A Little Snake with a Naughty Streak — Chapter 1
Edward Quan ·
In the laziest year of my life, I had no interest in cultivating. I was perfectly happy staying with Xie Qingye, the young heir of a prominent family in the capital, as his pet snake.
When it was cold, I crawled into his blankets.
When I was hungry, I sprawled across his chest.
When I was in a bad mood, I sank my teeth into his hand.
Xie Qingye had a terrible temper. He was always pinching my head and threatening me.
“If you lick me there again, I’ll throw you out.”
I trembled with fear and started restraining myself.
Then a man claiming to be a demon hunter appeared. He exposed my identity as a snake spirit and threatened to seal me inside Leifeng Pagoda.
To my surprise, Xie Qingye was so righteous it bordered on sinister. He stood his ground against the old man.
“You’re kind of disgusting.”
“What makes you think she’s a demon? What’s wrong with you?”
“She’s a spirit, and you’re a lunatic. Have you eaten so many red beans you’ve started pining after someone?”
I was the laziest snake in my clan.
Eat, sleep, admire handsome men.
My mother had nagged me for years.
“Other snakes your age have already cultivated human forms.”
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
A flower-patterned snake from the next den told me that wealthy humans had recently taken to keeping pet snakes. I could find one and spend my whole life being useless.
I was tempted.
While my whole clan was hibernating, I set off before dawn to find a human owner.
Unfortunately, I’d underestimated the miserable weather. I nearly froze to death.
Shivering, I curled up on the hood of a sports car.
I missed home.
I missed my den, warm in every season.
Mother had been right. The outside world wasn’t fun at all!
As I dozed, someone spoke.
“Little snake?”
A finger touched my tail.
I opened my eyes sluggishly.
Then I froze.
What a handsome man.
Black hair, thick brows, a hint of gentleness in his eyes. Though the temperature was below freezing, he wore only a dark coat, a cigarette tucked between his fingers, and carried himself with effortless elegance.
The handsome man wasn’t afraid of me at all. He even stroked my head, his voice unbelievably gentle.
“You’re hurt.”
“Want to come home with me?”
An owner had come right to my door.
I couldn’t have wished for more.
I wrapped myself around his finger and crawled up his arm.
The man lowered his eyes and smiled faintly.
“You’re not shy, are you?”
While he treated the wound on my tail, I learned his name.
Xie Qingye.
He also seemed to be someone important.
For instance, the sports car I’d been lying on belonged to him.
For another, the person who opened the door called him Young Master.
And when someone saw me and burst into tears, Xie Qingye merely glanced at them—and the crying stopped at once.
I’d struck it rich!
“Don’t move.”
The man held my tail in place and chided me softly.
He was already being stern with me?
On the very first day?
I had to establish dominance.
So I bit Xie Qingye’s finger.
The housekeeper beside him turned pale.
“Young Master!”
Xie Qingye didn’t even furrow his brow.
He continued bandaging my wound.
“It’s fine.”
“She’s just a little snake whose fangs haven’t grown in yet.”
Calmly, he wiped the drool I’d left on his finger with a tissue.
Was he looking down on me?
Xie Qingye hadn’t prepared a place for me to sleep.
The housekeeper tried to dissuade him.
“Young Master, we don’t know where this snake came from. What if it—”
The man played with my body while I wound myself around his finger.
“Then you can pick up my corpse tomorrow morning.”
There was a faint air of world-weariness in Xie Qingye’s voice.
I was too busy gnawing on his wrist to care.
I had to show him that our snake clan was not to be trifled with, so he’d treat me with more respect in the future.
The man switched off the light and tucked me into his blankets.
“Be good.”
“Go to sleep.”
“You can bite me again tomorrow.”
I let go.
Fine.
It was winter, when snakes were supposed to hibernate, so I slept very deeply.
In a hazy dream, someone seemed to nudge me in the middle of the night.
“Xiao Xie, don’t lie on top of me.”
That was the name Xie Qingye had come up with in all of three seconds.
I thought it sounded tacky.
Back then, I’d even slapped him with my tail to show my disapproval.
But the man misunderstood.
He took hold of my tail.
“You like that? Then don’t get so excited.”
He was such an idiot!
In the morning, I woke to someone scratching me.
Xie Qingye was lying on his side, one hand under his head, the other still rubbing my belly.
“Xiao Xie, you even drooled.”
I woke right up.
I searched everywhere for evidence.
But the sheets were spotless.
Damn it, he’d tricked me!
I lunged at him in a fit of rage.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t judge the distance and crashed straight into his arms.
Several buttons on his pajamas had come undone.
I bit his pectoral muscle.
I couldn’t tell whether my teeth were too sharp or his body too soft.
This time, I really drew blood.
The man frowned slightly and clicked his tongue.
He pinched my head.
“Let go.”
Only then did fear catch up with me.
What if he threw me out?
So I tried to placate him, gently licking the wound.
To my surprise, he grew even sterner.
His grip tightened.
“Don’t lick me there.”
Hmph. Stingy. Fine, I wouldn’t.
I was a picky eater.
No mice. No cold water. Beef had to be fresh and minced into tiny pieces.
Everyone else in the Xie household was afraid of me.
So I only tormented Xie Qingye.
The man resigned himself to serving me.
“Xiao Xie, you’re spoiled rotten.”
Well, wasn’t that because he spoiled me?
Xie Qingye’s lips curved faintly as he fed me with a tiny spoon.
I was happily eating when—
“Xie Qingye, your grandfather— What the hell!”
A handsome blond man saw me and turned white.
He hid behind the housekeeper, pointing at me with a trembling finger.
“You can keep anything you want, but why keep a snake?”
I’d lost my appetite. I fixed my attention on his striking face instead.
Handsome! So handsome!
Exactly my type.
I swayed toward him.
The handsome man screamed and ran as fast as he could.
Heh heh. This was fun.
Snakes were nimble. I cornered him against the wall.
He wrapped his arms around himself, his voice almost tearful.
“Xie Qingye, what are you standing there for? Save me! This snake is crazy!”
“Have I gone mad? I can actually see the word ‘horny’ written all over a snake!”
How annoying. He’d seen right through me.
I was about to crawl up his trouser leg when someone snatched me up.
Xie Qingye poked my head now and then, sounding reproachful.
“Xiao Xie, do you fall for everyone you meet?”
I nodded honestly.
What could I do? He was handsome.
That afternoon, Xie Qingye took me out.
He drove while I obediently coiled around his arm.
I felt incredibly majestic.
Ha Qing huddled in the passenger seat, still looking terrified.
He was the handsome blond from earlier.
“Seriously, all I did was ask you to go on a blind date. Why’d you take it so hard you went and got a snake? Have you lost your mind?”
What did he mean?