Chapter 22
Xing Nuo’s bottom had been poked, and not only did Big Brother not help, he even teased him about being a fake crybaby!
“Not!”
Xing Nuo shook his head vigorously, his curls flying, and, huffing, crawled out of his brother’s arms.
He curled up on the bed, his back to his brother, his small hand covering his still-slightly-sore bottom, his mouth turned down in an aggrieved pout.
Shen Yan, seeing the little one’s sulky demeanor, smiled faintly.
A hint of amusement in his cold eyes, he deliberately turned to the doctor.
“Doctor, Xing Nuo is awake now. Does he need another shot?”
Xing Nuo, bundled in his blanket, peeked out, his ears perked up, his palms sweating, eavesdropping.
The doctor, pushing up his glasses, glanced at the eavesdropping Xing Nuo and shook his head obligingly.
“Not now, but if the fever comes back, we might have to.”
Shen Yan’s deep, magnetic voice continued. “Does he need to take medicine?”
Doctor: “Yes, once the fever comes down a bit.”
Xing Nuo huffed softly under the covers. I won’t eat it!
I’ll just keep my mouth shut and make Big Brother eat the bitter medicine!
As he was plotting, the effects of the injection kicked in, and his eyelids grew heavy.
As Xing Nuo fell asleep, faint blue veins appeared on his closed eyelids, his long, dark eyelashes resting against his pale skin.
His small hand still covered his bottom, as if even in his dreams, he was worried about the doctor waking him up with another shot.
Shen Yan, stifling a laugh, gently moved the little one’s hand to his tummy and gestured for the doctor to leave.
At the door, Shen Yan lowered his voice and asked the doctor a few questions about caring for sick children.
Mid-sentence, a figure dashed from the elevator.
“Shen Yan! Where’s Xing Nuo?!”
Shen Baizhou had rushed over, his uniform askew, his backpack dangling from one hand, clearly not having bothered to put it on properly.
He had received the news of Xing Nuo’s hospitalization and run all the way from school without pausing for breath, his frantic pace unusual even for him.
Shen Yan, his expression unchanged, looked down at Shen Baizhou’s hand gripping his collar and sneered.
“Let go. Xing Nuo just fell asleep. You better not wake him up.”
Shen Baizhou released Shen Yan’s clothes and wiped his hand on his uniform as if he had touched something dirty.
“Has Xing Nuo’s fever gone down? Seriously, why does something always happen to Xing Nuo when you’re around?”
Shen Baizhou recalled something a girl in his class had said and frowned, a puzzled look on his usually carefree face.
“Don’t tell me…you and Xing Nuo are incompatible!”
He then smacked his hand and nodded vigorously. “Definitely! Your birth chart is bad. You’re not fit to be Xing Nuo’s Big Brother.”
Shen Yan: “…”
“Shen Baizhou, can you learn something useful at school?”
Did monsters even have birth charts?
Shen Yan didn’t even know when he was “born.” Even his creator, Shen Wen, probably didn’t remember.
Shen Yan smoothed out his wrinkled suit, trying to calm down.
He took a deep breath and gestured for Shen Baizhou to follow him.
Shen Baizhou seemed to want to pursue the birth chart issue, but then remembered they weren’t human…
He followed Shen Yan, dragging his feet.
The quiet, empty stairwell was a suitable place for a private conversation.
Shen Yan crossed his arms and spoke first.
“When I went downstairs to get dinner for Xing Nuo, he encountered another dungeon.”
The players in their world called the different horror scenarios “dungeons” and assigned levels to each.
The monsters in the dungeons were mostly different, but some S+ level monsters appeared in multiple dungeons.
For example, Shen Yan controlled the most dungeons, from D-level to SSS+, encompassing various types and difficulties.
Shen Baizhou was different. He preferred to stay in his underwater lair and rarely appeared in dungeons.
Shen Baizhou’s drooping eyelids snapped open, his usual lazy demeanor replaced by a look of surprise.
“What? Which monster is so blind?”
Dungeon worlds had their own rules. Unless something unexpected happened, the world’s rules dictated that only adult human players would be pulled in.
Xing Nuo was only a few years old. How could he encounter two dungeons in such a short time?
Shen Baizhou started to think about which monsters he had offended, causing them to break the rules to get revenge on his little brother!
Shen Yan, his thoughts unusually visible on his face, rubbed his palm, his expression icy.
“Two dungeons. The monster in today’s dungeon is dead, and we can’t find anything wrong with the other one, the zombie dungeon.”
Not finding anything wrong was the biggest problem!
Shen Baizhou clicked his tongue and glanced at Shen Yan, a look of disdain in his eyes.
“What’s the point of controlling so many dungeons if you can’t even find out what happened?”
Shen Yan ignored Shen Baizhou, whose stupidity was evident in his 7-point chemistry test, and who was, technically, his younger brother.
“I’m going to check on Xing Nuo. Be careful. There are people with special abilities in the human world. Don’t get exposed.”
Shen Baizhou snorted, his expression still nonchalant.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and lifted his chin.
“You don’t understand. All students are like this.”
Shen Baizhou was an obedient student. He stood in the corner when he was told to, rewrote his homework without complaint.
Good students like him were rare these days!
Shen Baizhou went to check on Xing Nuo.
He pushed open the ward door and saw Xing Nuo curled up on the bed, his face flushed. He paused.
Shen Baizhou quieted his steps and breathing, slowly approaching, then crouched down, dropping his backpack on the floor, and looked at Xing Nuo.
He extended a finger, about to poke Xing Nuo’s warm, soft cheek, when his hand was swatted away.
“Are you looking for trouble? Xing Nuo just fell asleep.” Shen Yan’s voice was laced with warning.
The slap was deceptively light but surprisingly forceful. A red mark quickly appeared on Shen Baizhou’s usually unblemished skin.
Shen Baizhou’s face was expressionless as he looked up at Shen Yan.
His black hair fell away from his face, revealing his handsome features. He opened his mouth and whispered:
“Are you crazy?”
Trying to get revenge, was he?
Shen Yan just glanced at him, adjusted Xing Nuo’s blanket, and didn’t bother responding.
Shen Baizhou, who had a history of accidentally waking Xing Nuo, frowned, but didn’t say anything.
The brothers sat in silence, watching over Xing Nuo.
The night passed uneventfully.
Dawn broke, the morning light filtering through the curtains, casting faint shadows on the floor.
Shen Baizhou rested his chin on his hand, his face dry from not soaking in water all night, his lower lip chapped.
He glanced at the sky. It was time for school.
He picked up his backpack and, before leaving, whispered to Shen Yan:
“Take care of Xing Nuo. I’m going to school.”
Despite his tough exterior, Shen Baizhou didn’t dare disobey Shen Wen and went to school every day, even if he hated it.
Shen Yan, who was working on his tablet, paused and hummed in acknowledgment.
“Don’t worry.”
That was his little brother. Of course he would take care of him.
Bright sunlight streamed into the ward, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.
The golden light fell on Xing Nuo’s curls, his hair seeming to melt into the sunlight, his cheeks glowing warmly.
Xing Nuo, having slept soundly, sat up groggily.
He held his aching head, his eyes dazed, lost in thought.
Shen Yan walked over, pulled the little one into his arms, and gently massaged his forehead.
“Headache? The doctor said you might feel unwell for a while after the fever breaks. Do you want something to eat?”
Xing Nuo continued to hold his head, his vision swimming. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he remembered something.
“Someone poked Zaizai!”
He still remembered the injection even after sleeping.
How much did he resent that shot?
Shen Yan chuckled and tapped Xing Nuo’s forehead, putting him back on the bed and picking up the warm porridge.
“The doctor gave you the shot to help you get better. Have something to eat. You must be hungry after sleeping for so long.”
Just then, Xing Nuo’s stomach rumbled loudly.
He looked down at his tummy, then looked up, about to speak, when Shen Yan fed him a spoonful of sweet porridge.
He swallowed.
“Why…my tummy…make noise?”
Shen Yan looked down, blowing on the porridge, his sharp features softening.
“Your tummy hurts when you’re hungry. It’s telling you it’s time to eat.”
Xing Nuo ate half a bowl of porridge, his eyes curving into a smile, and hummed.
“Now…no more hurt.”
Yesterday, he had been burning up and miserable. Today, the fever had broken, the flush on his cheeks gone.
He felt much better, holding his head and insisting he wasn’t hurt anymore.
Shen Yan paused, chuckled, and pinched Xing Nuo’s cheek, which had thinned slightly from his illness.
“No more hurt? Or are you just afraid of taking medicine?”
Xing Nuo, his little scheme exposed, blinked and lowered his head, not daring to speak.
