She was conquered long ago.
That necklace was her favorite. It was also a coming-of-age gift from her grandfather when she reached adulthood. She had only worn it once, on her birthday banquet. The rest of the time, it stayed inside her jewelry box.
She was accustomed to fine jewels. It was precious to her only because her grandfather had given it. If Xing Yue had actually sold it, she would never like Xing Yue again.
Xing Yue looked down to see the woman sprawled against her chest. That small face was dripping with tears, gaze fixed unblinkingly on her. Her complexion was flushed a deep red from crying so hard.
She let out a long sigh and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “No.”
If she didn’t know the story behind that necklace, she might actually have resold it. But she did know, knew it perfectly well, so she had always kept it.
Xing Yue wasn’t a cruel person. She set the jar down, freed her hands, and gently kneaded the soft, plump flesh of Bu Yao’s cheeks to help her breathe. She didn’t want the girl to suffocate from holding her breath.
Bu Yao really… cried far too easily.
Why didn’t she cry like this before? Xing Yue found it strange, then suddenly recalled that, back on the mountain, Bu Yao had mentioned stopping her medication these past few days and feeling emotionally unstable because of it.
“What medication were you taking?” she asked.
Bu Yao was still immersed in her grief. Although Xing Yue hadn’t sold the necklace she’d given her, tonight was still deeply upsetting. Her mind was a chaotic blur. She hadn’t heard Xing Yue clearly.
She shifted her hips slightly, eventually finding a comfortable spot to settle within Xing Yue’s embrace. Her nose was red, her eyes were still swollen, and she sniffled from time to time. A stranger witnessing this would think she was the one whose things had been broken, never guessing she was the destructive little devil responsible for it all.
Xing Yue touched her arm; it felt cool, cooler than a fire snake’s normal body temperature. She urged, “Go put some clothes on. There are clothes in the wardrobe—pick one and put it on.”
Bu Yao shook her head and turned to face her. “Are you really going to try and get back together with He Zhiwen? Better not. I’m afraid you’ll just embarrass yourself.”
“…”
With a perfectly serious expression, Bu Yao earnestly advised, “People these days are ruthless against ‘the other woman.’ Hanging banners at your workplace, stripping your clothes off in the street, filming you and posting it online—can you handle that?”
Xing Yue: “I cannot handle that.”
“There you have it!” Bu Yao’s brows furrowed deeply. Sitting on Xing Yue’s lap, she was slightly taller than Xing Yue now, and they met each other’s eyes. “So why are you still looking for her? She’s already married. What’s past is past. As snakes, we must abide by propriety, righteousness, and shame. We must respect human ethics. If her marriage were unhappy, I could even reframe your actions, paint you as a hero rescuing her from misery. But she isn’t unhappy. She went hiking today with her wife.”
After what happened midway up the mountain, Bu Yao had someone look into it. Before today, she had never dared to investigate whether Xing Yue was single or married. She was afraid she couldn’t handle the result, afraid it would trigger her and ruin all her treatment progress.
It wasn’t until today that she finally found out about He Zhiwen. After leaving Xing Yue, He Zhiwen had been pursued by a local girl from her hometown for two years before she finally agreed. They had gotten their marriage license at the beginning of this year.
That girl was still in university, so they hadn’t held a wedding yet. They planned to have it after graduation in the summer.
Afraid that Xing Yue still hadn’t given up hope, Bu Yao spilled everything she had dug up: “Their banquet venue is already booked. Their invitations have been sent. Their snake eggs have already been laid—placed in an incubator. By early next spring, a whole clutch of little snakes will hatch out: colorful, gorgeous snake babies.”
“Don’t exaggerate… Where in the world are there colorful snakes?” Xing Yue retorted.
And Bu Yao had the nerve to lecture her about propriety, righteousness, shame, and human ethics? The most shameless one of all was Madam Bu herself. Xing Yue pushed Bu Yao away and gathered the items on the bed.
She didn’t actually intend to reunite with He Zhiwen. She just felt that the breakup back then hadn’t been He Zhiwen’s true wish. If He Zhiwen ever wanted to return, she had no reason to refuse.
Now that she knew He Zhiwen was living well, showing up even once would be an intrusion.
Bu Yao explained, “Colorful just means beautiful. I was saying her snake babies are beautiful.”
But explaining wasn’t enough. She leaned in close to Xing Yue’s face and nuzzled against her, showing an expression that seemed to say, Look at me! So generous, so gentle, so kind! Hurry up and praise me.
Xing Yue pushed her away again. “How was I supposed to take that as a compliment? And don’t give me that cheeky grin. What your mother did isn’t settled. Who’s going to compensate me for losing seven years with my girlfriend? You? Don’t even suggest it—I’d like to live a few more years.”
She placed the old keepsakes back into the nightstand drawer, organizing them properly. She glanced at Bu Yao, then at the nightstand, and finally took out a key. For the first time since buying this place, she locked the nightstand drawer.
Watching from the side, Bu Yao ground her teeth in frustration. If she were a little hamster, that nightstand would have already been gnawed to bits right after Xing Yue locked it.
Xing Yue pulled a long-sleeved white dress shirt casually from her wardrobe and tossed it at Bu Yao. “If you’re not sleeping, put this on. If you are, get down and cover yourself properly with your blanket.”
She seemed thoroughly determined to make Bu Yao sleep on the floor tonight. The bedding and pillow were already arranged.
Whether Bu Yao had truly fallen out with Madam Bu was still questionable. Most likely, Bu Yao was just throwing a one-sided tantrum and didn’t want to go home.
If Madam Bu had genuinely decided to stop interfering in her private affairs, that would be a good thing. But it also meant Madam Bu wouldn’t lift a finger regarding her tail problem anymore—unless Bu Yao went home to negotiate.
Xing Yue couldn’t let that happen. If she accepted this favor, it would be as good as admitting that Madam Bu’s payment for driving He Zhiwen away was a fair trade. She would have even less standing in the Bu household from then on. As things stood now, Madam Bu was indebted to her. She could still be righteously furious at the Bu family, could still point out their wrongdoings.
So how exactly was she supposed to deal with her tail? Was she just supposed to wait until it atrophied completely?
Xing Yue’s heart was in turmoil. A thought suddenly occurred to her—she remembered the hypnotist she had met at the hospital last time…
Just then, Bu Yao tossed the dress shirt onto the floor and said, “Don’t want.”
She neither put on the clothes nor got off the bed. She curled up on the bedding and stole glances at Xing Yue.
Xing Yue wasn’t about to indulge this. She grabbed Bu Yao’s ankle and dragged her over. “Don’t tell me ‘don’t want.’ If you don’t want to be thrown out, you’ll listen to me.”
After being a tyrant for so many years, Bu Yao probably thought she was a princess everywhere she went. Xing Yue decided she absolutely had to use her authority as the homeowner to properly cure Bu Yao of her bad habits.
“Fine,” Bu Yao said, her tone suddenly shifting. She looked as if she was reluctantly resigning herself to compromise. She sat up, bent her upper body over the bed, and faced Xing Yue. Her red hair swayed softly before her chest. “I want…”
She looked up at Xing Yue. Her delicate, dewy skin was almost glaringly white under the lamplight. A stray strand of red hair had slipped mischievously into the valley between the peaks. She hooked her finger around Xing Yue’s index finger. “Xing Yue… I want it.”
Her voice was sweet and dripping, melting into one’s ear; the sound alone could make your bones go weak.
The visual was too powerful. Xing Yue’s gaze felt transfixed. She looked down at Bu Yao in this alluring pose. The index finger that Bu Yao had hooked was still gently swaying back and forth, like a feather tickling the inside of her heart.
Her eyes darkened with restraint. She grasped Bu Yao’s wrist and pulled the woman into her arms.
“Xing Yue…” Bu Yao wrapped her arms tightly around Xing Yue’s shoulders, nervous beyond measure.
Yet she waited several seconds, and Xing Yue made no further move—only watching her from this close distance.
This distance allowed Xing Yue to see clearly the strand of hair nestled within the valley, her vision entirely filled by towering peaks.
Her breath hitched slightly. She used her extended index finger to lift that strand of hair, gently brushing it out and tucking it behind Bu Yao’s ear. Her movements were gentle and refined, perfectly concealing the beast roaring within her heart.
Xing Yue released her and bent down to pick up the clothes from the floor. After a whole evening of this standoff, it was still her, in the end, who had to tend to Bu Yao. No matter how harsh or cold her words were, it was useless.
She guided Bu Yao’s hand through the sleeve.
Even without saying a word, her expression and brows were gentle. An alluring, teasing atmosphere lingered in the air.
Bu Yao’s face flushed as she watched. When Xing Yue started buttoning her up, she suddenly pressed down on Xing Yue’s hands. Bashful, she whispered, “Today, I… the underwear I’m wearing has a front closure. This style… the gathering effect is actually pretty good.”
Xing Yue nodded. “Eldest Miss, even without a push-up bra, you’re still quite… gathered.”
Bu Yao didn’t know whether to feel shy or angry. “That’s not what I meant…”
She knew perfectly well what kind of figure she had! That wasn’t the point.
Xing Yue held back a laugh and deliberately put on a puzzled, troubled expression. “Ah? Then what were you talking about?”
Bu Yao sulked, flinging Xing Yue’s hands away. The tips of her ears flushed as red as a cooked shrimp. She stressed, “I only mentioned two things, and you still don’t get it?”
The bra was push-up. The style was front-closure. If it wasn’t the former, then she clearly meant the latter.
Xing Yue had a sudden look of enlightenment. She scooped the woman up horizontally from the bed and placed her down onto the bedding on the floor. “Oh, now I know which part you meant. Unfastening it from the front—like unwrapping a gift, how very… alluring. I’ll tell you when I’m ready to unwrap it.”
Going to such lengths to please her—Xing Yue truly couldn’t hold out. The Eldest Miss might have a temper as bad as could be at times, yet at other moments she was so adorable it was unbearable. She just couldn’t bring herself to be ruthless with Bu Yao.
If she were always this cute, she would have been conquered long ago.
Two people together had to accept each other’s multifaceted natures. No one could be cute all the time. Having a temper was normal. Having flaws was normal. Xing Yue just wanted a relationship that was a bit more equal. If every single day she had to be a one-sided servant, constantly pressured and controlled, her affection would eventually be worn away.
Just as Xing Yue finished setting her down on the floor, Bu Yao clung tightly to her and refused to let go.
To have taken the initiative to this degree, only to be rejected again and again by Xing Yue, Bu Yao felt a little wounded. She settled for the next best thing. “Can you kiss me? Please?”
Xing Yue planted several kisses on her cheek, then patted her head. “Sleep now.”
After the lights went out, the entire duplex apartment sank into night. For some unknown reason, not even a night light had been left on. It was absolute, utter darkness.
Bu Yao tossed and turned in her bedding. It seemed she couldn’t stand it without making some kind of noise. Her heart was oppressed. She couldn’t sleep. After mulling it over and over, she decided to lay blame.
“Xing Yue, are you that tired? You climbed a mountain for a bit, and even after resting for so long when you got back, you still haven’t recovered. It’s actually because you’re getting older and your stamina isn’t what it used to be, isn’t it?”
Hmph. Definitely not because her charm was insufficient.
