Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 45

Another few hours passed before Pei Ye woke up in an unfamiliar hospital room.

Master!

He sat up almost instantly, flinging the covers aside, only to gasp as the sudden movement tore at his wounds.

Where was he? Wasn’t he just with Master? How was Master doing now? Was he awake?

He had to see Master.

Enduring the biting pain of his injuries, Pei Ye made his way to the hospital room door. Just as he opened it, he collided with the Adjutant, who had come to check on him.

“You’re awake,” the Adjutant said flatly, looking him over.

“Where is Master?” Pei Ye asked, wasting no words.

“Did you two plan this?” The Adjutant seemed speechless. “Both of you wake up and the first thing you do is ask about the other’s condition.”

Planned this? What did that mean? Asking about each other?

Does that mean Master asked about me too? Did Master care about me?

More importantly, through the Adjutant’s words, he understood immediately that Master was truly out of danger and had regained consciousness. He had even asked about his condition.

Pei Ye’s ears suddenly began to burn for no reason.

“Fine, I know what you want to do. Just be careful not to tear your wounds. After you see him, come back and finish applying your medicine.”

Though his tone remained harsh, the Adjutant stepped aside to clear a path down the corridor for Pei Ye. “Fourth Brother wants to see you, too.”

Pei Ye’s heart rate spiked. He gave the Adjutant a grateful look and hurried out of the room.

The Adjutant leaned against the wall, watching Pei Ye’s resolute back, and let out a sudden sigh. “They really are two of a kind.”

Pei Ye quickly located Jiang Si’s room. He knocked softly before pushing the door open.

Jiang Si was sitting up in bed. Hearing the door, he slowly turned his head to look over.

In a moment of inexplicable embarrassment, their eyes met. The room was deathly quiet, save for the rhythmic beeping of the medical monitors.

“You’re here.” Jiang Si’s voice was raspier than Pei Ye had ever heard it.

Pei Ye practically lunged forward into a kneeling position, trembling as he knelt by Jiang Si’s bedside. His voice was raw with emotion. “Master? You’re awake? How do you feel? Should I call the doctor?”

Jiang Si’s vision was still somewhat blurred, but he could clearly see everything in Pei Ye’s eyes: that intense, thick emotion that was almost overflowing. He also saw the haphazardly bandaged wounds on Pei Ye’s body and the skin still stained with blood and grime.

Fool.

Memories began to flood back: the trap, the poisoned blade, Pei Ye’s frenzied slaughter, and the hand he had gripped before slipping into unconsciousness.

Jiang Si’s finger twitched weakly.

Pei Ye immediately stood up and leaned over him, his voice frantic and incoherent. “What do you need to say? Master, I’m here. Right here, I’m listening.”

Jiang Si didn’t answer. He simply watched him, his gaze deep and complex. He had never seen Pei Ye like this: so out of control, so fragile, yet so powerful. For him. Only for him.

Jiang Si tried to speak, his voice dry and faint. “Your injuries.”

Even now, the first thing Master asks about is my injuries?

Tears instantly welled up in Pei Ye’s eyes. He shook his head violently. “I’m fine, it’s just a small wound. Master, you”

Jiang Si struggled to lift the hand that wasn’t hooked to an IV. His movements were slow. Pei Ye immediately cupped it carefully with both of his own hands, as if holding a fragile treasure.

Jiang Si’s gaze lingered on Pei Ye’s face, passing over the moisture at the corners of his eyes, his parched lips, and his total, unshielded fear and devotion.

Having stood on the brink of death and lying here now, looking at this person who had nearly gone mad for him, slaughtered for him, and waited for him until this moment, the hard shell of indifference and calculation Jiang Si had built finally shattered completely.

What use was weighing options? What use was control or gradual realization? In the face of absolute truth, it all seemed pale and ridiculous.

His fingers suddenly tightened slightly, gripping Pei Ye’s hand back. Then, with agonizing slowness, using every ounce of strength he possessed, he lifted his head toward Pei Ye.

Pei Ye froze, completely at a loss.

Jiang Si’s eyes fixed on Pei Ye’s lips. Then, gently, carrying the warmth and weakness of a man severely injured, he kissed them.

It was a brief, dry contact, hardly a kiss in the traditional sense. Yet it was like a bolt of lightning exploding in Pei Ye’s world. All thought, all sound, and all sensation vanished in an instant.

The blood in his veins seemed to freeze, only to surge wildly a second later. His pupils constricted to pinpoints. He sat frozen like a statue, forgetting even how to breathe.

What is Master doing? Master just kissed me. Right now.

After the kiss, Jiang Si fell back onto the pillow, exhausted and panting slightly. A faint, almost invisible smile of weariness flickered across his pale face.

But his gaze was now crystal clear as it locked onto Pei Ye, carrying a sense of unprecedented confirmation and possession, as if the dust had finally settled.

“So noisy.” He closed his eyes, his voice barely audible, half-complaint, half-comfort. “Anxiety stay quiet.”

Pei Ye remained frozen, as if carved from stone. Only his kissed lips and the heart drumming frantically against his ribs proved he was still alive.

From that moment on, the frozen river finally met the warmth of spring, surging forward with a roar, never to turn back.