A Little Snake with a Naughty Streak — Chapter 2

Was keeping me really such a terrible idea?

I opened my mouth wide and pretended I was going to bite him.

Ha Qing immediately begged for mercy.

“Good people don’t pick on snakes!”

“Wait, no. This snake seems to understand people.”

I had a feeling he was insulting me.

Xie Qingye raised an eyebrow, teasing him. “Then you’d better be careful. She holds a grudge.”

He actually dared call me petty!

I was furious and bit his hand.

I’d gotten very good at it.

Ha Qing screamed and nearly jumped out of the car.

Xie Qingye calmly patted my head.

“See? This is what happens.”

They were going to a birthday party.

When Xie Qingye walked in with me, the whole hall fell silent. Most people looked horrified.

There was one exception.

The host of the party smiled without changing expression, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Is she a present for me?”

Xie Qingye coldly moved away.

He sat down to one side.

“Keep dreaming.”

The man had been turned down, but he looked at me and sighed regretfully.

“She’s so pretty.”

Not only was he handsome, he knew how to compliment people.

I decided I’d picked the right owner.

Handsome men really did gather in groups.

It was a feast for the eyes.

Then I felt a very real chill at my neck.

Xie Qingye lowered his eyes.

“Should’ve left you at home.”

I seriously considered whether I should change owners.

Or maybe have a different one every day?

“Don’t you dare.”

Xie Qingye was talking to Ha Qing.

Ha Qing was still trying his luck.

“You have so many cars. What’s the harm in lending me one?”

The man stroked my back.

“You’re a terrible driver.”

“Five accidents in a month. Every time, I’m the one who has to come haul you out of trouble. It’s a pain.”

“And your ex-girlfriends keep mistaking your car for mine and showing up at my door.”

The more he heard, the less confident Ha Qing became.

He insisted every one of those things had been an accident.

Xie Qingye’s tone turned perfectly serious.

“I hate people who can’t stay faithful.”

For some reason, I felt guilty.

Ha Qing murmured a defense.

“You never used to say that.”

“Hmph. I’m going to find Jiang Cong.”

Jiang Cong was the party’s host and the birthday boy.

They’d supposedly come to celebrate his birthday, but Xie Qingye looked more like a decoration. He didn’t drink, smoke, or play any games.

He just kept feeding me.

Food clung to his long, slender fingers.

“Want some more?”

A pretty girl tried to approach him, but the moment she saw me, she turned away with a sway of her hips.

I understood.

Xie Qingye had brought me along for exactly this reason.

What a scheming man!

My belly had swollen two sizes before he finally stopped feeding me.

He went to wash his hands.

Then he laid down his coat and set me on it.

He poked my head and reminded me, “Don’t wander off.”

He asked Ha Qing to keep an eye on me.

That coward Ha Qing was afraid even to look at me, but the moment a pretty woman passed by, his head emptied.

My belly felt uncomfortably full. I wanted to walk it off.

Not wanting to scare anyone, I crawled along the ceiling.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

Jiang Cong was on the phone.

The impossibly handsome man had melancholy in his eyes and brows.

He leaned against the wall, looking bored, answering only now and then.

I was like a thief, hiding in the shadows and spying on him.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense me and looked up.

I didn’t have time to hide.

In truth, there was nowhere to hide.

“Nothing,” he said into the phone. “I have something to do. I’ll call you back.”

I poked my head out, looking for an escape route.

Jiang Cong held out a hand.

“Come here.”

I was still hesitating when a huge clap of thunder sounded outside.

I panicked and fell.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Afraid I’d fall to my death, I grabbed at something in my panic.

Jiang Cong dropped to one knee and caught me. His arm stiffened; he didn’t dare move.

He looked as if he wanted to say something.

“You…”

Something wasn’t right.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The man immediately turned his face away, the tips of his ears red.

I looked down.

I was stunned.

I’d turned into a human?

But I wasn’t wearing anything.

Footsteps sounded at the end of the hallway.

Jiang Cong scooped me up and carried me into the nearest room.

In the darkness, he took off his jacket and handed it to me.

“Put this on for now.”

When his hand touched mine, he seemed to stiffen.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Jiang Cong.”

It was Xie Qingye.

“Have you seen my snake?”

I was about to answer, but someone covered my mouth.

Jiang Cong whispered in my ear, “Do you want him to come in right now?”

I calmed down.

Right. If Xie Qingye saw his little snake turn into a woman, he’d probably throw me out.

Then no one would patiently take care of me anymore.

Once he was sure I’d stay quiet, Jiang Cong answered.

“No.”

But the person outside still didn’t leave.

“I thought I saw you holding a woman just now.”

“Who is she?”

For some reason, I was a little nervous.

Why did this sound like the scene in a TV drama where the wife caught her husband cheating?

Jiang Cong still hadn’t let go of me.

His fingertips shifted slightly.

“My girlfriend.”

Genius.

That was a great excuse.

Xie Qingye gave a cold laugh.

“Best not be lying to me.”

I had a feeling his words carried another meaning.

Only after the footsteps faded did I relax. I leaned against the wall and accidentally touched the light switch.

Jiang Cong hadn’t managed to hide his feelings in time.

The agitation in his eyes was plain to see.

I looked at him slowly.

“Are you… all right?”

“It’s nothing.”

The man swallowed softly and reached out to fasten the buttons of my jacket.

I thanked him.

“You’re really kind.”

He’d caught me, lent me his clothes, and helped me keep this from Xie Qingye.

Before leaving, I still wasn’t sure.

“You absolutely can’t tell Xie Qingye, okay?”

Jiang Cong looked into my eyes and was silent for a few seconds.

“Okay.”

“Then give me a kiss, and I’ll promise.”

I asked, confused, “Why do I have to kiss you?”

The man leaned down toward me.

“It’s a human custom. After a kiss, it means you’ll never break your promise.”

How magical.

I believed him and lifted my head to kiss him.

Jiang Cong tightened his arm around my waist.

He kissed me back.

…

Xie Qingye searched for his pet snake so frantically he nearly turned the whole place upside down.

Ha Qing knew he’d messed up and didn’t dare say a word.

The man on the sofa toyed with a lighter, its flame flickering on and off.

“If we don’t find her, no one’s leaving.”

Ha Qing almost wanted to kneel.

He’d only gone to ask a pretty girl for the link to her perfume. But when he turned around, the snake had vanished.

“Xie Qingye.”

When Jiang Cong appeared with me, back in my snake form, Ha Qing could clearly see the relief on his face.

“Your snake.”

The man’s gaze locked on me.

“How did you find her?”

Jiang Cong gave a faint, mocking smile, a sly glint in his eyes.

“What if I told you she was secretly watching me bathe, and I caught her in the act? Would you believe me?”

A lie!

I hadn’t done that!

I was about to bare my fangs, but Xie Qingye soothed me.

“She’s not that kind of snake…”

Exactly. Exactly.

I obediently rubbed against the man’s hand.

But then he noticed something was wrong.

He lifted me up.

“Why are you so hot?”

I couldn’t explain it. How could I tell him?

Jiang Cong had said it was a normal reaction when a snake went into heat. If I ever had those symptoms again, I could come to him for a kiss.

He’d said it would strengthen our promise.

He really was a good person.

“Maybe she’s just shy.”

A smile spread through Jiang Cong’s eyes.

He gave me a discreet glance, then turned and left.