Raising My Sweet, Well-Behaved Puppy-Snake to Be My Wife - Chapter 11

Shen Zhiqi lay in his brother’s arms, his tears quickly soaking through his brother’s expensive suit. Beside his ear was his brother’s soft, comforting voice, interspersed with heavy, strained breathing as he endured his pain.

His throat was hoarse from crying, and he felt completely like a soft-bodied creature slumped in his brother’s embrace.

“Snake… the snake is a very, very bad thing.” he murmured in a husky, childish voice.

“It is not bad at all, baby. You are the best baby in the world.”

Shen Zhiheng comforted him patiently, patting his back gently, and occasionally pulling the little snake back up as he kept slipping from his arms due to his limpness.

Shen Zhiqi shook his head, refusing to take his brother’s words to heart. His brother was only trying to comfort him; he knew that a snake was a very bad thing indeed. He tilted his head back, flicking his long, thin snake tongue out a few times.

“Big Brother, I do not want to be a snake. Let me be your little dog, okay?”

With his tear-reddened eyes, he looked pleadingly at Shen Zhiheng, as if he would immediately drown the room in an ocean of tears if he heard a single “no,” impossible to soothe no matter how hard anyone tried.

Shen Zhiheng carefully weighed his words and coaxed him: “A little snake is very cute, baby.”

“No, please, Big Brother, call me a little dog. I just want to be your little dog. I was meant to become fluffy anyway.”

Shen Zhiqi grabbed his brother’s hand, shaking it back and forth, muttering, “Big Brother is the best, I know you will say yes.”

No one could be heartless enough to reject such an oblivious, spoiled little snake. If Shen Zhiqi could be as happy and carefree as a puppy, Shen Zhiheng was more than willing to build this dream for him.

“Alright, a little dog it is. Be Big Brother’s.”

Shen Zhiheng had not yet finished his sentence when the little guy threw his arms around him, wrapping them around his brother’s neck with no rhyme or reason. The little snake in his arms rubbed against his brother’s neck just like a puppy, completely unaware that he was smearing his tears all over his brother’s suit.

“Big Brother is the best. I knew you would be the best to me.”

He held up the tip of the tail he had just used to point at himself and tapped it on the floor.

“I will always be a very obedient little dog.”

Shen Zhiqi’s hoarse voice finally rose, filled with the joy of a sky clearing after rain. As long as his brother approved, nothing else mattered. He was just a dog with a two-meter-long tail who had not yet had the chance to grow his fur.

Shen Zhiheng hugged him back, patting his back rhythmically. “Good dog.”

Since the world outside the isolated island had no room for a little snake, he would let him be a forever-happy little dog on the Shen family island, within Shen Zhiheng’s territory. As long as Xiao Qi was happy, anything was acceptable.

Shen Zhiheng finally coaxed the little guy until he stopped crying, then used a clean sleeve to gently wipe the little snake’s face.

“Baby, didn’t Big Brother close the door and tell you to sleep in your room? How did you sneak out?”

Shen Zhiqi looked at his brother blankly, lost in thought for a long time before his not-so-bright brain finally caught up.

“The snake is because no, I, I think I was because…”

He struggled to correct his self-reference, dragging his large tail along the floor to pick up a crumpled ball of paper from the only clean spot on the ground.

“Oh right, it was because of this.”

Shen Zhiqi carefully unfolded the paper ball and pressed it flat on the floor. “I set an alarm; that is why I came.”

The crumpled paper was covered with pigments blurred by sweat and tears, and the thick, green, snake-like thing in the middle had lost its shape. Shen Zhiheng leaned in, looking at the was that a stem of mustard greens on the paper? He did not dare to guess what was drawn, fearing he might hurt the snake’s feelings with a wrong answer.

“Baby, why did you bring this drawing?”

“Big Brother said Grandma likes bustling places and that she would like me. But Grandma is sleeping here all by herself; how lonely and scared she must be.”

“So I drew myself for Grandma. I can stand guard for her.”

Only then did Shen Zhiheng realize that the thick, green “mustard green” was actually the little snake himself.

Shen Zhiqi did not know what his brother was thinking and dejectedly stroked the wrinkled drawing. “But, this drawing is already dirty you cannot tell it is me. Grandma will not like a dirty child.”

“Then shall we go back and draw a new one to bring here?”

“Okay!”

Shen Zhiqi held his brother’s hand, clutched his ruined drawing with the other, and began to shuffle toward home.

Back at the main residence, the adrenaline that had kept Shen Zhiheng going wore off, and he immediately felt a numbing, searing pain. The little snake, who had been ready to draw, remembered that his brother had taken a heavy blow to the back and immediately rushed to his side.

Shen Zhiheng’s condition did not look good; there was a swollen, purple-red bruise on his back, with the edges faintly oozing blood, looking shocking to the eye.

“Young Master, I will scan you with the device first. If there is bone damage, I will take you to the city center hospital by mecha right now.” Dr. Lin held the scanning device, his brows knitted tight.

“Okay,” Shen Zhiheng said nonchalantly.

As he turned his head, he met the eyes of the little snake, whose lids were red again. He was biting his lower lip, determined not to let out a cry. All of the little snake’s feelings were written plainly on his face: concern, worry, heartbreak all of it was clear to Shen Zhiheng at a glance.

Shen Zhiheng’s heart warmed, and he gently lifted his hand to touch the little guy’s delicate cheek. “Why is the little kid crying again?”

Shen Zhiqi shook his head, lowering his eyes to rub them. He was determined not to be a “bad child” who always needed his brother to soothe him, and he swallowed back his tears.

“Big Brother is okay.” Shen Zhiheng patted his head tenderly.

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Zhiqi was the first person to ever care for him so much, even shedding tears because he was injured.

“No bone damage. If it is all superficial, it is easy to handle. Cold compress for 24 hours, hot compress after that, combined with medication and topical cream.”

Shen Zhiqi listened from the side, let out a sigh of relief, and patted his chest. “Thank goodness.”

“I told you Big Brother would be fine, right? When has Big Brother ever lied to you?” Shen Zhiheng reached out a mischievous hand to ruffle the little snake’s soft hair, leaving it a total mess. “Besides, isn’t it only natural for an older brother to protect his younger brother?”

“No matter what happens, Big Brother will always stand in front of Xiao Qi.”

This was something Shen Zhiheng would not regret, even if he had to relive it ten thousand times.

Shen Zhiqi, with red-rimmed eyes, crawled bit by bit to his brother’s feet. He did not say anything, but he remembered “cold compress,” and he remembered that his brother’s body temperature was higher than his own.

He bent down, picked up his large tail from the ground, and held it up high, like he was presenting a treasure. “Big Brother, cold compress, use mine.”

As the snake tail wrapped around Shen Zhiheng’s neck, both the human and the snake let out a soft hum; one from being chilled, the other from being scorched.

The snake tail served well as a natural ice pack; the smooth scales and the soft skin of the tail felt wonderful. Shen Zhiheng not only let the snake tail press closer to his body but also reached out to stroke the smooth scales.

However, Shen Zhiqi shivered from the heat, his thin little tail tip curling into a ball. The human body temperature was already hot, and it was even hotter now that Shen Zhiheng was injured and inflamed. He was heating up rapidly, his throat felt dry, and he had to flick his little snake tongue out like a puppy to try to dissipate the heat. Yet, he obediently endured it without a word, refusing to even drink a sip of water.

“Young Master, I have brought you a frozen ice bag?” Dr. Lin, holding an ice pack, bumped into this scene and scratched his head in confusion. What are these two brothers doing?

Shen Zhiqi looked up at Dr. Lin, his cheeks flushed with two bright red spots from the heat. “Uncle, Big Brother he has me.”

Dr. Lin had no choice but to place the ice pack on the coffee table and ask with concern, “Will Young Master be uncomfortable like this?”

It was indeed very hot.

The snake tail had gradually absorbed his brother’s temperature, becoming scorching hot. There was a sensation of dry, itchy dehydration, and the surface scales were even beginning to peel and turn white.

But Shen Zhiqi flicked his tongue and shook his head earnestly.

The temperature of the snake tail and the human were nearly identical now. Shen Zhiqi was sweating profusely, and his vision was starting to blur.

No matter how reluctant Shen Zhiheng was to lose this chance to press against the little snake’s tail, he still had to remove it from his neck.

“No! Do not Big Brother, do not take it away.”

Shen Zhiqi’s voice was fading, and he looked dizzy, like someone who was drunk. Even so, he still clung to his brother, insisting on hanging his tail around his brother’s neck.

Shen Zhiheng also felt his heart ache for the little snake, and he coaxed him gently: “Baby, Big Brother really is much better. Thank you, Xiao Qi, your little snake tail is very useful.”

“What, what little snake?”

Shen Zhiqi pouted unhappily and reached out to cover his brother’s mouth while still dizzy. “No, not little snake. Big Brother, hurry, hurry and spit that out!”