Keep It Secret

Are we fiancées now?

Xing Yue wasn't hard-hearted. Bu Yao kept showing her a vulnerable side, looking so pitiful in front of her that Xing Yue felt inexplicably guilty.

A smooth snake tongue slipped through the buttons of Xing Yue's shirt and licked her skin as if trying to please her. For snakes, the tongue had more nerve endings than any other part of the body and could clean wounds; when injured, they usually licked themselves before applying medicine. Bu Yao's gesture was like comforting a wounded little animal.

And Xing Yue was rather susceptible to it. She cupped Bu Yao's face, her fingertips barely brushing her hair. "If you like someone, you have to show it through your actions. That's how she'll know you really like her."

Bu Yao was like a puppy just then, able to hear from Xing Yue's tone that she had softened toward her.

She nodded in agreement.

Xing Yue took her into the recording studio and found a pen and a small notebook on the workbench. "Write down what I ask of you. If you do it all, I'll consider marrying you again."

Plenty of people wanted to marry Miss Bu. Xing Yue didn't know why Bu Yao had come looking for her, but now that Bu Yao had said she wanted to remarry, Xing Yue couldn't just let the matter pass without understanding it.

This was her answer after giving the question serious thought.

"First, you need to learn to do laundry." Xing Yue tapped the notebook with her index finger, signaling for the little fire snake to write it down. "There's no shortage of washing machines at home, but underwear and some delicate clothes have to be washed by hand. Stockings, silk nightgowns, things like that."

Bu Yao wrote a one and a dot on the blank page, then asked, puzzled, "We have servants. Why wash them ourselves?"

Good. A good question.

Xing Yue's mouth twitched. "What a profound question, Miss Bu. I'd also like to know why, ten years ago, you insisted that I wash your underwear."

The Bu household had servants everywhere, yet Bu Yao had insisted on making her do it. Had she married Bu Yao to become another servant?

Xing Yue didn't think her demands were excessive. She was merely listing the things Bu Yao had once made her do and asking Bu Yao to do the same for her now.

It had been so long that she could no longer remember their conversation that day or even what the scene had looked like. She only remembered coming back from an event, exhausted, and Bu Yao insisting that she wash the new underwear she'd bought. It couldn't wait until the next day. She wanted it washed right then so she could wear it as soon as it dried.

"I..." Bu Yao's face warmed at the sudden turn in the conversation. She mumbled, "I'm too embarrassed to say."

Xing Yue pointed at Bu Yao, then at herself, her face full of disbelief. "It's just the two of us, and you're still embarrassed?"

She pulled Bu Yao into her arms and bent a little, bringing her ear close to that tender face, level with Bu Yao's lips. Their cheeks brushed. "Say it quietly. I'm listening. I'll keep it secret."

She really wanted to know why Bu Yao had insisted on making her wash that underwear that night. With so many servants around and more clothes than she could ever wear, why had it had to be that one?

Bu Yao hadn't been able to talk to her properly ten years ago. Surely she could tell her the truth now? Xing Yue didn't want to keep lying awake at night thinking about it. Who knew how maddening that was!

Perhaps the embrace made Bu Yao feel safe and eased her embarrassment a little. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she whispered, "I bought that underwear myself. It was a size bigger than what I used to wear. If I'd given it to someone else to wash, they'd have known I was still developing even though I was an adult..."

Once snakes reached adulthood, their physical features stopped developing. There was one exception: they could develop further while nursing.

Bu Yao's body had always been a little different. She couldn't control her tail, for instance, and her breasts were still growing when she was eighteen. At that age, she'd felt terribly ashamed. She hadn't even dared tell her mother, so she could only ask Xing Yue to wash the new underwear for her.

There had always been someone assigned to take care of her intimate clothing. That was the first time she'd ever bought underwear herself, sneaking around for fear someone would find out.

Xing Yue: "..."

That did make sense. But she'd been angry at the time and hadn't noticed. "Why did it have to be that night? I said I'd wash it the next day. Why wasn't that okay?"

She still had to call Bu Yao out for being so domineering.

Bu Yao bit her lower lip, her face burning. "The sooner it was washed, the sooner I could wear it. I'd put up with the old ones for so long. They hurt, and they were so tight it was uncomfortable even to talk."

Xing Yue's gaze roamed over Bu Yao, her throat going dry. "What about now? Are you still developing? I hope not... You're already too much to handle."

The moment the words left her mouth, Xing Yue jolted. She wanted to pour a glass of cold water over herself to clear her head. Shaking her head, she pushed Bu Yao away and said firmly, "Hurry up and write down that you need to learn to do laundry. When I get my period, you'll wash my underwear."

She paused, then added, "When it's inconvenient for you, I'll wash yours too."

She didn't want to make Miss Bu her servant. She wanted them to look after each other. She was thirty-five already, with no energy for another upheaval. Going through a divorce again would devastate her.

When Xing Yue spoke of "when," she was imagining their future together. Realizing that, Bu Yao carefully wrote the words in her notebook.

"Second, get your driver's license and pick me up from work now and then."

"Third, learn to wash your own hair. And mine."

"Mm, learn to cook. I like sweet-and-sour pork, shredded pork in garlic sauce—write those down... Steamed pork ribs and shrimp wonton noodles too. You can object if you want, but don't poison me."

"Learn to put on your own shoes."

Each time Xing Yue named something, Bu Yao wrote it down. She didn't miss a single item.

Seeing her suddenly so obedient gave Xing Yue a warm, tingling feeling in her chest. She didn't know how the lessons would go, but at least Bu Yao had the right attitude.

Bu Yao put away the notebook and followed Xing Yue outside. "Are we fiancées now?"

Xing Yue turned back, leaned down, and breathed against Bu Yao's ear. "We're flirting."

The breeze stirred the hair beside Bu Yao's ear before it settled back into place. Her entire ear flushed red, hot and ticklish.

Bu Yao touched her ear. A casual gesture from Xing Yue had left her heart in turmoil.

"You have to stay single. You can't be with anyone else," she demanded. Then she remembered Xing Yue didn't like being ordered around. She stopped herself and tried again, this time as a request. "Then could you... only flirt... with me?"

The word burned her tongue like a little flame, and her voice grew softer as she spoke.

Xing Yue feigned surprise. "Wow, Miss Bu. That sounds rather suggestive."

Blood rushed to Bu Yao's face. "It does not!"

Xing Yue had been the one who coaxed her into saying it. How was what she'd said suggestive?

Bu Yao was beautiful when she was angry, her eyes full of wounded indignation. Sometimes Miss Bu wasn't so hard to like. Xing Yue wanted to kiss her, but they were outside, so she held back.

She stroked Bu Yao's long red hair. They'd left in such a hurry that Bu Yao hadn't had a chance to brush it properly.

A car stopped in front of them. Xing Yue's hand stilled, and she instinctively looked at the person inside. At the sight of that elegant, regal face, a shadow fell over her good mood.

Bu Yao obediently greeted the woman in the car. "Mom."