Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 7

Jiang Si carried Pei Ye into the organization’s private shower area. Several subordinates followed behind them holding clean clothes and towels.

Sensing the proximity and the gazes of the others, Pei Ye began to tremble slightly again. He buried his face deeper into the crook of Jiang Si’s neck.

Jiang Si stopped in his tracks. Without turning around, he spoke in a cold voice. “Leave the things. Everyone out.”

The subordinates were taken aback and hesitated. One of them instinctively spoke up. “Mr. Jiang, perhaps we should help.”

“Did you not hear me?” Jiang Si’s voice dropped in temperature, carrying an undeniable weight of pressure.

The men immediately silenced themselves. They quickly placed the items on a nearby shelf, bowed their heads, and retreated, closing the door behind them.

Only the two of them remained in the room, accompanied by the sound of rushing water.

Jiang Si set Pei Ye down. He looked at the boy’s hands, which were still clutching his lapels tightly.

“I do not know how to take care of children,” Jiang Si stated flatly.

Pei Ye kept his head down, his voice tiny. “It is okay. I can do it myself.”

Jiang Si did not respond. His eyes fell on the boy’s disastrous state and the small wounds still oozing blood. He frowned and let out a clicking sound with his tongue.

Clearly lacking patience, he reached out and began to strip away Pei Ye’s soaked and filthy clothes with movements that were far from gentle.

Pei Ye stiffened for a moment but did not resist. He simply let his body tremble slightly as he allowed Jiang Si to proceed.

This was the first time he had ever exposed his body completely to Jiang Si.

He was scrawny and pale, with his ribs clearly visible. However, what was even more shocking were the various scars covering his skin. Old scars were layered upon one another, while new bruises and abrasions seeped beads of blood, mixing with the mud to map out a long history of abuse.

Jiang Si’s movements paused.

He had guessed the child’s past was difficult, but seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter. This body told a story of suffering far more concrete and prolonged than he had imagined.

A strange, restless emotion flickered in his heart. It was not sympathy; it felt more like the displeasure of seeing a possession that had been excessively damaged.

He silently turned on the warm water and adjusted the temperature. Picking up the showerhead, he began to wash the filth from Pei Ye’s body.

As the water flowed over his wounds, Pei Ye’s body instinctively tensed and recoiled.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

Jiang Si’s voice was lower than usual, carrying a rare and stiff trace of gentleness.

Pei Ye’s face flushed a deep red, and his ears felt hot. He still did not dare to look up, his voice as soft as a mosquito. “I really can do it myself. I do not want to dirty your hands. I do not want you to see me this dirty.”

“It is fine.”

Jiang Si continued his task, rinsing away the blood and grime to reveal even more small scars, both old and new. “Stand still. Do not move. Be good.”

Pei Ye stopped talking and stood obediently, letting out only the faintest gasps when the water stung his wounds.

Once clean, Jiang Si wrapped him in a large towel and dried him carefully. Throughout the process, Pei Ye was exceptionally docile and cooperative.

Perhaps it was the warm water soothing his frayed nerves, or perhaps it was the extreme exhaustion following his emotional outburst. Before he could even be dressed in clean clothes, Pei Ye’s head began to nod. He eventually fell fast asleep in Jiang Si’s arms, his breathing becoming steady and deep.

Jiang Si looked at the boy’s unusually peaceful yet still pale sleeping face. He paused for a moment, then took the clean clothes and dressed him with somewhat clumsy but successful movements. He then picked the boy up again.

When he pushed open the shower room door, the lieutenant was indeed still waiting outside.

The lieutenant saw the clean, dazed, and sleeping Pei Ye, then looked at the damp, dirty spots on Jiang Si’s own clothes. He asked hesitantly, “Fourth Brother, are you okay?”

“I am fine,” Jiang Si said calmly, continuing to walk out with Pei Ye.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped. As naturally as if he were deciding what to have for dinner, he said, “By the way. This child. I will raise him myself from now on.”

The lieutenant froze in his tracks, almost suspecting he had misheard. “What? Fourth Brother, did you actually take the wrong medicine today?”

He pressed further, losing his usual composure. “Do you not hate trouble the most? Especially the kind that is fragile and dies easily.”

Jiang Si lowered his gaze slightly. He looked at Pei Ye, who frowned slightly as he was moved and instinctively nuzzled closer into his chest.

Fragile? Certainly.

Troublesome? Also true.

But the obsession and madness hidden within this fragile shell—the reckless ruthlessness that exploded simply because something belonging to him was defiled—intrigued him.

The boy had even been able to wound Cheetah. This extreme distortion and dependence gave Jiang Si an unprecedented sense of control and a pleasure similar to that of raising a predatory beast.

He was far more interesting than he had originally thought.

“Let’s go.”

Jiang Si did not answer the lieutenant’s question. He simply carried Pei Ye toward the parking area.

Back at the apartment, Jiang Si gently placed Pei Ye on the guest bed and tucked him in.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, he sat by the bed for a while, watching the slight furrow in Pei Ye’s brow even in his sleep.

So fragile, so easily destroyed. And yet so mad that he would kill over a set of clothes.

Mad in an interesting way. And even more dependent on him than he had imagined.

The next day, Jiang Si went to the organization’s medical wing.

“Mr. Jiang,” the members guarding the door greeted him respectfully.

Jiang Si nodded slightly and pushed open the door to the infirmary.

Lu Dongxi lay on the bed groaning, his head wrapped in bandages, his face bruised, and his arm in a cast. When he saw Jiang Si enter, he immediately put on an expression of grievance and rage. “Fourth Brother! You are finally here! That little psycho, he—”

“Pack your things. Leave Skeleton within the day,” Jiang Si interrupted. His tone was devoid of any emotion.

Lu Dongxi’s expression froze. He almost thought he had heard incorrectly. “What? Fourth Brother? It was that Pei Ye! He almost killed me! You should be—”

“Do you not understand my words?” Jiang Si looked at him with ice-cold eyes. “Get out of the organization. Go back to wherever you came from.”

Lu Dongxi was completely stunned and began to panic. “Why?! Fourth Brother! My father, my father gave.”

“I will speak to the Lu family myself,” Jiang Si said, entirely unmoved. “Skeleton has no room for trash, and even less room for fools who cause trouble.”

He took one last look at Lu Dongxi’s pale face and turned to leave.

In the hospital room, Lu Dongxi sat alone on the bed, trembling. He finally realized that Jiang Si was serious.

Why? Why! I am the third young master of the Lu family! In terms of status and everything else, I am far more noble than that little brat!

Why did Mr. Jiang treat me this way?!

He looked despairingly at the closed door, clutching his head in pain. He felt a wave of terror imagining how his father would scold him.

You useless brat! You could not even win Jiang Si over! What use does the Lu family have for you?!

But Father… who is Jiang Si? How could he be someone you can just win over?

The next day, without any prior notice, Lu Dongxi was forcibly thrown out of Skeleton.