Snakes are meant to be colorful
Maybe it was because the rain was too heavy, but Xing Yue couldn’t sleep well. She drifted in and out of consciousness, her back soaked in cold sweat. Her legs rubbed restlessly against the sheets, yet the dense, prickling pain was still hard to relieve.
She struggled up from her drowsiness, the agony so intense it felt like both legs were about to explode. Throwing back the blanket to look, she saw the same symptoms as the night before last—red as if scalded by boiling water.
Her ears were filled with the chaotic noise of the wild storm and howling wind, gusts of sinister, cold air blowing in.
In this kind of severe weather, Xing Yue couldn’t get to the hospital either. She could only go to the bathroom and rinse her legs with cold water to find some relief.
Just as she was getting out of bed, she saw the small heels still placed by the bedside. Xing Yue’s gaze lingered for a moment. Had Bu Yao even gotten home? She didn’t wear shoes; no one to help her put them on, so she just wouldn’t wear them—a fault she still hadn’t managed to correct.
Muttering complaints inwardly, Xing Yue still picked up the delicate little heels and placed them neatly in the shoe cabinet by the door, next to her own shoes.
She checked her phone again. Quiet. No texts, no messages, no missed calls…
A sudden, inexplicable anger rose inside Xing Yue. She sent Bu Yao a message: “You love me but you don’t check in to say you’re safe? Other people’s girlfriends send a message when they get home to let them know they’re okay.”
She knew she was being a bit irrational, starting to be emotionally sensitive about Bu Yao. It was utterly unlike an adult of her age. Even when she was seventeen or eighteen, she hadn’t been this restless.
But she desperately needed Bu Yao’s response, as if only then could she feel that she was loved.
Xing Yue thought this was rather childish, her mind a mass of contradictions. Less than two minutes after sending that message, she manually retracted it.
Just seconds after she retracted it, Bu Yao replied—
“Home. Miss Jiejie.”
(“Bu Yao” retracted a message)
“…”
The woman on the other side was mimicking her—sending a message, then retracting it.
Xing Yue stared blankly at the chat screen. Even though she had received Bu Yao’s message, her heart was still hanging high, not settling at all. Maybe it was the storm. All night tonight, she’d had this floating, gravity-less feeling, her heart rate too fast.
Knowing that Bu Yao had made it home safely, Xing Yue didn’t send any further message. She put down her phone, went to the bathroom, and ran cold water over her legs for nearly half an hour, until the sensation of skin being flayed off gradually subsided, before she finally came out.
When she came out, she heard the buzzing vibration of her phone. Opening it, it was all a screen-flooding barrage from Bu Yao——
“So sad, want to kiss Jiejie (Tears.jpg)”
“Kiss tomorrow, okay? (Expectant.emoji)”
“If I don’t kiss I’m gonna die wuu (Wailing.jpg)”
“Want kisses, want Jiejie kisses (Wailing.jpg) (Crying.jpg) (Wronged.jpg)”
“Want to kiss right now (Cry.emoji)”
“Can’t kiss, gonna die (Cry.emoji) (Wailing.jpg) (Nonstop tears.jpg)”
These were clearly words of a little woman acting coy and spoiled, but they instead stirred a heavy, oppressive feeling. Reading these words, it was as if not being able to kiss Xing Yue meant she really was about to die.
Xing Yue’s eyes fell on the screen. Every message was followed by a crying little emoji. Her thumb slid up and down the chat, the screen filled with white text bubbles all asking for kisses, all crying face stickers.
Nothing else was revealed. Xing Yue couldn’t read anything else into it, but these endless crying little emojis made her involuntarily picture Bu Yao, and an indescribable feeling grew from deep inside…
Xing Yue——
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you fight with your mom?”
This was the only thing Xing Yue could think of. Probably Bu Yao, at home, had some unhappy disagreement with her elders. It might have even been a pretty fierce argument.
When people are feeling down or have been wronged, they become especially fragile.
The other side suddenly went silent. Xing Yue didn’t let her phone leave her hand. Lying in bed, she stared at the screen for several minutes without getting a reply from Bu Yao.
This only further confirmed Xing Yue’s guess. As if possessed, she composed a message: “Should I come pick you up?”
She could almost guess with complete certainty: Bu Yao had fought with her family because of her.
Waiting and waiting, Xing Yue unknowingly drifted off to sleep…
The roads, washed clean by the torrential rain, were covered in fallen flowers and leaves. The Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, and even though a storm had raged the night before, by the time the blazing sun rose the next day, the heat was still unbearably sweltering.
Xing Yue was woken up by the heat. Although her sense of touch craved warmth, she couldn’t really endure the high heat of summer. She liked staying in an air-conditioned room hugging a little furnace—peak comfort.
Her eyes cracked open blearily, her hand groggily searching the bed for the AC remote. It bumped into something soft and burning hot. The unfamiliar feel made Xing Yue’s heart jolt, jolting her wide awake.
She looked closely. A deep blue python tail was coiled on the bed, its color like a deep sea where no light could reach. The scales had a few scattered, gorgeous butterfly patterns on them. Against the ink-toned blue, this tail appeared especially alluring, bewitching and gorgeous…
Xing Yue was so frightened she tried to scramble off the bed. Not realizing her own legs had already turned into a tail, she tumbled straight to the floor, the unfamiliar snake tail also dropping to the ground along with her movement.
Ignoring the pain, she kept retreating. The more she retreated, the more the snake tail followed her, until she backed into the wardrobe, no more room to retreat, her upper body burrowing into the pile of clothes. Only then did she feel a sliver of security.
A long time passed before Xing Yue slowly calmed down. Peeking through the gaps in the clothes, she looked at the unfamiliar snake tail outside the wardrobe. Deep blue was a very dark shade; when night fell, without careful inspection, it could almost blend into the night.
But those butterfly-like patterns were the green of early spring reeds, the scent of springtime itself, like fairies living in a forest—a very natural color palette.
Xing Yue reached out a finger and poked it. The tail curled and jerked half a circle, startling her so much she pulled her hand back, stuffing it obediently back into the clothes pile.
Was this tail… hers? Why didn’t she feel anything…
She couldn’t feel that she had a tail. She had lost her snake tail for far too long. Just like a small child, she was showing signs of not being able to control it.
And so, in the room, one woman and one tail remained at an impasse, until the sun hanging high outside the window was about to set. Only then did Xing Yue move her numb, tingling arms.
Bit by bit, she scooped the snake tail over, carefully cradling it in her arms. Her index finger gently stroked the scales as she started counting the little butterflies on the tail.
One, two…
Counting, Xing Yue’s nose suddenly stung. She rested her forehead against the snake tail, and for a long, long time, couldn’t calm down.
She got out of the wardrobe, found her phone, took several pictures of the tail, and immediately sent them to Bo Wuxue.
She went back to her WeChat page. The red notification number at the top right of Bu Yao’s avatar showed 99+.
Xing Yue was bombarded by these unread messages——
“Okay (Waiting obediently.jpg)”
“Mm??? (Pitiful.jpg)”
“Is Jiejie lost? (Question.emoji)”
(Bu Residence location sent)
“It’s still raining so hard outside, better not come yet. Come when the rain lets up.”
“The rain stopped! When are you coming to pick me up? (Obedient.jpg)”
“Where are you???”
“It’s daylight already! I’ll even pay your taxi fare, okay?”
(Sent a transfer of 200 yuan)
“Xing Yue, I’m telling you, you’re dead. If you don’t come to pick me up before dark, I’m never talking to you again.”
“Fine, fine, fine, you’re amazing. You said you’d come get me, then didn’t. Even if you fell asleep last night, you ought to be awake by now, right?”
“It’s noon!!! Xing Yue!! Still not out of bed?!”
“It’s afternoon!!! I don’t want to kiss you anymore! Drop dead!”
“Where are you? You blocked my number, I can’t call you! (Wailing.jpg)”
“Unblock my number! (Anger.emoji)”
“So do we kiss or not? (Question.jpg)”
(Incoherent rambling.jpg)
(You really have a talent for hurting people.jpg)
(Random flailing in the wind.jpg)
(Cursing under my breath.jpg)
Xing Yue watched Bu Yao go from “Jiejie this, Jiejie that” to directly calling her by name, from acting cute and spoiled to sputtering with rage.
Flipping through these messages, she didn’t even notice when the corners of her own lips had lifted.
She replied to Bu Yao——
“Coming now.”
She put down the phone. Both hands on her snake tail, she was about to figure out how to turn it back into legs. The moment this thought arose, the snake tail shrank back into form right before her eyes. It had already retracted.
Xing Yue’s heart seized. She hadn’t even had enough time to touch it. Would she be able to see it again in the future? At this thought, the snake tail re-emerged, coiling on the floor, inexplicably obedient.
She gave a small laugh. Startled, and then relieved. Up and down.
Xing Yue freshened up and went out. Shortly after she left, Bo Wuxue came rushing over like a gust of wind.
Running, she shouted, “AAAAHHHH I want to be the first one to touch A’Yue’s tail!!!”
Colorful, so beautiful! Snakes were MEANT to be colorful!
After seeing the photos, Bo Wuxue had rushed over as fast as she could, but she was still a step too late. By the time she reached the rented room, Xing Yue had just left a little while ago.
Xing Yue took a cab to the East Gate of the Bu Residence. The car could only stop here; it couldn’t drive into Maple Forest Bay. Walking from here, through the maple forest, and to the front door would take quite a long trek.
She called Butler Li. “Uncle Li, I’m at the East Gate. Come pick me up.”
Butler Li was already shocked to receive the call, and when he heard the content, he was even more stunned. For a moment, he didn’t react at all.
Xing Yue urged, “You’re not so old you’re going deaf, are you? What other reason would I have to show up here besides looking for Eldest Miss? And that’s basically the same as Eldest Miss telling you to bring me in. Hurry up, don’t keep Eldest Miss waiting.”
In the past, Xing Yue had never ordered around the servants of the Bu household. She did everything herself—when out and about, when at home washing clothes, all by herself.
First of all, her approach had been completely wrong. She had been far too proactive, too diligent.
She had married Bu Yao, meaning she was also a member of the Bu family. These servants had signed employment contracts with the Bu Residence, and they should rightfully listen to her as well.
Back then, she just hadn’t understood the master-servant relationship, and that’s why these Bu family servants dared to walk all over her.
Less than three minutes after Xing Yue waited, a familiar car arrived.
Sitting in the back seat, she rolled down the window. She had never properly appreciated the scenic maple forest along this route before.
Today, the Bu Residence was eerily quiet, with an indescribable sense of something foreboding.
Butler Li also seemed to be in low spirits. “Miss Xing, Madam Bu has fallen ill. She’s bedridden. Eldest Miss has also… sustained some injuries.”
Bedridden? Xing Yue was taken aback. Wasn’t this too sudden? Just a few days ago, she had looked perfectly fine. How could she suddenly be so severely ill she was bedridden?
“Eldest Miss is injured?” she asked. Seeing the butler’s troubled face, hesitating to speak, she frowned. “What kind of injury? When did it happen?”
Last night, at her place, Bu Yao had been lively as could be. After just one night apart, how could she be injured? And judging from the butler’s tone, something major seemed to have happened at the Bu Residence.
Xing Yue didn’t get any answers. Entering the mansion, she saw that every servant’s face was ashen and gloomy. No one dared to speak a word, not even a whisper of communication. The atmosphere was oppressively terrifying.
Arriving at Bu Yao’s room, she pushed the door open. A few steps in, the first thing that greeted her eyes was a glass tank filled with ice. That very snake tail which had been entwined with her just last night now lay motionless, buried within the ice…
Bu Yao’s upper body was draped over the edge of the glass tank, her head resting on her folded arms. She had fallen asleep.
