Pulling Out the Scales

Forget it, we're not a good match.

The tip of the tail, gradually warming up, was incredibly soft. The Snake Scales were not cold or hard; because of the matte finish, they looked even more noble and extraordinary.

Xing Yue held it tightly in her hand, her index finger circling the scales clockwise. As if sensing her touch, the two-finger-wide tail tip wrapped around her wrist and gently crawled against the back of her hand.

She didn't answer Bu Yao's question, but instead brushed her nose against the shirt that smelled of both of them, taking a long breath. "You really love me that much?"

Xing Yue remained in the same position, speaking in a muffled voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, much like the voice coming from an old radio.

Bu Yao hugged the person in her arms tightly, her arms encircling him. In this position, Xing Yue's head was pressed closer to her body, and she murmured softly, "Mmm."

She didn't know how much she loved him, but all she wanted was to be with Xing Yue forever, never to be Xing Yue, to have him by her side, never to be with other snakes, never to touch other snake tails, to belong only to her.

Having received the answer he expected, Xing Yue's tone remained largely unchanged. He slightly raised his chin and said, "Then come with me. Don't stay at the Bu Residence; we'll move to another city."

Although her tone was flat, as if she were stating simple everyday words, the unconscious tightening of her arm around Bu Yao's upper body still betrayed her chaotic inner thoughts.

She looked at Bu Yao, her eyes like a deep, dark sea, filled with melancholy.

Bu Yao froze, her mind sluggish for several seconds before she realized what Xing Yue was saying. She asked blankly, "Move to another city? Where will we go? Will we never come back?"

"We'll go back, once every ten or twenty years." Xing Yue was mentally prepared. Since she couldn't bring herself to be heartless towards Bu Yao, she might as well take Bu Yao away from here.

Leaving this environment, she wouldn't feel unbalanced or moody when interacting with Bu Yao.

Even if Bu Yao can't do housework or take care of people, it doesn't seem like a big problem. If she likes Bu Yao enough, she can tolerate it. Anyway, even without Bu Yao, she would do the same thing on her own.

Bu Yao could fill her emptiness and loneliness. Her heart only held her, and that wasn't so bad. No one else loved her anymore; others would take their love away, but Bu Yao wouldn't.

Unfortunately, Xing Yue made a crazy decision, but no one was there to share her madness.

Bu Yao's face. "Go back only once every ten or twenty years? My mom will be heartbroken..."

She rejected him almost without hesitation.

Although she loves Xing Yue very much, she also loves her mother, her loving father, and her grandfather who folds bamboo dragonflies for her when she is unhappy.

How can she only come back once every ten or twenty years? What about her parents and grandfather?

Xing Yue released the woman from his arms, his expression frozen, then he suddenly laughed, whether self-deprecatingly or not, he didn't know. He rubbed his eyes with his palms, "Didn't I feel sad when your mother treated me like that? You love me so much, why couldn't you stand up for me when your mother took me to that high-society party and deliberately mocked me? Couldn't you see that I couldn't keep up with the conversation, that I didn't understand what those people were saying? Couldn't you see that your mother was deliberately trying to embarrass me? You love me so much, why did you let her compare my age to yours time and time again? Am I that old? If you mind that I'm eight years older than you, why do you still say you love me? If you don't mind, why couldn't you seriously tell your mother that you like women eight years older than you when she brought up my age! You love me so much, why couldn't you protect me even a little bit?"

There are many more examples. When she refused to be interviewed by a magazine, Madam Bu, along with the reporter and complete strangers, laughed at her, saying she was ashamed of being out in public.

During family gatherings, when the table is full of the Bu Family, they'll often ask her to sing a couple of lines.

It might seem like nothing, just something said casually, but these "nothing" and "casual remarks" have caused her severe psychological abuse. When she brings it up, others blame her for being sensitive.

It's one thing for others, but why Bu Yao? Didn't you love her very much? You loved her so much that you kept the red paper-cut decorations from ten years ago to decorate your wedding room, and you loved her so much that you cried uncontrollably and couldn't eat or sleep when she mentioned breaking up.

If he loved her so much, why couldn't he protect her? Just because the person who hurt her was Bu Yao's own mother, does that mean it wasn't considered harm?

"Xing Yue..." A series of out-of-control questions Bu Yao at a loss. She opened her lips and murmured, not knowing how to answer.

Ji Wenyan never publicly expressed her support for this marriage that was not a good match in terms of social status. She also doted on Bu Yao Bu Yao and instilled in her the idea that she could like anyone.

This Bu Yao to mistakenly believe that Ji Wenyan approved of their relationship.

In reality, Ji Wenyan was the one who couldn't accept them being together the most. She couldn't bear to treat Bu Yao badly in the slightest, nor could she bear to say a harsh word to her. She could only vent her dissatisfaction on Xing Yue, attacking him at every turn, making Xing Yue always remember that marrying Bu Yao was Xing Yue step up for him, that they were not a good match, and that Xing Yue had to lower himself to the dust, kneeling to welcome the love Bu Yao gave him.

As it turned out, Ji Wenyan's subtle yet effective blows did work, making Xing Yue more concerned about his self-esteem. However, being too concerned about it led to low self-esteem, creating a vicious cycle: the more he cared, the more insecure he became, the more sensitive he was, and the more he suffered...

"Forget it," Xing Yue lay back down on the bed, pulled the covers up, "Let's just forget it, it's not a good fit."

Thinking back to the unrealistic and childish things he had just said, Xing Yue couldn't help but laugh.

What reason did Bu Yao have to go with her? What reason did she have to give up the Bu Family for her? What reason did she have to abandon her pampered life and suffer with her?

Does not doing housework equate to happiness? Bu Yao also wants beautiful clothes, luxurious jewelry, and unique high heels.

She couldn't afford any of these things, yet she shamelessly proposed such an idea to Bu Yao. How naive and stupid she was.

The beautiful, jewel-like snake tail curled up in Xing Yue's arms, its excessive heat pressing against her through her pajamas.

Xing Yue, already annoyed by the rejection, simply pushed the snake tail that had been coiling around him aside and lay down to look at Bu Yao: "I'm not asking you to choose between me and your mother. I just don't understand why, when I see you cry, when you have an allergic reaction, my heart aches so much that I don't want to be harsh with you anymore, but you can't do the same? If you cared about me even a little, you wouldn't have let your mother say so many hurtful things to me. Got it? In your eyes, my house and car are also junk, right? So you think it's no big deal that I was forced to sell my house and car. It's not that you don't care about me, it's that you simply don't know how much I'm suffering. That kind of understanding seems more in line with your status. See, I've already come up with an excuse for you."

After saying that, Xing Yue gave a self-deprecating laugh, turned over, and didn't want to see anyone.

Bu Yao is a princess, and she is a commoner. If a princess wants to feel sorry for a commoner, she must first understand why the commoner is suffering.

But a princess is a princess. How could a princess understand why she was so upset about losing a dilapidated house? How could she understand that a mere 900,000, which is not even a fraction of the money needed to buy a little dress for a princess, would cost her half her life?

There was no sound behind her. Just as Xing Yue to force herself to sleep, Bu Yao suddenly got out of bed. She heard the sound of Bu Yao getting out of bed...

"Where to?" Xing Yue asked instinctively.

It's still dark outside, only a little past five in the morning, and it's raining.

Although she was angry, she wasn't angry enough to kick Bu Yao out alone in the middle of the night.

Bu Yao lowered her head and said, "I'll go home for a bit. I'll have Uncle Li pick me up."

Xing Yue was so angry she laughed. She had only mentioned a couple of things Madam Bu had done, not even criticizing Madam Bu, but simply stating what Madam Bu had done and said, Bu Yao couldn't stand it and was about to leave?

Never mind, it's not like she just met Bu Yao today; that woman has always had a bad temper.

"Whatever," she said, turning to face the wall and closing her eyes to sleep.

*

A gaping hole appeared in the sky, and torrential rain burst its banks, surging so fiercely it seemed to engulf the city. Stepping onto the street, all you could hear was the sound of the downpour; it felt as if you were in a river, not walking on a road, but walking on a river.

Dark clouds surged and roared, while lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the window.

Ji Wenyan and Bu Changqin were fast asleep in the room, where, apart from the booming thunder, there were also faint, familiar shouts.

"Mother..."

Ji Wenyan vaguely heard Bu Yao calling her. She opened her eyes and a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of her, with disheveled hair and soaking wet.

Her heart skipped a beat. "Why did you suddenly come back? Did Xiao Yue bully you?"

Just as Ji Wenyan was about to get out of bed, lightning suddenly flashed outside the window, briefly illuminating the dim room for a second. Then, the entire mansion erupted in a woman's terrified scream:

"Aaaaaaah--"

Bu Yao was barefoot, soaked to the bone, holding a blood-soaked pair of pincers in her hand. Her tail dragged on the ground, still dripping blood. The off-white carpet was covered in rainwater and bloodstains, stretching from the doorway to the bedside.

Clumps of Snake Scales had been pulled from the middle of the pliers, covering the jaws and even the handles on both sides. It was hard to imagine how much had been removed.

Bu Yao stood by the bed, tilting her head, looking distressed. "Mom, you keep saying things to Xing Yue that you don't want to hear. I've told you to stop, but you still do."

She placed the pliers, covered in her own Snake Scales, on the blanket covering Ji Wenyan: "Here, take this. Next time you want to talk to Xing Yue, look at this, otherwise you'll never remember."