Eldest Miss isn’t good enough for me.
Bu Yao felt sore, so sore she couldn’t put clothes on. She crawled to the corner of the bed, tugging at the blanket, pulling her tail into her arms, rolling it all up together with the blanket that carried Xing Yue’s scent.
She didn’t cover herself with the blanket. Her soft, smooth, snow-white back was exposed to the air, knees pressed into the bedding. Bruises bloomed blue and purple, from her thighs all the way down to her calves.
Above her waist were more marks—bites, hickeys, kiss marks in varying shades of strawberry red.
Her entire body had been kissed all over. Xing Yue hadn’t just pinched and bitten her; she hadn’t even let her cry, covering her mouth to muffle her…
Bu Yao looked utterly pitiful. Anyone could see she had been thoroughly ravaged.
Thinking about everything that had happened from last night to tonight, Xing Yue braced her hands on the bed behind her, a headache forming. Perhaps it had started as venting resentment, but later on, she had completely immersed herself in the pleasure of inflicting.
She had never been like this before, not with He Zhiwen, not even with Bu Yao. She always maintained boundaries, even when completely satisfied.
Last night… Bu Yao had been like opening some kind of Pandora’s box, making her lose control bit by bit. Listening to those utterly shattered sobs, all she wanted was to hear Bu Yao cry even harder. Sensing something was wrong, she covered Bu Yao’s mouth, thinking that would curb the sadistic tendencies sprouting from deep inside.
But then, listening to Bu Yao’s muffled, choked whimpers, she actually… felt more aroused. She just thought this woman was crying so pitifully, and her hands didn’t hold back either, growing increasingly rough.
“No, you can’t.” She refused, not allowing Bu Yao to pursue her, even as she picked up the messy clothes scattered across the floor.
Bu Yao’s fingers twisted restlessly in the edge of the blanket, crumpling the coral fleece fabric. “Why not? Someone like Bai Yulun can chase after you, so why can’t I?”
Wasn’t she a hundred times better than Bai Yulun? That stinking pink snake was in heat everywhere, flirting around pretending to be single even though she was married. She was far superior.
Xing Yue frowned. “I already rejected President Bai, too.”
No matter what, Bai Yulun had given her a very suitable job. She wouldn’t take the clothes, wouldn’t drink the wine, but she couldn’t speak too harshly to Bai Yulun.
Besides the favor she owed, she also had to show Little Snowflake some face. Staying polite toward President Bai was sufficient.
Bu Yao pouted, sat on the edge of the bed, and swung her feet, looking like she had no intention of leaving.
Xing Yue placed the formal dress on the table, put in some eye drops, and only then said to Bu Yao, “There is no ‘why.’ We’re not right for each other. Different family classes, incompatible personalities, and you’re simply not my type.”
When other people say “we’re not right for each other” during a breakup, it might just be an excuse. When Xing Yue said it, it was something she had proven through practice, through actually living together.
Even though Xing Yue listed several points, Bu Yao zeroed in on the last one. “Not your type? Then why did you marry me ten years ago?”
Xing Yue could have totally refused the Bu family’s marriage proposal. She didn’t have to agree so readily, making her believe that Xing Yue’s feelings were the same as hers.
This question was one Xing Yue had regretted countless times over the years. Because of a single mistaken choice, she had paid for it with everything she had.
She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly sat down, looking at Bu Yao. “How old were you ten years ago? The whole ‘lesbians love older sisters’ rule doesn’t apply to me. How can twenty-eight compare to eighteen? Can I really be impulsive twice?”
A heartbroken, bitter shriek burst from the room. “XING! YUE!”
Xing Yue’s tone was ruthless. “Eldest Miss, don’t ever remind me again about the fact that you and I got married. Every time you remind me, I’ll emphasize it once: other lesbians love older women, but I don’t. I just like them young. Eighteen is right up my alley.”
This topic was somewhat hurtful. Age couldn’t be controlled. As the years passed, age increased year by year. Xing Yue herself had age anxiety; she was sensitive enough about it.
Bu Yao’s family had money, and her own genes were excellent. At twenty-eight, she still looked like a twenty-year-old girl. She had never felt any negative emotions because of her age increasing.
But what Xing Yue had just said completely shattered the arrogance and superiority she had over her own condition. She was so angry she couldn’t speak. She lay on the pillow, whimpering and sobbing, crying miserably.
That bastard Xing Yue had actually scorned her for not being eighteen. She hadn’t even complained about Xing Yue being older, hadn’t complained that Xing Yue couldn’t last twenty-four hours without running out of stamina. How dare Xing Yue!
As if those blows weren’t enough, Xing Yue hauled Bu Yao up and spoke right into her ear. “I like the kind of personality He Zhiwen has. Gentle, considerate, sunny, optimistic, attentive to detail. She can take care of herself and take care of me. I don’t like a woman who can’t even boil water. You can’t chase after me. Is that clear? Eldest Miss isn’t good enough for me. I don’t fancy Eldest Miss. You cannot chase me.”
Given Bu Yao’s proud nature, after words like that, she should have called Xing Yue a cheap bitch and slammed the door on her way out.
Xing Yue thought she had successfully driven Bu Yao away. Those words would be unbearable for an ordinary person, let alone the favored daughter of heaven, who had always had everything she wanted, arrogant beyond measure, domineering and wilful—Eldest Miss Bu.
But she had underestimated Bu Yao’s tolerance for her. It seemed that, aside from matters of jealousy, Bu Yao could accept almost anything from her.
Bu Yao shook off Xing Yue’s hand and climbed to the side of the bed against the wall on her own. She hugged the blanket, her forehead pressed to the wall as she wept. The tears were endless, as if she wanted to drown Xing Yue’s bed.
Her tail lay outside, weaving through the blankets, coiling now and then in false movements, then crept up onto Xing Yue, settling in obediently, its docile manner utterly at odds with Bu Yao’s temper, yearning for Xing Yue’s comfort.
“…”
Xing Yue was speechless for a moment. She looked down at the orange-red snake tail pressed against her. One of the scales was slightly lifted, starkly obvious against the smooth tail, the flesh and blood beneath faintly visible.
She didn’t know when Bu Yao had been injured, but if a snake scale was plucked, it wouldn’t grow back. There would just be an empty spot, the flesh inside exposed.
That’s why every snake was very concerned about the health of their tail. Unless they were sick and had no choice but to shed them, they would never let their scales be pulled out.
Xing Yue fetched the medical kit, lifted that section of tail, sprinkled some styptic powder on it, then sprayed disinfectant. She used tweezers to gently press the lifted scale flat. Looking close up, she could see the curve was bent—clear marks of having been picked at by fingernails.
She didn’t remember being that rough…
Snake scales were connected to the flesh, practically no different from flesh itself. This must have been excruciating.
Such a cold, beautiful, magnificent snake tail. Xing Yue felt it was a pity. Her thumb smoothed down the scale, and she wrapped it with gauze. It was a good thing the wound had been discovered early; it could still heal. If too much time had passed, with rotting pus, the only option would be to rip it out and deal with it.
Bu Yao was still crying. Xing Yue squeezed the tip of her tail. “What I said is fact. There are plenty of people who want to marry you. Why do you have to keep pestering me when I’m clearly wrong for you? You say you love me, but I really haven’t felt it much. Does it mean you’ll only let me sleep with you? That’s just your biological limitation. I’m not the same. I can sleep with anyone, as long as they’re pretty and have a good body, I can like them. As you can see, I’m no different from what you call a mongrel dog in heat everywhere.”
She opened her mouth just to chase her away. Bu Yao leaning against the wall crying was getting in her way.
Those words hurt Bu Yao, but she still didn’t want to leave. She simply transformed back into her snake form, wanting to find a corner to hide. She slithered on the bed, burrowing into the blanket. Xing Yue pulled it away. She burrowed into the clothes; Xing Yue threw them aside.
She froze, her ruby eyes landing on the pillow. Just as she burrowed inside, Xing Yue snatched the pillow away.
Right there before her eyes appeared an old, faded paper-cutout of the Chinese character “Double Happiness”.
Xing Yue’s posture suddenly stiffened, her eyes dark and unreadable. She snatched the paper-cutting away at lightning speed, crumpled it into a ball with one hand, and threw it into the trash can.
The entire movement was a panicked attempt to cover something up. Originally, Bu Yao hadn’t even seen clearly what it was. It was precisely because Xing Yue had thrown it away so hastily that she focused her attention on it. She extended her snake body, her head peering over to see what had been thrown in the trash. The frequency of her tongue flicking clearly increased.
That damn repressed weirdo, Xing Yue…
With nowhere left to burrow, the Little Fire Snake simply coiled up on the bed, not moving, only her tongue flickering out.
Xing Yue checked the time. It was only ten at night. After just experiencing Mating Joy, she needed to eat a lot. She ordered plenty of takeout, planning to eat before going to work.
Half a day off, then half a day of work.
All the delivery orders were from the same restaurant. By the time they arrived, the table was piled full. Xing Yue unpacked everything: roast goose, roast chicken, squab, beef noodles, ribs—mostly meat dishes to replenish energy.
Just as she started eating, a fire snake climbed onto the table, moving along its edge, opening its jaws wide to swallow a whole plate of steamed chicken.
Xing Yue’s chopsticks pressed down, taking the chicken away.
The Little Fire Snake reared up its body, looking straight at Xing Yue. Even without any expression, you could tell it was angry.
It slithered to another spot, about to swallow the roast goose. Its mouth was just opening when Xing Yue whisked the plate away.
Xing Yue raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t order a portion for you.”
At this, the Little Fire Snake stared at Xing Yue in disbelief. They were locked like that for half a minute. Seeing that Xing Yue remained unmoved, it drooped its head and silently slithered away.
Passing the trash can, its tail scooped up the crumpled paper-cutting, carrying it back to the bed. It spread open the now wrinkly “double happiness” character, its tail tip smoothing it out bit by bit.
The paper-cutting was already very old, the red coloring uneven. Now, covered in fold marks, it looked even more shabby and worn.
The Little Fire Snake coiled itself on top of it, so hungry it just went to sleep. Once asleep, it wouldn’t be hungry anymore.
Not long after, the sound of the door clicking shut. Xing Yue must have left for work.
Bu Yao instinctively looked toward the door. Xing Yue was no longer in the room. On the table were several plates of completely untouched food: spicy fish, steamed chicken, honey-glazed roast goose. Some of it was even still in the thermal delivery bags.
She slithered down from the bed and climbed onto the table again to swallow the food. She opened her jaws wide, taking the roast goose in one gulp. Although she didn’t need to chew, swallowing was slow. Bit by bit, she took the entire goose into her belly.
Her snake abdomen visibly bulged. One after another, she swallowed the remaining chicken and fish, her snake tongue lapping up the rib soup. Full and satisfied, she laboriously climbed down. She couldn’t coil up anymore; coiling her tail would make her throw up the food. Her whole snake body lay straight out, sprawled on the floor to sleep.
When Xing Yue came home from work, she was greeted by the sight of a nearly three-meter-long fire snake, its belly slightly swollen, lying on the floor, lazily waiting for the food to digest…
