Chapter 1
“Come get the snake. Time for bed.”
The moment I got the message from my boss, Qin Sili, I hurried over and crouched outside his bedroom.
A jet-black snake slithered out.
I carefully picked it up and tucked it against my chest.
My boss’s snake didn’t like staying in its temperature-controlled enclosure.
I put it straight on my bed and tapped its little head.
“Wait here a minute. I’ll take a shower, then come right back and sleep with you.”
The little snake flicked its tongue at me.
It seemed to understand.
I took my clothes into the bathroom.
I’d barely taken my shirt off when I spotted the little black snake sneaking in.
Its slit pupils were fixed on me.
I bent down and turned its head toward the door. “No peeking while I shower. Go wait outside.”
Usually so obedient, the little snake was being especially rebellious today.
Not only did it refuse to leave, it kept trying to get behind me.
Once there, it stayed still, watching me and flicking its tongue.
Puzzled, I went over to the mirror to check my back.
All pale skin.
Nothing strange about it.
The little black snake climbed up my leg, stopping with its head at the small of my back.
I looked down. There were two dimples there, neither very deep nor very shallow.
The little snake leaned close, its flickering tongue occasionally brushing my skin.
“Are you looking at these two little dimples?” I asked.
It moved even closer. I guessed it found them interesting.
“Then you can sleep on my back tonight. Will you let me shower first?”
With that promise secured, the little snake finally left, looking back every few steps.
I’d noticed it soon after I arrived here.
This city snake was different from every snake I’d ever seen. It didn’t just understand people—it could do things people did.
By the time I finished my shower, the air conditioner was set to twenty-four degrees.
The little black snake had done it with the very tip of its tail.
It always did that.
As soon as I lay down, it started burrowing underneath me.
Coming to collect on my promise.
I rolled over and lifted my shirt to bare my lower back.
“Hop on.”
The little snake spent the night coiled on my back.
When I woke up, it was gone.
Downstairs, I ran into Qin Sili just as he was leaving for work.
Qin Sili wasn’t only a crime boss. He also owned a big, legitimate company.
On TV, they called that having a foot on both sides of the law.
“Boss! Boss, wait!”
Qin Sili stopped. “What is it?”
His eyes were very black. Being stared at by him made me feel a pressure I couldn’t quite describe.
I worked out what to say.
“Boss, where’s the little black snake?”
Qin Sili didn’t answer. The little snake poked its head out from behind him.
Man and snake both looked at me.
“Are you taking it to work again today, Boss?”
“Get to the point.”
I rubbed my hands together. “You’re so busy at work. Why don’t you leave the little snake at home with me?”
“I’ve got nothing to do here during the day anyway.”
Qin Sili paid me a huge, huge, huge salary every month.
All to look after the little black snake.
But he always took it to work. I never even saw it during the day.
I only got to keep it company at night.
I felt less like a snake keeper and more like a professional snake bedmate.
Taking all that money made me uneasy.
Seeing Qin Sili doing up a cufflink one-handed, I quickly offered, “Let me help, Boss.”
He glanced up and held his arm out to me.
I fastened the cufflink nice and neat.
Then looked at him hopefully.
“If you have nothing to do at home, spend more time learning to read,” he said evenly.
So that was a no.
“Huh?” I pressed my lips together. “But looking after the little snake is my job. I can make time to study.”
“Learning to read is your job too. I don’t want people finding out one of my men can’t even read.”
Qin Sili gave me homework.
“Review the characters you’ve learned. I’ll test you tonight.”
“…Okay.”