Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “So Delicate for a Top”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During a tense family dinner, Ji Wenyan repeatedly praises Guan Shuxian and implies that she should remain closely involved with Bu Yao, worsening Xing Yue’s jealousy and discomfort.
• Bu Yao openly defends her relationship with Xing Yue, announcing that she has accepted Xing Yue’s proposal and emphasizing that she must maintain appropriate boundaries with other people. She asks Ji Wenyan to stop making comments that could fuel rumors about Bu Yao and Guan Shuxian.
• Ji Wenyan agrees to stop mentioning Guan Shuxian outside of work, partially resolving the conflict.
• Ji Wenyan presents plans for a new home for Bu Yao and Xing Yue and offers to establish a studio to advance Xing Yue’s music career. Xing Yue declines the career assistance, insisting that she has her own plans and does not seek fame or wealth.
• Bu Yao supports Xing Yue, arguing that Xing Yue is financially independent and should not be pressured into becoming a major celebrity. Ji Wenyan reluctantly accepts Xing Yue’s decision and learns that the couple plans to move into their new home soon.
• After dinner, Ji Wenyan privately complains that Bu Yao always takes Xing Yue’s side, revealing her emotional sensitivity and jealousy toward her daughter’s partner.
• Later, Bu Yao and Xing Yue share an intimate bath. Xing Yue notices a possible change in Bu Yao’s body, hinting at the possibility of pregnancy or another physical development, though neither is certain.
• Xing Yue carries Bu Yao from the bath to the bed but becomes exhausted, prompting Bu Yao to teasingly call her “a delicate top.” Xing Yue pretends to be hurt, and Bu Yao reassures and praises her.

Character Developments

• Bu Yao becomes more assertive in protecting her engagement and relationship with Xing Yue. She establishes boundaries with Guan Shuxian and directly challenges her mother’s attempts to control her personal life.
• Xing Yue remains independent and resistant to being shaped into a celebrity by Ji Wenyan. She values freedom and personal happiness over fame, though she is still vulnerable to jealousy and insecurity.
• Ji Wenyan shows both controlling maternal instincts and genuine concern for her daughter’s future. Her jealousy toward Xing Yue reveals how emotionally attached she is to Bu Yao, despite her formidable public image.
• Guan Shuxian’s presence remains a source of tension, even though she does not appear directly in the chapter. Her closeness to the Bu family continues to generate rumors and insecurity.
• The intimate scene reinforces the couple’s playful, affectionate dynamic, with Xing Yue acting as both caretaker and emotionally sensitive partner.

Significant Themes

• Love versus parental control: Bu Yao insists on making independent choices despite Ji Wenyan’s attempts to manage her home, career, and relationships.
• Boundaries and public reputation: Bu Yao’s engagement ring and her demand for proper boundaries with Guan Shuxian symbolize her commitment to Xing Yue and her desire to prevent misleading rumors.
• Independence versus ambition: Xing Yue rejects the idea that success must mean fame, wealth, or career expansion, valuing autonomy and contentment instead.
• Family jealousy and changing loyalties: Ji Wenyan struggles to accept that Bu Yao’s primary emotional allegiance now includes her partner.
• Domestic intimacy and playful affection: The bath and bedroom scenes contrast with the earlier tension, showing the couple’s comfort, trust, and humor.

Character Interactions

• Bu Yao deliberately provokes and then reassures Xing Yue during dinner, using humor and physical gestures to manage her jealousy.
• Bu Yao negotiates with Ji Wenyan, defending Xing Yue while offering a compromise that allows Guan Shuxian to remain professionally involved.
• Ji Wenyan attempts to influence both women through housing and career plans, but Bu Yao and Xing Yue maintain control over their decisions.
• In private, Ji Wenyan expresses hurt over Bu Yao’s loyalty to Xing Yue, exposing a more vulnerable side of their mother-daughter relationship.
• Xing Yue and Bu Yao end the chapter in affectionate intimacy, balancing teasing with reassurance and reinforcing their emotional commitment.

Plot points

• As the weather cools, Xing Yue becomes unusually sluggish and turns into a python while sleeping. Bu Yao worries that the cold may make hibernation at home unsafe and spends the night considering a mountain cave.
• Xing Yue wakes early and goes out for breakfast. Bu Yao wakes without her, sends several sleepy messages asking where her wife has gone, and waits at home.
• Xing Yue returns with breakfast and suggests they go sightseeing before heading home the next day.
• Bu Yao proposes that they hibernate together in the mountains. She believes the cave’s conditions would help Xing Yue recover and insists she will stay by Xing Yue’s side, even if she has to endure hunger and the effort of fetching supplies.

Character developments

• Xing Yue has grown comfortable with Bu Yao’s affection. What once felt like suffocating possessiveness now seems endearing, especially because Bu Yao expresses it gently. She also worries about the demands mountain hibernation would place on Bu Yao.
• Bu Yao remains clingy, but her attachment is now paired with attentive, practical care. She notices Xing Yue’s weakening condition and is willing to sacrifice food and comfort to protect her.

Significant themes

• Love expressed through care: Their affection appears in everyday gestures—drying hair, bringing breakfast, checking messages, and planning for the other’s safety.
• Changing relationship dynamics: The same closeness that once troubled Xing Yue now makes her feel cherished, showing how tenderness and mutual understanding can transform a relationship.
• Vulnerability and interdependence: Xing Yue’s declining health makes her vulnerable, while Bu Yao’s offer to accompany her highlights their willingness to rely on and care for each other.

Character interactions

• Bu Yao reaches for Xing Yue when she wakes and playfully waits to be fed; Xing Yue responds with food, photos, and affectionate attention.
• Their conversation about hibernation reveals a contrast: Xing Yue worries Bu Yao will suffer, while Bu Yao prioritizes staying beside Xing Yue.

Key plot points and events

• On a rainy autumn outing to Qiaomeng Flower Valley, Xing Yue becomes overwhelmingly exhausted as her body begins preparing for hibernation. She turns back into a large blue python and refuses to sleep alone, so Bu Yao transforms into a snake and curls up with her beneath a rock.
• The pair mate while sheltering from the rain. By the next day, Xing Yue is still asleep, so Bu Yao takes photographs of her among the purple blossoms and carries her home. Xing Yue remains in snake form during the flight.
• Xing Yue sleeps for more than three days. She wakes in her former home, which Bu Yao appears to have restored, and learns from Bu Yao’s messages that she has been checking on her while going to work.
• Still lethargic, Xing Yue bathes, turns back into a snake, and later visits Bu Yao’s workplace. There she notices another snake’s lingering scent in Bu Yao’s office and becomes jealous, though the chapter gives no indication that Bu Yao has been seeing anyone else.
• Bu Yao finds Xing Yue exhausted and urges her to stay home and sleep. They kiss and flirt in the office lounge. Xing Yue says she wants food but is too tired to move; the scene ends when Bu Yao notices white droplets on Xing Yue’s fingers.

Character developments

• Xing Yue is increasingly governed by her seasonal instincts: she sleeps for days, moves slowly, and shows little hunger or thirst. Despite her weakness, she remains affectionate, playful, and possessive of Bu Yao.
• Bu Yao is attentive and protective, adapting to Xing Yue’s physical needs and keeping watch through her long sleep. She also responds warmly to Xing Yue’s teasing and jealousy.

Significant themes

• Instinct and bodily change: Xing Yue’s approaching hibernation overrides her plans and normal routines.
• Care and intimacy: Bu Yao’s practical efforts—sheltering, carrying, photographing, and checking on Xing Yue—show their closeness.
• Affection expressed through teasing: Their banter, jealousy, and repeated kisses reveal a playful, secure relationship.

Character interactions

• Bu Yao accommodates Xing Yue’s need for warmth by curling up with her, then transports and cares for her during her prolonged sleep.
• Xing Yue jokes with Bu Yao by pretending to accept her sarcastic “crawl home” message literally and unexpectedly video-calling her from the bath.
• At the office, Xing Yue’s suspicion about the other snake’s scent prompts a jealous remark; Bu Yao reassures her, and their conversation turns into intimate teasing and kissing.

Plot points

• After noticing Bu Yao’s bodily changes, Xing Yue realizes she may be pregnant. When milk leaks through Bu Yao’s top, Bu Yao is startled and panics.
• Xing Yue comforts her and insists on going to the hospital, both to confirm the pregnancy and to check whether Bu Yao’s inherited illness could make carrying a child unsafe.
• Bu Yao fears her family will discover she became pregnant before remarriage, especially her traditional grandfather, and worries he will blame Xing Yue.
• Anxious about Xing Yue’s repeated delays in remarrying, Bu Yao demands they get married immediately. Xing Yue hesitates, wanting the medical examination first.
• Bu Yao interprets the hesitation as another excuse and fears Xing Yue may not truly want to marry her. Xing Yue explains she is afraid they might repeat past mistakes, not waiting for someone else.
• Xing Yue promises to marry Bu Yao before winter regardless of the examination’s outcome. Reassured, Bu Yao softens, tends to the leg she kicked, and seeks comfort as she describes feeling unwell.

Character developments and interactions

• Bu Yao shifts from shock and fear to anger, revealing how insecure Xing Yue’s delays have made her. Once reassured, she quickly returns to tenderness and playfulness.
• Xing Yue is joyful at the possibility of a child but prioritizes Bu Yao’s health. She takes responsibility for her hesitation and offers a firm commitment.
• Their intimacy is shown through caretaking and teasing: Xing Yue carries Bu Yao, helps her dress, and soothes her; Bu Yao clings to her, then gently checks the spot she kicked.

Significant themes

• Trust and insecurity: Unresolved hesitation makes Bu Yao doubt Xing Yue’s commitment.
• Love and responsibility: Xing Yue’s happiness is tempered by concern for Bu Yao’s safety.
• Family expectations: Bu Yao fears the shame and conflict an out-of-wedlock pregnancy could bring.
• Reassurance and repair: Honest explanation and a concrete promise help the couple reconnect.

Plot points and events

• Bu Yao agrees to a private hospital checkup after Xing Yue worries about her pregnancy. At two weeks, the doctor sees several developing snake eggs but cannot yet identify which are viable; that determination will come in the third week.
• The doctor confirms Bu Yao is healthy and advises care during early pregnancy, including avoiding certain substances and being gentle during intimacy. Xing Yue’s fears ease.
• Exhausted, Xing Yue is taken home by Bu Yao. She asks Bu Yao not to leave, then falls asleep in snake form beside her. Bu Yao decides to make her a warm, humid enclosure for hibernation and builds it herself.
• At the Bu Residence, Bu Yao tells her mother, Ji Wenyan, that she and Xing Yue will remarry. When Ji questions the rush and raises concerns about Xing Yue’s career, Bu Yao insists they can register their marriage the next day and hold the wedding the following week. Her father, Bu Changqin, supports her.
• The next day, Bu Yao visits Xing Yue, who is delighted with the enclosure. They are due to register their marriage, and Bu Yao arrives dressed for the occasion.

Character developments

• Xing Yue is intensely protective of Bu Yao and anxious about the pregnancy, despite Bu Yao being in excellent health. Her hibernation makes her especially dependent on Bu Yao’s reassurance.
• Bu Yao responds with practical tenderness—caring for Xing Yue, building her a winter nest, and taking charge of their plans to remarry. She is increasingly assertive and less willing to defer to her mother.
• Ji Wenyan struggles with Bu Yao’s independence and the prospect of her leaving home, though she frames her objections as concern for Xing Yue’s career.
• Bu Changqin recognizes that Bu Yao has inherited Ji Wenyan’s decisiveness and encourages Ji Wenyan to let her make her own choices.

Significant themes

• Care and mutual dependence: Xing Yue frets over Bu Yao’s health, while Bu Yao protects and comforts Xing Yue in return.
• Growing independence: Bu Yao moves from accommodating her mother to making her own decisions about marriage and her future.
• Family and separation: Ji Wenyan’s worry reflects her difficulty accepting that Bu Yao will eventually build a home of her own.

Character interactions

• Xing Yue’s anxious questions and insistence on protecting Bu Yao contrast with Bu Yao’s calm reassurance and hands-on care.
• Bu Yao and Xing Yue share a tender moment when Bu Yao promises to stay as Xing Yue falls asleep.
• Bu Yao directly challenges Ji Wenyan’s attempts to slow the wedding plans; Bu Changqin backs her and privately urges Ji Wenyan to let go.
• Xing Yue’s enthusiastic response to the enclosure shows how Bu Yao’s practical gesture strengthens their bond.

Key plot points and events

• Xing Yue wakes to find that Bu Yao has built her a large terrarium to help her recover. Seeing cuts on Bu Yao’s hands, Xing Yue worries that Bu Yao should not have had to do the work herself.
• Bu Yao chooses a white dress for their remarriage registration and proposes skipping a wedding banquet. She wants to make their marriage official again without putting Xing Yue through an exhausting celebration.
• Despite Xing Yue’s objections, Bu Yao takes her to the registration office. Xing Yue keeps falling asleep, but they complete the paperwork and receive their marriage certificate. Bu Yao also arranges for a newspaper to report their remarriage.
• Back home, Bu Yao urges Xing Yue to spend time with her and their unborn child before she sleeps. The couple share an intimate moment, and Xing Yue apologizes, wondering whether her declining health is the reason Bu Yao gave up on a wedding.
• As winter weather sets in, Xing Yue transforms into a snake and enters a deep hibernation. Bu Yao cannot warm her, and Xing Yue’s breathing becomes faint.

Character developments and interactions

• Xing Yue is affectionate and protective, but her worsening fatigue leaves her increasingly dependent on Bu Yao. She also shows lingering insecurity shaped by Ji Wenyan’s past belittling, assuming Bu Yao should not do physical work.
• Bu Yao takes practical, decisive care of Xing Yue, building the terrarium and arranging their registration herself. She puts Xing Yue’s health ahead of social expectations, though she is disappointed that Xing Yue’s sleepiness limits their time together.
• Their relationship is tender and intimate: Bu Yao reassures Xing Yue, while Xing Yue expresses concern that her illness is costing Bu Yao the celebration she deserves.

Significant themes

• Care and partnership: Bu Yao’s hands-on support challenges Xing Yue’s belief that she is too delicate for difficult tasks.
• Marriage beyond ceremony: The couple value their commitment and certificate over a lavish wedding or public display.
• Illness and vulnerability: Xing Yue’s hibernation steadily narrows their time together and ends the chapter on an anxious note.
• Rebuilding after harm: Xing Yue’s self-doubt reflects the lasting effects of past emotional abuse, while Bu Yao’s love offers reassurance.

Key plot points and events

• Snowy winter weather frames Bu Yao’s visit to the hospital, where she learns that four unfertilized eggs have been removed and that two baby snakes remain. She leaves the sealed note revealing their sexes unopened, wanting Xing Yue to decide whether they should find out now or wait until hatching.
• Bu Yao is managing the pregnancy and the couple’s affairs alone while Xing Yue remains in deep hibernation. She tends to Xing Yue’s enclosure and talks to her about the babies, her worries, and the family conflict.
• Bu Yao’s decision to announce that their remarriage was celebrated only with a family dinner has upset her relatives. Her grandfather wants an apology and a visit with Xing Yue, but Bu Yao has not brought her home; she also attends her checkup without family support.
• When Xing Yue’s music company asks about an album cover and music video, Bu Yao takes over the unfinished work. She creates a cover using Xing Yue’s portrait, but works through the night and leaves the more complicated video plans for later.
• Feeling self-conscious about her changing body, Bu Yao returns to the enclosure in snake form and tries to curl around Xing Yue. Xing Yue is too stiff and still in hibernation to respond. After hurting herself in the attempt, Bu Yao settles on top of her instead, pretending they are sleeping in an embrace.

Character developments

• Bu Yao shows practical care and resourcefulness, handling medical routines, household care, and Xing Yue’s professional obligations. At the same time, she feels lonely and uncertain about whether she can bond with the unresponsive eggs before they hatch.
• Her affection for the babies is closely tied to her love for Xing Yue: imagining them as their shared children brings her joy, while pregnancy alone feels emotionally distant.
• Xing Yue, though absent and unable to respond, remains central to Bu Yao’s choices. Her earlier happiness about the pregnancy and her career responsibilities shape Bu Yao’s reflections and actions.

Significant themes

• Loneliness and absence: Bu Yao faces pregnancy, family tension, and work without Xing Yue or her relatives beside her.
• Love, parenthood, and attachment: The chapter explores how Bu Yao’s maternal feelings are still developing and are strengthened by her bond with Xing Yue.
• Care as devotion: Bu Yao’s practical acts—tending the enclosure, preparing supplements, and completing Xing Yue’s work—show love even when she cannot receive a response.
• Vulnerability and reassurance: Her worries about her body and the babies contrast with the comfort she seeks by imagining herself held by Xing Yue.

Character interactions

• Bu Yao speaks to the hibernating Xing Yue, sharing medical news, asking her to choose how to learn the babies’ sexes, and imagining involving their families in naming them.
• Her strained relationship with her family is conveyed through their silence and her grandfather’s demand for an apology and visit.
• Bu Yao communicates with Xing Yue’s company on her behalf, taking responsibility for the album materials and planned music video.
• Her final attempt to coil around Xing Yue becomes a quiet, one-sided expression of longing: unable to make Xing Yue hold her, she finds another way to feel close.

Key events

• As winter and hibernation season approach, pregnant Bu Yao goes alone to stock up on meat. She struggles with the heavy groceries, and coworker Guan Shuxian offers help. Bu Yao politely declines because she wants to avoid personal contact with Guan, whose past connection to Xing Yue once caused conflict.
• Guan suggests a practical way to get the groceries to the car. Bu Yao follows her advice, and later Bo Wuxue helps her carry the food home.
• While Bu Yao is out, Bo visits hibernating Xing Yue and shares three updates: Bu Yao is managing the pregnancy and family tensions largely on her own; Xing Yue’s ex He Zhiwen is receiving therapy and has grown close to doctor Tan Xiang’e; and Xing Yue’s father’s remains were recently found. Her uncle had accidentally killed him decades earlier, concealed his body, and impersonated him while sending Xing Yue money.
• Back home, Bu Yao labels the freezer food with cooking times, then worries aloud that she will have to manage Christmas and New Year alone while Xing Yue hibernates. Watching a neighbor’s cheerful snowman scene, she quietly closes the window and curtains.

Character developments and interactions

• Bu Yao is capable and self-reliant, but pregnancy, exhaustion, estrangement from her family, and Xing Yue’s absence leave her feeling lonely. She keeps a courteous but firm boundary with Guan Shuxian to protect her relationship with Xing Yue.
• Guan Shuxian tries to help without pressing the issue and offers a useful workaround. Bu Yao acknowledges her kindness but chooses distance.
• Bo Wuxue acts as Xing Yue’s messenger and Bu Yao’s practical support, carrying groceries despite her limited strength. Her joking, rambling account of He Zhiwen’s new connection contrasts with the gravity of Xing Yue’s family history.
• Xing Yue remains asleep throughout the chapter, but her absence shapes Bu Yao’s concerns and Bo’s updates. The discovery about her father deepens the mystery of her painful childhood and her mother’s conflicted treatment of her.

Significant themes

The chapter focuses on winter preparation and domestic labor, showing Bu Yao shouldering responsibilities while her pregnant and largely unsupported. It also explores loneliness and absence, complicated family wounds and unresolved grief, and the tension between kindness and boundaries in relationships. The contrast between Bu Yao’s solitary home and the neighbor’s warm holiday scene underscores her isolation.

Plot points

• During a week-long blizzard, heavily pregnant Bu Yao spends a lonely Christmas Eve at home, reading before falling asleep.
• Xing Yue wakes from nearly two months of hibernation and, after warming up, returns to human form.
• Bu Yao wakes to find her there and breaks down, overwhelmed by the long separation. Xing Yue comforts her, though Bu Yao initially pushes her away.
• Xing Yue says she may need to hibernate for another month or so. Bu Yao is devastated, but insists Xing Yue must rest rather than risk using medicine to disrupt her hibernation.
• Xing Yue notices Bu Yao’s large pregnancy belly and learns she is carrying twins. Concerned for her, she calls the babies “troublemakers,” prompting Bu Yao to remind her how much care Xing Yue herself required.
• The reunion ends on a playful, intimate note when Xing Yue licks Bu Yao’s finger and makes her blush.

Character developments and interactions

• Bu Yao reveals how deeply she missed Xing Yue, despite initially denying it. She is affectionate and protective, prioritizing Xing Yue’s health even while distressed by the prospect of another long separation.
• Xing Yue wakes disoriented and physically weakened but is tender and attentive toward Bu Yao. She recognizes the source of Bu Yao’s tears and comforts her, while also showing concern about the strain of carrying twins.
• Their reunion shifts from grief and anxiety to warmth, teasing, and renewed intimacy. Bu Yao has also cared closely for Xing Yue during hibernation, helping her wake in better condition.

Significant themes

• Separation and reunion: Hibernation makes time apart painful, and Xing Yue’s return releases Bu Yao’s pent-up loneliness.
• Care and sacrifice: Bu Yao protects Xing Yue from medically altering her sleep, while Xing Yue offers comfort and worries about Bu Yao’s pregnancy.
• Home and belonging: The decorated, warm house contrasts with Xing Yue’s lonely Christmas there a year earlier, emphasizing how love has changed her sense of home.
• Pregnancy and shared responsibility: The twins bring both concern and playful tension, underscoring the couple’s growing family.

Key events

• With the country in hibernation season and household help unavailable, Xing Yue prepares detailed cooking notes for Bu Yao, who may need to manage meals while Xing Yue sleeps.
• During a rare stretch of wakefulness, Xing Yue takes pregnant Bu Yao out for sunlight and helps her collect wood shavings. Bu Yao insists on accompanying her across a glass bridge, despite Xing Yue’s concern about the slippery winter route.
• Xing Yue struggles with the work but gathers a full bag, hoping to spare Bu Yao repeated trips. She reflects on how difficult it must have been for Bu Yao to collect shavings alone.
• Back home, Xing Yue builds snowmen, including two small ones dressed in knitted hats. Bu Yao asks whether she likes baby girl snakes. Xing Yue says she’ll love the baby either way, though she privately hopes the child will resemble Bu Yao.
• By the fire, Xing Yue reads aloud to soothe Bu Yao to sleep, but discovers that Bu Yao is still awake.

Character developments

• Xing Yue shows her devotion through practical care—making cooking instructions, accompanying Bu Yao, gathering supplies, and knitting baby clothes. Her physical limitations make her feel inadequate, but Bu Yao reassures her.
• Bu Yao remains affectionate and independent, gently teasing Xing Yue while also caring for her in return. Her question about the baby’s sex hints at curiosity about Xing Yue’s hopes.

Character interactions

The chapter centers on tender, reciprocal care. Xing Yue supports Bu Yao during the outing and kisses her in the snow; Bu Yao wipes Xing Yue’s brow, warms her ears, and encourages her when she feels useless. At home, Xing Yue’s reading becomes another affectionate attempt to care for her.

Significant themes

• Love expressed through everyday acts: preparation, labor, comfort, and companionship matter as much as romantic gestures.
• Mutual care and vulnerability: Xing Yue wants to protect Bu Yao but must accept help and reassurance herself.
• Anticipation of family life: the snowmen, knitted baby items, and conversation about their child convey their hopes for the coming birth.

Key plot points and events

• At midnight on Christmas, Bu Yao initiates intimacy. Xing Yue worries sex might harm the pregnancy, but the two share a teasing, affectionate encounter instead.
• The next day, Xing Yue clears snow from the house’s eaves while Bu Yao holds the ladder despite the cold. Xing Yue realizes Bu Yao would remain devoted to her even if her tail condition left her permanently disabled.
• Xing Yue fusses over Bu Yao’s red, numb hands, warming them indoors before a storm arrives.
• They watch a program about hatching and feeding baby snakes. Neither knows much about caring for their future child, and they wonder what newborn snakes eat and how to keep such a tiny baby safe.
• Bu Yao worries about pregnancy’s physical effects, especially stretch marks. Xing Yue takes her concern seriously and massages skincare products onto her belly.

Character developments

• Xing Yue’s protectiveness extends beyond immediate practical care: she is deeply moved by the realization that Bu Yao’s commitment has endured over ten years, despite the possibility that Xing Yue might be disabled.
• Bu Yao shows both playful desire and growing vulnerability about pregnancy. She trusts Xing Yue enough to voice fears she had not expressed while alone.
• Both women confront their inexperience and uncertainty about raising a snake baby, but Xing Yue responds by paying close attention and trying to learn.

Significant themes

• Enduring love and commitment: Bu Yao’s choice of Xing Yue remains firm even after years and serious uncertainty about Xing Yue’s health.
• Care as devotion: Their affection appears in practical acts—holding a ladder, warming cold hands, monitoring the pregnancy, and soothing anxieties.
• Pregnancy and vulnerability: The chapter balances intimacy and humor with concerns about bodily change, safety, and the responsibility of parenthood.
• Learning to become parents: The couple’s questions about hatching and feeding their baby reveal how new—and unprepared—they feel.

Character interactions

• Xing Yue teases Bu Yao during their private Christmas-night intimacy, while Bu Yao alternates between coyness and mock indignation.
• Bu Yao insists on staying outside to protect Xing Yue as she works; afterward Xing Yue scolds and cares for her cold hands.
• They watch the parenting program together, sharing worries about the baby’s size and needs.
• When Bu Yao worries she may look different after pregnancy, Xing Yue does not dismiss her fear; she comforts her through attentive, tender care.

Plot and events

• As winter ends, Xing Yue and pregnant Bu Yao spend New Year’s Eve together. Xing Yue soon returns to hibernation, while Bu Yao later hibernates too.
• Xing Yue wakes in February to find that Bu Yao has laid two eggs and is incubating them in the enclosure. Bu Yao is protective and anxious when the eggs are moved, so the doctor advises letting her hatch them herself.
• Ji Wenyan has cared for Bu Yao throughout the birth and incubation. Xing Yue offers to take over, and Ji Wenyan agrees after warning that Bu Yao may be moody and may not let her help.
• Ji Wenyan tells Xing Yue that her mother, Xing Yingnuan, visited while Xing Yue was asleep, but was sent away because she lacked experience caring for Bu Yao.
• Xing Yue learns that both babies are girls. Grandpa Bu has chosen a name for the first to hatch and expects both children to take the Bu surname. Xing Yue accepts the surname but worries his emphasis on birth order could lead to unequal treatment.
• Xing Yue tries to reconnect with the distant, nest-focused Bu Yao by bathing and cleaning her. Bu Yao resists at first, then shifts into human form, embarrassed and flustered. She still wants to return to her nest, while Xing Yue begs her to stay close.

Character developments and interactions

• Xing Yue wakes eager to care for Bu Yao and the eggs, but feels hurt that Bu Yao seems less interested in her. Her affection comes through in persistent teasing, tenderness, and attempts to regain closeness.
• Bu Yao’s attention is fixed on protecting and incubating the eggs. Though she is irritable and physically resistant, she still allows Xing Yue to handle and bathe her, showing trust beneath her guarded behavior.
• Ji Wenyan has taken on the demanding role of caregiver, showing both exhaustion and deep affection for her daughter. She is initially reluctant to hand over care, but respects Xing Yue’s insistence.
• The chapter also touches on Xing Yue’s complicated family ties: her mother tried to help, while Grandpa Bu’s naming plan raises concerns about family hierarchy and favoritism.

Significant themes

• Parenthood and care: The chapter contrasts Bu Yao’s instinctive, anxious protection of her eggs with the practical care Ji Wenyan has provided and Xing Yue now wants to offer.
• Intimacy amid change: Pregnancy, hibernation, and new responsibilities alter the couple’s routines, leaving Xing Yue longing for the closeness they shared before.
• Family authority and equality: Naming decisions and the emphasis on which egg hatches first raise questions about tradition, control, and whether the two children will be treated equally.

Plot and events

• Bu Yao is reluctant to leave the Snake Eggs, even though they are in a temperature-controlled incubator. Xing Yue insists that she needs Bu Yao’s warmth and attention, claiming her body feels stiff after hibernation.
• Bu Yao checks Xing Yue’s indigo tail and realizes it has become much thicker and stronger. Before she can challenge Xing Yue’s claim of weakness, Xing Yue kisses her, and they spend the night together.
• The next morning, Bu Yao is exhausted. She urges Xing Yue to check the eggs, so Xing Yue returns to the enclosure, changes the bedding, and handles the eggs for the first time. Bu Yao hisses at her instinctively.
• Xing Yue feels hurt and makes a mess while replacing the bedding. Bu Yao explains she did not mean to threaten her, then points out that the humidifier is off. Xing Yue turns it on and suggests they go out for food and buy an incubator.
• Before they leave, Xing Yue sends Ji Wenyan a video and a joking voice message, describing Bu Yao as unusually clingy while incubating the eggs.

Character development and interactions

• Bu Yao is deeply protective of the eggs and anxious about leaving them, but she also recognizes Xing Yue’s need for care. Her hiss is instinctive, not hostile; she quickly reassures Xing Yue and works with her to care for the nest.
• Xing Yue uses playful helplessness to draw Bu Yao close, but her affection is genuine. She admires Bu Yao’s body after childbirth and seeks intimacy, yet is stung when Bu Yao hisses at her.
• Their relationship is affectionate and teasing, with moments of vulnerability: Xing Yue wants reassurance and closeness, while Bu Yao balances her bond with Xing Yue against her maternal vigilance.

Themes

• Care and competing attachments: Bu Yao’s attention is divided between her partner and their eggs.
• Intimacy and tenderness: Xing Yue’s desire is framed alongside admiration for what Bu Yao’s body has endured.
• Instinct and communication: Bu Yao’s protective hiss conflicts with her loving intentions, briefly hurting Xing Yue.
• Shared responsibility: The pair negotiate practical care for the eggs, including humidity, bedding, and an incubator.

Plot points

• Xing Yue dresses Bu Yao for the chilly weather, and the familiar care brings Bu Yao back to the early days of their marriage.
• Remembering that Xing Yue later stopped doing such small things for her, Bu Yao asks when Xing Yue met He Zhiwen, her former lover. Xing Yue explains that they met when she hired He as a piano teacher, the year she and Bu Yao divorced.
• Xing Yue finds He’s old résumé online. Bu Yao sees her photo and accuses Xing Yue of hiring her because she was pretty. Xing Yue admits beauty caught her eye, but says He’s qualifications and teaching experience made the decision.
• Bu Yao imagines Xing Yue leaving her for someone more beautiful. Xing Yue reassures her that, to her, no one could surpass Bu Yao in beauty or in love. Bu Yao’s jealousy quickly fades.
• At the mall, Bu Yao buys supplies for their baby while Xing Yue carries the bags. Xing Yue playfully declares her love and asks for clothes of her own; she steers them toward lingerie, teasing Bu Yao into choosing something for her.

Character development and interactions

• Bu Yao reveals lingering insecurity about Xing Yue’s past and the period around their divorce. She is jealous but readily comforted by sincere affection, and she grows bashful when Xing Yue flirts with her.
• Xing Yue shows renewed tenderness through practical care, openness about He Zhiwen, and direct reassurance. She also uses playful teasing to draw Bu Yao’s attention back to their intimacy.
• Their affectionate handholding and banter suggest growing closeness, though Bu Yao’s questions hint that old hurts remain unresolved.

Themes

• Trust and lingering insecurity: Bu Yao revisits the timing of Xing Yue’s past relationship, revealing suspicions she had never voiced.
• Rekindled intimacy: Small acts of care and flirtation recall their early marriage and help restore warmth between them.
• Love beyond appearance: Xing Yue acknowledges attraction to beauty but insists that her love makes Bu Yao uniquely beautiful to her.
• Care and anticipation: Bu Yao’s early shopping for the baby signals excitement and investment in their future.

Chapter Summary: “New Year”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xing Yue takes the pregnant Bu Yao shopping for provocative secretary-style clothing. Bu Yao is extremely embarrassed but privately admits that this is the style she likes.
• After returning home, Xing Yue prepares an incubator for the two snake eggs. She carefully transfers them, sets the temperature, and calculates that they should hatch in roughly forty days.
• Xing Yue thinks ahead about raising the snake children: they will eventually need a properly equipped vivarium, protection from environmental dangers, and possibly a nanny once they become human infants.
• During the Spring Festival, Xing Yue brings Bu Yao to her hometown to visit her mother, Xing Yingnuan. The elderly townspeople recognize Bu Yao from ten years earlier, creating gossip and drawing attention to their relationship.
• Xing Yingnuan insists that she should raise the future child instead of a nanny. Xing Yue rejects the idea, unwilling to let her mother use childcare as a way to compensate for her failures as a parent.
• When Xing Yingnuan criticizes Bu Yao and compares her unfavorably to He Zhiwen, Bu Yao finally confronts her directly. She explains that Xing Yingnuan’s desire to raise the child is rooted in guilt and that Xing Yue has no obligation to forgive her.
• Xing Yingnuan angrily orders Bu Yao to leave, but Bu Yao calmly points out that Xing Yue will leave with her, leaving Xing Yingnuan alone for the holiday.

Character Developments

• Bu Yao: Remains shy and easily embarrassed in intimate situations, but demonstrates a sharp temper and strong loyalty when Xing Yue is attacked. She openly defends Xing Yue and asserts her own place in the family.
• Xing Yue: Shows affection through teasing and care, while also taking practical responsibility for the snake eggs and future children. Her refusal to let her mother raise the child reveals unresolved hurt and firm emotional boundaries.
• Xing Yingnuan: Presents herself as energetic and eager to help, but her insistence on raising the child exposes guilt over neglecting Xing Yue in the past. Her hostility toward Bu Yao intensifies when Bu Yao challenges her authority.
• The unborn snake children: Though still unhatched, they become a major focus of planning and emotional investment for both women.

Significant Themes

• Family responsibility and unresolved guilt: Xing Yingnuan tries to compensate for past failures, but Xing Yue refuses to let childcare substitute for genuine reconciliation.
• Boundaries and forgiveness: Xing Yue’s decision not to forgive her mother is treated as a legitimate boundary rather than an obligation she must overcome.
• Loyalty and partnership: Bu Yao supports Xing Yue’s decisions and ultimately confronts Xing Yingnuan on her behalf.
• Preparation for parenthood: The incubator, vivarium, childcare plans, and concern over safety emphasize the couple’s growing responsibilities as future parents.
• Public and private intimacy: The shopping scene contrasts Bu Yao’s private embarrassment with the public scrutiny surrounding her relationship and family life.

Important Character Interactions

• Xing Yue playfully teases Bu Yao about wearing the secretary outfit to work, deepening their intimate bond.
• Bu Yao anxiously watches as Xing Yue moves the eggs, showing her emotional attachment to the unborn children.
• Xing Yingnuan attempts to recruit Bu Yao to her side in the childcare dispute, but Bu Yao firmly chooses Xing Yue.
• Bu Yao and Xing Yingnuan have their first openly hostile confrontation, with Bu Yao exposing the history behind Xing Yue’s damaged tail and her mother’s guilt.
• The chapter ends with Bu Yao asserting that Xing Yue’s loyalty lies with her, leaving Xing Yingnuan faced with the consequences of alienating them.

Plot and key events

• Xing Yingnuan argues with Bu Yao about Xing Yue’s future and preferred match, then accuses Bu Yao of disrespecting her and threatens to harm herself. Xing Yue, who missed the original exchange, initially defends Bu Yao and comforts her after Bu Yao comes to her, hurt by the insults.
• Xing Yue reassures Bu Yao in the kitchen, then calmly but firmly tells her mother that Bu Yao is her wife and that their marriage is settled. She objects to her mother repeatedly bringing up He Zhiwen or trying to interfere in their relationship.
• To ease the tension, Xing Yue offers to bring her mother to the city for a short visit with the baby rather than let her move in. Xing Yingnuan accepts the compromise, and Xing Yue spends time walking and talking with her.
• The couple agree to return home the day after tomorrow, keeping their New Year visit brief. Later, Bu Yao tells Xing Yue she feels unwell, then hints teasingly that only her wife can help.

Character developments and interactions

• Xing Yue balances care for her mother with loyalty to Bu Yao. She recognizes her mother’s need for attention but sets boundaries to protect her marriage and the home she and Bu Yao have built.
• Bu Yao is deeply hurt by Xing Yingnuan’s criticism and seeks comfort from Xing Yue. Though she dislikes staying in her hometown, she agrees to remain for the holiday so Xing Yue can spend time with her mother.
• Xing Yingnuan is possessive and old-fashioned, favoring a gentle, compliant wife for Xing Yue and disapproving of Bu Yao. She remains resentful, but accepts a limited visit with the baby instead of moving in.
• Xing Yue comforts Bu Yao physically and emotionally, then tries to de-escalate the conflict with her mother. The chapter ends on playful intimacy between the spouses after a tense family visit.

Significant themes

• Marriage and boundaries: Xing Yue insists that decisions about the couple’s household belong to the spouses, not her mother.
• Balancing family loyalties: Xing Yue tries to care for her mother without sacrificing Bu Yao’s well-being.
• Acceptance and prejudice: Xing Yingnuan’s traditional expectations clash with Bu Yao’s personality and the couple’s affectionate, equal partnership.
• Care and compromise: Both spouses make allowances for each other, while Xing Yue seeks a practical compromise to preserve family peace.

• The hatching: As the eggs near their due date, Xing Yue prepares a terrarium and takes them to the hospital. The Bu family gathers anxiously, but the doctor allows only the two mothers into the room so the hatchlings won’t be frightened. Xing Yue cuts open the first egg and delivers a healthy Fire Python with golden-green markings. The doctor explains that it inherited Green Tree Python traits and will gradually turn red.
• Life with the first hatchling: At home, the baby explores cautiously before curling up inside a hollow log. Xing Yue and Bu Yao watch it closely, record videos, and share them with the family. Bu Yao is especially enamored, but Xing Yue explains that the newborn needs quiet and should not be kissed until it is older. The family’s enthusiastic response also reminds Xing Yue that their affection is largely for Bu Yao’s child, not for her.
• The naming dispute: Grandpa Bu’s proposed names treat the first and second hatchlings differently: the eldest is associated with precious jade, while the younger is given names suggesting tolerance, beauty, and kindness. Xing Yue objects to this implied favoritism and worries that the younger child is already being slighted. Bu Yao comforts her and agrees to ask her grandfather to let them choose a name from the first group for the younger baby. They ultimately name the elder Bu Xuan and the younger Xing Qingluo.
• Character developments and interactions: Xing Yue is nervous but tender and attentive as a new mother, and she becomes protective when she sees signs of unequal treatment. Bu Yao’s usual playfulness gives way to unusual solemnity at the hospital, then to open delight and affection toward the hatchling. She also reassures Xing Yue, explaining that elders in powerful families often assign siblings different roles and that birth order can carry lasting consequences. Their teasing and cooperation show their closeness, while the name disagreement reveals a difference in their experiences: Bu Yao understands the family’s hierarchy, whereas Xing Yue resists its unfairness.
• Themes: The chapter explores parental care, the contrast between intimate family affection and inherited social expectations, and the dangers of favoritism. Naming becomes an early sign of how a powerful family may rank its children and shape their futures.

Key events

• The younger daughter, Little Treasure, hatches a week after her sister, Bu Xuan. Though initially awkward-looking, she is expected to grow into a rare lake-blue python. She is fierce, energetic, and territorial, unlike her quiet, patient older sister.
• Little Treasure reacts badly to being teased and bites Xing Yue, prompting Bu Yao to protect her and caution Xing Yue. At home, however, the younger snake becomes submissive around Bu Xuan, who remains mostly indifferent.
• The family adjusts to Little Treasure’s demanding habits. Xing Yue spends much of the day feeding, soothing, and supervising her, while Bu Xuan is easy to care for. Bu Yao arranges for an experienced caretaker to help.
• Later, Bu Yao discovers a wedding dress Xing Yue has bought with all the money she earned from her hit song. Xing Yue explains that she wants them to have the wedding they missed when pregnancy delayed their plans.

Character development and relationships

• Little Treasure’s spirited, stubborn nature contrasts with Bu Xuan’s calm, lazy temperament. Despite her aggression toward others, she shows deference to her older sister.
• Xing Yue grows into an affectionate, attentive caregiver, though Little Treasure’s antics leave her exhausted. She also shows devotion to Bu Yao through the wedding-dress gift.
• Bu Yao is protective of the babies and caring toward Xing Yue. She is touched by the gift, even as she protests its cost.
• The couple’s warmth is evident in their teasing, physical affection, and mutual concern for each other’s workload.

Themes

• Family and individuality: The sisters have very different temperaments, and each finds her own place in the household.
• Care and responsibility: Parenting requires patience and adaptation, especially with Little Treasure’s unusual needs.
• Love and commitment: The wedding dress represents Xing Yue’s desire to make good on a postponed promise and give Bu Yao everything she has.

Plot points and events

• Little Qingluo stays with her grandmother, Ji Wenyan, while her mothers take Bu Xuan to a specialist hospital after Xuan suffers a severe allergic reaction to an egg.
• Qingluo’s restless exploration leads her to fall into the ornamental fishpond. Ji Wenyan rushes in to rescue her, checks her for injuries, and dismisses the two maids who failed to supervise her.
• After Qingluo calms down, she points toward the fish. Ji Wenyan works out that she wants to see them and helps her feed them safely.
• Ji Wenyan devotes herself to caring for Qingluo, despite her husband Bu Changqin’s concern that she is doing too much. She also criticizes Xing Yue for failing to notice Xuan’s allergy sooner, while Changqin reminds her that both mothers are inexperienced.
• Nearly half a month later, Xing Yue returns and takes Qingluo home. Qingluo is thrilled to see her, but acts apprehensive because she expects to be scolded for her antics.
• At home, Qingluo’s usual mischief resumes—until she notices her sick sister. She becomes unusually quiet and watches over Xuan, who is still feverish but gently strokes her younger sister’s head.

Character developments

• Qingluo is curious, energetic, and prone to dramatic crying, especially around her indulgent grandmother. Yet she also shows sensitivity: she recognizes that Xuan is unwell and adjusts her behavior.
• Ji Wenyan is revealed as a fiercely devoted, indulgent grandmother. Her usual composure gives way when Qingluo is at risk, and she is reluctant to let the child go.
• Xing Yue is affectionate and playful with Qingluo, but Qingluo’s fear of being reprimanded suggests Xing Yue also sets limits on her misbehavior.
• Bu Xuan remains calm and undemanding despite her illness, contrasting with her younger sister. Even while sick, she comforts Qingluo.
• Bu Changqin gently balances Ji Wenyan’s overprotectiveness, supporting her care while reminding her not to blame Xing Yue alone.

Significant themes

• Grandparental love and indulgence: Ji Wenyan’s devotion makes her overlook Xing Yue’s concerns about spoiling Qingluo.
• Different temperaments within a family: Xuan is quiet and stoic, while Qingluo is expressive and mischievous.
• Caregiving and inexperience: Xuan’s allergy highlights the challenges new parents face and the importance of vigilance.
• Emerging sibling affection: Qingluo’s unusual restraint around Xuan, and Xuan’s gentle gesture in return, suggest a growing bond.

Character interactions

• Ji Wenyan rescues, comforts, and teaches Qingluo, while the child’s tears and curiosity keep her grandmother constantly occupied.
• Bu Changqin looks after Ji Wenyan as well, changing her wet footwear and urging her to share the childcare.
• Xing Yue reunites warmly with Qingluo, teasing her during the trip home.
• Xuan and Qingluo share a quiet moment at the crib: Qingluo watches over her ill sister, and Xuan strokes her head.

Chapter 1 — Summary

Key plot points and events

• He Zhiwen wakes from a recurring nightmare about Jiang Yue, a reminder that the traumatic experience still haunts her two years later.
• On her way to school, she learns that she has been reported for allegedly teaching classes outside school and is told to stay home while the administration investigates.
• Tan Xiang’e, recently back from a business trip, sees Zhiwen distressed and approaches her with jasmine oolong milk tea.
• After hearing that Zhiwen may lose her job, Tan suggests they open a piano studio together and offers to invest. Zhiwen appreciates the offer but wants time to research the business and prepare a plan.
• During the drive home, Zhiwen asks whether Tan has reconsidered their relationship. Tan says she will never marry or be with anyone, rejecting Zhiwen for a second time.
• Zhiwen accepts the answer without arguing. At home, she makes a keepsake from the milk-tea cup for her private scrapbook, then begins researching how to open a studio.
• Tan expects Zhiwen’s usual dinner photo and is unsettled when no message arrives. She eventually texts to ask whether Zhiwen has eaten.

Character developments

• He Zhiwen is shaken by both her nightmare and the threat to her livelihood, but she responds with practical resolve: she considers Tan’s offer carefully and starts researching a new career path. Her quiet acceptance of Tan’s rejection suggests she may no longer ask again, though the breakup leaves her deeply hurt.
• Tan Xiang’e shows care through action, offering Zhiwen a business partnership and financial support. Although she insists she will never be with anyone, her sadness at rejecting Zhiwen—and her later unease at their silence—suggests her feelings and attachment are more complicated than her words admit.

Significant themes

• Lingering trauma: Zhiwen’s recurring nightmare shows that the past continues to affect her.
• Unrequited love and emotional restraint: Zhiwen’s feelings remain strong, while Tan’s rejection is softened by their closeness but not withdrawn.
• Care expressed through practical help: Tan supports Zhiwen by offering an investment rather than merely sympathy.
• Uncertainty and new beginnings: Losing her job may push Zhiwen toward building an independent future.

Character interactions

• Tan and Zhiwen have developed a warm, steady friendship over two years, sharing meals and everyday routines despite the earlier rejection.
• Tan comforts Zhiwen and proposes a piano-studio partnership, while Zhiwen responds with gratitude and a cautious, responsible approach.
• Zhiwen asks Tan directly about their romantic future; Tan gives a definitive refusal, and Zhiwen leaves with a lighthearted goodbye despite her heartbreak.
• Their final exchange is silent for most of the evening, but Tan’s message reveals that she notices—and misses—Zhiwen’s usual presence.