Disability

Was she supposed to hurt another woman too?

What Bo Wuxue did not know was that Xing Yue had already promised Bu Yao that morning she would consider remarrying her. She had set a few conditions, but she was considering it.

Bo Wuxue was still hissing fiercely from the sofa when Madam Bu caught her by the tip of her tail and pulled her out.

"Miss Wuxue is as mischievous as ever." The woman gently stroked her dark blue-green python head with the fondness of an elder toward a child. "You're engaged, yet you're still so childish. Brother Bo is lucky to have such an adorable daughter."

The Bo and Bu families went back a long way. Their fathers were close friends, so their parents' generation naturally shared a strong bond.

But Bo Wuxue had never gotten along with the Bu Family. Madam Bu often bullied Xing Yue, which made Bo Wuxue dislike her even more. She had been hissing fiercely just moments ago, but now she wilted and desperately burrowed against Xing Yue, not daring to make a sound.

Xing Yue gathered up Bo Wuxue's python body and, with considerable effort, calmed her a little. Then she stacked all the plates of breakfast on the table together and pushed them to one side.

She was making room for Little Greenstone, openly snubbing Madam Bu.

"I'm not young anymore. You can have Bu Yao find a younger woman." Xing Yue's face was expressionless, but the color had quietly drained from her lips.

Ji Wenyan had known Xing Yue for years. She knew Xing Yue had her pride and could not be swayed. Her reply was firm. "Yao came back for you not because you're so exceptional, but because the Bu Family has always been devoted in love. Not like you. Less than a year after the divorce, you had a new girlfriend."

Bu Yao had not even brought that up, but Ji Wenyan had found a way to sneer about it.

Every word mocked how quickly Xing Yue had found a new girlfriend, while her own daughter had spent years struggling through treatment just to reunite with her.

The thought pained Ji Wenyan every time. Xing Yue would never feel that pain. This woman had never loved her daughter all that much.

"Madam Bu." Xing Yue was tired of dealing with her. She sat back down on the sofa, exhaustion plain in the movement, and spoke coldly, each word distinct. "If you're furious because I told Bu Yao to learn to do laundry and things like that, don't waste your energy on me. You can't intimidate me. Your daughter chose to do it. If I'm in a bad mood, maybe next time we're intimate, I'll even have her wash my feet."

Given the way Bu Yao felt about Xing Yue now, if Xing Yue asked, she might actually run off to wash her feet.

Those words failed to provoke Ji Wenyan. She smiled mildly and methodically packed up the insulated food containers. "Taking advantage of a woman who loves you doesn't make you formidable."

With that light remark, she rose and left the lounge. Her steps were elegant, though her arrival had been like a storm.

Ji Wenyan was clever. With those words hanging over Xing Yue, she was certain Xing Yue would never do such a thing. Arguing further might only drive Xing Yue to take her anger out on Bu Yao.

Xing Yue was not cruel enough or indifferent enough. She even had a strong moral compass and principles of her own. That was why she suffered so much.

The moment Madam Bu left, Bo Wuxue returned to human form and threw a flurry of military-style punches at the air. "That wicked witch has gone too far! A Yue, get revenge! Sleep with her daughter, scheme your way into her family fortune, and make Bu Yao bear you seven or eight little Snake Eggs to divide up the Bu Family's estate! Keep a dozen lovers on the side, swap them out every season, kick everyone surnamed Bu out, and move your lovers into the Bu Residence!"

She was furious enough to shed her skin! Madam Bu, she declared, was a hundred times more hateful than Miss Bu. A hundred times!

Xing Yue let out a long, heavy breath. The sight of Bo Wuxue bristling with anger eased her gloomy mood, if only a little.

After all that, Xing Yue had no heart for work. She left the company before half the day was over.

When the tardy collaborator finally arrived, Qiao Rui kept her eyes on the ceiling and did not spare her a proper glance. "Who's Jiang Li? Our Xing Yue doesn't like waiting. Miss Jiang can go right back where she came from. We're not serving her."

Jiang Li and Xing Yue were not even in the same field. One worked in voice acting, the other in song covers. Neither had any business looking down on the other.

Qiao Rui had a fiery temper. She called security at once and had everyone who did not belong there cleared out.

The largest lesbian bar in Silent City came alive when night fell.

Xing Yue got a table to herself and drank away her troubles. When she felt low in the past, she would spend time with Little Greenstone. But Little Greenstone had a fiancée now. Xing Yue knew better than to invite her out again.

More than once, Xing Yue had been grateful she had no tear glands. Otherwise, all the pain she had endured in her life might have made her cry herself blind.

Madam Bu's words from earlier still echoed in her ears. Her contract with the company had four years left. Unless she paid the penalty to terminate it, she could only follow the company's arrangements, show her face on all kinds of programs, and become some so-called singer and celebrity...

Xing Yue kept drinking, with nowhere to vent her misery.

Her phone suddenly rang. When she saw who was calling, her nose stung. She stumbled out to the path behind the bar, where it was quieter. "Mom..."

Her voice was low, her breathing unsteady.

Xing Yingnuan did not notice anything wrong on the other end of the call. As usual, she was arranging dates for Xing Yue. "Sweetheart, come home this weekend. I've found a few promising young women for you to meet."

At those all-too-familiar words, Xing Yue finally broke. She leaned against a streetlamp and sank to the ground, desolation in her voice. "Blind dates, blind dates, blind dates. Is that the only reason you ever call? What happens if I don't get married?"

She had known what this call would be about, but she had answered anyway, hoping her mother might show a little concern. Even if Xing Yingnuan had only asked whether she had eaten or gotten off work, those two questions would have been enough.

Every time, it was marriage, marriage, marriage, as though not getting married were an unforgivable crime. Xing Yue felt as if she were being driven to her death.

"What do you mean, what happens if you don't get married?" Xing Yingnuan's voice rose over the phone. "Do you think you're still a young girl? You're thirty-five! Other people your age have children old enough to run errands. If you don't want to come home for blind dates, then find yourself a girlfriend and bring her home."

Xing Yingnuan had said such things countless times before, and Xing Yue had always laughed them off.

But after everything that had happened that day, Xing Yue was painfully sensitive about her age. Hearing that number, with the alcohol rushing to her head, sent blood flooding to her face. Her voice came out raw. "Why do you think it's so hard for me to find a girlfriend, Mom? Don't you know? I'm disabled! I don't have a tail. I haven't shown a snake tail since I was seven. I'm thirty-five now, an old woman, and I've never mated with another snake. Don't you know why my ex and I broke up? Why should I hurt another woman too?!"

Without ending the call, Xing Yue hurled her phone to the ground and shattered it.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, her whole body shaking violently. The bleak, cold wind left her lips pale. She could not stop sobbing, but her vacant eyes shed no tears. They were so red they looked ready to bleed.

Able-bodied snakes had legs and tails. During heat, they needed to mate to find relief. Xing Yue had no tail. She could only be intimate with someone using her legs; she could not mate with them or ease her partner's heat.

For a snake, that was an agonizing thing.

Bu Yao was the exception. Her body had always been unlike anyone else's. Xing Yue had complete control over her snake tail, and when Bu Yao went into heat, Xing Yue could bring her pleasure no matter what she did. They did not even need to mate.

Their families were worlds apart, separated by a mountain too vast and high for Xing Yue to cross. Yet she had to admit that her body was most compatible with Bu Yao's.

A fine rain began to fall beneath the endless night sky, and the air turned chilly. Xing Yue picked up her phone, its screen completely black, took out the SIM card, and put it in her bag. She packed away the ruined phone too.

She wandered through the rain-soaked streets, cold to the bone. At her age, she was facing a major upheaval in her career and still being pressured to marry.

The strain on Xing Yue was immense, especially with her legs in poor condition. She was only an ordinary person. She feared paralysis. She feared ending up in a wheelchair...

Because of the sudden rain, there were few people on the road, and every taxi already had a passenger. Xing Yue could not get a ride, so she walked home.

She had drunk a great deal and staggered as she walked. It was past three in the morning by the time she reached home. Just as she neared her door, her body abruptly gave way and she pitched headfirst onto the lawn, covering herself in mud and grass.

Cold rain poured over her face, and thunder roared in her ears. Xing Yue was so sleepy. She did not want to get up. As her eyelids drooped, a figure in red suddenly appeared before her, and the rain stopped striking her face.

She struggled to open her eyes and finally made out the person in front of her...

Bu Yao crouched beside Xing Yue with an umbrella. She wore no shoes and let the filthy mud splash over her delicate feet. Whether she was angry or heartsick, her voice was strained. "Where did you go? I looked everywhere for you."

Slowed by the alcohol, Xing Yue stared blankly for several seconds, unable to speak.

Fortunately, Xing Yue was not so drunk that she had lost consciousness. With Bu Yao's help, she got to her feet. Sharing the umbrella, they returned to the little duplex.

The thunderstorm had knocked out the power. A single lit candle was the only source of light.

Xing Yue embraced Bu Yao from behind, pressing her chest against the soft, naturally warm back. She sighed in comfort. "Let me hold you for a while."

She closed her aching eyes, and her breathing gradually steadied. Curled against Little Fire Snake, her ice-cold skin slowly warmed.

Bu Yao could tell Xing Yue was in a terrible mood tonight and looked utterly exhausted. For once, she stayed quiet and obediently let Xing Yue hold her.

"Why were you looking for me?" Xing Yue's voice was hoarse. Her Snake Tongue brushed Bu Yao's cheek. "Were you worried about me?"

Bu Yao smelled the alcohol on her breath. Her ears flushed, and she nodded in a fluster.

Xing Yue tightened her arms, holding the woman against her even closer, as though she could fill the emptiness in her heart. "I want to hear you say it."