Class proceeded as usual in Little Deer’s room.
Shen Leyuan once again refused the protagonist bottom’s offer to help and lowered his head to apply medicine to himself.
The boy snuggled up beside him, his tone excited. “Teacher, you still haven’t told me how to punish you. What counts as a punishment that matches the mistake? Teacher, can I bite you one more time?”
This time, I’ll be gentle!
Shen Leyuan’s hand shook as he met his gaze warily. “No.”
Little Deer’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, his breathing quickening as if he were about to have an episode. “Why!!!”
Shen Leyuan raised his injured hand, speaking seriously. “Because Teacher has already been punished, and it was a heavy one. Now, the one who made a mistake is Little Deer.”
Little Deer stared at him in a daze. After a long moment, he drooped his head in dejection. “Oh.”
No more biting. What a shame.
He’d thought he could bite Teacher all over…
Far from having an episode, the boy was unusually obedient. Shen Leyuan let out a quiet sigh of relief while feeling a surge of responsibility toward his student. Since I’m staying, I should teach him properly.
This student was special. He needed to start from the basics.
So he softened his voice, guiding gently. “Teacher just said this punishment was heavy. Does Little Deer know why?”
Little Deer thought along with his words, a troubled expression surfacing on his face. “I don’t understand…”
Shen Leyuan smiled and patted his head. “Teacher will teach you.”
His palm was so warm. Little Deer squinted and rubbed against it, suddenly a bit regretful. Earlier, he was so fixated on Teacher’s mouth that he didn’t savor the taste of Teacher’s palm properly. Now all he could recall was the faint metallic tang of blood.
Why wasn’t it sweet? It should be sweet…
A projector had been added to the room—it was something Shen Leyuan had asked the bodyguard for before class. The original host clearly hadn’t planned to teach properly; there wasn’t a single study-related item in the room, and even the textbooks had to be fetched by the bodyguard.
The classroom was the teacher’s domain. With the rule-of-law presentation open, Shen Leyuan transformed into another person.
“Regarding mistakes and punishments, there’s something that lays it all out clearly. Today, Teacher will introduce it to you. It’s called—the law.”
“The law refers to the general term for behavioral rules formulated by legislative bodies or state organs and enforced by state power…”
“The law regulates people’s behavior, dictating what they can do, what they can’t do, what punishments they deserve for mistakes, what costs they must pay, and delineating everyone’s rights and obligations…”
Little Deer listened attentively at first, but soon he was just staring at Teacher’s mouth.
So red. Like someone kissed it.
Little Deer had never kissed anyone. He wanted to. Would it turn even redder after?
The child was quiet, which meant he was definitely up to no good. Though the situation differed from before, Shen Leyuan suspected he was gathering strength for a meltdown. He schooled his face and asked, “Little Deer, are you listening?”
Little Deer’s gaze drifted. “I don’t understand…”
Not understanding was fine; they could teach slowly. It was better than a meltdown.
Shen Leyuan pulled the presentation back to a certain slide and pointed at the image of people fighting. “What mistake do you think they made? What punishment should they get?”
Little Deer pursed his lips and grumbled, “They only used fists, no knives or guns. So boring.”
Shen Leyuan: …
Shen Leyuan smiled. “I’ll give you one chance to rephrase that.”
A chill ran down Little Deer’s back. Teacher’s smile was so gentle and handsome, but he had the distinct feeling something terrible would happen if he answered wrong again.
He didn’t dare zone out admiring Teacher’s mouth anymore. After struggling for a bit, he said, “The mistake was not drawing blood? Should lock them up and beat them again?”
Shen Leyuan: “…Go on.”
Not stopped, Little Deer grew confident. “Before beating them, tell them whoever wins gets released. The victor can take the money and the beauties. Once they’re all happy and leaving—”
He extended his thumb and middle finger, mimicking a gun. “Bang!”
Hee hee~
Shen Leyuan pinched his faintly throbbing forehead. To avoid stimulating him, he asked calmly, “Little Deer, may Teacher ask if you’ve seen someone handle subordinates this way?”
Lin Shilu blinked. “Daddy does it like that.”
Case closed—it’s you, you twisted father figure top!
I knew there was no way this naive, fragile little bottom could think of himself as the abuser every day. It was that crooked upper beam skewing the straight lower one!
But aside from impotent rage, there was nothing Shen Leyuan could do. He could only gaze at Little Deer with double the pity and coax, “That’s not right. Shall we review it again with Teacher?”
Little Deer wanted to say “No.”
But he didn’t dare.
Grudgingly, he kept watching the video and listening to the explanations. He managed to memorize one line: “Punishments should aim to reduce conflicts and lower crime rates with appropriate measures.” He gave a decent new answer: “Should lock them up…”
Shen Leyuan nodded in satisfaction. “Right.”
Little Deer: “Kill them all!”
Shen Leyuan stared rigidly at Little Deer, slowly uttering a “?”.
Taking a deep breath, he pointed at the text on the slide and repeated, “To improve public safety and happiness levels—did you forget this part?”
Little Deer hung his head pitifully. “Killing the bad guys makes everyone safe.”
His tone started normal but turned whiny by the end—with tears. He answered properly. And it really would ‘reduce conflicts and lower crime rates.’ Why was Teacher mad at him?
Shen Leyuan told himself to stay calm and said helplessly, “But Little Deer, Teacher also said punishments must match the mistake. Otherwise, it’s not fair.”
He gave an example. “If the one fighting was Teacher, would you kill Teacher?”
Little Deer looked up in panic. “No!”
Shen Leyuan coaxed patiently. “If Teacher was fighting, how should Little Deer punish him?”
If it was Teacher…
Little Deer stared blankly at him, cheeks suddenly flushing. He lowered his head and mumbled softly, “Lock him up. Little Deer doesn’t want to kill Teacher. If Teacher dies, he’s gone. No second one…”
No second Teacher would smile at Little Deer every day or teach him these things.
“Right, lock him up.” Shen Leyuan seized the moment to reinforce. “Punishments must be proportionate. Minor fights with light injuries usually mean five to fifteen days of detention. Only extreme cases warrant the death penalty.”
Returning to the original topic, “Teacher accidentally hit you. You could make Teacher apologize or compensate you, but you shouldn’t bite Teacher—or force further punishment. In short, don’t fight violence with violence.”
Little Deer’s eyes reddened further. In a tiny voice, he retorted, “Didn’t force.”
Just thought about it. Hadn’t gotten the chance yet.
Shen Leyuan patted his head. “Teacher knows Little Deer is a good boy who didn’t mean to bite. We’re even now, okay?”
“Not even…”
Little Deer shook his head and held out the back of his hand to Shen Leyuan’s mouth. “Teacher bite.”
Shen Leyuan: ???
The boy tried to apply his new knowledge. “Little Deer has no injury on his face, but Teacher’s hand does. Little Deer can let Teacher bite back.”
Once Teacher bites, Little Deer will slap Teacher’s face.
Then it’ll be fair!
Shen Leyuan had no idea he was plotting a slap and was so moved he nearly teared up. All today’s efforts weren’t wasted. Little Deer actually got it!
Suppressing a laugh, he asked deliberately, “You really want Teacher to bite?”
Little Deer: “Mm!”
Shen Leyuan: “It’ll hurt a lot. You’ll be uncomfortable for days and get a scar.”
Little Deer pulled his hand back a little, then extended it again. “Little Deer not scared!”
“So brave~” Shen Leyuan leaned in, holding back laughter, and parted his lips. “Teacher’s biting now. Hold still.”
Little Deer squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the pain on his hand.
What landed was a gentle kiss.
“Teacher can’t bear to hurt Little Deer, so no punishment.”
Lin Shilu stared blankly.
Teacher’s eyes shimmered with soft laughter as he said warmly, “This is called forgiveness. Does Little Deer understand?”
In that moment, the boy’s heartbeat thundered through the skies.
