“Teacher… waaah… Teacher, wake up…”
The whiny sniveling by his ear was so damn annoying that Shen Leyuan wanted to tell the kid to shut up. But that word teacher made him rein in his irritation, forcing himself to calm down and regain his senses.
What happened?
Seems like today I took the students on a field trip, then the truck…
“It’s all your fault! Teacher’s gonna die!” That irritating voice suddenly spiked. “Why didn’t you act sooner? You were clearly following us the whole time—you did this on purpose!”
Shen Leyuan snapped fully awake and hesitantly called out, “Little Deer?”
I’m not dead?
Little Deer whipped around in surprise. “Teacher, you’re awake? Do you feel bad anywhere? Does it hurt? Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
He hadn’t even thought about it before, but now that Little Deer mentioned it, Shen Leyuan felt pain everywhere.
But Little Deer was an idiot who didn’t even know to pour him a glass of water. He just kept sniveling until the bodyguard finally held a teacup to his lips, moistening his parched throat that felt like it was on fire.
As the liquid hit his mouth, Shen Leyuan gulped it down greedily. A few drops trickled down his sharp chin, soaking into his collar and staining the flushed skin beneath, stinging the wounds there.
The bodyguard reached out to wipe the water away, but Little Deer shoved him hard.
“Don’t touch Teacher!”
He used real force—the bodyguard staggered back. Shen Leyuan frowned slightly and rasped, “Little Deer, no being rude.”
Little Deer flopped back by his pillow, sobbing out his grievances. “Teacher, you were out cold for so long. Daddy wouldn’t let me take care of you—he even said you were dead… Teacher, don’t die, okay?”
I was unconscious?
Shen Leyuan knew better than to argue with an idiot. He turned straight to the bodyguard. “Am I hurt bad?”
The bodyguard stayed silent, staring off in Little Deer’s direction like he was lost in thought.
Something’s off here.
Anger surged in Shen Leyuan. He mustered his strength and smacked the guy’s arm. “Straight bro, what’re you daydreaming about while staring at your young master?”
The bodyguard snapped back. “Huh?”
Shen Leyuan hurt all over, and even talking made his throat burn, but he still squeezed out a mocking jab. “Heh, ‘I’m straight’—ring a bell?”
The bodyguard froze.
The bodyguard looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
The bodyguard fled in embarrassment.
Shen Leyuan: …
Staring at the door the bodyguard had forgotten to close, he fell silent.
Bro, you can run off ashamed if you want, but answer me first! How bad are my injuries?!
Not that bad, actually.
Aside from his side, arm, and fingers, the rest were just minor scratches.
But for some reason, he had a persistent high fever.
Little Deer fetched a bowl of plain congee and fed it to him clumsily while ranting in fury. “Little Deer can do it too! Little Deer’s capable! Why won’t they let me take care of Teacher?”
Shen Leyuan cooed at him. “Yeah, yeah, Little Deer’s amazing.”
Little Deer: “Then… from now on, can only Little Deer take care of Teacher?”
The boy said it shyly, but his pupils reflected the frail, pale figure like a black cage crushing its prey—repressing a stubborn obsession and hunger that looked downright eerie.
“Little Deer will be good. Little Deer’s amazing. Little Deer can do anything for Teacher. Teacher just has to lie there and let me take care of you. Teacher, promise Little Deer, okay?”
His voice was soft, laced with a faint, seductive allure.
“Okay…”
“Mr. Shen!” The bodyguard burst through the door.
Shen Leyuan jolted awake from the interruption, startling himself. What could Little Deer even do? He can’t even feed water right—he tastes every bite he feeds me. Let him ‘care’ for me and he’ll probably send me straight to the afterlife.
Plus, I’m a tutor. How could I let the boss’s kid play nurse?
He pushed away Little Deer’s expectant gaze and turned to the bodyguard. “Something up?”
Talk about coincidence—the one who’d bolted earlier was the straight bro he’d teased that day. This one was the shy blushing guy he’d called “big bro,” the thin-skinned one.
Blushing Guy was blushing again, but he forced composure. “This accident was our fault, so I wanted to ask—what kind of compensation do you want?”
Shen Leyuan furrowed his brow and first soothed Little Deer. “Baby, head back to your room first, okay?”
No way! I wanna stay with Teacher!
But he called me baby…
Little Deer nodded eagerly, backing away reluctantly with constant glances over his shoulder.
Shen Leyuan didn’t spare him a look. Gritting through the pain and discomfort, he sat up straighter and confirmed with the bodyguard. “Any kind of compensation?”
The bodyguard hesitated.
A low voice came through his earpiece: “Grant it.”
What compensation could Shen Leyuan even want?
Money, treasures, or maybe for him to be nicer to Little Deer. At most, a sliver of trust or honesty.
The latter he couldn’t give; the former didn’t matter.
Lin Yuan wearily closed his eyes. He’d already made plenty of concessions. If the young man still wasn’t satisfied, he was just being greedy.
The next moment, he snapped his eyes open.
On the massive screen ahead, the young man declared firmly, “I want to resign.”
Lin Yuan: …
The instant those words left his mouth, Shen Leyuan felt a chill down his back. He chalked it up to the villa’s gloomy vibe and the boss’s scariness—that was a gun, pointed right at his head!
If he hadn’t dodged back then, he’d probably be stone-cold dead by now.
He was sure the boss’s eyes had been blinded by jealousy.
He really wanted to kill me…
Lin Yuan saw the resolve in Shen Leyuan’s resignation and felt irritation, anger—even a touch of grievance he couldn’t place. In the end, he labeled it disappointment in the young man.
Talk about devoting your life to education—what’s this? A little scare and you ditch your beliefs and principles? That pretty skin hides a hypocrite and a coward.
…That scared of me?
Idiot. If I wanted to kill you, would I be so roundabout?
Amid the bodyguard’s silent hesitation, he spoke coldly, repeating those three words: “Grant it.”
With that, Shen Leyuan swiftly packed his bags and left.
No looking back.
The wound on his waist made him wince repeatedly, but his steps were light.
The bodyguard hesitantly asked, “Sir, should we still plant a tracker on him?”
Lin Yuan said coldly, “No need.”
No point.
He had no special interest in Shen Leyuan—just fleeting curiosity. Besides, with the young man’s massive debts, he’d come crawling back eventually.
Begging me.
Shen Leyuan woke at noon, hitting the road out of the villa by 2:30 p.m.
The painkillers had kicked in—the wounds barely hurt anymore. Only bone-deep exhaustion lingered in his limbs. Without the bodyguard’s support getting out of the car, he might’ve face-planted straight into the hospital.
His mood, though? The opposite—excited, shocked.
The boss actually let me go!
A rare stroke of luck. He buried certain thoughts deep down and thanked the bodyguard. “This is far enough. Thanks for the trouble.”
But the bodyguard hesitated. “Mr. Shen…”
Shen Leyuan’s heart clenched. Did he guess what I’m planning?
The bodyguard fidgeted nervously and handed over a slip of paper with a string of numbers and two words: XXXXXXXXXXX—call me.
Shen Leyuan’s mouth twitched. He brushed it off. “Sure, definitely.”
The bodyguard nodded, still shy as ever, face red as he walked away.
Watching the car vanish from sight, Shen Leyuan’s face hardened. He immediately hailed a cab. “Police station—step on it!”
Ten minutes later.
Lin Yuan got the call from the station. His face darkened after just a few words.
Shen Leyuan’s furious voice blared in the background: “This is cronyism! Colluding scum! Partners in crime! A pack of wolves and dogs! Cats and rats sleeping together!”
The chief gave a quick rundown. “That’s the gist. Pick him up yourself, or…?”
Shen Leyuan: “Riffraff foxes barking and dogs stealing! Ptui!”
The novel had featured this precinct—the young chief was a good guy. After his cops threw a sleazy party, he’d punished them hard and personally escorted Little Deer home.
Shen Leyuan had come full of trust. Reality slapped him hard.
The chief, sprayed with curses, chuckled wryly. “Should I keep him here and handle it?”
Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes, pondering, then oddly added, “He’s a very responsible teacher.”
Chief: “…Yeah, I can tell. Teaches literature?”
Quite the vocabulary.
Lin Yuan said, “Bring him back.”
After hanging up, the chief stared at his phone, baffled. Did I just hear a laugh? Nah, must be my imagination.
Lin Yuan figured he’d been so pissed he laughed.
This wasn’t his first time accused or condemned, but getting reported for “molesting his adopted son” was a first. The young man had even pulled Little Deer’s audio as evidence, arguing righteously, “If he hadn’t tampered with it, why would a dog try to mate with a human?”
Shen Leyuan knew the Black Dog was Lin Yuan’s way of warning him, and its lunge at Little Deer had other reasons. But cornered now, he had no choice but to sensationalize it.
He won’t let me off easy. Gotta draw outside attention.
After the Black Dog mauling, the gun to his head, and that awakening confrontation, Shen Leyuan’s trust in Lin Yuan was zero. His guard was maxed, his mind flooded with all the characters he’d killed off in the story.
Lin Yuan seems decent, sure. But Little Deer’s classmate thought he was trustworthy too—ended up a doll.
Wah, it’s all over. I’m as good as dead.
His heart sank to rock bottom. Desperation bred boldness. Dragged back before Lin Yuan by the bodyguard, he unleashed a tirade. “You creepy perverted dad! Sneaking into your son’s bed at night, locking him in a dark room—you’re a total freak who deserves to be hated by Little Deer forever!”
A vein twitched on Lin Yuan’s forehead. He closed his eyes and asked himself, Why did I bring him back?
Am I insane?
The voice by his ear faded—from raging fury to righteous indignation to a hint of guilt. He looked up; sure enough, the young man’s face now held hesitation and doubt, like he’d finally grown a brain.
Something’s wrong…
Shen Leyuan shut up completely, face taut as he glared at Lin Yuan.
Why isn’t he talking? Or shooting? Or having the bodyguards drag me off to feed the dogs?
“Done cursing?” Lin Yuan asked calmly.
Shen Leyuan: …
Feeling like I might survive after all. He chickened out, mumbling softly, “Kinda thirsty…”
Lin Yuan stayed even-tempered. “Drink some water and keep going?”
Shen Leyuan gave a dry laugh. “Nah, no need.”
What’s going on, heavens? Did you swap me to a parallel world on the way here? Is this really Lin Yuan?
Lin Yuan sat ramrod straight, thinking Doesn’t matter. Not important.
Observing a stray cat that sneaked back home just needed eyes—no petting, no meowing back when it yowled like a maniac. That’d be stupid and laughable.
No point getting mad at a cat.
But what he said was: “My salary for you wasn’t high enough?”
Shen Leyuan’s eyes darted. “…It’s plenty.”
Lin Yuan: “Did I ever restrict your freedom?”
Shen Leyuan: “No.”
“Have I offended you, hurt you, threatened you, or molested you?”
“…None of that.”
Lin Yuan met his gaze. “Did I molest Little Deer?”
Shen Leyuan fell silent.
From crossing over till now, he’d spent over ten hours a day with Little Deer. Their private chats far outnumbered the public ones, and he’d gleaned things he shouldn’t—like Lin Yuan sharing a bed with Little Deer, locking him in a dark room, even whipping him as a kid.
Little Deer was no liar.
But the boss doesn’t seem like… Did I misunderstand something?
Shen Leyuan grew uneasy.
Lin Yuan half-lidded his eyes, looking weary yet showing the consideration of a mature man as he changed the subject. “In a few days, someone Little Deer’s age will come over.”
He felt ridiculous himself.
—Why say this all of a sudden? What’s the point?
“Huh?” Shen Leyuan blanked for a second before catching on. He nodded. “Oh…”
He started to speak, stopped, wanted to speak again—emotions churning inside, but no words fit. He could only watch helplessly as the bodyguard wheeled him away, left alone to reflect.
Little Deer barreled in like a cannonball. “Teacher—”
The boy wailed. “Daddy said you quit! You don’t want me anymore, Teacher?!”
Shen Leyuan had never been so irritated.
Why ask? Why charge? Ever think I’m injured when you dive into my arms?
Curbing his urge to snap, he softened his voice. “Little Deer, you said before that Daddy bullied you. Teacher’s a bit fuzzy on the details—can you repeat it for me?”
Little Deer froze in shock.
The teacher doesn’t like me anymore! He didn’t even coax me first!
He wanted to scream, to throw a tantrum, to punish his untrustworthy teacher. But then he remembered that video from a few hours ago, and his father’s words—that it was all because Little Deer was bad and disobedient that the teacher had quit and left.
Be good. Be obedient. Only obedient children get liked.
Little Deer smoothed away his gloomy expression and tried his best to recall the details and dialogue from back then, answering the teacher’s questions obediently.
Previously, to spare Little Deer’s feelings, Shen Leyuan hadn’t probed too deeply. This time, he wanted to pick apart every single word: “…Besides forcing you into bed against your will, what else did he do? Any kisses? Hugs?”
“None,” Little Deer said, utterly dejected. “Even after whipping Little Deer, he didn’t kiss or hug or comfort me. Daddy never let Little Deer touch him, didn’t touch Little Deer himself. He even made me apply the medicine alone. It hurt so much…”
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. “Daddy locked Little Deer in a room with no one around, wouldn’t let anyone get close. He even chased away the kind big brother who brought food for Little Deer. He was really bad!”
Hearing it all again, Shen Leyuan still felt like there was no misunderstanding.
But that big shot’s reaction…
Shen Leyuan thought it over and made a bold decision. “Alright, how about this? Let’s play a little game. The teacher will play the daddy, and Little Deer can play your old self. We’ll reenact what happened back then, okay?”
