Chapter 44 Part 2

After a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly clenched both hands into fists, mustered all her strength throughout her entire body, and with a bang, instantly transformed into a little white snake. Her clothes and pants fell onto the counter in a heap.

Ah Wan turned her head to look. The little snake was prostrate on the cooking counter, her upper body held straight up, the tip of her tail happily slapping the surface. Drooling greedily, she asked, “Human, what are you making?”

Hearing this, Ah Wan thought for a moment, then suppressed a smile and replied, “Doggy food.”

The little snake heard this and slapped the counter hard with her tail, letting out a heavy huff.

But soon, she quieted down again. She stared with a pair of beady eyes, flicking her tongue out with a hisss hisss, her face inexplicably grave, as if pondering some very important matter.

Yet the wafts of aroma coming from the wok wouldn’t allow her to think carefully. In no time at all, it lured her into circling around on the spot, making urgent little squeaking noises.

Ah Wan heard her but ignored her. She just focused on adding water to the wok, then turned to grab the lid to cover it and let it simmer for a while.

But the moment she turned her back, she heard a clear, bright bark come from behind her: “Woof!”

Ah Wan’s expression changed drastically. She whipped around instantly, only to see a little white snake, craning its neck, impatiently diving headfirst towards the wok.

She was so terrified her heart almost stopped. With no time to think of anything else, she rushed over, grabbed the snake by the tail, and yanked her straight up into the air.

The little snake dangled upside down, her body swaying limply. Yet the piece of chicken in her mouth was still clamped tightly shut, showing absolutely no sign of falling out.

Ah Wan let out a sigh of relief. She placed the little snake on a countertop far away from the wok. Watching her still stubbornly clenching that piece of meat in her mouth, Ah Wan couldn’t help but grit her own teeth and poke the little snake’s head lightly. Instead, her hand came away with more moisture.

Ah Wan couldn’t restrain herself. Suppressing her anger, she poked the little snake’s round, soft, bouncy head again and watched it spring back into shape.

“If you fall into the wok again, I won’t fish you out.”

After saying this, Ah Wan grabbed a cloth from the side, wrapped the little snake up, and gently started wiping her dry. She was also careful not to touch or disturb her mouth, mindful not to disturb her meal.

The little snake didn’t feel the slightest bit scared. After finishing the chicken in her mouth, she just opened her jaws wide again and repeatedly went “Ahh! Ahh!” at the Human.

“Want more.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Ah Wan refused without a moment’s hesitation.

Seeing this, the little snake swayed her tail and crawled forward a little. She nuzzled her head affectionately against Ah Wan’s finger, the tip of her tail secretly sweeping back and forth on the countertop. She pleaded in a soft, pitiful voice, “Please? Just let Snakey have one more bite?”

Faced with this greedy little look of hers, Ah Wan found she really had no temper left. She could only toss the cloth aside, then pinch the little snake’s head and pretend to say fiercely, “Should’ve just used sticky rice cake to glue your mouth shut. Then let’s see what you’d eat later.”

Who would have thought the little one wouldn’t be scared at all? Instead, she excitedly swept her tail against Ah Wan’s palm. Her eyes were dark and bright. She flicked her tongue out happily and replied loudly, “Sticky rice cake is fine too!”

Then she lifted her head proudly, her tail wagging so fast it was a blur. She praised herself joyfully: “Snakey isn’t picky!”

Ah Wan couldn’t help but chuckle. She pinched her head, picked her up, and coiled her around her hand. Then she raised her high up to meet her eyes.

“If you wanted sticky rice cake, just say so.”

The little snake had rarely seen the Human from this angle. She subconsciously flicked her tongue out, her gluttony obvious. Straining hard, she stretched her body, trying to lean in for a kiss.

But just as they were about to touch, Ah Wan suddenly turned her head away. The moist snake tongue only brushed across her cheek.

“Huh?”

The snake was tiny, but her temper was enormous. Her tail, coiled around Ah Wan’s wrist, kept swatting rapidly.

Again and again, each swat landing exactly on Ah Wan’s pulse point.

Every time it swatted, Ah Wan’s heart trembled along with it.

The little snake’s tail loosened from her hand and, instead, gently lifted Ah Wan’s chin. Its transparent eyelids couldn’t hide the thick curiosity hidden in those beady little eyes. She asked quietly, “Human, why won’t you let Snakey kiss?”

“Alright,” Ah Wan evaded her tail again. Then she raised her hand and gently stroked the little snake’s head, saying softly, “No more fussing. In a couple of days, when you’ve recovered, I’ll take you down the mountain to eat freshly pounded sticky rice cakes.”

At the mention of food, anything else could be temporarily set aside.

The little snake was so happy she kept flicking her tongue out. Her tail wound itself around Ah Wan’s wrist loop by loop again. She whispered intimately, “Okay.”

Two days passed quickly. Ah Wan stood on a stool, checking if the snake shed hanging under the eaves had dried properly, ready to take it inside and store it away.

The little snake stood beside her, also copying her pose by stepping onto a stool. Tilting her head up, she kept asking curiously, “When are we going down the mountain?” “When are we going to eat the sticky rice cakes?” “What do sticky rice cakes look like?”

She had been chattering to herself all morning. Ah Wan swept the yard and made breakfast. When she looked back, the little snake was still right behind her, talking non-stop.

“Alright, stop nagging. We’ll go after breakfast.”

After saying this, Ah Wan placed breakfast on the table—

Two bowls of shredded chicken noodles. Aromatic, numbing, and spicy. A bite of the chewy noodles, followed by a sip of the flavorful broth; it was especially comforting.

The little snake washed her hands and happily took her seat. After rolling up her sleeves, she picked up her chopsticks, ready to dig in.

The shredded chicken in her bowl was piled almost into a small mountain. Ah Wan pulled the bowl over to mix the noodles for her, just in case she picked out all the meat from the top and then refused to eat the noodles underneath.

“When spring comes next year, let’s fence off that bamboo grove out back and raise some chickens, ducks, and geese,” Ah Wan said as she mixed the noodles. “That way, when you want meat, we’ll have fresh stuff at home.”

The little snake was waiting impatiently, holding one chopstick in each hand. Her eyes hadn’t left her bowl for a second. Whatever Ah Wan said, she just nodded her head in agreement to everything first.

Ah Wan looked at her with a doting expression. She pushed the bowl of noodles back in front of her and coaxed, “Be good, eat it all. No picking out just the stuff you like.”

“Mm-hmm.” The little snake nodded busily. But the result was her picking and choosing, eating all the meat and barely touching the noodles.

Ah Wan glanced at the bowl and persuaded, “Eat half of what’s left, and we’ll go down the mountain today to buy sticky rice cakes.”

“Really?” The little snake was a bit suspicious. After all, the Human was tricky and often teased her. So she had to ask again.

This time, Ah Wan looked very serious. She hummed an “Mm” and replied, “Really.”

Only after getting this guarantee did the little snake feel relieved. She picked up her chopsticks again, ate a little less than half the remaining noodles, then pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth.

“Finished?” Ah Wan asked.

The little snake nodded while wiping her mouth. Without hesitation, Ah Wan picked up that half-bowl of noodles and dumped it all into her own bowl, then continued eating.

After the meal, Ah Wan kept her promise and took the little snake down the mountain to buy sticky rice cakes.

There was a shop in the Mountain Village below that specialized in hand-pounded sticky rice cakes, run by a local. Their family had been making a living from this even before the local tourism industry boomed.

Ah Wan had bought from them a few times years ago and remembered the taste was good.

She rarely actively paid attention to where the food was tasty, where the clothes were pretty, or where the entertainment was abundant.

But it was different now that she had the little snake. Now, she always wanted to offer all the best things in the world to this little one.

So, a few days ago when they talked about sticky rice cakes, her first reaction was to bring the little snake here.

However, that shop had now become an internet-famous check-in spot. The owner had set up an experience area nearby where customers could try pounding the rice cakes themselves, so a fair number of people came to visit.

Ah Wan held the little snake’s hand as they quietly stood in line at the entrance. She was already calculating she could buy a few extra to take home and later make grilled sticky rice cakes for her to eat.

The queue was a bit long at the moment, and the little snake was bored. She had to pull out her phone to play a simple offline game. Whenever she couldn’t pass a level, she’d hand the phone over for Ah Wan to tap a couple of times. That way, they’d clear the level quickly.

About twenty-some minutes later, with a slight smile on her face, Ah Wan walked out, holding the little snake’s hand with one hand and carrying a large bag of sticky rice cakes with the other.

The little snake was holding a freshly made, still-steaming rice cake, taking small, delicate bites.

Ah Wan watched her eat with a doting gaze; her manner was so cute. She then asked, “Ever had sticky rice cake boiled in rice wine?”

“Sticky rice cake boiled in rice wine?” The little snake paused, shook her head, and replied, “No.”

Hearing this, the smile on Ah Wan’s face deepened. She gently swung their tightly clasped hands and said, “When we get home, I’ll make…”

“Sis!”

A voice suddenly rang out from behind them. The little snake immediately spun her head around, fully alert.