Pampered Little Snake, Give Me a Kiss - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Bring It On

Song Keling was meticulous, patient, and emotionally stable.

Since the latter half of joining the research group, she had performed almost all the surgeries in the laboratory herself, and she had never failed. To others, half a year might not seem like much, but with her aptitude, six months was enough to say she was quite experienced.

She injected a suitable amount of anesthetic into the little white snake. Once the drug took effect, she picked up the scalpel.

The sky gradually brightened. The early morning air was fresh.

Outside the laboratory corridor, Qiao Ying walked with a bag in her left hand and her phone in her right, typing away while biting into a red bean bun. Beside her, Lu Yunli was talking to her, and she nodded in response with muffled “mhm”s.

As they reached the lab, Lu Yunli was about to pull out her keys when she saw the door was slightly ajar. Surprised, she tucked her keys away and pushed the door open, saying, “Who’s here so early?”

Previously, she might have guessed it was the Junior Sister, but the Junior had just gone to Xuetai for field practice and wasn’t expected back for at least five days.

Entering the inner room of the lab, they saw Song Keling at the operating table, focused on suturing a wound on a snake. They looked at each other for a moment and silently mouthed the question—Why is she back?

Neither of them spoke to disturb her; they tacitly retreated to the outer room.

As Song Keling finished the final touches, she used her fingertip to gently lift the little snake’s head. Due to the anesthesia, the snake’s tongue was uncontrollable; a thin, black flickering slip hung out. Its dorsal scales and ridges became indistinct, and those crimson vertical pupils, which had originally glowed with shifting light, now looked dazed.

The effects of the drug would take several hours to fade.

Song Keling took off her gloves, stretched her back, and rotated her stiff neck before going to wash her hands. This juvenile snake’s injuries were too severe, and much time had been lost in transit. Now that she had done all that was humanly possible, it was up to fate.

After washing her hands, Song Keling found a new “scumbag box” (a plastic enclosure) in the lab, used newspaper as bedding, and dug out a smart thermo-hygrometer. She carefully placed the little white snake inside the box, turned off the lights, and walked out of the operating room.

Immediately, she saw her two Seniors. She froze for a moment, then looked outside to see the day had fully dawned. This surgery had actually taken over two hours.

Qiao Ying wasn’t surprised and said, “Come over and eat breakfast.” She had specifically gone back to the cafeteria to buy extra when she saw Song Keling was there.

Song Keling’s stomach was empty. Seeing the variety of food, she didn’t stand on ceremony. She put down the box, picked up a bun and soy milk, and said, “Thanks, Senior Sister Qiao.”

Lu Yunli asked, “Junior Sister, when did you get back? Weren’t you supposed to be at the field internship?”

“I ran into an accident and came back early,” Song Keling replied between bites.

Qiao Ying, also eating, gestured with her chin toward the box on the table. “Just for this little snake seedling?”

Song Keling: “Mhm.”

Lu Yunli took the box, opened it to see the motionless little white snake, and asked uncertainly, “Is it a Blizzard?”

“Let me see,” Qiao Ying leaned in. It was a very good-looking white pet snake. Without looking too closely, she said, “A Blizzard Florida King Snake, probably. Not a Corn Snake.”

“Oh right, it’s a King Snake. The little guy is quite cute.” Lu Yunli closed the lid and looked at Song Keling. “Whose snake is it? Why did they ask you to bring it back for surgery?”

Song Keling said, “I found it on the mountain.”

“Found it?” Lu Yunli was shocked. “Who would be so wicked as to buy one just to abandon it?”

Qiao Ying interrupted, “Hey, a snake like this costs several thousand yuan. With such good looks, it definitely wasn’t ‘released’ (abandoned for religious merit). It probably escaped.”

Song Keling didn’t know much about foreign pet snakes, so she silently noted the two types they mentioned before explaining, “I was almost at the summit when I saw its tail crushed by a rock. It was pinned and couldn’t move.”

Qiao Ying asked, “And so, to save it, you gave up your field internship and rushed back overnight for surgery?”

Song Keling responded, “Mhm. I’ve already completed all my credits anyway.”

“You silly girl, is this about credits? Field internship opportunities are hard to come by!”

“Exactly,” Lu Yunli echoed. “If you really wanted to save it, there must be pet hospitals in the Xuetai area. You could have just sent it there.”

Song Keling had considered that. But the little snake’s origin was unknown—specifically its species, structure, and toxicity. If she sent it to a pet hospital, nine times out of ten, the vet would refuse treatment due to the risks.

Looking at the little white snake lying quietly after surgery, Song Keling felt a twinge in her heart and sighed softly. “The injury was quite heavy. I felt more at ease doing it myself.”

As for whether it would survive…

Seeing her mood affected, Qiao Ying felt a bit surprised but took the opportunity of throwing away the breakfast bag to tease her: “Fine, fine. Our Junior Sister has superb skills and a benevolent heart; she’s a modern-day Living Xu Xian (the man who married the White Snake). You better watch out—if this little snake cultivates into a human later, it’ll come back to repay your kindness.”

Lu Yunli joined in, leaning over the box to observe. She laughed, “Oh, it’s a little female snake. In the future, she’ll turn into a beautiful girl—just a perfect match for our Keling.”

Song Keling knew her seniors were teasing her. Her heavy heart lightened slightly. Taking a bite of her bun, she smiled and said: “Bring it on. Anyway, I definitely won’t be scared to death.”

After breakfast, the seniors immediately sent Song Keling away. Looking at her messy ponytail and wrinkled tracksuit, it was clear she had pulled an all-nighter. They told her to hurry back to the dorm to catch up on sleep.

Song Keling returned to her dormitory—a luxury double room in the new building completed a few years ago. Her roommate hadn’t returned from the internship. She placed the box on her desk.

The anesthesia hadn’t worn off. The little snake lay limply and awkwardly on the newspaper, motionless. Seeing this, Song Keling opened a bottle of mineral water, poured some into the cap, and placed it in the corner of the box so the snake could drink once the anesthesia wore off.

She stretched her neck and did a few chest expansions before taking her phone into the bathroom to wash up. While brushing her teeth, she looked up the species; it didn’t look like the Albino Corn Snake or King Snake her seniors had mentioned.

Song Keling remembered clearly: when she found the little snake, it had keeled scales, a protruding dorsal ridge, and it even flattened its neck. Its tail had been crushed by rocks and couldn’t be seen clearly then, but during surgery, she saw it tapered off abruptly.

If it wasn’t a non-venomous snake skilled at mimicking venomous ones, then based on those features, it was 100% a highly lethal venomous snake.

Although she intended to rest, Song Keling only slept for two hours. Upon waking, she immediately checked on the snake. Its posture had changed slightly—not much, but enough to show the anesthesia was fading.

Song Keling cycled to the campus library to borrow several thick illustrated snake encyclopedias. They were massive, heavier and larger than bricks.

Time slipped away quietly. As the sun set, Song Keling was still flipping through the books. After looking for a while, she began to forget her original purpose. She was currently looking at a Bitis arietans (Puff Adder)—a “fat otaku” snake, short and chubby, a highly venomous snake that looked like an alien. She knew about them before, but seeing the high-definition photo, she couldn’t help but say, “Ugly.”

Just as the word left her mouth, a movement came from beside her.

Song Keling looked over. She saw the little white snake slowly moving from one corner of the box to the other end, far away from the book.

Song Keling couldn’t help but curl her lips. She said to the snake, “Did the ugliness scare you too?”

Hearing the voice, the little snake stopped and turned its head slightly. Under its snow-white scales, those crimson vertical pupils had regained their beautiful luster. Its tail, which had become abruptly shorter in the latter half, was slowly coiling up; the stitches didn’t seem to have affected its mobility too much.

After that, the entire snake remained motionless. It had excellent core strength and seemed to be observing Song Keling through its crimson eyes.

For some reason, Song Keling stayed in a “staring contest” with it for nearly half a minute before suddenly standing up. “Time for dinner!”

That evening, Song Keling readjusted the humidity based on the temperature and spoke to the snake: “I don’t know what kind of snake you are, so I can’t simulate the environment you like. Just bear with this for now, okay?”

The snake gave no response. It coiled in the innermost part of the box, its pupils narrowed into thin vertical lines, watching Song Keling without moving.

Song Keling tapped her fingertip lightly on the transparent box, making a small sound, but it didn’t startle the coiled snake.

“Remember to drink water.” Song Keling didn’t withdraw her finger. Her voice was soft. Looking at its coiled form, she added, “Let’s give you a name. Hmm… how about ‘Xiao Bai’ (Little White)?”

The snake remained motionless in its original position.

After saying it, Song Keling tilted her head and thought. “Xiao Bai” seemed a bit too casual; even puppies weren’t named that anymore these days. But she couldn’t call it “Bai Suzhen” (the White Snake Legend), could she?

Song Keling looked back at the little white snake. Its “visual value” was truly high. Despite having just finished surgery and being in a poor mental state, every part of it—from the snow-white scales to the crimson pupils, including the thin gold-green longitudinal line formed by the dorsal scales—was exquisite, beautiful, stunning, and lovable.

After watching for a while, Song Keling couldn’t help but get her camera and turn on a desk lamp.

The sudden bright light seemed to scare the snake. Its body, which had been resting comfortably, immediately uncoiled and moved toward her side!

Song Keling hurried to turn off the lamp. The snake stopped, raised its neck slightly, and turned its head, looking like it had a lingering fear, as if confirming whether the danger had disappeared.

Poor little thing, it’s become a ‘snake startled by the bow’ (scared of everything).

Song Keling felt pity and dropped the idea of taking photos. Let it recover first.

Post-operative recovery takes a long time, and she needed to observe its bowel movements. The injury was near the tail, close to the cloaca. Although she had been extremely careful during the surgery, she wouldn’t be fully at ease until she saw the snake pass something.

Song Keling had already climbed into bed when she suddenly remembered something. She sat up, her eyes twinkling as she said to the snake in the box: “Eh? How about I call you Qianqian?”

“‘Qian’ means beautiful, so two ‘Qian’s means the most beautiful. It suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?”

Naturally, she received no answer. So Song Keling answered herself: “It is very suitable…”

The research group she was in studied Deinagkistrodon acutus, also known as the Sharp-nosed Pit Viper or the Five-pacer. Because their rostral and nasal scales upturn and they “never bow their heads,” their features are very distinct and easy to recognize. People who fear snakes find them disgusting; people who respect them find them majestic; people who like snakes find them cool, handsome, and dangerous.

But no one would ever use the word “beautiful” to describe them.

This little white snake was different. It clearly possessed many features of highly venomous snakes, yet it didn’t make people feel afraid. And its personality, as far as she could see, was quite gentle. If it weren’t a venomous snake, the feeling of it coiling up would surely be very blissful.

Song Keling had a good night’s sleep. The first thing she did the next morning was check the box.

Qianqian’s mental state wasn’t great. Its slender body was coiled in a corner, motionless, with only its crimson pupils looking over. The mineral water in the bottle cap hadn’t decreased, and it hadn’t defecated. This might be due to the injury or the initial discomfort of being in a strange environment.

Song Keling knew she couldn’t rush it; she had to be patient.

However, two days, then three days passed, and the little snake still hadn’t defecated. This was no longer a matter of patience; Song Keling needed to consider feeding it. Perhaps Qianqian had been injured by a rock while hunting and hadn’t had a chance to eat. Its lack of energy post-surgery might be due to hunger.

Feeding a snake seedling requires weighing it beforehand. Different small snakes can only eat food weighing 10% to 20% of their body weight.

Song Keling took a small frozen mouse from the lab, and also a pink, tender newborn mouse that had just been born. She would try the frozen mouse first; if it didn’t eat, she would use the live one.

If it refused to feed, she would have to resort to “special measures”—cutting open the mouse pup and feeding it to Qianqian bit by bit.

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