How Did the Cannon Fodder End Up with the Protagonist Gong?

A gentle, scheming, morally ambiguous senior brother, the pursued ✖️ A brooding, sinister, morally ambiguous junior brother, the pursuer

Top-tier star Xie Yun'an wakes up inside a harem novel he has read, as a despised cannon-fodder character who shares his name.

The moment he opens his eyes, he finds the white-lotus protagonist, the pursued, pretending to be pitiful. Xie Yun'an thinks: Your acting is terrible. You need more practice.

Watching the protagonist happily juggle his second junior brother, third junior brother, and master, Xie Yun'an thinks: You all have your fun. I'll stand over here and keep quiet.

He minds his own business and focuses on repairing his shattered golden core. So why do the people around him gradually start looking at him differently?

The boundaryless white-lotus protagonist keeps forcing his way toward him. The brainless second senior brother, desperate for attention, keeps forcing his way toward him too. Even his old-fashioned, domineering master, who insists on having the final say, keeps coming after him!

Xie Yun'an thinks: I'm tired. Is there not a single normal person in this world?

There is: Mo Ci, the original male lead.

Xie Yun'an is relieved to have a normal third junior brother, Mo Ci, for company in this strange world. Just when their relationship finally starts to improve, Mo Ci goes and secretly gets one over on him!!!

If you show me no mercy, don't expect any from me! Xie Yun'an promptly signs a slave contract with him.

There was a road to heaven, but you refused to take it. There was no gate to hell, but you barged right in. Now you can only be my dog.

Mo Ci: One day, I'll kill you!

Xie Yun'an: I'll be waiting.

From then on, the two fight to the death, matching wits and courage, loving and tormenting each other, entangled and inseparable…

*

One day, some time later:

Person A: Isn't Mo Ci that illegitimate son of the Mo family, the one his clan raised as a cripple?

Person B: Don't say that! Ever since Mo Ci got in with the young master of the Xie family, his status has skyrocketed. Who dares gossip about him now?

Person C: …You two are doing that right now.

Everyone turns around and sees a young man dressed in a crimson brocade robe, covered in all kinds of high-grade magical artifacts: ones for protection, for attacking, and for nourishing his meridians. There are so many that it is dazzling. He's clearly been cherished and pampered like a precious treasure.

The red-clad youth has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, handsome features, and a carefree smile. His every movement seems to lead people by the soul…

Everyone draws a sharp breath. Isn't this the spitting image of a pretty boy kept by a wealthy lover?

*

Mo Ci's identity is exposed. Because of his demonic bloodline, the cultivators join forces to scheme against him, and in the end they use him in a blood sacrifice formation…

Xie Yun'an watches Mo Ci fall into the abyss with his own eyes. He fails to hold on to him…

Xie Yun'an completely breaks down: Why couldn't they be the ones who died? I want to kill every last one of them! They bullied him, and I want to tear off their skin and rip out their bones to soothe my hatred!!

Master: …You've gone mad.

Xie Yun'an laughs a few times, seeming more mad than human. As he laughs, tears spill from his eyes. Though he is smiling, his expression is uglier than any weeping face.

*

Years later:

Mo Ci pins him down on the bed: Senior brother, you think I'm filthy. Then I'll use this filthy bloodline of mine to defile you, torment you, and stain you… I'll make sure your whole body reeks of me…

Xie Yun'an lets out a long sigh and touches the place where his dragon horn was broken: Did it hurt?

Mo Ci's eyes instantly redden. He keeps his face stiff and says nothing.

…

“It's grown back already. Stop touching it…”

*

Reader's guide [Content warnings]

1. From universally disliked to universally adored. Later on, several people develop one-sided crushes on the protagonist, leading to a love rivalry, but the two leads are completely devoted to each other. One-on-one romance.

2. My take on cultivation fantasy. Levels: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Great Ascension, and Tribulation Transcendence.

3. A wish-fulfillment story. Everything in the plot serves the characters.

Theme: Companionship is the longest-lasting confession of love