Why Was Xing Yue Acting Like This?

Bu Yao was obedient and sent no more WeChat messages to disturb Xing Yue at work, but Xing Yue found herself distracted throughout her shift that night.

If the studio hadn't had the air conditioning on, she would have been sweating.

She even found herself recalling the day she'd picked up Bu Yao's shed skin. It was the first skin Bu Yao had shed after reaching adulthood, thin as a cicada's wing. Xing Yue had been afraid it would crumble in her hand. It was soft as silk; even without seeing Bu Yao, she could tell it had come from a delicate young Fire Snake.

Her skin must have been fair and smooth as cream to produce such a beautiful shed.

After work, Xing Yue was packing up when Qiao Rui came over. She sent everyone else out of the studio and handed Xing Yue a document.

"It's the contract the company signed with New Shadow Entertainment. Have a look and sign it. The show starts filming in two months, so it's a little rushed. You'll need to prepare."

As if she could predict Xing Yue's reaction after reading it, Qiao Rui pulled out a chair and sat across from her, ready for a long talk.

New Shadow Entertainment was one of the Bu Family's businesses. It ranked among their more notable holdings, but their most profitable ventures earned far more than entertainment did.

Xing Yue scanned the document. She was only on the first page when her eyes darkened. Though her face remained icy, she kept her temper in check and turned the pages one by one, reading to the final word.

"The company's sure it wants me on this kind of show?" She took off her glasses, her eyes aching with fatigue, and looked directly at the manager she'd worked with for so many years. "Sister Qiao, I know variety shows draw a lot of attention these days, but has the company considered what kind of performer I am? I'm a cover singer. You want me competing on a variety show?"

She had thought the company would arrange a singing contest or some other music competition that judged vocal ability. She hadn't expected to have to dance, act out scripts, be filmed while practicing, and take part in all sorts of publicity campaigns.

The contestants were mostly industry veterans who had once been famous before fading from view. There wasn't a single unknown among them. Xing Yue alone was an online cover singer; the others were actors from smash-hit dramas, original artists with bestselling songs, and former members of disbanded idol groups.

A show like that traded on nostalgia. Xing Yue had no work of her own to show for herself. The audience would mock her just for being a contestant. It would look like she'd pulled strings to get in.

Qiao Rui had known Xing Yue would object. It was both expected and understandable.

She interlaced her fingers beneath her chin and said earnestly, "Madam Bu's view is that if you were younger, she could even create a talent show just for you. But at your age, this is the kind of show that'll get people talking. You don't have any original songs or name recognition for a singing contest. A variety show is different. With a whole group of big names there to support you, how could we fail to generate buzz?"

It was like putting an internet celebrity in the lead role of a Hollywood blockbuster. People would immediately notice the newcomer among all those stars. Whether they cursed her or mocked her, even bad publicity was publicity. What mattered was getting people to talk.

Seeing Xing Yue's expression, Qiao Rui tried to persuade her. "You're guaranteed to win anyway. So what if the whole world can tell you're getting ahead through your connections? They'd take the same deal if they could."

It pays well, so why not take it? Qiao Rui knew what bothered Xing Yue. Her singing really was exceptional; otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed popular online for so many years.

But on a show with such an uneven lineup, Xing Yue would be mocked even if she proved herself the strongest performer. The moment she appeared on screen, people would insist the result was rigged.

Qiao Rui didn't know what history Xing Yue had with Madam Bu. She had heard, though, that Xing Yue and the Bu Family's eldest daughter were unusually close. Madam Bu was ruthless to treat someone involved with her own daughter this way.

She set a pen on the desk and urged, "Sign it. You've still got two months, and the company's already found you a dance teacher. You may be guaranteed first place, but you still need to put in the work. Don't coast."

The corner of the contract crumpled in Xing Yue's grip, and a dull ache spread through her thumb...

Madam Bu could easily have picked a group of online personalities like Xing Yue and made the show feel more credible. Instead, she had arranged it this way. Humiliating Xing Yue within the Bu Family wasn't enough; she wanted Xing Yue humiliated before a national audience.

Perhaps it was simply too much to bear. Xing Yue's lips went pale, and she felt as though she were back at that charity gala ten years ago. No one had told her who would be there or what sort of event it was.

Surrounded by prominent figures in business and politics, she had understood nothing of their academic discussions or conversations about commerce. Whenever anyone asked her a question, she had no answer. Madam Bu had watched her from the crowd, looking her up and down like the others, her gaze full of condescension and arrogance.

Madam Bu had never truly accepted Xing Yue. Yet she doted on Bu Yao too much to deny her anything. So she supported Bu Yao's marriage to Xing Yue while humiliating Xing Yue at every turn, determined to make her remember, deep in her bones, that she had married above her station.

In the end, Xing Yue wrote her name in the blank signature field. Every stroke felt heavy with helplessness.

Qiao Rui took the contract and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid Xing Yue would refuse and the company would lose its cash cow. She offered a few perfunctory words of comfort. "Don't worry, the company will make all the arrangements. You can have three days off. After that, training gets brutal, so get some rest."

Xing Yue was the only one left in the studio. She covered her face with both hands, her eyes aching. She sat like that for a long, long time...

Everyone at the company had gone home, but the light in Xing Yue's office was still on. She lifted her head, put her glasses back on, and composed her expression.

Then the door opened. When Xing Yue still hadn't come home after so long, Bu Yao had come looking for her at the company. She carried a box.

"Weren't you working late? Why are you here alone?" Bu Yao asked, setting the box on the desk and opening it.

She had probably only recently tucked her snake tail away. Faint traces of scales were still visible on her pale cheeks.

Xing Yue steadied her breathing. The ice in her expression suddenly melted, and she pulled Bu Yao onto her lap. "I was just about to go home. What did you buy?"

She tried to be a little gentler with Bu Yao, but even the smile she managed was strained.

Bu Yao gave a startled jolt and instinctively got off her lap. Why was Xing Yue acting like this...?

When they were married, they had argued often and had rarely been affectionate outside of bed. Being pulled onto Xing Yue's lap without warning left her eyes wide with surprise. Then her cheeks slowly flushed.

Bu Yao's reaction lifted Xing Yue's mood a little. She turned her attention to the box.

Bu Yao had bought Xing Yue a new phone. She glanced at Xing Yue awkwardly, unsure whether she would refuse it. "Use this one. Put the old one away."

She wasn't asking Xing Yue to throw the old phone out, only to keep it safe and use the one she had bought instead.

Xing Yue hadn't answered yet, so Bu Yao added, "Is that okay?"

At that tentative look, Xing Yue pulled her close and handed her the phone.

Heat rushed to Bu Yao's face, and her happiness was plain to see. But Xing Yue said nothing, making her hard to read. Bu Yao still couldn't tell whether she really wanted it.

Bu Yao used the ejector pin to remove the SIM card from the old phone and put it in the new one.

She glanced sideways at Xing Yue, then sent two photos from her own phone over Bluetooth. Both had been taken that day at Camellia Tree Courtyard. In one, her tail curled to the left. She set it as the lock screen wallpaper.

She glanced at Xing Yue again. When Xing Yue didn't object, she set the other photo, with her tail curled a little to the right, as the home screen wallpaper.

Viewed one after the other as the phone locked and unlocked, the photos looked like an animation of her snake tail swaying.

Bu Yao was very pleased with her handiwork. Xing Yue, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

"I have three days off. Do you want to spend them with me?"

Bu Yao remembered Xing Yue saying on the phone that she wanted to taste her little tail. She buried her face against Xing Yue's neck and nodded, her forked tongue lightly licking Xing Yue's collarbone.

"I'll be busier after the break." Xing Yue held Bu Yao's wrist, encircling it with her thumb and forefinger in an intimate gesture. "The show your family's New Shadow Entertainment is sending me to is pretty demanding. I'll have to give it everything I've got. I can't waste the opportunity your mother's given me."

Bu Yao immediately straightened. "Will it be exhausting?"

She didn't want Xing Yue to be so tired.

Xing Yue looked at Bu Yao, then glanced away in less than two seconds. She looked at the tip of Bu Yao's nose, then at her lips—anywhere but her eyes.

Her gaze darkened. Still holding Bu Yao's hand, she raised it and rubbed it against her cheek. "Of course it'll be tiring. But your company's paying a lot. If I'm earning that much, I should put in the work. Don't worry about me."

Listening to Xing Yue speak so softly about her life, Bu Yao felt as though she was part of it.

"Your mother probably doesn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry," Xing Yue said, playing with Bu Yao's pink fingertips. "Everyone appearing alongside me is a major star. The pressure's no joke."

Bu Yao heard the worry in her words and encouraged her. "Don't be nervous. I'll have the company invite a few minor celebrities and internet personalities onto the show."

With all kinds of opponents, Xing Yue wouldn't be starting at the bottom. Perhaps that would ease the pressure on her.

Xing Yue wrapped her arms around Bu Yao and buried her face deep against her chest. Whether from exhaustion or something else, she stayed there, breathing evenly, then teased, "How thoughtful of you, young miss."

Praise like that made Bu Yao blush. Just as her mother had said, everyone liked someone outstanding, gentle, and considerate.

When Xing Yue praised her that way, Bu Yao felt Xing Yue liked her a little more.

Her snake tail, which she had only recently tucked away, slowly emerged and hung down. The instant it touched Xing Yue, it coiled around her in uncontrollable excitement, scales rippling along its entire length...