The Ancestor of our Sect Isn’t Acting like an Elder

208.1 – It’s Shameful to Act Moe [1]

“Gong Tianyang, do you know that it’s shameful to act moe?”

“Act moe? What is that?”

Gong Tianyang tilted his head and asked curiously, stumping Xue Qilin.

“Ugh…”

Xue Qilin was at a loss for words for a while. How should she explain “moe“? She crossed her arms and tilted her head in anguish and contemplated for a while issuing an “um –” sound, and then said, not too sure, “To act cute?”

“Ah, why is the tone that of doubt?”

Xue Qilin looked away awkwardly, pretended to observe the passersby on the street, and hummed an out of tune melody, and her cheeks flushed slightly. As if he understood something, Gong Tianyang showed a playful smile with profound meaning.

“What are you smiling for! Stop it.”

The other party’s smile angered Xue Qilin, and so she stopped walking.

“Big Sister Xue?”

Gong Tianyang just turned his head in doubt, when Xue Qilin grasped his face with her hand, prompting him to cry out and struggle, aggrieved.

“In short, don’t act cute in front of me! It’s useless! What’s more, I’m not interested in boys at all, understood?”

Intimidated by Xue Qilin’s act of violence, Gong Tianyang could only nod his head to signal that he understands.

“It’s good that you understand!”

Xue Qilin humphed twice and withdrew her hand.

Gong Tianyang pouted and said white rubbing his face, dissatisfied, “Big Sister Xue, you act shamelessly!”

Xue Qilin started walking once more, pushing Gong Tianyang along the street.

“The weak are prey to the strong, this is the only truth in the world.”

Xue Qilin spread her arms and laughed mischievously. Consequently, Gong Tianyang made the smile on her face freeze with just a few words.

“That said, Big Sister Xue is not interested in boys? Isn’t Big Sister Xue a girl? Then why isn’t Big Sister Xue interested in boys?”

Judging by his shiny eye, he is obviously quite curious, like a curious baby. Disoriented by the question, Xue Qilin doesn’t know how to answer. Does she have to tell the other party her secret?

“What I meant was — I’m not interested in a brat like you.”

She uttered perfunctorily, trying to dodge the subject. But she seems to have underestimated the curious baby Gong Tianyang.

“Does Big Sister Xue prefer uncles then?”

Gong Tianyang widened his eyes and stared with glimmering eyes at Xue Qilin.

“Wait, why did the age cohort jump from the ‘brat’ cohort all the way to the uncle cohort? What about the one in between?”

Xue Qilin ridiculed emotionally.

“I’m an outstanding youth. And since Big Sister Xue doesn’t like people of my age, then there are only children, uncles, and grandpas left.”

Gong Tianyang crossed his arms, nodded, and said, “Big Sister Xue shouldn’t be interested in grandpas or children. In that case, the only possibility is uncles!”

He clapped his hands excitedly and yelled, pleased with himself, “Big Sister Xue likes uncles! Right?”

His voice was so loud that several passersby heard him. When they understood what’s going on, they all looked at Xue Qilin, who is gnashing her teeth.

“Hey, did you hear that? That young girl actually likes uncles!”

“What poor taste! Unexpectedly, girls now a days like quite a bit older men. No wonder this noble son has been single until now.”

“Old man, let’s go home and ask our girl if she also likes uncles! I think that old Wang would be perfect!”

— hearing such words sound one after another, Xue Qilin’s face distorted from anger and twitched.

“Whether I like uncles or not, that’s none of your business!”

Xue Qilin, who stopped walking again, first yelled at two men dressed as merchants, and then looked at the youth who calls himself a noble son.

“The reason why you are still single is purely because your looks are too shabby.”

Lastly, she gazed at a couple behind her, vexed.

“Uncle, auntie, I beg of you, don’t harm your daughter!”

The lass’s response prompted the people to look at one another, speechless. After they finally recovered from the shock, as if they saw a basket case, they left at once.

“Bwa, what is the meaning of this, ha-ha!”

They must regard her as a weirdo! Xue Qilin feels like crying. The culprit behind all this, however, has lowered his head and covered his face with a sleeve. Intermittent laughter can be heard coming from him.

“Gong Tianyang!”

Xue Qilin shouted the boy’s name in anger.

Gong Tianyang shivered, then turned his head stiffly, and saw Xue Qilin’s fierce gaze. His eyes wandered unnaturally as he asked meekly, “Yes, Big Sister Xue?”

“You’re terrific!” Xue Qilin ground her pearl-white, “You ruined my reputation just like that — say! How will you make it up to me?”

Gong Tianyang gave two hollow laughs and scratched his head awkwardly.

“Oh, that’s really terrible! — hey, why is Big Sister Xue showing such a terrifying expression?”

Seeing Gong Tianyang wincing in fear, Xue Qilin felt refreshed.

“Yes, you think so too?! Then –”

Xue Qilin suddenly leaned over, placed her fingers bent into claws beside Gong Tianyang’s cheeks, and pretended to growl like a tiger.

She planned to scare Gong Tianyang. But instead of being scared, the other party cast her a scornful look.

“Big Sister Xue, it’s shameful to act moe.”

That’s what they call to “lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet”. Gong Tianyang beautifully used Xue Qilin words against her.

Unless we burst out, we shall perish in this silence [2].

Xue Qilin obviously would not choose the latter. Therefore, her silence is the prelude of an upcoming outburst.

However —

“Ah, that looks delicious!”

Gong Tianyang, who noticed something, suddenly pointed in a certain direction.

“Little guy, you’ve underestimated me, this grandma. You are in the dark if they don’t speak, but once they do speak, you get a shock! I invented this trick, yet you want to use it against me?!”

Despite the disdainful mutterings that left her mouth, Xue Qilin still couldn’t help but look in the direction Gong Tianyang is pointing.

Her gaze fell on a roadside stall selling colorful pastries and snacks. Among them, what caught Xue Qilin’s eye was a small mound of sanshoku dango.

He wouldn’t know that I like sanshoku dango, would he? Xue Qilin has a surprised look on her face.

“Hey, Big Sister Xue, let’s go quickly!”

Gong Tianyang pulled Xue Qilin’s sleeves and urged thusly, all the while staring at the stall.

Looking at it this way, isn’t he just an ordinary child… that’s for sure… Xue Qilin, whose attention was unwittingly diverted, sighed helplessly.

“Listen here, your Big Sister Xue’s pouch is empty.”

“Don’t worry, I have money!”

Gong Tianyang patted his thin and weak chest and guaranteed.

[1] – moe is related to the feeling of “cuteness” a character can evoke

[2] – Unless we burst out, we shall perish in this silence — this is an excerpt from In Memory of Miss Liu Hezhen by Lu Xun