The distant chirping of birds woke Qin Yu from her dream, her consciousness gradually returning.
The deep autumn sunlight poured through the window, bringing a hint of warmth.
Qin Yu’s cheeks felt the cold temperature of the room, while her body wrapped under the covers enjoyed the warmth generated last night with Luo Shangyu, cozy and comfortable.
Qin Yu gently stroked the hands of Luo Shangyu that were wrapped around her abdomen and couldn’t help but smile bitterly—she was tied up and simply couldn’t get out of bed.
Luo Shangyu was sleeping soundly, and Qin Yu didn’t want to disturb her.
At this point, she might as well sleep some more.
Qin Yu closed her eyes again.
***
When Qin Yu opened her eyes again, the bonds around her abdomen had disappeared.
She slowly sat up and looked toward the empty space on the bed beside her.
Qin Yu got out of bed and picked up the clothes beside her, putting them on slowly.
Luo Shangyu was already waiting at the breakfast table, reading a newspaper.
Seeing Qin Yu approach, she handed the paper over.
Qin Yu sat down and took the newspaper.
The front-page headline read: “Xu Feng Faction Defeated! Following the Victory in Suppressing the Rebellion, the Crown Princess Strikes Again with a Heavy Blow!”
The article extensively detailed the crimes of the Xu Feng faction, then carefully described how Qin Yu, with outstanding wisdom and decisive choices, successfully eradicated the dark and evil forces of Xu Feng’s faction, restoring peace and prosperity to the Chengji Empire.
After finishing the article, Qin Yu’s lips curled into a smile, “Hmph, who’s the greatest Crown Princess of the Chengji Empire? That’s right—it’s me, Qin Yu, with both strength and beauty!”
Luo Shangyu: (||๐_๐)
The maids standing around subtly turned away, covering their faces with suppressed laughter.
“What kind of reaction is that?” Qin Yu asked, puzzled.
“Hmph, who’s the greatest Crown Princess of the Chengji Empire? That’s right—it’s me, Qin Yu, with strength and beauty!” Luo Shangyu repeated Qin Yu’s words in a strange tone.
“Ha ha…” Qin Yu laughed awkwardly twice.
After Luo Shangyu’s clumsy imitation, even Qin Yu felt embarrassed.
“You think it’s awkward too?” Luo Shangyu teased.
“Don’t forget who was pinned under me, unable to move yesterday.”
“That was because you ambushed me!” Qin Yu tried to defend herself.
“Next time, I definitely won’t make the same mistake!”
“Ah, no need to argue! Being a weak receiver is an attribute—it’s not something you can change by effort!”
“I’m not a weak receiver!” Qin Yu refused to accept the weak receiver attribute she had inherited after reincarnation.
“Oh?”
“Just wait! We’ll train later. Watch me pin you down instead!” Qin Yu pointed at Luo Shangyu’s nose, speaking boldly.
“Want to fight me? It’s truly my honor,” Luo Shangyu tilted her head, surprised., “But I hope you don’t cry when you lose!”
“Don’t underestimate me!” Qin Yu ignored Luo Shangyu and focused on her breakfast.
***
After the meal, Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu stood inside the Wuyan Arena of the Eastern Palace.
The Wuyan Arena was a circular field with a diameter of 150 meters.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu stood on opposite sides, a hundred meters apart, facing each other.
“Are you sure about this? Don’t come crying later!” Luo Shangyu warned good-naturedly.
“My mind is made up!” Qin Yu declared solemnly, “I am not a weak receiver! Today I will prove it once again!”
Having spoken, Qin Yu raised her Magic Staff and released her domain magic.
Zero-frame startup!
Compared to Luo Shangyu, Qin Yu’s advantages lay in domain magic and swordsmanship learned in the royal curriculum.
Her tactic was to control Luo Shangyu first and then engage in close-quarters combat.
As she spoke, Qin Yu recited a line of poetry effortlessly.
“At dusk, where is my homeland? The misty waves on the river make one—”
As Qin Yu chanted, the air around and the staff resonated faintly, a subtle homesickness slowly spreading over the arena.
But before she could finish the last character, a lightning bolt struck Qin Yu.
Her body flew backward, the chant interrupted.
“Next time when you recite such a long spell, remember to dodge first! Otherwise, it’s easy to get interrupted!” Luo Shangyu advanced step by step.
“Cough cough!” Qin Yu struggled to stand up.
With her domain magic interrupted, Qin Yu rose and used earth Elemental Power to create a high wall on the spot.
Behind the wall, Qin Yu prepared to release domain magic again.
“Boom!”
The earth wall exploded under Luo Shangyu’s magic, and Qin Yu was knocked down once more.
“Ugh…” Qin Yu struggled to stand.
Luo Shangyu’s power was already at the peak of the seventh rank, her mana control excellent—her attacks interrupted Qin Yu’s casting without hurting her.
“Next time your cover should be sturdier!” Luo Shangyu continued closing in.
“…” After two setbacks, Qin Yu pondered her next move.
“Da da da,” Luo Shangyu’s footsteps approached steadily.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Qin Yu found Luo Shangyu only twenty meters away.
What was the point of using domain magic?
To cover herself and close the distance for melee!
Since the distance was already close, she would fight directly!
Qin Yu retracted her staff, drew her sword, and charged at Luo Shangyu.
Luo Shangyu was momentarily stunned, then laughed: “Going for melee?”
Qin Yu ignored her, focusing on her attack route.
Five meters left!
Qin Yu raised her sword, ready to strike.
Luo Shangyu stepped back, assuming a defensive stance.
Half a meter left!
Qin Yu stopped her charge and swung her sword downward, using the momentum to slash through the air with a sharp whoosh.
Luo Shangyu did not dodge, crossing her staff horizontally to block the strike.
“Clang!”
The sword hit the staff, sending a shock through Qin Yu’s right hand, making the flesh between thumb and index finger numb, while Luo Shangyu’s right hand holding the staff remained steady.
What strength!
Qin Yu’s blow felt like hitting an immovable mountain.
Luo Shangyu’s power was so great that Qin Yu found it unbelievable.
Luo Shangyu swung the staff upward with tremendous force, lifting Qin Yu’s sword along.
‘Put all your strength into it!’
Qin Yu tried desperately to chop downward, hoping to land a hit on Luo Shangyu.
“Don’t waste your energy!” Luo Shangyu smiled.
Then, with a casual wave of her staff, Luo Shangyu abruptly lifted Qin Yu’s sword.
The sudden change caught Qin Yu off guard; she lost her grip, and the sword flew from her hand, landing nearby.
“Uh…” Qin Yu froze.
How could she fight in close combat without her sword?
Luo Shangyu put away her staff and clenched her fists, ready to fight barehanded.
“Going hand-to-hand?”
Qin Yu remembered that in her previous life, as a boy, she had fought with friends many times and had quite some hand-to-hand combat experience.
She believed she could defeat Luo Shangyu and prepared to charge.
Qin Yu rushed in and struck with her right fist.
Luo Shangyu extended her left hand and caught Qin Yu’s fist.
Though the grip didn’t seem strong, Qin Yu couldn’t move her right fist no matter what.
Qin Yu then swung her left fist, and Luo Shangyu did the same, catching it.
Like this, Luo Shangyu caught both of Qin Yu’s fists, immobilizing her hands, her face bearing a teasing expression.
Qin Yu grew angry, moving her head close to Luo Shangyu’s and glared fiercely.
Her blue eyes seemed to blaze with fire.
Qin Yu struggled to break free, but it was useless.
Her hands remained controlled, and her face was turning red with exertion.
“Don’t waste your strength!” Luo Shangyu said as she crouched slightly, supporting herself with her left foot, then swept her right foot at Qin Yu’s lower body.
“Ugh…”
Qin Yu lost her footing and fell to the ground.
But Luo Shangyu caught Qin Yu’s hands, so the fall wasn’t painful.
Qin Yu lay on the ground, Luo Shangyu’s left knee kneeling beside her, right knee pressing against her lower abdomen.
Luo Shangyu wore sports shorts, her snow-white knee pressing against Qin Yu’s soft abdomen, the most vulnerable part of her body.
After the earlier fight, Qin Yu’s abdomen rose and fell with each breath, and through the thin fabric of her sports shirt, Luo Shangyu’s knee pressed uncomfortably against her.
“How about it? Admit defeat?” Luo Shangyu asked, leaning down.
“I… I haven’t lost yet!” Qin Yu waved her fists in defiance.
“Oh? Still not giving up?” Luo Shangyu pinched Qin Yu’s wrists, raising her hands above her head and pressing them into the ground.
“Ah!”
This was an extremely awkward position.
Qin Yu’s chest was fully exposed before Luo Shangyu’s eyes—she was completely defeated.
“Still holding on?” Luo Shangyu pressed down a bit with her right knee, leaning on Qin Yu’s upper body using her right hand and left knee as support.
“I can still win!”
Qin Yu realized her legs were free and kicked hard, hoping to strike Luo Shangyu.
“Oh no! My oversight!”
Taking advantage of Qin Yu raising her right leg, Luo Shangyu used her left hand to hold Qin Yu’s wrists and her right hand hooked behind to control Qin Yu’s right leg, forcing it high and preventing it from lowering.
Qin Yu was completely helpless now.
She felt utterly humiliated in this posture: hands raised above her head, chest and abdomen fully exposed, and right leg forcibly lifted.
Her cheeks flushed red.
This unfamiliar position constantly pushed the boundaries of her mental limits.
Yet, strangely, it also felt somewhat pleasant.
Luo Shangyu’s face was very close to Qin Yu’s eyes, allowing her to see every detail.
Luo Shangyu’s scent wafted with every breath onto Qin Yu’s face; her golden hair brushed lightly against Qin Yu’s cheek, tickling.
With her abdomen restrained, Qin Yu couldn’t fully expand it, making breathing difficult and causing a burning sensation in her chest.
The high lift of her leg made Qin Yu feel unbearably shy.
Her thoughts drifted back to last night’s feeling: being pinned under Luo Shangyu, the satisfaction it brought, the security of being held around the abdomen while sleeping.
***
Perhaps she really was a weak receiver?
If not, how could she fool others and herself?
Qin Yu felt a strange attribute deep within her being constantly awakening.
At this moment, the image of the strong, heroic male self from her previous life was fading away, replaced by the white-haired, blue-eyed, somewhat naturally airheaded and tsundere weak receiver self.
“I can’t go back anymore. I’ve completely become the shape of a weak receiver…” Qin Yu’s eyes softened.
“I admit it—I really am a weak receiver…”