At the foot of the mountain, Ah Wan followed the navigation on WeChat and found the household.
When they arrived, the yard was already crowded with quite a few people, all holding tools and ready to go at any moment.
Ah Wan led Little Snake over, and the host came forward to greet them after seeing them. She explained to Ah Wan that since they needed to catch pigs to sell, they were worried about frightening the others. So, they decided to slaughter them all today and have a hot, fresh pig-slaughtering feast, inviting them to stay for the meal.
Little Snake had never seen a pig slaughtered, let alone eaten a pig-slaughtering feast. Upon hearing this, she was incredibly excited. She tugged on Ah Wan’s hand and whispered, “I want to eat.”
Ah Wan didn’t say much else, just hummed in agreement, then pulled her to stand aside so they wouldn’t be in the way of the busy workers.
It was a bit cold today. Little Snake, wearing the fluffy clothes Ah Wan bought her, obediently held Ah Wan’s hand, boredly playing with the two fuzzy balls on her outfit.
Several locals took their tools and went into the pen to catch the pig. Ah Wan stood far away when her phone suddenly buzzed. She took it out and glanced at it.
She didn’t reply, just blankly turned off the screen and put it away.
The large, fat pig was quickly caught; this was the one the family kept for themselves. The rest of the people went to catch the one they were going to sell. Several people pressed the fat pig onto the slaughtering board. Beside it was a large yellow tub, and people continuously brought over boiling water to pour in.
A young girl came out of the house, carrying two cups of tea. She offered them to Ah Wan and Little Snake.
Little Snake didn’t immediately reach for hers. Instead, she first glanced at Ah Wan. Only after seeing her pick up her cup did Little Snake extend her hand.
The host came over and, seeing the two of them just standing outside, quickly called to her daughter: “Quick, take the older sisters inside to warm up by the fire. It’s so cold out here.”
Hearing this, the little sister approached Little Snake, glanced at her shyly, and then said softly, “Sister, let’s go inside and warm up by the fire.”
Little Snake didn’t respond, tilting her head up to look at Ah Wan.
Ah Wan noticed and looked down at her. After a moment’s thought, she said gently, “I’m not going. You go ahead; it’s cold out here.”
After speaking, she straightened Little Snake’s scarf for her, then looked at the little sister with a small smile, slightly lowering her posture. “She’s not a local, a bit shy around strangers. Please take care of her.”
The little sister was secretly sizing up Little Snake, who was as pretty as a porcelain doll. Hearing these words, she quickly nodded her head vigorously and promised, “Okay.”
Ah Wan kept watch outside while Little Snake and the little sister went into the house to warm up by the fire. Inside, they found quite a few people gathered, all turning to look at them.
An old human asked the little sister in the Miao language who the human she’d brought in was. The little sister replied that she had come to buy a pig.
Little Snake stood nearby, looking around with a face full of curiosity, not understanding a single word.
The little sister pulled her closer to the stove and even brought over a long bench. The two of them sat close together, chatting.
There was no television inside. The old people gathered around the stove didn’t play on their phones either; they just chatted idly.
Little Snake couldn’t understand their conversation and had nothing fun to do. She was terribly bored. After sitting for two minutes, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.
The little sister had just started her first year of middle school; her family hadn’t bought her a phone yet. Besides, kids her age were naturally very interested in phones. So, as soon as Little Snake unlocked her phone, a head popped over from beside her, watching curiously.
Little Snake looked down at her. The girl also looked up and smiled, then sat back a little sheepishly.
“Do you like playing on phones too?” Little Snake asked. She took the initiative to put the phone between them, swiping at it while muttering quietly, “But I still don’t really know how to play on it.”
“I don’t know how either,” the little sister said shyly. “I’ve only ever watched other people play games.”
“Play games? Like Fruit Ninja?” Little Snake asked.
The little sister shook her head. Little Snake asked again: “Is it house decoration?”
“Neither,” the little sister explained. “It’s not a single-player mini-game. You need to go online and team up to play.”
“Ah, then I don’t know how,” Little Snake said, scratching her head. She swiped around on the phone, staring at the icons, and muttered, “Which one is it?”
“You haven’t downloaded it,” the little sister weakly reminded her.
At these words, Little Snake turned her head to look at her. She blinked, then asked, her face a picture of pure confusion, “What does ‘download’ mean?”
“You don’t know?” The little sister was a bit surprised. She tilted her head and pointed to the phone, saying, “I’ll teach you. First, tap this…”
With the help of the first-year middle school sister, Little Snake finally learned how to download a game. After opening it, she said enthusiastically, “Let’s play together.”
“I’ll watch you play. I don’t have a phone.”
Hearing this, Little Snake immediately and without hesitation handed over her own phone, looking extremely loyal. Then she stood up and said, “I have another one. I’ll go get it.”
The little sister wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but Little Snake ran off incredibly fast, disappearing in a flash.
She ran into the yard. Within the crowd, her eyes instantly locked onto the tallest, most striking figure, and she hurriedly ran over.
Ah Wan was watching as they herded the pigs into cages, preparing to weigh them. Little Snake suddenly ran to her side, clinging to her arm and acting coy: “Give me your phone.”
“Isn’t it in your pocket?” Ah Wan looked down at her, her voice soft.
Little Snake hugged her arm and shook it, saying, “I want yours. I want to play a game with the little sister.”
Hearing this, Ah Wan didn’t say anything more. She directly handed her own phone over, adding a reminder: “Just play inside the house. Don’t run around aimlessly.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Little Snake was very happy to get the phone. She tilted her head and rubbed her cheek against Ah Wan’s arm, then turned and ran off.
Entering the house, Little Snake spotted the little sister at a glance. The girl was using her hand to save Little Snake’s spot on the bench. Seeing her, the sister quickly waved her over. “Quick.”
Little Snake ran over and plopped down. She pulled out Ah Wan’s phone and showed her. “Now we have two phones. We can play together.”
The little sister’s eyes shone brightly, looking on with envy. A bit embarrassed, she said, “I’m not that good at it. I’ve only seen it a few times at other people’s houses.”
“No problem,” Little Snake leaned in close to whisper, her smile full of confidence. “I won’t laugh at you.”
The little sister looked at her, both grateful and happy, and nodded her head firmly.
The two new accounts registered successfully. Little Snake stared blankly at the flashy screen. On the other side, the little sister had already sped to the hero selection screen. She glanced at Little Snake and said, “Come on in, fast.”
“How do I get in?” Little Snake looked utterly bewildered.
“Just enter directly,” the little sister said, operating it skillfully.
Little Snake frowned in confusion. In the end, she had to resort to her old method—poking the screen with one finger, hitting whatever icon it landed on.
Half an hour later, Little Snake was adeptly working the directional pad, battling it out alone in the single-player training grounds. She was playing with immense, unrestrained joy.
“I’m all practiced up; let’s start for real now,” she called out, her blood boiling with excitement.
The room was small, full of people, and the stove fire burned high. Plus, it was cold outside today, and Ah Wan had dressed her quite warmly. So, before long, her little face was flushed red from the heat.
Little Snake reached up to wipe her forehead. She was just excitedly inviting the little sister to play with her when, before they could even start, a notification message suddenly popped up on the phone.
Little Snake glanced at it. Before she could react, she saw another one pop up. Then a second, a third… many messages.
She blinked and simply exited the game, opening Ah Wan’s WeChat.
Ah Wan’s chat page had many dialog boxes. Some even had red notification badges reading 99+, but Ah Wan hadn’t opened them. Among them, only one chat was pinned to the top. The contact’s nickname was a little snake emoji that came with the phone’s input method—it was extremely cute.
Little Snake found the human who had been bombarding WeChat with messages just moments ago. After tapping into the chat, she saw the screen was full of messages all sent by the other party. Ah Wan hadn’t replied to a single one.
Ding-dong. Another message came from the other side. “I miss you very much. I’ll graduate in June next year. Can you come see me?”
Little Snake couldn’t read it. She grew anxious and fidgety looking at the phone. She turned to ask the little sister for help reading it. “What does this human’s message say?”
“You don’t recognize it?” The little sister was curious. Little Snake smiled shyly. “I just started learning.”
Hearing this, the little sister mistakenly thought Little Snake was also an ethnic minority who had only just begun learning Chinese. She didn’t think much of it and considerately recited the two messages. She even asked, “Do you want me to read the ones above too?”
Little Snake looked at the endless string of messages stretching down who knew how far. She thought for a moment, then shook her head. She looked a bit sullen. Pressing the voice message button, she asked quietly, “Who are you? Why are you sending her messages?”
After sending the two voice messages, the other side went silent.
Just as Little Snake thought there would be no more reaction, the opposite side suddenly started a message bombardment, sending over a dozen messages in a row.
Little Snake watched the messages frantically popping up on the phone screen. She was startled and a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, the other side stopped after sending nearly twenty messages, not continuing further. She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when the opposite side directly sent a video call request.
Seeing her own face appear on the phone screen, Little Snake froze for two seconds. Reacting, she immediately and without hesitation jabbed it with a fingertip, hanging up directly. She then immediately stuffed the phone into her own pocket. But the other party still seemed unwilling to give up. Although Little Snake pressed down tightly on her pocket, the phone inside still vibrated frantically.
Over here, the pigs had been weighed. Ah Wan went into the house to get her phone to pay. But the moment she stepped inside, she saw the little one hurriedly trying to hide something.
She quietly walked over and stood beside her. After watching for a while, she lowered her head and asked, “What are you hiding?”
Hearing the voice, Little Snake immediately turned her head to look. Startled again, she quickly replied, “N-nothing, I’m not hiding anything.”
At these words, Ah Wan tilted her head slightly, looking at the spot Little Snake hadn’t covered up. The black corner of her own phone was clearly visible.
Ah Wan chuckled softly. Knowing she must have used her phone to do something bad, she extended her hand and said, “Give me the phone.”
“No, no, no,” Little Snake shook her head, frantically refusing. She added with an expression of considerate care, “I’ll keep it safe for you.”
Ah Wan had taught her that she couldn’t act coy and call herself “Snakey” when outsiders were around; bad people might catch her and take her away. So she could only say “I.”
But after saying it, she felt it wasn’t enough. So, she proactively took Ah Wan’s hand and gently placed it against her own face. She looked up, blinking, and pleaded softly, “Isn’t that fine?”
Ah Wan looked at her with a blank expression but secretly drew in a breath. She withdrew her hand impassively and said, “Without my phone, what am I supposed to use to pay for the pigs?”
Hearing this, Little Snake let out an enlightened “oh.” Under Ah Wan’s watchful gaze, she slowly fished out the phone, seeming somewhat reluctant to part with it as she handed it over.
Ah Wan took the phone and unlocked it. She glanced at WeChat, then looked at Little Snake, who was full of guilt. But she said nothing. She just pocketed the phone and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Little Snake hurriedly got up and chased after her. “Wait for me.”
“Sister, your phone,” the little sister also followed up.
Little Snake let out an “oh.” She stopped, grabbed her own phone, and ran, hurriedly and frantically chasing after her.
Ah Wan used her phone to pay. She paid a bit extra, hoping the host could help butcher the pig as well. It was convenient since they had the space and the right tools today.
The host was warm-hearted and agreed readily, calling everyone to continue helping.
Just slaughtering the pig without processing it was much faster. After splitting it in two, they washed it clean and packed it up properly. The host even had her man and a few strong laborers help use a small three-wheeled cart to deliver the pork to the foot of the mountain for Ah Wan.
After dark, Ah Wan simply dealt with the pig offal. The rest was still left in the yard. Since it was winter and things didn’t spoil easily, she planned to wait until daylight tomorrow to slowly process it.
Little Snake had gone back inside to shower. Ah Wan took off her outer coat. Underneath, she only wore a black mock-neck sweater, its sleeves rolled up to her mid-forearms. She casually took the apron off the wall and tied it on.
She was the tall and slender type. Even tied, the apron hung loosely around her waist. Her long black hair was casually pinned up behind her head. Her cool demeanor carried a hint of laziness. Her exquisite, delicate features added an aura that warned strangers to keep their distance. Yet here she was, wearing an apron, busy in the kitchen. The movement of her hands, the falling of the knife, added a touch of the mundane world. It was the kind of sight that, upon a first glance, made it impossible to look away.
Ah Wan found the electric grill pan she’d bought online a while ago. After a quick wipe-down, she brought it over and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Then she went back to the kitchen to continue slicing the pork belly. Her long, strong fingers swiftly threaded the skewers. Thin lines of muscle appeared on her arms—very attractive and also radiating a sense of security.
Once everything was ready, Ah Wan moved all the ingredients to the coffee table and arranged them. She removed the apron, laid a cushion on the floor, and sat cross-legged, leaning casually against the sofa. Bored, she was idly scrolling through her phone.
“Who are you really? Why do you have my sister’s phone?” The other side was still persistently sending messages.
Ah Wan saw them but ignored them. Instead, she patiently scrolled upward. After flipping through nearly a hundred messages, she finally found the two voice messages Little Snake had sent. She tapped them and held the phone to her ear, listening.
For some reason, despite the clearly soft and sweet voice, Ah Wan distinctly heard a tone of angry questioning within it. She liked them immensely. She listened again and again. Finally, she carefully saved them as favorites.
After finishing that, she noticed the other side was still sending messages. From intimidation and threats to bitter pleas, but no matter how the tone shifted, one constant remained: they never stopped asking urgently who the human who sent the voice messages was.
As Ah Wan watched, a sudden pang of jealousy hit her. Why did that human get to receive two voice messages from Little Snake?
Her finger pressed on the screen, rubbing slowly against it. Seized by envy, Ah Wan simply opened the friend settings and unhesitatingly aimed for a red button at the very bottom. But just as she pressed down, she hesitated. After a moment’s thought, she touched the screen and slowly moved her finger away, dragging it up two rows before decisively hitting “Block.”
Now she felt slightly better inside.
A sound came from the direction of the bedroom. Ah Wan pocketed her phone and turned her head to look. She saw Little Snake, fresh from her bath, a large bath towel draped over her head, walking toward her.
Without any hesitation, Ah Wan stretched out her hand, her tone flat. “Stupid snake, come here.”
Little Snake rubbed her eyes, walked over somewhat sleepily, and sat down in her embrace. She hugged Ah Wan face-to-face, resting her head on Ah Wan’s shoulder and nuzzling against it dependently.
