After I Stopped My Childhood Friend from Becoming a Devoted Male Second Lead

Lin Zhuxin accidentally discovers that they may be living inside a romance novel. And his best buddy, Chu Mufeng, is the devoted second male lead in this world. He may be called the second male lead, but throughout the whole story, he's basically a pathetic simp and a backup option. He gives everything for the female lead, only to become a prop in the romance between the leads, suffering both emotional and physical torment. In the end, he even loses his life for her. She promptly takes his wealth and steps over his corpse to reach a happy ending with the male lead. That ending makes Lin Zhuxin so furious he nearly faints. After all, in his eyes, Chu Mufeng is clever and outstanding, courteous and warm, clear-eyed and practically perfect, excelling at everything. He's the undisputed campus heartthrob. How could he possibly turn into a hopeless case with terminal love-brain? But fate has other plans. This world will produce all sorts of damn coincidences to push everything along according to the plot. Chu Mufeng is destined to fall for the female lead. How could Lin Zhuxin let anyone ruin his childhood friend's bright future? He swears he'll stop his childhood friend from becoming a devoted male supporting character. To save Chu Mufeng, Lin Zhuxin has no choice but to take a desperate gamble before the female lead disappears from Chu Mufeng's life. He decides! To pretend he's in love with Chu Mufeng! First, spread rumors everywhere and hint at their relationship so the female lead will get the message and stop thinking about ruining his childhood friend. Second, steal all the female lead's scenes and divert all of his childhood friend's attention to himself. They're both straight guys anyway. Even if it's embarrassing and damages their reputations, it's still better than the original ending! Lin Zhuxin thinks he can handle it, and believes Chu Mufeng won't mind. But he never imagined that Chu Mufeng would be the first to lose control. In every sense of the phrase. * Chu Mufeng has always thought they'd be brothers in all but blood for the rest of their lives. Lately, though, he's realized his childhood friend is acting strange... Strange enough to make his heart race. Faced with Lin Zhuxin's uncontrollable love for him, Chu Mufeng decides to break free of the shackles around his heart. Chu Mufeng, blushing: "How about... we give it a try?" Lin Zhuxin, stunned: "Huh? O-okay, I guess." Before long, the female lead leaves and the crisis is over! Lin Zhuxin keeps his contribution a secret, promptly returns to his place as Chu Mufeng's childhood friend, and stops crossing the line. Lin Zhuxin: "Haha, turns out it was all in my head. We're better off as brothers. Sorry I put you through that. I know you only went along with it because you didn't want to hurt me. Don't worry, it's all over now. We'll be good brothers for life!" But Chu Mufeng starts looking at Lin Zhuxin differently. In the dorm bathroom, Chu Mufeng pins him beneath the showerhead and restrains his hands. The cold water runs down his face, reddening his eyes. His usual gentleness and thoughtfulness are gone. Suppressing emotions on the verge of breaking loose, he speaks in a coaxing tone that is really a threat: "A misunderstanding? How could it be? It's fine, I'll accept your love. But you can't seduce me and then abandon me, or else..." Lin Zhuxin: No, he really only wanted to stand by his brother through thick and thin, not get... Nobody told him that if you tell enough lies, you can end up getting dragged into them yourself!!!!! [Reader's Guide]: 0. Both leads are devoted only to each other; one-on-one romance. 1. Modern alternate universe! Anything related to the real world is made up. Everything serves the plot, so please don't compare it to reality. 2. The writing is pretty average. It's a transmigration-into-a-book story and doesn't follow logic. 3. There are all kinds of villains, all in service of the plot. Please don't get hung up on gender ratios or make sweeping accusations. (Some wording isn't meant maliciously. The world isn't as harsh as you imagine, so please enjoy the story in peace.) 4. If any of the above are dealbreakers, feel free to drop the story without telling me. The author is thick-skinned and absent-minded, and has very strong preferences. Extremely sensitive readers, please proceed with caution. Upcoming story: Everyone in the Sect Knows He Hates Senior Brother Lu Shixi has watched Wei Lanshuo ever since he was brought back to the sect at the age of five. At first, he only wanted to get close to his benefactor and repay him. But his feelings gradually changed. By the time he became Wei Lanshuo's direct junior disciple, he realized he could never confess his feelings to him. All he could do was carefully hide the thoughts he shouldn't have. Keeping his distance was a shackle he had placed on himself. No matter what rumors spread, he couldn't loosen it. He could only secretly imitate the one he loved, and take what little comfort he could from that. Everyone in the sect thinks Lu Shixi is trying to compete with Senior Brother, and that Lu Shixi hates him. Wei Lanshuo is helpless in the face of his junior disciple's attempts to avoid him? The bad blood between the two disciples became widely known thanks to Wei Lanshuo's fame. Then, at the Immortal Alliance Tournament, Lu Shixi accidentally stepped onto the Lovers' Bridge, where the water reflects the image of anyone you love. And the figure reflected was Wei Lanshuo. In that instant, the entire cultivation world learned that Lu Shixi had never hated Wei Lanshuo. It was a secret, unrequited love that had been buried deep and endured for ages. Wei Lanshuo: "A secret crush? On who? Me?!!" Wait, who taught him to have a crush like that? This is a sworn enemy turned beloved! After they clear things up, Wei Lanshuo can only tell his junior disciple not to dwell on it and that they can carry on as brothers in the sect. But before long, Wei Lanshuo thinks: Something's wrong. Why am I being treated exactly like all his other senior brothers now? That can't be right. Doesn't he like me? Wei Lanshuo can't help going over to his junior disciple and studying him closely. Sure enough, he still finds something different about him. Gradually, Wei Lanshuo realizes his junior disciple has never expected anything from him. Wei Lanshuo: "Why doesn't he try pursuing me? Maybe I'm easy to win over." Flirting openly or dropping hints doesn't work. With his junior disciple about to be stolen away, Wei Lanshuo can't take it anymore. He carries him off, takes him into his cultivation cave, and activates the sealing formation. Forget having a secret crush! You'd better start loving me openly. You won't get out until we've dual-cultivated a hundred times or so and cured you of your bad habit of only loving me in secret. Theme: Embrace the world with kindness and justice.