Seeing that Little Snake still had the mind to talk nonsense, Ah Wan knew the eye problem wasn’t too serious, at least for now it didn’t hurt.
So the most urgent matter was to soothe her emotions first, at the very least to stop her from being afraid.
“So many places hurt?”
Ah Wan deliberately teased her, her tone slow and lazy. She lowered her head to nuzzle her small face, then pressed past her cheek to whisper by her ear: “Then… should I kiss here too?”
As she spoke, her index finger gently trailed across Little Snake’s lower abdomen, taking advantage of her blindness to gaze at her face unrestrainedly, without any attempt to hold back.
At this moment, Little Snake was exceptionally sensitive to any touch, let alone on such a vulnerable spot as her lower abdomen.
Her brows furrowed slightly. She reached out, fumbling to grab Ah Wan’s arm, gently pushing it outward as she murmured in a low voice, “Human, don’t touch Snakey there.”
“Didn’t you say it hurt?”
Ah Wan threw the question back at her, then turned her hand and caught her wrist.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore now.” Little Snake was a bit guilty and nervous. She hooked one arm around Ah Wan’s neck and turned her head away, blinking her eyes incessantly like a butterfly flapping its wings, repeating as if to comfort herself, “Mm, Snakey doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Ah Wan’s gaze had never left her face, watching her steadily, seeing right through her little lie. In her heart, she only found it cute. She took her hand and kissed her fingertip, then said with mock regret: “Oh, it stopped hurting so quickly.”
“Mm, mm,” Little Snake nodded hastily, “Doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Like that, huh,” Ah Wan’s voice was light and airy. She used her hand to turn her face so they were face-to-face, looking at her vacant big eyes. “Then I’ll change your clothes for you?”
Little Snake hugged her neck tightly, nodding obediently, but still said somewhat worriedly, “Don’t leave Snakey.”
“Mm, I won’t leave.”
Ah Wan spoke as she picked her up, walked to the wardrobe, took out a clean pair of little underwear, then also grabbed one of her own shirts.
She gently laid Little Snake down on the bed. Her hand slowly loosened, and the shirt wrapped around Little Snake fell open, revealing the pearly, crystal-clear, warm white skin beneath.
Little Snake wasn’t quite used to this. She reached out, grabbing at the air, calling helplessly for the human.
So Ah Wan leaned down, held her ankle, lifted her leg slightly to thread it through the little underwear, then expressionlessly, pulled them up inch by inch.
After the front was properly on, Ah Wan picked her up and held her, casually adjusting the back waistband of the little underwear, only then, with reddening ears, reaching for the loose long-sleeved shirt beside them to put on her.
While dressing her, she asked: “Where did you put the little underwear you just took off?”
“Can’t remember.”
Little Snake, wearing the oversized clothes, shrank into Ah Wan’s arms, blinking her eyes as she tried hard to recall, but still came up with nothing.
She had been too scared then, very anxious, just wanting to follow her instinct to turn back into a snake and hide. But just after hiding well in the wardrobe, she changed back into a human again, and didn’t even know where she’d taken off her clothes or pants.
“No matter,” Ah Wan patted her back soothingly, “I’ll look for them later.”
Little Snake lay against her chest, falling silent, listening to the somewhat deafening heartbeat. Only then did she feel that there was living, breathing life in the darkness she was in.
With desperate longing, she hooked her arm around Ah Wan’s neck, pressing tightly against her, afraid that if she wasn’t careful, she’d be left all alone again.
“Will Snakey’s eyes get better?” Little Snake tilted her head up. Her misty eyes couldn’t penetrate Ah Wan’s pupils, unable to meet her gaze.
Ah Wan reached out, hooked her chin, turned her face back, then cupped it, gazing deeply into her eyes. Her voice sounded without much fluctuation, still calm.
“They will get better.”
After speaking, she picked Little Snake up, coaxing her as she walked out: “First, let’s put some medicine on your wrist and leg, then I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Mm.” Little Snake held her tightly, not daring to loosen her grip at all, being very obedient.
Ah Wan carried her over and set her down on the table, then let go and turned to get the medicine box.
But the moment she left Ah Wan’s embrace, Little Snake was afraid. She stretched out both hands, lunging forward stiffly. Luckily, Ah Wan reacted fast and caught her with one hand, otherwise she would have fallen flat on the floor.
“Sit properly, I’m going to get the medicine box.”
After saying this, Ah Wan wanted to pull her hand back, but found that Little Snake had hugged it even tighter instead, showing no intention of letting go.
Little Snake didn’t speak either, just sat there, biting her lower lip pitifully, holding Ah Wan’s arm protectively in front of her chest with both hands, her unseeing big eyes wide open.
A hazy, grayish blue, like a sky that hadn’t cleared up for a long time, looking somewhat mournful, terribly heart-wrenching.
Ah Wan sighed, leaned over, and picked her up again. Only after retrieving the medicine box did she set her back down on the table to sit, then opened the box to get the medicine.
Little Snake tightly grasped Ah Wan’s left hand with both of hers. She pressed her lips together, somewhat anxiously and nervously asking, “Human, when will Snakey’s eyes get better?”
Ah Wan glanced at her, didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she opened her phone and typed on a certain platform: 【Snake’s eyes suddenly turned blue, can’t see…】
Then she randomly clicked on a video.
“Before shedding, snakes enter a blindfold period. The eyes of dark-eyed snakes will appear a faint blue, while the eyes of red-eyed snakes will turn white…”
Ah Wan exited the video, put away her phone. She looked up at Little Snake sitting on the table, gently holding her ankle. While applying medicine, she asked, “Didn’t you know you would shed your skin?”
Knowing it was a normal phenomenon, Little Snake had now calmed down, no longer afraid at all.
But she was still a bit embarrassed. She twisted her fingers and quietly explained, “Snakey has never shed skin before.”
Hearing this, Ah Wan paused her motion for a moment. After a while, she lowered her head and gently blew on the wound on her leg, her voice low as she replied, “Malnutrition does affect shedding.”
Then she pulled over her hand and blew on it too, continuing, “But from now on, your shedding cycle will stabilize.”
After speaking, Ah Wan closed the medicine box, picked it up, and prepared to leave. But just as she stood up, her clothes were caught tightly.
Looking down, Little Snake was nervously clutching the hem of her top, unwilling to let go. Blinking her misty blue eyes, she worriedly asked, “Human, where are you going?”
“I’m putting the medicine away.” Ah Wan replied, but as soon as her words fell, they met with Little Snake’s vehement objection: “No, no.”
“It’s just right there where it was, I’ll come back quickly.” Ah Wan said, “You sit here obediently.”
“No,” Little Snake hurriedly hugged her arm, refusing to let go, calling out clingily, “Snakey will go with you.”
As she spoke, she was about to jump down again. Ah Wan watched with alarm, quickly reached out with one arm and scooped her up around the waist, then hefted her slightly so she sat on her arm, freeing her other hand to carry the medicine box.
Sitting in Ah Wan’s arms, Little Snake was now even taller than her. Two teardrops still clung to her eyelashes as she carefully lowered her head to nuzzle Ah Wan’s, whining to express her unease.
Ah Wan put down the medicine box, used her free hand to pat her back gently, saying helplessly, “It’s just five steps away.”
“Still no.” Little Snake domineeringly hugged her neck, though her tone was still full of fear.
Ah Wan reached out and flicked her cheek, deliberately teasing her. “Then what do you want to do? Don’t tell me you’ll stay in my arms forever?”
Hearing this, Little Snake sadly lowered her gaze. Her feathered lashes fluttered twice, looking pitifully vulnerable. She hugged her neck and asked softly, “I can’t?”
“You can’t.” Ah Wan answered without hesitation, then deliberately loosened her grip slightly, before catching her securely again.
Little Snake dropped a short distance, panicked. She quickly hooked her arms around Ah Wan’s neck, pressing close to entangle herself tightly around her.
Seeing this, Ah Wan finally smiled in satisfaction. A very, very soft laugh, two short sounds that fell into Little Snake’s ears, yet became exceptionally distinct.
Having lost her sight, her other senses and perceptions naturally became more sensitive.
Especially Little Snake, who had just entered the blindfold period and hadn’t fully adapted to the dark environment. She was exceptionally sensitive to everything around her; even the slightest stir could frighten her. She could only instinctively depend on the closest human beside her.
“Alright.” Ah Wan hooked her chin, carrying her towards the kitchen as she said, “I’ll cook for you. You only ate a little this morning, you must be hungry by now, right?”
Frightened so excessively in the morning, Little Snake hadn’t even paid attention to whether she was hungry or not. It wasn’t until now, hearing the human ask, that she belatedly realized her stomach had rumbled twice. Then, with some embarrassment, she nodded slightly.
“Then sit properly, I’ll get you something to eat.”
After speaking, Ah Wan caught her fingers, pressed them to her own lips, then set her down on the kitchen counter to sit.
The moment the embrace broke, Little Snake reached out, grabbing helplessly at the air, whining anxiously.
Ah Wan hooked her finger, and Little Snake immediately grabbed it tightly, like a drowning human desperately seizing the only floating log.
Seeing this, Ah Wan smiled. She couldn’t resist leaning down to bump heads with her, brazenly looking at her beautiful, unseeing eyes. Even her smile became much brighter as she asked, “If you hold my hand like this, how can I cook for you?”
After all, Little Snake was still gluttonous. After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly let go, flicking her tongue somewhat anxiously, uneasily instructing: “Then don’t go too far from Snakey, okay.”
“Mm.”
Ah Wan responded, turning around to light the stove and start cooking.
In the end, preparing one meal took twenty-five minutes. Ah Wan felt that she spent twenty-four of those minutes answering Little Snake’s calls.
The little one would call out every ten seconds. If she didn’t get a response, she’d be anxious and ready to get down from the counter.
In the remaining minute, fifty-nine seconds were spent letting Little Snake hold her hand. Whenever she didn’t need both hands, Ah Wan would have to extend one for Little Snake to hug. If she didn’t get to hug, she’d whine and act spoiled.
Ah Wan couldn’t bear to see her act spoiled. The moment she saw that little expression, the moment she heard that soft, cottony voice, her heart completely melted.
After eating, a while later, Little Snake leaned against her shoulder and started to feel sleepy.
Her world no longer distinguished between day and night; every second stretched as long as waiting for the flowers of four seasons to bloom.
“Human, is it dark?”
Little Snake asked, holding her hand.
Ah Wan didn’t answer directly, instead kneading her fingertip, cautiously saying, “You’re sleepy?”
“Mm.”
Little Snake lowered her head, fumbling, inching closer bit by bit, to nuzzle Ah Wan’s face.
“Snakey is sleepy, wants to sleep.”
“It’s already dark.”
Ah Wan said, then carried her towards the bedroom.
Bright light streamed through the window. The two lay in bed, facing each other to sleep.
Ah Wan used her hand to gently smooth her stray hair, gazing at her with eyes full of tender affection. Then she lowered her head, drawing closer bit by bit, and secretly pressed a kiss to her lips.
A very, very light kiss. Yet it stimulated Little Snake, who whimpered softly, her eyelashes quivering. She then reached up to rub her eyes, as if about to wake up.
