deep inside, her words ignited a competitive fire.

Little Ye hereby makes a vow!

"Ms. Tang, I promise not to miss a single class this semester—no being late or leaving early. Please supervise me, along with the rest of the class. If I break this promise, I’ll…”

Tang Ying: “Then you’ll do front walkovers—all the way from the Dance Academy to the sports field.”

The whole class sucked in a collective gasp.

Their Dance Academy wasn’t exactly close to the sports field—it was still over 800 meters away.

A single front walkover barely covers a meter. To reach the sports field would mean… 800 front walkovers.

He’d get dizzy—no, he’d die for sure! Even astronauts wouldn’t dare attempt that!

Instantly, everyone looked at Jian Ye with deep sympathy.

Their expressions either silently begged, “Ms. Tang, go easy on him,” or screamed, “Don’t do this—he’s just a kid!”

Yet Jian Ye only blinked once before nodding firmly. “You’re on.”

Everyone widened their eyes in shock: This dude’s hardcore!

…

Tang Ying saw the determined spark in the young man’s eyes and found it even more intriguing.

This student seemed different from the one she had met last semester. She didn’t know what had caused his transformation, but that no longer mattered.

Jian Ye was talented, and now that he was motivated, it was definitely a good thing.

As their dance instructor, Tang Ying was confident she could draw out their potential.

Jian Ye also understood Ms. Tang’s intentions. Though the beautiful teacher was tough-talking, she was serious and responsible.

Since he had taken over the original host’s identity, he might as well seize this chance to throw himself into dance—a field he had never touched before.

…

After class, students who hadn’t really known Jian Ye before crowded around him for advice.

In just one professional class, Jian Ye had gone from being barely noticed to the talk of the room, taking charge socially.

He added them all on WeChat, answering each question patiently with a friendly tone—whether about the lesson content or unrelated topics—and replying thoughtfully to every one.

Without realizing it, their liking for Jian Ye naturally increased.

System748: Wow! Host, you're amazing! You've earned so many Green Tea Points!

Jian Ye: Of course. Ever since I figured out Green Tea Points are tied to affection levels, I’ve planned to win people over with my charm.

System748: Was the Host always this easygoing?

Jian Ye: Uh… pretty much. Very few things make me angry. If I ever get really mad, I just recite the *Don’t Get Angry* mantra—after all, life’s like a stage play, and no one’s there to replace you if you fall sick from rage.

System748: Noted. Host, your grand mindset deserves praise in the System group chat.

Jian Ye: You Systems have a group chat?

System748: Yep, and a news feed too. I see posts from other Systems across dimensions every day. When I brag about how great my Host is, they just roast me.

Jian Ye felt that lately, the system’s admiration for him had grown, its hero worship getting stronger—making it seem kinda dumb, almost foolish.

"Jian Ye: From now on, I'm calling you Er Tong. Your system name sounds unlucky—I can't even say it out loud."

"System 748: Huh? Whatever, it's just a name. But why 'Er'?"

Jian Ye said with perfect seriousness.

"Jian Ye: This nickname means you're adorable."

"System 748: [blushing emoji]"

Jian Ye: ...

Putting emojis in his head again? It actually believed that? So ridiculously gullible.

...

And so, Jian Ye actually showed up to class for a whole week at school.

The number of classes he attended that week topped his total attendance from the previous semester.

His classmates also got to know him better, always asking him to join them for food or hanging out.

This was the freedom of ditching that loser!

If the original host had discovered the beauty of the world sooner, he wouldn’t have gotten so depressed.

By ditching one dead-end relationship, he gained an entire forest.

"A Ye, it’s the weekend tomorrow. We’re going to the arcade at New World—You in?" Li Xiangchi invited him in the dorm.

Jian Ye turned him down politely, "Sorry, I have to go home tomorrow to handle some business."

"Oh, that’s too bad. Next time, then," Liu Mingchang jumped in before turning to Zheng Yan, "Guess it’s just us three then."

Though they’d gotten to know each other over the week, Jian Ye still hadn’t mentioned his family.

His roommates had no idea his parents were gone.

Jian Ye wasn’t just blowing them off—he really did have matters to attend to.

Glancing at the flood of fake “concerned” texts from the Jian family elders on his phone, he smirked coldly.

Time had flown by, and before he knew it, the day to meet that Yi family young master had arrived.

The main love interest of the story—probably some arrogant hotshot...

Before transmigrating, Jian Ye had speed-read through the serialized novel in a rush, focusing only on the plot involving the disposable side character who shared his name, “Paohui Jianye.”

In every interaction with the main love interest, the latter treated “Paohui Jianye” with pure contempt.

During their forced marriage, they never shared a room. The main love interest left early and returned late, hardly ever around, as if breathing the same air as “Paohui Jianye” was an insult.

After enduring such neglect, “Paohui Jianye” grew even more sullen. Since he couldn’t change his circumstances, he was determined to keep his place as the Third Young Master Yi’s spouse—if only to spite those who loathed and looked down on him.

So, when the main love interest’s White Moonlight returned and sought to reunite with him, “Paohui Jianye” resorted to every possible means of obstruction, even attempting to drug and seduce him.

Though the attempt failed, it disgusted countless readers and netizens in the comments section.

The audience didn’t give a damn about the unseen suffering “Paohui Jianye” endured—his parents’ deaths, his ostracization by the family, his pitiable loneliness.

They only believe in one creed: Those who defy the official couple shall be punished, no matter how far away they are!

That's why when Jian Ye opened the comment section, all he saw were demands for "Cannon Fodder Jian Ye" to get killed off.

Jian Ye didn't even know how to rate this novel anymore.

If you say "Cannon Fodder Jian Ye" is just a disposable character, he managed to survive for 300,000 words. If you say he's a somewhat significant supporting character, his character really isn't worthy.

The author probably intended to write an epic-length story, so the early pacing was slow, and the main plot was drawn out. By the time the serialization reached 300,000 words, the male lead and female lead were still struggling in their romance, hindered by "Cannon Fodder Jian Ye" in the middle.

Anyway, by the time Jian Ye flipped to the latest update, the male lead had just declared he would divorce "Cannon Fodder Jian Ye" and demanded that he pack his things and get the hell out of the Yi mansion immediately.

Whether the divorce actually went through remains unknown.

It probably did, otherwise how could the male and female leads face their rocky romance?

Yeah, it must have happened.

The male lead bit the bullet and married someone he didn’t love for the sake of his family and his beloved White Moonlight. Once he was powerful enough, he no longer hid his edge—like a blade fresh from the forge, striking with a single, fatal blow. He kicked aside the cannon fodder, crushed the antagonists, and finally united with his true love, achieving both romance and career success, becoming the alpha male standing at the pinnacle!

Jian Ye automatically filled in the unwritten parts of the story in his mind, the imagery gradually veering into shounen anime-level intensity, itching to pick up a pen and finish the plot for the author.

Too bad reality was that he got sucked into the story right after reading the serialized portion—his imagination remained just that, imagination.

—

D-day arrived.

Checking the location sent in the Jian family group chat, Jian Ye outright refused Uncle Zhang’s escort.

The place wasn’t too far—he could just grab a bike-share bicycle on the street and ride there.

Spring had arrived, and the weather was warming up. Jian Ye still loved cycling on sunny days.

He thought to himself, if today’s meeting could somehow convince the male lead to back out of the wedding, that would be...

"System 748: Host! You mustn’t entertain such thoughts! The established plot of the original work cannot be disrupted!"

"Jian Ye: Oh, I was just casually thinking; don't get your circuits in a twist! I’ll go through with the marriage!"

Er Tong was such a nag...

Knowing he couldn’t deviate from the main storyline, Jian Ye adjusted his mindset and hit the road.

He wasn’t dressed formally, but not too casual either—just a clean shirt and jeans age-appropriate for him, paired with a black men’s sports sling bag.

The young man cycling down the road became a breath of fresh air.

"Author's Note"

Jian Xiaogou: Probably has that typical xianxia protagonist kind of personality...

Third Young Master Yi: The hell you say?

Jian Xiaogou: ... (Yeah you, Deafy McProud!)

P.S.: Haven't I seen this before...? What fish? Translator's note: Long Aotian refers to the archetype of overpowered protagonists commonly found in Chinese fantasy novels, often named with grandiose, arrogant-sounding names.