Little Alpaca – Chapter 116

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

Can I hold you while I sleep?

Everyone says, mountains and rivers are easy to change, but a person’s basic nature is hard to alter.¹

What’s the big difference between a 500-year-old bird woman and a 3,000-year-old bird woman?

The bird girl usually looked harmless to humans and animals, but when she got domineering, she wasn’t the least bit inferior to that bird woman!

And for a domineering bird to lift an alpaca from the floor to the bed, it only took three seconds.

Three seconds later, the little alpaca was already lying on the bed. She hadn’t bathed, nor had she washed her feet. Her body was more or less stained with some mud and grass, and in an instant, she had dirtied the bed.

However, at this very moment, no one cared about such a trivial matter.

The little alpaca’s round, glistening eyes were full of displeasure. She instantly stretched out her neck and glared fiercely at You Yan.

You Yan tilted her head, looking back at the little alpaca’s gaze, at a loss. Her slender eyes held a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

“Are you angry? Yi Qiu…” You Yan asked softly, reaching out to wrap her arms around Yi Qiu’s neck. “Why are you angry? Is it because of that dream? That was just a dream. I wouldn’t even have time to protect you, how could I possibly kick you?”

“…” The little alpaca bared her teeth.

*That wasn’t a dream at all. *This* is the “dream”.*

The real bird woman would never allow a little alpaca on the bed. She would only kick the little alpaca and then say coldly, “There’s no place for you.”

Or, she would look at her sitting on the bed with a half-smile², and ask faintly, “Are you getting down yourself, or do I have to kick you down?”

A person lives a lifetime, not to steam mantou, but to fight for a breath of dignity.³

Anything else was negotiable, but this bed—if there’s a bird, there’s no alpaca; if there’s an alpaca, there’s no bird!

“I don’t care, I want to sleep by myself,” the little alpaca said, gritting her teeth. “This bed is too small. I’m a restless sleeper. I kick and I roll around. I don’t want to sleep squeezed together with you!”

As Yi Qiu spoke, she twisted her neck, trying to break free from You Yan’s hands that were wrapped around her nape and return to the floor where she belonged.

Just then, You Yan frowned and said softly, “Then, then wait a moment…”

As she spoke, she forcefully dragged the reluctant little alpaca toward the middle of the bed. Seeing that she wouldn’t fall off, she then stood up, took a few steps around to the foot of the bed, and jumped off with her bare feet.

“What are you doing?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but be bewildered.

You Yan was seen tiptoeing, jogging all the way to a small chest, and taking out a few tattered coarse cloth dresses from inside. She then ran back to the bedside in a few steps and laid them out on the floor one by one.

Yi Qiu was stunned for a moment, and the sudden burst of anger in her heart dissipated quite a bit.

You Yan was making a floor bed for the little alpaca.

In this house, there was probably nothing softer than those tattered clothes. After all, even the bedding on the bed was ragged, and one could tell at a glance that they couldn’t produce a second set.

Although they were just some tattered clothes, if several layers were laid down, it wouldn’t be too hard or too cold.

Today was my oversight, so I can only make do like this for one night. When tomorrow comes, I’ll bring back the hay and the bedsheet from the tree hollow, and then I’ll be able to sleep a bit more comfortably.

The little alpaca was thinking this in her heart. When she came back to her senses, the floor bed had already been made by You Yan. She pouted, and just as she was about to jump off the bed, she saw You Yan lie down on it herself.

Yi Qiu was instantly dumbfounded.

What is this situation? Did I drive You Yan off the bed?

“You… you’re just going to sleep on the floor?”

“It’s fine. It’s only for one night today. I’ll just make do and it’ll pass,” You Yan said, looking up at the dumbfounded-looking⁴ little alpaca on the bed. “When tomorrow comes, I’ll go gather some hay and bring it back.”

“What I mean is, you… you should come back up. I’m quite used to sleeping on the floor,” Yi Qiu said in a small voice.

“No way!” You Yan frowned, sat up, and rested her hands on the edge of the bed. Looking into the little alpaca’s eyes, she said seriously, “Since I brought you home, there’s absolutely no way I’m letting you suffer!”

“But…”

“Yi Qiu, I’ve said it before, I will be good to you, so I must give you all the good things!” You Yan’s tone was extremely firm, allowing no room for doubt.

Yi Qiu was at a loss for words for a moment and just stared blankly at You Yan for a long time.

They looked at each other for a moment. You Yan’s brows curved into a smile, and she said “Good night” to her, then lay back down on the cold, hard floor.

The little alpaca lay on the bed in a daze for a long time. She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep, but couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

In this world, what kind of logic is there where the guest sleeps on the bed while the host makes a bed on the floor?

Besides, she couldn’t even be considered a guest. At most, she was just an alpaca.

Taking out her grudge against the bird woman on the 500-year-old little You Yan like this, doesn’t that seem too petty?

The more Yi Qiu thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. For a while, she tossed and turned on the bed, rolling back and forth for a good while as if she had taken the wrong medicine.

As she was rolling around, she opened her eyes and subconsciously glanced at You Yan sleeping at the foot of the bed.

The weather couldn’t be considered cold, yet the young girl was curled up, hugging herself, as if she had absolutely no sense of security.

She had said that if she wasn’t sleeping against a wall, she couldn’t really fall asleep… Is it because she has nothing to lean on?

Thinking this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but shift toward the wall, leaning against it, using her own body to feel that icy coldness of being pressed tightly against it.

In the end, it was still very difficult for her to feel true empathy for something she had never experienced herself.

But she knew she couldn’t, or at least she shouldn’t, let that trace of willfulness cause her to treat someone who was so good to her like this.

“You Yan,” Yi Qiu softly called the young girl’s name.

“Hm?” The young girl responded instantly.

As expected, neither of them was asleep.

“You… you should still come up,” Yi Qiu said, patting the empty half of the bed with her little hoof. With her head lowered and a guilty conscience, she said, “I’m actually a very still sleeper. The things I said just now were… were just words said in anger. I shouldn’t have taken out the anger from my dream on you… The floor is very cold, don’t sleep on the floor.”

“Ah?” You Yan stared blankly, taking a good while to come back to her senses.

The moment she came to, the corners of her mouth lifted. She sprang up from the floor, happily climbed onto the bed, and reached out as if wanting to rub the little alpaca in front of her, but in the end, she hesitated and lay down flat.

In the dim light, You Yan and the little alpaca were close enough to touch, yet they maintained a certain distance, and she lay very stiffly.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but think that You Yan was probably frightened by her reaction just now. She had never thought that acting this way would scare You Yan; after all, in the past, this was how she always threw a tantrum with that bird woman.

It seems this kind of little girl who hasn’t grown up still needs a lot of coaxing.

After a brief silence, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but lean a little closer to You Yan, gently rubbing her fluffy coat against the reserved young girl.

At that moment, as if she had received some kind of signal, You Yan instantly reversed her motion and pulled the little alpaca into her arms, unable to stop letting out a snickering laugh of delight.

“Yi Qiu, I thought you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

“How could I…”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why you got angry, but when you got angry, I was so scared…” You Yan said, burying her forehead in the little alpaca’s fluffy neck and nuzzling it happily like a child. “Don’t ignore me.”

“I won’t ignore you,” Yi Qiu replied, subconsciously asking, “Do you still want to sleep by the wall? I can switch places with you.”

“Can I hold you while I sleep?”

“I guess so…” Yi Qiu replied.

Although sleeping like this felt very awkward, when coaxing a little girl, one has to go along with her wishes.

“Then let’s not switch,” You Yan said, closing her eyes in contentment.

That night, she held the little alpaca the whole time, as if she wished she could press her entire body against that fluffy, soft little form.

At first, Yi Qiu wasn’t very used to this feeling of being held while sleeping. Even though You Yan’s body was very cold, she still felt a little hot and bothered.

But slowly, sleepiness crept into her eyes bit by bit, and she too fell soundly asleep.

The next day, when she woke from her dream, You Yan was no longer in bed. The pile of clothes on the floor from last night had also been put back into the chest.

She opened her mouth and yawned, stretching her four limbs forcefully on the bed. Then, using her little hooves, she pushed the mud and grass she had brought onto the bed last night off, bit by bit.

Just then, You Yan walked into the room carrying breakfast.

“You’re awake! What a coincidence, breakfast is just ready, and it’s still hot!” You Yan said, seemingly unconsciously kicking the door behind her shut.

Seeing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” of laughter, instantly drawing You Yan’s bewildered gaze.

“Hm?”

“The way you close the door, you look just like an alpaca,” Yi Qiu said, standing up from the bed. She lifted a hind leg and, as if performing, kicked the wall behind her a few times.

You Yan opened her mouth, and after a good while, her eyes crinkled as she laughed out loud, “Come and eat.”

Yi Qiu nodded, hopped down from the bed, and walked over to the table in a few steps. She looked up at today’s breakfast and asked, “Has Uncle eaten?”

“I just sent some to him,” You Yan said, sitting down beside Yi Qiu. She stroked Yi Qiu’s head, her eyes filled with a smile.

“Did something happy happen today?” Yi Qiu asked, opening her mouth to eat a spoonful of congee fed to her by You Yan.

You Yan thought for a moment, then answered seriously, “Yes.”

“What is it?” Yi Qiu asked curiously.

“Today, the moment I opened my eyes, I saw you,” You Yan said, breaking off a piece of a meat patty and feeding it into Yi Qiu’s mouth. She smiled, “And then I thought, for every day from now on, the last thing I see before I close my eyes will be you, and the first thing I see after I open them will also be you——thinking of this makes me so happy. It feels like… I’m not alone anymore.”

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

This bird girl, did she take an advanced course in cheesy pickup lines⁵ somewhere?

A bird saying this to an alpaca, doesn’t she find that strange at all?

“What are you laughing at?”

“It’s just, it’s just… what you said sounds kind of funny.”

“How is it funny?”

“Don’t you think it sounds like something only lovers would say to each other?”

“Huh?” You Yan frowned, as if finding it hard to understand.

That makes sense. Five hundred years old, for a yaomo⁶, is merely the age of reaching adulthood. For a human, that’s only fifteen or sixteen. She really doesn’t know much about the world.

“You’re still young, you don’t quite understand,” the little alpaca said, subconsciously glancing out the window. “How should I put this… words like that, if your dad said them to your mom, that would be very appropriate. But for you to say them to me, it’s not quite appropriate.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re husband and wife. They love each other deeply. Their relationship has reached that stage!” Yi Qiu said, turning back to take another bite of the patty, her words muffled. “But we are just friends. We can’t talk about ‘every day from now on’.” At least, when the bird woman comes back, I’ll just be kicked off the bed again.

You Yan was stunned for a moment. First, she blinked, then she pursed her lips.

Finally, she lifted her greasy fingers, cupped the little alpaca’s fluffy head with her wrists, leaned in close to Yi Qiu, and said seriously, “Then I don’t want to be friends with you anymore!”

“Huh?”

“Let’s be husband and wife too, okay?”

“…”

The little alpaca swallowed the breakfast in her mouth, took a moment to calm her racing heart, and only then did she gently press her forehead against You Yan’s.

This little bird, she lay on the floor for so long last night. She couldn’t have caught a fever, could she?

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