Chapter 13: Teasing Fails

“Why are you here!”
Mianbao quickly washed up and returned to her room, only to discover in horror that Xixi, who was supposed to be her roommate, was nowhere to be found.
The person lying on the bed opposite hers had become the troupe’s newest and only male compatriot—Hu Qingyu.

“Uh…” Seeing Mianbao’s very light sleepwear, Hu Qingyu blushed and looked up at the ceiling.
“Because the place where I was recuperating was cleared out from a storage carriage.
Now, Old Lady Kunta has switched me with the little girl named Xixi.
She said to have me room with someone who joined earlier.
And Xixi has gone to the carriage at the back to sleep with the girl, uh… Miss Maritansi.
But Miss Mianbao, rest assured, I will absolutely not overstep my bounds in the slightest…”

“I see.” Mianbao hopped onto her bed with both feet and sighed deeply.
Although there was nothing wrong with rooming with Hu Qingyu, it was still a step down from being with a youthful and cute girl.

After all, if you’re a “male,” even if only in spirit, would you rather sleep with a cute girl or a handsome guy?

“Hey, what are you doing? Is the ceiling that interesting?” Mianbao felt this person was really strange.

Hu Qingyu shook his head firmly.
He still wasn’t used to the local custom of wearing such thin clothing.
“Miss Mianbao, um… could I request that you put on another piece of clothing?”

Mianbao’s small mouth opened slightly, and she looked down at herself.
Uh… the nightgown she was currently wearing did seem quite risqué.
It was low-cut, a short skirt… but Mianbao had to admit, girls’ clothes were really… so comfortable.

“Ohoho…” A strange smile appeared on Mianbao’s face.
Seeing Hu Qingyu’s embarrassment, which was exactly like her own when she was a man seeing a sexy beauty, Mianbao suddenly didn’t mind using her current female body to tease him a little.

Hu Qingyu was looking up at the ceiling when suddenly, someone hugged his arm.
A soft mass enveloped his bicep, and at the same time, the fresh scent she had on her when she rescued him entered his nose.

“Ooh… Mr. Fox, you’re so tall✩~” Mianbao said, recalling the way her mother would act coquettishly towards her father.
She pressed half her body’s weight onto Hu Qingyu and spoke in a strange, singsong voice.

Mianbao’s height of one meter and seventy-two centimeters had been retained even after becoming a girl, which made her stand out among the girls of the Kunta Song and Dance Troupe.
Of course, her looks were also a factor.

However, in front of Hu Qingyu, Mianbao was still shorter by nearly half a head.

“!” Hu Qingyu trembled in shock at Mianbao’s actions.
“Miss Mianbao, this…”

“Mr. Fox is a newcomer. Why don’t you let me keep you company~” Mianbao said with a grin.
In her heart, she was already disgusted with herself to no end.

“Whaaaa!” Mr. Fox suddenly made a move.
He grabbed Mianbao’s hands, pressed her down onto the bed, and tapped a few spots on her body with his fingers.

This position, with the man on top of the woman, made Mianbao start to panic.
‘Did I take the joke too far!?’

“Wh-wh-what are you doing?!” Mianbao wanted to struggle.
“Why can’t my body move!?”

Hu Qingyu got off Mianbao.
“Miss Mianbao, why are you so frivolous with yourself?
This one… I have used acupressure to seal your acupoints, leaving you unable to move for half a shichen¹… an hour.”

At the same time, Hu Qingyu pulled off his own outer coat and covered Mianbao with it.
“If Miss Mianbao continues like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.
Because I have never considered myself a good person.”

“I know!” Mianbao shouted, explaining herself.
“I was just joking with you, it’s not like I was really trying to seduce you. I’m disgusted with myself for doing this, hey!”

Now that Mianbao was covered by Hu Qingyu’s coat, there was nothing for him to avoid anymore.
He stared at Mianbao’s delicate and pretty face and said, “Really?”

“Really! Hurry up and release this whatever-point-thingy!” Mianbao continued to shout.

“Understood.” Hu Qingyu nodded.
He touched the same spots on Mianbao’s body with two fingers and then retreated several steps.

Mianbao shot up, but unfortunately, she hadn’t regained her balance yet and fell forward again.

“Whoa!”

“Big Sister Mian…” Xixi pushed the door open.

Her eyes, wide with surprise and turning into two black-rimmed white circles, saw such a scene:

Hu Qingyu was lying on the ground, and Mianbao was sprawled entirely on his broad chest.

“Big Sister Mianbao…” Xixi grinned.
“I won’t disturb you then. Hehehehe.” With that, she closed the door.

“Crap!” Mianbao leaped up with the speed of lightning, wanting to chase after her, but on second thought, she decided against it.

She hoped Xixi wouldn’t go around spreading this.
Otherwise, her good name would be ruined.

“Miss Mianbao…” Hu Qingyu also got up.

“Aaaaaah, how could I be so stupid!” Mianbao collapsed on the floor with a long face.
Her attempt to tease Hu Qingyu just now was utterly idiotic.
Not only was she easily countered by him, but she had also stupidly fallen on him.
The most, most, most embarrassing part was being seen by that little lass, Xixi.

This was a bloody disaster.

“You realize how stupid you are now?” Hu Qingyu walked up to Mianbao and held out a hand.

“None of your business.” Mianbao refused Hu Qingyu’s kindness and stood up on her own, curling up in her quilt with her back to him, intending to sleep.

“Then,” Hu Qingyu also sat on his own bed, “Goodnight, Miss Mianbao.”

Miss…

After spending a few days with the girls, Mianbao felt more and more like a real girl.
After being properly “trained” by the teachers in the troupe, her behavior and mannerisms were becoming more and more feminine.

Her dignity as a man… Mianbao felt it was slipping further and further away…

“Damn it! I’m clearly a man! Although my eighteenth birthday is in a few days…” Mianbao buried her head in the quilt and muttered under her breath.

That’s right, in three more days, it would be Mianbao’s birthday.

Hu Qingyu sat cross-legged on his bed, with no intention of sleeping just yet.
The cultivation of his internal energy was his mandatory nightly lesson.
Even after arriving in another world, he had maintained this habit.

‘The cultivation speed of the “Tianming Jue” is actually several times faster than before… And there are other things… magic and battle aura?’

Hu Qingyu closed his eyes.
A black and purple aura swirled around him, slowly transforming into a bizarre shadow as it spun.

That shadow had a pair of vicious, blood-red vertical pupils, like those of a snake or scorpion.

¹Shichen: An old Chinese unit of time equal to two hours. He corrects himself to a modern hour.