Chapter 31: Being a Top

I know your secret.

A wave of soft, warm fragrance swept over her. Xing Yue’s vision suddenly plunged into absolute darkness. Soft peaks pressed against her; she couldn’t see anything before her eyes. Her sensory perception amplified to its extreme.

Xing Yue didn’t struggle for long. She quickly surrendered into this nest of tenderness, holding the woman before her to rest.

“Did you really have a fight with Madam Bu?” she asked, feeling a little suffocated. She lifted her face, her breathing heavy and chaotic.

Bu Yao took the opportunity to settle herself onto Xing Yue’s lap. Her tail coiled up, nestling completely onto the sofa. “Mm. My mom said you’re a poor woman, and I’m a rich princess. Without her financial support, I’d quickly realize we’re not right for each other.”

“…” Xing Yue stroked the snake tail absentmindedly, tracing the shape of the snake scales with her fingertips. “Your mother is quite blunt.”

Madam Bu wasn’t wrong. Whether during their marriage or now in their current interactions, Bu Yao’s living expenses, food, clothing, and everything else were all paid for by the Bu family.

If these expenses were to fall on Xing Yue’s shoulders, or even if they were shared between them, the problems would become glaringly obvious. Just one pair of Bu Yao’s high heels was beyond what an ordinary person could afford. Unless she gave up on high heels and wore comfortable shoes, it would be nearly impossible to find heels that didn’t injure her feet.

Xing Yue asked, “When are you going home?”

Bu Yao caught Xing Yue’s hand, forcing that palm to keep resting on her tail. She looked at Xing Yue. “Shouldn’t you be saying at a time like this: ‘Eldest Miss, feel at ease staying at my home. I will do my utmost to take good care of you’?”

Why was she trying to send her away? Bu Yao’s little face filled with displeasure. She wanted Xing Yue to take back those words and say them again properly.

Xing Yue had long since passed the age of saying unrealistic things. “But without your family’s financial support, have you considered whether you can accept a downgraded lifestyle? Your clothes and shoes are all custom-made by famous designers—things you can’t even buy with money alone without the right connections. Can you bear sharing the same style of clothing as anyone else in the world? All the jewelry you wear is in the multimillion range. Can you tolerate not adding any new jewelry for the next ten years? Don’t even mention that I’m just an ordinary person right now. Even if I were a heavenly-king superstar, I still couldn’t give you privileges comparable to your identity as the Eldest Miss of the Bu family.”

When emotions run hot, one feels ready to give up anything.

But when it comes time to actually act on it, how could it be easy? Bu Yao right now was like an eighteen-year-old girl who had just quarreled with her parents and insisted, against all advice, on running off with someone grossly mismatched with her family’s status. The key issue was that this heated romance was entirely one-sided on Bu Yao’s part.

From start to finish, Xing Yue had never intended to cohabitate with Bu Yao. She had only planned to take her in for a few nights. She never expected Bu Yao to take it seriously and show no intention of going home.

“Why are you reacting like this?” The snake tail, which had been coiling and squirming, gradually stilled and lay motionless on the sofa. Bu Yao couldn’t understand. “If someone else were in this situation, they’d definitely promise their partner an even better life. Why are you trying to push me away? Have you ever seriously considered getting back together with me or not?”

Xing Yue’s attitude had always seemed ambiguous. A kiss was fine. A hug was okay. Going further didn’t matter either. But the moment remarriage was brought up, it was always “no feeling of happiness” or “no atmosphere of being in love.” And now she was directly trying to discourage her and send her home.

“Those are just empty words people use to deceive others,” Xing Yue said helplessly. Bu Yao was twenty-eight already, and she still believed in such tricks? “It’s precisely because I’ve considered this seriously that I’ve made this choice. Do you think I can give you the life you currently have? If you truly break with your family, life will be very hard.”

Xing Yue’s current mindset was simply to find someone suitable and settle down. She wasn’t considering anything else. She couldn’t afford the turmoil. She desperately needed a warm and stable home.

“I’m not afraid!” Bu Yao was resolute in her wish to stay at Xing Yue’s place. “Mind your own business. I’ll go home when I can’t stand it myself! Can’t you just give it a try with me? I like you so much, yet you keep sending me away.”

She didn’t like to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness and solved nothing. She had disliked crying since she was a child.

Whenever Xing Yue said these discouraging words, sensing Xing Yue’s attitude toward her, she would get angry. She would feel hurt.

“You really…” For a moment, Xing Yue was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

She was reminded of her father, a man she’d only met a handful of times. Her father had been the eldest son in his family and was originally set to inherit the large family factory after graduation. Then, at university, he met and fell in love with her mother.

But her mother was a girl from the mountains. Even attending school had depended on the financial support of her fellow villagers.

Fierce opposition naturally followed. But their youthful arrogance could not be contained. Her parents eloped.

The good times didn’t last. After Xing Yingnuan became pregnant, her pregnancy symptoms were severe. She quit her job to stay at home and rest. The young master, who had grown up with all the food and drink he could ever want, was already living a rough, bitter life since the elopement. Xing Yingnuan’s resignation pushed their marital relationship to the freezing point.

When Xing Yue’s father couldn’t endure it anymore and sneaked back home, he discovered that the family factory had long since been carved up by his own younger brother, uncles, and other relatives. His resentment and hatred were then vented upon Xing Yingnuan, blaming her for making him lose everything.

From then on, years of emotional neglect and cold violence followed. He didn’t even come home when Xing Yue was born. This dragged on and on until a gentle, quiet wife was worn down into a hysterical shrew and forced into divorce.

Xing Yue’s mind was drifting in a daze when she suddenly realized: Bu Yao’s choice right now was so similar to her father’s back then. It was exactly the same…

The woman in her arms was a piece of luxurious, dazzling jewelry. She wasn’t even qualified to be the setting.

“Eldest Miss, reconsider?” At Xing Yue’s age, she wasn’t permitted to be fearless.

Her uncertainty, her retreat—they all stemmed from their respective origins.

Before she met Bu Yao, Xing Yue had always been confident. She knew her abilities weren’t poor. She had academic success; she owned an apartment, a car, and had savings. Yet all her proud achievements couldn’t even buy a single pair of comfortable, custom high heels for Bu Yao.

Bu Yao was on the verge of crying from anger. Her snake tail arched up and kept poking Xing Yue’s face. “Reconsider what? Aren’t we already trying? If you don’t try, how do you know it won’t work? You won’t even try with me, and you’re already retreating.”

The angrier Bu Yao got, the more worked up she became. She straightened her back so they were face-to-face and solemnly lectured Xing Yue: “Can’t you be more like me, and have the courage to face challenges head-on?”

“For example?”

“For example, I want to be a top. How about being a pillow princess, Xing Yue?”

The thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the rainy night, bringing gusts of cold wind.

Inside the car, the woman wore a pearl hairpin in her hair and was dressed in Zen-inspired garments. Even for an impromptu outing, she maintained an air of elegance and dignity at all times. She was carefully reading the text message on her phone.

Uncle Li, go to the garbage station at Xing Yue’s residential community and look for a black trash bag. Inside, there are paper stars and a handmade miniature house.

Understood, Eldest Miss. May I ask: after retrieving it, should I give it to Miss Xing? Or…?

Put it in the residence’s storage room. Xing Yue threw it away; I’m not sure if she truly wants it gone or not. If dawn comes and the sanitation workers take it away, it’ll be impossible to find again. For now, I’ll keep it safe for her. Don’t tell her yet.

Understood, Eldest Miss.

Ji Wenyan finished reading the text message and glanced at the black bag placed on the backseat. She handed the phone back to Butler Li.

Her lips pressed together slightly. “Yao Bao has learned to cherish others’ feelings. That’s so good.”

Bu Yao was afraid Xing Yue had thrown away these worthless trinkets in a fit of pique. What if she wanted to find them again someday? These items held extraordinary sentimental value for Xing Yue.

How painful it would be if she couldn’t get them back. So the second Xing Yue threw them out, Bu Yao had ordered Uncle Li to retrieve them from behind her.

Butler Li knew Madam Bu’s heart was aching right now. Twenty-eight years of doting on this daughter, and this was their first ever fight this intense. He offered comfort: “Madam, perhaps the Eldest Miss has inherited your and the Master’s deeply devoted nature. I’m afraid she won’t change her heart easily.”

The Bu family were all hopeless romantics. With their superior family circumstances and prominent standing in both the business and political spheres, even with such power and influence, they had never produced a single scandal involving romance or lust.

Other prestigious clans more or less had their share of scandals—some open, some hidden. It was almost expected.

They were snakes. Though they practiced monogamy, due to their nature, rates of infidelity were high.

When a person stands at the peak of wealth and power, they usually become far too arrogant to even bother fighting against their own nature. Yet every member of the Bu family, from top to bottom, remained loyal to a single partner until death. In this world, this was a rarity.

The car drove up to the hotel entrance and stopped right in front of He Zhiwen.

The car window rolled down slowly, revealing Ji Wenyan’s sharply defined features. They had spoken once three years ago. Even though they had only met once, this face, like a flower of wealth and honor, was hard to forget.

“I know your secret.” The Madam lifted her lips.

That single sentence struck such terror into He Zhiwen that her face instantly drained of all color. She stumbled backward two steps, her eyes brimming with wariness.

Ji Wenyan’s voice was deep and resonant. Though she smiled, her eyes held no warmth. “Don’t be afraid, child. I won’t harm you. I also know the countless painful and ruthless sufferings your clan has endured over the centuries.”

She stepped out of the car.

Butler Li moved to follow, but she raised a hand. He understood and got back into the car, driving it away.

The boundless night sky stretched above them. In an instant, only the two of them remained. Although Ji Wenyan wore a gentle expression, her entire being exuded a terrifying aura. He Zhiwen felt as if she could even smell blood. She lowered her head and tried to hurry past.

Ji Wenyan: “Some people miss the right timing and don’t meet their benefactor, making it easy for their talent to go unrecognized. But with the right opportunity, they might just become famous.”

He Zhiwen’s steps halted.

Ji Wenyan pulled out an envelope. She held He Zhiwen’s hand and placed the letter firmly into her palm. “Have Miss Great White Shark bring this letter to the audition.”

The letter felt like a thousand pounds in her hands. He Zhiwen knew she shouldn’t take it, yet her palm gripped it tightly, unwilling to let go. Her lips and teeth trembled slightly. “Why… help me? What do you want?”

“The opportunity to recommend someone is something I give on a whim. I don’t need to get anything from you. Don’t be afraid,” Ji Wenyan let out a soft, contemptuous laugh. Then, her tone turned profoundly meaningful. “However, just having the chance to audition is far from enough. Miss Great White Shark is very talented—can you bear to watch her be eliminated? I want to make a deal with you—”

“Give me six thousand milliliters of your blood, and three snake scales. Miss Great White Shark will certainly shine brightly upon that stage.”

“There’s no need to rush to reject me. Whether you agree or not, I’ll still guard your secret and keep my mouth shut. I will not persecute you. You are free. You are also quite safe.”

The first time Ji Wenyan had sought her out, He Zhiwen had believed her without doubt. After all, a person of such status giving a promise—she had no reason not to believe it.

She exhaled a bitter, resentful sigh. “Do the words you spoke three years ago still hold? You said you’d find someone to heal A’Yue. Madam Bu, you break your promises. I haven’t even held you accountable for breaking your word, and now you’re back to trade with me a second time?”

Why hadn’t she held her accountable? Naturally, because Ji Wenyan had just happened to give her a chance to catch her breath.

She’d been caught in a stormy sea of love for Xing Yue, unable to make a firm decision either way. She knew deep down that if she married Xing Yue, she might have to spend the future caring for someone with impaired legs. That was why she had been tangled in hundreds of conflicting thoughts.

She wanted to leave, but couldn’t bear to part with Xing Yue, and was also terrified of breaking Xing Yue’s heart.

Madam Bu’s appearance was like a helping hand just when He Zhiwen needed to make a decision—a push forward. She followed that momentum and left Xing Yue, all while using the excuse that it was to cure Xing Yue’s snake tail, easing her own guilt.

Watching her expression, Ji Wenyan found it nothing short of laughable but reined in her temper. “It’s precisely because I remember our agreement from three years ago that I’ve come back to find you again. Over these three years, I’ve spent enormous sums of money and vast manpower. I couldn’t find any other method to cure Xing Yue’s snake tail. Except…”

She stopped her words at just the right point. He Zhiwen’s face alternated between ashen and pale.

Lessons learned through blood across centuries made He Zhiwen feel sheer terror at the possibility of this secret being exposed. She was frightened. Deeply frightened.

Ji Wenyan lifted her hand as if to gently pat and comfort a child, smoothing down He Zhiwen’s hair. “Of course, you have a second option. As long as Xing Yue leaves my daughter, I won’t care whether Xing Yue is disabled or not anymore. That way, you won’t need to draw blood or cut off scales either. Miss Great White Shark can still shine brilliantly. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

He Zhiwen dodged that hand. Its temperature was higher than an ordinary person’s, yet it made one feel a bone-deep cold. She retreated in shock. “I… I don’t know what to do…”

“You do know,” the Madam said with absolute certainty. She lifted her hand and removed the priceless pearl hairpin from her own hair, then placed it within He Zhiwen’s carefully braided and coiled hair. “A woman dresses up for the one who delights her. You still have feelings for her, don’t you?”