Pampered Little Snake, Give Me a Kiss - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Toss and Turn

Seeing that the little snake was still listless, Song Keling calmed herself down. She set her bag aside, placed the medication and disposable syringes from her pocket onto the desk, then locked her room door and went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

Once finished, she put on disposable gloves. Using the handle of a metal spoon, she crushed the anti-inflammatory tablet into a fine powder, poured a little mineral water into a cup, and stirred the powder in until it was evenly mixed.

Qianqian had no idea what the human was doing. She only knew that despite being right in front of her, the human wasn’t looking at her or talking to her. This felt very unfair. Has this person forgotten the terrible thing she did? Just as Qianqian was about to crawl down from her hide to give her a “reminder,” the lid above her was suddenly opened.

Opened? She could go out!

Qianqian excitedly twitched her long tail, only to be lifted up by the head…

Song Keling had finished her preparations. Ideally, she would have mixed the powder into the water so the snake would ingest it while drinking. But Qianqian refused to drink standing water. The mineral water she had poured into the pudding cup earlier hadn’t decreased even a bit. Forced feeding was the only option.

But before administering the medicine, Song Keling needed to carefully confirm whether Qianqian actually had pneumonia.

Qianqian was being touched. She sensitively twisted her body as every inch of her was slowly stroked by warm fingers. It felt strange—it made the snake nervous and shy because it was very ticklish.

Qianqian twisted more and more vigorously, eventually and involuntarily hooking her tail directly around Song Keling’s fingertip. So comfortable… All the strange sensations eventually merged into a tingling, numbing comfort that the snake really enjoyed. Hmph, cunning human, do you think you can settle the score just by pleasing me like this? Impossible!

Being held up, Qianqian flicked her thin black tongue at Song Keling—Unless you touch me a little longer! Even longer! And you have to do it every day!

Song Keling, unaware, saw the little snake flicking its tongue while its vivid red pupils looked over. The golden vertical slits seemed to have dilated slightly. Was the pressure from my hand too much?

Song Keling adjusted her grip, using her thumb to slowly straighten Qianqian’s body to better feel for any abnormal swelling or hard lumps in the lung area. When the tail hooked around her, Song Keling was surprised to find that she actually had quite a bit of strength. She wasn’t as spiritless and limp as she appeared.

“Back to life, are we?” Song Keling murmured, looking at the snake.

She gently unrolled the snake’s tail and did a thorough physical exam but found no abnormalities. For a second time, the thin tail hooked back on. Looking at the slender, pale white tail coiled around her index finger and knowing the snake had strength, Song Keling felt a portion of her worry lift. A faint smile touched her lips.

In the past, the little creature had been too “good,” never wrapping around her when handled. Tonight was a first. Moreover, there was no constricting force; clearly, this wasn’t a sign of tension or discomfort.

With her index finger hooked, Song Keling used the pad of her thumb to stroke downward along the soft belly scales, passing over the old surgical site. The scar was almost invisible now, appearing only as a slight indentation. Being near the cloaca, it was easy to misidentify.

Qianqian was a very beautiful little female snake. Song Keling had determined her sex by observing the cloaca during the surgery. Back then, the little creature was at death’s door, with even her beautiful scales slightly upturned. Now, things were different; she was vibrant, every scale perfectly shaped. Under specific lighting, her white color shimmered with brilliance.

As she gently stroked the snake, Song Keling thought with a trace of dark humor that if the snake were a human, this behavior would constitute “sexual harassment.”

Stopping her movements, Song Keling laid the snake flat on the desk. Touch alone couldn’t be a final judgment; she had to observe symptoms. Generally, snakes with pneumonia have sluggish reactions—just as Qianqian had acted earlier. It was only subtle because Qianqian was naturally slow.

Song Keling placed her hands on either side of the snake’s head and tail, occasionally tapping the left and then the right to judge her reaction time. Throughout, she remained vigilant, maintaining a safe distance. Despite Qianqian’s lack of aggression tonight, she was still a venomous snake.

Hearing the movements, Qianqian tilted her head in confusion. She raised her upper body slightly. No more touching? She looked at the left hand, then turned to look at the right. The human had two hands, but she only had one tail…

A snake’s brain capacity wasn’t enough to process such complex problems. Finally, she looked up at the person. At first, she couldn’t see her clearly, only hearing a reassuring voice and feeling warm touches. Now, she saw a person.

Does this human realize how smart and sensible I am? Is that why she chose to play with me instead of staying with that invader I drove away? The snake flicked its tongue. I forgive you. It was a very generous snake!

She used her tail to pin down the moving finger, wrapping around it twice. She flicked her tongue at Song Keling: Don’t leave with that person again. Fine, now continue touching me!

Song Keling felt her finger being constricted by the tail again. Just how obsessed is this little thing with my finger? Still, judging by the reactions, Qianqian didn’t seem listless anymore.

While it didn’t look like pneumonia, she had the medicine, so she decided on a preventative dose. She would skip the difficult injection and just do oral meds.

Song Keling withdrew her finger, keeping an eye on Qianqian while opening the syringe packaging. The little creature was slow and didn’t like to move; although there was a risk in keeping her out of the box, it was minimal. Without attaching a needle, she just filled the syringe with the medicated water to pump it into the snake’s mouth.

Qianqian was lifted again. This time, her tail acted on its own, coiling perfectly around Song Keling’s wrist. The cool texture felt like smooth jade.

But the elegance was short-lived. Her mouth was forced open, and a strange object was shoved in. Food? I’m not hungry! Despite this, Qianqian instinctively bit down hard, but was immediately met with a strange, bitter taste. She let go and whipped her head violently from side to side. No eat! No eat!

Administering medicine to snakes is always a hassle, which is why pneumonia is so dangerous for them. Song Keling wasn’t surprised by the struggle and pushed the plunger faster.

Qianqian struggled until she had no strength left. She’s going to kill me!! She felt sad, angry, and miserable. She completely let go of Song Keling’s wrist.

Song Keling knew snakes had poor stamina. After finishing the dose, she set the syringe down and stroked Qianqian’s head and collapsed horn scales. “So obedient. I’ll bring you a little mouse tomorrow.”

Tonight’s ordeal had exhausted the little snake. Song Keling put her back in the box and closed the lid. Heartbroken, Qianqian didn’t look at her again; she flicked her tongue and vanished into the hide.

Unaware of the snake’s “rich emotions,” Song Keling washed up and went to bed. Between the trip to Xuetai and the recent events, she was exhausted. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

She dreamed of a rainstorm. She was at the school gate waiting for a taxi. A private car stopped, and a beautiful girl in a white dress asked: “Do you want to get in?” The voice was familiar, like someone she knew. Song Keling instinctively felt a sense of trust.

Later, they were in a room that looked like a dorm, playing and laughing until they rolled onto the bed. There was no physical sensation of a kiss, but there was a deep throb of excitement. Then, the scene jumped to a wedding. Her parents and mentors were applauding. Her Senior Sister shouted: “I knew you two would end up together!”

Back at their new home, she called out: “Qianqian?” There was no answer. She pulled back the bed curtains, only to find a massive white snake with horn scales writhing on the bed. Seeing her, the white snake spoke in a human voice: “Was there realgar in the wine tonight?”

Song Keling woke up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding. The dream was so complete—a modern version of Legend of the White Snake.

“How ridiculous,” she muttered. It was likely a mix of Senior Su’s pursuit, the strange return of the snake, and her classmates’ jokes.

She got up and checked the snake. The little creature was healthy. Song Keling decided she needed to stop personifying the snake; it was creating “useless communication” and causing these bizarre dreams.

The next day after class, Song Keling was caught by Zhu Cai Xia regarding group work. As they walked down, they saw Su Yili waiting at the teaching building.

“She’s looking for you,” Zhu Cai Xia said, leaving quickly.

Su Yili was with a stranger. “This is my friend Xiao Ya. She’s a reptile enthusiast and has several snakes at home.”

Song Keling’s heart sank. She knew where this was going.

Xiao Ya went straight to the point: “Su Su told me you saved a wild snake but you’re too busy to take care of it. I can help you look after it for a few days. I even have two White-lipped Pit Vipers.”

Song Keling refused: “Thank you, but it’s no trouble.”

Su Yili pushed: “But keeping a venomous snake in a dorm is dangerous. What if it bites someone?”

Song Keling: “I will watch over her.” She felt responsible. Handing the snake to anyone else felt like an act of betrayal.

Xiao Ya compromised: “Can I at least see it? Su Su said it has white scales and horns. That sounds a bit like a Bush Viper (Atheris).”

Song Keling continued eating without answering.

Su Yili said: “Let’s go take a look now. It’s on the way to the lab. Maybe Xiao Ya can identify it for you.”

Song Keling looked up. “I’m going to the lab after this. I’m very busy tonight.”

Xiao Ya added: “It will only take a few minutes. I’ll even rent a bike for you afterward so you can get to the lab faster.”

Support Pampered Little Snake, Give Me a Kiss