Early the next morning, Ah Wan woke up early. Little Snake in the crook of her arm was sleeping soundly, hugging her waist and not letting her move.
When Ah Wan gently shifted her arm, numb from being pillowed on, the little one whined in dissatisfaction.
Her manner was incredibly overbearing.
She glanced down at the young girl in her arms. Porcelain-like skin, delicate and soft. Perhaps due to her young age, her cheeks still had a touch of baby fat.
Right now, sleeping in her arms, one side of her cheek was squished. A light poke made it bounce back.
Very cute.
The corner of Ah Wan’s mouth lifted involuntarily slightly, but then she pressed it down. Her eyes narrowed slightly, dark pupils deepening.
What was she just doing?
Ah Wan grit her teeth, abruptly pushed her away, and then threw off the covers to get out of bed.
Little Snake hadn’t woken up yet. She was thrown hard onto the pillow, dizzy and disoriented. She propped herself up on her arms and looked around the room.
No Human, but there were sounds from the bathroom.
Ah Wan finished washing up and opened the door to come out. Little Snake was already up, her back to her, pulling clothes onto herself.
She was still wearing Ah Wan’s clothes, a loose, oversized short-sleeved shirt that just covered her butt when worn.
Ah Wan’s gaze followed the hem of the shirt, gliding over Little Snake’s slender, narrow waist and the two alluring dimples of Venus there.
The curve between her waist and hips was round and beautiful. Perhaps it was the light, but the top of her bottom glowed pinkish, looking like a plump, juicy little peach.
Further down were two evenly proportioned, long straight legs. Even her heels were a tender red that made one want to dote on them.
Ah Wan’s breathing grew heavier. She forced herself to look away.
Little Snake finished dressing and turned around. Seeing her, she cried joyfully, “Human!”
Then she ran over.
The young girl’s chest was pert, pushing the front of the shirt into a small curve.
Ah Wan glanced at it and averted her gaze again. She opened the wardrobe and found the bra the little one had worn last time, throwing it to her.
“Put this on.”
After saying that, she left without looking back.
Little Snake held the bra and pouted, but still obediently put it on.
Ah Wan rarely made breakfast, but today she did, yet her distraction caused the porridge to burn.
Little Snake ran out in her loose clothes, circled the table once, and, not finding her own meal, stood beside Ah Wan demanding, “What does Snakey eat?”
Ah Wan looked up at the other bowl of porridge to her right side and replied, “From now on, you eat what I eat.”
“Ah?” Little Snake looked a bit wilted and said dejectedly, “Did Snakey eat all of Human’s food?”
Hearing this, Ah Wan paused in the middle of sipping porridge. She turned her head to look at her.
A clean, fair little face, big round eyes full of spirit—clearly the appearance of a human.
She thought for a moment and replied rather coldly, “Learning to be human means having the appearance of a human.”
“Oh.”
Little Snake understood. She stole a glance at Ah Wan, then obediently sat at the table, reaching out with both hands to hold her bowl.
“Snakey wants to eat meat.”
One last struggle before drinking the porridge.
Ah Wan miraculously didn’t scold her. She lowered her head and said, “Mm, I’ll make some for you this afternoon.”
Then she urged, “Eat quickly, it’ll get cold soon.”
“Oh, oh.”
Little Snake immediately lifted her bowl to her lips and then tilted her head back——
She drank all the porridge in one breath.
It was as if she had a straight intestinal tract; the food didn’t even need to make a turn in her stomach. Poured into her mouth, it slid right down.
Ah Wan watched quietly and sighed. Suddenly, she had no desire to eat. She put down her chopsticks, crossed her arms, and looked at her seriously.
Little Snake wiped her mouth and turned her head to see Ah Wan looking at her like that. Not knowing why she should feel guilty, she instead proudly shook her head, leaning close to whisper in Ah Wan’s ear, “Is Snakey awesome?”
“Ha,” Ah Wan laughed, looking at her and nodding, “Very awesome.”
The silly snake believed it. She happily pressed herself against Ah Wan and sat down, bonelessly leaning her head on her shoulder, inching her body closer bit by bit.
Ah Wan could clearly feel Little Snake warming up from her own body heat, and a strange sense of satisfaction arose.
Her gaze fell on Little Snake’s face. Her thick, curled eyelashes hid her beautiful large eyes. Ah Wan sighed with some regret.
Further down was a small, tall nose. On the tip of the nose was a tiny, round mole, light pink.
Ah Wan took a shallow breath, her gaze stopping on the little one’s mouth.
Her lip shape was full, the cupid’s bow adorable, and the color was a glossy, bright red.
Red lips and white teeth—that was probably how this was described.
Ah Wan stared for a moment, soundlessly swallowing. Then she turned her head away, cleared her throat, and said sternly, “Sit properly. Don’t always lean on me.”
Hearing this, Little Snake instead defiantly hugged her arm tighter, rubbing hard against it, and even raised her little head to huff at her.
Ah Wan’s ears were a bit red. She ruthlessly broke free from her embrace, stood up with her back to her, and said, “Do the dishes. I’m going up the mountain.”
Hearing this, Little Snake immediately got up, flicked her tongue. “Snakey go too.”
“No, you are not going.” Ah Wan decided for her directly and walked away without looking back.
Seeing this, Little Snake still wanted to follow, but after a few steps, Ah Wan turned around and poked her forehead with her index finger.
“You. Wash. Dishes.” After saying that, she turned and left.
Little Snake stomped her feet in anger behind her but still obediently went to clear the table.
Ah Wan took her woodcutter’s knife and went into the forest. She planned to get some vines to weave a small nest for the little one. If not, always squeezing with her in the same bed wasn’t a good solution.
The vines for a small nest needed good toughness. She also needed to gather some dry leaves to pad it for her.
Ah Wan was very efficient. In less than an hour, she had trimmed the vines one by one and loaded them into her back basket. She got up to gather dry leaves.
But just as this thought arose, Ah Wan suppressed it again.
Little Snake’s skin was so delicate. Even a light rub would leave red marks. Sleeping on dry branches and fallen leaves would be very uncomfortable, right?
Then… what about her own intimate pajamas?
The little one seemed to really like her pajamas.
Ah Wan was somewhat lost in thought, completely unaware of the hissing sound approaching from behind. When she finally noticed, a five-pace snake as thick as a wrist was flicking its tongue at her, its upper body raised high, its head poking forward tentatively.
Seeing this, Ah Wan frowned slightly, tightened her grip on the woodcutter’s knife, and without hesitation, immediately threw it.
In the blink of an eye, the venomous snake that had been hissing and flicking its tongue was instantly split in two. Its head scattered to one side; its tail twitched slightly a few times.
Ah Wan took out the dagger she always carried, went forward, and swiftly cut out the snake’s gallbladder. She wrapped it in a leaf and then packed up and went home.
Arriving home, as soon as she entered the yard, she saw a Little White Snake standing on her roof. Under the sunlight, it faintly glowed with a ring of light, sacred and inviolable.
Ah Wan stared blankly. She had never seen such a beautiful and noble snake, forgetting to speak for a moment.
Instead, Little Snake saw her and immediately rolled down gurgling along the roof tiles.
“Human!”
Ah Wan was startled, instinctively reaching out to catch her, but what fell into her arms was a soft, fair-skinned young girl.
Her breathing deepened, but she still asked with a straight face, “Why did you climb so high?”
The young girl softly wrapped her arms around Ah Wan’s neck, her pinkish-white tongue flicking out. She replied somewhat aggrieved, “Human didn’t take Snakey up the mountain. Snakey waited for Human to come home, wanted to see Human earlier.”
Ah Wan’s heart trembled lightly. Her arms holding the girl gradually tightened. But suddenly she saw the girl’s pretty brows furrow tightly. Immediately after, like a little dog, she pawed at Ah Wan’s clothes, sniffing around in her arms.
“What are you doing?” Ah Wan asked.
Unexpectedly, the little one’s face suddenly changed. She glared at her angrily and questioned furiously, “You raise other snakey?”
“What?” Ah Wan was baffled by the questioning as her collar was grabbed.
“You picked up another snakey!” Little Snake repeated, tears welling in her eyes, her small face looking utterly wronged.
Ah Wan slightly tightened the hand holding her arm, replying through gritted teeth, “Do you think I’m so idle? Going around picking up all sorts of messy things to bring home every day? Disobedient things that always make me angry.”
Though her words sounded confident, her heart was inevitably somewhat guilty.
She’d clearly washed herself clean in the river before coming down the mountain. How was the little one’s nose so sharp, still able to smell it?
Little Snake glanced at her resentfully, let out a huff, released her hands, and jumped down from her arms.
The smooth skin slid through Ah Wan’s palm. She instinctively grabbed for it but missed, only able to watch helplessly as Little Snake stomped back into the house in a huff.
Ah Wan hesitated for a moment but still put the back basket down and followed. As she passed by, she casually tossed the leaf-wrapped snake gallbladder into the room where she raised toxic creatures.
In the bedroom, Little Snake stood by the bed with her back to Ah Wan, putting on clothes. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she were crying.
Ah Wan slowly walked over and saw several red marks on her arm, clearly left from when she’d exerted force earlier.
It really was so easy to leave marks…
“Human!”
Little Snake’s call interrupted Ah Wan’s thoughts.
“Hm?” Ah Wan’s voice still sounded level as usual, but the look in her eyes toward Little Snake held a bit more obscure, unclear emotion.
Little Snake had obediently dressed herself. She walked over and stood in front of Ah Wan, her eyes red as she said, “I’m very good. Don’t raise other snakey, okay?”
“You’re very good?”
Ah Wan repeated her words with some surprise.
This little one really dared to say that. If Ah Wan hadn’t personally picked her up and raised her herself, knowing the willful temper hidden beneath that obedient, soft exterior, she might have actually believed it.
But Little Snake didn’t show the slightest hint of shame. She nodded, her face full of sincerity, took Ah Wan’s hand, and placed it on her own face, saying softly, “Snakey is obedient.”
Ah Wan took a shallow breath, looking at the girl before her.
She gently pinched her cheek. The feel was excellent.
Ah Wan inexplicably recalled that dream from that night. Would the girl beneath her body be so obedient and well-behaved?
“Obey every word?”
She slowly spoke, her tone icy, but her eyes held a madness impossible to ignore.