Those Years I Spent Growing Watermelons at Home - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As summer vacation was winding down, I saw my mom.

I hadn’t seen my mom in many years. My parents were never married-they had me before they tied the knot-and afterward, Mom stayed home to take care of me for three years.

When I was three, she went off to graduate school, and I have no idea what happened after that.

Dad never mentioned her, and I never asked, until that day someone knocked on the door.

I opened it and saw her. The moment she saw me, she froze for a second.

“You’re… Qiao Nan?”

Dad wasn’t home, so Mom and I sat facing each other. It was so awkward that I got up to pour her some water.

Before I could sit back down, I heard a shriek: “Snake!”

I turned and saw Xiao Bei eyeing my mom curiously.

The little snake didn’t understand anything, but maybe he thought my mom looked a bit like me, hence the curiosity.

I scooped up the snake, tossed him into my room, and closed the door.

When I turned back, I met my mom’s shocked gaze. Her voice trembled: “You… keep a snake?”

“Xiao Bei is pretty well-behaved, don’t worry.”

I set the water in front of her. She swallowed, picked up the glass, and took a sip.

We went back to sitting across from each other, and it got even more awkward.

“Xiao Nan, do you remember me?”

“Not really.”

I answered.

“I’m your mom.”

“…Yeah.”

I gave another reply. It wasn’t until Dad came back that day that I could finally retreat to my room.

I threw myself onto the bed. Xiao Bei crawled out from under the covers and rubbed against me. I stroked his head and grinned.

“Baby, can you come with me to college? What am I supposed to do without you?”

I gently rubbed the tip of his tail between my fingers, and the tail obediently yielded to my kneading. Xiao Bei was a lot like my security blanket.

Whenever I felt down, petting the snake always made me feel much better.

However, Xiao Bei had been acting strange the past couple of years. Every time I petted him, he tried to dodge it.

But luckily today he didn’t dodge; instead, he coiled around my wrist and softly nuzzled it.

“Such a good boy today! Good baby!”

The little snake froze for a moment, stiffening up, but I didn’t think much of it.

Feeling drowsy, I hugged my little snake and fell into a deep sleep.

I graduated high school. When I started college, because I had a snake, I didn’t live in the dorms. I rented a place off campus.

College kept me busy-classes during the day, squeezing in time to earn certifications and win awards.

At night, I freelanced as a video editor.

I worked hard, but I wasn’t aiming for graduate school. Some people have big ambitions.

I’m ultimately too lazy; I just wanted to graduate. I’ve never liked school, not since I was little.

I have no interest in studying, but since everyone else was doing it, I did too.

Certifications were the same-they felt like mandatory tasks, and I just wanted to get them done as quickly as possible.

I passed the CET-4 and CET-6, got level two and three certifications in computer science, a high school teaching certificate, and even signed up for a course over summer break to take the Certified Public Accountant exam.

If my major hadn’t been mismatched, I would’ve also gone for the Architect Level II certification.

I was reviewing in my rented apartment, the spring sunshine streaming into the room. Xiao Bei lay curled up in my lap, letting me knead and squeeze him every now and then.

Later, growing uncomfortable, he swatted my book away with his tail tip. He hooked my fingers and nibbled at my fingertips.

My train of thought broken, my other hand subconsciously moved to pick up the book, but in the next second, my other wrist got smacked by his tail.

The little snake was pissed, and bit down hard on my wrist.

The sharp pain made me freeze for a moment. After a while, I couldn’t help but ask, “What, are you about to get your period too? So grumpy?”

Have you ever seen an angry little snake puff up? I have. That year, Xiao Bei had grown to over two meters long.

He huffily went back to my room, burrowed under the covers, and locked the door behind him.

That day, after finishing my books, my practice tests, and my dinner, I ended up crashing on the couch late at night.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up with a start and sort of figured it out.

It was spring. Could Xiao Bei be going into heat?

Xiao Bei locked himself in my room for eight days. His species of snake can go without food for a long time-half a month without eating is no big deal-so I left him alone.

Then, after my exams were over, he snuck into my bed in the dead of night. He woke me up with his fidgeting, and I yawned: “Feeling better now?”

The little snake affectionately nuzzled my neck.

I smiled. “Tsk. Go to sleep, you little tyrant.”