Chapter 24

“Did you come here by yourself?” Lu Xiaohuang asked Yin Xiaoxiao, very genially.

“That’s right.” Yin Xiaoxiao said in answer. He snuck a passing glance at Hei Aban. “I came by myself to play.”

Realizing that Yin Xiaoxiao was looking at him, Hei Aban’s face stiffened into an even more grave expression until a faint aura of depression could be detected.

Yin Xiaoxiao felt that something was a little strange. Even if he himself hadn’t seen many snakes, to hear it said by the snakes in his own family, vipers were friendly with one another even across clan-lines. So then, why did this one look so unfriendly? Almost as though there was a little trace of….hostility?

Yin Xiaoxiao’s face was full of dark lines ¹ . No matter how you look at it, this child was thin like a chopstick, alright?! You’re an adult snake, so why so hostile, huh?!

It was clear that Lu Xiaohuang had already noticed the confrontation between Hei Aban and Yin Xiaoxiao. Lu Xiaohuang hit Hei Aban twice in succession where Yin Xiaoxiao couldn’t see, and Hei Aban had no choice but to grudgingly gaze up at the sky. Fine, no more staring!

Towards Yin Xiaoxiao, Lu Xiaohuang beamed and opened his mouth to say, “Xiaoxiao, right? Don’t mind him. My Aban is very shy around strange snakes. It’s not hostility.”

Yin Xiaoxiao thought back to the scene he had just witnessed….then, it this so-called shy snake had pinned the explaining snake under his body….what (神马: internet slang for what) ‘shy’? Do you really believe this? Because I don’t…

“I still haven’t introduced myself,” Lu Xiaohuang suddenly said. “I am Lu Xiaohuang. You can call me Uncle Lu. This shy one is Hei Aban. You can call him Uncle Hei.”

Yin Xiaoxiao tilted his head. Why did he feel that there was something a little off ² ? But Yin Xiaoxiao still said, in a loud and clear voice, “Uncle Lu. Uncle Hei.”

This time it was Lu Xiaohuang and Hei Aban’s turn to feel somewhat surprised. The two snakes exchanged glances. Hei Aban looked and saw euphoria shining in Lu Xiaohuang’s eyes. Lu Xiaohuang looked and saw excitement shining in Hei Aban’s eyes.

Lu Xiaohuang could even hear the joy in his own words as he said, “You, you’re really calling us that?”

“Huh?” There was a look of confusion on Yin Xiaoxiao’s face. Hadn’t they wanted him to call them this? Why had these two snakes become so excited?

“No, no. It’s nothing.” With difficulty, Lu Xiaohuang tamped down on his elation and asked, somewhat gently and cautiously, “Would you like to visit our house and play for a while? Our home isn’t that far from here.”

Yin Xiaoxiao hesitated. This kind of didn’t sound too good. He had barely met these people and they immediately invited him to visit their home? No matter how you look at it, it sounded like they were going to kidnap and sell a child! Only, when Yin Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Xiaohuang and Hei Aban, who was standing a little behind him, they were looking at him with such a fawning ³ expression that Yin XIaoxiao’s heart suddenly went soft. The soft-hearted Yin Xiaoxiao immediately thought to himself, ‘I’m overthinking this. Snakes aren’t that complicated! They’re only inviting you over as a guest! What’s the worst that could happen? Besides, right now I’m bored with nothing to do. Going over to their home to play is a very good idea!’

With that well-reasoned argument, Yin Xiaoxiao cheerfully agreed with Lu Xiaohuang’s suggestion. As Lu Xiaohuang and Hei Aban’s voices and facial expressions relaxed, Yin Xiaoxiao’s became more resolute in his decision to visit their home.

And so, Hei Aban led the way, with Lu Xiaohuang and Yin Xiaoxiao following side by side.

Yin Xiaoxiao and Lu Xiaohuang chatted along the way. “Uncle Lu are there any young snakes at your home?”

“…There aren’t.”

“Huh? Then why are you and Uncle Hei at the base of the mountain?” Yin Xiaoxiao was the kind of child who blurted out crap with no brain-mouth filter. “My Pop told me that usually snakes only stay here when they want to raise young snakes, otherwise everyone likes to stay in other places.”

Up ahead, Hei Aban turned his head, overhearing Yin Xiaoxiao’s words. But, he remained silent.

“…It’s nothing. Just that Hei Aban and I both like it here so we haven’t left.” There was a trace of guilt in Lu Xiaohuang’s words, only the very oblivious ⁴ Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t hear it.

“Oh.” Yin Xiaoxiao wasn’t at all suspicious. After all, it wasn’t a big deal. Yin Xiaoxiao was also unlikely to believe that Lu Xioahuang was deceiving him. “Uncle Lu, do you know my Pop and Dad? I don’t think you’re that far from us! It’s like we’re neighbors.”

“Oh, I know. Your Pop is Hua Xiaohua and your Dad is Yin Dabai, right? We really aren’t that far. So…I guess we really are neighbors.”

Baffled, Yin Xiaoxiao raised his head to look at Lu Xiaohuang. Why did he think that the words ‘guess we really are neighbors’ sounded off?

“Then how come I never heard Pop mention you and Uncle Hei? Recently, my elder brothers and I have frequently gone to Lan Yiyi’s to play.” Yin Xiaoxiao said, probing.

“Oh, is that so.” A trace of panic flashed through Lu Xiaohuang’s eyes. He forced a smile. “Your Pop probably didn’t bother to mention us because we don’t have young snakes so all of you would have no one to play with. If all of you came, there would be no other young snakes to keep you all company.”

Yin Xiaoxiao nodded. What Uncle Lu said made sense, so this topic no longer confused Yin Xiaoxiao. His Pop and Dad did have that kind of disposition. If his eldest brother and Si-ge hadn’t run into Lan Yiyi when out playing, they probably still wouldn’t know that Lan Yiyi even existed!

“Finally here.” Hei Aban’s voice came from up ahead of Yin Xiaoxiao and Lu Xiaohuang. Then, Hei Aban turned around and saw a dreamy expression on Yin Xiaoxiao’s face. He was even drooling.

Hei Aban couldn’t help but retreat several paces. This, this expression on this child’s face, how could it be the same one as he’d seen on Lu Xiaohuang’s when they first met….

“How is it? Hei Aban has a really pleasant voice, right?” This bewitching voice still echoed in Yin Xiaoxiao’s ears. Yin Xiaoxiao repeatedly nodded, continuing to drool. This voice was so deep and low! It was without a doubt the most mesmerizing voice! This voice could turn any human’s (Hey! You’ve turned into a snake, you know?!) body to jelly, no doubt about it!

Yin Xiaoxiao stood, captivated, as Lu Xiaohuang laughed, rolling on the floor. Hei Aban couldn’t help but retreat another step.

Finally Yin Xiaoxiao recovered from that entranced state. He felt so embarrassed! All the flavors of self-conscious! All the stages of grief! All of it! How unfair for a snake to have a voice that was so pleasing to the ear! If only he could hear Hei Aban’s voice every day! At this thought, Yin Xiaoxiao felt deeply jealous of Lu Xiaohuang! Lu Xiaohuang could actually listen to such a pleasant voice for 200 years!

Lu Xiaohuang might have sensed Yin Xiaoxiao’s jealousy. He was proud, oh so proud, that he felt the urge to raise his tail high over his head.

“How about it, how about it? Our Hei Aban’s voice is pretty good, right?!” Lu Xiaohuang stooped down to whisper into Yin Xiaoxiao’s ear.

“So far it’s not bad! Until now, I haven’t heard a voice that was this pleasant!” Yin Xiaoxiao said through grit teeth ⁵ .

At Yin Xiaoxiao’s response, Lu Xiaohuang erupted into unrestrained laughter.

T/N:

Footnotes

<ol>the raw actually read ‘银小小黑线了’ or Yin Xiaoxiao dark lines. I’m assuming that it’s referring to the dark lines that are seen in anime used to denote emotions 不对劲儿: different from normal, improper or strange 讨好: trying to get the desired outcome by currying favor 神经大条: literally ‘big nerve’; idiom used to describe someone who is simple, blunt, careless and not scheming 咬牙切齿: idiom expressing great anger; or that one is gritting his/her teeth in anger</ol>