Beauty Snake - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: “I Told You To Watch Over A-Fei. Is This How You Watch Her?”

Creak—

Inside the room, the dim yellow light flickered. Pangpang, coiled inside his enclosure, recognized Xie Yin’s footsteps. He opened his vertical pupils, straightened his body, and flicked his tongue rapidly, appearing quite excited.

Xie Yin walked up to him with light steps and, without making physical contact, delivered a sharp “spiritual” flick to Pangpang’s little snake head.

“Hiss-hiss-hiss—Boss, have mercy—!” Pangpang, not knowing what he had done wrong, raised his ethereal “hands” to clutch his head and wailed in place.

“I told you to watch over A-Fei. Is this how you watch her?” Xie Yin truly regretted letting this airhead stay by Ji Yunfei’s side. She was lucky he hadn’t caused even more trouble.

She blamed her own soft heart. Back then, Pangpang had cried such a pathetic river of tears, snot and all, insisting he couldn’t bear to leave Ji Yunfei. Seeing him so desperate, Xie Yin had relented, letting him stay as the sole “surviving” snake to provide Ji Yunfei some psychological comfort.

“It’s not my fault, Boss! I’m cooped up in this tiny space all day, my vision is limited—you really can’t blame me…” Pangpang tucked his head under his tail, his entire body trembling. He had seen Xie Yin’s power before and had no desire to provoke her further.

“A-Fei said Hehei saw something that made him act strangely. Did you sense anything? I tempered your body and boosted your spiritual power before I left. If there was an anomaly, you shouldn’t have been unresponsive.” Xie Yin didn’t soften her tone. Since this involved Ji Yunfei’s safety, she wouldn’t let it go easily.

Pangpang peeked an eye out from under his tail, appearing to think deeply. Suddenly, his tail tip began to wiggle. “I remember! I remember!”

“At that time, I suddenly felt incredibly groggy. I couldn’t pull myself together and just wanted to sleep. In my daze, I felt a weak ripple of spiritual energy near the living room or the balcony.” He furrowed his non-existent brows, sounding hesitant. “But it only lasted a second, and the ripple was so weak I thought it was an illusion, so I ignored it.”

Because he thought it was a dream, Pangpang had closed his eyes again, only to be startled awake shortly after by Ji Yunfei’s cry of pain. Though he wanted to see what happened, the grogginess persisted. Moreover, he feared that sneaking out would make Ji Yunfei suspicious, so he hadn’t moved—until Xie Yin entered just now and the fog in his mind finally cleared.

Xie Yin rubbed her chin, falling into silence. According to Pangpang, things were likely not that simple… A weak spiritual ripple, a groggy Pangpang, and an abnormal cat.

“Xie Yin—I’m ready!”

“Huh? Where did she go?” Ji Yunfei finished packing and came out of the bedroom, only to find Xie Yin missing from the sofa. Looking around, she saw the door to the snake room slightly ajar. She crept over and saw Pangpang coiled in a ball and Xie Yin standing before the enclosure with a grim expression.

“Why did you run in here? With such a serious face, too—anyone would think Pangpang offended you.” She approached Xie Yin, wrapped her arms around her waist, and teased her softly in her ear.

Xie Yin gave a silent huff. This fellow definitely offended me, she thought. Even if it’s not entirely his fault, he’s definitely getting some of the blame!

“This snake isn’t being good. His rations should be cut,” Xie Yin said lazily, a small smirk playing on her lips.

“What! Pangpang! You rascal—no extra frog snacks for you this week!” Ji Yunfei reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, indignantly pronouncing Pangpang’s “death sentence.”

While not an actual death sentence, to Pangpang, losing a week of extra frogs was worse than death.

“Alright, let’s go get your vaccination. This can’t wait.” Hearing the “Judge’s” verdict, Xie Yin pulled at Yunfei’s sleeve in a good mood and led her out. Before leaving the room, she turned back and made a “throat-slitting” gesture to Pangpang when Yunfei wasn’t looking. The message was clear: if this happens again, it won’t just be the frogs.

“Should we take Hehei too? Maybe get her checked at the pet hospital? In case she reacted that way because I touched a spot that was hurting…”

“Then let’s bring her. Let’s go.” Xie Yin decided before Yunfei could finish hesitating. In a few quick moves, she had Hehei tucked into a cat carrier and slung over her shoulder.

Ding-ling—

The glass door opened, letting in a cool breeze that made the wind chimes at the front desk chime crisply.

“Hello, we’re here to see Dr. Tan. We have an appointment.” Ji Yunfei handed the carrier to Xie Yin and walked to the desk with Hehei’s medical records.

“Xiao Fei? You’re here?” A tall woman with semi-rimmed glasses and her black hair in a high bun walked out of the exam room. Her white coat was buttoned to the very top, looking almost stiffly professional.

Seeing Ji Yunfei, her eyes crinkled. She immediately looked for Hehei. Seeing Yunfei’s empty hands, she looked confused—until she saw Xie Yin behind her. Her confusion instantly turned into a meaningful look.

Ah… Hehei and Baibai… I get it now. She had never seen these two come in together before.

Tan Qiao took the carrier from Xie Yin and told the receptionist, “Xiao Chen, Hehei is here for a full check-up. Register her.” Then she looked at the two women. “Come on in.”

“What made you want a full check-up so suddenly? Didn’t we do one when you first rescued her? It hasn’t been that long.” Tan Qiao arched an eyebrow, not understanding Yunfei’s sudden urge to spend money.

Ji Yunfei didn’t say a word. She simply held out her “honorably wounded” right hand and rolled up her sleeve.

“Hiss…” Even as a veteran vet, Tan Qiao winced. She could guess what had happened. She shook her head and began examining Hehei. Throughout the touching, pressing, and blood-drawing, Hehei was perfectly behaved, even affectionately licking Tan Qiao’s gloved hand.

While waiting for the results, Tan Qiao looked at Yunfei’s wounds. “Based on my professional judgment, Hehei is perfectly healthy.”

“And you know her personality best; she’s not the type to lose her mind and attack her owner… this hand of yours…” She paused. “The elders say black cats are spiritually sensitive… could it be…?”

You couldn’t blame Tan Qiao for being superstitious. She used to be a firm atheist—until she met Mu Yunhan. Now, her worldview had been completely rebuilt.

“You think so too, right! I thought the same thing, but Xie Yin thinks I’m just being imaginative…” Seeing that Tan Qiao agreed with her, Ji Yunfei’s eyes lit up and she leaned in closer to the vet.

At this, someone’s “vinegar jar” (jealousy) tipped over. Xie Yin was smiling, but Ji Yunfei suddenly felt a chill, and a second later, her ear was being pinched.

“Shouldn’t a normal person’s first thought be that Hehei is unwell? And you’re proud of being superstitious, hm?”

“Ow, ow, ow—I was wrong, I was wrong—!” Pulled by her ear, Ji Yunfei moved away from Tan Qiao, clutching her ear and acting piteous.

“Pfft—I’ll go get the reports. You two wait here.” Seeing the “domestic dispute,” Tan Qiao felt like a third wheel and made a quick exit.

“Alright, are you angry again? You’re such a jealous soul.” Ji Yunfei had caught the heavy scent of “vinegar” in Xie Yin’s voice. Now that the coast was clear, she could focus on coaxing her.

“Who’s jealous? Don’t flatter yourself.” Caught red-handed, Xie Yin’s face heated up, but she remained stubborn, crossing her arms and turning her back.

Ji Yunfei tried to hug her, but was pushed away. She bit her lip and had a sudden brainwave: “Awoo… it hurts, hurts, hurts—!” She wailed while peeking to see Xie Yin’s reaction.

As expected, the moment she heard the cry, the person who had been projecting a “prickly” aura panicked. Xie Yin spun around and anxiously took her injured hand. “What’s wrong? Did I push too hard? I—”

Mid-sentence, Xie Yin saw Yunfei’s body shaking with suppressed laughter. The worry on her face turned into embarrassed annoyance. “You’re playing me?”

“Well, you were clearly worried sick but tried to hide it. Hypocrite.” Taking advantage of the opening, Ji Yunfei hugged Xie Yin’s waist, not letting her turn away again.

“……” Xie Yin was speechless. She wanted to pull away but was afraid of actually hurting her, so she simply went silent, looking down.

“Ahem—sorry to disturb you…” Tan Qiao walked back in to see them embracing—one with a fawning smile, the other cold-faced but with bright red ears.

The “ambush” startled them. They scrambled apart, busy brushing off non-existent dust and straightening their clothes.

Tan Qiao chuckled inwardly but kept a straight face as she showed them the reports. “As I thought, Hehei is perfectly healthy. Can you rest easy now?”

No, no, no, Ji Yunfei shouted in her heart. While Hehei being healthy was good, it made the sudden aggression even more terrifying!

Seeing the fear in Yunfei’s eyes, Tan Qiao added, “Maybe some bird she’d never seen before flew past the window, and it made her a bit… you know… Anyway, don’t take what I said earlier too seriously. Superstition isn’t commendable.”

“I get it, I get it…” Ji Yunfei smiled outwardly while weeping inwardly. She made a mental note to visit the old abbot at Qingshan Temple again when she had time.

Leaving the hospital, Ji Yunfei was lost in thought. Xie Yin wanted to speak but couldn’t find the right words. Just then, the phone in her pocket vibrated.

“Hello? President Qin?”

“A charity gala? Yes, I understand.”

Xie Yin hung up, her brow relaxing. She tugged at Yunfei’s sleeve. “A-Fei.”

“Hmm?” Ji Yunfei snapped out of her daze.

“Qin Xiang is hosting a charity gala next week and wants me to bring a few of our top designers. Want to come with me?”

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