Chapter 12: Strange Dreams

Who was Song Jingyao?

A lawless little demon prince that everyone found troublesome, obviously.

If someone told him not to move and he obediently listened, wouldn’t that be humiliating?

So Song Jingyao lay face-down on the hospital bed, struggling and flailing around randomly.

Meanwhile, a cool hand gently spread ointment across his back.

The movements were soft and careful, every touch soothing his irritation like a quiet spring breeze.

Most importantly… it felt really comfortable.

As the maddening itchiness gradually faded away, Song Jingyao unconsciously narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and relaxed against the bed.

It honestly felt similar to getting a massage at a luxury bathhouse.

The kind with proper bathing areas, buffet service, gyms, entertainment rooms, and spa treatments.

High-end decoration.

Excellent service.

Using Shen Xiuzhu — a male protagonist crowned with a dazzling golden protagonist halo — as a personal masseur was honestly an incredible achievement in itself.

By the time Shen Xiuzhu patiently finished applying the cool ointment over every swollen patch of allergic skin, Song Jingyao had already fallen asleep on the hospital bed without a care in the world.

After washing his hands, Shen Xiuzhu returned to the bedside.

Song Jingyao was lying sideways, his fair cheeks slightly flushed as they sank into the pillow, squishing softly out of shape.

His lips remained slightly parted unconsciously while soft breathing sounds escaped quietly.

Childishly adorable.

While asleep, he looked gentle and harmless.

Those seductive peach blossom eyes were shut, the flirtatious energy completely gone.

Raised with endless affection since childhood, his temperament beneath all the arrogance was actually clean and carefree, without worries or burdens.

He looked obedient enough to resemble a tiny angel.

But once awake?

He immediately transformed into a chaos-causing devil king who constantly ran wild with a pack of spoiled second-generation heirs, impossible to control.

Shen Xiuzhu watched him with unbelievably soft eyes.

His filter was honestly severe.

He thought Song Jingyao was adorable while sleeping.

Yet when awake and energetic, even while arguing against him with bright shining eyes full of life, he still seemed wonderful.

The only thing Shen Xiuzhu disliked was seeing Song Jingyao away from his side, lingering in nightclubs and acting intimately with other people.

Seated beside the bed, Shen Xiuzhu slowly raised a hand toward Song Jingyao’s face.

His fingertips stroked gently across his skin, cautious and painfully slow.

Every touch carried overwhelming tenderness and obsession.

Violent emotions churned beneath his eyes.

He suppressed them desperately, afraid that if he lost control for even a moment, he would give in to the twisted desire buried inside him — to cruelly snap the wings of this young eagle soaring freely through the sky and drag him back into his own cave to imprison him forever.

But if he truly did something like that, what meaning would there be in forcing Song Jingyao to stay beside him?

Once that lively spirit was worn away, would Song Jingyao still be himself anymore?

It would only destroy him completely.

So he absolutely could not do it.

Shen Xiuzhu gently caressed the sleeping young man’s face while the possessiveness he usually hid so deeply revealed itself without restraint in his eyes.

When will you finally like me?

I’m already starting to run out of patience.

Meanwhile, asleep in bed, Song Jingyao actually wasn’t resting peacefully at all.

Perhaps because his body still felt uncomfortable from the allergy, he spent the entire night dreaming.

He dreamed that he was inside an icy lake.

The water stretched endlessly without boundary.

The lake was deep.

His feet couldn’t touch the bottom.

The feeling of having nothing to rely on filled him with intense panic.

He struggled desperately, trying to swim toward shore.

But no matter how hard he fought, it felt as though he hadn’t moved at all.

Everything was useless effort.

Only then did he finally notice the strange sensation around his body.

Something cold was tightly wrapped around him.

But because the lake water itself was freezing, his senses had become confused at first.

In the darkness, a long shadow drifted beneath the water.

Blurry and indistinct.

Then—

Something cold and wet slid across his face.

…He got licked?!

Song Jingyao’s eyes widened in horror.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t clearly see what had licked him.

His entire body was soaked and unbearably heavy.

Wrapped tightly by that thing, he was slowly dragged deeper beneath the water.

Fear exploded inside him.

He struggled violently with all his strength.

But the thing binding him was far too strong.

Like an ant trying to shake a tree, his resistance was meaningless.

Still, he continued fighting desperately.

Struggling…

Struggling…

Thunk.

A sharp pain hit Song Jingyao’s butt.

He had rolled straight off the hospital bed onto the floor.

Still half asleep, he sat there with blurry eyes and flushed cheeks, completely confused.

Right at that moment, Shen Xiuzhu entered the hospital room carrying breakfast.

The two locked eyes immediately.

Song Jingyao’s hair stuck up messily in every direction.

His face still carried sleepy confusion while his collar hung loose off one shoulder.

The blanket was wrapped around him sloppily.

He looked exactly like a baby chick freshly hatched from its shell — dazed, wobbly, and incapable of standing properly.

The kind you could poke with one finger and watch topple backward stupidly.

The image in Shen Xiuzhu’s head amused him so much that he accidentally burst out laughing.

Song Jingyao’s eyes widened as he woke up a little more and finally realized Shen Xiuzhu was laughing at him.

Immediately embarrassed, he growled angrily, “What the hell are you laughing at?! Help me up!”

The threat sounded completely powerless.

Instead of intimidating, it only made him sound flustered and humiliated from being seen in such an embarrassing state.

Still smiling faintly, Shen Xiuzhu walked over in a few steps and helped him back onto the bed.

Then he even lifted the hospital tray table and placed breakfast neatly on top.

Song Jingyao shuffled into the connected bathroom to wash up.

With a toothbrush hanging from his mouth, he glanced at the bowl of porridge and immediately looked dissatisfied.

“I’m not eating that!” he protested unclearly through toothpaste foam.

This time, Shen Xiuzhu refused to indulge him at all.

“You haven’t fully recovered yet. You can’t eat anything heavy. Porridge is the healthiest option right now.”

“Heh.”

Song Jingyao sneered rudely, though the toothpaste bubbles in his mouth made him look ridiculous instead of threatening.

Ignoring Shen Xiuzhu completely, he turned around and went back into the bathroom again.

After fully washing up, he came back out without sparing the porridge a single glance.

Instead, he reached for his clothes.

Shen Xiuzhu immediately stopped him.

“You’re not ready to leave the hospital yet.”

Unhappy, Song Jingyao tugged open his collar aggressively to prove his point.

“It’s just a tiny allergy. I’m already better!”

A large section of pale chest was exposed.

Compared to the severe redness and swelling from last night, it had indeed faded significantly.

Only faint pink remained now.

Without careful inspection, it almost looked like a natural rosy glow in his fair skin.

Shen Xiuzhu remained unmoved.

“You’re not completely recovered.”

Song Jingyao desperately wanted to lose his temper.

But after opposing Shen Xiuzhu for so many years, he had developed survival strategies.

He knew Shen Xiuzhu was unbelievably stubborn.

Arguing head-on was completely pointless.

And since he couldn’t physically beat Shen Xiuzhu either, the only option now was for a wise man to bend when necessary.

So he suppressed his fierce expression and instead turned back toward Shen Xiuzhu with a softer voice.

“I seriously don’t want porridge. It tastes awful. I’ll just go eat something with actual flavor, okay? I promise it won’t be spicy or heavy.”

Shen Xiuzhu looked back at him calmly.

A faint smile appeared on his gentle face before he mercilessly rejected him.

“No.”

Song Jingyao immediately flung away Shen Xiuzhu’s hand in frustration.

Then he plopped down onto the hospital bed with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, looking so angry that smoke practically threatened to rise from his head.

After sulking for a while, he still refused to look at the porridge.

Instead, he picked up his phone and furiously began typing away.

He was sending dramatic complaints to his parents about Shen Xiuzhu, sparing no effort in exaggerating how pitiful he was.

Their precious son was starving to death in the hospital.

He couldn’t even eat a simple ordinary breakfast.

On and on and on he went.

In summary, his message boiled down to one sentence — I’m too miserable! Hurry up and scold him for me!

Originally, this really wasn’t a big issue.

But Song Jingyao was a spoiled little ancestor to begin with.

And when sick?

That personality upgraded into an even more terrifying version.

After suffering through injections, medicine, discomfort, and poor sleep all night long, he now couldn’t even eat something he liked for breakfast to comfort himself.

Naturally, he exploded emotionally.

Although he never said it directly, his entire existence at that moment radiated the exact energy of a giant emotional meme — Baby is upset!

A famous flirtatious rich playboy acting this childish over being sick would absolutely become a laughingstock if word got out.

But in reality, Song Jingyao only behaved this way around family and Shen Xiuzhu.

Ever since childhood, the more his family spoiled him, the more dramatic he became.

It perfectly matched the saying that the favored are fearless because they know they’re loved.

As for why he behaved the same way toward Shen Xiuzhu…

Even Song Jingyao himself had never consciously realized it.