What Bunny Wants, Bunny Gets - Chapter 3

Someone really did come to save me.

By then, the silly snake had licked every hair on my body soaking wet. He hissed while his head and tail burrowed everywhere, and I kicked my hind legs in terror.

I let out a shriek.

The auntie came running, crying, “What a sin! What a terrible sin!”

“Young Master, Second Young Master says this is coercion. If you behave like this, you’ll never find a wife.”

“Be good and go inside for a suppressant injection.”

She dragged the silly snake away. He twisted wildly in the air while I shivered in the grass.

The auntie waved at me. “Little rabbit, hurry and hide. Stay far away from the villa for the next few days.”

Sniffling, I scrabbled along the villa wall until I finally found the dog door.

The moment I squeezed through, I saw a rabbit sleeping outside.

My temper flared. I smacked him over the head with one paw.

My brother jolted upright.

I burst into tears. “Brother, you’re a bad rabbit!”

“Your owner almost ate me!”

I made him look at my fur. “Look! He soaked all my fur! He even jabbed me with his tail. It hurt so much!”

“I’m not pretending to be you anymore.”

My brother acted strangely.

On the one hand, he tried to persuade me to endure a little longer, saying that once I took human form, we could leave this place. On the other, his ears drooped lower and lower, and he looked terribly unhappy.

He muttered to himself, “What kind of snake is he? He said I was the only rabbit he liked, but not only could he not tell us apart, he even… even mated with you…”

“I knew snakes were all rotten!”

I nodded furiously. “Exactly! They’re awful!”

“I’m not going tomorrow. You go yourself.”

My brother refused.

I threw myself on the ground and kicked up a fuss.

At last, he said helplessly, “Fine. I’ll go tonight. If nothing happens to me, you still have to go tomorrow.”

He transformed, picked me up, and carried me back to the burrow.

“Xiyan, without spiritual energy, you might fail to take human form. Your life will be very short.”

“Then I’ll be all alone in the world. I’ll be very sad.”

I couldn’t bear to make my brother sad. Aggrieved, I nodded.

“Then make your owner behave tonight. Tell him not to eat me anymore, okay?”

My brother nodded solemnly, without noticing how completely backward my request was.

“Tonight I’ll act pitiful and make him feel sorry for me. The next time you take my place, everything will go smoothly.”

After telling me to rest, he turned and went back to the villa.

I watched him leave. For some reason, he seemed to limp.

I wiped a paw across my face.

What a bitter life! My stupidity had bent my brother’s…

No, wait. His back didn’t look bent at all.

Never mind. My brother was smart. He would never let anyone take advantage of him.

I cried myself to sleep.

Before dawn, he came hopping painfully back. Every time he pushed off with his hind legs, he hissed. By the time he stopped in front of me, his voice was hoarse.

“Go on, Xiyan. I explained everything to him.”

“He swore to me that he wouldn’t touch you during the day tomorrow.”

“I’ll switch back with you at night.”

He sprawled on the ground, eyelids heavy. “Hurry. I can’t go on. I haven’t slept all night.”

He must have worked very hard to persuade his owner.

Still, I pawed at him and asked in a tiny voice, “Do I have to keep pretending I’m mute?”

My brother sprang upright, cried out in pain, and smacked me over the head.

“Of course! The moment you speak, everyone will know you’re a sweet little idiot. If Gu Xu finds out we tricked him, we’ll both end up braised rabbit!”

How could he say that?

Keeping quiet was so uncomfortable.

But I didn’t dare disobey him. Reluctantly, I hopped toward the villa.

Once inside, I filled my belly first.

The moment I reached the lawn, I saw the silly snake digging through the grass, sobbing.

“Where’s my bunny? Where did my bunny go?”

He had taken human form, but his lower half was still a snake’s tail.

How amazing.

Annoyed, I raised one paw and slapped his tail.

He jumped in fright, then turned and saw me. He stared, wiped his eyes with both hands, and looked again.

His tail shot out and swept me up to his face.

We stared at each other, eye to eye.

“Bunny! You disappeared just now. It was so scary!”

“My little brother wouldn’t help me look. He wouldn’t even let me into his room. He’s awful!”

He really was awful.

What kind of little brother refused to obey his elder brother?

Not me.

I was the most obedient little brother in the whole world.

So I listened to the silly snake complain about his brother for half the night. His vocabulary was about as large as mine. All he could come up with was meanie, bad snake, bad little brother, over and over again.