The Gloomy Side Character Steals the Male Lead's Sidekick

[Top-focused] “We agreed to be best friends for life, but you insist on becoming my nemesis’s lackeys?” “Then I guess I’ll have to become his wife.” As an alpha, Qi Xueyan had exceptional talent and striking looks. With three Dragonborn roommates as his closest friends, life at the Federation’s First Academy had been smooth sailing. Then he fell seriously ill. His pheromone level plummeted, and he unexpectedly learned that he was a sinister cannon-fodder character in a power fantasy novel about a male protagonist. Jealous of the male lead’s formidable strength and the way he became the center of attention the moment he stepped onto campus, Qi Xueyan had made things difficult for him and set traps for him at every turn. In the end, he met a miserable fate: his gland was removed, and he was expelled from school. His three roommates also became the male lead’s most loyal lackeys and turned against him! Qi Xueyan resolved to rewrite his fate. His first priority was protecting his friendship with his roommates. When his roommates were hungry, he cooked for them. When they played ball, he brought them water and wiped their sweat. When they slept, he offered them his lap. When they went into heat… he could help with that, too, more or less. One day, the roommates took turns sparring with the famous new student. They all came back defeated, carrying the sharp, stimulating scent of his pheromones. They wanted to bury their faces in Qi Xueyan’s scent to soothe their foul moods, but instead they saw him gripping a dagger and glaring at them with the viciousness of a seductive ghost. “Xue…?! Calm down!” Qi Xueyan brandished the knife and drove all three roommates out of the room. “You want to be someone else’s lackeys that badly? I’ll kill you first! Die! Get out!” Later, the three of them gathered to reflect. “Xue doesn’t feel secure enough. He can’t live without us. How about we marry him?” “Agreed.” “All of us.” The roommates agreed to sit Qi Xueyan down and tell him how they felt. They didn’t expect to find him downstairs in the dormitory, pinned in the arms of that new student, who was kissing him without restraint. The beautiful man’s eyes were red at the corners from being kissed, his cheeks flushed and his expression full of desire. Even the exposed strip of his ankle was covered in suggestive marks. … The new student’s gaze seemed to drift over them casually, but his overwhelming, violent aura left them unable to come any closer. . Qi Xueyan had wondered whether his danger might finally be over if Ji Qinxu disappeared from this world. So that night, when Ji Qinxu opened his eyes, he saw someone wide awake in the middle of the night, sitting astride his waist with his legs spread, repeatedly testing a sharp dagger against him. …Was this a seductive ghost come to claim his life, or a demon who devoured men’s vitality? There was no way to tell. He’d have to investigate carefully. Qi Xueyan panicked for a moment when his wrist was caught. But when their eyes met, he smiled. His eyes shimmered with a dark light, like chocolate truffles laced with poison. “Ji Qinxu, do you dare let me cut you open and see your heart?” “…” Ji Qinxu calmly took hold of his wrist and pressed it down. “It’s a little hard. Want me to help?” Qi Xueyan: No, don’t! Let go of me! Let go! A landmine-type top who thinks he’s dark but is actually pure and beautiful x a cool, aloof bottom who loves him deeply but is no pushover - ABO, but with a bunch of personal rules. Don’t scrutinize it too closely. - The blurb and the story don’t match completely. The romance is bittersweet, both leads are each other’s one and only, and the roommates’ feelings are one-sided throughout; the top is bad in bed and only does thigh sex. - The cover is a commissioned illustration of the top. . Theme: See things clearly and be yourself.