Beauty Snake - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Haunted House? I’ll Take It!

“Ji Yunfei… have you considered moving?”

“Huh?”

Xie Yin, who had finally had her fill of hugging, straightened up. She suddenly shifted the topic to moving. Seeing the faint confusion in Ji Yunfei’s eyes, she immediately added:

“I mean… that man failed this time, so he won’t give up easily. This place isn’t safe anymore.”

“So, as your creditor, I feel it’s necessary to remind you to pay attention to your personal safety…”

Looking at Xie Yin’s serious expression and her eyes—slightly red and swollen from crying—Ji Yunfei froze for a moment. She fell silent, contemplating the feasibility of moving.

“Hmm… as it happens, my lease here is almost up. You’re right; I need to find a new place. That scumbag isn’t someone I can deal with easily.”

“But finding a new apartment isn’t that simple. I just have to hope he doesn’t come looking for trouble again in the short term.”

Ji Guoqiang was like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment—completely unpredictable.

“I won’t lie to you, I know an elderly couple who happens to have a vacant apartment. Interested in learning more?” Hearing Ji Yunfei consider the move as expected, Xie Yin’s eyes lit up immediately as she offered her recommendation.

“Really? That would be wonderful! CEO Xie, you truly are my benefactor~ I’ll definitely work like an ox for you from now on~” Ji Yunfei squeezed her voice into a playful, sycophantic tone to tease the “red-eyed rabbit” in front of her.

“You… you… you better mean that!”

“Fine, fine. Here, this is their WeChat. Contact them yourself.”

Ji Yunfei didn’t miss the flash of bashfulness on Xie Yin’s face. Suppressing a laugh, she took out her phone and scanned the landlord’s QR code.

“By the way, how is the proposal for that big contract I assigned to your department?” Mentioning work, Xie Yin’s aura turned cold.

Ji Yunfei thought to herself: The fragile red-eyed rabbit has turned into a frozen red-eyed rabbit. Strangely cute.

“Um… it’s basically okay. I might as well let you have a look first.” Since the leader wanted to inspect the work, there was no reason for an employee not to cooperate. Ji Yunfei jogged over to get her laptop and opened the design proposal for the ring.

“Based on the analysis of the client Qin Xiang and her lover’s preferences, the overall design of this ring is inspired by snakes.”

“A snake’s body is supple yet can overcome strength with grace; it perfectly fits the requirement for ‘power and aesthetics.’ Coincidentally, there’s a legend about snakes in the place where I grew up…”

“The band of the ring follows the spiral curves of a snake’s body. The main stone is an emerald, set with a prong setting where the prongs are designed as four snakes in different poses…”

“Inside the band, there’s also…”

Ji Yunfei became more and more spirited as she explained the proposal, immersing herself completely. She failed to notice Xie Yin watching her with an intense, meaningful gaze.

“That’s the overall design for the ring. CEO Xie, what’s your verdict?”

Finished with her explanation, Ji Yunfei looked at Xie Yin, waiting for feedback.

“Hmm… very innovative. I have high hopes for you. Refine the proposal further and let’s aim to land this big deal with Qin Xiang!”

“Also, have you noticed? Whenever you talk about snakes, your eyes literally sparkle.”

Hearing this, Ji Yunfei felt a bit shy. She scratched her head and said slowly, “Is it that obvious? But it’s true, I really like snakes.”

“Really? How much do you like them?”

“Hmm… it’s hard to give an exact measure. Here, come with me…”

Ji Yunfei led Xie Yin to the door of the second bedroom. Inside were rows of neatly arranged temperature-controlled terrariums. Each one had unique landscaping, and the orange glow of the room added a touch of warmth.

However, if one looked closely, only the terrarium on the large table in the center held a plump orange snake, peacefully coiled around a branch. It was clearly well-cared for. The other terrariums contained beautiful landscapes but no living creatures.

“This is Fatty, a cute hognose snake… he’s quite the glutton.” Ji Yunfei looked at Fatty through the glass, her eyes full of affection.

Fatty, coiled on the branch, looked up at Ji Yunfei and flicked his tongue. A second later, he spotted Xie Yin.

Hiss, hiss— (Boss—I missed you so much—)

Fatty suddenly got excited, wriggling his body to get down from the branch. But before his excitement could last, Xie Yin shot him a sharp look. Fatty sheepishly retracted his head and closed his eyes to fake a nap.

“It’s rare for Fatty to be this excited for anything other than food. It seems he really likes you, CEO Xie,” Ji Yunfei teased.

“Perhaps… but, do you only have this one snake?” Xie Yin played dumb.

“No… more than that… of course more than that… there was just an accident…” Mentioning the other “snake babies,” Ji Yunfei couldn’t hide the loneliness in her heart.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. No matter what, there will always be a place for them in this home.” Forcing down the bitterness, Ji Yunfei smiled at Xie Yin to show she didn’t need to feel guilty. “Alright, let me show you the little details in these terrarium designs…”

“It’s getting late. I should head back.”

“Is it okay for you to go back alone?”

By the time Ji Yunfei finished her tour, it was midnight. When Xie Yin offered to leave, Ji Yunfei felt a bit worried; it wasn’t very safe in the middle of the night.

“What? Does Little Fei-Fei want me to stay the night?” Xie Yin narrowed her eyes and leaned in with a mischievous grin.

“No… you… I…” Caught off guard, Ji Yunfei stammered, her face flushing red as her eyes darted away.

“Just teasing. I called a driver; he’s already downstairs.”

“Oh… oh… then I’ll walk you down!”

Realizing she’d been played, Ji Yunfei wasn’t even that annoyed. If the big creditor was happy, let her play. But that smug look reminded her of a certain mischievous “someone”… she wondered how that “someone” was doing now.

The next day, Ji Yunfei added the landlord Xie Yin had recommended and made an appointment to meet on Saturday. When Saturday arrived, she went to the designated café early.

“Hello, are you Miss Ji?”

While Ji Yunfei was scrolling through Xiaolvshu, a gentle female voice sounded. She looked up to see an elderly lady with silver hair and a soft smile. Ji Yunfei finally understood the phrase “beauty is never defeated by time.”

“Hello, I’m Ji Yunfei. Please, have a seat.”

After a brief conversation, Ji Yunfei learned the details of the apartment. In short: it was a large penthouse, the rent was cheap, security was top-notch, the location was unbeatable, and it was fully furnished—but…

It was allegedly haunted.

The previous tenants had all been scared away by strange noises and black shadows in the middle of the night. For others, this might require serious thought. For Ji Yunfei? It was nothing. She had grown up on legends of “beauty snakes,” not to mention her recent bizarre experiences in the village.

A little haunting? No big deal. If worst came to worst, she’d just learn some Taoist exorcism. Besides, sometimes humans are scarier than ghosts. With such great conditions, why hesitate? She took it!

She finalized the contract with the lady and prepared to move in next Wednesday. On her way back, she hummed a tune, feeling wonderful. She spent the weekend packing, booking movers, and further refining the ring proposal.

Ding~

Snake-Scorpion Beauty: “Taking leave on Wednesday? Moving?”

FFF: “Yes, the talk went well. Everything is booked; just waiting for Wednesday.”

FFF: “Oh, the proposal is refined. Remember to check it, CEO Xie.”

Snake-Scorpion Beauty: “Got it. Just focus on moving ^v^”

Monday and Tuesday passed quickly. On Wednesday morning, Ji Yunfei eagerly started the big move.

“Put the terrariums in the guest room…” “This goes here…” “…” “Thanks for the hard work, masters! Here, take this for yourselves!”

After a morning of fighting, the furniture was in place. But that was just the first step. Looking at the dusty floor covered in black footprints, she sighed, closed her eyes, and dove into cleaning.

“Haha… ugh… nobody mentioned a penthouse is this exhausting to clean…”

By evening, her body felt like it was falling apart. But lying on the sofa looking at her sparkling new home, she felt proud. The fatigue was worth it.

Vibrate— “Hello?” “Hahaha, Xiao Ji! I have great news!” It was Baldy’s “boisterous” laughter. He sounded like he was in an exceptionally good mood. “Go ahead, Director.” “The client is extremely satisfied with your proposal! Hahaha! Good job, I knew I didn’t misjudge you!”

Ji Yunfei rolled her eyes internally. ‘I knew I didn’t misjudge you’? Why don’t you think back on what you said before? But on the surface, she remained polite. “It’s all thanks to your guidance, Director! It’s my honor to help the department.”

“Hahahaha, you’ve got the spirit! Come see me for your bonus tomorrow!”

Ding—

Snake-Scorpion Beauty: “Client is very happy with the proposal. Congratulations.”

Snake-Scorpion Beauty: “Debt repayment progress: 1/4.”

Snake-Scorpion Beauty: “Keep it up ^v^”

Just as she hung up, she received the message from Xie Yin. A tiny smile tugged at her lips as she calculated how to thank Xie Yin for her help.

FFF: “Thank you then, CEO Xie ^v^”

FFF: [Fatty_bowing.gif]

Exhausted from moving, she fell asleep on the sofa right after replying.

Knock, knock, knock—

She was woken up by a knocking at the door. She rubbed her eyes and walked over. After the incident with Ji Guoqiang, she checked the peephole first. She froze, then glanced out the window.

It was pitch black outside…

So… why was Xie Yin standing outside her door right now?

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