After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 10

By the time An Yu returned, the two men were no longer outside the door. Before he could even knock, Lu Shiyan’s weary voice drifted out from within:

“Xiao Yu, come in.”

When An Yu entered the room, Lu Shiyan was lying on the bed. His forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat, and he was still slightly breathless. Mo Ying and Mo Han stood to the side, with Mo Han holding a wheelchair in his hands.

“Why is Young Master An standing at the door? Come in and sit.”

Nodding, An Yu placed the food box on the table and walked to the bedside with a look of deep concern.

“How is Your Highness? Does it hurt very much?”

Lu Shiyan shook his head and forced a faint, reluctant smile.

But anyone could see that Lu Shiyan was pale, his cold sweat was flowing steadily, and he couldn’t even manage to smooth his furrowed brows. His words carried the heavy weight of suppressed agony.

An Yu knew this kind of pain. Back in the modern hospital’s rehabilitation room, there were always people wailing and howling in agony.

“Young Master, today’s recovery training has concluded. His Highness must continue this daily for the time being. However, given His Highness’s endurance, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

After Yun Liang finished speaking, Lu Shiyan also gently patted An Yu’s hand. “It is nothing. Rest easy, Xiao Yu. Does your hand still hurt?”

A Lu Shiyan like this was practically stabbing An Yu in the heart. He wished he could go back and throw the author into the sea so he could rewrite everything about Lu Shiyan himself.

“Why are you crying again?”

An Yu kept his head lowered, tears falling drop by drop.

“Just because Your Highness can endure it, does it mean Your Highness deserves to hurt?”

The other four people in the room heard his choked-up sentence, and no one spoke. Yun Liang opened his mouth but couldn’t find a single word to say.

Lu Shiyan stared blankly at the boy sobbing with his head down by the bed. He remembered that the last person to feel such sorrow for him by his bedside was his mother.

He wanted to comfort the boy, but he didn’t know what to say. Lu Shiyan reached out and gently smoothed the boy’s slightly messy hair, speaking softly:

“Did Xiao Yu make some more food?”

“I made a new dessert for Your Highness.” The more An Yu wiped his eyes, the more the tears seemed to fall. His voice sounded even more aggrieved on behalf of Lu Shiyan.

When reading the novel, he had been angry at the author’s brainless writing and the protagonist’s cruelty. But now that this person was standing right before him, it was heartache and a sense of injustice for him.

“I happen to be hungry. It’s good that Xiao Yu came.”

An Yu couldn’t bear to hear Lu Shiyan’s voice right now, especially when he was using such soft, gentle tones to soothe An Yu’s emotions while in the middle of unbearable pain.

“Your Highness, stop talking. I’ll go get it.”

The other three had quietly slipped out at some point, leaving only An Yu and Lu Shiyan in the room.

The ice in the food box had mostly melted, and the temperature of the Xuemeiniang (Mochi) was just right.

However, Lu Shiyan’s state was truly poor. In modern terms, he had been undergoing acupuncture and rehabilitation from five to nine in the morning, enduring excruciating pain and exhaustion.

The man propped himself up with effort and looked at the soft, tender yellow round balls on the plate, letting out a light chuckle. “What has Xiao Yu made this time?”

An Yu cleared his throat. “It’s called Xuemeiniang. I made mango flavored ones today, so they are called Mango Xuemeiniang.”

Lu Shiyan picked one up and took a bite. The texture was ice-cold, the cream inside the glutinous rice skin was exceptionally smooth and sweet, and the diced mango mixed in added a refreshing touch that cut through the richness of the cream.

“It seems Xiao Yu knows I have a sweet tooth. Every time you make something for me, do you add extra powdered sugar?”

An Yu’s emotions had stabilized quite a bit. He spoke calmly:

“Yes, I know.”

After Lu Shiyan ate one, An Yu packed the food box away. It was better to eat less cold food on an empty stomach, especially in Lu Shiyan’s condition.

“Your Highness should sleep. I just asked Physician Yun, and he said the pain after acupuncture will last for over another hour.”

Lu Shiyan was indeed exhausted. He nodded. “Xiao Yu woke up so early today. Why don’t you go back and rest well, then come accompany me to read books in the afternoon?”

“Alright.”

After five or six consecutive days of rehabilitation, Lu Shiyan’s legs showed signs of improvement. When sitting in his wheelchair, he could already autonomously straighten and move his legs.

“Within half a year, Your Highness will surely be able to stand up.”

An Yu sat at the table, leisurely eating a peach-flavored Xuemeiniang, his words brimming with an unspeakable joy.

Lu Shiyan responded with a good mood. Previously, although he could walk briefly, it was always accompanied by sharp pain and occasional numbness. But when he stood up last night, he could clearly feel a returning sense of strength, and even the pain had lessened significantly.

And all these changes came from the boy before him.

Another half-month passed. The condition of Lu Shiyan’s legs was excellent. Even Mo Ying and Mo Han walked with smiles on their faces, and they were frequently asked by their subordinates if there were any joyous occasions.

Toward evening, An Yu was in the kitchen teaching Mo Han how to make egg tarts. Although the steps weren’t difficult and the ingredients were simple, there were still many obstacles—primarily, the heat of the fire was something An Yu couldn’t control.

As a result, after four or five attempts, although they tasted soft and sweet, they never achieved the feeling of a crispy tart crust. Mo Han was practically stuffed from eating the batches of tarts they produced.

Just as the two were about to start the next attempt, the old housekeeper rushed in frantically, his breath uneven:

“Hoo… quick, get me ten catties of raw meat… hoo—”

Seeing the head chef nod and go to fetch the meat, Mo Han turned to the housekeeper. “Housekeeper, why the rush? Is something the matter?”

“Answering the Master, His Highness is preparing a birthday gift for His Majesty. That snow leopard has had a massive increase in appetite lately and is becoming quite irritable.”

The old housekeeper spoke with a worried frown.

“A snow leopard?” An Yu asked in a suspicious tone. In the original novel, Lu Shiyan clearly sent a rare, final masterpiece by the era’s famous “Painting Immortal.”

The old housekeeper nodded repeatedly. “Indeed. It is still a snow leopard cub, yet its ferocity is already fully revealed. It only restrains itself slightly when His Highness is present.”

As soon as the housekeeper finished speaking, the head chef brought over the raw meat. The housekeeper quickly instructed the servants behind him: “Take it quickly, let’s go.”

An Yu patted the flour off his hands. “Mo Han, you keep trying slowly. I’m going to see the snow leopard.”

“Hey, Young Master—”

The old housekeeper and his group were in a hurry, and An Yu quickly followed. When he heard Mo Han calling him, he simply waved his hand.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

As they neared the feeding cage, the old housekeeper quickened his pace even more, gasping for air. “The meat is here. Is Your Highness injured?”

“No harm done.”

An Yu couldn’t help but marvel; this housekeeper was truly a former soldier. Even in old age, his explosive strength was not something an ordinary person could match. An Yu, who had never passed a physical fitness test since childhood, finally understood the “dead to the world” expressions of his classmates after their exams.

“Xiao Yu?”

An Yu was panting. He caught his breath before saying, “Your Highness, I came to see the snow leopard.”

Lu Shiyan gestured for him to come over and sit. “What’s the rush? Take a rest.”

Lu Shiyan gave a look to the guard training the beast. The guard nodded and opened the door to the feeding cage.

The guard went inside and soon appeared before everyone leading a thick iron chain. On the other end of the chain was a snow leopard cub less than a meter long.

Its pure white fur was interspersed with regularly distributed black patterns, and a thick, fluffy black-and-white tail nearly as long as its body trailed behind it.

Although the snow leopard was not yet an adult, it was born in the wild, and its wild nature was already apparent. As the guard led it out in chains, it let out a low growl at the crowd. Some of the more timid servants even took a step back in fear.

“Your Highness.”

The guard stood at the door with the snow leopard. The old housekeeper had already had people place the meat to the side. The impatient snow leopard sniffed, dragged its heavy chain over to the meat, and began to feast.

The stone table where Lu Shiyan sat was about two or three meters from the leopard. From the moment it came out, An Yu’s eyes were glowing.

Isn’t this just a big kitty?

Due to his physical condition, An Yu had never been able to touch animals. Even when he wanted to keep a cat as a child, his entire family had voted against it. But An Yu happened to be a “fluff-con” (obsessed with fluffy things); his bedroom was filled with realistic plush dolls.

Thinking he was too far to see clearly, An Yu took two steps forward.

“Young Master!”

The elderly housekeeper was already trembling with fear, and seeing this, he let out a startled cry. Lu Shiyan also frowned slightly, but he didn’t stop An Yu’s movements. The boy’s confidence didn’t seem to come from nowhere.

An Yu wasn’t approaching blindly, of course. Though he couldn’t touch animals, whenever he visited a zoo, the fluffy creatures always approached the glass to “cuddle” with him. Even passing by a cat café, the kittens would roll around and act cute behind the glass.

The group watched the snow leopard eat in silence. An Yu crouched a meter away, his eyes fixed on that large tail swaying back and forth in pleasure.

“Your Highness, does he have a name?”

“Bai Ao.”

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the bowl of meat was empty. Hearing someone call its name, the snow leopard turned its head lazily, glanced at Lu Shiyan, then wandered around before walking toward An Yu in front of everyone.

Clang— Clang—

The sound of the chains clashing echoed. The guard instinctively shortened the chain, causing the snow leopard to be forced to a halt just two fist-lengths away from An Yu.

The snow leopard’s eyes were instantly filled with impatience. It turned its head to glare fiercely at the guard and let out two low growls.

“Young Master, Young Master, come back quickly!” The old housekeeper stamped his feet in anxiety, his wrinkled face contorted even further.

An Yu smiled at the housekeeper to show it was fine, stood up slightly, took another step toward the snow leopard, and reached out to touch its fluffy head.

An adult snow leopard is a majestic king of nature, but this sub-adult leopard looked rather cute. The “fierce-yet-milky” little snow leopard instantly squinted its eyes when An Yu’s hand touched it, letting out a comfortable purr.

An Yu was once again shocked by the soft texture. Thinking of the cat-petting tutorials he’d seen online, he stroked from the top of its head to its neck, then all the way down to its chin, moving slowly and steadily.

The “big cat” tilted its head, flopped onto its side, curled its paws in front of its chest, and exposed its softest belly. Its large tail even wrapped directly around An Yu’s wrist.

Everyone else was shocked. Lu Shiyan’s eyes were full of intrigue as he stared at the scene and let out a light laugh.

An Yu rubbed the big cat’s belly over and over, his eyes overflowing with affection.

“Your Highness, is he to be sent to His Majesty as a birthday gift?”

Lu Shiyan paused for two seconds. “No. This is a pet kept in the manor.”

Behind him, Mo Ying, who had been acting as a background character widened his eyes in shock: Keeping a snow leopard as a pet?