My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Losing Control, Getting Ruthless, and Never Ending…

Since the same kind of “accident” had happened twice in a row, Song Ai snapped awake instantly. He retreated ten centimeters, maintaining a safe distance.

“Lu Tingyun? What the f—”

He was about to interrogate him with a “Why the hell are you in my bed,” but then he noticed something was off with the man.

His lips were pressed thin, and his face was deathly pale. He looked like… he had a fever?

To make sure he wasn’t misreading the situation, Song Ai stared at him for half a minute before tentatively reaching out to touch his forehead.

Scorching. It was incredibly hot—to the point where it practically burned his hand.

Song Ai jumped, immediately pulling his hand back. He intended to scramble up and turn on the light, only to find that he was already locked in Lu Tingyun’s embrace. The grip was extremely forceful; the man was clinging to Song Ai’s arms and torso as if he were a drowning man clutching a life raft. No matter how much Song Ai squirmed or twisted, he couldn’t break free by even a fraction.

Suppressing the urge to kick him, Song Ai calmed down and tried to wake him: “Lu Tingyun, Lu Tingyun, you have a fever. Let go of me right now, or no one’s going to call a doctor for you!”

The man didn’t listen at all. Instead, he seemed trapped in a nightmare, beginning to mutter unconsciously: “Cold… so cold. Hold me… hold me…”

Song Ai felt he was talking nonsense. “Of course you’re cold, you have a fever! Let go of me, or you can just wait to freeze to death!”

The man still didn’t respond. He simply pulled Song Ai closer into his chest, as if this were the only way to alleviate his chills.

Seeing that he was about to be pressed skin-to-skin against Lu Tingyun’s body, Song Ai hurriedly braced his hands against the man’s chest, barely maintaining a sliver of distance between them.

“I’m an absolute idiot if I ever let you in here again.”

Song Ai was fuming, but he was helpless. He had to keep trying to wake the guy up. He was about to yell at the top of his lungs when he suddenly remembered a report he’d seen once saying you shouldn’t wake a sleeping person too violently, or it could cause a mental breakdown.

That consequence was a bit too heavy for Song Ai to bear. He hesitated, then chose a milder tone: “If you keep squeezing, you’re going to choke the life out of me.”

The fever-addled man clearly wasn’t processing the words. His mouth remained a loop of “Cold… hold me tight.”

Sensing the muscles in the man’s arms tightening even further, Song Ai lost all his fight. He gave up, went limp, and followed the man’s lead, loosely wrapping his arms around his firm waist.

Even through the fabric of their clothes, Song Ai could feel the man’s scorching heat. With a red face and a blank expression, he muttered, “There. Happy now?”

Yielding to the man actually worked.

Lu Tingyun quickly relaxed. He stopped mumbling about the cold and stopped applying crushing force. Instead, he buried his head in Song Ai’s shoulder like a wounded beast that had finally found sanctuary, gently and slowly nuzzling his jaw against Song Ai’s collarbone.

With a man who was nearly 1.9 meters tall and solidly built curled up in his arms, Song Ai had a bizarre sense of “painless motherhood.”

He waited patiently for a while. Once the man was almost still, he patted his back and asked again, “Okay, I’ve held you for several minutes. Can you let go now?”

“…”

Silence.

Lu Tingyun ignored him. Those locked arms showed no sign of loosening, as if the previous pacification had been a joke.

Song Ai was starting to feel numb. He couldn’t spend the whole night holding this giant of a human, could he? More importantly, with Lu Tingyun burning up like this, if he didn’t find a way to lower his temperature, what if he died in the middle of the night? Wouldn’t Song Ai actually become a young widower??

His mind was a mess of thoughts. Just as he was brainstorming what to do, he suddenly felt a cold, wet sensation on his collarbone.

Wha—What was that?!

Song Ai was startled so badly his back twitched. He ducked his head under the covers to look, only to find that Lu Tingyun was licking him!!!

A bolt of lightning seemed to strike Song Ai from head to toe. This time, he was truly, deeply stunned.

“…Holy shit! Lu Tingyun, are you in heat?! Did a golden retriever possess you?!”

He cursed while lifting a leg, trying to kick the man off. Unfortunately, the thick spring duvet muffled his strength and speed; the kick was meaningless.

The man let out a muffled groan, but his body only grew hotter.

Song Ai couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t have the patience to waste time with him. He began to resist frantically again—using hands, feet, punches, and kicks.

However, the results were negligible. Against this behemoth, Song Ai’s struggles looked like a child throwing a tantrum or even acting cute, especially since the other person was semi-conscious.

After a long struggle, Lu Tingyun’s large palm eventually came up to rest on the top of Song Ai’s head. He gently rubbed Song Ai’s hair as if he were soothing a kitten or a puppy. Song Ai gave up once more.

“You mother…”

Before he could finish the curse, his thigh felt something… A moment later, Song Ai was dumbstruck.

It turned out his “desperate resistance” had actually triggered a physical reaction in Lu Tingyun!!!

Dammit.

How the hell… am I supposed to stop this!!

Song Ai was on the verge of a breakdown. He wanted to move but didn’t dare, fearing he would make the man even more agitated.

Calm down, calm down.

As long as I stop moving, maybe he’ll simmer down in a bit.

With that thought, Song Ai quickly steadied his breathing, trying to cool himself down first.

However, Lu Tingyun was already past the point of no return. His uncontrollable desire was rising like a wildfire. His body couldn’t help but want to do something; before Song Ai knew it, a hand had slipped under the hem of his shirt, touching his back like an octopus.

Song Ai’s back trembled, but he still didn’t dare move.

A rough palm roamed over his smooth back, moving from the spine to the tailbone, even attempting several times to lift his waistband and reach for softer areas.

Fortunately, Lu Tingyun didn’t have the strength for that.

After two minutes of wandering, he wasn’t satisfied. He leaned his whole body in, burying his head by Song Ai’s ear and whispering in a low, intimate murmur: “Song Ai, I want…”

The next few words practically blew Song Ai’s mind to pieces.

“You want a piece of string, that’s what you want!” His ears were burning red, and his mind was a chaotic mess of “adult-rated” flashbacks. He even started to stutter: “You… you f—ing let go of me first! You’re burning up and you still want it? Aren’t you afraid of dying!”

Lu Tingyun seemed to wake up for a split second. He processed the words and retorted aggrievedly: “Why can’t I? You can have ‘needs’… why can’t I?”

The phrase “having needs” was what Song Ai had used the first time he forced Lu Tingyun into bed. He never expected the man to use his own logic against him! Song Ai really wanted to travel back in time and punch his past self.

But acting rebellious now would probably lead to a bad ending.

People with fevers have a common trait: they experience an exaggerated sense of vulnerability and grievance. They seek comfort and company like a helpless child, but like a child, they can also lean into unreasonable extremes.

Song Ai had been sick many times and understood this well. He gritted his teeth and humored him: “Fine, you can have them.”

Lu Tingyun seemed to take the bait. He settled down a bit more.

But this peace was fleeting. Before long, his leg rubbed up against Song Ai again, pushing his luck: “Then… Can you give it to me?”

“…”

Song Ai was completely out of moves. Was Lu Tingyun so deep in his “mating behavior” that he couldn’t get out?

He was actually frustrated to the point of laughter. “No, seriously, bro. You can ‘want’ it in this condition? Look at how much you’re burning; aren’t you afraid of having a brain hemorrhage halfway through?”

These earnest words seemed to have some effect.

Lu Tingyun went silent for a few seconds, his hands stopping their movement. After a moment, he asked seriously: “Then if… in the future I want it… can you give it?”

Song Ai immediately became wary: “…What do you mean?”

“Just like you required me to fulfill my duties as a husband,” he said in a low voice, “can I ask you to fulfill your obligations as a wife in the future?”

Song Ai: “…”

He felt that this wasn’t just “mating behavior” anymore—this was a full-on pursuit of love!

Was this guy always this insatiable? Probably not, right? Didn’t everyone outside call him “Brother Abstinence”? Avoiding men and women alike, cold, detached, and devoid of desire… How did he end up like this!!

…Could it be that because of those two times, he’s lost his head, gotten ruthless, and now there’s no end to it??

Thinking of this, Song Ai couldn’t help but gasp.

So… he had brought this all on himself??

Education really is a closed loop; he had finally personally experienced the profound meaning of “playing with fire and getting burned.”

Lu Tingyun didn’t give him much time to hesitate. Seeing that the man was about to push his legs apart again, Song Ai hurriedly brushed him off: “Fine, fine, fine! Consider it a debt I owe you! Can you let me go now?”

Lu Tingyun was clearly very satisfied with this answer. Although he didn’t let go immediately, he stopped his wandering hands and simply held him for a while.

It wasn’t until the fever truly took its toll and his consciousness faded into a stupor that his strength finally slackened.

Song Ai seized the chance instantly, throwing off the covers and scrambling out of the man’s embrace.

…

Housekeeper Wu called a doctor over.

After checking with an infrared thermometer, the doctor confirmed it again with a traditional one. The result: “39.8°C (103.6°F). High fever. We need to cool him down immediately.”

The doctor was efficient. He immediately had a servant bring a basin of warm water. While he instructed Housekeeper Wu to wipe down the patient’s body, he quickly opened his medical kit to prepare an IV drip.

Song Ai retreated from the room.

The commotion this time was even louder than before. Cheng Chao had long since crawled out of bed to watch the drama. Now, he and Song Ai were both leaning against the doorframe, peeking in.

He couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Holy moly, that high? Is my brother going to turn into an idiot from the fever?”

Song Ai didn’t say anything, but he was actually a bit worried. After all, they had wasted quite a lot of time just now…

Cheng Chao was still in a state of shock. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever seen my brother sick. A few years ago when he first took over the group, he didn’t close his eyes for two days and nights during the busiest period, yet he acted like nothing happened. He was basically a powerhouse! I thought he had transcended the realm of us mere mortals… I didn’t expect him to actually get sick??”

“By the way, why did he suddenly get a fever? What did you two… do last night??”

Song Ai: “…”

How was he supposed to explain that? Should he say he kicked his brother out to sleep on the sofa with only a thin blanket, and that’s why he caught a chill and a fever?

Song Ai didn’t think it was his fault—Lu Tingyun was the one who insisted on sleeping in his room. But to say it had nothing to do with him… that didn’t feel right either. After all, if the truth about their agreement got out, the only one who would truly be affected was the Song family. Lu Tingyun was doing this out of kindness.

He lowered his eyes in thought, spacing out for a moment until Cheng Chao waved a hand in front of his face.

“Are you having a fever too?”

Song Ai’s pupils focused. He was about to make an excuse when Housekeeper Wu walked out.

“Madam, Young Master Cheng, the Master’s condition has improved slightly. It’s not even 3 AM yet; why don’t you both go back to sleep? The doctor and I will take care of the rest.”

Cheng Chao had classes tomorrow, so he obviously couldn’t stay up.

Song Ai was fine; he pulled all-nighters frequently and was used to it. However, he wasn’t needed here and was too lazy to volunteer. He simply asked, “The shorty is taken care of, but where do I sleep?”

He couldn’t exactly go back to sleep next to a feverish Lu Tingyun, could he?

Cheng Chao: “…”

Housekeeper Wu smiled, looking quite mysterious. “I have a place for the Madam.”

Three minutes later.

Housekeeper Wu led Song Ai to the door of Lu Tingyun’s bedroom.

Song Ai: “…”