Little Deer slunk timidly into the room.
Shen Leyuan tapped his fingertips lightly on the desk, his handsome face darkened as he asked, “So, spill it. What are you here for?”
To beg for a kiss.
Little Deer shrank back his neck, reining in the urge to say it with his scant wits. Instead, he widened his big, watery eyes and played pitiful. “Brother said you groped his chest, but Teacher hasn’t groped Little Deer’s chest.”
Sure enough, it’s you, you fool obsessed with Little Deer’s charms!
He didn’t need to guess what Lin Yao would say—nothing more than “that fox spirit is fickle and promiscuous,” telling Little Deer to wise up. Shen Leyuan had heard that crap so many times he couldn’t even muster anger anymore.
He eyed the restrained boy before him and said flatly, “And?”
And… Little Deer hesitated. “If Teacher groped Brother, shouldn’t he grope Little Deer too?”
Shen Leyuan: “Why the hell should I grope you?”
Little Deer grew anxious, his tone all aggrieved. “Teacher said not to touch others casually, but you touched Brother, so you should…”
“First off, it wasn’t casual—I was checking his wounds. Second, he didn’t get injured on purpose to get my attention. And then…”
Shen Leyuan met Little Deer’s gaze. “Who I touch is none of your business, got it?”
Little Deer’s eyes flew wide. “Teacher!”
“I’m not your ‘thing.’ I’m not some public facility you can use because someone else did. I’m an independent person. Our relationship is just teacher and student. Understand?”
Shen Leyuan sighed, rubbing his forehead, then pointed to the corner. “Go sit there and reflect. Think hard about what you did wrong.”
Little Deer didn’t want to sit obediently. Little Deer wanted to throw a tantrum, go berserk.
But he didn’t dare.
He could sense Teacher’s exhaustion, feel those emotions draining away from him. He was losing Teacher’s fondness bit by bit…
No, it wasn’t just fondness—it was all the spiritual sustenance Teacher had so generously given him.
Unprecedented panic surged in his chest. The boy finally recalled his self-criticism during this confinement.
He’d committed assault with a deadly weapon, so Teacher had to hate him now. QAQ
Teacher might even hand him over to the cops!
—Not even close to what Shen Leyuan wanted him to reflect on.
Shen Leyuan saw Little Deer start sniffling and sobbing, and his heart softened a bit. He reflected that his emotions weren’t stable today; his tone had been too harsh, scaring the silly kid.
What does the silly kid know anyway? No one’s ever taught him what’s normal.
It’s all Lin Yuan’s fault!!!
No more thinking about him, or he’d get mad again. Shen Leyuan steadied himself with practiced ease and softened his voice. “Little Deer is so smart—you’ve figured it out already, right?”
Little Deer nodded through misty, teary eyes.
Shen Leyuan: “Then tell Teacher where you think you went wrong.”
Little Deer choked out, “Shouldn’t have used the steel pipe to bash the bad guy’s head.”
Shen Leyuan: ???
Shen Leyuan: !!!
Shen Leyuan: “What bad guy? What head?!”
Little Deer burst into loud wails. “Papa said to punish bad deeds, A Si said Little Deer did great, the bad guy bullied Teacher, Little Deer hated his words—he insulted Teacher! Lied and said Teacher was gonna shack up with him!”
Under the bed at Shen Leyuan’s feet, the little milk dog silently covered its face.
If I have sinned, Heaven can just strike me down with lightning instead of sending this tormenting freak to torture me.
I’ve repented already—why the secondary punishment?
Shen Leyuan’s mood wasn’t much better; he nearly broke down asking, “When you and your brother were tailing me, you beat up that good Samaritan ‘big bro’ who helped out?!”
Good-hearted. Big bro.
Another brutal critical hit straight to Huo Tingfeng’s chest.
If he’d known, he never should’ve played the good guy picking up that line from the Shen guy.
But looking back, he hadn’t been that good-hearted either—lust had screwed him over in the end.
He let out a whimpering sob. Huo Tingfeng kinda wanted to cry.
From puberty flop to now, all he had were pecs, abs, and long legs, but no live action with a bouncing cock. That day, when his big rooster suddenly crowed to attention, was it wrong to get excited?
No!
Heaven just had it out for him.
Or wanted to make him the bottom.
Outside, Little Deer was recounting the whole scene, each word like an arrow. By the end, Huo Tingfeng felt like he’d survived a round of straw-boat arrow-borrowing—riddled with holes, barely breathing, wishing he could go back and strangle his past self.
What a dumbass—dick for brains or what?
After hearing the full story, one line swirled in Shen Leyuan’s mind: No snowflake in an avalanche is innocent.
Little Deer’s wonky logic, Lin Yao’s egging on, Lin Yuan’s indulgence, A Si’s doting, big bro’s lustful intentions, plus his own shortcomings as a teacher—all conspired to create this blacked-out disaster.
His index finger wavered in midair, not sure who to point at. Shen Leyuan’s voice trembled. “Did you call the cops?”
Little Deer sniffled. “They were gonna, but after seeing the video, they changed their minds. Said the bad guy was at fault too—just heal him up and that’s that?”
Shen Leyuan: “Video?”
Little Milk Dog: Whimper?
Video? What video? Not the one he thought, right?!
Little Deer wiped his tears. “Y’know, when I came out, Papa had A Si watch me, and the camera footage…”
Huo Tingfeng couldn’t hear the rest.
He lay on his back under the bed, paws on his chest, the little dog passing very peacefully.
“So he’s in a hospital under Lin Corporation now?” Shen Leyuan asked.
Little Deer: “Mm…”
His pretty little face was all cried ugly, hiccuping nonstop. “Teacher, don’t hate me—!!!”
Shen Leyuan wearily instructed him, “This isn’t about whether I hate you or not. It’s that you did wrong—you need to reflect, feel remorse, tell yourself never to do it again.”
“Little Deer admits it! Little Deer won’t do it again! Teacher, don’t hate me—QAQ”
Shen Leyuan’s breath shook; he wanted to cry too.
He felt so powerless.
Even playing lute to a cow got a moo now and then.
Big shot, I forgive you for one second.
“Here’s the deal,” Shen Leyuan said, suppressing the urge to call the big shot and bawl. “Go home and rest first. Tomorrow, we’ll visit the patient, and Teacher will explain slowly, okay?”
Little Deer: “Teacher, don’t—”
Shen Leyuan: “Teacher hates kids who won’t admit fault, won’t change, and just cry to fix everything.”
Little Deer shut up instantly.
If not for those eyes swollen like peaches, Shen Leyuan might’ve thought he’d been faking it.
With things said this far, Little Deer still didn’t get it—his mind fixed only on grabbing Teacher’s love. Hesitantly, he asked, “If Little Deer admits and changes, will Teacher like Little Deer?”
Shen Leyuan emphasized, “I’m telling you, not sweet-talking you.”
He looked at the boy before him—this Flower Market charmer with his peculiar allure, this love-brained romantic always circling back to romance, this little lech always chasing naughty thoughts. The exhaustion in his heart deepened.
“Little Deer,” he said sorrowfully, “you can’t stay like this forever.”
I won’t convict you before anything happens, but I know that without your father’s strict watch, the world would turn into a nightmare—so I can’t let my guard down with you.
I’m backing off, Little Deer.
Give me some motivation to keep going, please?
Little Deer panicked, wanting to tug Teacher’s sleeve for more words, but Teacher stepped back twice more to shoo him out. “It’s late. Rest up.”
The door shut, Teacher’s figure vanishing from sight.
Little Deer stood dazed at the door, mind blank, feeling like he understood nothing, cut off from the world. The disconnect hit so hard—and he’d never noticed before.
Only after falling for Teacher did he start caring about how different he was.
“It hurts so much,” he murmured to himself. “Liking you hurts so much, Teacher… you don’t even care about me…”
But even in the pain, he still wanted to like Teacher.
Loved Teacher the most.
Only Teacher.
Forever and always, Teacher.
Inside, Shen Leyuan kept opening and closing an interface on his phone.
Directly dealing with Lin Yuan isn’t a good habit.
He knew he could afford to argue mostly because the big shot indulged him. Without that daily tolerance, he might not have had the guts to save Lin Yao.
Better change. Keep distance from the boss.
Especially since he’ll quit soon anyway…
Minutes later, the bodyguard hesitated with his phone, approaching the boss. “Sir, Teacher Shen requests to take Young Master out to visit the patient.”
The boss had just ordered no outings for Little Deer—walking right into the line of fire?
Sure enough, the boss went dead silent.
The bodyguard probed, “Should I turn down Teacher Shen?”
Before typing a word, he heard the boss’s weary voice. “Approve it.”
The bodyguard froze, then quickly replied to Shen Leyuan. He opened the Madam Group and danced with joy, telling the group—mid-cyberpunk drama feast—to hold up; he had a major announcement.
In short: [He still loves him!]
The group exploded for a bit. Someone asked: [Should we tip off Madam about Sir being sick?]
Before the poll finished, the boss’s icy voice came from the room.
“Don’t tell him about my illness.”
The bodyguard stiffened, a weird suspicion bubbling up. The boss’s next words confirmed it.
Lin Yuan: “Don’t blab.”
Tears in his eyes, the bodyguard deleted “abort mission” from the chat box, not daring to ask if he was in the group.
Meanwhile, Shen Leyuan fished the dog out from under the bed.
The pup usually clung to him hard—whining after even a short separation, toddling on short legs to find him. In the room, though, it stayed quiet, loving to burrow in corners.
“You yelped just now, huh? Scared Papa.” Shen Leyuan stroked the pup’s fluff with a sigh. “If that brother finds out, Papa’ll have to give you away.”
Huo Tingfeng: ???
From the sound of it, no taking him tomorrow?
No way—he had to check his own body. Maybe a few touches and he’d switch back!
The little milk dog raged with an awoo, jaws wide to bite—then paused before its milk teeth grazed the young man’s finger pad. Struggling, it stuck out its tongue for a light lick, trying to stir some long-buried paternal love.
He’s just a student—I’m your beloved pup!
Shen Leyuan was delighted. “Baby senses Papa’s in a bad mood, huh? Such a good boy.”
Finally, a bright spot in a day of crap. His mood lifted as he mixed milk formula for the little dog, cooling it before watching fondly as the thing suckled, petting and stroking it now and then as his reward.
I work so hard—I deserve a good pup to rua!
But thinking of tomorrow sank his mood again. He muttered to himself, “How could big bro be that kind of guy…”
Cough cough… cough!
The little dog choked on milk, coughing its lungs out.
Shen Leyuan rushed to care for the kid, dropping the big bro big-chest talk. After wiping the pup clean and tucking it in its nest, he didn’t sleep—turned on the desk lamp and worked on tomorrow’s lesson plan till deep night.
Once he finally slept, the little milk dog climbed the desk to snoop.
Unlike his suspicion of “Shen scheming something,” the notes were pages of psych analysis and fixes. Every line from today’s chat with the little lunatic was there, plus half a page on Lin Yao—filed as not-bad teenage rebellion.
Yeah right, you don’t even think the little lunatic is bad.
Huo Tingfeng rolled his eyes, dragged his nest to the bed’s edge, and lay down—aiming to wake with Shen tomorrow and sneak to the hospital to see himself.
At the same time, Lin Yao—who’d turned in early—sat bolt upright from a dream.
“What the hell?!”
In the dream, the old man married that guy, big-chest dude crashed the wedding, Little Deer sneaked off to the changing room with that guy, and he stormed in to catch them…
Whose affair was he catching???
Sleep gone, group dead silent.
Only at dawn did Lin Yao casually ping the group.
Orphan: [Where’s Little Deer? Got your kiss yet?]
