The Snake Form

She didn't know what kind of snake Xing Yue was.

Bu Yao's sudden outburst wasn't entirely surprising. Xing Yue had been teasing her since the phone call, getting close to her in the office and toying with her the whole time.

The mood had been just right, yet Xing Yue had changed her mind at the last minute and decided to take her home. Bu Yao felt played, and her temper began to show.

When Bu Yao fell silent and stopped demanding to get out of the car, Xing Yue changed direction and drove toward her own home.

Having a little furnace beside her wouldn't be so bad. She had slept alone for a long time, and the older she got, the more keenly she felt the loneliness.

But she didn't think she was lonely enough to sleep with a woman she hadn't grown that close to. She didn't dislike Bu Yao; she liked her a little, but she wasn't deeply in love. Sleeping together without doing anything else would be fine. Still, if Bu Yao took more initiative, Xing Yue probably wouldn't refuse.

Xing Yue knew it, and Bu Yao knew it too.

Back home, Xing Yue first went to check on the camellias planted in the yard. Crumpled leaves littered the ground. The flowers were unharmed, but her heart ached at the sight.

"Don't wreck my flowers, hmm?" She pulled the woman beside her close and pinched her cheek. "They bloom only once every four years. Pluck any more leaves, and I'll tie you to a tree."

It was plainly Bu Yao's handiwork from when she had lost her temper during the phone call.

She had only plucked leaves and hadn't lost her senses enough to attack the flowers, but Xing Yue considered it just as bad. She had pruned every camellia tree in the yard, leaving only healthy growth. In half a day out of sight, Bu Yao had ravaged nearly a quarter of it. For someone who tended flowers, it hurt.

A red mark circled Bu Yao's pinched cheek, and tear tracks from crying in the car still streaked her face. She stepped forward and hugged Xing Yue, her bright eyes filled with the woman before her. "I'm sorry. Tie me up. I was awful."

Those eyes were far too deceptive. Even with that cool, gorgeous face, she could put on an innocent look as though she truly understood her mistake and was begging Xing Yue to punish her. Anyone would be taken in and call her a good girl.

But Xing Yue knew better. How could Miss Bu ever be wrong? Even when she realized she was, she would do the same thing again. That was Bu Yao: she did whatever she felt like doing.

Xing Yue stroked the long hair, prettier even than the red camellias. Its strands flowed through her fingers like the last light of sunset. It was so beautiful she could forgive Bu Yao's offense in the flower garden without a second thought.

"Should I make you change back into your snake form and put you in a cage, Miss Bu?" She bent closer, her flicking Snake Tongue brushing Bu Yao's flushed cheek.

The instant she drew near, the scent of Bu Yao's snake tail spread everywhere, filling even the air around them.

Xing Yue's expression stiffened slightly. The steady rush of fragrance reached into every corner of her senses. Every snake had a scent all her own.

Xing Yue didn't. She hadn't shown her tail in decades. All she carried was a clean, fresh scent, or the smell of perfume. Her eyes dimmed, and she abruptly lost interest. Releasing the red strands in her hand, she said, "It's late. Let's sleep."

Bu Yao stood frozen, the cool touch of Xing Yue's Snake Tongue still lingering on her face. Apart from Fire Snakes, other kinds of snakes had cool bodies.

Some liked dry places, while others preferred damp ones. She didn't know what kind of snake Xing Yue was. She had never seen her snake form. All she knew was that Xing Yue liked high temperatures. She liked warmth.

Bu Yao watched Xing Yue go upstairs without turning back or waiting for her. Xing Yue said nothing, and beneath the cover of night, her boundless loneliness seemed colder still.

Only then did Bu Yao truly admit it to herself: Xing Yue had no one to confide in. And Bu Yao, one of the few people who knew her secret, had hurt her like this...

The truth was painfully clear. Xing Yue hadn't been happy during their marriage, and being loved by Bu Yao brought her no joy either. Bu Yao had hurt her ten years ago, and she was hurting her now.

After spending most of the day busy with work, getting home in the middle of the night, and arguing on the way, Xing Yue had found the leaves stripped from her beloved flowers. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't tired.

Exhausted in body and mind, Xing Yue soaked in the bathtub. The water was comfortably warm, giving her room to empty her head.

Once she calmed down enough to think, she wondered why she kept getting tangled up with Bu Yao. If Bu Yao hadn't appeared, her moods wouldn't be all over the place every day.

Xing Yue despised herself for it. She picked up the waist sash lying on the rack and tied it over her eyes. With a sigh, she thought that someone as helplessly drawn to pretty faces as she was would probably have to gouge out her eyes to live normally.

She shook her head at her own joke. With her vision pitch-black, she spread her arms along the sides of the tub, tipped her head back, and let her whole body relax.

She never noticed the red python slither silently into the bathroom. It raised itself against the bathtub and climbed up. At six meters long, it made the climb with ease.

It slipped beneath the water, its head and body rising back to the surface as its tail slowly coiled its way in. Water kept spilling over the sides of the tub. By the time the entire tail was inside, the space had grown cramped.

It inevitably brushed Xing Yue's foot, startling her so badly that her legs jerked back.

Before she could pull off the sash covering her eyes, water flowed gently toward her. A warm snake body wound through her arms, and a wet Snake Tongue licked her chin.

Xing Yue gathered the Fire Snake into her arms and felt around from memory for the body wash. She worked up a lather and began scrubbing Little Fire Snake clean.

She had overestimated herself. Even with her eyes covered so she couldn't see Bu Yao, images appeared in her mind anyway. Wet Snake Scales would gleam, especially red ones. Fresh from the bath, that python body would look all the more vivid and splendid, like a blaze of fire.

She couldn't help flicking out her Snake Tongue. The steam filling the bathroom flushed her skin. Unable to see, she had only her imagination to rely on, but she knew Bu Yao would be even more beautiful and radiant than she imagined.

Wet red hair fell across Xing Yue's shoulder, followed by Bu Yao's small hands. Xing Yue tilted her head back and stayed still, letting soft lips close over hers as they kissed in the bathroom.

Xing Yue didn't have to work tomorrow. They had three days together, yet Bu Yao wasn't as forward as Xing Yue had expected. They tumbled into bed and simply held each other in silence.

Xing Yue stroked and patted the snake tail now and then, finding a little comfort for her weary body and mind.

"Xing Yue, what were you thinking about in the bathroom?" Bu Yao sat propped against the headboard. When she looked down, she could see Xing Yue resting her head on her tail.

Xing Yue answered honestly. "I was wondering if gouging out my eyes would stop me from being such a sucker for a pretty face."

"..."

Bu Yao covered Xing Yue's eyes with her hand and hugged her from behind. "You can't. I want to kiss them."

Her manner made it seem as if Xing Yue belonged to her. She liked kissing Xing Yue's eyes. If Xing Yue gouged them out, there would be nothing left to kiss.

To Bu Yao's surprise, Xing Yue wasn't angry, nor did she mind those words. She turned around and wrapped her arms around her, amused. "Then kiss them. Go on..."

They played around on the bed until Bu Yao ducked under the covers. When Xing Yue followed, Bu Yao pulled the blanket over their heads. She lay against Xing Yue's chest. The darkness made her blush less and let her say things that were too embarrassing to voice at any other time.

"What I said in the car... you, Xing Yue, you..." She couldn't even get a complete sentence out.

After stammering for ages, she finally managed to finish, her eyes red. "D-don't take it seriously."

Xing Yue knew what Bu Yao looked like even without seeing her, and she had no intention of letting her off so easily. She found the snake tail in the dark and gave it a pinch. "Too late. What if I took it seriously? I took every word to heart. I even wanted to throw you out."

That much was true. While she was angry, she really had wanted to toss Bu Yao away.

"Don't," Bu Yao protested in a soft, sweet voice edged with tears. "Even if you don't have a tail, I still like you. I like you more every day."

There was no denying that Bu Yao had blurted out something hurtful, but she had said it in anger. If she truly looked down on Xing Yue for being unable to show her tail, she wouldn't have loved her for so many years.

"I can't tell." Xing Yue brought up Bu Yao's own words, stressing the point. "Didn't you say you didn't like doing it with me? How is that liking me more every day?"

The accusation left Bu Yao flustered and annoyed. Did Xing Yue really not know whether she liked her? Even Bu Yao's snake tail preferred pressing against Xing Yue to staying with its own owner. Bu Yao couldn't fully control it, but Xing Yue could. The answer was obvious.

"I do like it!" she said emphatically.

She had meant to coax Xing Yue, only to work herself into a temper instead.

Xing Yue couldn't help laughing. That low, lazy laugh made Bu Yao's face heat up and annoyed her even more. She rubbed her forehead against Xing Yue over and over.

A couple of words weren't enough to satisfy Xing Yue. She pulled back the blanket with one hand, letting the bright light fall across Bu Yao's face. Even the fine down on her cheeks was clearly visible.

"Miss Bu, that hardly sounds like an apology. What do you like? If you don't say it, I can't feel how sorry you are."

Without the blanket to hide under, Bu Yao felt even more embarrassed. How was she supposed to say it now? "I don't know how to say it..."

Her voice was unusually soft. She thought that if she showed some vulnerability, Xing Yue would let her off.

She didn't realize it would only bring out Xing Yue's wicked side. "Say it the way you did in the car. Or is this the wrong place? Should we go to the garage?"

Xing Yue sounded perfectly serious, as though she had reached that conclusion after careful thought.

The suggestion was enough to make Bu Yao's face burn. She tried to cover Xing Yue's eyes. "I'll say it. Just don't look at me!"

Xing Yue stopped her hand and deliberately caught her wrist, holding her fast so she couldn't hide. "If I don't look at you while you say it, how will I know you mean it?"

Bu Yao's face felt hot enough to steam. With her hands caught, she couldn't even hide it. Her red lips formed words that burned on the way out. "I like you, Xing Yue. I like... doing it with you..."

One word seemed to vanish into silence, swallowed by the chaos in her head. Her pounding heart drowned out her own voice, though Xing Yue heard every word.

Xing Yue looked like a fox that had eaten its fill, yet she still wanted more. She deliberately raised her voice. "Really?"

Miss Bu nodded vigorously.

The dark night no longer seemed quite so hard to bear. Xing Yue had indeed been coaxed out of her mood. She hugged the red snake tail, pressed close, and stroked it, feeling much better. Even their wedding night ten years ago hadn't been this sweet.

On the first day of their break, Xing Yue and Bu Yao planned to hike up a mountain, then have barbecue by the sea that evening. If they liked the area, they would rent a small yacht and spend a couple of days out on the water.

The night before had done much to improve their relationship. Without Bu Yao asking, Xing Yue helped her put on her shoes. She had even arranged for a comfortable pair suited to hiking to be delivered early that morning.

In truth, Bu Yao didn't like hiking. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say she couldn't do it at all. But Xing Yue hadn't watched a sunset in a long time, and she had said, "If you can't keep going, I'll carry you."

Those words left Bu Yao stunned and blushing. If she had known Xing Yue liked this sort of thing, she would have said it eight or ten times a day. The sudden happiness felt almost unreal.

"You're not lying to me, are you? You won't lure me halfway up the mountain and then refuse to carry me?" she asked suspiciously.

Xing Yue pulled a soft sock onto her foot. "If I don't carry you, you can change back into your snake form and slither up. You could use the exercise. You're far too delicate."

"No. I'm not climbing. I'll change back into my snake form, and you can hold me..."

They bickered the whole way after setting out. Before they had even climbed a quarter of the way, Bu Yao declared she was tired.

Xing Yue told Bu Yao to rest in a pavilion while she went to buy water from a nearby shop.

She was standing in line among the crowd when someone behind her called out—

"A Yue."

At the familiar voice, Xing Yue's chest tightened reflexively.

She turned. He Zhiwen stood in the line a short distance away, her petite figure topped with a fresh-looking hat that made her face seem even more delicate.

A small cluster of daisies adorned the hat. Someone must have picked them recently and tucked them there for her.

Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other in so long, but He Zhiwen was a little excited. Countless emotions passed through her in an instant, though only a faint smile showed on her face. "How is your snake tail?"

Her voice was soft enough that only Xing Yue could hear.

Xing Yue didn't know why He Zhiwen had suddenly brought it up. In the seven years they had been together, He Zhiwen had rarely mentioned it.

Seeing Xing Yue's expression, He Zhiwen's face changed sharply. As a dreadful possibility occurred to her, she gave a bitter smile. "Did the treatment not work, or... did Madam Bu never arrange for anyone to treat your tail at all?"