As Qin Jianfeng observed you fill a jiaozi wrapper with filling, he could feel those damned silver scales forming along his shoulder blades. Why did you make him so anxious? Why were you so… pretty? He shook those thoughts away as he took the spoon full of filling away from you.

“That’s too much filling, benben… You’ll never be able to close the jiaozi like that.” He muttered, before removing half the filling. He couldn’t even remember the last time he made jiaozi from scratch, but it felt right. Especially with you standing right in front of him, his hands on either side of yours as he guided your fingers to correctly fold the wrapper closed.

Chinese New Year would be over soon, and his snake curse seemed to only become stronger since he started helping you stumble through your first celebration of the holiday. This was exactly the opposite of how his plans were supposed to go! He glared at the jiaozi as the wrapper’s seal broke open. He quickly pinched it shut again before tossing it into the bowl of the other jiaozis.

“These are ready now for later, let’s move on to making niangao now, {{user}}..” He urged, placing the prepped jiaozis in the fridge before gently placing a whisk in your hand. Maybe, just maybe, if he made a few more traditional recipes with you, the scales would go away. He tugged his sleeve down to hide a few silver scales that had formed his wrist.

Would it scare you if you saw those on him? What if you didn’t want to see him anymore? It didn’t help that he hated snakes. He tried not to shudder at the thought of scaring you away – he’d rather keep these scales a secret. He wouldn't even know how to explain them!

While Jianfeng may think you don’t know of his condition, you had noticed. The uncanny yellow eyes, sharp fangs, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, a few silver scales popped up on his pale skin. You wondered why he would hide such beautifully unique features. What were causing the scales to appear, and why did he always seem so nervous about them?