Beauty Snake - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: “The South Star Symbolizes Courage; Through It, I Am Finally Able To Face My Own Emotions.”

Ding—

Department Head: “Attention all personnel, please gather at the square at the foot of the mountain to collect your keys, room cards, etc.”

Department Head: “Especially the groups staying in tents… please collect your tents immediately and prepare to head up the mountain.”

“Shall we go? Get the tent first?”

“Where did she go?”

Seeing the message Baldy posted in the group, Ji Yunfei turned her head to ask for Xie Yin’s opinion, only to find that the person standing beside her just a moment ago had vanished without a trace.

“Xie Yin?” Ji Yunfei circled the area, but she couldn’t find that familiar figure anywhere. A sense of unease began to climb into her heart. She pulled out her phone and sent a message.

FFF: “Where are you?”

Snake-Xie Beauty: “I’ll be back in a second. Wait for me.”

Thankfully, Xie Yin replied. Ji Yunfei’s anxious heart finally settled. She sat down on a large rock in front of the Wishing Tree and waited.

Patter, patter— “A-Fei.”

The sound of hurried footsteps approached. Xie Yin’s breathing was uneven as she softly called out. Ji Yunfei looked up and met those intoxicating eyes, noticing a faint trace of redness at the corners of Xie Yin’s eyelids.

Before her brain could even process it, Ji Yunfei reached out and touched that slight redness, her own brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

“Your eyes are red? What happened?”

Xie Yin showed a visible flash of panic, but she quickly regained her composure. She gently moved Ji Yunfei’s hand away from her eye and held it firmly instead.

Just as a look of confusion appeared in Ji Yunfei’s eyes, Xie Yin curled the corners of her mouth slightly, her tone tender.

“An insect bit me, don’t worry…” She paused, her smile widening as a mysterious glint entered her eyes.

“Are you sure? This clearly looks…” Ji Yunfei was still skeptical and intended to get to the bottom of it, but the person in front of her reached out with her free hand and covered Ji Yunfei’s lips.

The moment Xie Yin leaned in close, the scent of narcissus once again subtly melded into the surrounding air. Their foreheads touched. Xie Yin’s smiling eyes locked onto Ji Yunfei’s gaze, but Ji Yunfei didn’t dare maintain eye contact and immediately looked away.

“Don’t think too much… perhaps you could consider helping me ‘treat’ it?”

“If you kiss it here, it won’t be red anymore… how about it?” As she spoke, Xie Yin crouched down slightly, aligning the corner of her eye with Ji Yunfei’s lips, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“……”

“Xie Yin, have you no shame!”

Ji Yunfei didn’t answer, but her face turned beet red from her ears down to her neck. She moved Xie Yin’s hand away from her lips, extended her own index and middle fingers, and pressed them against her own mouth.

Mwah— Her lips met her fingers and quickly parted. She then pressed those two fingers against the reddish corner of Xie Yin’s eye, a touch that lasted only a second.

“There, kissed it—”

“Hurry, hurry, let’s head down and get the tent…” Belatedly realizing what she had just done, Ji Yunfei felt that “beauty truly leads one astray”…

How did she fall for Xie Yin’s trap again?

“Alright… let’s go.” Having succeeded in her little scheme, Xie Yin was in an excellent mood. She pursed her lips, looking very much like a satisfied cat, yet still seemingly craving more…

When can it be a real kiss?

“Feizi! CEO Xie! Over here!” As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, Chi Chang’s voice echoed from a distance. Ji Yunfei looked toward the sound and saw the person jumping and waving in the distance.

As the two approached, Chi Chang pulled a massive travel backpack from behind her. It had a Paul Frank monkey printed right in the middle, looking somewhat comical.

“I’ve already picked up your things. Luxury tents really are different.”

“They’re heavy.” Saying this, Chi Chang paused, made a clicking sound with her tongue, and pulled out a smaller travel bag from behind her.

“Look at ours, the bag is a size smaller.”

“But it’s also a lot lighter…”

“Here, catch!” Chi Chang handed the large travel bag to Ji Yunfei. While she was helping hold it, Ji Yunfei didn’t feel much, thinking it wasn’t as heavy as described.

However, the moment Chi Chang let go, Ji Yunfei stumbled under the weight, nearly toppling over with the bag. The embarrassment of a “social death” wrapped around her. Realizing Xie Yin was right there, she felt like she couldn’t show her face anymore.

No… she couldn’t let anyone laugh at her!

Adjusting her posture, Ji Yunfei gritted her teeth and hoisted the bag onto her back. She raised an eyebrow, feigning ease as she looked at Chi Chang and Xie Yin.

“Ahem, let’s go. Up the mountain!” She gave a light cough and turned to march toward the trail. She might not have felt it herself, but everyone else could see how heavy her steps were…

“Eek—”

“Saving face even if it kills her…” Watching the retreating figures of Ji Yunfei and Xie Yin, Chi Chang shook her head, worrying about her friend’s future “blissful” life.

Looking like this… it doesn’t seem like she’ll be the one on top…

“Does this thing… have rocks inside?”

“How can it be this heavy?”

“Will I even make it to the top today…”

Ji Yunfei regretted everything now, but she couldn’t show it. For the sake of her grand confession plan, she would endure this minor hardship!

Just as she was trudging up, suffering in silence, the weight behind her suddenly lightened. Turning around, she saw Xie Yin standing there, lifting the bottom of the backpack with both hands, looking effortless.

Seeing Ji Yunfei turn back, Xie Yin crinkled her eyes: “Want to switch? If I let you carry it the whole way by yourself, I’ll feel bad.”

“This thing is very heavy… you…” Ji Yunfei wasn’t really willing to let Xie Yin carry such a heavy load.

“Be good, let me. Seeing you this tired makes my heart ache…” With that, Xie Yin moved in, took the straps from Ji Yunfei’s shoulders, and swung the bag onto her own back.

“Tch—Xie Yin, you’re getting more and more brazen with your words…”

“No shame at all…”

“Fine… tell me if you get tired, don’t force yourself…”

“You should be saying that to yourself…”

“Your mouth is the only part of you that’s tough, A-Fei…”

“Xie Yin!!” Agitated, Ji Yunfei’s legs no longer ached and her waist wasn’t sore; she made a move to swat her, but Xie Yin dodged, leaving her hitting thin air.

“Alright, don’t chase me, it’s not safe. Let’s go, we need to reach the top before dark.”

“Mm…” Her cheek was gently pinched. Accompanied by Xie Yin’s softened, coaxing tone, Ji Yunfei’s “fur” was instantly smoothed. She nodded and proactively took the other’s hand.

Xie Yin was clearly caught off guard by the gesture. She froze for a moment, then suppressed her inner ecstasy, adjusting their grip to interlace their fingers tightly as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Let’s just walk together, hand in hand, like this.

“Huff—huff—”

“Cold, cold, cold—”

By the time they reached the summit, the sky was pitch black, and the mountain wind made them shiver. Ji Yunfei couldn’t help but huddle into herself, stomping her feet in place.

“You knew we were climbing, and you didn’t wear more layers?” A shirt jacket was draped over her shoulders. Ji Yunfei turned to meet Xie Yin’s slightly reproachful gaze.

Knowing she was in the wrong, she laughed sheepishly: “I just didn’t think it would be this cold…”

“Feizi! Come, come, come!”

“Ji Yunfei and CEO Xie? Perfect timing, come quickly!”

Looking toward the voices, the two saw several tents nearby and wisps of white smoke drifting in the air. As the night breeze blew, the scent of burning charcoal mixed with the aroma of food reached Ji Yunfei’s nose.

“Coming!” Responding to the crowd, Ji Yunfei pulled Xie Yin and ran against the wind toward the “base camp.”

“What are you all doing…?”

“Can’t you tell? Our tent squad is gathering for a BBQ.”

“It’s no fun whistling in the wind by yourself on the mountain. It’s better with more people, right?” Chi Chang patted Ji Yunfei’s shoulder, leading her to look around at everyone.

“Mm…”

“A-Fei, shall we put our things away first?”

“Go on, go on, we’ll wait for you!” Chi Chang, priding herself on her keen perception, winked at Ji Yunfei and quickly pushed them away, heading back to the colleagues grilling food.

“Let’s go set up the tent first.” “Okay.”

By the time the two had the tent pitched and their things organized, their colleagues were already sitting in a circle, laughing and talking.

“Done? Come, come, try some honey-glazed chicken wings grilled personally by Chef Chi~” Seeing the two join, Chi Chang grabbed a grilled drumstick and stuffed it toward Ji Yunfei’s mouth.

“So… delishush…” Suddenly fed, Ji Yunfei didn’t want to dismiss the kindness; she gave a thumbs up while chewing.

“Who knew this unreliable girl actually had some skill?”

“CEO Xie, want one?” Chi Chang didn’t leave out Xie Yin, picking up another drumstick and offering it.

“Hello? I dare you to try stuffing it directly into Xie Yin’s mouth too.”

“Thank you.” Xie Yin smiled lightly, took a napkin to accept the drumstick, and sat down with the still-chewing Ji Yunfei.

“Now that everyone is here—”

“Shouldn’t we have a little performance to liven things up?”

“Yes—!”

“You go first—!” Seeing Chi Chang rallying the atmosphere, Ji Yunfei shouted loudly as well. Tonight, she had to make this girl perform, especially since she spent all day teasing her.

“Me? Fine, but you have to perform afterward too, deal?” Chi Chang naturally wouldn’t take a loss and immediately put Ji Yunfei on the spot.

“Deal!”

As soon as the word left her mouth, Ji Yunfei saw Chi Chang’s mischievous “gotcha” smile. She clutched her head, the “screaming chicken” in her heart beginning to wail.

“Aaaaah—how did I trap myself again…”

As a total social introvert, performing in public was practically a nightmare.

“I’ll tell everyone a joke…”

“A little fish was caught cheating on an exam…”

The teacher asked: “Who did you copy?”

The little fish replied: “I copied the Clam…”

The teacher flew into a rage: “You’re ‘Excellent’ my foot!”

“……”

“Hahahaha—!” Chi Chang’s warm-up act instantly brightened the atmosphere. Seeing this, she walked up to Ji Yunfei with a wicked grin.

“Feizi, what are you going to perform?”

“Singing…”

Accompanied by everyone’s applause, Ji Yunfei walked to the center, gripped the microphone, and slowly began to sing with the backing track.

“The moon is high…”

“…”

“Kiss me once ’cause you know I had a long night…”

“…”

“I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings.”

“Uh-huh, that’s right. Darling, you’re the one I want.”

Using the song to express her heart, she didn’t know if Xie Yin could understand her response, but she hoped she would…

As she reached the emotional peak of the song, her gaze unconsciously moved to the person sitting cross-legged on the side. The woman had her black hair tied up high today; she was resting her chin on her hand, staring directly at her, her expression behind her gold-rimmed glasses hard to read.

Clap, clap, clap— As the song ended, applause rang out again. While the others were eagerly starting their own performances, Ji Yunfei ignored everything else and pulled Xie Yin away.

“It’s a rare chance to be on the mountain…”

“Shall we go look at the stars?”

“Okay.”

“Why did you suddenly think of looking at the stars?” Lying on the soft grass, Xie Yin looked at the somewhat silent Ji Yunfei and initiated the conversation.

“It’s romantic, isn’t it?”

“Look, that’s the North Star…” Ji Yunfei took Xie Yin’s hand and pointed to the star in the north that remained almost constant.

“It’s a fixed star, always staying in the same position…”

“So people often use it to find their way…”

“Before I met you, I seemed to be constantly lost in the tides of life, rising and falling, unable to find a way out.”

“I was prone to avoidance, cowardly…”

“Then you appeared, like a goddess descending from the heavens…”

“Inevitably, I fell for you…”

“Feelings are like that… they come so suddenly… my heart realized it before my brain did…”

“I didn’t dare face my own feelings… a sense of unworthiness often crushed me.”

“But your repeated, firm choices… finally gave me courage…”

“My North Star…”

“I don’t want to make you wait anymore…”

Finishing her words, Ji Yunfei sat up and looked at Xie Yin, who was still lying on the grass. She suppressed her emotions, rubbed her aching eyes, and pulled the prepared box from her pocket.

“That song just now was for you, Xie Yin.”

Ji Yunfei slowly opened “Pandora’s Box.” Inside lay a pair of red sandalwood couple’s rings, with silver lines outlining two different celestial bodies.

“The South Star symbolizes courage; through it, I am finally able to face my own emotions.”

“So… Xie Yin, are you willing to be my North Star?” Her heart beat like a drum, and the hand holding the ring trembled uncontrollably, revealing the irrepressible nerves in Ji Yunfei’s heart. She closed her eyes, waiting for a response.

“Dummy…”

“No matter how long it takes, I can wait…”

“I have already waited for so, so long, A-Fei…”

“As long as you are willing, I will always be by your side.”

“Just as I have been for over a thousand years…”

“Forever…”

“Life after life, until death do us part…”

“What are you waiting for? Waiting for me to put it on myself?” Seeing Ji Yunfei hadn’t made the next move, Xie Yin laughed softly and extended her left hand.

“Ah… right, let me.” Only after Xie Yin spoke did Ji Yunfei open her eyes. Hurriedly, she picked up the “North Star” and gently slipped it onto the other’s left middle finger. With the same motion, Xie Yin placed the “South Star” onto Ji Yunfei’s left middle finger.

“I also have something to give you…” Xie Yin took a red string from her inner pocket, with a black-and-gold jade sphere hanging from it.

“I requested this at the Mount Mingyang Temple… although superstition isn’t advisable, the Abbot said wearing this will keep you safe.” As she spoke, Xie Yin took Ji Yunfei’s right hand and tied the red string around her wrist, the fair skin making the red string appear even more vivid.

“A-Fei… can you feel it?” Finally, Xie Yin took Ji Yunfei’s hand and placed it over her own heart.

Thump—thump—thump— The frequency of the heartbeat beneath her hand was too high, almost scorching. Ji Yunfei tried to withdraw her hand, but Xie Yin pressed it back down.

“It’s losing its rhythm for you…”

“Maybe a kiss would make it better…”

“Do you want to help me?”

“Right now…”

“Kiss me.”

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