Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 98
by Little PandaExtra 1: The Original Female Lead is Reborn (2)
When Song Muyun woke again, it was on a warm bed. Her eyelashes trembled. As her small, snow-white calf twitched, it kicked something warm and soft. It wasn’t human skin. The sensation instantly shocked the young girl fully awake, and she froze, not daring to move.
It took a long while for her to process what had happened. She carefully drew her foot back, curling her entire body into a ball.
She was the only one in the bed. Jiang Yao wasn’t here. Where had she gone?
Song Muyun looked down and saw she was in clean, white inner clothes. Someone had changed her. Who was it?
Just as she was wondering, the creak of a door opening sounded in the room. A maidservant entered to sweep and clean. Seeing Song Muyun awake, she exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “Ah, you’re awake! Miss, Miss, come quickly! Miss Song is awake!”
The announcement was followed by the sound of steady, powerful footsteps. Jiang Yao, dressed in fiery red martial attire with a fluttering skirt, appeared from behind the folding screen.
When she rounded the screen and stood before the bed, she looked down with concern in her eyes and asked if Song Muyun was still uncomfortable anywhere. At that moment, Song Muyun suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
Countless grievances flooded her heart.
She wanted to ask her why she hadn’t been there. She wanted to accuse her of letting others bully her. She wanted to say, How could your younger brother bully someone like that? If you don’t treat me a little better, I will definitely not let him off.
But when she tried to speak, her throat was choked with sobs. The words wouldn’t form into coherent sentences. All she could do was press a hand to her mouth to keep from embarrassing herself further.
Jiang Yao was dumbfounded. Why would such a beautiful girl start crying the moment she saw her?
She had already managed to get some information from the maids and servants at Jiang Huai’s residence and knew that he was the one who had bullied Song Muyun. She couldn’t help but wonder, Could it be that because of Jiang Huai, she now detests the entire Jiang family and doesn’t want to see me either?
But… but she hadn’t known!
If she had known Jiang Huai would do something so beastly, abusing his power to bully others, she definitely would have stopped him!
Jiang Yao felt she was being unfairly blamed, but the fault lay with Jiang Huai. As his older sister, it was perfectly normal for the girl’s anger to be directed at her. She could only sigh and soften her voice as much as possible. “Miss Song, you’re finally awake. Are you still feeling unwell anywhere? Please tell me first. If you’re still not feeling well, I’ll call the residence physician over again. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll leave as soon as I’ve confirmed that you’re alright.”
Leave…
She wasn’t here when she woke up, and now she wanted to leave again?
A fresh wave of sorrow washed over Song Muyun. A bony, yet snow-white, hand suddenly reached out from under the covers, clutching the corner of Jiang Yao’s clothes. She tried to lift her head, tears falling into her dark hair.
With a sob she couldn’t suppress, she asked, “Are you abandoning me? Are you abandoning me too?”
The vulnerability in her voice made it sound as if she was clinging to Jiang Yao as her last life-saving straw.
Jiang Yao froze. She took the hand in hers and held it. Her body radiated the warmth of a martial artist, and she warmed the cold hand, rubbing it reassuringly. “No, I’m not abandoning you. Jiang Huai is kneeling outside right now. Do you want me to call him in to apologize? You can punish him however you see fit. As long as you leave him his life, the rest is up to you. How about it?”
The way Jiang Yao coaxed her in a low voice made her feel, in a daze, as if she had returned to the past—to those days she had stolen, those days of kindness that had belonged to someone else, that she had seized for herself.
But in this life, Song Muyun and Jiang Yao hadn’t fallen in love yet. If she could make Jiang Yao fall for her, for this her, could she have her own Jiang Yao?
A Jiang Yao who truly loved her, who was willing to touch her.
Only at this thought did Song Muyun’s eyes brighten a little. As for Jiang Yao’s offer to have Jiang Huai apologize, she shook her head. “I don’t want him to come in. I just want you to stay and keep me company. Don’t go. Don’t leave me alone.”
She blinked her eyes gently, and the mist gathered within them fell.
A long stream of tears rolled into her silken black hair.
The tears of a beauty were naturally enough to soften anyone’s heart.
Jiang Yao didn’t know why she insisted on her staying. Perhaps it was… because she knew Jiang Yao had punished Jiang Huai, so she trusted her a little?
“Alright, I’ll stay and keep you company. I won’t go. Are you feeling unwell?”
She agreed readily, then asked about her health again. Even she was shocked by her own tenderness and consideration at that moment.
It was as if she would agree to any request the woman before her made. It was as if any discomfort she felt would cause her great concern.
Jiang Yao paused, her expression growing even gentler.
The person curled up in the quilt shook her head, her expression soft and trusting. “I’m not uncomfortable. C-Could you sit down? I want to talk to you.”
Although she said nothing, Jiang Yao’s eyesight was exceptionally sharp. She could see that the thin quilt covering the woman’s body was trembling slightly along with her.
It was clear Jiang Huai had thoroughly terrified her.
Jiang Yao frowned. She first agreed, then had someone bring a chair. Sitting down in front of her, she said in a soothing tone, “Alright. What do you want to talk about? You talk, I’ll listen.”
It had been a long time since she had been so patient with anyone. But for some reason, from the very first moment she saw Song Muyun, her usually cool heart had been inexplicably stirred.
That was why she had absentmindedly reached out to catch her.
Hearing her words, Song Muyun’s ethereal face went blank, unable to react for a moment.
Most of the time she had been with Jiang Yao, it was Jiang Yao who did the talking while she listened…
Now that she was being asked to speak, she truly couldn’t think of anything to say.
As she was lost in thought, a hand closed around her slender wrist, taking the hand that was clutching Jiang Yao’s skirt and tucking it back into the quilt.
The young girl looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and a hint of grievance, as if questioning why Jiang Yao wouldn’t let her hold on anymore.
It was clearly for her own good, yet at that moment, Jiang Yao felt inexplicably guilty, as if she really shouldn’t have done that.
Facing that scrunched-up, beautiful face, Jiang Yao stiffened—a rare reaction for her. She explained, “You’ve caught a chill. I was afraid you’d get cold with your hand exposed. It’s warmer inside the quilt.”
So that was why.
Song Muyun suddenly narrowed her eyes in a smile, seeming to be in a very pleasant mood. Whether or not Jiang Yao liked her now, she was at least concerned about her. That was good enough.
Despite having only been in that other place for a short time, Song Muyun was already unused to sleeping alone. She shifted under the covers and inevitably bumped into that soft, warm object again.
She couldn’t help but look up, her clear eyes meeting Jiang Yao’s. “Is there something in the bed? I keep bumping into it.”
Jiang Yao understood. “I saw that you couldn’t get the bed warm, so I had someone put a bed warmer1 inside. Is it warm enough? If it’s not warm anymore, I’ll have someone replace it for you.”
Song Muyun remembered. Her body had been ruined by the day-after-day torment of her past life, making it difficult for her to ever feel warm. Jiang Yao…
She was just worried about her.
Song Muyun pressed her lips together, a faint smile appearing on her face. A blush inexplicably bloomed on her cheeks as she said in a small voice, “It’s warm. No need to change it.”
“Mm.”
If she said it was warm, then it was warm. Although Jiang Yao was usually boisterous, she wouldn’t do something like stick her hand into a woman’s quilt to feel if her body was hot or not.
Thanks to her old father’s influence, she still had a decent sense of propriety. She just couldn’t figure out how Jiang Huai had turned into such a good-for-nothing.
When Jiang Yao fell silent, Song Muyun didn’t know how to start a conversation either. Her fingers, hidden under the quilt, couldn’t stop rubbing the fine, soft fabric of her inner clothes. It had been so long since she had worn undergarments this comfortable. At that thought, Song Muyun’s body stiffened. Her face paled as if remembering something, and her thin lips trembled as she asked, “My clothes… who changed them for me?”
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as if she would burst into tears the moment Jiang Yao gave an unsatisfactory answer.
Jiang Yao suddenly grew tense. Her back straightened, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the rough texture of the whip at her waist. Her voice was a little faint, lacking confidence, and her eyes darted about. “Ah, that. I changed them for you. And I helped you wash up a bit. If you’re unhappy about it…”
Jiang Yao couldn’t continue. In truth, she didn’t know what she would do if Song Muyun was unhappy.
They were both women, so it hadn’t seemed like a big deal while she was washing her. It was only now, being asked about it, that she felt it was somewhat improper.
Even if they were both women, there was no reason to casually look at another person’s body.
She lowered her head, not daring to look at Song Muyun’s expression. Naturally, she didn’t see how much better the other girl’s face looked the moment she said she was the one who had changed her clothes.
The young girl’s voice was soft and gentle, with no hint of blame. “Oh, so it was you who changed them for me.”
“Mm. I… I just thought wearing wet clothes would be bad for your health. And your clothes were stained with mud, so, ahem, it wasn’t really suitable for getting into bed…”
She had even given her own bed to Song Muyun; of course, she had to be cleaned first!
Song Muyun: …
I already came up with a good reason for you in my head. You really didn’t need to explain.
She pretended not to hear that last part and continued, “As long as it was you, it’s fine. If it was you, I’m not unhappy.”
Jiang Yao’s movements paused. Her eyes were filled with confusion.
What did that mean?
What did she mean, if it was you, I’m not unhappy?
Even if she wasn’t the sharpest, she could understand the implication: if it had been anyone else, she would have been unhappy.
But why? They weren’t even that familiar with each other. And her younger brother… had just bullied her. She should hate her.
Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment. Then she heard Song Muyun ask in an extremely natural tone, “Can you pour me a cup of water? I’m thirsty.”
…
This was… a very strange feeling.
They had seen each other a few times before. The young miss of the Song family was clearly a cold and distant person. In the past, a simple nod was all the greeting she would offer, and she rarely troubled others. Why was she now showing such intimacy, but only towards her?
It was as if they were already very close, like the best of friends.
“Oh.”
Jiang Yao still got up and went over. She touched the water pitcher, frowned slightly, and turned back. “This water is already cold. The medicine will be ready soon, so why don’t you drink that first? I’ll have someone brew you a new pot.”
The words had just left her mouth when the little girl on the bed furrowed her brow. Her voice was coquettish and sounded rather reluctant. “Ah, I have to drink medicine?”
She drew out the last syllable, her watery eyes holding a pitiable shyness.
Jiang Yao stood frozen in place. She had never seen such a delicate woman. From the sound of it, she didn’t want to drink her medicine?
Even her own younger sister would obediently drink her medicine when she was sick. Why was this young miss so disobedient?
Seeing that Jiang Yao wasn’t speaking or trying to coax her, Song Muyun couldn’t help but feel angry, even though she knew this Jiang Yao didn’t know her or like her yet. She muttered under her breath, “Are there any candied fruits? If there aren’t any candied fruits, I’m not drinking it. I won’t drink it no matter what you say.”
Jiang Yao: …
What a strange feeling. What was even stranger was that she wasn’t the least bit angry.
The author has something to say:
Feng Yue: You two are indeed very good “friends.”
Let me just say, although my author page only has Danmei2 and Baihe3, I don’t primarily write Danmei. I primarily write Nüzun4, and occasionally write Yanqing5 for a change of pace. This account was specifically created to write pure love/Chun’ai6 from the top’s perspective/Zhugong7, which includes Danmei or Baihe. I only write these two genres here. There’s no such thing as writing the female lead as if she were a man. The reason I’m trying Baihe is because when I wrote Nüzun, people always complained that my male leads could be swapped with female leads and read as Baihe with no sense of incongruity. Then my best friend, who might have also read my work, thought I was very suited for writing Baihe and kept whispering in my ear, telling me to give it a try, so I did. But whether I’m writing Baihe, Nüzun, or Danmei, I’m very clear in my mind whether the characters I’m writing are male or female… how I structure and describe them is just a personal kink8 of mine. QAQ
Footnotes
- A tangpozi, or ‘soup wife’, is a traditional Chinese bed warmer, typically a ceramic or metal container filled with hot water and wrapped in cloth.
- Danmei is a Chinese genre of fiction focusing on romantic relationships between men, similar to the Japanese ‘Boys’ Love’ (BL) genre.
- Baihe, literally ‘lily’, is a Chinese genre of fiction focusing on romantic relationships between women, similar to the Japanese ‘Yuri’ or ‘Girls’ Love’ (GL) genre.
- Nüzun, literally ‘female reverence’, is a genre of Chinese fiction set in a matriarchal or female-dominant society where gender roles are often reversed.
- Yanqing is a broad genre of Chinese romance fiction, typically focusing on heterosexual relationships.
- Chun’ai, or ‘pure love’, refers to romance stories that focus on emotional connection and typically do not contain explicit content.
- Zhugong, or ‘top/seme perspective’, refers to stories told from the point of view of the dominant partner (the ‘gong’ or ‘seme’) in a romantic pairing.
- The word used here, ‘xingpi’, literally means ‘sexual fetish’ or ‘kink’. In this context, the author is using it in a broader, slang sense to mean a strong personal preference for certain writing styles or character tropes.
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