Little Alpaca – Chapter 152

Volume 4: Immeasurable

I’m Not Going Back, I’ll Be Wherever You Are!

After a long moment of silence, You Yan’s fingertips gently brushed aside the hair at Yi Qiu’s temples.

She asked softly, “That bucket in your body… the System, is it still going to take you away?”

Yi Qiu frowned, shaking her head in You Yan’s embrace and muttering in a small voice, “I don’t want to deal with it.”

“Can you just ignore it?” You Yan asked, worried.

“I can,” Yi Qiu replied.

Probably, maybe, possibly, it seems like I can.

At the very least, when the System wanted to run its mouth, she still had the authority to mute the guy.

“So, you’re really not going back?”

“I’m not going back, I’ll be wherever you are!” Yi Qiu said, looking up at You Yan with the utmost seriousness. “No matter what it thinks or says, I’d rather die than go back.”

You Yan’s brow furrowed. She reached out her index finger and gently pressed it against the pearl of Yi Qiu’s lip.

Gazing into those somewhat dazed eyes, she said softly, “Don’t say that word.”

“Mmph…”

“Unless you want to leave yourself, I won’t let anyone take you away,” You Yan said, reaching out to pull Yi Qiu into her arms.

Yi Qiu was half-reclined in You Yan’s embrace, and her racing heartbeat gradually began to slow, bit by bit.

She couldn’t help but fall into a bout of wild thoughts and random ideas¹.

—What does it mean to be a Heaven-chosen Grass Mud Horse²?

An alpaca that can go from being a Demon Lord’s little pet to the wife at the very tip of the Demon Lord’s heart—that’s what you call a Heaven-chosen Grass Mud Horse.

Yi Qiu had truly never imagined that she’d one day hear words like “When we return to the Demon Realm, I will marry you” from You Yan’s mouth.

Ever since coming to this world, she’d always felt her alpaca life was a complete and utter mess.

She’d endlessly despised this body that couldn’t be any weaker, endlessly cursed Little Bird Coo Coo Fly in her heart for writing this trashy novel with their feet, and even more endlessly resented the System for stuffing her into the body of an alpaca.

But today, she suddenly felt that there was probably no book transmigrator in this world luckier than her.

To be able to become an alpaca and travel across who knows how many dimensions to the side of such a wonderful You Yan was a stroke of luck that countless people could only dream of.

In truth, the world was so vast that even the slightest deviation would have prevented her from ever meeting You Yan.

But of the thousands upon thousands of novels in the world, she just had to transmigrate into this one.

Little Bird Coo Coo Fly’s 《Thin, Withered Branch》 was over a million words long, with so many female supporting characters, yet she just had to transmigrate into a small, laughably weak little alpaca.

Just as she’d once said, she was willing to believe in fate, willing to believe in destined connections.

She believed that many things were already predetermined in the unseen, and You Yan was that constant she was fated to meet and fated to fall in love with in this life. From the moment she was chosen, there was no escape.

At that moment, she ignored the warnings from the System and tried her best to forget the ending where she would return to the modern world after completing her mission.

I have to make a choice for myself, just this once, she thought.

Her previous world was great. She had a stable job and didn’t have to worry about food or clothing. She had family and friends. If she were to suddenly disappear from that world, it would probably be really irresponsible.

But people are selfish. The her of today could no longer bear to part with You Yan.

Worldly affairs are like drinking water; one knows for oneself whether it is cold or warm³. She knew better than anyone that her old self, who only knew how to go to work and get off work, living a mediocre existence day after day, year after year, wasn’t actually all that happy.

Her family was always comparing her to others. She could never become the “other people’s children”⁴ her parents talked about. Her job was mediocre, her income was low, and she wasn’t young anymore, yet she’d never even been in a relationship. During holidays and festivals, she was bound to get an earful.

No matter how unconcerned she was, her family was anxious.

And what were they anxious about?

It wasn’t really about their child’s lifelong happiness. It was more that “other people’s children” were all married with successful careers, and others were already holding their grandchildren, while their own child had never once brought honor to the family, from her studies to her career.

In all her years, she’d never had any close friends to confide in and could mostly only find a sense of existence online.

But as she got older, her social circle became more and more awkward.

To her 3D⁵ friends, she seemed a bit too 2D⁶. But to her 2D friends, she seemed too 3D.

Many times, Yi Qiu found it curious how she had managed to muddle through to her current age in that kind of environment.

Was it through the instincts of a carefree salted fish⁷?

But once a person has tasted sweetness, how could they possibly endure bitterness again?

She had once loudly complained in her heart countless times about this trashy world, complaining that there were no computers or phones, no air conditioning or wifi, complaining that every single day here was exceptionally dull. But as time passed day by day, she discovered that she actually really liked this kind of life.

Actually, it wasn’t necessarily that she liked such a plain life.

It was only because in these plain days, there was always one person by her side.

As long as that person was there, she felt that every day and every night was incredibly fulfilling.

Although that bird woman really didn’t talk much, and was often quite sharp-tongued, she knew it was just a case of a hard mouth but soft heart⁸.

She knew that in this world, besides You Yan, there was likely no one else who would cherish her as if she were their own life.

If she really left with the System, she would lose the person in this world who cared about her the most.

She didn’t want to lose You Yan. She wanted to stay here.

She knew that the System could monitor every single thought that surfaced in her mind.

But she didn’t try to hide it in the slightest.

She was going to tell the System that she wasn’t leaving, unless it could actually erase her.

After a long stretch of silence, You Yan got up to find her some food.

While You Yan was away, Yi Qiu unmuted the System. The System dinged in her ear a few times, hesitating repeatedly before finally falling silent again.

Staying silent like this wasn’t a solution.

Yi Qiu gritted her teeth and said in her mind, “Baocai⁹, come out.”

【I’m here.】

“I just want to know, can I stay here or not.”

【Host, you’re making things very difficult for me.】

“Don’t beat around the bush with me. My mind is made up, and you know it.”

【Host, there are thousands upon thousands of worlds that have collapsed¹⁰ for various reasons, and there are also thousands upon thousands of mission executors responsible for returning these worlds to the right track.】

【The world you’re in is one of these thousands of worlds. And I, just as the Host previously suspected, am just an ordinary space-time regulator. I don’t have any ability to interfere with this world. At most, I’m only responsible for guiding the Host’s arrival or departure.】

【When this timeline returns to normal, I’ll go to the next world. At the same time, the Host’s original world will resume its normal flow of time.】

【If I leave, there will be no power left in this world to send the Host back to your original world. If the Host insists on staying here, your original body will die.】

The System chattered on and on, and Yi Qiu finally understood what it meant.

“So you’re saying that, for me, time stopped in my original world the moment I came here. But when I finish all the missions, time in that world will start flowing again. If I don’t go back, I’ll really die, right?”

【That’s correct.】

“If I die in that world, what will happen to the me in this world?”

【That I don’t know. I’ve never encountered a situation where a Host completed their mission but was unwilling to leave.】

“Are you kidding me? In book transmigration novels, lots of protagonists choose to stay!”

【But I’ve really never encountered it.】

The System’s tone was clearly aggrieved.

Yi Qiu took a deep breath, unsure of what to do.

She sat there for a long time, lost in thought, before finally closing her eyes and sighing softly. “Find a way to ask around for me.”

【Ask around?】

“Ask and find out exactly what will happen if I insist on staying! Ugh, I’m begging you. You’re a ‘regulator,’ for crying out loud. That title sounds so impressive, how can you be so useless?”

【Wuwu, I know.】

“Next time, think before you ask.”

【Ying… I’ll ask clearly for the Host.】

Yi Qiu finally understood. For the thousands upon thousands of book transmigrators, there were thousands upon thousands of regulators. When the identity of a book transmigrator fell on your head, it was like drawing cards¹¹; you’d be matched with a regulator. Her own luck wasn’t very good, and she’d drawn the most useless one.

But being useless had its advantages. At least this Baocai wasn’t forceful at all.

For a moment, an extremely dangerous and selfish thought even surfaced in her mind.

If my body in the modern world dies, and I die along with it, then I have to leave this place.

But I don’t want to leave this place, I don’t want to leave You Yan, so…

Should I string along the male and female leads, and find a way to prevent them from successfully reaching their HE¹²?

The moment this thought appeared in her mind, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath and slap her forehead.

She told herself that You Yan must never, ever know about this thought.

Otherwise, You Yan would probably really do it.

At that point, that pair of unlucky mandarin ducks¹³ from the novel would likely not meet a good end in this world line¹⁴ either.

The only difference would probably be that in the original, they couldn’t meet a good end due to misunderstandings, while here, they would clearly believe in each other but be forcefully prevented from being together.

“How could I think like that…”

Whether it was Jiang Yuyao or Luo Mingyuan, they were both innocent, and they were her friends.

A person can’t—or at least, shouldn’t—be so selfish.

Besides, how long could she drag it out? What’s meant to happen will happen. What story in this world doesn’t have an ending?

There had to be another way.

As Yi Qiu thought this, she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

She heard You Yan’s voice from a distance and looked up to see her returning with food.

She pushed aside her messy thoughts, stood up, and quickly walked over to meet her.

“What were you thinking about just now?”

“Nothing at all!” Yi Qiu said, then instantly realized she’d lied out of habit. But with something weighing on her mind, how could she hide it from You Yan?

“Thinking about nothing, yet you were slapping your own head?” You Yan asked with a smile.

“It’s not really anything important,” Yi Qiu said, pouting. “I was just a little worried that we’ve been here for too long. I’m afraid something might have changed outside.”

“Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I’m here.”

“Mm.”

As long as I can stay by You Yan’s side, she thought, there’s really nothing to be afraid of.

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