Chapter 13: Unexpected Event

Unlike Xie Fangzhu’s regret, Shen Yingying, who had successfully won the negotiation, felt completely refreshed, almost wanting to jump three feet high to express her excitement.

Although Xie Fangzhu was crazy, he was like a little brother when it came to matters of love. With just a small nudge, she could have him eating out of her hand without even thinking.

She felt full of hope, and her future seemed incredibly bright!

But life is rarely without its disappointments. By midnight, Shen Yingying’s bright mood was shattered.

At that moment, she was groggily sleeping when something crawled onto her, slithering from her arm up to her neck.

Half awake, Shen Yingying instinctively tried to grab it, only to have it coil around her hand.

Cold and slippery.

She suddenly snapped awake, her sleepiness completely gone.

A snake!

The moment she realized it, she nearly lost her mind. She jumped up from the bed, screaming as she desperately shook her hand to get the snake off.

Shen Yingying had always been a brave girl, but the one thing she truly feared was snakes.

She still remembered when she was in the orphanage, before she had been beaten down by society and developed her now-strong personality, she was often bullied. The worst time was when someone grabbed her collar and forced two wriggling snakes into her shirt.

The snakes, frightened, slithered across her skin, and the cold, slippery sensation almost caused her to faint—a terrifying feeling that stayed with her to this day.

Her fear of snakes was deeply ingrained in her.

The cabin’s window wasn’t open much, so the moonlight couldn’t come through, and in the darkness, she couldn’t see where the snake she had shaken off had gone.

Shen Yingying huddled in the corner of the bed, her usual calmness completely gone, her mind in chaos.

Why was there a snake in the room?

Why was a snake crawling on her bed in the middle of the night?

Was it still lurking around the bed?

Was it just one, or were there more?

She broke into a cold sweat, hugging herself tightly, not daring to move, terrified that a small movement might bring her face-to-face with the snake again.

As she was about to lose it, a sudden two knocks came from the wall next door, as if someone’s fingers were tapping on the wooden boards.

Then, Xie Fangzhu’s voice came through: “Shen Yingying, what’s wrong?”

Shen Yingying immediately remembered that Xie Fangzhu was next door. Her heart surged with joy, as if she had grabbed onto a lifeline, and she called his name loudly: “Xie Fangzhu! Xie Fangzhu!”

Her voice was frantic and rushed: “Come quick, there’s a snake! There’s a snake in the room, it just crawled on me! I’m so scared!”

After hearing this, she heard the sound of a door creaking open, followed by a knock on her door: “Shen Yingying, open the door.”

“Wuwuwu, I’m too scared!” Shen Yingying hugged herself, not daring to move an inch, terrified that even the slightest movement would bring her into close contact with the snake.

She looked longingly at the door, her heart in her throat, “Xie Fangzhu, what should I do?”

There was a brief silence outside the door, followed by a loud crash as the door was broken open, letting light spill inside.

In that moment, to Shen Yingying, Xie Fangzhu seemed like a heroic figure descending from the clouds to rescue her.

He quickly walked to the bedside, holding an oil lamp. “You weren’t bitten, were you?”

“No,” she anxiously grabbed his hand, her voice panicked, “But it just crawled up my neck… I grabbed it, it was so cold, and it wrapped around my hand. It was so disgusting… I’m so scared…”

Her hand, holding his, felt as cold as if she had just come out of an ice cellar.

Xie Fangzhu was startled. He used the light from the oil lamp to look at her.

Her forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat, her face completely drained of color, pale as a sheet. Her body trembled uncontrollably, as if she had been terrified beyond measure.

Xie Fangzhu’s mind raced. Their house was built in the middle of a hillside. In summer, there were many snakes and insects on the mountain, so it was common for one or two snakes to crawl inside. He remembered that this had happened before.

Back then, Shen Yingying had been startled, but her reaction had been completely different from now.

Back then, she had chased the snake around with a broom, yelling at him, accusing him of being useless for building the house in such a terrible place.

Why was she so scared now? Was it because it was night?

Xie Fangzhu looked around the room, fell silent for a moment, then gently pulled her into his arms and patted her back, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid. There are few venomous snakes on this mountain. The one that came in is probably harmless. Besides, if you’re afraid of it, it’s probably more afraid of you. Usually…”

“I’m scared!!” Shen Yingying interrupted him, her tightly wound nerves snapping. She broke down completely, her voice trembling, “It just crawled up my neck, what if it tries to crawl into my clothes?!”

Xie Fangzhu almost said that snakes wouldn’t be brave enough to crawl into her clothes.

But seeing her trembling so much, he swallowed his words and softly said, “I’ll go find the snake. Once I catch it and kill it, you won’t be afraid anymore.”

He then lifted the lamp and started to rummage through the cabinets. But Shen Yingying held onto his hand tightly, refusing to let go. With no other option, he softened his tone and coaxed, “Be good, let go.”

“No!” Shen Yingying immediately rejected him. She struggled to sit up, throwing her arms around his neck, her pride of wanting to sleep in a separate room forgotten. Her body pressed closely against his, her voice full of pleading:

“I don’t want to stay here anymore. Xie Fangzhu, take me away. I want to be with you…”

Xie Fangzhu froze for a moment. Though he knew she was just saying this because of fear and didn’t mean anything else by it, hearing her words still made his heart tremble.

In that moment, all the bravado about standing firm and not letting her take control vanished from his mind.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the oil lamp with one hand and supported her waist with the other, lifting her in one arm and striding toward his small room.

When they arrived in his room, Shen Yingying still wouldn’t let go of him. Her eyes were full of tears, and uncertainly, she asked, “It’s safe here, right?”

Xie Fangzhu placed the oil lamp on the nearby cabinet, sat on the bed with her in his arms, and replied, “It should be fine. I sprinkled realgar powder before bed. Did you forget to do it on your side?”

Hearing this, Shen Yingying remembered that the original owner would always sprinkle realgar powder in the house every night.

However, the original owner’s memories were so vast that usually, she wouldn’t remember something unless she saw it, heard about it, or actively thought about it.

Since snakes had never appeared in her world, she had no concept of them, and naturally, she hadn’t thought about sprinkling realgar powder.

Shen Yingying buried her face in his neck, her voice soft and small, “I forgot.”

“It’s okay, it won’t come in here,” he reassured her.

Xie Fangzhu gently supported her head and lay her down on the bed, intending to pull his hand away.

But Shen Yingying clung to his hand, her voice filled with vigilance, “Where are you going?”

Xie Fangzhu looked down at her. Under the faint light of the oil lamp, her beautiful face was filled with panic, and her dependence on him was unmistakable.

Xie Fangzhu was momentarily stunned. He suddenly recalled when he was still an ordinary worker in the mine, working in teams with others.

When faced with dangerous and uncertain situations, his teammates would always look terrified and depend entirely on him, leaving their hope in his hands. He hated that feeling.

But now, having Shen Yingying depend on him, the feeling was completely different.

Although the rational part of him kept telling him to scorn himself, his heart couldn’t help but want to protect her, to hold her close and keep her safe.

He spoke softly, “Don’t be afraid, I’m just going to blow out the lamp.” His voice was softer than he had ever spoken before