Beauty Snake - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: “Why Do You Look Half-Dead? What, Your Dear CEO Xie Dumped You?”

“Ugh… hiss…” A splitting pain tore through her head. Ji Yunfei furrowed her brows tightly. Just as she moved to rub her aching temples, the sharp sting in her shoulder forced her hand back down.

The lingering pain in her shoulder served as a constant, rhythmic reminder that everything that happened last night was real—not a dream.

Xie Yin is a lamia. A “snake beauty.”

“Xie Yin… Xie Yin…” Ji Yunfei opened her eyes, trying to find that familiar figure, but the vast room was empty of anyone but herself.

The messy “battlefield” from the night before had been restored to its original state at some point. The fallen bedding was neatly tucked over her, and the dolls that had been swept to the floor were all back in their proper places.

Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, filling the room with a warm glow. The room felt so cozy that it was as if nothing had happened, as if it were just another ordinary day.

Struggling to sit up, Ji Yunfei realized someone had dressed her naked body in Butterbear pajamas. The wound on her shoulder had been cleaned and wrapped in gauze.

It must have been Xie Yin’s doing.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table. There were no messages from Xie Yin, only sensationalist headlines from marketing accounts.

“The Paper News: Shocking! 25-year-old bride caught doing THIS with her mother-in-law…”

“xxx Novels: 24-hour novel resources, everything you want, don’t miss out…”

“C-City Daily: Early this morning, a major traffic accident occurred on Pinghe Road heading toward Lijia Village…”

“Nothing but clickbait. Boring.” Ji Yunfei muttered, swiping away the clutter and clicking into her chat with Xie Yin.

“Snake Beauty Xie…”

She hadn’t expected the nickname she gave her on a whim to be so accidentally accurate.

“FFF: Xie Yin, are you okay?”

“FFF: We need to talk properly when you have time, okay?”

The messages were sent, but the person who usually replied in seconds remained silent. Ji Yunfei waited anxiously, but there was nothing she could do.

“They are probably coming…”

“They… who exactly are ‘they’?” Recalling the solemn tone Xie Yin used when mentioning them last night made Ji Yunfei’s heart race with unease. Whoever this group was, they were likely dangerous.

Buzz— Her phone vibrated, pulling her back.

“The Baldie: Revise these design proposals this afternoon. The client isn’t satisfied.”

Right. It wasn’t the weekend; she had to work. But judging by the boss’s tone, Xie Yin had likely already called in for her.

If that was the case, shouldn’t Xie Yin be at the company? Ji Yunfei began to comfort herself, holding onto hope as she got out of bed to wash up. She wanted to get to the office as soon as possible to see her.

“Hey, have you heard? The workaholic CEO Xie actually didn’t show up today. It’s a miracle.”

“What? She was fine yesterday. Why the sudden absence?”

“I heard she met some young toy-boy at the charity gala last night, and after a wild night… well, you know.”

Inside a bathroom stall, Ji Yunfei gritted her teeth, listening to the employees gossiping outside. Hearing that Xie Yin wasn’t at work made her heart sink heavily. But as their speculations grew increasingly vulgar, she slammed the door open, holding her phone toward them.

“Everything you just said, I recorded it.”

“If CEO Xie knew that the subordinates she treats with sincerity were spreading such disgusting rumors behind her back, what do you think she would do?”

The group panicked upon seeing someone else was in the restroom. They stammered, “You… you’re just acting self-righteous! Tsk, let’s go, don’t waste time on her.”

With that, they fled as if their feet were greased.

Ji Yunfei sighed, walked to the sink, and splashed cold water on her face. The biting chill seeped into her skin, clearing her head slightly. While revising the designs, her mind was filled with images of Xie Yin from last night. Her heart was consumed by Xie Yin’s whereabouts, making it impossible to focus. A design that should have taken an hour took her double the time.

Ji Yunfei slowly looked up, pulling her collar aside to look at the wound on her shoulder in the mirror. Her hand instinctively touched the gauze. Ignoring the faint stinging pain, she stroked it and whispered, “Xie Yin, do you not want to see me?”

She spent the afternoon in a daze, and soon it was time to clock out. Ji Yunfei was physically and mentally exhausted, wanting only to rush home and look for more clues about Xie Yin.

“Fei-zi, want to grab dinner? It’s Friday—no work tomorrow! Let’s have a feast!” While waiting for the elevator, a pair of hands covered her eyes, and Chi Chang’s mischievous voice sounded in her ear.

She swatted Chi Chang’s hands away and said weakly, “Not in the mood…”

Seeing this reaction, Chi Chang raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. “Why do you look half-dead? What, your dear CEO Xie dumped you?”

It was meant as a joke, but Chi Chang couldn’t have known that those words were needles stabbing right into Ji Yunfei’s already breaking heart.

“Uwaa…” The accumulated emotions could no longer be suppressed. Seeing that no one else was around, Ji Yunfei stopped hiding. She grabbed Chi Chang’s hand, pulled it in front of her face, and began to sob quietly.

“Holy crap, did I actually get it right? Hey, don’t cry! I really didn’t mean it…” Chi Chang panicked instantly. Noticing people walking toward the elevator lobby, she quickly dragged Ji Yunfei toward the stairs, away from the crowd. “You idiot, stop crying…”

“You’re saying… Xie Yin is that lamia??” Chi Chang’s eyes widened as she looked at Ji Yunfei, whose eyes were still red and swollen. She was filled with disbelief.

“Shh, keep it down.” Seeing Chi Chang’s stunned expression, Ji Yunfei sniffled and put a finger to her lips.

“I know it sounds insane, but that’s the truth…” Ji Yunfei poked absentmindedly at the food in her bowl, not noticing she had turned it into a mushy mess. “When she realized she had transformed, her eyes were so complex… she looked like she was in pain.”

“She knocked me out, cleaned everything up, and vanished without a word.” Ji Yunfei bit her lip and looked at Chi Chang seriously. “Do you think… she’s avoiding me on purpose?”

“Well… we’ve all heard the Legend of the White Snake, right?” Chi Chang rubbed her chin, theorizing. “You said she bit you, looked agonized, and mentioned a mysterious ‘them’.”

“Could it be a bunch of Fa Hai-like monks trying to drag her back to Leifeng Pagoda?”

“……” Ji Yunfei fell silent. Her first instinct was that Chi Chang’s theory was nonsense. But on second thought, if a snake demon was real, then anything was possible…

A jolt went through her mind. she remembered someone she had pushed to the back of her head—the old abbot at Qingshan Temple.

“We are fated to meet today. This sachet can keep you safe…”

“Benefactor, do not be blinded by beauty… You cannot be Xu Xian today…”

“I say, do you remember our last trip to Qingshan Temple?” Her fingers began to tap the table rhythmically as she tried to recall every detail. “Could it be related to that sachet…”

“Damn, now that you mention it, it’s possible!” Chi Chang remembered that day too. She suggested, “Tomorrow is the weekend anyway. Why don’t we go there again? No matter what, it’s the only clue we have. It’s worth a shot.”

“If it really was that abbot’s doing, what will you do? Become a monk like Xu Xian and guard Leifeng Pagoda forever?” Chi Chang joked, trying to lift the heavy mood.

“Oh, shut up with your nonsense…” Ji Yunfei showed her first genuine smile of the day.

Though she acted annoyed with Chi Chang, she was thinking internally: If it really was the old abbot’s handiwork, if I really had to be like Xu Xian… that wouldn’t be impossible.

At some point, she had placed Xie Yin above everything else in her heart, even herself.

“Welcome to Tonight’s News—”

“Today, we report a major traffic accident that occurred at 3:00 AM.”

“Reportedly, at 3:00 AM on Pinghe Road heading toward Lijia Village, a yellow-and-black Ferrari (License Plate: Jiang C7777) collided with a private car (License Plate: Jiang CSD563). Following the Ferrari, three more private cars were involved in a pile-up. A severe explosion occurred at the scene, resulting in a horrific situation.”

“According to speed cameras on that stretch of road, the Ferrari was severely speeding, leading to suspicions of street racing.”

The television in the employee cafeteria was broadcasting the day’s major news. Hearing about the accident, Chi Chang clicked her tongue in disdain. “Probably some rich second-generation brat racing his head off. No respect for life.”

Ji Yunfei didn’t respond, silently picking at her rice. She only cared about Xie Yin’s safety; news about playboys seeking their own deaths didn’t interest her.

“Oh, you have no idea. I was sleeping soundly when that engine roar woke me up. I was so mad I was cursing in the street,” a resident said in an interview with a reporter on the screen.

Interestingly, many people in the city had heard the engine roar. Ji Yunfei’s sharp eyes recognized a curly-haired woman among the crowd—a wealthy lady who also lived in Lanting Yayuan.

“Mrs. Zhang heard it too…” Then why didn’t she? Ji Yunfei frowned slightly, but then remembered she had been knocked unconscious. It made sense that she didn’t hear it.

“Who’s Mrs. Zhang?”

“Oh, nothing. A wealthy lady from my complex, she was just in that interview.” Chi Chang’s question pulled her back. She looked up at the wall-mounted TV.

The news was now showing on-site footage of the accident. Behind the reporter in a trench coat were raging flames. Firefighters worked tirelessly and soon extinguished the fire.

As the camera panned, Ji Yunfei saw the charred, grey ruins of a car. From within the wreckage, several bodies—burned almost to charcoal—were being carried out.

“Reportedly, about six bodies were found, all unrecognizable. During the on-site investigation, police found a ring, suspected to be a memento belonging to one of the deceased.”

“A ring…” An ominous feeling grew in Ji Yunfei’s chest. She prayed it wasn’t what she thought…

But the moment the photo of the ring in the evidence bag appeared on screen, she heard a clear sound of something shattering. It was her heart.

“The North Star…”

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