My Mom Says You Can Just Die Out There
From the sixteenth floor, the view of the nightscape was spectacular. The Mo City stretch of the Yangtze River stretched endlessly into the horizon.
After hanging the laundry, He Zhiwen stood on the large balcony and let the wind blow on her for a moment. In the farthest corner, a navy-blue coral fleece blanket hung drying. Everyone residing on this floor had just arrived today, and the balconies were full of drying clothes. Only this one blanket was different.
She glanced at it a few extra times, catching a familiar scent in the air, along with the stirring odor of blood. Involuntarily, she walked closer to that blanket. Her nose detected the scent. It was definitely Xing Yue’s…
Though it had been washed with soap, the scent of blood was too strong. She could almost trace the path blood had flowed across the blanket.
He Zhiwen felt a little uneasy. She paced outside Xing Yue’s room several times. The awkward scene of their last unpleasant parting was still fresh in her memory.
After hesitating for a while, she nervously knocked on Xing Yue’s door.
No one answered from inside. She knocked three more times and waited, but still heard nothing.
He Zhiwen gently pushed the door open. The scent of blood coming from inside was even stronger. “A’Yue… are you in there?”
She called softly, a little worried that something bad had happened to Xing Yue.
A few more steps in, and she saw Xing Yue, unconscious. Her footsteps quickened to the bedside, her heart clenching tight.
At that moment, Xing Yue’s entire body was burning hot and drenched in sweat. Her eyes were tightly shut, her lips completely white. Her legs seemed unable to lie flat or rest properly, frozen in that bent position, completely motionless. Large patches of skin were covered in medicinal herbs.
He Zhiwen’s instinct was to go get someone. But then it hit her—Xing Yue was disabled. If she went shouting for help, wouldn’t more people discover Xing Yue’s secret?
She hesitated, eventually abandoning the idea of calling others. She sat down by the bed and used her palm to gently wipe away Xing Yue’s cold sweat.
“A’Yue, are you okay? Is it very painful? Would painkillers help?” Although she didn’t know exactly what was wrong with Xing Yue, it wasn’t hard to see she was in severe pain. Her legs were covered with countless dense wounds.
Hearing a voice, Xing Yue forced her eyes open with great effort and shook her head, politely declining He Zhiwen’s offer. Mostly because ordinary painkillers wouldn’t work, and they’d only add burden to her liver.
Seeing Xing Yue in such agony, He Zhiwen went to the bathroom and brought back a basin of hot water. She began wiping the sweat-soaked skin on Xing Yue’s face and hands—simple, gentle cleaning.
“Are you treating your tail?” she asked, her gaze falling on those horrifying legs. Even covered by the herbs, the scalpel marks were hard to hide. “Why put yourself through such torture?”
Her eyes dimmed. She remembered what Madam Bu had said: they’d spent so long searching but still couldn’t find a treatment for Xing Yue’s tail disease. Looking at Xing Yue now, she thought this suffering was all in vain.
Xing Yue couldn’t speak. She was dizzy and dazed, looking like she could pass out at any moment.
He Zhiwen moved to the foot of the bed, wanting to help wipe Xing Yue’s feet. The instant she touched her ankle, Xing Yue gasped sharply in pain, her chest heaving violently. She didn’t dare touch her again.
She blew gently on Xing Yue’s wounds, her expression flickering, making sporadic conversation. “I’ve heard that Spirit Snake blood and scales can cure all diseases… if those things could be found, you wouldn’t have to suffer so much.”
Xing Yue, who had been about to slip back into unconsciousness, suddenly found strength from somewhere and propped herself halfway up. “Are you talking nonsense? It’s exactly because people think like you that Spirit Snakes are treated as machines for producing medicinal ingredients, having their blood drawn and scales peeled off. Once that trade is established, a market forms! Don’t ever say stuff like that again. Even hypothesizing about it is terrifying. Spirit Snakes are our kin. Do you see them as food?”
Since she was little, Xing Yue had heard stories about Spirit Snakes from her grandmother. Each one was a brutal, inhuman murder case. As if, in those people’s eyes, eating a snake was no different than eating an ordinary dish.
Utterly disgusting, and monstrous.
She refuted He Zhiwen’s words, then collapsed back onto the bed, resting her head on the blankets. Even if it was just a hypothetical, she wouldn’t allow He Zhiwen to think that way.
He Zhiwen stood frozen in place. It was the first time she’d heard anyone react that way about Spirit Snakes.
She knew all kinds of people. Without exception, whenever anyone spoke of Spirit Snakes, it was with some kind of eager anticipation. The belief that finding a Spirit Snake meant fortune, meant immortality. As if they weren’t snakes but divine elixirs, a treasure basin.
Perhaps because everyone thought this way, He Zhiwen herself had come to regard Spirit Snakes as mere medicinal material.
She lowered her head, her gaze drifting. At some point, her hand had gotten smeared with the herbal juice from Xing Yue’s leg. There was blood mixed in the residue.
A complex surge of emotion rose within her, spreading to her very bones and limbs. Perhaps it was heartache, so painful it was overwhelming.
“A’Yue…”
Unable to turn over much, Xing Yue merely turned her face towards the wall. “Go back. Staying in my room this long, my girlfriend will misunderstand.”
Seeming to think of something, she added emphasis, enunciating each word clearly. “When I reach the end of my life, I’ll accept death. If my tail disease can’t be cured, I’ll get prosthetic legs.”
She was telling He Zhiwen she didn’t need to consume Spirit Snake to prolong her life, didn’t need to drink snake blood or eat snake scales to recover her health.
For an instant, He Zhiwen almost felt certain that Xing Yue knew her true identity.
They’d been together for seven years. She thought she’d hidden it flawlessly, but living together day in and day out… had Xing Yue really never noticed anything…
He Zhiwen felt dazed. When she walked out of the room, her mind was still wandering. She nearly collided head-on with a woman just entering.
“Miss… Miss Bu.” An inexplicable panic seized her. It was only then she came back to her senses. In her hand, she was still holding Xing Yue’s towel.
She hurriedly put the towel on the table.
Bu Yao was dressed tonight in a one-piece jumpsuit with a sleeveless blouse on top and her hair in a high ponytail—a stark contrast to her usual cool, glamorous style. She wore chic business attire, a pair of light luxury silver-chain high heels sparkling on her feet.
She stood before He Zhiwen. The terrified, rabbit-in-headlights look on the woman’s face almost made Bu Yao feel like she’d done something to her.
“Open your mouth. Let me see.” Bu Yao’s tone was controlled, but the corners of her eyes rose slightly.
When He Zhiwen didn’t move, Bu Yao directly grabbed her face and squeezed until the woman opened her mouth from the pain.
She inspected closely. No trace of blood. Concluding these two women hadn’t been licking each other, Bu Yao released her hold. “Get out.”
The very moment Bu Yao stepped through that door, she had already envisioned where to bury Xing Yue. Spending the night alone in a room with her ex—this crime was tantamount to a secret rendezvous!
Xing Yue heard the commotion at the door, but she genuinely had no strength left to get up. Her body felt like it was on fire. Her head ached, her legs ached. There wasn’t a single part of her that wasn’t in agony. Every nerve in her body was twisted into knots.
She could only let Bu Yao rage. She was even mentally prepared to be scolded harshly. This woman, when jealous, was completely unreasonable.
She lay flat on the bed, looking up at the woman standing by her bedside. Her vision was entirely hazy. She couldn’t even make out Bu Yao’s expression.
“I’ll deal with you later.” Bu Yao flickered her snake tongue out fiercely, the air in the room filled with a hissing warning sound.
She walked to the foot of the bed, leaned down, and her soft, slick snake tongue gently swept across Xing Yue’s wounds. There was nothing romantic about it. The strong herbal smell, the faint metallic scent of blood—it didn’t taste pleasant at all.
Her snake tongue shifted from a pale pink to a heated red. The forked tips continuously secreted mucus. The wounds she licked over began to slowly heal, the skin turning smooth, milky-white, as if it had just been freshly shed.
It was a massive undertaking. Xing Yue’s face regained its color, but Bu Yao’s tongue was getting sore, and one side still wasn’t fully healed.
Xing Yue reached out and stroked Bu Yao’s head. “Baby’s so good at this, so amazing…”
Bu Yao had been diligently focused on healing Xing Yue. That sudden comment made her face explode with heat. She slapped Xing Yue’s leg on a spot that had already healed. “Turn over!”
She’d been quite angry when she arrived, but seeing Xing Yue in such pain, her anger dissipated. All she wanted now was for Xing Yue to feel better.
Xing Yue turned over onto her stomach, deliberately letting out soft groans—comfortable, humming sounds.
Every time she hummed, Bu Yao pinched her. The skin that had just healed was soon pinched red by her.
Bu Yao tore off the soiled bedsheet. She couldn’t change it herself, so she just tossed it on the floor, her ears still burning. “Did last night unlock your submissive side or something? Look at how dramatic you’re being!”
The mucus secreted by her snake tongue had a potent analgesic effect. Xing Yue no longer felt any pain. The half-dead state she was in earlier was completely gone.
Looking at Bu Yao’s outfit, she hooked a toe at the bottom of Bu Yao’s pant leg. “Went to work, did you? Eldest Miss.”
Bu Yao didn’t answer. That earlier matter wasn’t finished.
She pulled Xing Yue up from the bed, her brow full of lingering resentment. “What were you doing in the room with He Zhiwen? Think carefully before you answer.”
Before Xing Yue could even speak, a towel was thrown in her face. She pulled the towel away and stated what had happened. “Nothing. She just wiped my sweat. Nothing happened. Didn’t you check her mouth just now when you were standing at the door? See anything? Eldest Miss is so domineering, even passersby get their mouths squeezed by you.”
Bu Yao poked Xing Yue in the chest with her index finger. “You feel sorry for her, don’t you?”
Xing Yue grasped her hand and kissed it gently. “No. I feel sorry for you. What did your mother say?”
She pulled Bu Yao into her arms, her arms wrapping around her tightly, fitting perfectly against those graceful curves. The body heat transmitted through the clothes made her sigh in comfort.
Now that she had a girlfriend, she could hold Bu Yao without any scruples. So warm, so comfortable. She really wished she could just cling to Bu Yao every day.
“My mom says you can just die out there.” Bu Yao sulked, pushing Xing Yue away and finding a sofa to sit on, her back to her.
Her mood was terrible, the rims of her eyes red. “I told you on the phone I was coming tonight. You couldn’t wait a few minutes? What was the point of getting He Zhiwen to wipe your sweat? Don’t say it wasn’t your doing. Did you refuse her? Would moving your lips kill you?”
Everyone around He Zhiwen fawned over her. She had her own pride and aloofness. If Xing Yue had just rejected her, would she have stayed shamelessly?
The moment Xing Yue had told her to leave, He Zhiwen left. But she hadn’t left earlier, which meant Xing Yue hadn’t chased her away. Even doing it late was wrong!
Some people, the moment they start dating, are forever on the path of apologizing.
“Alright, alright, I know I was wrong.” Xing Yue came over and sat down, her long arm circling around Bu Yao’s waist. “Next time she comes in, I’ll kick her out immediately.”
Bu Yao turned her face away and removed Xing Yue’s hand.
The next second, Xing Yue’s hand was back on her waist.
Bu Yao removed it again.
Xing Yue promptly just lay down, resting her head on Bu Yao’s lap. She turned over, burying her face into that soft belly. “I’m so happy. Eldest Miss helped heal my wounds before scolding me. Though it sounds ridiculous to say out loud, if I don’t say it clearly, I’m afraid you won’t know how much I like you.”
Xing Yue was someone who easily found happiness. To her, the fact that Bu Yao placed her injuries above her own emotions—that was enough to make her happy.
