Chapter 18

“Oh!” Little Snake glared at her and crawled onto the bed in just her tiny underwear, climbing right over Ah Wan. Her little butt stuck high up in the air as she muttered under her breath, “Don’t want don’t want~”

That round little bottom swaying before her eyes—Ah Wan lost her mind for a second and subconsciously slapped it.

Little Snake stumbled and flopped into the blankets.

“You! You bullied Snake!” Little Snake yelled, grabbing the blanket and wrapping herself up tightly.

Ah Wan chuckled softly, then lifted the blanket and fished her out. Looking at Little Snake’s flushed face, she deliberately put on a cold face and asked, “Did I say you could sleep here?”

Little Snake shot her a resentful glare, turned sideways with her back to Ah Wan, and pretended not to hear.

Ah Wan pushed her shoulder again, her voice growing colder. “Did I say you could sleep here?”

Little Snake flipped over with a carp’s vigor, looking at Ah Wan. She huffed angrily, “Then where do you want Snakey to sleep?”

“Didn’t I weave you a snake nest?” Ah Wan said, grabbing the blanket and wholly flinging it open. She nudged Little Snake. “Go sleep over there.”

“But the snake nest is small, bad for sleeping.” Little Snake immediately snuggled closer, holding Ah Wan’s arm and rubbing against her. Ingratiatingly, she said, “Snakey sleeps with Human, Human is good for sleeping.”

“No,” Ah Wan refused without a second thought, grabbing Little Snake’s arm to pull her off the bed.

Little Snake wouldn’t give in, struggling fiercely, and instead pulled Ah Wan down, causing her to collapse right on top of Little Snake.

Propped above her, Ah Wan grabbed her arm and squeezed it, her voice fierce: “Get down.”

“Not getting down.” Little Snake was deliberately contrary.

“Fine, if you won’t get down, I will.”

Ah Wan moved to get up, but was suddenly clamped around the waist by a pair of slender, straight legs and yanked back down.

This time, caught off guard, she landed solidly on Little Snake.

They faced each other, inches apart, breathing in each other’s warm breath. The atmosphere instantly turned charged.

Ah Wan’s lips were pale, like unripe wild berries, carrying a hint of red.

Little Snake liked that. In springtime, she often picked these half-ripe, tart wild berries. She loved them the most.

As she stared, a pink snake tongue carefully slipped out, tentatively touching the human’s mouth.

Ah Wan didn’t pull away. Little Snake’s eyes curved happily.

“Human’s mouth is soft, little snake loves to eat.”

Hearing these words, and feeling the softness of the girl beneath her, Ah Wan’s heart inexplicably thumped wildly a couple of times.

She gently rubbed Little Snake’s waist, slowly lowering her head.

Their lips drew closer and closer, their breathing falling into complete chaos.

“Why is it so red?” Ah Wan’s gaze fell on Little Snake’s bright red mouth, staring, murmuring as if in a daze.

She then reached out and pressed on the soft lips, gently stroking, kneading…

Little Snake obediently opened her mouth. Two tiny fangs were faintly visible within. Ah Wan stroked one with her fingertip, sharp as a needle, and then leaned in as if mesmerized.

“Human, your heart—”

Little Snake suddenly spoke, making a gesture with her hand, “Bang Bang Bang.”

“It’s going to explode.”

Ah Wan: …

The clarity returned to Ah Wan’s eyes as she looked at Little Snake again. She pulled the blanket over them, pressing down to create a clear divider between their bodies.

“Sleep!”

The words carried a hint of embarrassed anger.

Little Snake couldn’t perceive the tone and still muttered close to Ah Wan’s back, “Human, your heart, Bang Bang Bang!”

Ah Wan clenched her fists.

A night of chaotic dreams.

Early morning, bird songs filled the air outside. Ah Wan slowly opened her eyes.

But the moment she tried to move, the warm little bundle in her arms whimpered restlessly a couple of times. She didn’t even know when it had crawled over, but it was now clinging tightly to Ah Wan with all four limbs, fast asleep on her chest. Possessive to the extreme.

Ah Wan sighed. The urge to get up vanished. She just slightly adjusted her numb arm and then very slowly leaned closer to Little Snake.

It looked as if she wanted to hug her, but just as she was about to make contact, she suddenly paused.

After a long moment, she only gently pulled the blanket over Little Snake’s snow-white skin. Through that thin layer, she patted her with restrained, suppressed tenderness.

Half-asleep, Little Snake mumbled something in her dreams, calling out for Human in a sticky voice.

Ah Wan lowered her eyes, gazing at the top of Little Snake’s thick, dark hair for a long time. Thinking of something unknown, a laugh suddenly escaped her.

Little Snake was disturbed. The vibrations of Ah Wan’s chest amplified in her ears, along with the thumping heartbeat.

She stretched, making a fist, then squinted at Ah Wan before closing her eyes again and burrowing straight into Ah Wan’s embrace. She nudged Ah Wan’s chin with her head. Her voice was hoarse, soft, and sleepy as she called out: “Human~”

Ah Wan’s heart trembled.

Yet the little snake in her arms kept nuzzling her blindly. She was warm all over, like a freshly steamed glutinous rice cake, sticky and mochi-like. Ah Wan couldn’t push her away, so she just let her cling.

Even after sleeping so long, Little Snake still seemed weak. Limp-armed, she wrapped them around Ah Wan’s neck and murmured softly, “Human, Snakey feels unwell.”

Only then did Ah Wan notice something was off. She reached out to test Little Snake’s forehead. It was a bit hot. Probably a cold.

She gently withdrew her hand, laid Little Snake properly on the bed, then went out to gather herbs and brew medicine for her.

Towards evening, the little one woke up groggily. But she seemed listless; she couldn’t even finish a piece of meat the size of a dinner plate for dinner.

Seeing her sickly state, Ah Wan thought for a moment, then took a pack of crispy noodles from the shelf and waved it in front of her.

Hearing the sound, Little Snake slowly looked up. Her eyes brightened, and she reached out to grab it.

Seeing this, Ah Wan finally felt slightly relieved. She tore the pack open and handed it to her.

The little one sat at the doorway getting some fresh air, munching away.

The third day, around noon, rain fell. A late-summer rain already carried a bit of chill. Standing at the doorway, the cold made a human shiver.

Little Snake’s cold hadn’t improved. She shrank into a tiny snake, obediently lying in the snake nest Ah Wan had woven for her. She placed her head on the basket’s rim, tongue flicking in and out.

Ah Wan brought out a pair of rain boots from inside and sat under the eaves to put them on.

Little Snake saw this. She slithered out of her nest, crawling crookedly towards Ah Wan, circling around her feet.

“What are you doing?” Ah Wan looked down at her, pressing her head down with a finger.

Little Snake was pushed all the way down, only to bounce back up. She raised her upper body, flicked her tongue, but didn’t speak. Her tail tip kept pointing urgently at Ah Wan.

She didn’t want to leave Ah Wan.

Ever since getting sick, she hadn’t spoken, rather spending most of her time lying in snake form.

Because this way, she could avoid the bitter medicine.

But Ah Wan had ways to deal with her. She would simply toss her straight into the medicine bowl and forbid her from getting out, letting her soak until she was gurgling up bubbles, only then mercifully lifting her out and wiping her clean.

Little Snake lowered her head and sniffed her own tail. There was a faint odor of bitter medicine. She immediately began flicking her tail tip rapidly in circles.

It looked exactly like a human shaking their hand vigorously when they got something dirty on it.

“You’re better now?” Ah Wan asked, noticing she seemed energetic.

Hearing this, Little Snake immediately lifted her round head and thumped her tail tip against the ground, making hissing sounds to indicate that she was indeed well. But she still didn’t speak.

She could obviously talk, so why had she been so unwilling to speak these past few days?

A question lingered in Ah Wan’s mind, but she didn’t ask it aloud. She watched Little Snake for a moment, then looked away, bent down, picked up her slippers, placed them inside the house, and locked the door.

Little Snake wagged her tail, circling around her. Whenever Ah Wan left her line of sight, she grew restless, flicking her tongue furiously, the hissing growing more distinct.

Ah Wan turned to look at her. She still clearly looked unwell.

She put on a bamboo hat and walked forward. Little Snake crawled behind her with all her might. Probably still lacking strength, she had to stop and rest every couple of steps, rearing up to watch Ah Wan’s receding figure, chirping anxiously.

Hearing the sound, Ah Wan still stopped. She turned around and went back to her, bending slightly and reaching out her hand.

“Getting rained on makes your illness worse. Daily medicine dosage doubled,” she threatened.

But Little Snake wasn’t afraid at all. Her tiny dark eyes stared fixedly at Ah Wan. She carefully rubbed her head against Ah Wan’s finger pad, then crawled over and curled up in the dry, warm palm.

Ah Wan had no free hands to hold her, so she placed Little Snake on her shoulder. Carrying her bamboo basket, she set off.

Little Snake crawled slowly up Ah Wan’s fair neck, circling around to the back of her ear.

Soon after, a little white head squeezed out near the tip of her ear.

The tiny thing hung on Ah Wan’s left ear, her dangling tail swaying gently and lazily, brushing against Ah Wan’s earlobe.

Like a beautiful snake-shaped earring.

Reaching the mountain forest, the rain was noticeably lighter, pattering against leaves and branches, creating a heavy sound.

Ah Wan adjusted her bamboo hat, searching for something in the woods.

“Human,” Little Snake, lying by her ear, suddenly spoke.

Hearing the voice, Ah Wan paused. It had only been two or three days, so why did it feel like ages since she’d last heard it?

“Why are you here?” Little Snake asked curiously.

Ah Wan curved her lips into a cold chuckle, her voice chilly. “Looking for poisonous mushrooms.”

“What do you need poisonous mushrooms for?” Little Snake tilted her tail tip up and scratched her head.

Ah Wan wiped her dagger on her sleeve and said slowly, “If you don’t behave, I’ll poison you with them.”

As soon as Little Snake heard this, her whole body went stiff with fear. After a stunned moment, she slowly crawled across Ah Wan’s cheek, stuck out her tongue, and licked the corner of Ah Wan’s mouth ingratiatingly. She said softly, “Don’t do that, Snakey will be good.”

Ah Wan glanced down at her, frowning. “Good? Which snake was it that refused to take her medicine?”

“I’ll drink it!” Little Snake panicked instantly. “Snakey will drink it.”

Then she tickled Ah Wan’s chin with her tail tip. “Don’t poison Snakey, okay?”

Listening to her soft pleading, Ah Wan felt an inexplicable sense of comfort deep inside, but she didn’t plan to respond right away.

Seeing this, Little Snake had no choice but to raise her head, flicking her tongue to lick her again.

But this time, Ah Wan suddenly turned her head away, even grabbing Little Snake to hold her still.

Little Snake could only coil around Ah Wan’s hand in a detour, begging, “Human, don’t squeeze Snakey so tight.”

“What if I do?” Ah Wan teased, deliberately giving her a squeeze.

Little Snake let out a tiny chirp, her tail pointing straight up, and said, flicking her tongue, “Don’t squeeze like that.”

Then her tone changed, “Human—bad~”