An Evil Dragon's Guide to Becoming a Mother

[My next stories will be Spring at Yumen Pass [Historical Romance] and Forced Love [Anthology].]

[Gentle, caring dragon dad vs. human girl determined to survive]

A story about transmigrating into a sci-fi beastfolk world as its only human, being raised plump and happy by a dragon, and eventually succeeding in riding one.

Blurb:

When Jiang Yao woke up, she was locked inside a golden cage. On a raised platform, a monster with horns like a ram's was shouting in a language she couldn't understand. The audience below was shrouded in darkness, with several pairs of eerie eyes glowing in the gloom.

A low voice called out, "Fifty thousand crystal coins and a small asteroid."

A fortune had been offered for this human.

Bang! The auctioneer's gavel fell.

A pure-gold curtain was drawn over the cage. Jiang Yao, a rare human pet sold at a high price, was sent off to her new owner.

The Duke of Lonely Mountain, the arrogant and cruel Golden Dragon who made everyone tremble in fear.

[Bonus Scene]

The evil dragon's eyes were bigger than basketballs. Its sharp claws were as thick as Jiang Yao's waist, and its massive body lay sprawled atop a towering mountain of gold coins. Twisted horns curled from its head, and its shadow loomed like an evil demon.

Jiang Yao trembled, thinking her life was about to end.

The dragon tossed a glittering little dress to her with the tips of its claws, rumbling in an unfamiliar, strange language.

Jiang Yao tentatively changed into the frilly dress.

The dragon wagged its tail happily and tossed her a gold coin.

Jiang Yao stared blankly at the coin, bigger than her face, cradled in her hands like a giant pancake.

The dragon tilted its head, then tossed a pearl into the cage toward the little human.

It opened its abyss-like maw and pointed a claw at itself.

Was she supposed to eat it...?

Jiang Yao hesitated. The dragon seemed impatient. A rumble rose in its throat, and it breathed out a tiny spray of sparks.

With a wail, Jiang Yao burst into tears.

The dragon's smile froze. "...?"

Why was its little one crying?

The dragon pulled out A Guide to Raising Rare Ancient Humans and read it carefully. It said ancient humans were picky eaters.

After a moment's hesitation, it plucked off a gleaming scale and handed it to her.

The rarest dragon scale in the entire galaxy. Surely its little one would like this, right?

The next second, "Waaah...!"

Jiang Yao cried even louder.

The dragon was at its wit's end: raising a human baby was just too hard!

[Reader's Guide]

1. I'm terrible at writing blurbs. Every setting exists to serve the plot. I'm an extreme nonhuman romance enthusiast and a die-hard Mary Sue fan. Even the coldest male lead will become the heroine's devoted admirer.

2. If you're not a fan of strong heroines, this isn't for you. It's an unthinking romance story, a self-indulgent little piece of fluff to satisfy my tastes.

-

My next story will be Spring at Yumen Pass.

A princess of the Sheng Dynasty flees to the grasslands, loses her way, and is rescued by two brothers out hunting. They take her home.

The brothers look alike, with only a slight difference in their eyes. The elder is strong and taciturn, his lonely gaze like a wolf prowling the grasslands at night. The younger is gentle and considerate, with crescent-shaped eyes as bright and mild as a breeze.

They give the princess food and water, sew thick animal hides into winter clothes to keep out the cold, and climb the mountains to gather medicine for her injured foot.

They care for her in every possible way.

But the princess remains wary. She lies to the brothers, claiming she has lost her memory and doesn't know where her home is, and doesn't dare reveal her identity.

Her own brother was framed and died a violent death. The new emperor has taken the throne and is eliminating every last threat. Only these isolated grasslands can offer temporary shelter from the pursuers.

The princess wants revenge. For now, the only people she can turn to are the two hunters who share her tent. She asks them to send letters to her former ministers and subordinates.

The letters are placed in front of the two brothers.

The elder says nothing, sitting in the tent with his legs spread as he wipes down his hunting arrows. The younger only smiles at the princess. The atmosphere suddenly turns tense.

...Something seems wrong.

The pampered princess finally realizes it, belatedly.

She looks down at the rabbit-fur boots on her feet, the freshly roasted lamb chops on the table, the brilliantly colored foreign beads around her neck. Even her hair was braided by the younger brother himself that morning...

Like a net with no gaps, a trap laid long ago to catch her, a lame and slow-witted rabbit.

Why would strangers, who've never even met her, be kind to her for no reason?

The younger brother smiles. "Cuicui is the pretty wife my brother and I found. Of course we'd treat you well."

-

While the younger brother is away, the princess gets the elder brother drunk and tries to escape on horseback. But she underestimates the strength of the men of the grasslands, and the anger that follows her deception.

When she returns to the tent, her red lips are disheveled, and a tattered piece of dress is hastily wrapped around her shoulders.

The princess plays weak and begs the younger brother for help. But he is no longer his usual mild, easygoing self. Smiling, he produces a chain and says he'll unlock it after their wedding ceremony.

She cries and insists that she can only marry one of them.

The two brothers stand beside the bed, their tall figures looming over her.

"All right, then. Cuicui, would you choose the elder brother or the younger one?"

[Upcoming Story 2] Forced Love

[Anthology]

1. A frail omega put up for auction * a cold-blooded interstellar commander (giant wolf)

He's always been proud of his huge, powerful physique, but in front of her, for the first time, he worries about his size.

Love is something you do. (Not quite.)

2. A Central Plains woman determined to escape southern Xinjiang * a foreign priest

After accidentally eating a poisonous insect, she turns into a doll. To get the poison out, she has no choice but to endure her embarrassment and let him do as he pleases.

The priest is aloof and holy. "Once the poison is gone, I'll personally escort you out of here."

But on the night of the full moon, she sees his reflection in the lake. He's the very serpent that fed her the poisonous insect!

3. To be determined

There may also be vampires, tentacles, dragons...

All the male leads are nonhuman. Their thoughts and logic aren't normal, and the story will include forced-love and imprisonment arcs. The heroine is a beautiful, delicate woman, not a cool-headed, badass heroine in a power fantasy. I'm a country bumpkin, so I'll insult myself first.

Theme: Love is a gentle heart.