Don't Touch My Rabbit Tail

[Major revision of the entire novel. It will be reposted once the revisions are complete.]

In everyone else's eyes, Qiao Ran is an utterly ordinary Beta among countless others.

Only Qiao Ran knows that he is hiding a shocking secret:

He has a rabbit tail!

It is usually invisible, but whenever he gets emotional, his rabbit tail suddenly pops out!

To avoid being sent to the dissection table, Qiao Ran swears to protect this secret with his life.

Hold on tight to my rabbit tail. I absolutely mustn't let anyone find out!

But why are all my classmates huge, burly guys?!

Sob, sob... Bunny feels wronged, bunny is scared, bunny is trembling all over.

*

Since its founding, Class S at Longinus Military Academy has only admitted S-rank Alphas from the Federation.

This year, a Beta has actually made it in for the first time ever???

How could a mere Beta keep up with Class S's training intensity?

Everyone at the academy is waiting to see Qiao Ran make a fool of himself.

Look, he won't even dare leave the shelter of the protective wall during a practice match.

Just as expected...

Huh? Huh, what? Huh, what?!

How did that Beta sneak around the back and steal the tower? He even snatched the crystal that symbolizes victory!

Qiao Ran, who clutched his head and ran around in a panic, grabbed the crystal in the confusion, then ran off crying: "Sob, sob, sob! Hurry up and end this! I'm scared!!!"

People suddenly realized that whether the battles were big or small, real or practice, this Beta named Qiao Ran might often get so scared he ran around in a frenzy, but every time, he managed to strike straight at the enemy's stronghold!

So his classmates went from:

Before the match: "What's so special about Qiao Ran? He's just a Beta..."

After the match: "Go, Qiao Ran! Beat them! Mommy loves you!!!"

Qiao Ran tilted his head and blinked his big eyes. "Oh, them? I don't know either. Every match, everyone shouts that Mommy loves me, and then charges in."

*

Bonus scene:

One day, an urgent video call from the military headquarters came through to the Alliance Commander's home.

The first thing on screen was... a fluffy rabbit tail?

The famously timid Beta pinned down the Alliance Commander, who ranked first among the entire Alliance's dream men, and said fiercely:

"Touch my tail again, and you'll sleep in the guest room tonight!"

"...No, you'll sleep in the office!!!"

# Betas don't have heats, but rabbits do, and there'll be things like rabbit false pregnancies too.

# Lots of personal worldbuilding and stereotypes. The setting is interstellar, so please don't compare it to reality.

# There will be no childbirth in the main story. We'll see about the bonus chapters.

Check out my upcoming novel, The Honest Man Gets the Wrong Seduction Script~

The youngest daughter of the Huo family died in a car accident, leaving behind a husband she had never shown to the world.

Everyone knew that this husband was the real young master of the Qiu family, brought back halfway through his life and sent to the Huo family as a live-in son-in-law in exchange for benefits.

The Huo family's daughter never took her husband seriously. In their three years of marriage, the real young master had been cheated on countless times. He was a laughingstock throughout the city.

On the day of the funeral, Qiu Yinglian finally appeared. Facing his wife's coffin, he choked back tears, his body unsteady.

A hand caught his swaying body and held him close.

"Brother-in-law, my condolences."

*

Old-fashioned and wooden: that was everyone's first impression of Qiu Yinglian.

No wonder the Qiu family would rather keep a fake young master with no blood ties than accept him, their real young master.

After his wife died, Qiu Yinglian moved into the Huo family home.

He was forced to live with Huo Qihan, the fearsome member of the Huo family.

People told him that Huo Qihan had taken power at the age of twenty, was ruthless, and couldn't stand even a speck of dust in his eye. It wouldn't be long before he was thrown out.

Qiu Yinglian: "Oh."

A cannon-fodder character: "Don't you have anything to say?"

Qiu Yinglian gently reminded him, "I don't. If you have anything else to say, you might want to hurry. Mr. Huo is waiting for me."

*

Qiu Yinglian had known since childhood that he was slow-witted, mild-mannered, and bad at expressing himself.

But he knew the difference between good and bad.

People who went out of their way to advise him weren't necessarily good, and Huo Qihan, who kept everyone at arm's length, wasn't necessarily bad.

He trusted only what he saw with his own eyes.

Big Brother Huo stood up for him, took care of every detail of his life, taught him how to work step by step, and even helped him build his confidence.

He believed that Big Brother Huo couldn't be the notorious demon everyone else described.

Big Brother Huo must have kissed him for his own good, too...

Qiu Yinglian: Wait, no!

This isn't right! This is not how this is supposed to go!

*

Huo Qihan wasn't very close to his half-sister.

When she died, he came to pay his respects, but he hadn't expected to see his brother-in-law, whom he barely knew.

The young man was solemnly dressed, gazing at the portrait as though he were looking up at a deity.

For the first time in his life, he found himself envying this sister he had barely met.

She had been surrounded by a bad reputation while alive, yet after her death, someone still thought of her constantly...

The man stared at the young man's grief-stricken expression and laughed at himself.

He wondered whether anyone would cry for him when he died.

*

But when Huo Qihan really did take the man who had held back his tears in the funeral hall into his arms,

all he could think was:

How could he bear to make such an honest man cry? He couldn't wait to cherish him.

Theme: Even the smallest and weakest can unleash tremendous strength