The Tail Revealed

Snakes should be colorful and vibrant.

*

Perhaps it was because of the heavy rain, but Xing Yue couldn't sleep well. He was in a daze, his back was covered in cold sweat, and he kept rubbing his legs on the sheets, but he still couldn't get rid of the dense, stinging pain.

She struggled to wake up, feeling so uncomfortable that her legs felt like they were going to explode. When she lifted the covers, she saw that her symptoms were the same as the day before yesterday—they were as red as if they had been doused with hot water.

All I could hear was the chaotic sound of torrential rain and howling wind, and a chilling wind was blowing.

In such terrible weather, Xing Yue couldn't go to the hospital, so she could only take a cold shower in the bathroom to relieve the discomfort.

As soon as he got out of bed, Xing Yue noticed the small high heels still lying by the bedside. His gaze lingered slightly. He wondered if Bu Yao had returned home yet. She had a habit of not wearing shoes unless someone helped her put them on, a habit she just couldn't break.

While mentally complaining, Xing Yue neatly placed the pair of delicate high heels on the shoe cabinet by the door, next to her shoes.

She glanced at her phone again; it was quiet, no text messages, no missed calls...

Xing Yue felt inexplicably angry and sent Bu Yao a message: "[Do you love me and not let me know you're safe? Other people's girlfriends will text to let me know they're home safely.]"

She knew she was acting a bit strangely, becoming emotionally sensitive towards Bu Yao, which was unlike an adult her age. She had never been this impulsive when she was seventeen or eighteen.

But she desperately needed Bu Yao's response, as if only in this way could she feel that she was loved.

Xing Yue thought this was rather childish and started to feel conflicted. Less than two minutes after sending the message, she manually deleted it.

Just seconds after she withdrew her message, Bu Yao replied to her--

[I'm home now, I miss my sister]

(Bu Yao retracted a message)

"..."

The woman on the other end copied her, sending messages and then deleting them.

Xing Yue stared blankly at the chat box. Even after receiving Bu Yao's message, her heart was still pounding and she couldn't calm down. Perhaps it was because of the heavy rain, but all night she had felt a sense of unease, like her heart was racing.

Knowing that Bu Yao had arrived home safely, Xing Yue didn't send any more messages. He put down his phone, went to the bathroom, and rinsed his legs with cold water for nearly half an hour until the stinging sensation of peeling skin gradually subsided before leaving the bathroom.

As soon as I came out, I heard my phone buzzing and vibrating. I opened it and saw it was flooded with messages from Bu Yao.

[So sad, I want to kiss my sister (tearful face). jpg]

[Shall we kiss tomorrow? (Looking forward to it. emoji)]

[I'll die if I don't kiss you, sob (crying. jpg)]

[I want a kiss, I want a kiss from my sister (crying. jpg)(tears. jpg)(feeling wronged. jpg)]

[I want to kiss you right now (crying emoji)]

[I can't kiss you, I'm going to die (crying. emoji)(crying loudly. jpg)(tears streaming down. jpg)]

These are clearly words of a coquettish woman, yet they evoke a sense of gloom. Reading these words feels like one is about to die if they can't get close to Xing Yue.

Xing Yue's gaze fell on the screen. Each message was accompanied by a crying face. He swiped the chat box up and down with his thumb, and saw a screen full of white bubbles asking for kisses, along with crying emojis.

She didn't reveal any other information, so Xing Yue couldn't discern anything, but those incessantly crying expressions made her unconsciously Bu Yao...

Xing Yue--

[What's wrong?]

Did you have a fight with your mom?

This was the only thing Xing Yue could think of; Bu Yao was probably having a fight with her elders at home, maybe even a pretty big one.

People are especially vulnerable when they are feeling down or wronged.

There was sudden silence on the other end. Xing Yue kept his phone glued to his hand, lying in bed staring at the screen for several minutes, but still didn't receive a reply from Bu Yao.

This further confirmed Xing Yue's suspicions, and she inexplicably typed a message: [Should I come pick you up?]

It's almost a no-brainer that Bu Yao got into trouble because she had a fight with her family.

Xing Yue waited and waited, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep...

The road, washed clean by the torrential rain, was covered with fallen leaves and flowers. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, even though it had rained heavily the Dragon Boat Festival before, the temperature was still unbearably hot the next day when the sun was shining brightly.

Xing Yue was woken up by the heat. Although she is physically fond of heat, she cannot tolerate the high temperatures of summer. She prefers to stay in an air-conditioned room with a small heater, where she can feel extremely comfortable.

He groggily opened his eyes a crack, his hand fumbling for the air conditioner remote on the bed. He touched something soft and hot; the unfamiliar feel startled Xing Yue, jolting him awake from his daze.

She looked closely and saw Navy Blue python tail curled up on the bed, its color like the deep, unfathomable seabed. A few vibrant butterfly patterns adorned its Snake Scales, contrasting beautifully with the inky blue, making the tail exceptionally alluring...

Xing Yue was terrified and tried to get off the bed, but she didn't realize that her legs had turned into a tail and she fell down. The strange snake tail also fell to the ground because of her movement.

Ignoring the pain, she kept backing away. With each step she took back, the snake's tail followed her forward, until she crawled into the wardrobe, with nowhere left to retreat, her upper body buried in the pile of clothes. Only then did she feel a little safe.

After a long while, Xing Yue slowly calmed down. She looked through the gaps in the pile of clothes at the unfamiliar snake tail outside the wardrobe. The Navy Blue color was very dark, and if you didn't look closely when night fell, it could almost blend into the darkness.

But those butterfly-shaped patterns are a vibrant green, reed green, the scent of spring, like elves living in the forest—a very natural color scheme.

Xing Yue poked it with her finger, and its tail twitched halfway, scaring her so much that she pulled her hand back and obediently stuffed it into the pile of clothes.

Is this tail hers? Why doesn't she feel it...?

She couldn't feel her tail; she had lost it for so long that, like a child, she was unable to control it.

And so, the two remained locked in a stalemate in the room until the sun was almost setting outside the window, before Xing Yue finally moved his numb arm.

She carefully gathered the snake's tail, bit by bit, and gently held it in her arms. She ran her index finger lightly over the scales and began to count the little butterflies on the tail.

One, two...

As Xing Yue counted, his nose started to sting, and he rested his forehead on the snake's tail, unable to calm down for a long time.

She came out of the closet, found her phone, took several photos of the tail, and sent them to Bo Wuxue immediately.

Back on the WeChat chat page, the red number 99 is in the upper right corner of Bu Yao's profile picture.

Xing Yue was bombarded with these unread messages.

[Good (well-behaved, etc. jpg)]

[Hmm??? (Poor thing. jpg)]

[Is my sister lost? (Question emoji)]

(Location of Bu Residence)

It's raining so hard outside, you should wait until the rain subsides before coming.

[The rain has stopped, when are you coming to pick me up? (cute. jpg)]

Where are they???

[It's already daylight, can't I even pay for your taxi fare?]

(Transfer of 200 yuan)

[Xing Yue, I'm telling you, you're dead meat. If you don't come to pick me up before dark, I never want to talk to you again.]

[Okay, okay, you're amazing. You said you'd come pick me up but you didn't. Even if you were asleep last night, you're awake by now, right?]

[It's noon!!! Xing Yue!! Isn't he up yet!]

[It's afternoon!!! I don't want to kiss you anymore, just die!]

[Where are you? You blocked my number, I can't call you (crying. jpg)]

[Pull out my phone number (angry emoji)]

[Still kissing? (Question. jpg)]

(Incoherent speech. jpg)

(You really know how to hurt people. jpg)

(Disheveled in the wind. jpg)

(Swearing and cursing. jpg)

Xing Yue watched Bu Yao from calling him "sister" this and "sister" that at first, to calling him by his name directly, from acting cute and coquettish, to getting furious.

She scrolled through these messages, not even realizing when the corners of her lips had turned up in a smile.

I replied to Bu Yao's message--

[Now]

She put down her phone, placed both hands on the snake's tail, and was just about to figure out how to make it turn back into legs when, right before her eyes, the snake's tail slowly shrank and retracted.

Xing Yue's heart tightened. She hadn't touched it enough yet. Would she ever see it again? As she thought this, the snake's tail reappeared, coiling up on the floor, strangely docile.

She smiled, looking quite startled.

Xing Yue finished washing up and went out. Not long after he left, Bo Wuxue rushed over like a gust of wind.

Running and shouting, "Ahhhhh, I want to be the first person to touch A Yue's tail!!!"

Colorful and pretty, snakes should be colorful!

After seeing the photo, Bo Wuxue rushed over as fast as she could, but she was still too late. When she arrived at the rented room, Xing Yue had just left.

*

Xing Yue took a taxi to the east gate of Bu Residence. The car could only park there and couldn't drive into Maple Grove Bay. To get home, he would have to walk a long way through Maple Grove Bay.

She called Housekeeper Li and instructed him, "Uncle Li, I'm at the east gate. Come and pick me up."

Housekeeper Li was already surprised to receive the call, but he was even more shocked when he heard the contents of the call, and he was completely stunned.

Xing Yue urged, "You're not hard of hearing yet, are you? Who else could I be looking for besides the young lady? It's practically like the young lady asked you to take me in. Hurry up, don't keep her waiting."

Xing Yue had never used any servants in the Bu Family before. She did everything herself, whether it was going out or washing clothes at home.

First of all, her approach was very wrong; she was too proactive and too diligent.

Her marriage to Bu Yao meant she was now part of the Bu Family. These servants had signed employment contracts with the Bu Residence and should therefore obey her.

She didn't understand the master-servant relationship back then, which is why the servants in the Bu Family took advantage of her.

Xing Yue waited for less than three minutes before the familiar car arrived.

She sat in the back seat, rolled down the window, and didn't properly appreciate the beautiful maple forest scenery along the way.

Today, the Bu Residence is unusually quiet, with an indescribable eeriness.

Housekeeper Li also seemed unwell. "Miss Xing, Madam Bu is ill and bedridden, and the eldest young lady... suffered a minor injury."

Bedridden? Xing Yue was stunned. Was this too sudden? He seemed perfectly fine just a few days ago. How could he suddenly become so ill that he was bedridden?

"Is Miss injured?" she asked, noticing the butler's troubled expression and hesitant manner. She frowned, "What injury? When did this happen?"

She was lively and energetic at her house last night, how could she be injured after just one night? And judging from Housekeeper Li's tone, it seems something serious has happened at the Bu Residence.

Xing Yue didn't get any answers from her questions. When she entered the mansion, she saw that every servant had a gloomy face and didn't dare to speak. There was no communication between them, and the atmosphere was frighteningly oppressive.

Arriving at Bu Yao's room, I pushed open the door and took a few steps. The first thing I saw was a glass box filled with ice. The snake's tail, which she had relied on just last night, lay motionless, buried in the ice...

Bu Yao leaned her upper body against the glass box, using her arm as a pillow, and fell asleep.