Chapter 39 Love

Chapter 39: Love

Ever since he inexplicably transformed into human form, Xiang Wei was no longer the empty-headed snake who only had to think about eating and sleeping every day. He'd come to experience human joys, anger, sorrow, and happiness one by one.

As a snake getting an education, going to class, and living in the human world, Xiang Wei gradually became more human-like, and he didn't resist this change.

After all, the human world truly had many wonderful things—delicious food, fun activities, great TV shows and movies... Everything left this country-bumpkin snake dazzled and totally hooked.

The snake learned, the snake loved, the snake fit in.

But being hit with way too much at once—thousands of years of human civilization unfolding before him in a single moment—he rapidly soaked up human wisdom while running into emotions on a scale he'd never seen before.

The snake swallowed everything whole, gulping down whatever entered his head without digesting or thinking much about it.

Education always lags behind real life. Even kids who grow up in the human world from birth to adulthood need life experiences to mature, let alone a snake who'd only been human for a few months.

Modern society made it easy for the snake to see people and events from other places on his phone, but seeing was just seeing—no different from watching TV or movies. Only by actually running into, experiencing, and living through things could the snake really feel these emotions.

Like the crying people he'd just seen at the movie theater—he didn't get it. Same when he watched TV dramas before; he always felt like there was a wall between him and the characters, unable to really connect with their emotions.

He'd laugh along and get angry along, because those kinds of happy and angry emotions easily found a place in the snake's small world. But this level of sadness and grief? The snake knew nothing about national grudges or family feuds, didn't understand life-and-death partings, and couldn't wrap his head around loving someone who didn't love him back...

So far, the closest he'd come to moderate sadness was fear—fear of the egg losing its life and becoming a dead egg. Even when he felt Shen Jiyue didn't trust him, the snake felt more anger than sadness.

Shen Jiyue was worried Xiang Wei was slow on the uptake, not even understanding love and affection, but he never realized the snake had only learned all these emotions in the past few months.

He'd arranged courses for him, had him study the standard school textbooks—everything came from Shen Jiyue treating Xiang Wei as a human who'd never been exposed to the world, cut off from society. A human, even one from ancient times, would have the full range of emotions.

His starting point was wrong from the get-go, which was why Shen Jiyue was stuck at step one of courting him. For a snake so clueless about emotions that he didn't even know what male-male love was—without first teaching him what friendship, family love, and romance meant, without telling him what love was, how could he be expected to love anyone?

"He died—not only would they never see each other again, but it also meant..." He explained to the bewildered snake what that era was like, what a family would face when losing an able-bodied young man, and why everyone else was so grief-stricken.

Even humans from other countries couldn't necessarily get certain metaphors and meanings, let alone Xiang Wei, a snake of a completely different species. He listened attentively to Shen Jiyue's detailed explanation.

"Ah—" Xiang Wei's mouth fell open, using the simplest way to put himself in that situation. If they lived in that era and faced that situation, and Shen Jiyue died...

His heart suddenly clenched, a sour, tingly feeling spreading from his chest to his limbs and guts.

"I feel kinda off." The snake ran into this emotion for the first time and had no idea what to do.

Shen Jiyue bought an iced drink and pressed it against his cheek. The cold immediately snapped Xiang Wei out of that weird mood. He blinked, dazed, and looked at Shen Jiyue.

"Try it." He brought the straw to Xiang Wei's lips. He took a sip, and the sweet taste instantly made those dull gray eyes light up again.

Shen Jiyue let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't brought Xiang Wei out to make him sad. Answering his questions was enough; no need to dwell on a scene that was already in the past.

To help Xiang Wei clear his head and burn off energy, they hit a few more no-brainer activities before heading home satisfied.

The snake, who'd played for most of the day, was completely content. The moment he got home, he checked on the snake egg first, then scurried off to the bathroom to wash up, and diligently finished the homework his teacher had assigned that morning.

Thinking about Shen Jiyue's explanations, that weird sour and swollen feeling he'd only felt once, and those intense emotions the snake couldn't quite grasp or put into words, Xiang Wei was like a curious teenager whose parents had cut him off mid-exploration—he developed an endless urge to dig into that abruptly halted emotion.

His curiosity piqued, he curled up under the covers and started looking up reviews of the movie they'd watched that day. Netizens' deep-dives into every detail, fan creations, and cultural explanations had the snake reading with tearful eyes.

Seeds of love, parting, and life's impermanence were quietly planted in his heart, waiting for the right moment to sprout. Xiang Wei liked every post, feeling like he'd gotten five bucks' worth of extra story.

The next day, Xiang Wei went with Shen Jiyue to the hospital again. The man was recovering great—he could already stand and walk on his own, faster than the doctors had predicted.

After an exam, the doctor was pleasantly surprised, praising how incredibly well his injuries had healed. His body's self-healing ability was remarkable—originally it looked like he'd need at least a few more weeks before walking on his own, yet he'd recovered this fast.

"Young people have good constitutions; recovery's fast." Unable to figure out what had made his body heal so fast, the doctor could only chalk it up to his youth. He offered his congratulations and went over the aftercare instructions.

Shen Jiyue's ears perked up at the doctor's astonishment. He remembered that when Dr. Chen saw him walking on his own, he'd also exclaimed in disbelief. He thought about all the changes he'd been through recently.

It seemed like ever since he'd moved back to the old house, all his check-ups and rehab had been going smoothly.

His suspicious nature made him note this small anomaly, but his lifelong skepticism of the supernatural kept him from overthinking it.

After a moment's thought, he figured the old house had better air, more nature around, and with his improved mood, his recovery naturally sped up.

Plus, having Xiang Wei—such a lively young guy—around, interacting with him often, with occasional "little surprises" as life's seasoning, had made him feel younger at heart, which was good for his health.

After the check-up, before they'd even left the hospital, Xiang Wei cheerfully suggested to Shen Jiyue that they throw a party to celebrate his health, just like the banquet they'd attended last week—but smaller, only inviting friends.

Shen Jiyue only had two close friends, and of those still in Linyang, only Chang Hu was left. His other friend was abroad, so if they held a private gathering, he could only invite Chang Hu.

Xiang Wei could invite a few more people on his side, but they were all kids. If they got together with Shen Jiyue's circle, both sides would probably be too awkward to relax.

So they settled on a compromise: just the two of them going out for a nice meal to celebrate.

Xiang Wei had no interest in fancy food, and Shen Jiyue didn't care what he ate.

Since it was to celebrate Shen Jiyue, Xiang Wei felt he should take on the responsibility of researching options and carefully picked a place that looked good.

No sooner had they entered the restaurant than they spotted Chang Hu—that pink hair really did stand out in a crowd. He was on the phone at the moment, looking rather displeased.

Shen Jiyue was ordering food. After Xiang Wei placed his order, he saw Chang Hu was still alone, figured he must be dining solo, and told Shen Jiyue before wandering over to invite him to join their meal and celebrate.

Chang Hu hadn't expected to run into him here. Hearing the invitation, he agreed immediately. He was someone who loved lively gatherings by nature, and he'd just been stood up—might as well get a free meal out of this, right?

Following Xiang Wei into the private room, he was shocked. A gathering? Where was everyone? It was just Shen Jiyue alone! Meeting his good brother's expressionless face, Chang Hu felt like he'd stumbled into their date.

Wait... He turned to look at Xiang Wei, who was closing the door. Don't tell me—you two are out on a date, so why drag him along? He just wanted to eat a nice meal! He did NOT want to be a third wheel between a couple.

Since he was already here and Xiang Wei was blocking the door, there was no escape. Chang Hu steeled himself and took a seat.

"Haha, I heard this place has pretty good food." After a pause, he asked, unable to resist: "Didn't you say it was a gathering? Is it just the three of us?"

Xiang Wei walked back lightly, picked up the teapot, and poured them each a cup, replying: "Yep. Just the three of us."

Chang Hu's hanging hope finally died, but then he thought about it and straightened his back again. As Shen Jiyue's best buddy, since they'd announced their relationship, they'd never treated him to a "relationship announcement meal." This must be it, making up for that.

They ate and drank, raising their glasses to celebrate their mutual friend—Shen Jiyue—recovering his health, wishing him smooth sailing ahead, free from disaster and illness!

Chang Hu had learned yesterday that Shen Jiyue could walk again. Seeing it once more now, he recalled the severity of his original injury and sighed: "That injury looked really bad at the time. Didn't expect it to heal so fast—lucky!"

Xiang Wei had never seen Shen Jiyue's original injury. Hearing this, he grew curious and asked how they'd gotten hurt and whether it had been that serious.

Chang Hu immediately pulled out his phone and flipped through a few photos to show him (nothing too gory), exaggerating: "You have no idea—when the car accident happened, the whole area was cordoned off. When I got the call from the hospital, tears just burst out. I thought he wasn't going to make it."

"Cough!" Shen Jiyue cleared his throat lightly, shooting him a warning look—don't exaggerate, don't scare Xiang Wei.

Chang Hu rolled his eyes discreetly, put his phone away, and let out a dry chuckle, silently mocking Shen Jiyue as a lovesick fool.

Fine, fine. A romance expert doesn't quibble with a first-timer. His eyes darted around, and he decided to show off a bit to add bricks to the foundation of their love.

He dropped the car accident topic and instead brought up Shen Jiyue's pitiful background to win sympathy for his buddy: "You don't know—his family elders are either abroad or not around here, so the hospital could only call me. Sigh, he doesn't have many friends. Now you're all he can rely on."

Xiang Wei nodded along, feeling a swell of responsibility and protectiveness from what he said, and agreed he was right.

Last time, he had gone with Shen Jiyue to attend a family banquet out of town, and indeed, he didn't have any relatives here. And when it came to friends, besides him, there was only Chang Hu.

The man and the snake, perfectly in sync, completely forgot about Shen Huaiping.

Oh man, that poor human!

The snake had only been in human form for a few months and already had several friends, while Shen Jiyue had only the two of them in over twenty years—the snake had to treat him better!

"His quick recovery is also thanks to you—all your hard work taking care of him." Chang Hu heaped praise on Xiang Wei.

He thought to himself: first, paint Shen Jiyue as a pitiful figure to win his partner's sympathy, then use praise to let him know that Shen Jiyue appreciates his kindness—even if he doesn't say it aloud, he holds it in his heart. Perfect.

This was the skill of a serial dater—even as a wingman, he was killing it.

Xiang Wei nodded proudly, "Mm-hmm, of course the snake had a part in it!"

And so, one praised and the other accepted, the two clicked perfectly. If Shen Jiyue hadn't called them to eat, saying the food was getting cold, the two, caught up in the moment, might have sworn to be brothers right then and there.