The Beautiful Top Is Always Playing Innocent - Chapter 2

My days of decadent luxury were deeply satisfying.

One day, after eating my fill, I was savoring the fine details of a beauty’s abdominal muscles when a tremendous boom split the sky.

Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. A dragon-shaped shadow streaked through the air and landed on the rear mountain.

The muscles beneath me shifted. The third dragon brother said, “The Ancestor is awake.”

The Ancestor?

I scratched my ear with one claw.

I had read about him. Supposedly, he was a great hero who had waged war across the realms, although every illustration made him look like a green-faced, fanged monster.

Judging by these three brothers, however, he probably wasn’t ugly.

Perhaps a handsome old man with snow-white hair?

I pictured a wizened elder.

The eldest dragon brother sighed. “Here comes the crying again. Whenever he cries, it rains.”

Oh.

A white-haired old man who cried a lot.

Thoroughly uninterested, I closed my eyes and prepared to sleep. A weepy old man was hardly my type.

The second dragon brother said, “Ever since the little phoenix on the neighboring mountain died, the Ancestor has been hiding under his covers and crying every day.”

The eldest added, “Can you blame him? He’d secretly loved that phoenix for centuries.”

Those two short sentences contained an astonishing amount of information.

I couldn’t decide whether to be more shocked that I was the object of the Ancestor’s secret love or that he had cried for me.

This wouldn’t do.

I liked handsome young dragons. A white-haired old man was out of the question.

Absolutely out of the question.

This bird had principles.

Lost in my wandering thoughts, I failed to notice the sudden silence around me.

Only when I was lifted into the air did I realize all three brothers had risen and were bowing to someone ahead. “Greetings, Ancestor.”

Oh?

The old man who loved me had arrived?

Let this little bird see who had been conquered by my heroic bearing! Hahaha!

With all the confidence of one who knew himself adored, I swept him a casual glance.

Then I shot upright, pupils trembling.

Wait.

Where was the promised old man?

Why had a male enchantress appeared instead?!

The Ancestor’s upper body was bare, every inch of skin seemingly carved by a master. Silvery-white hair spilled over his shoulders like silk, concealing just enough to make the sight all the more enticing.

He lifted his gaze. Within reddened eyes, his irises were pale as mist.

When he spoke, his voice held the soft, sticky quality of recent tears—half displeasure, half petulant plea. “I heard a bird.”

The three brothers exchanged looks, then obediently held me out. “That’s Little Cheep.”

The moment our eyes met, I stood ramrod straight and puffed out my chest.

Dragon, you may cry in this bird’s embrace.

The Ancestor’s eyes shifted, threatening more tears. “I thought it was him.”

The sight of a beauty weeping made my heart quiver.

I wanted to perform my courtship dance for him on the spot.

Yes! It’s me!

I’m the little phoenix you love most!

Quick, bury that beautiful face in my chest!

But the Ancestor couldn’t hear my inner screams. Still crying, he turned to leave.

In a panic, I took several running steps and flapped my unsteady wings toward him.

The three brothers lunged to catch me.

I beat my wings so fast they blurred.

Leave me be!

I’m a shameless little bird with no principles at all!

Let me fall into the arms of this mature and charming Ancestor!

Splat.

My entire body struck his chest.

To steady myself, my claws clamped around a small raised nub.

Perfectly content, I looked up and pressed closer to the Ancestor’s magnificent face.

So beautiful.

Why was he blushing, though?

Behind me, the third brother’s voice shook like a sieve. “L-L-Little Cheep.”

I didn’t look back.

Don’t fall for me. It can never be.

Farewell, young dragons.

An older dragon truly had more flavor.

The third brother wailed, “Y-you—let go of the Ancestor’s nipple!”

Me: “?”

Listen to this bird.

I didn’t do it on purpose.

I only wanted to cuddle the beauty.

I froze against the Ancestor’s chest, close to tears. Why had I grabbed there of all places? What if the Ancestor thought I was a lecherous bird and refused to speak to me again?

I innocently tucked in my feet, attempting to disguise myself as a perfectly naive little bird. “Cheep.”

The Ancestor’s lashes trembled.

“Cheep, cheep,” I continued.

His lashes quivered again, and a tear rolled down his cheek to land on me with a soft pat.

“Cheep, cheep, cheep.”

Don’t cry, cheep.

You’ll break this bird’s heart, cheep.

The third brother held out a trembling hand. I hurriedly hopped onto it, then looked guiltily at the little nub I had squeezed until it swelled. My chirp lacked all conviction. “Cheep, cheep.”

I’m sorry, cheep.

The three dragon brothers lectured me for two full hours.

“Birds may be lustful by nature, but you can’t simply grab someone.”

“If the Ancestor weren’t so magnanimous, you’d be a charcoal-roasted chick by now.”

“Back when the Ancestor waged war across the realms, he ate great demons one bite at a time.”

“And look at you.” The eldest pinched two fingers almost together. “You’re this tiny. You wouldn’t even fill the gap between his teeth.”

Their lesson began with respect for one’s elders, emphasized education, and used terror as a supplement.

In short, I was to behave like a proper bird.

I wilted in my nest and covered my ears with my wings.

Not listening, not listening. Young dragons chanting scriptures.

I was already angry that I couldn’t cuddle the beauty, and now I had to suffer their lectures too.

How birdsome.