“Ah!”
Little Snake shrieked. She threw the phone aside and buried her head to sleep, but her body was still trembling faintly.
Ah Wan hooked an arm around her, flipped her over, and held her close. Lowering her head, she inhaled the fragrance from her body, then intimately rubbed the tip of her nose against her soft, smooth cheek, nuzzling intimately against her.
“Not curious anymore?”
Little Snake said nothing. Shrinking in her arms, she shook her head, her fingers secretly tightening their grip on the collar of Ah Wan’s clothes.
“I see,” Ah Wan’s tone held a hint of regret. She sighed. “Then next time you’re curious, we can have a proper discussion about it.”
Hearing this, Little Snake suddenly looked up, asking with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, “How would we discuss it?”
“Mmm…” Ah Wan didn’t answer right away. Dragging it out slowly, seeing the human in her arms growing anxious, she then replied with wicked intent, “Seems you really are very curious.”
For once, Little Snake understood the implication in her words. She buried her head against Ah Wan’s chest and answered in a trembling voice, “Not, not curious.”
She just felt, without any reason, that discussing this matter with Human was somewhat dangerous, and animal instinct made her instinctively avoid danger.
Seeing this, Ah Wan stopped teasing her. She picked up the discarded phone and placed it on the nightstand, then pulled the blanket over them, gently patting Little Snake’s back as they sank back into deep sleep.
The next day, the television they bought arrived. Someone needed to be at The Mountain Home for the installation and to set up the internet line. Ah Wan had to go down to The Foothills to meet them.
After eating, Little Snake sat at the table playing a new game— House Decoration.
It started with a single delivery box. Tapping it made an item appear, and then you had to place it properly. Usually, there were three-minute time limits; harder levels gave five minutes.
But she basically couldn’t finish a level on the first try, except for the very first one. Because the first level only had a bed, a rug, and a pair of slippers, and they even gave two minutes. She could clear it in under thirty seconds just by tapping randomly.
Ah Wan finished tidying up and prepared to go out. She glanced at Little Snake and asked, “I’m going down to the foot of the mountain. You coming?”
“Not going.” Little Snake answered without hesitation, fully absorbed in her game.
In this House Decoration game, there were many items she didn’t recognize, and she didn’t know where they should go. She was just pressing blindly, wherever her finger landed.
“What are you playing?”
Ah Wan walked over and bent down behind her, looking. She saw Little Snake’s finger pressing on a television, not knowing where to put it, wandering around the whole room.
Without hesitation, Ah Wan turned off the tablet, pulled Little Snake’s hand into her own palm, and held it. “Let’s go play with the real thing.”
Saying this, she pulled her toward the door.
“Huh?” Little Snake looked up curiously. “What real thing?”
“You’ll find out soon.” Ah Wan kept her in suspense, locking the door and leading her downhill.
At the Foothills, they met the installation technicians. A few men were lifting the hundred-inch TV Ah Wan bought, preparing to walk up the mountain, when Ah Wan casually pointed at a nearby nest woven from Rattan.
“Put it here and drag it up.”
“That might scrape it up badly.” The installer refused. “Forget it, forget it. We’ll just carry it up.”
Ah Wan’s expression was blank, her tone flat yet carrying an undeniable pressure. “It’s very far.”
The several installers froze. They looked at each other, and in the end, carefully placed the television onto the Rattan nest, cushioning it with towels to prevent scratches.
The Rattan began to slowly move. Seeing this, the men’s faces changed color. They stood rooted to the spot, not daring to walk.
Ah Wan glanced at them and said offhandedly, “Someone on the mountain is pulling it.”
“Oh, oh, so that’s how it is.”
Only then did they suddenly understand, looking at the Rattan on the ground with newfound wonder, lifting their feet to follow.
Halfway up, one man stopped, hands on his hips to catch his breath. Watching the TV almost disappear from sight, he turned to Ah Wan and said, “Your setup is pretty convenient, eh.”
Ah Wan didn’t respond, instead holding the Little Snake in her arms. Lowering her head, she spoke to her quietly, “Cold?”
As she spoke, she reached out to touch Little Snake’s face.
Little Snake hugged her waist, shook her head, and then weakly acted coy toward her. “Not cold, just want to hold Human.”
Hugging her tighter the more she spoke.
Hearing this, Ah Wan felt pleased inside, though she didn’t show it on her face. She gently pinched Little Snake’s plump cheek and coaxed, “We’ll be home soon.”
“Mm!”
Arriving home, Little Snake ran in, impatiently hugging her tablet to play. After poking it twice, she realized there was no internet and immediately turned her head to look at Ah Wan.
“Human!”
After calling out, she just pointed at the tablet without speaking.
Ah Wan was rather busy at the moment. She directly took out her own phone and handed it to her. “Play with this.”
After saying that, she glanced at the men carrying the TV into the house, then turned to Little Snake and said, “Go play in the bedroom.”
“Oh.”
Little Snake took her phone and headed into the bedroom with her head down. Worriedly, Ah Wan followed behind. After she entered, Ah Wan reached out and pulled the door closed.
“Where should we install this TV?”
“This way.”
Ah Wan locked the door and went over to direct them, pointing to a spot she’d long ago cleared. “Just put it here.”
The installers worked quickly. It didn’t take long before both the TV and the internet line were set up. They even turned the TV on to test it. Confirming it worked, they told Ah Wan it was done.
Ah Wan checked it, then turned and opened the bedroom door. Walking in, she stretched her hand out toward Little Snake, who had changed clothes and was lying on the bed playing. “Let me borrow your phone.”
“Oh.” Little Snake hurriedly handed the phone back, then tilted her head up to watch.
Ah Wan scanned the code to pay them, then poured water using bamboo cups, giving one to each human. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“No problem, no problem. It’s our job.”
After drinking the water, the installers gathered their tools and headed down the mountain. The path they’d only walked once before felt exceptionally familiar on the way back, and they soon reached the Foothills.
“Two girls living so remotely, how strange.”
One of them said. Just as the words left his mouth, he stepped from the mountain path onto the main road. A ‘ding’ sounded in all their minds simultaneously. Another guy turned his head, asking curiously, “What did you just say?”
“What did I say?” The man scratched his head. “I didn’t say anything. Did I say something?”
“I didn’t catch it.”
“Aiya, forget it, forget it. Let’s hurry back, there’s still plenty of work at the shop.”
Hearing this, they all hastily went back.
On the mountain, Ah Wan flipped through channels with the remote until she found a classic children’s cartoon. Then she turned her head and called into the bedroom, “Come out and watch TV.”
Soon after, she saw Little Snake walk out holding the phone, head still bowed as she studied it.
“Human, what is this?”
Ah Wan took the phone and glanced at it. It was a chat dialog page on WeChat.
She thought for a moment, picked up Little Snake’s new phone, connected it to wifi, registered a WeChat ID for her, and then added herself.
“Come here.”
Ah Wan went to sit at the table.
Little Snake followed, sitting close beside her, resting her head on Ah Wan’s shoulder to watch.
“Press and hold this to speak, and you can contact me,” Ah Wan demonstrated and returned the phone to her. “You try.”
Holding her phone with both hands, Little Snake observed it curiously for a while, not daring to move. She looked up at Ah Wan again. After hesitating, she imitated Ah Wan’s earlier action and held down the voice message button.
After waiting a long time, somewhat timidly, she called into the phone in a faint, thin voice, “Human?”
Then she let go and turned her head to look curiously at Ah Wan.
Her phone dinged once. Ah Wan picked hers up and showed the screen to Little Snake, pointing. “Received.”
Then she tapped the voice message bar. A very indistinct “Human?” sounded out.
The text couldn’t even be transcribed.
Ah Wan also pressed the voice button and responded deeply, “What was that?”
Little Snake saw that her own side now showed a voice message from Ah Wan. She was so excited she kept hitting replay, listening over and over, exclaiming “Wow wow wow.” Then her finger poked the screen and she started chattering away.
“Human, it’s Snakey.”
“Human, Snakey is talking to you on the phone.”
…
“Human, why no answer Snakey?”
Ah Wan was sitting right next to her, watching the phone screen scroll continuously. At least ten or twenty voice messages.
She couldn’t help but laugh softly. Reaching out, she rubbed Little Snake’s head and explained, “Only send messages when you have something to say. Don’t send them when you don’t.”
“Oh.” Hearing this, Little Snake looked a bit crestfallen. Reluctantly, she lowered her hands and sat up properly. “Got it.”
“Mm.” Ah Wan patted her head and got up. “Come watch TV.”
The cartoon on the TV had already reached the fifth episode. Ah Wan picked up the remote, intending to restart it from episode one for her, but Little Snake only glanced at it before frowning.
“Snakey doesn’t love watching this.”
“Then what do you like to watch?” Ah Wan turned and asked.
Little Snake pursed her lips and said a little shyly, “You teach Snakey to use this, Snakey find by herself.”
Hearing this, Ah Wan frowned slightly at first, but then, as if thinking of something, her brow relaxed. Nodding, she beckoned her over.
“Bring your stool over and sit, I’ll teach you.”
“Okay.” Little Snake hurriedly turned around and moved a long wooden bench over.
Ah Wan looked down at the bench, then at the little one standing beside her. She suddenly frowned slightly and scanned the room. Finally sitting down, she lifted her hand toward Little Snake. “Come here.”
Little Snake obediently settled into her arms, leaning against her shoulder and listening attentively.
“Alright,” Ah Wan picked out some basic knowledge and explained it once. She then topped off yearly memberships on various streaming platforms and handed the remote to Little Snake. “Pick whatever you want to watch.”
After saying this, she opened her own phone.
Little Snake tentatively pressed a button on the remote, wanting to show off her success to Ah Wan. But when she turned her head, she saw Ah Wan was only focused on her phone, not even looking at her.
She snorted in dissatisfaction, but still craned her neck to look over and ask curiously, “Human, what you doing?”
Ah Wan was currently online browsing for a sofa when suddenly a little head stretched over, blocking the phone screen.
She couldn’t help letting out a laugh. Then, she lifted Little Snake and propped her against herself, explaining dotingly, “Buying something.”
“Buying?” Little Snake was amazed. Pointing at the phone, she asked, “Can buy here too?”
“Mm.”
After answering, Ah Wan stared at her for a moment. Considering for a bit, she extended her hand. “Give me your phone.”
Without hesitation, Little Snake offered her phone. She watched as Ah Wan performed a few simple operations.
“Logged into my account. You can also use this to buy things.”
Ah Wan said, using Little Snake’s phone to demonstrate, placing an order for a soft sofa. Then she gave the phone back.
“The address is already set. Payment password is 993669. Buy whatever you want.”
“Wine?” [T/N: In Chinese, the number 9 (jiǔ) sounds the same as the word for wine (jiǔ).]
Little Snake held her own phone, looking utterly confused. She asked honestly, “Human, what you say? Snakey not understand.”
Ah Wan sighed helplessly, using both hands to pinch and pull Little Snake’s cheeks. “Stupid snake.”
Then she got up to find a Knife in the house, preparing to go out.
“Human, going where?”
Little Snake hurriedly followed.
“To the backyard.”
Ah Wan left without pausing.
Little Snake didn’t watch TV anymore. She stuffed her phone into her pocket and ran out, arms swinging. Moments later, she scrambled back inside, closed the door, and only then ran after her again, shouting.
“Human, wait for Snakey.”
In the bamboo forest behind the house, Ah Wan hefted a chopping Knife. She tapped on several bamboo stalks, selected one, and without hesitation, chopped it down, then carried it out of the forest.
Little Snake followed her, phone held up, asking curiously, “Human, chopping this for what?”
“To make you little counting sticks.”
Ah Wan replied, throwing the bamboo on the ground. Returning to the house, she brought out a bamboo-splitting Knife and a small bamboo stool. Setting them up in the open space of the backyard, she got busy without wasting time.
“Little sticks?” Little Snake crouched beside her, holding her phone, asking uncomprehendingly, “For what?”
“For teaching you to count.”
Ah Wan answered her while her hands didn’t pause for a moment. Soon, she had carved out one hundred little sticks.
Carrying them in one hand and the stool and Knife in the other, she headed back inside. Little Snake ran after her with the phone.
“With this, Snakey will know counting?”
“Mm.”
“After learning counting, what then?”
“It can help you express your own thoughts more clearly and accurately.”
Back inside, Ah Wan sanded the little sticks thoroughly, making sure there were no splinters that could scratch Little Snake, knowing how delicate she was.
After dinner, she also brought out a set of paper and pens, placing them on the table. Then she raised a hand to turn off the TV.
Little Snake, who was sitting in front of the TV, turned her head. Slightly unhappy, she growled softly, “Snakey not finished watching yet.”
“Watch after you’ve learned.”
Ah Wan said, patting the empty spot beside her. Little Snake could only reluctantly shuffle over and sit down.
They studied for an hour and a half, nearly nine-thirty already, but had only learned the numbers 1, 2, and 3.
Little Snake scratched her head, looking somewhat dejected at the crooked characters in the notebook and the little sticks. “Human, Snakey very stupid.”
“No.” Ah Wan put away the things on the table for her. After a pause, she still comforted, “You’re very smart. The smartest little snake I’ve ever seen.”
“Really?”
Little Snake’s eyes immediately lit up again, her energy restored in an instant.
Seeing this, Ah Wan’s mood also lifted considerably. Raising the corner of her lips, she hummed in agreement and ruffled her hair, coaxing, “Go wash up and sleep.”
“Okay!” Little Snake immediately stood up, humming a song, and ran back to the room joyfully.
After she left, Ah Wan silently tidied up the table. She also went back to the bedroom and turned on the Electric Blanket in advance.
During the time Little Snake was showering, she glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door, then secretly took out her phone and unlocked it.
The screen was on the chat with Little Snake. Ah Wan scrolled all the way to the top and started listening from the first voice message.
In the phone, Little Snake’s voice sounded soft and adorable. Ah Wan put it to her ear and listened over and over, carefully saving each one to her favorites.
Then, within the favorites, she listened countless times, like someone possessed, until the sound of the bathroom lock clicking open came again from behind her. Only then did she, like a thief with a guilty conscience, hide away all the overflowing emotions.
~
Autumn gave way to winter. The first snow fell on the mountain, and the temperature dropped lower and lower. An air conditioner was installed in the bedroom. A wood-burning stove heated the room where they ate. Outside was a world of ice and snow, while inside the cabin, it felt like spring all year round.
Little Snake barely even left the house anymore. She stayed inside all day, playing on her phone and learning to count. She only learned one number a day. Yesterday, she had just reached one hundred.
Dressed in a padded coat and hat, Ah Wan held a Gu Jar, searching and weaving through the forest. Winter had arrived. She needed to select a dying swarm of bees as a Gu Seed.
Although it was possible for a wild bee colony to scatter and ultimately die in winter due to lack of nectar, it was still a low-probability event, not a common occurrence. Thus, even after three days of searching, Ah Wan still found nothing.
When Little Snake woke up, she was alone in the house. She sprawled on the pillow and called out “Human” a few times. Receiving no response, she reached out and grabbed the phone from the nightstand.
Ding dong. A WeChat notification sounded.
Ah Wan had just discovered a scattered swarm of bees and was preparing to act when she heard her phone chime. Without hesitation, she immediately stopped and pulled out her phone.
It was a voice message.
Ah Wan opened it and listened by her ear. A soft, gentle voice came through the speaker, carrying the lazy drawl of someone just waking.
“Human, it’s Snakey.”
Hearing this voice, the corners of Ah Wan’s lips couldn’t help but curve upward. She listened to it once more, then calmly held down the voice button to reply.
“You woke up. Sending a message, is there something?”
“Mm.” From the other end came Little Snake’s voice, haltingly. “Human, Snakey just wakes up, then misses you.”
“Snakey misses you a hundred times.”
