Ch 28: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

In that moment, Jing Li thought he must have misheard.

His chopsticks, holding a piece of food mid-air, paused as he looked up, blinking in confusion.

Fang Tianying met his gaze, also looking puzzled. “What’s wrong, sister-in-law?”

Jing Li: “…”

He hadn’t misheard.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit awkward.

In the long silence that followed, only Qin Zhao maintained an unusually calm demeanor, steadily placing food on Jing Li’s plate. “He’s talking to you, why are you spacing out?”

“Talking… to me?” Jing Li turned to look at him, still in a daze.

Meeting his gaze, Qin Zhao nodded sincerely and affirmatively. “Yes, he’s talking to you.”

Jing Li: “…”

Seemingly realizing something from Qin Zhao’s words, Jing Li looked away and forced out a stiff, “Th-thank you.”

Fang Tianying, observing their reactions, thought for a moment and quickly caught on. “Is sister-in-law still not used to it?”

“Huh?” Jing Li was even more confused. “I… I’m not…”

“I get it, you’re still newlyweds. You’ll get used to it after a while,” Fang Tianying interrupted, with a somewhat teasing tone. “If it weren’t for my servants telling me, I wouldn’t have known that Brother Qin already took a husband, and such a pretty one at that.”

“…When I heard about it yesterday, I thought they were exaggerating. But seeing you today, sister-in-law, you’re indeed quite good-looking and a perfect match for Brother Qin.”

Jing Li: “…”

If Jing Li had been confused before, Fang Tianying’s words clarified everything.

So, “fulang” basically meant “wife” in this context?

Could people marry men in this world?

Jing Li had a thousand questions he wanted to ask Qin Zhao, but now was definitely not the time.

And yet, Fang Tianying continued to call him “sister-in-law” so casually, making Jing Li incredibly uncomfortable. He stopped trying to explain, merely muttering a vague response before burying his head in his food.

Qin Zhao glanced over just in time to see Jing Li’s ears turning bright red.

The little guy was surprisingly easy to embarrass.

Fang Tianying wanted to tease them a bit more but was gently interrupted by Qin Zhao, who said, “Young master Fang…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking, no need to make Brother Qin worry,” Fang Tianying chuckled, “Let’s just eat.”

Jing Li found the meal excruciating, his mind elsewhere the entire time.

When the meal finally ended, it was already noon. Worried that the strong sun might be too much for them to walk back in, Fang Tianying had a cart from his home brought over to take Qin Zhao and Jing Li back.

If not for Qin Zhao’s firm refusal, Fang Tianying might have insisted on going with them to Linxi Village.

The Fang family’s cart had an enclosed cabin, much more comfortable than the open carts used in the village. On the ride back, Qin Zhao took the opportunity to explain everything about the term “fulang” to Jing Li.

By the end of the explanation, Jing Li was in a complete daze.

Was this world really so fantastical?

Not only could you marry a man, but men could also have children???

Jing Li had never imagined such a thing.

Yesterday, when Qin Zhao said he was his fulang in front of the villagers, Jing Li was so tense and scared that he didn’t even pay attention to what Qin Zhao was saying. Later, when Qin Zhao mentioned the term again, Jing Li still didn’t understand its meaning, and since Qin Zhao wasn’t willing to explain, he had no choice but to let it go.

It wasn’t until today, when Fang Tianying called him “sister-in-law,” that everything clicked.

Even if he didn’t know what “fulang” meant, he certainly couldn’t misunderstand the term “sister-in-law.”

In the eyes of others, he and Qin Zhao were already a married couple.

…How did things end up like this?

Taking advantage of the fact that Jing Li hadn’t fully grasped the situation, Qin Zhao quickly shifted the blame: “Yesterday, with you lying on my bed like that, if I hadn’t said what I did, how else could I have convinced the villagers?”

Jing Li was still a bit dazed. He looked up at Qin Zhao and, meeting his calm and steady gaze, found himself unable to come up with any argument against it.

He lowered his head, uncertain. “It… it kind of makes sense.”

If not for trying to save him, Qin Zhao wouldn’t have had to lie in the first place—he bore a lot of responsibility for this.

Jing Li then asked, “So what do we do now?”

“It seems we have no choice but to go along with it and keep up the act,” Qin Zhao replied. “From now on, in the village, you’ll need to play the role of my husband. Be careful in how you act and speak, so you don’t give anything away.”

Jing Li obediently nodded. “Got it.”

Qin Zhao patted his head.

The little fish clearly hadn’t fully processed everything from earlier. He was fiddling with the hem of his clothes, lost in thought, and didn’t even notice when the collar of his robe loosened, revealing the fish scales on his neck.

He had been out of the water for too long, and the scales were more numerous than they had been that morning.

The thin, delicate fish scales clung closely to his pale skin, making it look even more white, but in a way that didn’t seem out of place.

The vibrant red scales extended from his collar downward, sparking all sorts of thoughts in Qin Zhao’s mind.

He was such a beautiful little fish, yet he was so naive—believing whatever anyone told him.

If he had fallen into someone else’s hands, who knows how he might have been tricked.

Though, to be fair, being with Qin Zhao hadn’t exactly been a bed of roses either.

Qin Zhao smiled slightly to himself and reached out to adjust Jing Li’s collar.

Jing Li’s body temperature was on the cooler side, and even in the heat of noon, his skin remained cold to the touch. When Qin Zhao’s warm fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of his neck, Jing Li shivered.

“Don’t move,” Qin Zhao said. “Your scales are showing.”

The moment Jing Li heard this, he immediately stopped moving, letting Qin Zhao fix his collar for him.

Qin Zhao slowly pulled Jing Li’s collar into place, moving so gradually that even he didn’t realize how much he was prolonging the process. His fingertips occasionally brushed against Jing Li’s cold neck, but his eyes remained focused on Jing Li’s face.

The difference in temperature made Jing Li uncomfortable with the contact; his eyes lowered, and his long lashes trembled slightly.

If he couldn’t even handle a touch on his neck, what if someone touched him elsewhere…?

Qin Zhao couldn’t stop his mind from wandering further. His fingers moved to the back of Jing Li’s neck, his warm palm nearly pressing against the cool skin.

The sensation of that cold, smooth skin beneath his hand made Qin Zhao’s heart race slightly.

After a long pause, Jing Li shivered and asked in a small voice, “Is it okay now?”

Qin Zhao snapped back to reality, gently responded with a “yes,” and withdrew his hand.

The ox cart soon arrived at Linxi Village. Qin Zhao thanked the driver and helped Jing Li off the cart.

The fabric they bought from the fabric shop had already been delivered to the village entrance. Qin Zhao checked the packages, confirming that not only was the fabric neatly bundled, but they had also included a few spools of cotton thread for sewing.

After collecting the items, Qin Zhao led Jing Li to the entrance of a farmhouse in the village.

He first took the fabric from the backpack and placed it by his feet, then extended his hand toward Jing Li.

“?” Jing Li looked at him in confusion, then at the hand extended toward him. On a whim, he raised his hand and gave Qin Zhao a high five.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Qin Zhao almost laughed in exasperation, but he held back and patiently explained, “I meant for you to give me your hand.”

Jing Li let out a small “Oh” and obediently extended his hand, which Qin Zhao then took hold of.

“The first rule of pretending to be my husband,” Qin Zhao explained with a calm expression, “is that we need to hold hands in public.”

With one hand holding Jing Li’s, Qin Zhao used his free hand to knock on the courtyard door.

A middle-aged woman emerged from the house.

“Oh, it’s Qin Zhao.” The woman opened the gate and, noticing the fabric he had brought, understood immediately. “You want to have clothes made?”

Qin Zhao nodded. “Yes, I’d appreciate your help, Auntie.”

This woman was known as Auntie He, as her family name was He. She was well-known in the village for her excellent sewing skills, and many villagers often asked her to make their clothes.

Since it was Auntie He who opened the door, it indicated that her husband was not at home. Qin Zhao intentionally stayed outside, carefully placing the fabric at the entrance of the courtyard and then taking out a piece of paper from his pocket to hand to her.

“These are the measurements for the clothes. I’ve already drawn out the designs, so you can follow these instructions.”

Qin Zhao had commissioned Auntie He for clothing before. Knowing that most women in the village were illiterate, he always made sure to note down the measurements in a way she was accustomed to.

Auntie He reviewed the paper, then looked over the fabric Qin Zhao had brought, surprised. “Are all these for your husband?”

Upon hearing that word, the person behind Qin Zhao visibly tensed.

Qin Zhao squeezed Jing Li’s hand reassuringly and nodded. “Yes.”

Auntie He was clearly taken aback.

She had made many clothes for the villagers. Usually, farm folks preferred durable and practical clothing, often made from tougher, more rugged fabrics. It was rare to see someone using such fine, soft material for clothing.

Especially when the clothes were meant for a fulang.

There were no fulangs in Linxi Village, but she had seen plenty in her hometown.

Their lives… weren’t particularly good.

Forget about wearing such fine clothes; they often had to make do with the leftovers from the men in the household.

There wasn’t much choice. Fulangs couldn’t do heavy labor and weren’t as capable as women when it came to childbearing.

She had heard just yesterday that Qin Zhao had brought a fulang back to the village.

Qin Zhao wasn’t in good health and couldn’t do heavy farm work. Even though he had a handsome face, his circumstances weren’t ideal, so there weren’t many women willing to marry him. But he was no longer young, and ever since he started preparing to build a house, there had been plenty of talk in the village, with many wondering if he was getting ready to marry.

Sure enough, he had brought a fulang back.

Auntie He wasn’t surprised that Qin Zhao had married a shuang’er, but she hadn’t expected him to treat his fulang so well.

Her gaze dropped to the tightly clasped hands of the two, and she felt a mix of emotions.

Why couldn’t her own husband be as attentive to her?

Ah, youth.

Qin Zhao could roughly guess what Auntie He was thinking.

Fulangs, also known as shuang’er, didn’t hold a high status in this era, especially in small mountain villages like this one, where they were often mistreated.

He had been forced to have Jing Li pretend to be his fulang, but he couldn’t let that lead to Jing Li being looked down upon in the village.

He needed to make it clear to everyone that he cherished his fulang very much.

…Not that he was just trying to take advantage of the situation.

Jing Li still wasn’t used to being stared at like this, his eyes darting around nervously as he subtly tried to hide behind Qin Zhao. Qin Zhao reassuringly patted his hand and asked, “When do you think these clothes will be ready, Auntie?”

Auntie He snapped out of her thoughts and replied, “It should only take two or three days. Once they’re done, I’ll have someone bring them over to you.”

Qin Zhao nodded, “Thank you.”

Auntie He charged a modest fee—only ten wen per garment. With all the clothes and two pairs of shoes, the total came to about sixty-five wen.

Qin Zhao gave her twenty wen as a deposit.

Once the matter of the clothing was settled, Qin Zhao led Jing Li back home.

It wasn’t until they had left Auntie He’s place that Jing Li fully realized the reality of his situation: he had gone from being a fish that Qin Zhao took care of to being Qin Zhao’s husband in the eyes of others.

In public, they had to hold hands, be affectionate, and show love…

It was much more troublesome than being a fish.

Jing Li flopped onto the bed and rolled around with the blanket in his arms.

Qin Zhao glanced at him with a smile and then took out a wooden box from the depths of the wardrobe.

The box was filled with copper coins.

Qin Zhao took out the pouch from his pocket and added the remaining coins from it into the box.

He had left home with two strings of coins today, but by the time he returned, he had only a few hundred wen left. After counting everything, he realized he had spent over one string and three hundred wen.

Jing Li rolled over and propped his chin on his hands, watching Qin Zhao as he did all this.

After Qin Zhao finished building the house, there wasn’t much left of the money he had earned from selling herbs. Fortunately, with Fang Tianying now willing to help them with some of the furniture, it saved them a significant expense.

Qin Zhao quickly counted the copper coins in the wooden box.

Excluding the wages and the remaining payment for the clothing that still needed to be paid, they had about twelve strings of cash left to use.

If it were just Qin Zhao alone, this amount would be enough to last him more than half a year.

However, now that he had to support a little husband too, that amount would likely take a considerable hit.

The situation wasn’t looking too optimistic.

Qin Zhao turned around, and the person in question was still innocently looking up at him with those clear, water-bright eyes, which were quite beautiful.

He opened his mouth, about to say that they might need to be a bit more frugal in the future, but he swallowed the words.

…He just couldn’t bear to make him feel wronged.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Zhao closed the wooden box and placed it in front of Jing Li.

Jing Li blinked, “Is this for me?”

“From now on, all the household expenses will be managed and recorded by you,” Qin Zhao said calmly.

Jing Li didn’t understand what he was up to and asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll spend all the money on snacks?”

It’s not really his fault.

Before he traveled to this place, Jing Li’s life wasn’t particularly affluent, but he earned money from working and never had to worry about not having enough to eat.

Now that he was in a place where even buying a piece of candy required careful budgeting, he couldn’t help but feel a bit out of his element.

He didn’t have much confidence in his self-control.

Qin Zhao seemed to have anticipated this and simply smiled, “Then I’ll just have to join you in wandering the streets, starving together.”

Jing Li: “…”

That was brutal, even worse than not letting him spend the money.

“Fine, I’ll take care of it.” Jing Li sat up, hugging the wooden box with one hand and opening the wardrobe with the other. “From now on, this is our family savings, and if you want to use any of it, you have to get my approval first!”

Qin Zhao calmly replied, “Understood, madam.”

Jing Li’s hand shook, and he nearly dropped the family savings onto the floor.

He pretended not to hear, nonchalantly placing the wooden box deep into the wardrobe and carefully covering it with clothes.

Qin Zhao watched his flushed earlobes and smiled softly.

Silly fish.