Beauty Snake - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Fei-fei Finally Realizes She Misunderstood!!

After looking around several more times with a faint, lingering hope but finding nothing, Ji Yunfei finally gave up and walked quickly to the restroom.

As soon as she reached the door, her stomach churned violently. The food she had just eaten surged upward uncontrollably.

“Mm…”

“Ugh—“

She covered her mouth and rushed into a stall, retching.

“No… I only had a few drinks…”

“I really shouldn’t have moved so abruptly after eating and drinking—”

“Yue—”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she felt as if she were about to vomit bile. A mix of sourness and bitterness filled her mouth. After finally catching her breath, she reached for the stall handle to go rinse her mouth at the sink. But before she could turn it, the sounds from outside made her pull her hand back in a fright.

“Let go! What on earth do you want?”

“Hmph—that hurts!”

The sound of a body being shoved hard against the wall, mixed with a woman’s angry rebuke, drifted clearly through the gap in the stall door into Ji Yunfei’s ears.

“Seriously… this is not the time to be eavesdropping on drama…”

Ji Yunfei covered her mouth tightly and crouched down, leaning against the door. She didn’t dare breathe too loudly, fearing she would alert the two people outside.

Compared to the gossip, what gave her a bigger headache was when she could actually get out. Curling up like a shrimp wasn’t comfortable, not to mention the unpleasant bitter taste lingering in her mouth.

“Do you really like that person surnamed Xie that much?”

“I’ve been by your side for seven years…”

“Can’t you spare even a single glance for me?”

Another woman’s voice, deeper than the first, appeared. Ji Yunfei’s ears perked up at the keyword: “That person surnamed Xie.”

“Cough, cough… that person surnamed Xie? Could it be…”

Ji Yunfei thought about it, then replayed the first woman’s voice in her head.

Hey, if that isn’t Rika’s voice, whose is it?

Realizing the possibility, her heart began to pound uncontrollably, and her body temperature rose. She pressed herself against the door and strained to hear the movement outside.

“You… no… mm—”

Rika’s voice was cut off by a muffled groan, followed by the wet sounds of a messy, passionate kiss. Ji Yunfei’s face flushed, and her heart skipped beats.

“Really…”

“I didn’t want to hear this kind of thing!!”

“Ha—ha—”

“You’re responding to me…”

Slap! “You jerk!”

A crisp slap rang out. The usually arrogant and haughty female voice was now trembling, with a hint of a sob.

Creak—

Disordered footsteps followed, signaling the woman’s inner turmoil. With the opening and closing of the main door, the restroom fell silent.

“Phew—” Ji Yunfei’s tensed nerves finally relaxed. She slid down the stall door, her brain working overtime to process the information she had just gathered.

“The ones outside were Rika and…?”

“It wasn’t Xie Yin…”

“So… I misunderstood?”

She held her head in her hands, her brows knit tight. The words of the beautiful snake-woman from her dream echoed in her mind:

“Mmm… could there be some misunderstanding?”

“Why don’t you… take the initiative to talk to her?”

The thoughts of “I misunderstood Xie Yin” and “I’m screwed” hammered at her. Ignoring everything else, she pulled out her phone and, without a second thought, dialed the number at the top of her favorites: Xie Yin’s number.

Ring… ring… “The number you have dialed—”

The cold, mechanical female voice hit Ji Yunfei like a bucket of cold water, bringing back a shred of her sanity.

“Why did I just call her so impulsively…”

“Thank goodness it didn’t go through… how would I have even explained myself?”

She leaned her head against her hand, feeling slightly relieved the call hadn’t connected. Impulsiveness was a devil. Even if she wanted to clear things up… it shouldn’t be right now.

“Based on the conversation between Rika and the other person… Xie Yin probably really is in this hotel.”

“It’s normal she didn’t answer… she’s likely at a business dinner…”

Ji Yunfei felt a bit more at ease. She made a decision in her heart: she would find a chance to ask Xie Yin out herself. She would lay her heart bare and not give herself any more chances to retreat.

Splash—

Water gushed from the tap, even splashing onto her clothes, but she didn’t care. she cupped some water and splashed her face, the heat around her gradually dissipating.

After a quick rinse and tidying up, she steadied her breathing and walked back to her private room. The moment she pushed the door open, Su Yao stood up and hurried to her side, placing a supportive hand on her waist.

“A-Fei, why were you gone so long?”

“Any later and I was going to charge into the restroom to find you…”

Su Yao stared at her intensely, afraid that Ji Yunfei might have an accident. The concern in her eyes was palpable and almost stifling.

Ji Yunfei vaguely sensed something. She subtly created some distance between herself and Su Yao, saying with a smile: “Don’t worry, my good sister, what could possibly happen to me?”

This time, she didn’t miss the tiny flash of desolation in Su Yao’s eyes when she said “good sister.”

“Fine, fine—you and your glib tongue…” Su Yao quickly hid her disappointment, smiling as she tapped Ji Yunfei’s forehead and led her back to her seat.

Settling back in, Ji Yunfei had no appetite left. She leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, waiting for the dinner to end.

“Alright everyone—let’s head to the bar next door and really have some fun!!”

“Yeah—!”

Just before Ji Yunfei’s faked sleep turned into a real nap, Li Tian stood up and rallied the crowd to move. The others agreed enthusiastically. Ji Yunfei frowned, not particularly wanting to move.

“A-Fei, shall we go?” Su Yao’s voice was soft. Seeing no reaction, she patted Ji Yunfei’s shoulder.

“Mmm—coming…”

Ji Yunfei shielded her eyes from the light, slowly opened them, and checked the time. 9:00 PM.

“I wonder when Xie Yin will be finished…”

Her thoughts drifted back to Xie Yin again. On the way to the bar, she was busy calculating the feasibility of various “accidental encounters.” Lost in thought, she didn’t realize a playing card had been stuffed into her hand.

The bar was filled with noisy DJ music. A disco ball spun amidst blue and purple lights. The dance floor was packed with people moving to the rhythm. Ji Yunfei realized she had followed the group into the bar and was now part of a game of “King’s Game.”

“Now—everyone flip your cards!”

The person in the center of the table gave the order. Everyone turned their cards over, including Ji Yunfei.

“Five of Hearts…”

“I’m the King!” Li Qi jumped up from her seat, showing off the Joker card with a “wicked” grin. “Heh heh—Number 2 and Number 6, give each other a back-to-back hug!”

At the command, two guys stood up—one burly, one thin. Both looked awkward and stood there frozen.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” At the urging of the crowd, they pressed their backs together, but due to the size difference, the simple move looked incredibly clumsy. Eventually, they were let off the hook.

Another round of shuffling. Ji Yunfei drew the Five of Hearts again.

“Aha, I’m the King!” Li Tian stood up grinning, looking around before speaking slowly: “Number 7, come answer a ‘Truth’ question!”

As soon as he finished, Su Yao, sitting next to Ji Yunfei, raised her hand with a sigh. “I’m Number 7…”

“Haha! What a coincidence, Sister Yao!” Li Tian was delighted. He covered his mouth and acted mysterious. “Tell us, among everyone here, is there anyone who makes your heart flutter?” He pointed at Su Yao like Detective Conan.

“Oooooh—!” The room erupted in cheers and teasing.

Su Yao wasn’t rattled by the noise. She pursed her lips and seemed to think of something, a faint smile on her face. “Yes. It’s a very cute person.”

When Su Yao said this, Ji Yunfei inexplicably felt afraid to look at her. She could feel Su Yao’s gaze lingering on her from the corner of her eye.

“WoW—who is it? Who is it?” The crowd, led by Li Tian, grew louder, as if they wanted to dig the secret out of Su Yao’s heart.

“That’s another question.” Su Yao didn’t let them push her. She placed her index finger over her lips and shook her head, though the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

The crowd groaned, but their desire to play only grew. The next round began quickly. Li Qi and Lin Lin were the “lucky ones” for the third round. They were asked to kiss each other’s cheeks, but they didn’t hold back, giving each other a quick peck on the lips instead.

Round after round passed. Su Yao wasn’t picked again, and Ji Yunfei hadn’t been picked even once. But as the newest round began, Ji Yunfei’s heart started to thump. She felt like something was about to happen.

“Wooo—it’s finally my turn to be King!” Lin Lin showed off her Joker card with pride. “Number 1 and Number 6, please stand up!”

Ji Yunfei looked at the card in her hand… and her heart sank. She was holding the Ace of Hearts.

After taking a deep breath, she sighed and stood up as if accepting her fate. As she did, Su Yao beside her also slowly rose, revealing her card: the Six of Hearts.

“Oh, what a coincidence, A-Fei…”

“It’s our turn to be the lucky ones.”

Su Yao was still smiling. Seeing that Ji Yunfei was Number 1, the joy in her eyes became noticeably more genuine.

“Wow! It’s you again, Sister Yao!”

“Let me think… what should I make you do…”

Lin Lin pinched her chin, frowning as she pondered the task. At that moment, Li Qi whispered something into her ear with a mischievous grin. Lin Lin’s brow cleared instantly, and her eyes filled with anticipation. She giggled and said softly:

“Let’s play the Pocky Game…”

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