Little Alpaca – Chapter 23
by Little PandaVolume 1: Little Alpaca
The Qinyuan’s sting, is aimed at the alpaca’s butt.
The afternoon1 sun sprinkled in from the wide-open window, bright and warm.
After the bathtub was moved away by the inn assistant2, Yi Qiu, who had just finished her bath, lay prone in the sunniest spot in the room, her eyes half-closed, quietly sun-drying her damp fleece.
You Yan’s long hair was not tied up. She just sat quietly at the table. Perhaps to pass the time, she had asked the assistant to help buy some things and send them up.
At this moment, with an embroidery hoop in one hand and a needle and thread in the other, who knows what she was embroidering, but in any case, she looked quite serious.
Yi Qiu simply couldn’t believe it. A female devil like You Yan actually knows how to do embroidery?
Isn’t this a pastime that only those well-bred young ladies3 and pretty girls from humble families4 in the human world have the leisure to learn?
That pair of hands that has killed countless people, even if they could really embroider a flower, it would surely be a man-eating flower, right?
Yi Qiu felt that she was understanding You Yan less and less.
You Yan had probably discovered something. Even if she hadn’t yet, she must have noticed that something was not quite right with her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have suddenly said things to her like 「wash your flowery intestines」 and 「your elbow is bending outwards」.
Yi Qiu did not like the You Yan in the novel, and she truly felt that the novel’s ending, which made You Yan the biggest winner, was the most infuriatingly bad one among the countless ways the story could have had a bad ending.
But if she were to speak from her conscience, You Yan truly had not treated her poorly these past few days.
Although the number of times You Yan bullied and frightened her was not few, in all this time, You Yan had never deprived her of a single meal.
What’s more, it wasn’t just once or twice that she had made You Yan angry, but if one excluded the kick she received when she failed at climbing into her bed5, You Yan had never harmed a hair on her head. Not only that, but she had even taught others a lesson for her—
Although the methods were so cruel she didn’t dare to recall them, the feeling of being protected by someone was truly very real.
It was just like…
Like today. She must have aroused You Yan’s suspicion and displeasure at some point, but You Yan didn’t punish her, only gave her a small warning.
Yi Qiu gazed at You Yan thoughtfully, seeing her seriously doing her embroidery, looking very much like the gentle and virtuous well-bred young ladies in novels.
A female devil, must she be black from head to toe?
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but fall into a moment of deep thought.
After being here for so long, it seemed she had never seriously thought about what kind of person You Yan truly was.
Because she didn’t need to think. The original text had written it with perfect clarity; this villain was just that cold-blooded and heartless, with no weaknesses, no soft spots.
She didn’t even have a very clear motive for her actions. Just for the sake of a single phrase, 「interesting」, she played with everything in the palm of her hand, completely indifferent to the suffering of others.
But was You Yan really this kind of person?
Humans are not grass and trees6; even if being fierce and cruel was true, she shouldn’t be severing feelings and scant on righteousness7.
What’s more, after spending so much time together, Yi Qiu increasingly felt that You Yan didn’t seem as bad as she was written in the novel.
It wasn’t just You Yan; even Luo Mingyuan was not quite the same as the male lead in her impression.
In the original text, the male lead in the early stages was just a delicate little white face8 who had taken the female lead’s script9. He was both a waste material and timid, and in his bones, there was a sense of inferiority from being born a demon. He didn’t dare to fight or snatch anything, and when bullied, he would only swallow his grievances. This situation only changed after the revenge plotline began following the murder of his adoptive parents.
Why would a male lead like that chase her for several hundred meters and even tie her up with such force?
If one were to say that You Yan’s change was more or less influenced by her, this unlucky alpaca, then what caused the male lead, who had never had any interaction with her before, to undergo such a change?
【Character disposition.】
The system, which had been quiet for a long time, suddenly made a sound. After a brief moment of shock, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but follow the system’s hint and continue thinking.
Character disposition? With the male lead’s initial personality, shouldn’t he be all weak and fragile, chased all over the place by a grass mud horse?
Could it be that the male lead’s personality is actually different from what was written in the novel? Just like how the novel only ever wrote about You Yan doing bad things, but never wrote that this female devil would also enjoy tea and do embroidery in her leisure time.
It had to be said, even if the novel 《Thin, Withered Branch》 didn’t have a bad ending, it had always been very controversial.
Its comment section was never short of scolding voices, and a lot of the negative ratings were contributed by this male lead.
Putting aside the part where he gradually blackened and became a scumbag after growing up in the mid-to-late stages, just talking about the early stage, many people said this male lead was effeminate and useless except for his face, completely unworthy of the female lead.
This was indeed not false. The male lead was indeed frustratingly useless in the early stages, truly like a girly shou10 in some Danmei novels11, so fragile it seemed he would shatter with a single touch.
At that time, people in the comment section often complained, saying the author had portrayed the male lead as too weak, not at all in line with his true identity.
That was the Son of the Heavenly Emperor, the Sun God Bird, the Three-legged Golden Crow. Even if he underwent tribulations for nine lifetimes and all ended in failure, having already depleted most of the divine blood in his body, he wouldn’t be reincarnated as a coward12 that anyone could bully, right?
If it was truly due to character disposition, then Luo Mingyuan reacting completely differently from in the novel, did that mean there was a discrepancy between the novel and the reality here?
In that case, is this world an independent world, or a world manipulated by the author’s words?
And these characters she had come to know through words, did they truly exist, or were they just string puppets under the author’s pen?
Yi Qiu shook her head. She found that she was completely unable to think this problem through.
And that system, which had once claimed to 「know everything and say everything13」, also suddenly went silent, clearly unable to provide an answer to this.
“Hah, why am I thinking about all this? The main plotline has to proceed. Regardless of whether the characters’ personalities have changed, if I want to change the ending, this elbow will always have to bend outwards. Can I really expect the great villain to abandon evil and turn to good?”
Yi Qiu pouted, stopped her wild thoughts, and just closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight that was scorching for an ordinary human, but for her, an alpaca with spiritual power protecting her body, was very warm.
She dozed off in a daze, and when she opened her eyes again, it was already sunset.
The evening sun on the horizon was exceptionally red, scorching every cloud that drew near.
Yi Qiu squinted her eyes and subconsciously looked towards You Yan. That bird-woman was actually still at the table embroidering. Who knows where she got such leisurely and refined interest.
Hmph, don’t tell me she’s embroidering some scented pouch or sachet14 or something, preparing to give it to 「Luo-dage」 who is more than three thousand years younger than her?
The little alpaca couldn’t help but roll her eyes, turning her head to stop looking, but unexpectedly, her stomach gave two pathetic gurgles.
You Yan’s gaze suddenly turned towards her. She also put away the messy thoughts in her mind, quickly and politely turning her head back to meet You Yan’s gaze, her little head tilted slightly, her somewhat dry tongue subconsciously licking her lips.
“What do you want to eat?” You Yan asked faintly.
Perhaps because she was still holding the embroidery hoop and needle, Yi Qiu actually felt that the You Yan at this moment was extremely gentle, even possessing some of the scholarly and reasonable temperament of a rich family’s young lady.
Seeing that Yi Qiu didn’t answer, You Yan withdrew her gaze again. “Looks like you’re not hungry.”
“Hungry, hungry!” Yi Qiu quickly got up and stood at attention, saying obediently, “I’ll eat whatever Master eats. Whatever Master likes, I like!”
“Quite the sweet-talker,” You Yan said, putting down the needle and thread in her hand. A wooden hairpin15 materialized in her palm, and she casually coiled up her loose black hair, then gathered her skirt and stood up, walking towards the stairs.
The villain sat there embroidering for a whole afternoon, who knows what on earth she embroidered.
Yi Qiu stared blankly at the corner of the cloth hanging down from the side of the table. The curiosity in her heart grew heavier and heavier, so heavy it was about to burst its banks.
Doing embroidery, isn’t it meant to be shown to people once it’s done?
Taking a peek beforehand shouldn’t be a big problem, right?
Yi Qiu stretched her four little short legs on the spot, trotted over to the side of the table, and stretched her neck to glance at You Yan’s unfinished “masterpiece,” and suddenly, her vision went black.
Yi Qiu’s first glance at this 「masterpiece」—ugly, it was truly too ugly.
Yi Qiu’s second glance at this 「masterpiece」—Grass mud horse!
She wasn’t cursing.
You Yan really embroidered a grass mud horse!
It was a crookedly stitched grass mud horse. On the side, there was a hovering thing that wasn’t finished yet, but it looked like a bee’s rear, the kind with a super sharp stinger!
The unfinished part, that’s a Qinyuan bird, right?
You Yan spent a whole afternoon making this ugly thing. She definitely wouldn’t give it to the male lead. So, she was probably trying to express something to her.
The Qinyuan’s sting, was aimed at the alpaca’s butt…
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but start trembling.
Could this mean, if I don’t listen obediently, she’ll sting me to death?
Footnotes
- 日昳 | rì dié | An ancient Chinese term for the time of day when the sun begins to decline in the west, typically around 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
- 店小二 | diàn xiǎo èr | Literally “shop’s little number two.” A common, traditional term for a waiter, attendant, or general helper in an old Chinese inn, teahouse, or restaurant. It is frequently used in historical and wuxia/xianxia stories.
- 大家閨秀 | dà jiā guī xiù | Literally “great family’s boudoir elegance.” A chengyu (four-character idiom) describing a young woman from a prominent, wealthy, or aristocratic family. She is expected to be well-educated, highly refined, virtuous, and skilled in scholarly and artistic pursuits like poetry, painting, and embroidery.
- 小家碧玉 | xiǎo jiā bì yù | Literally “small family’s green jade.” A chengyu (four-character idiom) describing a beautiful and charming young woman from a common or humble background. It contrasts with the aristocratic “dàjiā guīxiù” and emphasizes natural beauty and charm over noble pedigree.
- 爬床 | pá chuáng | Literally “climb the bed.” A term describing the act of attempting to seduce someone, usually of a higher status or power, by secretly getting into their bed at night. This is often done with the goal of gaining favor, power, a relationship, or other benefits.
- 人非草木 | rén fēi cǎo mù | Literally “humans are not grass and trees.” This is the first half of a famous idiom, 人非草木，孰能无情 (rén fēi cǎo mù, shú néng wú qíng), which means “Humans have feelings, unlike inanimate plants; how can one be without emotion?” It is used to express that it is natural for people to have emotional reactions.
- 絕情寡義 | jué qíng guǎ yì | Literally “severing feelings and scant on righteousness.” A chengyu (four-character idiom) describing someone who is ruthless, unfeeling, and disloyal, lacking basic human compassion, empathy, and gratitude.
- 小白臉 | xiǎo bái liǎn | Literally “little white face.” A derogatory term for a handsome young man who is perceived as effeminate, weak, or talentless. It often implies he relies on a wealthier or more powerful partner (typically a woman) for financial support, similar to a “kept man” or “pretty boy.”
- 女主劇本 | nǚ zhǔ jù běn | Literally “female lead’s script.” A modern Chinese web novel slang term. It refers to a character, often male, who exhibits the tropes and plot devices typically associated with a female protagonist in a story, such as being physically weak, emotionally vulnerable, frequently in need of rescue, and being the target of unwanted attention.
- 娘受 | niáng shòu | A slang term from Chinese Danmei (BL) fandom. “娘” (niáng) means “girly” or “effeminate.” “受” (shòu) is the term for the receptive or “bottom” partner in a same-sex male relationship (equivalent to the Japanese “uke”). The term describes a bottom character who exhibits stereotypically feminine traits and is often portrayed as delicate or weak.
- 耽美文 | dān měi wén | Literally “indulging in beauty literature.” This is the Chinese term for the “Boys’ Love” (BL) genre of fiction, which focuses on romantic relationships between male characters. It is derived from the Japanese term “tanbi” (耽美).
- 孬種 | nāo zhǒng | A derogatory slang term meaning “coward,” “wimp,” or “good-for-nothing.” It is a strong insult questioning someone’s courage and character.
- 知無不言，言無不盡 | zhī wú bù yán, yán wú bù jìn | A chengyu (four-character idiom) that means to tell someone absolutely everything you know, holding nothing back. It describes a promise of complete and total honesty.
- 荷包香囊 | hé bāo xiāng náng | “Hébao” are pouches or small purses for carrying items, while “xiāngnáng” are fragrant sachets filled with herbs and spices. Both were common accessories in ancient China, often intricately embroidered and sometimes given as tokens of affection.
- 木釵 | mù chāi | A hairpin made of wood. A “chāi” (釵) is a traditional Chinese hairpin, often with two prongs, used to hold a woman’s hair in a bun or updo. The material (wood, jade, gold, silver) and craftsmanship could indicate the wearer’s social status.
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