Chapter 67: Chang Gui (7)
Stewed snake soup is a very famous dish, renowned for its fresh and delicious taste, and is accepted and loved by many people across the country.
Hearing this threat, Bai Qiniang felt her legs go weak, having a sudden urge to transform back into her original form.
She said aggrievedly, “It was just a few glances, wasn’t it? Look how stingy you’re being.”
Honestly, humans were the most fickle creatures in the world. One second they’re saying sweet nothings, and the next they can be this vicious.
It was a real eye-opener for a snake.
Jiang Si was almost moved to laughter by her anger. “If I were truly stingy, I wouldn’t have brought you home to let you eat and live for free every day.”
“…” Since one shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds them, Bai Qiniang simply pretended she didn’t hear that.
She turned her head away and changed the subject. “You came here so early just to wait? Where are the other ghosts?”
“The protagonist isn’t here, so naturally, they’re all waiting. Don’t you think?” Jiang Si gave a slight sneer. “What did you see just now?”
“…Just a glance,” Bai Qiniang said guiltily.
“Since you’ve already seen it, I’ll just say it straight.” Jiang Si stood up, stubbed out his cigarette, and said, “I need you to do me a favor.”
“What?” Bai Qiniang thought back to the previous words; her heart was thumping. Was he saying his partner was coming?
Seeing the love stories she had read in novels for years about to become reality, she clenched her fist in excitement and said without thinking, “Sure, no problem.”
“There’s a set of fragmented human bones in this building. It’s too much trouble for me to find them alone. Mobilize your kin to help me search for them together.”
The two of them spoke at the same time. Jiang Si was momentarily stunned, feeling somewhat touched. “So decisive. I didn’t expect you snakes, who look like cold-blooded animals, to actually be so warm-hearted.”
Bai Qiniang was equally stunned, her face filled with disbelief. “What did you say?”
“You want us snakes to find human bones?” She pointed a finger at herself in shame and anger. “Look closely, will you? I’m a snake, not a dog. Isn’t this a job for a police dog?”
Jiang Si: “Aren’t you both animals? It’s all the same.”
“How can it be the same!” Bai Qiniang was unreconciled. “How can a dog compare to a snake?”
“Why can’t they? In the Twelve Zodiacs, you’re even colleagues.” Jiang Si educated her earnestly. “Nowadays, the focus is on the equality of all beings. You really should change that class-based thinking of yours.”
“Besides, think about it carefully. If you can’t do this job but a dog can, doesn’t that prove you’re inferior to a dog? From another perspective, if you find them faster than they do, won’t that prove you’re superior to them?”
“And you’ve already cultivated a human form, possessing a hundred times more spiritual intelligence than an ordinary dog. Do you really believe you can’t even do a small task that they can? You’re devaluing yourself!”
“As the saying goes, when you’re away from home, your status is what you give yourself. How would you know it’s impossible if you haven’t tried?”
He lowered his voice and spoke persuasively, seriously analyzing the pros and cons of helping to find the bones for Bai Qiniang.
Bai Qiniang was drawn in, actually finding quite a bit of sense in his words.
That was true. How could she say she wasn’t capable?
A snake could do anything!
Jiang Si suddenly changed tack, taking out his phone. “But what you said makes sense too. After all, our relationship is at least that of friends; I shouldn’t make things difficult for you. I’ll just call the police directly.”
“!!!”
Bai Qiniang had only read various romance novels since childhood; she had never dabbled in human military strategy books, let alone heard of the schemes within.
In an instant, her blood surged. She patted her chest and immediately declared that she would go back and call her clansmen to help, and they would definitely find them within a day.
Jiang Si was satisfied. “Good. I knew as a member of the Xian family, you’d be responsible. My judgment was indeed correct.”
Bai Qiniang pursed her lips, trying hard to suppress a smile. “It’s okay, I guess. I didn’t expect you to have such good taste. In that case, I might consider becoming a Baoxian for your home—”
“That won’t be necessary.” Jiang Si was very sincere. “I’m doing quite well on my own.”
Bai Qiniang: “…”
She asked suspiciously, “You aren’t tricking me, are you? What human bones could be here?”
Jiang Si sighed and recounted Uncle Li’s experience to her, concluding, “His body was burned to ash, so it’s indeed hard to find. But according to him, after the body was incinerated, it was dumped in this area. As long as we can recover a portion, we can send him off.”
“You mean finding a patch of soil that contains his bone ash?” Bai Qiniang said. “That works. It’s just that this person actually managed to form a Yinchang; I don’t know if it was a coincidence or intentional. It’s strange, too—how have strange things been happening everywhere these past few years, with all kinds of ghosts and monsters coming out?”
Jiang Si gave her a deep look. “I’ll be troubling you with this matter.”
“I know, you do-gooder,” Bai Qiniang curled her lip. “How can filming a movie involve so much trouble?”
Speaking of filming, Jiang Si finally remembered his original purpose. He went back to the car to get the equipment, found a good camera position, and just then, the extras started arriving one after another. Following his routine, Jiang Si first explained today’s scenes to them, rehearsed the positions, and then began filming.
Fortunately, what he was making was a short film that focused on high quality; each episode was only about half an hour long, so it wasn’t too troublesome.
After pulling an all-nighter, Jiang Si actually didn’t feel sleepy; instead, he was even more energetic. He finished filming all the remaining shots in one go before packing up and leaving.
Bai Qiniang found an excuse and slipped away directly. Jiang Si didn’t bother to manage her; as long as she didn’t cause trouble and remembered the important task, she could do whatever she liked.
After returning home, Jiang Si imported the filmed shots into his computer, drew the curtains, turned on the desk lamp, and began to immerse himself in video editing.
The filming of the series Wang Zhao was working on was nearing its end, so he, the screenwriter, could temporarily step away and come to Rongcheng to help. A youth film festival was about to start its submission period at the end of the year, so Wang Zhao discussed with him the plan to rush the work to catch the wave.
Wang Zhao wanted to win an award to build a better reputation for his career, while Jiang Si’s goal was very simple: this film festival was sponsored by dozens of domestic and international enterprises and overseen by international directors, and the prize money was very substantial.
Jiang Si was moved the first time he saw the amount. If he won this, he could rest for an entire year.
The curtains blocked out the passage of time outside; this closed room existed outside of independent time.
It wasn’t until Jiang Si put down the mouse that he couldn’t help but raise his hand to rub his temples. His eyes had been fixed on the screen, and they were aching and dry. When he closed them tightly, a bit of watery tears instantly seeped out.
There was no coffee prepared at home, so he simply took out another cigarette and lit it, intending to refresh himself and continue working.
The phone, which had been silent by his hand, suddenly vibrated. Jiang Si’s eyes were glued to the screen as he swiped to answer the call directly.
“Hello.”
There was silence on the other end for a while. “Jiang Si, it’s me.”
“?” Jiang Si instantly snapped back to reality and looked down at the caller ID on his phone. He laughed helplessly. “I wasn’t paying attention to my phone just now. Why are you calling at this time?”
As he spoke, he rested his other hand on the armrest of the chair beside him and leaned back, reclining lazily against the backrest and slowly swaying with his feet on the ground.
“It’s 3:00 PM.” Hai Di keenly sensed something was wrong. “Did you stay up all night again?”
A few days ago, Hai Di had caught Jiang Si staying up late to film. At that time, Jiang Si had made all sorts of promises over the phone, saying it was just this once and that he would catch up on sleep after returning, so the matter had been smoothed over.
Hearing him say this, Jiang Si realized what time it was. He stood up and pulled back the heavy curtains, and some light filtered through behind the dark blue fabric. Looking down from the window, he could see two or three children playing together on the small square. They were chirping and laughing, very lively.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. He cleared his throat and sat upright. “How could I? I was just busy and didn’t check the time.”
Hai Di didn’t comment but gave a low hum of response.
Jiang Si had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had fooled him, when he heard him continue: “Open the door. I’m right outside.”
This truly shocked Jiang Si. He couldn’t believe it. “How did you get here… wait, how do you know where my house is?”
“I asked Shen Hu for the address.” Hai Di was concise, his gaze fixed on the door before him.
“…”
Jiang Si was both surprised and delighted. He threw the half-burned cigarette into the ashtray, hurriedly stood up, and accidentally knocked over the potted cactus on the desk.
With a clatter, it fell to the floor and rolled around. Its owner didn’t bother to pick it up and hurriedly left.
After the rustling sounds continued for a few seconds, Hai Di clearly heard Jiang Si’s footsteps getting closer and closer until they stopped. The door was pulled open, revealing an extremely familiar smile.
Jiang Si waved his phone at him and spoke with a teasing tone, “Is this a surprise or a scare?”
“That depends on how you interpret it.” Hai Di looked him up and down. Jiang Si was wearing a shirt and long pants, which was indeed his attire for going out. He was about to believe his previous words until he went inside and smelled a pungent scent of nicotine.
“Have you been smoking?” he asked.
“I wasn’t really smoking; I just took two puffs to refresh myself.”
Jiang Si had just casually closed the door and hadn’t even turned around when he was suddenly pressed against the wall. Hai Di leaned in close to his face and sniffed, his warm breath melting onto the skin of Jiang Si’s neck bit by bit.
“The smell of smoke on you is very strong.” Hai Di maintained such a close distance as he gave an objective evaluation, his fingers rubbing and kneading behind the base of Jiang Si’s ear. “Didn’t you say you didn’t stay up late? Then why did you need to refresh yourself? Hmm?”
Behind him was the cold wall, and before him was the hot body temperature. Jiang Si was caught between the cold and the heat, feeling somewhat breathless from the pressure. Having smelled the tobacco for so long, he didn’t feel much himself, but little did he know that as soon as he spoke, the smell of smoke was there.
“I really didn’t ‘stay up late’,” Jiang Si said righteously. “I pulled an all-nighter.”
“…”
“You really are—” Hai Di was about to take the opportunity to lecture him, but before he could finish, his mouth was blocked.
A bitter smell of tobacco, even stronger than the scent, mingled through the fusion of lips and teeth. The hand that had been placed behind his ear also slid behind his waist to be more comfortable, tightly gripping him in an attempt to pull him closer.
Hai Di was here for a business trip this time, and his main luggage had been taken to the hotel by his assistant. He had come to the door in secret, originally bringing a bouquet of flowers to give Jiang Si a surprise.
The result—
Jiang Si looked at his hand. “Where are the flowers you brought?”
Hai Di pretended to be calm. “They seem to be outside the door.”
He had been in such a hurry to enter just now that he had casually dropped them.
Jiang Si could only go back to open the door and pick up the flowers. After placing the bouquet on the living room table, he remembered something and asked, “What would you like to drink?”
“Anything is fine.” Hai Di followed behind, taking the opportunity to look around this decent-sized house. In his subconscious, he always felt it was unusually familiar, as if he had lived here for a period of time before.
Without needing Jiang Si to go back and get it, Hai Di found the refrigerator on his own, opened it, and picked out a bottle of water.
“This surprise of yours really is a surprise,” Jiang Si said helplessly. “I truly don’t have time to accompany you today.”
Hai Di asked, “What do you need to do?”
“I have to go somewhere tonight.” Jiang Si said, unable to help but sigh, “How can I still be this busy even though I’m no longer working?”
Hai Di stepped forward and, taking advantage of his height, easily pinched the back of Jiang Si’s neck, pressing him back toward the bedroom. “That’s a matter for tonight. You should sleep and rest first. I’m in no hurry.”
“I can’t sleep; seeing you arrive has made me energetic.” Jiang Si said, “It’s all your fault; I could have slept for a while.”
Hai Di’s sharp eyes noticed that the cigarette in the ashtray had only just begun to burn, and the things on the desk were all placed casually. The computer’s exhaust fan was whirring loudly. “If I hadn’t come, would you really have slept?”
“Yes.”
Hai Di nodded. “Then that’s my fault.”
As he spoke, he took off his coat. “Since you can’t sleep, I’ll help you.”
“!” Jiang Si was even more awake now, even a bit nervous. “What are you talking about? In broad daylight—this isn’t good.”
Fortunately, his former female classmates from school had shared many resources, allowing him to broaden his horizons as well. As a result, even though he had been single all these years, his theoretical knowledge was unusually rich.
“Don’t worry, I have experience,” Hai Di said seriously.
“Ah?” Jiang Si was shocked.
“How do you have experience? Aren’t you—aren’t you—” Jiang Si belatedly realized that he seemed to have never asked Hai Di if he had any exes from start to finish.
He was twenty-eight, wealthy, and handsome; it would be abnormal for him to have been single all this time.
All kinds of mysterious trains of thought were tied into knots at this moment, affecting Jiang Si’s mood, which rose and fell in a mix of emotions.
Hai Di put away his coat, picked up the potted plant as well, and spoke solemnly.
“I used to help Hai Moyun with his homework. Every time I taught for less than ten minutes, Hai Moyun would fall asleep. This effect should work on you too.”
“???”
“…Tutoring?” Jiang Si suppressed the urge to curse and said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “What subject was he tutoring?”
“Math,” Hai Di answered honestly. “Hai Moyun’s math score before the college entrance exam was only a dozen or so points. No amount of tutors could save him, so in the end, I had to step in personally to help him with his lessons.”
“Mhm.” Jiang Si understood. “Then you’re useless to me. I got a 130 in math on the college entrance exam, thank you.”
“English is also useless; I passed all my CET-4 and CET-6 levels on the first try, all with scores over 550. Explaining problems to me will only make me more energetic.”
Finally, he summarized: “You should give up on that idea.”
Hai Di felt it was a bit of a pity. “Alright then.”
But since he was here, Jiang Si couldn’t continue to be busy with work, so he found a movie to watch together to pass the time.
In the end, they watched for less than half an hour before Jiang Si fell asleep with his head propped up.
Hai Di carried him back to the bed so he could sleep more comfortably and took the opportunity to see what movie it was. He clicked on it, and the screen prominently displayed two rating numbers: 4.8.
Recommended Reads
![Enemies on a Narrow Road [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/enemies-on-a-narrow-road-214x300.jpg)
![Accidentally Turned a Tragic Romance Plotline into a Sweet and Pampering One [Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ACCIDENTALLY.png)
