Breakfast was a quiet affair, with Neville eating his meal while the snake showed a surprising interest in the creamy bowl of oatmeal he had prepared. It was fascinating to watch Lucky delicately taste the sweet oatmeal.

With breakfast finished and the morning stretching ahead, Neville decided to indulge in some retail therapy—window shopping, of course.

He had already learned his lesson that he couldn’t just buy anything he needed right away without checking the market. If he really wanted something, he could just buy it in the system mall. Not to mention, he really needed to look out for his expenses this month; his savings were only so much that Shelly was even forced to ’save’.

"Let’s see what the System Mall has to offer for good snakes," he said, pulling up the system holographic screen.

The next hour was spent browsing increasingly ridiculous pet accessories. Cosmic beast feeding bowls that cost more than most people’s monthly salary. Enrichment toys designed for intelligent reptilians that looked more like complex puzzle boxes. Temperature-regulated basking stones that came with their own AI systems.

"This is absurd," Neville laughed, adding a particularly expensive item to his cart. "A self-cleaning water feature? Do you even drink water?"

Lucky tightened its coil slightly, a gesture Neville was beginning to recognize as approval.

"Silly Lucky," he said fondly. "Fine, but if someone asks why my expenses are so high this month, I’m blaming you."

As the afternoon approached, Neville prepared for their tea time. He set out his best tea set and tea and prepared a selection of pastries he bought from the system mall.

"Now then," he said, carefully measuring the tea leaves, "the key to perfect Longjing tea is water temperature. Too hot and you’ll burn the leaves. Too cool, and you won’t extract the full flavor."

He felt slightly foolish lecturing a snake about tea preparation, but the creature seemed genuinely interested. It watched as he performed each step carefully. When the tea was ready, Neville poured two cups—one for himself and a shallow dish for the snake.

He already learned yesterday that Lucky preferred to drink from something it could easily access.

"To friendships," he said, raising his cup in a mock toast.

Lucky’s tongue flicked out before it began delicately lapping at the tea. Neville watched in amusement as Lucky completely ignored the expensive pastries in favor of the simple green tea.

"Just like him," Neville commented. "You will get along well with my boss. He’s particular about his tea, too."

Lucky paused in its drinking, head tilting.

Then, Neville suddenly had an idea and purchased something from the system mall. A laptop materialized on the table. It was the top-of-the-line from Earth’s era, something that he couldn’t afford before.

"This," he told Lucky reverently, "is going to change your life."

The snake slithered onto the table, examining the device with what looked like genuine curiosity. It coiled around the laptop, tongue flicking out to taste the air around it. Then, it finally settled into a comfortable position where it could see the screen.

"Let’s start with something classic," Neville said, scrolling through the options. "Something from my teenage days. Ah, perfect."

He selected one of the series that had helped him through his own journey of self-discovery. The familiar theme music brought a wave of nostalgia so strong it almost made him cry right there and then.

How many nights had he spent watching this, finding comfort in characters who struggled with the same questions he did?

"This show," he explained to the snake, which had been placed on his lap for optimal viewing, "taught me that it was okay to be different. That love comes in many forms, and none of them are wrong."

He remembered being fifteen, confused and lost. He was convinced something was wrong with him because he didn’t react to anyone the way his classmates did. He remembered finding this show by accident, staying up late to watch it in secret. He slowly realized he wasn’t alone. That there were others like him, that it wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

"Sexuality is complicated," he found himself saying as the first episode played. "When you’re young, there’s so much pressure to fit into neat little boxes. Everyone expects you to have it all figured out, but how can you when you’re still figuring out who you are?"

Lucky tilted its head, as if listening.

"I spent so long trying to compromise and go with the flow of the world. It wasn’t until I met Hana. Hana is the girl who introduced me to BL novels. With her, I finally started to realize that it’s okay to slow down, pause, and take a look around me."

"We even dated briefly, trying to see if we were the one for each other, but..." He smiled at the memory. "We were better off as friends. She used to say that she was married to her fictional men anyway."

Hours passed as they watched, Neville occasionally pausing to explain cultural references or share related memories. Lucky proved to be an excellent viewing companion—quiet, attentive, and surprisingly reactive to emotional scenes.

"You know what’s funny?" Neville said during a break between episodes. "After we broke up, I never thought I would find someone again. I was totally okay with that, really. I had my books, my friend, my quiet life. The next thing I know, I woke up in this world."

He laughed, but there was some bitterness. "The irony isn’t lost on me."

Lucky suddenly tightened around his wrist. It was definitely not painful, but it was expressing some form of opinion.

"Oh, you disagree?" Neville asked, amused. "I’m telling you now, I’ll probably die of old age before I find the same comfort again."

The room fell dark as night crept in. They had watched the entire first season, and Neville felt emotionally wrung out in the best way. Good stories always pulled him in a way that snapping out of it was a bit hard.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked Lucky, who had moved to his shoulder. "We can start season two. That’s when the really good angst kicks in."

As he prepared for bed, following the same medication routine as the night before, Neville felt oddly content.

"You know," he said to Lucky as he placed it on the pillow beside his, "I’m really lucky to have you here, even if you are just a snake. Because I will probably go crazy from isolation and talking to myself without Shelly."

He reached out to stroke the snake’s head one last time and fell asleep.