Choking Back Tears

A Considerate Woman

Was Bu Yao asking for her opinion? Making a request?

The realization struck Xing Yue so suddenly that her mind went blank. Being treated with respect by Miss Bu sent a chill down her spine.

She took half a step back, pried the small hand from her clothes, and smiled. "All right. I'll let my colleagues at the studio know first."

The movements were slight, but her reluctance was plain.

The light in Bu Yao's eyes dimmed. Her hand hovered in the air for a moment before falling to her side, empty.

With their plans changed, Xing Yue and Bu Yao got off the subway early. The exit at this station was close to the city's central hospital.

She called her manager. "Sister Qiao, put today's recording on hold for a while. I'll come by later."

Xing Yue was an online cover singer who never showed her face, with voice acting as a sideline. She had nearly ten million followers—not an enormous following, but hardly a small one. Her earnings could not compare to a sliver of the Bo Family's fortune, but by ordinary standards, her income was at the very top.

As the internet kept changing, many influencers vanished after a brief spell of fame. The company had long wanted Xing Yue to show her face and build a public persona to attract followers. Xing Yue refused.

Their relationship was already strained over it. Now, even asking for a little time off earned her manager's displeasure.

Qiao Rui sneered. "Xing Yue, do you think you're some huge star? Has the company approved your leave? Could you show a little concern for your career? You're thirty-six. Instead of finding a way to reinvent yourself, you're acting like you're twenty-six. You're not young anymore. Stop resting on your laurels, okay?"

With the internet as crowded as it was, there would always be talented people who became more popular. Xing Yue occupied an awkward position. She refused to show her face, yet her covers had kept her popular until now. Many short videos used her covers as background music, but ask who sang them and sixty percent of viewers would have no idea.

In short, her songs were famous. She was not.

The company did not want to let go of a tree that could still bear money. All it could do was pile on the pressure until Xing Yue gave in.

"Sister Qiao." Xing Yue lowered her head slightly, and her glasses slipped down her nose. The sun blazed outside, but cold had settled deep in her bones. "I've told you I'll be late to today's recording. Let the staff involved know to come in this afternoon so they don't wait around for nothing."

Her tone was firm. She had approved her own leave.

Then she hung up. She did not argue with Qiao Rui; they had fought over this countless times, and she had no wish to do it again. Besides, Qiao Rui's words had struck a nerve. Xing Yue was already anxious about her age.

Her family pressed her so hard to marry that she no longer dared answer their calls. Her career had stalled too. She was exhausted.

Bu Yao did not know what had been said on the phone, but she could make a fair guess from Xing Yue's expression. "Xing Yue, are you too busy with work to get away?"

She stopped walking beside her and murmured, "We can go to the hospital after you finish work."

Xing Yue's eyes curved with amusement. "Well, this is rare. Miss Bu knows how to be considerate?"

A faint blush spread across Bu Yao's face at the teasing. The smile on Xing Yue's lips was just like the one she wore when playing with Bu Yao's tail in bed.

Her face grew hotter...

Xing Yue had Phoenix Eyes, long and slanting, their outer corners tipped upward. They gave her a commanding air, but her brows curved softly. When she smiled at someone, she looked gentle and elegant, with a strikingly wifely beauty.

Bu Yao had never waited for anyone. Even Xing Yue, as her wife ten years ago, had been no exception. So Xing Yue knew that those few quiet words marked a world-shaking change.

"We're going now. Your tail comes first," she said firmly.

She had to take responsibility for Bu Yao's allergic reaction. Even if she had no desire to rekindle their relationship, she would not shirk what was hers to bear.

On the way, Bu Yao followed Xing Yue, leaving only enough distance between them that she could have reached out and taken her hand.

They walked beneath the trees, one behind the other. Bu Yao kept stealing glances at Xing Yue. She had missed her so much. After all those years apart, she could not seem to look at her enough. But Xing Yue was so distant that she never even turned around.

"Do you like..." Bu Yao whispered.

Xing Yue did not catch it. She turned back. "What?"

Bu Yao had wanted Xing Yue to look at her, but now that she was, Bu Yao grew shy and uneasy. A warm flush colored her soft cheeks. "Do you like considerate women?"

Her mother had said no one liked serving a bad-tempered princess. Everyone liked someone well-behaved, gentle, and capable. What about Xing Yue? Xing Yue had just praised her for being considerate. Did that mean Xing Yue liked her?

Did Xing Yue like considerate women...?

The sudden question, and Bu Yao's bashful manner, left Xing Yue a little bewildered. She had only said it in passing. How had Bu Yao read so much into it?

Still, she was not in the habit of embarrassing women, especially one who had become her wife at eighteen.

"I do." Xing Yue nodded, took Bu Yao's hand, and drew her along faster with a smile. "You're actually pretty cute like this."

At least she was cuter than when she was quick to anger. Xing Yue remained wary, though. Part of her suspected Bu Yao was plotting something and found it chilling; another part could not resist her attempts to draw closer.

Caught in that contradiction, she failed to notice that the woman behind her had blushed all the way down her neck at the compliment.

Mom was right after all... Bu Yao thought.

At the hospital, Xing Yue hesitated while registering. Should they see a gynecologist or a dermatologist?

Fortunately, a hospital guide came over and asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

For the past few years, Bu Yao had always been cool and aloof around strangers. With Xing Yue beside her, she could not manage it. She watched every word, every shift in tone, every expression, afraid Xing Yue would come to loathe her as she had before.

The more aware she became of that fear, the less she spoke. If she said little enough, no one would see her bad temper.

When the guide approached, Bu Yao stepped behind Xing Yue.

"Um... well..." Xing Yue's palms grew damp. She tried to keep her expression natural. "It looks like an allergic reaction on her tail. The medicine we applied didn't help, and we're not sure whether it really is an allergy."

A snake's private parts were at the tip of the tail. Xing Yue could not bring herself to say "the very tip," so she kept it vague.

The guide had seen plenty and showed no surprise. She understood at once. "Third floor, turn left. Register with gynecology. The doctor will examine her first, then decide whether she needs an ultrasound or a blood test."

Xing Yue quietly let out a breath. Even she had found that embarrassing, let alone Bu Yao.

They had cleared the first hurdle, only to encounter a bigger one—one that gave Xing Yue a headache.

The doctor was an experienced older woman with graying hair. For all her skill, even she was at a loss with Bu Yao.

She pulled back the curtain and spoke sharply to Xing Yue. "How old is your girlfriend, exactly? Her registration says twenty-eight, but she can't control her snake tail. She can't be an adult!"

The doctor plainly suspected Xing Yue of luring away an underage girl.

She took Bu Yao for a girl who liked dressing older and putting on makeup.

Xing Yue endured the scolding while the doctor glared at her. She could not explain herself. When she looked at the source of the trouble, Bu Yao lay innocently on the examination bed, clutching the blanket and staring at her with wide, clear ruby eyes. She looked utterly helpless.

"Doctor." Though Xing Yue had done nothing wrong, guilt crept into her voice, and she lowered it. "She really is twenty-eight. Not being able to control her tail is an old problem. It was like this ten years ago."

An adult snake could fully control whether they showed a tail or legs. Only young snakes and some elderly, seriously ill snakes who had lost the ability to care for themselves could not control the change.

Bu Yao was clearly a healthy adult. For some reason, she could control her tail and legs perfectly well in front of others, but not when Xing Yue was nearby.

It had often happened before. Bu Yao would display courtship behavior in front of Xing Yue. Even if they had been arguing bitterly a moment earlier, that disobedient tail would still wind its way onto Xing Yue's skin.

Now the doctor needed to examine Bu Yao, but merely knowing Xing Yue was on the other side of the curtain made her legs stop obeying her again. She could not turn them into a tail or control the change.

The doctor's gaze turned judgmental. "Save that story for the police."

"Wait, wait!" Xing Yue blurted. "Give me a moment."

She hurried to the examination bed and pulled the curtain closed, sweat breaking out on her forehead. She lifted the blanket and pinched Bu Yao's soft calf. "Miss Bu, are you messing with me?"

Bu Yao's pale toes curled against the top of her other foot. She lowered her head, her nose reddening as her voice caught. "I'm not doing it on purpose."

She did not want this either. But ever since she had run into Xing Yue, her tail had grown strange. It was her own snake tail, yet she could not control it. Xing Yue affected it too much.

Xing Yue's situation was a little unusual. Even though she was an online singer who never showed her face, ending up at the police station would still be too risky.

"What do we do now?" she asked, her headache worsening as urgency crept into her voice.

Bu Yao looked up at her innocently and bit her lip. "Maybe... it would get better if you kissed it."

Xing Yue froze. "Kissed what?"

She looked down at Bu Yao's restless, curling feet and gave an incredulous laugh. "You really dared to ask that, Miss Bu?"

Bu Yao heard the change in Xing Yue's tone. She knew it well. During their brief marriage, Xing Yue had spoken like that whenever Bu Yao made an unreasonable demand—with sarcasm, helplessness, self-mockery, and anger.

Sitting up against the bed with her knees hugged to her chest, Bu Yao had eyes only for Xing Yue. "It isn't an order. I'm not forcing you. I can't control how I feel about you, and I'm ashamed to ask, but... could you please be gentle with my tail? Please?"