The Cannon Fodder’s Survival Guide at the Noble Academy - Chapter 1

◎Private Text Messages◎

【President, with legs this long… can they step on…】

Expressionless, An Tang finished editing the message on his phone. He checked the number again to make sure it matched the one he had secretly peeked at earlier, then hit send.

It was his first time doing something like this, his movements unfamiliar. He spent the entire lunch break crafting that one text.

The bell rang soon after. An Tang walked out of his single dorm room and hurried toward the classroom.

On the way, groups of students stood chatting in twos and threes, but no one spoke to him. An Tang jogged all the way, slipping into Class A just before the bell.

He sat in the far corner—a transparent nobody, yet not quite invisible.

Morsy Academy was a famous aristocratic school, filled with children of high officials and wealthy families. For them, academics weren’t the only path; the school was lenient. Every year, they’d admit a handful of poor but high-achieving students from outside.

An Tang was the best among them. But here, grades didn’t equal status. Diamonds on one’s chest did.

The academy, flush with money, issued every student a badge embedded with a diamond the size of a fingertip.

White was the lowest. Yellow ranked above. Blue was higher still. Black was supreme.

On An Tang’s chest was a white one.

He had once entertained the idea of prying out the gem to sell, but it wouldn’t budge. Later he learned there was a chip inside—it couldn’t be sold.

He had felt regret. The white diamond, translucent and common, still looked like something valuable. Surely it would’ve fetched a good price.

At this school, phones and tablets were must-have accessories. The administration didn’t restrict them—on the contrary, they encouraged their use.

After all, for the school, keeping these little tyrants occupied indoors was far better than letting them run outside to stir up trouble.

This led to the forums being a cesspool—especially the anonymous ones, filled with people too bored for their own good.

Between classes, An Tang glanced at his phone. Unsurprisingly, no reply.

It didn’t matter. He had more than one target.

If one didn’t reply, surely not all four would ignore him.

At dinner, An Tang went to the third cafeteria as usual, buying cabbage noodles with rice for only two yuan—there was even minced meat in the noodles. A bargain.

He chose a table alone, scanned the surroundings, then pulled out his phone. He had nearly photographic memory—when he’d sneaked a look in the principal’s office, he’d memorized the entire F4’s contact numbers.

This time, he was texting F2: Roy Shelley.

A mixed-bl00d with blonde hair and blue eyes, 190cm tall, yet fond of tending to delicate flowers.

It was said he kept a private greenhouse, each plant worth a fortune. An Tang had never seen it, but he could imagine… surely the petals were rainbow-colored?

He typed:
【Gege, I’m a marriage candidate arranged by your family. Would you be willing to give me this chance?】

He’d heard Roy was very polite and gentle to girls. If he disguised himself as one, it should work.

While eating, An Tang imagined tonight’s photoshoot. Four men to seduce—it was troublesome. Skirts cost money too.

But he felt no guilt. Call it a harmless lie. As long as he didn’t actually lift his clothes to traumatize them, it wasn’t too bad.

A week ago, a battered book titled “The Domineering School Hunk’s Forced Love” had appeared on his desk out of nowhere. At first, he thought it was a prank, but he couldn’t resist opening it.

He nearly jumped out of his skin.

The names in the book perfectly matched reality—F4, random classmates, everyone. Even his own.

And in the book, “he” was a vicious cannon-fodder villain.

For someone like An Tang—who was rotten in thought but hadn’t actually done anything bad—it was like a magic mirror revealing his “true form.”

His heart lurched, pounding wildly.

Forcing himself, he read on. Every word and action resembled him, only exaggerated and carried through to extremes.

The ending was exactly as he feared. Ruined reputation, expelled, bright future destroyed. Worse still, tied to a cliff by F4 and thrown down—one hand broken.

An Tang’s veins bulged in fury. He hated nothing more than being a stepping stone in someone else’s romance drama.

Skimming the rest, it was all about the protagonist shou’s sweet romance with F4. To his disgust, there was even parental opposition, but ultimately the shou ended up with one man.

“Drama queen… white lotus…” An Tang cursed under his breath.

The original “him” had clashed with the shou from day one simply because he hadn’t helped carry a suitcase. That tiny spark lit the fuse.

An Tang shut his eyes, nearly tearing the book apart in frustration.

When he checked the “Seduction” chapter, he was disappointed. Just a cliché scene of the little white flower attracting attention.

He thought bitterly: Who the hell actually likes this crap?

Still, he forced himself on. When he reached the chapter where the shou crossdressed and performed, he noticed—that was the moment all four F4 fell for him.

Crossdressing. Roleplay. Online.

These words formed a new plan. And so, here he was.

Morsy Academy had delivery robots that brought packages straight to dorm doors—for free, too.

He’d seen the notification during class. The moment it ended, he dashed back to his dorm.

Thankfully, it had been sent discreetly. No one would notice.

Though his room was the cheapest kind—single room, one bedroom, one living room, one bath—it was enough.

Using a knife, he opened the package carefully. It was his first time buying women’s clothing, but he had done his research on the forums: “easily torn,” “sizing off.”

Sure enough, the first dress was too tight. The zipper jammed halfway, no matter how hard he pulled.

Sweating, he gave up. He’d just shoot photos from the front anyway.

Standing before the mirror, he judged himself critically. Thin, pale, no muscle—not feminine at all.

Luckily, the lace neckline covered enough to create some illusion.

He wrapped his arms around his waist. His hands almost met around it—it looked fragile, with a sharp inward curve.

The skirt was scandalously short. The shop claimed thigh-length, but on him it barely covered his hips. One move and his underwear would show.

Is my frame too tall?

Holding back frustration, he quickly posed, snapped photos, then tore it off. His waist was red and sore from the tightness.

The remaining three outfits fit better. He struck poses, then used tech filters to polish the results.

By the time he finished, he was dizzy from exhaustion.

Collapsing on bed, he absentmindedly checked his messages.

And then—he shot upright, eyes wide.

Roy Shelley had replied.

To “her.”

【? Name?】

Though the tone wasn’t warm, it was still a reply! Unlike that damn president who hadn’t responded even once.

An Tang hastily typed:
【My name’s Tangtang.】

Roy: 【Your full name.】

An Tang made something up:
【I’m contacting you secretly, behind my parents’ back. Just call me Tangtang, please, otherwise my parents will sell me to some old man for money!】

Roy: 【……】

An Tang: 【Really!】

Then came a notification: [Contact Info].

Roy: 【Use your phone. Add me.】

Anticipating this, An Tang had already registered a WeChat with his old hometown number. He added Roy at once.

Roy: 【A smurf account?】

An Tang instantly spun a story:
【They’ve locked me up and taken my phone. This is the only account I can use right now.】

And that wasn’t even a lie—at least now.

Suddenly, the ringtone startled him.

Roy was calling.

An Tang froze. He couldn’t change his voice. But if he rejected the call, Roy might delete him right away.

Weighing his options for a single second, he bit the bullet and answered.

【Author’s Note】

Tangtang: [shy] Hmph! Men!

💌 Shout-out for author’s next project! [sparkly eyes] Click the profile / cover below to bookmark~

Next book preview:
The Flood Dragon Decides to Farm
(Keywords: Rebirth, Sweet, Face-slapping, Farming, Xianxia, Flood Dragon)

【Mischievous Cute Flood Dragon X Hardworking Dependable Dragon. Ultra sweet doting romance~】

The little flood dragon has one obsession: to ascend and become a true dragon.

• In his first life, he fought a dragon head-on, lost, and died.

• In his second, he borrowed imperial fortune to transform, angered Heaven, and died.

• In his third, he stared at his tail, then resigned himself to farm in the countryside. Being a “farmland emperor” was good enough.

But just two months into this peaceful life, he picked up a dazzling golden dragon.

The flood dragon coiled his tail and laughed at the sky: Heaven has blessed me! Dragon meat in hand, ascension guaranteed!

Except… this dragon looked awfully familiar.

Like the bad dragon he had killed twice before.

When Lin Qiao poked him with his tail, ready to devour—

Long Huai opened his eyes:
“Thank you for saving me, young master. I can only repay you by offering myself to you.”

Lin Qiao froze: “?” Warning! Don’t you dare scam me!

Though things didn’t go as Lin Qiao expected, his ambition remained. Yet every time he schemed, Long Huai caught him red-handed.

So Lin Qiao sulked and made him work harder:
“You’re the one I rescued! Go farm the fields!”
“Pull the weeds.”
“The peaches are ripe—go harvest them.”
“The fish? Where’s tonight’s fish?!”

Unexpectedly, he really got a dependable laborer.

Obedient, humble, always agreeable—so much so that Lin Qiao felt uneasy.

“Fine, you’ve worked hard. I’m the great Flood Dragon King, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Really?” Long Huai’s eyes lit up.

“Y-yes!” Lin Qiao felt something was wrong, but he couldn’t go back on his word.

That night, Long Huai transformed into a dragon and slipped into bed, gazing at Lin Qiao’s drowsy face. Spreading his scales, he said:
“Then, you’ll be my wife.”

“?!” Lin Qiao kicked him straight out of bed.