Accidentally Marking The Vicious Female Lead After Transmigrating Into A Period Novel - Chapter 5

Li Yan immediately sat up straight.

But a moment later, she snapped out of it.

Wait a minute, why was she being so obedient?

It had been like this since they were at the village entrance somehow, she instinctively followed the other woman’s lead whenever she spoke.

For instance, when she was told to turn around and carry her or now, when she was told to sit down and talk.

She felt like a well-behaved dog (?).

Bah! What am I thinking! Why settle for being a dog when she could be a human being?

Li Yan quickly gathered her thoughts. It had to be the guilt talking. Theoretically speaking… cough… she was the one who hadn’t controlled herself. Any person with a shred of morality would feel this kind of guilt. Yes, that was definitely it.

Li Yan kept hypnotizing herself mentally, then looked up, pretending to be calm as she met the other woman’s gaze.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, trying to sound natural.

To be honest, she could already guess. Since “it” had already happened, she had to take responsibility. Even if she wasn’t fully prepared, it wasn’t an excuse to back out.

Following her instinct, she continued, “Don’t worry, as soon as my mom and grandma get back from work, I’ll tell them…”

But before she could finish, the words died in her throat.

“Please don’t tell a third person about our situation for now. I believe this is a matter of privacy for both of us,” the woman opposite her interrupted, her face almost expressionless.

Li Yan’s unfinished sentence felt stuck in her windpipe. Her face turned beet red. After a long pause, she finally managed to ask, “But… didn’t you ask me to take responsibility earlier?”

Did I run into a heartbreaker?!

No way. That would make her look so pathetic and gullible! Actually, picking up a wife out of nowhere wasn’t… entirely unacceptable (she fidgeted with her fingers).

Lin Yishu glanced at her, her tone unhurried. “You still have to take responsibility, of course. I just hope you don’t mention it to the outside world for the time being. Can you understand that?”

Li Yan thought about it and realized there were actually many benefits to this approach. It would give her family a buffer period and give the two of them a chance to… well, you know. It was better to build a foundation of feelings before getting married. If they rushed into it and didn’t end up loving each other, wouldn’t that ruin both their lives?

With that thought, she nodded quickly. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. To everyone else, I’ll just say you’re my classmate.”

Lin Yishu nodded. She then extended her hand, palm facing up, gesturing toward Li Yan.

Li Yan was still lost in their conversation, so her brain short circuited for a second. After a momentary daze, she tentatively reached out her own hand, palm facing down.

Does she have the same idea as me? Keeping it a secret to cultivate our feelings first?

But holding hands right off the bat… isn’t that a bit much?

While her mind was coyly saying “no,” she still let her large hand overlap with the other woman’s.

Smack!

A crisp sound shattered the romantic atmosphere she was imagining.

Lin Yishu’s cheeks were flushed. She curled her burning fingertips and pulled back quickly. “What are you doing?”

She looked furious, but no one knew that the hands she hid behind her back were hot enough to catch fire. “Why are you touching my hand? Have you no shame!”

Li Yan was stunned by the slap. She replied earnestly, “Weren’t you reaching out to hold hands?”

Lin Yishu felt like her face was being scorched by a flame. She snapped fiercely, “Who wanted to hold your hand! I was telling you to give me the candy!”

Li Yan: “……”

Finally realizing her “frivolous” behavior, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

“Oh, the candy. Right, the candy. Here, take it all.” She dumped all the candies onto the table in front of Lin Yishu. Unable to sit there a second longer, she grabbed the meat and bolted into the kitchen.

Li Yan dawdled in the kitchen for a long time. When she finally walked back out, she saw a head resting on the table.

Lin Yishu’s tense nerves seemed to have finally relaxed. Her back was curved into an arc, leaning her entire upper body against the table. Her arms were folded across her chest in a comfortable position, with one cheek buried in the middle while the other side was exposed.

When Li Yan came out, this was the side she saw.

Lin Yishu’s eyes were tightly shut. Her long, curled eyelashes cast faint shadows on her eyelids. Her breathing was shallow and even, making her look incredibly peaceful and quiet.

Beyond that, she looked somewhat… well-behaved.

Perhaps this was how she truly was. It was only the hardships of the journey and the malice she had encountered that forced her to stay on guard, causing her to speak with thorns now and then.

The more Li Yan thought about it, the more certain she became of this theory. She even felt a pang of pity. Someone who is too tired to even go to bed and just naps at the table… even if she has a bit of a temper, how bad can she be?

Forget it. I have a good temper anyway; I’ll just give in to her more in the future.

Li Yan softened her footsteps and walked to the table. Originally planning to pick her up, she pulled her hand back just as it was about to touch the other woman’s shoulder. Instead, she reached out a finger and poked her gently.

Lin Yishu didn’t react.

Li Yan pressed a bit harder and whispered, “Lin Yishu, wake up. Go sleep in the bed.”

Lin Yishu’s eyes remained shut. She had no intention of opening them. Feeling someone disturbing her, she impatiently lifted her wrist and rotated it a few times. “Mm, don’t move… so sleepy… want to sleep.”

Seeing how she only moved her wrist without even bothering to lift her arm, Li Yan couldn’t help but chuckle. After a while, she said softly as if giving a warning, “I’m going to carry you then. I’ve told you in advance, so you can’t blame me when you wake up.”

Seeing no reaction from the sleeping woman, she leaned down, hooking one arm under her armpit and the other under her legs.

Amitabha, form is emptiness, emptiness is form, saving a life is better than building a seven-storied pagoda…

Lin Yishu must have been truly exhausted. Even when she was placed steadily onto the kang (heated brick bed), she showed no signs of waking.

Li Yan let out a long sigh of relief. That moment just now was more nerve wracking than the first time she held a slaughterhouse knife.

Perhaps because the fire under the kang hadn’t completely gone out, once she covered the other woman with a quilt, the warmth began to seep into her own legs. Li Yan felt a wave of drowsiness hit her brain instantly.

She simply arranged a pillow for herself, pulled a quilt over her body, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up again, the room was filled with the aroma of meat.

Her consciousness returned alongside a ravenous stomach. Li Yan rubbed her growling belly and instinctively looked to the side.

The kang was empty except for herself. The quilt and pillow were neatly folded and placed aside. She sprang up instantly.

What’s going on? Was it all a hallucination? Was I just imagining things?

Anxious, she climbed off the kang and threw on her shoes. She stepped through the doorway and froze when she saw the person sitting on a stool in the main room.

“Sis, you’re finally awake? I was just about to go call you.”

Li Can spoke as she looked over. The girl sitting next to her also turned her head. Those clear eyes met Li Yan’s. Perhaps because she had been chatting pleasantly with Li Can, the corners of her lips were slightly upturned, making her look much more peaceful than Li Yan remembered.

“You’re awake?” she asked with a smile.

Li Yan felt as if she had committed a crime, her heart was racing. She tried her best to stay composed and look natural. “Yeah.”

Lin Yishu frowned slightly, wondering why this person seemed colder after a nap.

Li Can didn’t notice anything. She turned back to the person standing in the doorway. “Perfect timing, sis. Dinner’s almost ready. Mom stir-fried some of that meat you brought back. Dinner’s going to be delicious today!”

Dinner? Is it already dinner time?

Li Yan leaned down to look out the glass window. Sure enough, it was getting dark outside. It was indeed evening.

She was amazed. She had actually slept through the entire day? Usually, when she came back from a night shift, she would wake up around noon for lunch. This was the first time she had slept so soundly. She hadn’t even noticed when her family came home.

Well, I did work thirty some hours straight. It makes sense to be this tired.

Li Yan’s mind was filled with work related exhaustion, completely ignoring the fact that pheromone release played a part.

On the other side, Li Can had already turned her attention back, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Yishu-jie, keep going! What else is in the zoo? Are there monkeys? Gorillas? Zebras?”

Li Chunmei came out carrying a large bowl of braised pork with vermicelli. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but scold her younger daughter, “If you want to know, go see it yourself when you’re older. Stop pestering Yishu with questions.”

Li Can opened her mouth to speak.

But Li Chunmei cut her off again. “Alright, get the chopsticks and eat. Pigs are animals too. Looking at the pigs here is basically the same as going to the zoo.”

Li Can was left speechless by her mother. Mumbling under her breath, she went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks.

Just as Lin Yishu was about to stand up, Li Chunmei pressed her back down, saying kindly, “Just sit. There are enough people in this house, we don’t need you to work. Just eat more and get your strength back, and I’ll be satisfied. No need for you to do chores!”

She wasn’t just being polite, she meant it. Lin Yishu could feel it.

Can someone really give such unconditional kindness to a stranger?

In her daze, someone placed chopsticks in her hand. Lin Yishu turned to see Li Yan sitting next to her with a grin. “Thanks to you, our Ms. Li Chunmei is treating today like it’s already Lunar New Year.”

Xu Xiufen, coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of large steamed buns, laughed at the remark before tightening her expression. “You kid, stop teasing your mother.”

Li Can took a bite of a white flour bun and a mouthful of pork, speaking with her mouth full, “Sis is right, Grandma. Even though my sister works at the slaughterhouse, we only get to eat pork during the New Year. Mom is too stingy!”

Li Chunmei aimed a slap at her forehead. “Eating can’t even shut your mouth!”

Li Can dodged the sneak attack. “Hehe, missed me~”

Before she could celebrate for two seconds, she cried out “Ow!” and clutched her leg, protesting angrily, “Mom, how could you? Why did you switch targets for a sneak attack?”

Li Chunmei stood with her hands on her hips, looking down with mock disdain. “I’m teaching you a lesson: your mom will always be your mom!”

The whole house, three generations burst into laughter.

Lin Yishu stared blankly at the warm, harmonious scene. Her heart began to beat at a strange, rapid frequency.

She made up her mind. She had to find a way to stay in this family.