Su Su did not sleep soundly.
It felt as if someone had been whispering softly beside her ear the entire time. The voice was unfamiliar, as though it penetrated her eardrums, probing her heart like a gentle breeze and drizzle… But it was not entirely tender. She could vaguely glimpse an abyssal possessiveness, greed, and even an icy allure within it.
Whoosh!
She jolted awake, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself wrapped in another man’s embrace.
The firm, broad chest right before her eyes was bathed in a warm hue under the dim light. Looking downward, there was an even more flawless set of abdominal muscles… Still in a half-asleep state, Su Su’s gaze instinctively continued downward, tracing along the sleek lines that disappeared into the pelvic bones. It was incredibly sensual, yet regrettably, the lower half was concealed by pants.
These pants…
Su Su suddenly recalled that after Xuan Mang had transformed into his half-human, half-serpent form, she had scoured a nearby city close to the northern base for men’s clothing, stuffing them all haphazardly into his storage space.
This pair seemed to be one of those she had collected back then.
Why was there an opportunity to wear them now?
Her brain did a full turn before she suddenly snapped fully awake.
It was only then that she realized—she was no longer in her sleeping bag. Instead, she was lying on a makeshift “bedding” of layered blankets, her body securely nestled within a man’s embrace.
She shoved him away forcefully, scrambling backward using both hands and feet. Her hand touched the small nightlight that had been tossed into a corner, and she hurriedly pushed it toward the center of the tent.
The dim yellow light illuminated the man who was already sitting up.
He had sleek, jet-black hair, soft to the touch. In his natural, just-woken state, the messy strands on his forehead veiled his long, narrow eyes, softening the cold sharpness of his features, making him appear gentle and harmless.
As for when his hair was pushed back… Su Su had done that for him before—or perhaps, in the heat of the moment, she had yanked it back.
Those slit pupils, interwoven with greed and dominance, were now fully exposed before her. Even when he had been pressing down on her, desperately seeking her favor, whenever he lifted his head in urging or observation, he had resembled a beast sinking its fangs into prey that had already completely submitted to him.
Su Su’s heart pounded violently.
The long-awaited human form had suddenly appeared before her eyes, yet she could not form a single complete sentence.
“You… You…”
Xuan Mang had fully absorbed the Grade 7 crystal.
And he had successfully transformed into a human. The slightly downward slant of his eyes now bore a pair of irises that were neither dark green nor pitch-black, resembling human pupils. The corners of his eyes slanted upward, exuding an overpowering chill.
“…You’ve reached Tier 7.”
In the end, she could only blurt out this dry remark.
The anticipated serpent’s hiss did not come. Instead, there was only a low, indistinct “Mm.”
It seemed even his forked tongue had evolved into that of a human.
Su Su bit her lip.
She started to feel as though the air inside the tent had thinned. Even though they were nearly a meter apart, it still seemed as if the oxygen was being stolen away by the other person.
Su Su was afraid, nervous.
All because the man before her was not just any random male she could ignore. She had done rather intimate things with him before, yet with the emergence of this “new skin,” that sense of familiarity was now laced with an unfathomable strangeness.
And a stirring heartbeat.
This wasn’t right.
She and he had already broken up. Now, they were just ordinary companions. Who would have such chaotic thoughts about a companion?
Su Su began recalling the Tier 7 zombie.
Good, she was calming down.
Avoiding that unwaveringly direct and heated gaze, she got up. “I’ve slept enough. Just in time to take the night watch.”
Her hand had barely touched the tent, not even reaching the zipper, when an arm encircled her waist from behind.
Scorching breath landed on the nape of her neck.
The man, half-kneeling, effortlessly pulled her back into his embrace, nearly dragging and half-carrying her away from the tent’s exit and returning her to the makeshift bedding.
“Don’t go.”
His deep voice carried a faint trace of fear.
Xuan Mang buried his head into the crook of Su Su’s neck, instinctively taking in her scent. In that moment, satisfaction and bitterness wrestled within a heart that had transformed into a human’s.
Su Su was restrained for over ten seconds.
By the time she fully registered the situation, she remembered that she was still angry with him. They were nothing more than companions now—
“Let go.”
“No.”
Su Su struggled. “Let go of me! If you really want to hold something so badly, why don’t you go hug that Tier 7 zombie instead?”
The moment the words fell, the arms around her waist stiffened.
The breathing at the back of her neck halted as well.
The atmosphere suddenly became eerily still.
At some point, Su Su had stopped struggling. She opened her mouth, wanting to take back the words she had blurted out. Her lips moved several times, but she couldn’t find her voice again.
A long silence stretched between them before she finally heard herself say—
“You should remember that I said we broke up, right?”
“Xuan Mang, we’re companions now. Companions don’t need to embrace each other.”
“Let go. I have to go stand watch.”
One sentence after another, yet the man behind her remained silent.
Only the arms around her waist slowly loosened.
Su Su froze for half a second before finally getting up. Without looking back, she walked toward the tent’s entrance.
Zzzp—
The zipper was pulled down a few inches, allowing the night wind to sweep inside.
Su Su’s movements hesitated for a brief moment.
In the end, she turned back.
Xuan Mang, who had just taken on human form, remained in place. He gazed at her from afar, his sorrow so deep that it seemed almost tangible.
As if unable to withstand such a devastating blow, he suddenly collapsed onto the bedding.
“Ah Xuan!”
Su Su reacted on instinct, rushing forward. By the time she realized what she was doing, she was already kneeling beside him. Her hands had just touched his shoulders when—
The world spun.
She was underneath, and the culprit was above.
In the blink of an eye, her range of movement was entirely confined within a narrow space, forced into a face-to-face confrontation with him.
This was a trap. A setup. A deliberate act of feigned weakness!
Su Su pushed against that sleek, muscular chest. “Let go!”
Her hands were swiftly captured.
When it came to hunting, Xuan Mang was frighteningly instinctive—without any teacher, he had already mastered it. He seized her delicate wrists, pinning them firmly just inches above her head.
Su Su was forced to arch her chest.
The distance between them had never been this close before. If she lifted her head, she would almost brush against Xuan Mang’s jaw.
Conversely, if he lowered his head, he could effortlessly torment her most vulnerable spots.
Su Su grew even angrier!
The suppressed rage nearly shot straight to her head. If this guy dared to lower his face while she was furious, she swore she would—
“I won’t hug the zombie.”
Xuan Mang, surprisingly, did not move.
With his free hand, he gently cupped Su Su’s face, tilting it so that she had no choice but to meet his gaze at close range. His usually fierce eyes now carried an undeniable seriousness.
“I won’t hug it.”
“Won’t hug anyone else. Or any corpse.”
“Only you. Only find you.”
Xuan Mang still wasn’t good at forming long sentences. He could only speak in short, broken phrases.
Expression reflects the heart.
He had a face that exuded an overwhelming sense of aggression. Staring into it for just a few more seconds made it impossible to ignore the dominance radiating from him, as if he wanted to skin and dismantle his prey—drawing forth all sorts of inappropriate images from the mind.
But at this moment, Su Su could feel the sincerity hidden within his voice.
“You…”
“I was looking for you.” Xuan Mang explained, and he was explaining very seriously. “That zombie wasn’t you. It didn’t have your scent.”
This was a truth Su Su had later speculated on her own.
But when he said it out loud, she finally realized—it wasn’t just an excuse she had made up to deceive herself.
Xuan Mang lowered his head, burying it against Su Su’s shoulder. At that moment, he seemed especially fragile. The fierce, narrow corners of his eyes carried a trace of colorless, scentless moisture.
“Don’t break up.”
“Don’t be just companions.”
The dampness seeped into Su Su’s thin T-shirt.
Xuan Mang… was crying?
“Ah Xuan?” Her hands were still restrained, so she could only tilt her head to look at him. “You…”
“Do you love me?”
Su Su was stunned.
For a brief moment, she felt as though their roles had been reversed.
But when Xuan Mang lifted his head, the look in his eyes was unusually serious, as if he was seeking the most definitive answer from her.
Love?
Of course… she loved him.
Su Su bit her lip and countered, “Do you even understand what love is?”
This lustful snake, even in his human form, carried an aura of greed. Just one look at him could make one’s heart pound wildly, as if they were about to be dragged into a snake’s den at any moment.
Did he really understand what love meant?
He had only just learned to speak, yet he was already using such words…
Xuan Mang stared straight at her. “It’s my instinct toward you. Only you. I only think about you. I only want to be with you. I only want to have se—”
Su Su abruptly covered his mouth.
Xuan Mang refused to give up. Even with his mouth covered, he still mumbled against her palm, his voice muffled yet persistent.
“But you don’t feel the same for me.”
“You don’t love me.”
“You want to break up with me.”
Sadness spread through his entire being.
The strong, lean man turned his face away, as if unwilling to reveal his vulnerability again.
Su Su opened her mouth, about to speak, when she saw that Xuan Mang had already steadied his emotions.
He turned back, lifted one of her restrained wrists, and held it directly above her line of sight—right before his own eyes.
While kissing and licking it, he lifted his gaze, staring deeply at the female he had chosen.
“Love me.”
In nature, there were male creatures who, after losing their mate, would sink into sorrow, refuse to eat, and starve themselves to death.
Was Xuan Mang not the same?
“Otherwise, I’d rather turn back into a venomous snake that knows nothing.”
It was a rare, complete sentence from him.
Yet it struck Su Su’s heart deeply.
Her eyes suddenly reddened.
Yes.
She and he were the same.
One had wandered through the apocalypse with no place to anchor her emotions—until he appeared, giving her a place to store them.
One should have never known what emotions were, but because of her, he had learned.
If either of them rejected this connection, how was the other supposed to carry on?
Su Su sniffled, her voice soft. “Let go of me.”
Xuan Mang’s eyes instantly dimmed.
He thought she still refused to accept this entanglement of love and desire that he himself could not separate or distinguish.
“Ah Xuan.”
If he wouldn’t let go, then so be it.
Su Su lifted her head and kissed the corner of his lips. “I love you.”
She could no longer pinpoint exactly when it had begun.
Love was not just about giving—it also carried expectations.
She had given to Cancan, to Le Rui, to Granny Niu, and many others. But she had never held expectations for them.
She never expected them to bear the weight of her love, nor did she expect them to return the most personal kind of affection.
But Xuan Mang was different.
She loved him, and she expected more from him.
She expected him to be gentler. She expected him to ignore everyone else. She expected him to stay by her side forever… That was why she had allowed things to unfold step by step, indulging him, letting their connection grow deeper, to the point where it could no longer be severed.
The moment those three simple words left her lips, Su Su’s wrists were finally freed.
Xuan Mang seemed to freeze on the spot.
He didn’t speak for a long time, and Su Su started feeling awkward.
This was the first time she had ever spoken so plainly.
“I-I should still go take the night watch…”
This time, she effortlessly pushed the man off of her.
Seeing her about to leave, Xuan Mang instinctively pulled her back into his arms.
The traces of moisture on his face had long disappeared without a trace.
No one could tell how much of it had been real and how much was deliberate to evoke sympathy.
“Someone else is standing watch,” Xuan Mang stated with certainty.
Su Su knew that too.
But… but the atmosphere inside the tent was making her heart race too fast.
She needed time to compose herself.
Xuan Mang, however, did not think there was any need to calm down.
He was already on the verge of dying from joy.
“Su Su.” He called out the name of his chosen female.
Becoming human meant learning the ways of humans.
“Su Su.”
“Su Su.”
Xuan Mang even took it a step further—”Darling, wife, baby.”
Su Su’s face flushed bright red. “Where did you learn that?!”
From books.
Xuan Mang pulled her onto his lap, their faces only inches apart. The overwhelming excitement and love in his eyes nearly formed visible strands, stretching between them.
He cautiously leaned in, brushing his lips against hers.
A soft kiss.
So nice.
Another kiss.
Su Su had experienced all sorts of chaotic, messy kisses—rushed nuzzles, deep kisses that reached her throat… But this was the first time she had ever felt such a gentle, fleeting touch, so innocent it was completely out of character for Xuan Mang.
While she was lost in thought, she completely failed to notice the scheming in her partner’s heart.
He had just confessed and was worried that Su Su would think his mind was only filled with intimacy.
But what could he do?
He just wanted to claim her, to mark every inch of her scent.
After testing the waters a few times and seeing that she didn’t resist, Xuan Mang suddenly grasped the back of her head and waist, plunging forward to invade the lips and tongue he had long coveted.
A human tongue.
It was indeed much more useful than a snake’s.
At some point, Su Su’s arms had unconsciously wrapped around Xuan Mang’s neck.
Drifting, sinking—their intense kisses were like raindrops striking a war drum, each impact relentless, bound to shatter the drumhead sooner or later.
After at least a dozen soft pecks, light kisses, and deep, searing ones, Su Su felt like she was going to break.
She covered her lips, mumbling, “No more kissing… My lips are going to split.”
Xuan Mang was obedient.
He simply lowered his head and trailed kisses along her neck instead, planting lingering marks one after another.
Soft strands of hair were once again lifted by a slender hand.
It was only then that Su Su noticed—after fully taking human form, Xuan Mang’s eyes still carried an almost imperceptible hint of deep green. Under the dim light, they radiated a dizzying allure.
—Cancan will be disappointed.
—Ah Xuan isn’t ugly at all after transforming.
Su Su tugged at the silky strands in her grasp, forced to tilt her head back.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of the small nightlight abandoned in the corner.
“W-Wait!”
She remembered something, shoving Xuan Mang away as she struggled to reach for the nightlight.
Three centimeters… two centimeters… She was about to touch it when a larger hand reached past hers, pressing down on the switch.
The dim light vanished.
At last, Su Su no longer had to worry about the tent casting suspicious shadows from the inside.
From her wrists to her ankles.
A tingling sensation spread, making her entire body tremble.
—
Half-awake, Su Su suddenly rolled into a familiar embrace.
She murmured drowsily, “Why are you wearing those pants?”
Back when he was still half-human, half-snake, he hadn’t even wanted to wear a shirt, only covering up slightly in front of others.
But now that he had fully transformed into a human, he was suddenly so proper? And he wouldn’t even let her help him?
Deep down, Su Su felt a mix of curiosity and nervous anticipation—she wanted to know if everything had truly taken on a human form.
Xuan Mang pressed his lips together in silence.
When she didn’t get an answer for a long time, Su Su, too tired to push further, soon drifted into deep sleep.
Only after she was fast asleep did Xuan Mang lower his head in frustration.
How did he end up losing something?
A certain snake, who had never known what it meant to feel self-conscious, finally experienced the sting of insecurity.