The Female Lead Is A Supporting Female Character - Chapter 5

“Sister, what exactly do you see in him?”

The bathhouse was thick with swirling steam. Fushuang rested her sword on the wooden rack. With a gentle flick of her slender fingers, her outer robe slid down like water. Beneath the veil of her jet-black hair, a delicate, jade-white shoulder was partially revealed.

Fushuang stepped barefoot into the water, letting out a soft sigh as she submerged herself.

After a long, exhausting day out in the wind and frost, soaking in hot water was indeed a luxury. Her gaze swept inconspicuously over the nearby glazed stand, which held rose petals, fresh milk, and other sundries.

The lifestyle of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was truly extravagant. Ming Ye certainly doted on this daughter of his, giving her the absolute best of everything, terrified she might experience even the slightest discomfort in her daily life.

Milk that poor families couldn’t even afford to drink was used by this pampered young lady for bathing.

Fushuang lowered her eyes and let out a silent, mocking sneer. She raised her hand and poured the entire contents of the glazed vessel into the tub.

Those “poor families,” of course, included her. She was born an orphan, without parents, without a soul to rely on or shelter her. Not only could she not afford it, but before the age of ten, she hadn’t even seen such a thing.

You see, in this world, the gap between people is just that vast; there is no sense to be made of it.

Some are born with everything yet remain insatiably greedy. Having had everything since childhood, they naturally feel that everything should be theirs. Fushuang recalled Ming Yuemian’s posture and expression in her previous life, standing before her with such a high and mighty attitude, so bright and beautiful, yet possessing a face that was utterly loathsome.

Back then, she never smiled at her. Even in front of Feng Cheng, where she couldn’t let her hostility be too obvious, she merely hid her disgust and rolled her eyes behind her back. She never, ever smiled at Fushuang.

Fushuang stared in silence at the surface of the water, which had turned milky white from the infusion.

A young lady raised in such pampered luxury would never hide her emotions. If she didn’t want to do something, no one could make her act against her will.

So, what exactly was she trying to do now?

Fushuang rose, wiped the water droplets from her body with a cloth, put her outer robe back on, and picked up her sword to head toward Ming Yuemian’s bedroom.

She wanted to see what tricks this little girl was playing, what medicine she was brewing in that gourd of hers.

When Fushuang pushed the door open, Ming Yuemian was already leaning against the couch, half-asleep.

When she had heard Fushuang say those words earlier, she had instinctively frozen, but on the walk back, she had figured out what she meant.

She was showing off, right? Saying that on purpose to provoke her? A challenge?

Is that it? Is that all?? What’s there to be envious of regarding a secret tryst with that scumbag?! The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is full of flowers and grass, what’s so good about wandering around outside under that blazing sun? You’ll get bitten by hundreds of mosquitoes and end up several shades darker, there’s no sunscreen in this cultivation world!

She wasn’t angry at all…

Dammit!

Okay, she was a little bit.

But not because she was jealous of her date with the scumbag, she was jealous that the scumbag got to go on a date with a beautiful older sister.

“I want to snuggle with the pretty sister too!” Ming Yuemian roared in her heart. “This rebellious daughter is so unfilial! Mom is going to die of anger!”

She acted like a pufferfish for a while, getting angrier the more she thought about it. Originally, she had leaned against the headboard to wait for Fushuang to return, but in her agitation, she had dizzily drifted off to sleep.

Ming Yuemian was in a semi-conscious state when something cool suddenly splashed onto her face. The chill made her flinch, and she instantly snapped her eyes open.

“Is it raining?” she blurted out, only realizing a moment later how silly that sounded.

Even if it were raining, she was inside a room, rain couldn’t possibly fall on her face.

Those cool water droplets were clearly dripping from the damp ends of Fushuang’s freshly washed hair.

Their eyes met. Ming Yuemian let out an “er,” looking at the snowy-white arm draped near her, and asked, “Sister, what are you doing?”

Fushuang had thought she was asleep and had intended to reach over her to extinguish the lamp at the head of the bed. She hadn’t expected Ming Yuemian to suddenly open her eyes. She froze mid-motion, stuck in a rather awkward position.

“Nothing.” Fushuang withdrew her hand as if nothing had happened, blew out the light, and lay down on the bed fully clothed.

There was a lamp on each side of the bed. Fushuang only extinguished the one on her side. A flicker of orange candle flame remained in the room, dim and heavy, like a small hole burned into the darkness. The flickering flame was just enough to illuminate the two of them.

Ming Yuemian paused for a moment before saying, “Sister, your hair isn’t dry yet.”

Fushuang didn’t speak. She had already closed her eyes, looking like she had no intention of responding.

Rebellious daughter! Ming Yuemian thought. For the sake of your good looks, Mom will reluctantly forgive you just this once!

Fushuang was ready to sleep when she suddenly felt a force gently tugging at her scalp. It was a tingly, itchy, and strange sensation. She snapped her eyes open to see Ming Yuemian holding her long hair, drying it with a clean towel.

“Sister, you have to dry your hair before you sleep, or you’ll get sick.”

In the dim light, the girl in red crinkled her eyes at her in a smile. Fushuang was stunned.

Ming Yuemian’s red clothes, illuminated by the warm glow of the candlelight, were no longer so fiercely brilliant, the hue had become much gentler, though still strikingly vibrant. Because she was about to sleep, her collar was slightly lower, revealing snowy, soft skin. Having just bathed, she felt warm and carried a faint, lingering fragrance.

No one had ever dried Fushuang’s hair before.

Moreover, no one had ever used such a gentle, intimate tone to tell her that not drying her hair would make her sick.

She had had no parents or siblings since childhood, no one had ever cared for her like this. She had always been alone, accustomed to coming and going as she pleased.

“It’s not necessary.”

On one hand, she felt uneasy, on the other, alarm bells were ringing in her heart. What is she trying to pull?

A sugar coated bullet?

Is she trying the soft approach because the hard one didn’t work?

Does she want to make me soft-hearted and guilty so I’ll voluntarily give Feng Cheng to her?

Impossible.

She no longer loved Feng Cheng, but she had no intention of letting this wicked woman have her way.

“No, no.” Ming Yuemian raised her hand, preventing her from stopping the process. “It must be dried.”

Though Fushuang found it incredibly strange, she couldn’t repeatedly refuse, so she lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Ming Yuemian happily dried her hair, catching the scent of her tresses. It was the faint, sparse fragrance of plum blossoms, now seemingly mixed with a hint of sweet, waxy milk.

Woo woo woo… Ming Yuemian thought. Daughter is so pretty, Sister smells so good. Fragrant and soft, I want to hug her! No, I have to hold back, otherwise I’ll be treated like a handsy hooligan… I’m not like those stinky men!

After drying the hair, the two of them lay down. The last candle was extinguished, and the room fell into dark silence. Just as Fushuang thought she could finally sleep in peace, she heard the person next to her speak again: “Sister, are you sleepy? Let’s chat for a bit?”

Late-night bedroom chats are a girl’s tradition!

I need to close the distance with Fushuang step by step; I have to have heart to hearts with her! Ming Yuemian thought. Come on, tell Mom, what is going on in that little head of yours all day?

The result was hearing the person beside her say: “Sleepy.”

Ming Yuemian: “…”

You’re not following the script!

Sleepy? Sleepy my foot, what time is it! Fushuang, you’re a young person, don’t sleep, get up and party! You’re definitely not actually sleepy, you just don’t want to talk to me! My rebellious daughter is breaking my heart…

“But I can’t sleep,” Ming Yuemian said instead. She tentatively reached out in the dark and grabbed Fushuang’s hand, pleading in a soft, coquettish voice, “Sister, I’m afraid of the dark. Talk to me for a bit, okay?”

Fushuang thought to herself, Not okay.

Why should I talk to you? Besides, what does your fear of the dark have to do with me?

But for a split second, she really did want to hear what this little girl would say. So, she pulled her hand away but changed her mind: “What do you want to talk about?”

“Just whatever…” Ming Yuemian thought hard. What topics did girls usually start with during late-night dorm chats?

Gossip?

But they were in the cultivation world, in the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, there didn’t seem to be any gossip to speak of… and for gossip to work, it had to be about people they both knew. Ming Yuemian was a newcomer and didn’t know anyone yet, she hadn’t even tasted any “melons” (gossip) yet.

This was tough…

Should they talk about horoscopes, blood types, or MBTI? Did those even exist in the cultivation world?

Damn. 21^st century social topics are completely useless here! I feel like I’ve lived all those years for nothing!

“Sister, how did you and my Senior Brother meet?” Ming Yuemian finally chose this entry point out of sheer necessity, she was truly at a loss for words.

Actually, as someone with the “script” who had read the original novel, she knew the answer perfectly well.

Sure enough, Fushuang’s answer was exactly what she knew: “I fell into a trap set by demon hunters. He saved me.”

Fushuang sneered inwardly. As she expected, the girl was still harboring those intentions.

Fushuang felt it was “just as expected” she had assumed the girl would try to pry for information about Feng Cheng, perhaps even subtly flaunting their childhood-sweetheart bond, just as she had done earlier.

Yet, now that she had actually asked, a trace of inexplicable loss and disappointment rose in Fushuang’s heart, a very hidden emotion, so hidden she hadn’t even noticed it herself and would never admit to it.

“Oh.” Ming Yuemian nodded solemnly. Her fingers became restless again, grabbing Fushuang’s sleeve, this time she didn’t dare grab her hand, just carefully pinched a corner of her clothing.

“Are you two together?” Ming Yuemian asked, pronouncing each word clearly. “You said before… ‘mutual affection’.”

Fushuang let out a cold laugh. At this moment, she felt a surge of vengeful pleasure. She curled her lips in the darkness and said flatly, “Yes, we are together.”

Ming Yuemian: “…”

Even though I knew, hearing it in person still stings.

Fushuang asked, almost cruelly, “I know you’ve admired your Senior Brother for a long time. Now that he’s with me, are you very sad?”

She was very sad.

But it wasn’t the sadness of a crush being stolen, it was the sadness of seeing one’s own fine cabbage being uprooted by a pig.

“Yeah…” Ming Yuemian was momentary distracted and didn’t notice the loophole in Fushuang’s words, she didn’t stop to ask, “How do you know I’ve admired him for a long time when we just met today?” She simply said with a complicated heart, “I’m very sad.”

Fushuang’s mood improved further, that sense of vindictive satisfaction grew stronger. Before she could even let out a smile, the young girl beside her asked another question:

“Wait, Sister… what exactly do you see in him?”

Her tone was ghostly and resentful. Fushuang tilted her head slightly. Even though she couldn’t see clearly in the dark, for some reason, the other girl’s blinking large eyes were incredibly vivid, and they seemed to be saying: Look at me, please.