Admit You Were Wrong

"My mom said you might as well die out there."

From the sixteenth floor, the night view was spectacular. The Yangtze River stretched through Silent City as far as the eye could see.

After hanging up her laundry, He Zhiwen stood on the large balcony for a while, enjoying the breeze. A navy coral-fleece blanket hung in the far corner. Everyone on this floor had arrived today, and the balcony was full of laundry, but that was the only blanket.

She gave it a second look and caught a familiar scent in the air, along with the heavy smell of blood. Drawn toward the blanket, she leaned in and sniffed. It smelled like Xing Yue...

It had been washed with soap, but the smell of blood was too strong. She could almost trace where it had flowed across the blanket.

Uneasy, He Zhiwen paced past Xing Yue's door several times. The awkward way they had parted after their last disagreement was still fresh in her mind.

After a moment's hesitation, she knocked on Xing Yue's door.

No one answered. She knocked three more times, waited, and still heard nothing.

He Zhiwen quietly pushed the door open. The smell of blood hit her even harder. "A Yue... are you in here?"

She called softly, worried that something bad had happened to Xing Yue.

A few steps inside, she spotted Xing Yue unconscious on the bed. She hurried over, her chest tightening.

Xing Yue's body was burning hot and slick with sweat. Her eyes were shut tight, her lips deathly pale. She seemed unable to straighten or rest her legs against anything, so they remained drawn up and motionless. Large patches of her skin were covered in herbal medicine.

He Zhiwen's first instinct was to go get help. Then she remembered Xing Yue's disability. If she called someone in, wouldn't more people discover Xing Yue's secret?

After thinking it over, she decided against it. She sat beside the bed and gently wiped the cold sweat from Xing Yue's skin.

"A Yue, are you all right? Does it hurt badly? Would painkillers help?" She didn't know what had happened, but Xing Yue was clearly in pain. Her legs were covered in countless tiny wounds.

Hearing her voice, Xing Yue struggled to open her eyes. She shook her head, declining He Zhiwen's offer. Ordinary painkillers wouldn't work, and they would only put more strain on her liver.

Seeing how miserable Xing Yue looked, He Zhiwen went to the bathroom for a basin of warm water. She wiped the sweat from Xing Yue's skin, gently cleaning her face and hands.

"Are you treating your tail?" she asked, looking again at the horrifying state of Xing Yue's legs. Even the herbal medicine couldn't hide the cuts left by the blade. "Why put yourself through this?"

Her gaze dimmed. Madam Bu had said that, despite all the time they had spent searching, they still hadn't found a way to treat Xing Yue's tail condition. Seeing her like this, He Zhiwen thought all that effort had come to nothing.

Xing Yue couldn't speak. She drifted in and out, looking as though she might fall asleep at any moment.

He Zhiwen moved to the foot of the bed to wipe Xing Yue's feet. The instant she touched an ankle, Xing Yue sucked in a sharp breath, her chest heaving. He Zhiwen didn't dare touch her again.

She gently blew warm air over Xing Yue's wounds. Her expression flickered as she made halting conversation. "I heard Spirit Snake blood and scales can cure any illness... If we could find some, you wouldn't have to suffer like this."

Xing Yue, who had nearly fallen asleep, found the strength to prop herself up. "What nonsense are you talking about? It's because people think like you that Spirit Snakes get treated like machines for producing medicine. Their blood is drawn, their scales are stripped, and once people start buying and selling them, a market forms! Don't say things like that again. Even imagining it is frightening. Spirit Snakes are our own kind. Do you think of them as food?"

Xing Yue had heard stories about Spirit Snakes from her grandmother since childhood. Every one of them was a brutal murder. To those people, it seemed eating a snake was no different from eating an ordinary dish.

It was sickening. Cruel.

After rebuking He Zhiwen, she sank back onto the bed and rested against the bedding. Even as a hypothetical, she wouldn't let He Zhiwen think that way.

He Zhiwen stood frozen. It was the first time she had heard anyone speak of Spirit Snakes like that.

She knew all kinds of people, but every one of them talked about Spirit Snakes with eager expectation. They thought finding one would make them rich, let them live a hundred years. As if it weren't a snake at all, but a miracle cure or an endless source of riches.

Perhaps because everyone else saw them that way, He Zhiwen had come to think of Spirit Snakes as medicinal ingredients too.

She lowered her head, her gaze drifting. At some point, herbal juice from Xing Yue's legs had smeared across her palm, mixed with clotted blood.

A complicated feeling surged through her and spread to every part of her body. Perhaps it was heartache—more than she knew what to do with.

"A Yue..."

Xing Yue couldn't turn over properly, so she only turned her face toward the wall. "Go back. If you stay in my room too long, my girlfriend will get the wrong idea."

As if something had occurred to her, Xing Yue spoke more firmly, enunciating each word. "When my life reaches its end, I'll accept death. If my tail condition can't be cured, I'll wear prosthetics."

She was telling He Zhiwen that she didn't need a Spirit Snake to keep her alive. She didn't need to drink snake blood or eat snake scales to regain her health.

For a moment, He Zhiwen almost thought Xing Yue knew what she was.

They had been together for seven years. He Zhiwen had thought she'd kept her secret perfectly hidden, but after spending every day together, had Xing Yue truly noticed nothing...?

Dazed, He Zhiwen left the room in a haze and nearly collided with the woman who had just come in.

"Miss Bu." Panic seized her for no apparent reason. Only then did she realize she was still holding Xing Yue's towel.

She hurriedly set it on the table.

That night, Bu Yao wore tailored trousers and a sleeveless blouse, her hair tied in a high ponytail. The workwear was a complete departure from her usual cool, glamorous style, finished with understated glittering heels adorned with silver chains.

She stopped in front of He Zhiwen. He Zhiwen stared at her with the terrified eyes of a little rabbit, as if Bu Yao had done something to her.

"Open your mouth. Let me see." Bu Yao's eyes narrowed slightly as she held something back.

When He Zhiwen didn't move, Bu Yao grabbed her face and squeezed until the pain forced her mouth open.

Bu Yao looked carefully, found no trace of blood, and confirmed the two women hadn't been licking each other. Then she let go. "Get out."

The instant Bu Yao had entered, she'd already been deciding where to bury Xing Yue. Alone in a room with her ex at night? That was as good as a secret tryst!

Xing Yue heard the commotion by the door, but she had no strength to get up. Her body burned; her head hurt, her legs hurt, and there wasn't a single place that didn't ache. Every nerve felt twisted into a knot.

All she could do was let Bu Yao have her say. She was already braced for a furious scolding. When this woman got jealous, there was no reasoning with her.

Xing Yue lay on her back and looked up at the woman beside her bed. Her vision was so hazy she couldn't make out Bu Yao's expression.

"I'll deal with you later." Bu Yao flicked out her Snake Tongue fiercely, filling the room with warning hisses.

She sat at the foot of the bed and leaned down. Her soft, supple Snake Tongue swept gently over Xing Yue's wounds. There was nothing romantic about it; the strong smell of herbal medicine and faint scent of blood were hardly pleasant.

The Snake Tongue shifted from pale pink to a deep, heated red. Its forked tips secreted fluid as they passed back and forth over the wounds. The cuts slowly closed, leaving Xing Yue's skin smooth and creamy white, as though she had just shed it.

It was a huge job. Xing Yue had regained some color in her face, but Bu Yao's Snake Tongue was sore, and she still had one side left to heal.

Xing Yue reached out and stroked Bu Yao's head. "Baby, you're so good at this. So amazing..."

Bu Yao had been concentrating on healing her. At those unexpected words, her face flared hot. She slapped Xing Yue's already-healed leg. "Turn over!"

She had arrived angry, but seeing Xing Yue in pain had made it impossible to stay that way. All she wanted was to make her feel better.

Xing Yue turned onto her stomach, deliberately letting out a low, contented hum.

Each time she hummed, Bu Yao pinched her. Soon, the skin she had nearly finished healing was red from it.

Bu Yao pulled off the dirty bedsheet. She didn't know how to change it, so she just dropped it on the floor. Her ears were still burning. "Did last night bring out your submissive side? Look at you, putting on a show!"

The fluid from Bu Yao's Snake Tongue was an excellent painkiller. Xing Yue couldn't feel the pain anymore; she no longer looked half-dead.

Noticing Bu Yao's outfit, she hooked a toe around the hem of her trousers. "Did you go to work, my lady?"

Bu Yao didn't answer. They weren't done with the other matter.

She pulled Xing Yue up from the bed, her face full of quiet resentment. "What were you doing in here with He Zhiwen? Think carefully before you answer."

Before Xing Yue could say a word, a towel hit her in the face. She pulled it away and recounted what had happened. "Nothing. She just wiped off my sweat. That's all. You were at the door making her open her mouth for inspection, weren't you? Find anything? You're so overbearing, my lady. Even someone passing by gets her mouth squeezed."

Bu Yao poked Xing Yue in the chest. "You feel sorry for her, don't you?"

Xing Yue took her hand and kissed it. "No. I feel sorry for you. What did your mother say?"

She pulled Bu Yao into her arms and held her tight, fitting herself against Bu Yao's curves. The warmth reaching her through their clothes drew a soft, contented sigh from her throat.

Now that she had a girlfriend, she could hold Bu Yao as much as she wanted. She was so warm, so comfortable. Xing Yue wanted to cling to her all day, every day.

"My mom said you might as well die out there." Sulking, Bu Yao pushed Xing Yue away, found a sofa, and sat with her back to her.

Her eyes were red with anger. "I told you on the phone I was coming tonight. You couldn't wait a few minutes? Why did you let He Zhiwen wipe your sweat? Don't tell me you didn't ask her to. Did you refuse? Would saying no have killed you?"

He Zhiwen was surrounded by admirers and had plenty of pride. If Xing Yue had rejected her, would she really have stayed and clung on?

The moment Xing Yue told her to leave, He Zhiwen had gone. The fact that she'd stayed until then meant Xing Yue hadn't sent her away. Doing it late didn't count!

Some people, once they fell in love, were forever apologizing.

"All right, all right. I know I was wrong." Xing Yue sat beside her and slipped a long arm around her waist. "Next time she comes in, I'll send her right back out."

Bu Yao turned her face away and removed Xing Yue's hand.

A second later, Xing Yue put it back.

Bu Yao removed it again.

Xing Yue simply lay down with her head in Bu Yao's lap, rolled over, and buried her face in Bu Yao's soft stomach. "I'm so happy. My lady healed me before she scolded me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but if I don't say it, you might never know how much I like you."

Xing Yue found happiness in little things. Bu Yao had put concern for her injuries ahead of her own feelings, and that alone made her happy.