The Cutesy Stepmother of a Villain in a Period Novel

My next historical novel, After Disguising Herself as a Man to Take Her Brother's Place in the Countryside, is a story about turning a straight man gay, then straight again. Please add it to your collection!

War hero Nie Zheng has faced death countless times and won one battle honor after another. Now past thirty, he is still single.

The organization is concerned about this and insists on finding him an outstanding woman to be his lifelong partner.

Qin Yiyi, the nation's darling, opens her eyes and finds herself cast as the virtuous wife chosen by the organization for Nie Zheng.

The original owner had been hopeful about this marriage.

But her cousin brings her some reliable information: Commander Nie looks strong and capable, but he was injured in battle and is useless where it counts. That's why he adopted his fallen comrade's orphan.

That child has only recently arrived at the military compound, yet has already become its little tyrant. Becoming his stepmother is absolutely out of the question!

The original owner is so upset that she dies on the spot, and Qin Yiyi takes over her body.

Qin Yiyi never had high hopes for her future husband's abilities anyway. After all, he's thirty, so he's already past his prime... Ahem.

But when she sees her new stepson, her face turns pale and alarm bells start ringing.

According to the story, the little tyrant will grow up to become a major villain in ten years.

He will not only drag down Nie Zheng, a high-ranking officer, but also drive his most hated stepmother to her death. That stepmother is Qin Yiyi herself...

To live to a ripe old age and enjoy a happy later life, Qin Yiyi becomes the little tyrant's nemesis.

At last, the little tyrant becomes an outstanding student, excelling in both character and academics and winning awards for his country in competitions.

When asked about his winning secret, he turns his head haughtily.

"Mostly, my mom is just so annoying. She's a grown woman, but she cries at the drop of a hat. A man should let a woman have her way."

Qin Yiyi shouts from below the stage, her sweet, delicate voice doing little to intimidate anyone.

"How many times have I told you not to call me Mom? You're making me sound old!"

The crowd spots Qin Yiyi and hurries over to ask her for advice.

The war hero, rumored to be the coldest and most hard-hearted man around, shields her with his strong arms and murmurs,

"Shouldn't you spare a little attention for your partner? Have you finished the task the organization gave you?"

Qin Yiyi shrinks back at his words, whimpering in her sweet, delicate voice,

"I-I have! I've been working hard at it every day!"

She wants to do a good job on the task the organization assigned her, but who could have imagined that this older man's downhill slide would be... too much to handle!

##

By the time Qin Yiyi is heavily pregnant and Nie Zheng is taking even better care of her, making her sweeter and more delicate than ever, all those who believed the rumors and said Commander Nie was no good are made to eat their words.

Liu, the military doctor in charge of family planning, gives a scornful laugh. "I told you so, but you wouldn't believe me. The Nie family takes home more family-planning supplies every month than anyone else!"

Everyone turns bright red. "Tell us something we can actually listen to!"

My next novel, After Disguising Herself as a Man to Take Her Brother's Place in the Countryside, is about turning a straight man gay, then straight again. Please add it to your collection!

Qin Zheng is the twin sister of a cannon-fodder young intellectual in a historical novel.

Because of his cannon-fodder fate, her twin brother gets into a fight while blindly defending the heroine, accidentally injures someone, and ends up in prison.

As for her, she's so beautiful that when she travels to a remote region to care for her seriously ill parents, a local bully kidnaps and assaults her. She dies trying to escape by jumping into a river.

Her parents are frail and heartbroken, and die one after the other not long afterward.

When she returns to the day before her brother is sent to the countryside, before their misfortune begins, Qin Zheng is determined to change their fate!

She's always been pretty and innocent, and not much of a schemer. But after thinking all night, she actually comes up with a brilliant plan!

She'll go to the countryside in her brother's place!

They're twins, so they already look alike. Her brother can stay behind to take care of their parents, and then the two of them can switch back! That way, she won't be targeted by evil men, her brother won't go to prison, and their parents won't die!

Qin Zheng excitedly heads to the countryside, disguised as Qin Sheng.

She carefully conceals her identity the whole way, binding her well-developed figure and even darkening her face. But she never expected that the youth hostel would have only one communal kang bed...

A new group of young intellectuals arrives in Liushugou this year, and the whole village comes alive.

The female newcomers are all fresh-faced and pretty, while the male newcomers are broad-browed, handsome, and strong...

Wait, one of them is only half as strong as the rest.

He speaks softly and is terribly timid. The slightest raised voice makes him jump, so the village cadres even lower their voices when giving him a talking-to.

The village cadres look over the lively, energetic young men and women and grow uneasy. They might be hard to manage!

Sure enough, before long, someone rushes over to ask for help.

"Village chief, hurry! The young intellectuals are fighting!"

The village chief thinks, See? I knew those rowdy male newcomers would fight over the pretty female newcomers!

But when he arrives, he sees several people grappling like oxen, muttering,

"You follow Qin Sheng around every day. Don't think I don't know what you're after!"

"Why should you be the only one allowed to feel that way? Is Qin Sheng yours?"

Nearby, a little fellow tries to calm one person down, then another, flustered and unsure what to do.

Isn't that the fresh-faced male newcomer?

Theme: Love makes a home