Yan Zhen felt like he had uncovered an enormous secret.
Beyond her role as Sister Ji Ya’s shadow guard, Aunt Mu was actually a novelist!
And Shadow Phoenix and the little young master… weren’t those stand-ins for him and her?
“When was this book published?”
Yan Zhen flipped open the front page to check the publication details and found it had come out just last month—and not from a bookstore under the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce.
It seemed Aunt Mu had written and published it in secret. Sister Ji Ya probably had no idea.
He looked up at Jin Tong and Yu Nu.
“Do you two know about this?”
Jin Tong and Yu Nu exchanged a glance, as if silently asking each other, “Sister, do you know?” Then realization dawned—they both shook their heads, equally clueless.
“Even Jin Tong and Yu Nu, whom she treats like daughters, were kept in the dark. Aunt Mu must really be worried about anyone finding out.”
Yan Zhen could guess why she was afraid. She didn’t want to reveal that she’d developed feelings for Little Uncle—the man she served.
It might sound a bit narcissistic, but the possibility was high.
Aunt Mu rarely interacted with men, so it made sense that she’d catch feelings for him after serving him so intimately for a month.
Before Sister Ji Ya had even suggested making Aunt Mu his concubine, Aunt Mu hadn’t dared let her know. But as an older woman experiencing her first crush, she couldn’t hold back the surging emotions in her heart. So she’d channeled them into writing this novel!
—No, no, what was he thinking? Speculating like this about Aunt Mu’s feelings was terribly rude!
Yan Zhen shook his head to clear the wild thoughts, though he still felt a spark of joy inside.
He’d only “claimed” Aunt Mu opportunistically, and he’d always worried she didn’t truly want to serve him—that she was just obeying Sister Ji Ya’s orders.
Their brief conversations had only suggested she didn’t mind him. But now, it seemed Aunt Mu actually liked him a little.
There was quite an age gap between them. Was Aunt Mu into younger men?
—Off track again. Calm down.
He wanted to put the booklet away, but curiosity won out. He turned to Jin Tong and Yu Nu.
“This is a novel Aunt Mu wrote. Do you two want to read it?”
Jin Tong and Yu Nu blinked, nodding once before quickly shaking their heads. Without Aunt Mu’s permission, they clearly didn’t dare touch her things.
“It’s fine. If you want to read it, come sit down and we’ll look together.”
Yan Zhen set the booklet on his lap and took the hands of the poker-faced twin sisters, pulling them to sit beside him.
Neither Jin Tong nor Yu Nu resisted. They sat down as Little Uncle wished, their beautiful eyes turning curiously toward the booklet.
Yan Zhen opened it and began reading along with the lovely sisters.
It opened with a heart-pounding assassination. The target was a ruthless underworld boss. “Shadow Phoenix” struck swiftly and cleanly, then vanished into the night, her deeds unknown to the world.
The scene shifted to home, where “Shadow Phoenix” lived with the pair of adorable twin sisters she’d adopted. Their mother-daughter interactions were warm and harmonious, painting a picture of a seemingly unreliable but deeply caring mother—a stark contrast to the cold killer from before.
In just two chapters, Aunt Mu had vividly captured “Shadow Phoenix’s” dual nature. She had real talent with words.
Just as “Shadow Phoenix” was about to take her daughters to the academy, a message arrived from her organization.
She wanted out—to retire from the underworld. The organization agreed, but only if she completed one final mission: serve as the personal bodyguard for a certain little young master for a year, ensuring his safety.
And so the story truly began.
Yan Zhen had read plenty of web novels before his transmigration. This setup felt familiar, even clichéd. But Aunt Mu’s writing was so nuanced, and the characters mirrored real people he knew, making it utterly captivating.
Aunt Mu was “Shadow Phoenix,” he was “Little Young Master Yuan Zhen,” Sister Ji Ya was the “organization’s little boss,” and Jin Tong and Yu Nu were the “twin daughters.”
There was even an antagonistic family modeled after Second Shopkeeper and Third Shopkeeper, plus a villainous version of Han Feng from Mystic Academy. Divine Dream Palace served as the organization’s mortal enemy.
Jin Tong and Yu Nu were hooked too.
Yan Zhen knew these tropes inside out, so he read quickly, eager to turn the page. But the sisters reached out from either side, their small hands holding him back.
The more he read, though, the more off it felt.
There was barely any cat-and-mouse scheming with the antagonists. It was all ambiguous, flirtatious moments between “Shadow Phoenix” and the little young master—at least in the early parts.
For instance, the bratty little young master drugged “Shadow Phoenix” to drive her away. She sensed it in advance and turned the tables, making him the victim instead.
The little young master had swallowed the Spring Secret Medicine. He writhed on the bed in agony, moaning pitifully. “Shadow Phoenix” saw his delicate, vulnerable look—so different from his usual arrogance—and her heart stirred unexpectedly.
Whether from a surge of maternal instinct or newfound desire, she took matters into her own hands, helping him vent the fire burning inside him.
Steamy scenes like this were a dime a dozen. Nothing new there.
The issue was how Aunt Mu described every detail with crystal clarity, her excellent prose making Yan Zhen feel like he was right there. He couldn’t help substituting himself as the little young master—and remembering how Aunt Mu had done exactly this for him multiple times. His face flushed hot.
He wanted to skim past these parts, but Jin Tong and Yu Nu pinned his hands down, their beautiful eyes reflecting the text as they savored every line.
Finally, it ended. But not ten chapters later, another “intimate” scene hit.
The little young master tried spying on “Shadow Phoenix” in the bath to blackmail her. She caught him and dragged him in, forcing him to wash up.
As she scrubbed, she noticed his discomfort and helped relieve his urges again.
The plot wasn’t the problem—it was the details. Incredibly explicit, down to the tiniest nuance.
Every ten chapters or so brought another such scene, but the little young master’s and “Shadow Phoenix’s” romance barely progressed. It was all teasing tension and raw thrill!
Snap!
Yan Zhen slammed the booklet shut.
He couldn’t keep reading—he was at his limit.
Jin Tong and Yu Nu, lost in the tale, blinked in surprise. Then they turned expectant gazes on him, silently pleading.
Yan Zhen’s face heated. He felt like he’d corrupted them.
“Aunt Mu will be back soon. We should stop before she catches us.”
They nodded, faces still blank. Suddenly, they noticed his condition. Recalling Aunt Mu’s orders and the novel’s contents, they reached out without hesitation.
Yan Zhen’s body went rigid.
“Wait, you two—that’s not what I meant!”
The girls ignored him as if entranced by the Evil Dragon Mark. Like a pair of kittens, they knelt one on each side of his lap, tongues darting as they devotedly served.
Yan Zhen rested his hands on their heads, hissing through his teeth. It felt like he’d raised two perfectly obedient pets.
“Little Uncle, dinner is ready. Eldest Miss and the others are already in the dining hall—oh.”
Aunt Mu emerged without warning from the shadow by the door. She froze at the sight on the bed.
Hadn’t she just serviced him? How was he… again already…
Seeing Aunt Mu’s bizarre expression, Yan Zhen knew he was in trouble.
“Aunt Mu, let me explain!”
