The Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Character Is the Zombie King - Chapter 5

Zhou Huaichen was silent for a few seconds before saying, “I’ll go search for it.”
Ye Wei’an nodded, seemingly satisfied.
The system, however, reminded him speechlessly: 【Pictures of zombie kings are all terrifying. Do you want to scare Zhou Huaichen?】
Ye Wei’an replied, “How could they be terrifying? I look great.”
System: 【…That’s only because you had intelligence from the very beginning, and you actually cared about your appearance, okay! And besides, you were only infected through your finger. Your face still looked completely human! That’s why you’ve always been so good-looking!】
Ye Wei’an rubbed his chin.
That was true. Other zombies did look rather terrifying. Some had missing limbs, some had half their brains bitten away, and some had their intestines hanging out…
He had spent ten years facing all kinds of zombies, mutant plants, and mutant animals day and night, so he never thought there was anything to be afraid of. But Zhou Huaichen, after all, was a modern man who had never experienced the apocalypse. He’d probably be scared.
So he turned to Zhou Huaichen and said seriously, “Don’t search it.”
Zhou Huaichen: “Mm.”
Ye Wei’an explained, “Zombie pictures are really scary. Don’t look them up. I’ll find someone to draw it for you.”
Zhou Huaichen’s gaze darkened. “Draw it for me?”
Ye Wei’an: “Mm. A calm, handsome zombie king being cute. I’ll find someone to draw that for you.”
The corners of Zhou Huaichen’s lips curved slightly, and he nodded gently. “Alright.”
The two of them walked inside side by side. Their backs looked perfectly matched.
Yan Qing stared at them fixedly, his eyes growing dark and sinister.
Suddenly, he rushed forward and stopped them before they entered the door.
“President Zhou, Yongnan is on his way. He said he’s coming to see you.” He bit his lower lip and looked up at Zhou Huaichen with a pitiful expression. “I… I can wait for him in the private room, can I?”
Before coming to meet Zhou Huaichen, he had already contacted Zhou Yongnan. If Zhou Huaichen rejected him, he could use Zhou Yongnan as an excuse to cover up his true intentions.
Zhou Huaichen looked at him lightly, saying nothing.
At that moment, a line of red text suddenly flashed in Ye Wei’an’s mind: 【Warning! Warning! Yan Qing is seducing the big boss! The plot is deviating from the main storyline! Please correct it, Host!】
Ye Wei’an: “…”
So Yan Qing came here not to return the money, nor did it really have anything to do with Zhou Yongnan. He was purely here to flirt with Zhou Huaichen.
In other words, both he and Zhou Yongnan were just tools for Yan Qing to get close to Zhou Huaichen.
Ye Wei’an: “.”
As expected of the protagonist shou. Yan Qing was even more of a player than he’d imagined.
However, he didn’t react, nor did he try to stop Yan Qing’s actions. He only stared at him expressionlessly.
Being stared at in cold silence by both Zhou Huaichen and Ye Wei’an, Yan Qing’s expression began to falter.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he softened his voice and called out to Zhou Huaichen, “President Zhou, do you really hate me that much?”
Zhou Huaichen didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his head toward Ye Wei’an and asked quietly, “President Ye, what do you think?”
Ye Wei’an replied, “He’s trying to seduce you.”
—【No kidding. His intentions are that obvious, and you, the big boss, still can’t tell?】
Zhou Huaichen: “…”
Hearing Ye Wei’an’s blunt internal complaint, he lowered his eyes slightly to hide the smile flickering beneath them.
Yan Qing’s face, however, alternated between pale and flushed. He hadn’t expected Ye Wei’an to expose his thoughts so directly.
He immediately put on a wronged expression and said, “President Ye, are you slandering me because you couldn’t get me? I’m Yongnan’s boyfriend, technically President Zhou’s junior. I’ve never had any intention of seducing him. You can’t just accuse me because you’re jealous.”
Ye Wei’an: “Oh.”
Faced with Yan Qing’s questioning, he felt absolutely nothing inside.
Zhou Huaichen’s eyes darkened. He looked coldly at Yan Qing and said, “You can wait outside. When Yongnan arrives, the two of you can come see me together.”
With that, he personally pushed open the door to the private room. After letting Ye Wei’an go in first, he followed and closed the door, leaving Yan Qing shut out in the hallway.
Yan Qing’s expression turned extremely ugly in an instant. He glared darkly at the closed door, his face full of unwillingness and resentment.
The two people inside the room, however, couldn’t care less about what Yan Qing was thinking.
Ye Wei’an gave his approval of Zhou Huaichen’s response. “You did well.”
Zhou Huaichen curved his lips. “Oh? Because I turned him down?”
Ye Wei’an nodded.
As expected of the big boss. He could withstand the charm attack of a protagonist shou who could enchant anyone.
Zhou Huaichen let out a quiet laugh, clearly in a good mood for reasons only he knew.
They ordered their dishes. Once everything was served, Ye Wei’an picked up his chopsticks. As he ate, he kept glancing at Zhou Huaichen.
At first, Zhou Huaichen didn’t understand why until he heard Ye Wei’an’s inner voice.
—【Delicious. Tasty.】
Seeing Ye Wei’an staring at him with those bright, sparkling eyes, Zhou Huaichen began to suspect that “delicious and tasty” wasn’t referring to the food on the table, but rather… to himself.
Realizing he had somehow become “a feast for the eyes” that could even help Ye Wei’an eat more, Zhou Huaichen couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle, the amusement in his eyes deepening.
Ye Wei’an didn’t notice what he was laughing about and continued eating diligently.
As a zombie king, what he used to love most were crystal cores. But after returning to a human state, his sense of taste had come back. He’d developed quite a fondness for human food as well.
Zhou Huaichen didn’t say a word. He quietly peeled shrimp for Ye Wei’an, scooped out the crab roe into a clean bowl, and pushed it toward him.
Ye Wei’an ate happily. Though his face remained expressionless as always, his eyes shone with unmistakable joy.
Unfortunately, the system, entirely lacking in tact, interrupted his pleasant mealtime: 【Host, Yan Qing is still sitting outside. Why don’t you go comfort him? Maybe if you move him with your sincerity and he softens up, he’ll agree to be with you, and your mission will be complete.】
Ye Wei’an kept eating, completely ignoring it.
The system was heartbroken: 【Please remember, your mission is to win over Yan Qing, not to eat, drink, and go on dates with the big boss.】
【Think about your parents and younger brother. You must want to see them soon, right?】
Ye Wei’an suddenly lost his appetite and silently set down his chopsticks.
Zhou Huaichen, always attentive to his every move, noticed and asked, “It doesn’t taste good?”
Ye Wei’an looked at his handsome face. It is so dazzling that it felt like a grape-flavored purple crystal core swaying right in front of him.
He picked up his chopsticks again. “It’s good.”
—【Even just looking at him gives me an appetite! Whatever, I’ll eat first!】
He had to save his parents and younger brother, yes. But the meal still needed to be eaten.
Hearing his inner thoughts, Zhou Huaichen couldn’t hold back anymore and let out a deep laugh.
Ye Wei’an tilted his head. “Hm? What are you laughing at?”
Zhou Huaichen placed a peeled shrimp into his bowl, the corner of his mouth slightly curved. “Nothing. Eat.”
“Oh.” Ye Wei’an didn’t think too much about it and buried his head back into his food.
Zhou Huaichen watched him, the smile in his eyes never fading.
After they finished eating, a knock came from outside. The door opened, and Zhou Yongnan entered, holding Yan Qing’s hand.
Zhou Yongnan had actually been dragged here by Yan Qing for reasons he didn’t understand. When he saw Zhou Huaichen, he was startled. “Uncle, what are you doing here?”
Zhou Huaichen lifted his gaze lightly. “We’ll talk at home.”
It was clearly a dismissal.
Zhou Yongnan, who was genuinely afraid of him, pouted. “…Oh.”
Seeing how spineless he looked, a trace of disgust flashed through Yan Qing’s heart.
Originally, he had thought that Zhou Yongnan would be easy to control. After marrying into the Zhou family, he could manipulate them at will and live the life he wanted.
But seeing how utterly weak Zhou Yongnan was in front of Zhou Huaichen, he couldn’t help but start doubting his own judgment.
His gaze shifted to Zhou Huaichen.
Only a man like this… was worthy of him.
Zhou Yongnan didn’t notice the disdain in Yan Qing’s eyes and was about to take him away.
But Ye Wei’an spoke up, “Since you’re already here, have a seat.”
Zhou Huaichen glanced at him in mild surprise, not sure what he intended, but didn’t contradict him.
Yan Qing and Zhou Yongnan were equally confused, standing there without moving.
Ye Wei’an made a phone call. “Come in.”
Not long after, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman entered the room together.
“These are my special assistants,” Ye Wei’an briefly introduced them to Zhou Huaichen, then reached out a hand toward the woman. “The documents?”
The middle-aged woman immediately handed him a folder.
Ye Wei’an opened it and said to Yan Qing, “Since you don’t want to pay back the money, and you’re also unwilling to be with me, then we’ll settle the debt another way. This is a publicity plan. All the signed artists under Ye Corporation’s entertainment branch can be paired with you for hype. You’re top-tier traffic. No matter what, you’ll bring them some attention.”
“Also, all the earnings from your upcoming engagements will go to me until your debt is fully repaid.”
He pointed at the blank space at the end of the document. “Sign here. Once you do, the agreement takes effect.”
Yan Qing: “…”
He was dumbfounded. He truly hadn’t expected Ye Wei’an to play such a move.
System: 【】
It was stunned too. It hadn’t thought its host could come up with something even more outrageous than printing detailed debt statements.
Zhou Huaichen: “…”
He, however, actually laughed.
So this meal that he had personally invited Ye Wei’an to turned out to be used by someone else to conduct business.
And he himself had merely been the appetizer.