Chapter 1The Snake Prince Next Door

My fiancé, Julian, loves snakes.

As his fiancée, I was terrified of them. Every time I cried, he'd sneer, "Stop faking it."

I tried so hard to overcome my fear.

Until one day, a girl appeared who wasn't afraid of snakes.

She wandered in and out of his room, playing with his little pet snake.

Finally, I gave up. I was packing my bags to call off the engagement when suddenly, a stream of comments scrolled across my vision like a livestream chat:

[Yes! Run, girl! Don't let that bad snake wrap around you!]

[Hahaha, the male lead is gonna lose his mind. It's been ten years and she's still scared of snakes. Wait till she sees him shedding!]

[Am I the only one who wants to see the good girl get pinned against the wall by the out-of-control male lead until her eyes lose focus?]

I shuddered in fear.

When I turned around, Julian closed the door behind him and asked coldly:

"Packing your bags? Planning to run?"

* * *

I didn't get it.

I woke up early, packed quietly, and even closed the door.

So why did Julian's snake still slither in?

"Don't... don't come over here."

I shrank into the corner.

The little black snake stopped at the door, flicking its tongue. Hiss.

For some reason, I felt like it was staring at my suitcase on the floor.

And it looked pissed.

I made a "shoo" gesture at it. "Just stay there. Don't come closer. Don't move, okay?"

The snake stopped moving.

It just stared at me with eyes like tiny black grapes.

I let out a sigh of relief and continued packing as quietly as I could.

"Where are you going so early?"

The door creaked open.

Julian leaned against the frame, looking down at me, enunciating every word: "Fi-an-cée."

I jumped like a startled rabbit, stammering, "Going... going on a trip. Just for fun."

"With whom?"

"A friend. You don't know them."

He narrowed his eyes.

Slowly walking towards me.

I instinctively stepped back.

He scoffed, annoyed. "Scared of snakes, fine. But scared of me too?"

Actually, I wasn't scared of him.

But the girl who had been frequenting his greenhouse lately...

She made me feel like a clown.

I turned my head away, biting my lip, silent.

"Fine."

Julian suddenly crouched down and picked up the little black snake.

The snake wrapped obediently around his wrist, lifting its head and hissing.

He stared at me tightly. "Touch it."

I looked terrified.

The air around Julian seemed to drop a few degrees.

He repeated, "Touch it. Take care of it for one night. If you do, I'll let you go."

Despite his bad temper, Julian was a man of his word.

So I gathered my courage and reached out. The snake stretched its head towards me. My hand trembled, and it slithered right on.

"Ah—"

I yelped.

The little black snake greedily wrapped around my wrist, its tail rubbing back and forth.

"Mmph."

Simultaneously, Julian let out a muffled groan.

His expression was ugly, but a strange blush rose on his cheeks.

I looked at him in confusion. Julian snapped, angry out of embarrassment: "Get out. Give it back to me tomorrow."