Hello, Me

"Hello? Shanshui."

"No need to thank me. As long as he got home safely. Uh... he wants to thank me in person? Ahem, no, really, there's no need. Absolutely unnecessary. It was just a little thing."

"All right, see you tomorrow."

After ending the call, Lin Zhishui put down his phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That old man might have been successful once, but he had clearly suffered some devastating setback to become so suicidal. One look was enough to tell he had mental issues, and Lin Zhishui didn't dare get involved.

Besides, he had fallen so far that he was a beggar now. He probably didn't have much money left.

If all he offered was a verbal thank-you or some cheap little gift, Lin Zhishui would rather pass.

They said it was the thought that counted, but ever since he opened his shop, the gifts his customers brought had been a little too modest.

An ordinary Bluestone Paperweight, a dingy brush-washing bowl, or a few little peaches-though those had tasted pretty good...

The most valuable thing was the crystal ball Cheng Buxiu had given him, but even that was made of glass.

Ah... look at how classy the gifts those masters on TV received were. Precious medicinal herbs, invitations to high-society gatherings, or simply fat envelopes of cash. Weren't his own gifts a little too shabby?

He wouldn't mind other customers, but an old man with such obvious mental issues was someone he should keep well away from.

After all, he could barely handle his own little head case, Little Snake. How could he cope with another?

"Little Snake, dinner!"

After finishing the cooking, Lin Zhishui habitually banged on her door to wake her up.

It took quite a while before She Xilu opened the door and came out. Still, she didn't seem as grumpy as usual today. She had even remembered to comb her hair and tidy herself up, with only a few stubborn cowlicks still sticking up.

"Six more months."

At the dinner table, Lin Zhishui suddenly came out with that remark.

"Wh... what do you mean, six months?" She Xilu asked in confusion.

"In six months, you'll be twenty." Lin Zhishui smiled. "Then you'll be old enough to get married legally."

She Xilu's little face instantly flushed red. She lowered her head awkwardly and whispered, "I... I never said I'd marry you..."

Lin Zhishui laughed. "I never said we'd have a wedding, either."

"...Oh."

She Xilu bit her lip and slowly lowered her head, her eyes downcast as she continued eating in silence.

"What do you mean, 'oh'? You weren't happy when I said 'all right,' either." Lin Zhishui couldn't resist reaching over to tug her ear. "I meant we could register our marriage first and worry about the wedding later... are you silly or what?"

"Oh!"

She Xilu froze for a moment before answering with a touch of excitement. Then she realized she had made her feelings a little too obvious and hurriedly lowered her blushing face, burying herself in her meal again.

But her movements had clearly grown lighter, and an irrepressible smile showed at the corners of her eyes.

"Such a stubborn little tsundere..." Lin Zhishui rolled his eyes.

"Oh... oh, right."

After eating for a while, She Xilu suddenly looked up with her cheeks stuffed full of rice. She looked rather cute, like a little hamster.

She hesitated, then tried to sound casual. "Have you... have you had any new... new customers lately? I... I heard s... someone call you this... this morning. Wh... who was it?"

"This morning?"

Lin Zhishui thought back. Hadn't Yan Shanshui been the only one to call him that morning?

He discreetly studied Little Snake again and found her eating with her head lowered, trying hard to look unconcerned. Yet her ears were practically pricked up, and she had stammered noticeably more than usual just now. She was clearly nervous.

He chuckled inwardly. This girl was quite vigilant.

"Her? A younger girl. I wouldn't call her a customer. More of a student."

Lin Zhishui told her the truth. "She has a talent for calligraphy, so she's learning from me. I didn't really want to let her stay at first, but she was rather pitiful. No parents, wandering alone in the rain late at night. So I took pity on her."

"Th... that is pretty sad." She Xilu nodded gently in agreement, sympathy in her eyes.

She was an orphan too, and she also liked being alone, so she could empathize. She understood what it felt like to wander alone in the rain.

But empathizing didn't mean she ought to let her guard down!

So Little Snake cautiously asked another question. "Is she... pretty?"

Lin Zhishui smiled. Knowing how insecure she was, he said, "I'm face-blind. I can't tell whether she's pretty. Don't worry. As far as I'm concerned, you're the prettiest person in the world."

She Xilu blushed, his sweet words leaving her a little dazed. She ate with her head lowered and her face red for a while before finally recovering a little.

Then she whispered, "When you have time, could you... could you bring her home for... for dinner?"

"Bring her home for dinner?" Lin Zhishui was taken aback. "Is that really necessary? I've been doing my best to keep my distance from her, and you want to invite her into our home?"

He glanced at Little Snake again, then suddenly smiled. "I get it... all right. When do you want her to come?"

"Uh... the day after tomorrow." She Xilu thought for a moment. "I... I'll cook. Tomorrow, you... you come with... with me to buy contact... contact lenses."

She needed a day to prepare, dress herself up, and then show off her cooking skills. That way, she could establish herself as the lady of the house.

"Okay."

Lin Zhishui shook his head with a smile, easily seeing through her little scheme.

Soon, after they finished dinner, She Xilu went to the refrigerator for fruit as usual. Discovering that they had run out, she turned to look pleadingly at Lin Zhishui. "I... I want some fruit. Will you come out... out with me to buy some...?"

The two fruit shops that offered delivery weren't any good. The fruit at the nearby supermarket was better.

Lin Zhishui thought for a moment. "Why don't you eat a peach first?"

She Xilu froze, then pouted miserably. "Wh... why are you making fun of me...?"

"No... I mean there's still a peach in my bag. Eat that first, and I'll go downstairs to buy you some fruit. Then you won't have to go out." Lin Zhishui chuckled.

"Oh..."

She Xilu kept feeling that he was taking the opportunity to tease her, but she couldn't find any proof. Still feeling wronged, she turned and went into Lin Zhishui's bedroom to get his bag.

Lin Zhishui smiled, took his phone, and headed out to buy fruit, remembering to shut the door properly before leaving.

"Hm?"

In the bedroom, She Xilu rummaged through Lin Zhishui's bag and found a plastic bag. Opening it, she saw a small, greenish, smooth-skinned peach inside.

"It's so small..."

She preferred soft peaches, not crunchy ones. Juicy honey peaches were her favorite.

Still, since he had saved it for her, she might as well eat it.

She Xilu picked up the peach and opened her little mouth with some reluctance. After one bite, she gave a surprised little sound, her beautiful eyes lighting up. Who would have thought such an ordinary-looking little peach would be so sweet, fragrant, and soft?

She took several more eager bites and soon reduced the peach to nothing but its pit.

"Where did he buy it? That meanie should've bought more..."

She couldn't help licking the juice from her lips before reluctantly placing the pit on the table. Since the peach had tasted so good, she would keep its pit as a souvenir.

Suddenly-

"Ugh..."

A buzzing filled her head. She Xilu's vision blurred, wavering double images appearing before her eyes, as though... another viewpoint had suddenly emerged.

At the same time, the headache she had experienced so many times before began again.

She didn't know why, but she had suffered mild headaches ever since she was little. They used to occur at fairly long intervals, but lately they had been growing more and more frequent.

Especially now. It felt as though something were swelling inside her skull, bringing a splitting pain that made her feel her head was about to burst.

The whole world seemed to shake violently. She involuntarily collapsed onto the floor, clutching her head with both hands. Like a helpless little animal, she curled up trembling on the floor and groaned in agony.

"Ugh..."

Amid the unbearable headache, scenarios she would only have encountered in novels flashed through her mind.

It hurts so much. Could I have a brain tumor...?

No... I'm getting married in just six months. Surely the timing couldn't be that cruel...

It hurts so much... Lin Zhishui... my head hurts...

If I have a brain tumor... will Lin Zhishui abandon me...? No, he definitely wouldn't... but should I leave him myself, so I don't burden him...? Sob, this is so melodramatic...

But if I really become a burden... I... I still don't want to leave... I really can't do it...

What do I do...? My head feels like it's about to explode... Lin Zhishui, help me...

Am I going to die from this pain...? I haven't even... with you yet...

As those jumbled thoughts crowded her mind, her body shook violently on the floor, the headache growing ever more terrifying. Her consciousness gradually went blank.

Suddenly, the pain that had swollen to its limit seemed to explode. A roar rang through her mind, and vaguely, she seemed to hear a cold woman's low laugh, threaded with a snake's hissing.

"Heh..."

As though it had all been a hallucination, the headache receded like a tide.

Then She Xilu slowly opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time, gasping for breath. Only after a while did she climb up from the floor, drenched in sweat and feeling as though she had narrowly escaped death.

At the same time, she saw herself in the bedroom's full-length mirror.

Faint black scales had appeared on the skin of the left half of her face. Her left eye glowed an eerie green, and its pupil... looked just like a snake's!

"What..."

She went blank for a moment. Before she could move closer to examine herself, a cold female voice rang out in her mind. It sounded like her own, but mingled with a snake's hissing:

"Hello, me."

P.S. I'm writing six thousand characters a day, so please send some recommendation votes my way~