After resting for a full day, I was finally able to become human again.
I figured it was probably because my cultivation wasn’t strong enough.
So I decided to go out and find a handsome guy for some extra practice.
I couldn’t help it. There was no Adrian to freeload off of now.
I stealthily made my way to a bar.
The lighte inside were dim and
stance.
Besides, no one in here looked as handsome as Adrian.
Sniffle, I still wanted to freeload off Adrian.
Forget it. Cultivation comes first.
I gritted my teeth and was just about to step inside when I heard that bird again.
“Lyra, Lyra.”
I pointed at it threateningly. “Keep following me and I’ll turn you into poached chicken.”
I turned around and walked straight into a solid chest.
The man was wearing a mask and a baseball cap, so I couldn’t see his face, but from his eyes and the way
he was dressed, he was a hottie.
And I could feel his abs.
“What are you doing here?”
His voice was muffled by the mask, hard to make out.
I felt like he was a little bit like Adrian.
So I pulled him aside and whispered, “Five hundred a night. Interested?”
The man’s brow furrowed instantly. He pointed a finger at me, looking like he was about to have a stroke.
‘Was my offer too low?”
grabbed his pointing finger and said sweetly, “A thousand is fine too.”
The man laughed, a sound somewhere between anger and amusement. “Fine. A thousand it is.”
18
took him back to my hotel.
He sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, looking at me. “So? What do you want to do?”
pushed him down and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Damn these buttons, so annoying. It took me five minutes to get them all undone.
But why did these abs look so familiar?
Whatever. Cultivation first.
I was about to continue when he grabbed my wrists.
Chapter
In such a hurry? Aren’t you going to say hello first, Lyra?”
He let out a soft chuckle, then pulled off his mask. The last two words were ground out between his teeth.
It was Adrian.
I struggled to get up, but he yanked me back down.
“I don’t know any Lyra. You must have the wrong person, bro.”
I denied everything.
Adrian’s voice was full of hurt. “You use me and then pretend you don’t know me? You’re so cruel, Lyra. Why did you run away? Don’t you like me? Weren’t you the one who chose me? Am I not satisfying enough for you? You haven’t even experienced it yet, and you’ve already sentenced me to death. So tyrannical.”
I struggled even harder.
Adrian’s eyes were wet. “Are you afraid of me? Why?”
I couldn’t shake him off at all, so I gave up. “Because you were going to send me to the fighting pits. I have t
save my own skin.”
19
Adrian looked confused. “When did I ever say that?”
“The–the pop–up comments said so. That you like Sophia and were going to send me to the fighting pits…”
As I started explaining, I realized that I hadn’t seen the pop–up comments at all since I’d successfully cultiva ted my human form. My voice grew weaker and weaker.
‘You’re a little liar, aren’t you?”
‘Adrian, you don’t believe me!” I was upset now, and I slapped away the hand that was stroking my hair.
Adrian immediately backed down. “No, of course not. Why wouldn’t I believe my little princess? But you shc uld believe me too, right? I gave all those other snakes to John a long time ago. Sophia went to work for hir oo. I like you the most, only you, but you say things like that and keep hiding from me. Didn’t we have a agreement to always trust each other?”
My argument was weak, but my indignation was strong. “Then why did you put a bounty on me? A two–hund ed–thousand–dollar bounty! All my relatives know about it!”
Adrian sighed. “That was a ‘missing snake‘ notice. With a two–hundred–thousand–dollar reward.”
paused. “Oh. But I’m a snake. It’s normal for me to be worried. After all, we’re not…”
Before I could finish, Adrian gently placed a finger on my lips. “That’s my line to say. Lyra, I’m human. So, d you mind? Can you accept being with me?”
Chapter 2
I stuttered. “I–I can, I guess.”
I mean, who could refuse a handsome guy with an eight–pack?
Hearing my answer, Adrian’s confidence surged back. “Then it’s your turn to answer me. Why were you looki- ng for other guys behind my back? If your explanation isn’t good enough, I’m going to kiss you to death.”
20
Adrian raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him in a while, but he seemed even more handsome.
My face flushed bright red.
Damn it. It seemed that becoming human had made me even more susceptible to his charms.
Adrian leaned in again, his breath carrying a faint scent of alcohol. But he didn’t kiss me. He just held my
gaze.
was blushing so hard I thought I would explode.
Before I could say anything, I transformed into my snake–head–human–body form.
Adrian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is this a new plan? Make me die of laughter so you can sneak away?”
was mortified.
The next second, I couldn’t even maintain my human torso and completely reverted to my snake form.
Adrian poked my head. “Are you testing me, my little princess?”
hissed in protest. “Hiss–hiss hiss hiss-”
This is the reason! If I don’t get some extra practice in, I’m going to be stuck like this!
As if he understood, Adrian scooped me up and placed me on his chest. “I don’t care. From now on, you can
only cultivate with me, you hear? And now you have to take responsibility for me, Lyra.”
protested again. “Hiss hiss hiss-”
How am I supposed to take responsibility like this?
He gave a wicked grin, stroking my scales. “Just like how you used to bully me. Take responsibility for me
ike that.”
So he knew all along?!
21
We “cultivated” until the early hours of the morning before Adrian finally held me and fell asleep.
I had a dream.
In the dream, it was the day I had run away from home because I was too lazy to cultivate.
Adrian was on the side of the road, directing his men as they moved snake terrariums. He was tall, over six
feet, wearing a simple white shirt, and the hair on his forehead swayed with the breeze.
I fell for him at first sight.
Seeing him about to leave, I zipped over and coiled around his ankle.
“Where did this little snake come from? Trying to pull a scam on me?”
He bent down and picked me up, his sharp eyes softening.
I decided he was the one.
I wrapped myself around his wrist and flicked my tongue out at him appeasingly.
Adrian was completely charmed. “You want to come home with me?”
I rubbed my head against the back of his hand to show my assent.
And so, Adrian took me home. Because I was a beautiful aquatic blue color, he named me “Lyra.”
I never expected that besides his stunning looks, he also had an eight–pack and a mansion. I was beyon satisfied and became even less interested in cultivating.
Adrian spoiled me rotten, and my tastes grew more and more particular, my true nature gradually revealing
itself.
He even said it himself: “You’re getting more and more of a princess temper. Do you remember how you
used to fawn all over me when you first came home?”
I ignored him and fell asleep soundly on his abs.
Adrian stroked me and said, “You can always trust me, Lyra.”
Trust me, not the pop–up comments.
22
I had only been “home” for a month before Adrian wanted to go and propose.
He said it was the highest ritual of human affection and would pester me at the most crucial moments o our cultivation: “Say yes, or I’ll stop.”
My mind was a million miles away. “What’s the rush?”
“Once we have the certificate, you can’t abandon me again. It’s illegal to abandon your spouse.”
Adrian said it with such seriousness. “Do you agree? If you don’t, I’ll stop.”
He made a show of pulling away, and I quickly pressed myself against him. “I know, I know, you big bully. Taking advantage of me at a time like this.”
Adrian laughed and kissed me. “You’ve got it all wrong. Right now, you’re the one taking advantage of me, you wicked little snake.”
The proposal was set for two days later.
Adrian was a nervous wreck, buying a chaotic pile of gifts.
‘It’s fine,” I said. “We snakes don’t have so many customs.”
But Adrian insisted. “No. Whether it’s for a human or a snake, the etiquette has to be perfect. Otherwise, why would she entrust her daughter to me?”
t turned out his insistence was correct.
My normally laid–back mom was dressed to the nines, looking incredibly elegant.
Like a proper human.
The moment Adrian walked in, she scolded, “You actually found a human? Didn’t I tell you not to marry fa
away? You’re getting bolder and bolder.”
Before I could speak, Adrian stepped in front of me. He placed an Hermès Birkin bag on the coffee table.
Mom, don’t worry. I will take good care of Lyra.”
My mom was taken aback. “Who are you calling Mom? Did I say you could? So rude. I know you. You’re the
one who put a city–wide bounty on our little girl, making it so she couldn’t even come home…”
Adrian then opened the box of a million–dollar jewelry necklace and handed it to my mom.
23
‘Mom, that was a missing person notice. I was paying to find Lyra, not putting a bounty on her. She was havi
ng a tantrum with me, and I was worried. Don’t worry, all of my future salary will be given to Lyra. I’ll do what
ever she says. If I let her suffer even the slightest bit, you can do whatever you want with me. This is just a
small token of my appreciation. Please accept it, Mom.”
After he finished, Adrian piled all the bags in front of my mom.
Her expression changed in an instant. “Oh, my. We’re all family here. Why be so formal?”
She pulled Adrian to sit on the sofa. “So, when are you two planning to get married? Adrian, is it? Thank you for taking care of my little girl while she was away.”
Wow. This money–grubbing woman.
Adrian turned his head and raised an eyebrow at me.
Chapter 2
“Sweetie, go get Adrian a glass of water.”
“Me? No.”
My mom was about to scold me when Adrian immediately stood up. “Mom, I’ll get it. I love getting water.”
Adrian was so good at this, my mom was incredibly pleased.
Including but not limited to:
“Mom, you’re such a good cook. This is even better than the food made by the chef at my company.”
“Mom, I’ll do the dishes. I love doing dishes.”
“Mom, I happen to have a spare massage chair from the company. I’ll have it sent over tomorrow.”
As we were leaving, my mom was still chatting with him like an old friend. “Adrian, come visit me whenever you have time. But have our girl let me know beforehand. I’m not at this house very often.”
“Okay, Mom. I will.”
Back at home, I couldn’t help but mimic my mom in a snarky tone. “Ad–ri–an, come vis–it me when–ev–er you have time~ After one trip, you’ve become her biological son.”
Adrian tackled me onto the sofa and laughed. “What, not satisfied with my performance? But Mom seemed
very satisfied. She even gave me this. You’ll have to cultivate twice as hard from now on.”
From somewhere, Adrian produced a yellowed notebook. On the cover were eight large words:
【The Sacred Manual of Human–Snake Symbiotic Cultivation】
The mere sight of the word “cultivation” annoyed me. I got up and started to crawl to the other side of the
sofa.
Adrian grabbed my ankle and pulled me back.
He said with a straight face, “We have to try it. Mom said if it doesn’t work, she’s going to find that Taoist
priest and settle the score. For today, let’s start with chapter one.”
[The End]
