Chapter 16: The ambiguous and subtle embrace of snakes.
The woman in the next bed twitched her brow, probably because she had never seen such a unique way of doing good deeds. She shook her head and gave up on giving any further advice.
Shu Qing and Jiu Su both fell silent. After a while, seeing that their fellow patient had fallen asleep again, Shu Qing quietly asked, "Did you misunderstand? I just feel like I've caused you too much trouble..."
At that very moment, Jiu Su asked in a low voice, "Don't you want to see me?"
They both spoke at the same time and answered each other perfectly, so they had to fall silent at the same time, and the concentration of awkwardness in the air doubled—it was now awkward for both of them.
After a moment, Shu Qing laughed and said, "How could that be? If I didn't want to see you, why would I ask you out for dinner? It's just that... from the moment we met until now, I feel like I've been troubling you the whole time, and I really feel bad about it. Besides, this is the first time we've met, and it's not convenient for you to be at my place."
Jiu Su lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "You've already thanked me."
Shu Qing: "..."
That was just a gesture of courtesy. Who would really think that a Japanese meal could bring in a very capable superhuman biologist... especially one who helped so diligently?
Just as Shu Qing was racking her brains trying to figure out "how to explain things to him," the real angel in white finally arrived, removed the needle from Shu Qing's body, and took her temperature again—not bad, it had dropped back to 37.9.
"Go back and rest well," the doctor advised her. "Your vital signs are fine, it's just that you're too tired. Take your medication as usual, and if your fever doesn't go down in a couple of days, come back for a follow-up appointment as soon as possible."
Shu Qing agreed, took the backpack full of medicine, and was escorted back to the apartment entrance by Jiu Su. She took the bag from Jiu Su and invited him, "Won't you come in and sit for a while?"
Jiu Su gave a half-smile: "Isn't it inconvenient?"
Shu Qing felt helpless.
She's a patient, okay? Is it right to use those two sentences to criticize a patient?
Fortunately, Jiu Su finally realized the inappropriateness of his behavior and did not continue to argue with her about those few words. He raised his hand as if to touch her head, but feeling it was too abrupt, he withdrew it, turned his face away awkwardly, and said, "I will come to see you again tonight."
Shu Qing couldn't resist admiring him for a moment. Good-looking people have a unique charm when they're embarrassed; for the sake of his looks, she forgave him.
She knew that Jiu Su meant to come and take care of her again at dinner time, so she didn't refuse anymore. She swiped the door open, and Jiu Su was already inside, but she peeked her head out from the crack in the door and said with a smile, "Thank you."
She had been sick for two days, her hair was frizzy, and this morning she hadn't even washed up, just wiped her face with a wet wipe. She looked terrible, not at all presentable, but when she smiled, she was still radiant and beautiful, and all her unkempt appearance didn't matter.
Jiu Su responded with a smile.
Shu Qing closed the door and walked into the house in a good mood, calling out as she went, "Xiao Hong?"
A minute later, the little white snake emerged, affectionately coiled around her arm and shoulder, and flicked its tongue at her.
Shu Qing played with the little snake for a while, then opened the fresh sashimi she had bought on her way home—the little monster was just like a human, and she couldn't break her promise. She had broken her promise yesterday that she "wouldn't be gone for long" due to unforeseen circumstances, so at least she had to fulfill her promise to "pack up some delicious food".
"I need to lie down for a while longer," Shu Qing said. She stayed with it for a while, but still felt dizzy, so she had to get it a basin of water. The little snake was clean and needed to drink water and soak in water after eating to avoid leaving any smell on its body.
She lay down on the bed, but couldn't fall asleep, so she opened her phone and started browsing short video apps.
Overnight, the sentiment in the comments section and on-screen chat had shifted. Qi Yun quickly rallied a group of people to control the narrative, with both sides sticking to their own versions of events. Newcomers to the drama wavered, unsure which side to believe; those who had already voiced their opinions remained stubborn, believing the content creator was trying to whitewash the situation, and resorting to sarcasm and ridicule.
Did they think they could shut everyone up?
"Hilarious, this can actually be washed?"
"Those who mistreat monsters and distort the truth will be punished."
Shu Qing felt an urge to write down these people's names and sell them health products.
She looked again at the pinned statement she posted yesterday while running a high fever. Now, a few scattered people have spoken up to say "believe in her," most of them being fans who had followed her before. It's no longer the one-sided mockery or even insults of yesterday.
The most obvious change is in the number of followers. Yesterday, the number of followers dropped to only two-thirds, but it is slowly starting to rise again today. It seems that even those who remain silent are not incapable of making choices.
She said to Qi Yun, "Thank you."
Miss Qi could actually ignore this account and just control her own comments.
"No need to thank me, it's just between the two of us," Qi Yun replied. "How are you? Has your fever gone down?"
Shu Qing: Not yet, but it should be soon. So, is it 'Jin Yaoyao'?
"That's right!"
The "Jin Yaoyao" they were talking about is a veteran pet-raising content creator, and her popularity is slightly higher than Shu Qing's at the moment. Yesterday afternoon, when the two of them were discussing suspects in the pet section's content creator list, they didn't initially include her as a suspect—because logically speaking, even if people are envious, they are envious of those who are better than themselves, and they wouldn't bother with those who are not as good as themselves for no reason.
But when the two of them discovered that "Jin Yaoyao" was labeled with "superpowers," "monster short dramas," "cute girl zookeeper," and even had a white snake demon as a pet, they both fell into a serious silence.
If it's natural to be envious of those who are better than oneself, then it's also a common sense in competition to be wary of highly similar competitors in order to prevent them from taking away one's original audience.
“She’s been running this account for almost four years now,” Qi Yun said. “And she only has two videos with a million views each. Your account has only been created for less than a year, and you only started making videos about monsters this month, but even this public service announcement of yours has over 900,000 views. Isn’t it normal for her to have some ideas? We can’t just look at the number of followers.”
"Alright," Shu Qing chuckled sinisterly, "Hmph, now that I know who it is, I'll give her a good beating."
Qi Yun: "Right! Isn't it just buying black water to spread rumors? It's not easy to do good deeds, but anyone can do bad deeds. I've already asked someone to dig up her dark history. Those early videos of hers are unbearable to watch. She's just using the guise of filming monsters to film herself and pushing the boundaries."
"You have a lot of flaws yourself, yet you still sell black liquor to others. I just don't understand, how dare you?"
Shu Qing lay on the bed laughing and sent the young lady a big "Well done" emoji.
Just then, her phone received a new message from her programmer best friend, who sent several screenshots in a row.
“Got it,” my best friend said. “It’s an internal network used to generate fake data. This task involves leaving negative comments under videos. They even specified the script, specifically targeting people who are malicious.”
Shu Qing blew back a kiss and sent the screenshot to Qi Yun – only with this would the evidence be conclusive.
The images that are "read" out cannot be used as evidence in court.
However, once the current turmoil subsides, it can be used as video material.
As Shu Qing let her thoughts wander, she thanked her best friend, made a promise to take her clubbing after she recovered, and discussed with Qi Yun how to release the evidence first and then retaliate in kind. Only after arranging everything did she finally start to feel sleepy.
She sat up and drew the curtains. The little snake finished its meal and soaked in the water, and in the dim light, it swam into her arms.
“If anyone knocks on the door tonight,” she instructed, “please wake me up, okay?”
The little snake flicked its tongue and rubbed against her face, accepting the task through body language.
It nestled in Shuqing's chest, watching her. Her heartbeat was steady, and her breathing gradually became light and even; she had fallen asleep.
The little snake crawled off her body—the young snakes grow fast, and the young snakes that are fed and cared for grow even faster. Shu Qing had been raising it for almost a month, and it had grown from being less than the thickness of her little finger to being as thick as her index finger. However, it was still a little snake that could be worn as an ornament.
At this moment, the little white snake shimmered with cold energy, and within this cold energy, it quickly stretched and grew larger. In an instant, it almost transformed into a snow-white python, as thick as her forearm, with its tail nearly touching the ground.
The serpent slithered towards Shu Qing, its tail tip reaching towards the hem of her nightgown...
No, that won't work.
Although she only saw him as a snake and never held back in his presence, he himself needed to know who he truly was.
He was not her pet, nor the monster she kept.
He was her mortal enemy, the man she fought to the death with, and her former lover whom she loved and then abandoned.
How could she possibly agree to this?
He stopped. Through her thin nightgown, it slowly and gently wrapped around her, from her ankles to her shoulders and armpits, like a pure white vine climbing a tall tree, or like a legendary dragon guarding its rare treasure.
If they don't transform into human form, this is just an ambiguous and subtle embrace between snakes.
That's enough, he warned himself. Those shameful thoughts that haven't died yet should be buried deep inside forever, never to be known by her.
If it's really just to cool her down and make her more comfortable to sleep, wouldn't it be enough to just gently hold her like this through her clothes?
But he couldn't help it, he couldn't help but tighten his snake body, strangling her like he was about to kill his prey, afraid that one day she would break free completely, afraid that he would never see her again.
She wasn't suffering from a "cold" at all; she was burdened by those curses—blessings could be bestowed upon her, and curses were no exception, just as they had been in her past life.
However, in her previous life she was the Lord of Xiashan at the summit of Kunlun, with countless living beings. No one dared to curse her carelessly, and those few evil thoughts could not amount to anything.
But in this era, people's emotions can be easily stirred up by external things and by unrelated people. She did nothing wrong, yet she was resented and suffered an undeserved disaster.
He had witnessed it firsthand; the dark malice enveloped her almost like a cocoon, and he was virtually powerless to stop it.
Rationally, he knew this was a case of "possessing a treasure as a crime," but ultimately, it was also related to him.
You always drag her down with you. You haven't protected her properly.
The serpent sadly flicked its tongue and licked her brow. He realized he was wrapping himself too tightly; the marks of his belly scales were already visible on her calves exposed outside her pajamas. He quickly loosened his grip, afraid she would notice something amiss when she woke up.
My previous plans... probably won't come to fruition.
He figured he couldn't possibly leave until this problem was resolved.
He nestled his head in the crook of her shoulder. Shu Qing was already fast asleep, and instinctively reached out to hug him. The demon snake stiffened, probably sensing something was wrong in her sleep, but she didn't. Instead, she comfortably rolled over, causing him to roll over as well.
The serpent slithered helplessly, found a suitable new position to coil up, and rested its head against her temple, affectionately touching her earlobe.
Shu Qing's lips moved as if she were talking in her sleep.
He listened intently and heard her softly say, "...Su..."
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