A Clean Break

From now on, we should never see each other again.

This was the angriest Bu Yao had been since their reunion. The previous few times, a couple of sweet words from Xing Yue had been enough. This time, nothing satisfied her.

She gave a cold laugh. She knew Xing Yue was humbling herself for another woman, and that obedience did nothing to ease her anger.

"Don't worry about Miss He. She's perfectly safe." Bu Yao propped her cheek on one hand, a faint, unreadable smile in her eyes. "She's in this room, watching you."

Xing Yue's back went rigid. Her gaze swept the room before settling on a piece of black cloth in front of the projection screen.

Beneath it was a rectangular shape half a meter long. When she came in, she had taken it for a small cabinet holding the projector and paid it no mind. Now it looked like a cage covered with black cloth.

The cloth let a little light through. It was not completely opaque; from up close, someone behind it could make out what was happening on the other side.

Xing Yue's face turned ashen. The taste of rust seeped between her clenched teeth. "Why..."

Why had Bu Yao done this? Why had she let someone else see Xing Yue groveling and wagging her tail?

Cold all over, Xing Yue staggered to her feet. But her hands and legs were so numb she could feel nothing. Less than two seconds later, she crashed back to the floor.

She tried to get up again, but her body would not stop shaking. She lost control of it and fell back where she had been.

After several attempts, she still could not get her legs beneath her. She lay sprawled on the cold floor.

Not far away was that delicate, pampered foot, with lipstick from Xing Yue's lips still smeared across its instep...

Bu Yao watched Xing Yue suddenly go rigid as if seized by panic, her limbs numb and her body collapsed on the floor.

"Isn't this what you wanted to see? He Zhiwen is safe, and you don't have to swallow your pride and apologize anymore. How did you end up like this? Aren't you happy?" Bu Yao fired off the questions without once taking her eyes off Xing Yue.

This was how she punished Xing Yue for intending to get a hotel room with another woman. Xing Yue might deny it and claim she had only said it in anger, but Bu Yao had already judged her guilty. Nothing Xing Yue said would matter.

Xing Yue had hated being ordered to put Bu Yao's shoes on in front of everyone. She had hated it ten years ago, and she hated it even more now.

And now Bu Yao had told her that He Zhiwen had heard and seen everything she had just said and done. It felt worse than being killed.

Xing Yue's eyes flooded with blood. Driven by the need to escape, she struggled to her feet, her face frighteningly pale. She picked up the rectangular cage and headed for the door.

"I didn't say you could leave." Bu Yao stepped in front of Xing Yue when she saw that Xing Yue was ignoring her. "What did you say just now? Do I need to repeat it for you?"

She had only just promised to keep her distance from other women, and now she was carrying one in her arms?

Xing Yue said nothing and went around Bu Yao.

That disregard sent Bu Yao's anger to its peak. She shouted after Xing Yue, "If you walk out that door now, we'll never see each other again!"

Xing Yue, who had looked utterly lifeless, reacted at last. She set down the cage and turned to face Bu Yao. She wanted to sound resolute, but when she spoke, she could not hide the bitter tremor in her voice.

"Fine. We'll never see each other again." Xing Yue's throat tightened. She had no tear glands; the hot liquid filling her eyes was red. "I hope you keep your word, Miss Bu. From now on, every time you come looking for me, may I lose ten years of my life."

She said it with such finality. There was no angry outburst, no rush of emotion. Only detachment, bitterness, and a plea...

She had even gone so far as to curse herself: if Bu Yao sought her out once, she would lose ten years of her life. She had gone that far to make sure Bu Yao never looked for her again.

After saying that, Xing Yue left without looking back. Unlike ten years ago, when she reached the doorway, she tore down the red "double happiness" character without hesitation.

Tan Xiang'e, who had been waiting for news, looked shocked when Xing Yue came out. "What happened to your eyes? Hey... wait for me..."

"How did the membranes over your eyes tear? Slow down. You need to stop moving right now!"

"Xing Yue, I'm serious. You could go blind. Stop walking, will you? Hey! Xing Yue!"

Tan Xiang'e was panting, but she still could not keep up.

Snakes had no tear glands. No matter how hard they cried, they shed no tears. If the membranes over Xing Yue's eyes had ruptured, there was only one possibility: she had cried so hard, so utterly brokenhearted, that the membranes had torn loose. Her eyes were full of blood.

Without prompt treatment, she risked blindness or impaired vision.

Tan Xiang'e did not know what had happened in that room. She only knew Xing Yue was devastated. To be hurting this badly, her heart must have shattered into shards of glass.

At the parking garage, Xing Yue pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes. It was soon soaked with red blood. She paid it no mind, drove straight out of the garage, and headed for Maple Forest.

When she reached Garden Estate, Xing Yue pulled the black cloth off the cage. Bu Yao had probably replaced it recently. It looked exquisite and expensive, with more than enough room for He Zhiwen in snake form.

The white snake lay coiled inside, her head tucked beneath her body. When she saw Xing Yue, she lifted her head, then laid it back down. She looked listless.

Xing Yue opened the cage to let her out, but He Zhiwen stayed where she was, motionless.

She did not seem to want to leave the cage.

Helpless, Xing Yue reached in, lifted the snake into the crook of her arm, and placed her on the passenger seat. Then she started the car again and drove away from Maple Forest.

Xing Yue did not say a word the entire time. Only her occasional sharp gasps gave away that she was sobbing.

Xing Yue was crying...

He Zhiwen said nothing. She did not even change back into human form, instead remaining quietly coiled on the passenger seat and making herself as inconspicuous as possible. She knew Xing Yue needed quiet.

The car followed a familiar route to the school's C-side entrance. The faculty dormitory where He Zhiwen lived was accessible from there.

Xing Yue had traveled this road many times before. She opened the door. The little white snake raised her upper body to look at her, flicked out her tongue, and rubbed her heat-sensing pit against the back of Xing Yue's hand. It seemed like thanks, with a hint of comfort Xing Yue could not quite name.

He Zhiwen got out of the car.

They had not exchanged a single word. Only by pretending nothing had happened could He Zhiwen preserve Xing Yue's dignity.

And precisely because of that, the sight of He Zhiwen treating her so carefully snapped the last thread Xing Yue had been holding on to. Even He Zhiwen pitied her...

Xing Yue folded over the steering wheel, gasping as though the air had been stolen from her. She did not lift her head for a long time. Bright blood trickled down, dripping into the car without end until it had stained the entire steering wheel red.