Raising My Sweet, Well-Behaved Puppy-Snake to Be My Wife - Chapter 13

Shen Zhiqi answered without a moment’s hesitation, puffing out his chest and patting his own breast with a small hand.

In his brother’s eyes, the little snake’s thin, frail upper body looked fragile, as if his tiny shoulders could not bear any burden. Yet, seeing him straighten his back with such solemn confidence made Shen Zhiheng’s heart overflow with countless thoughts of how adorable the child was.

How could there be such a cute little creature in this world!

Shen Zhiheng’s gaze softened even further. He pinched the little snake’s cheek and asked, “How are you going to take care of Brother?”

“I will stay by Brother’s side every step of the way, remind Brother to take his medicine, and look after Brother. Just like how Brother takes care of sick me, I will take care of sick Brother!”

“Then have you remembered when Brother needs to take his medicine and how many times a day?”

“Th… this…”

Xiao Qi’s confident demeanor suddenly deflated. Feeling guilty, he hunched his shoulders and stared at the floor, struggling to recall what Uncle Wang had instructed earlier.

It is truly a case of wishing one had more wits when the time comes to use them.

Typical snakes have brains only the size of soybeans and are often deaf and blind. Many pet snakes kept by their owners their entire lives might not even recognize or remember them. In comparison, because he was a fusion-type Omega, Shen Zhiqi was already the smartest snake in the world. However, in human terms, this bit of intelligence was nowhere near enough.

Shen Zhiqi curled his tail up, as if doing so would make him smarter.

“The white, round pills are for the morning no, that is not right. It is, it is for the evening, hmm, or is it.”

“Is it before or after meals? How many pills a day, and how many per dose?”

Shen Zhiheng teased him mischievously.

Distracted by Shen Zhiheng, the little snake’s brows furrowed even tighter. As his mental capacity drained away, his upper body slowly slumped down in despair. In the end, Shen Zhiqi flopped completely onto the floor, his forehead resting against the plush carpet, having thoroughly given up on thinking.

How could his tiny brain possibly hold so many human instructions? It was already a great feat that he could remember Brother’s face and name.

Shen Zhiqi lay defeated on the floor, playing dead. He gave a limp quiver to his coiled snake tail and stopped moving entirely.

“Brother, my brain is not reliable.”

He had to admit that snakes were not as smart as humans, and he looked as dejected as if the sky were falling.

The heavens of a snake, the snake is actually a simpleton!

Shen Zhiheng could no longer hold back his laughter. He rocked back and forth for quite a while, which only made the snake feel even more withdrawn. He really wanted to show the netizens who feared snake-type Omegas exactly how this cute little creature was classified as extremely dangerous!

What is the difference between this and putting up a sign that says “Beware of Dog” when the house actually contains a warm, clingy little puppy?

No matter how heavy the gloom, it would be blown away by this little snake. Shen Zhiheng moved to the little snake’s side and poked his back. He deliberately pitched his voice, pretending to be pathetic.

“What should I do then? Xiao Qi was just vowing to take care of Brother, but you cannot even remember how many pills I need to take. Sigh, Brother is sick and no one is taking care of me; Brother is so pitiful.”

The dejected tone grew increasingly sincere with every word. As Shen Zhiheng spoke, his own nose began to sting. He had always been like this; when he was sick, people would just supervise his medication as if it were a task to be completed, and nothing more. Shen Zhiheng sighed lightly, his eyes filled with a faint sense of loneliness.

This put Shen Zhiqi in a desperate panic.

“No, you are not pitiful! I will manage Brother; I have a way!”

The little guy scrambled to grab a drawing pen from the table and shoved it into his brother’s palm.

“Brother can write it on my palm; I will protect it well!”

Shen Zhiqi took his brother’s face in his hands and straightened it, forcing him to look directly into his glittering, round, beady eyes. He began frantically pitching himself. “Brother, do not be afraid, I am here! The words written on my palm will remind Brother to take the medicine. Hmm, if Brother feels pain or feels unhappy, I will.”

The little snake glanced around anxiously, urgently searching for ways to make his brother happy. Most of his field of vision was occupied by his own massive snake tail.

Oh, right, I have a tail, humans do not have tails.

Before, when he was sick and sad from taking bitter medicine, Puppy Mother would allow him to squeeze her fluffy puppy tail. Now, he was a puppy himself, so of course, he could let Brother squeeze his puppy tail.

“Yes, I can wag my tail for Brother to see! Did Brother not say he likes it when I wag my tail?”

Shen Zhiqi held his breath and raised his tiny, narrow tail tip, wagging it left and right. He wagged his tail with all his might, holding his soft, springy tail tip suspended in the air.

“Brother, Brother, look at my tail! Is Brother happy? Are you very happy? I will make Brother happy; I am a capable puppy!”

Shen Zhiqi lightly bit his lower lip, his small hand quietly touching his lower abdomen. His pathetic core strength could not support him wagging his tail for long, and his lower abdomen quickly grew sore and swollen. But he did not stop; he looked at his brother with his chin lifted in pride, his whole face reading “Praise me quickly.” Even his breathing became rapid because he was exerting effort to hold his tail up.

Shen Zhiheng’s eyes turned hot, his nose stung excessively, and his vision blurred with tears. Who would go to such lengths to make him happy? Who would care if he was happy, or if his medicine was bitter?

In the past, there was no one. Now, there was.

Companionship, care, the purest and sincerest of emotions. These things, which were once out of reach for Shen Zhiheng, had now appeared in his life like a stroke of fate.

Shen Zhiheng wanted to grasp this ethereal feeling; he desperately needed to verify that the little snake he possessed would stay by his side forever.

“Happy, Brother is very happy. Baby has a tail that humans do not have; Baby is amazing.”

Shen Zhiheng gently rubbed the little guy’s head and pulled him softly into his arms.

“Brother does not know what he would do if he did not have Xiao Qi.”

“But Brother has Xiao Qi! How could Brother not have Xiao Qi? Brother will always have Xiao Qi!”

Shen Zhiqi did not understand the dependency and possessiveness in his brother’s words, answering earnestly.

Shen Zhiheng chuckled, his eyes deep and unfathomable. He was like a hunter who was both extremely patient and extremely dangerous, weaving an invisible web, gently and patiently coaxing his little prey into it.

“If Xiao Qi ran away to a place where Brother could not see you, what would Brother do if I were sick and did not have Xiao Qi?”

“Oh, right!”

The silly little snake did not pick up on the dangerously possessive tone at all; instead, he thought this logic was flawless. He obediently rested his chin on his brother’s shoulder, nodded his little head, and made a sincere, solemn promise:

“I will guard Brother every step of the way! Brother, do not worry at all; I will take good care of Brother.”

“Such a good boy.”

His nerves, which were always taut due to the bounty, could only find a moment of relaxation when he was holding the little snake. No one would ever be allowed to separate them. He would purge all obstacles completely; he would not let anyone or anything become a risk that would cause the little snake to leave him.

If anyone dared to snatch him away, they would have to step over his corpse.

The little snake lying in his brother’s arms lifted his head in a daze, blinking his eyes at his brother.

Brother seems to have become hot. The hands that were often cool before have also become hot.

What exactly is burning?

The confused little snake kept sticking out his tongue because of the heat, but he could not radiate heat like a puppy. His tiny brain held only one giant question: Why is Brother burning up?

Shen Zhiheng’s condition improved slightly under the control of the medication, or rather, it took a turn for the better under the little snake’s company.

Shen Zhiqi did not understand his brother’s complex psychological problems; he only remembered that his brother was sick and needed him by his side. He did not feel the danger either, even though to a normal human, his brother’s warnings and possessiveness were chilling.

However, a snake does not have such sharp analytical skills; he could not see it and could not figure it out. If Brother wanted him to stay, then he would stay by Brother’s side.

Shen Zhiqi leaned closer and poked his brother’s dark, bruised circles under his eyes.

“Brother looks so tired. Is Brother a bad child who does not sleep?”

Snakes had excellent sleep quality; as a snake, he should be sleeping for 18 hours a day. Fortunately, it was summer, and Shen Zhiqi was not that sleepy. If it were winter, he would sleep so much that Puppy Mother would have to check his breathing from time to time to make sure he was still alive.

Regarding sleep, Shen Zhiqi proudly believed he was not a disobedient bad child.

Brother’s dark circles were heavy, and the bloodshot eyes made him look exceptionally exhausted. Shen Zhiqi was very worried about Brother, so he sat beside him, earnestly advising him to sleep well.

Shen Zhiheng propped his chin with one hand, listening to the little guy hold forth on the principles of getting a good night’s sleep. Most people would be annoyed by the nagging, but Shen Zhiheng listened patiently to the little child lecturing him in a soft, milky voice.

He had never been nagged before. From childhood to adulthood, only his grandmother had nagged him a few times when she was alive; after that, there was nothing. His mother had passed away early, his father sent him messages only a handful of times a year, and the maids and nannies at home certainly would not educate him.

Now it was the little guy’s turn, someone nine years his junior to put on an adult’s air and nag him.

The little snake cares about me. My baby cares about me!

Shen Zhiheng thought to himself.

He was not a bad child who did not sleep; he just did not dare to. Even if he slept, he would have nightmares and wake up early, only maintaining a light sleep through the help of melatonin. He did not dare to sleep; he did not dare to have one nightmare after another about losing the little snake.

But these troubles, Shen Zhiheng would never tell his little brother, Xiao Qi.

Shen Zhiqi talked until his mouth was dry, holding the glass and gulping down big mouthfuls of cold water. He placed his hands on his hips, and in an act of total rebellion, said poutily:

“Brother is the patient! You must listen to me!”

Shen Zhiheng laughed, patted the little snake’s head, and promised:

“I am listening, Brother is listening to Xiao Qi.”

At night, Shen Zhiheng sat on the bed in a daze, just about to pick up the bottle of melatonin from the nightstand, when he heard a knock at the door.

He got up to open it and saw the little snake standing outside, hugging his own giant pillow.

Shen Zhiheng’s bedroom was on the second floor; the smooth marble staircase was not friendly to a snake without legs, and the marble floor in the hallway, lacking carpeting, was too cold for a snake. Before this, Shen Zhiqi had never been to the second floor; his brother had always gone down to the snake’s first-floor bedroom in the dead of night to visit him.

“Brother! I have come to guard the bed. I can sleep during the day and guard Brother while you sleep at night.”

The oversized pillow blocked Shen Zhiqi’s face, and the little guy’s muffled voice came from behind it.

Snakes were naturally designed to stand guard at night and sleep during the day. However, in the factory, there were too many people during the day—it was noisy and dangerous—and only the night was quiet, which had forced Shen Zhiqi to develop a biological clock of staying up all day and sleeping at night.

Shen Zhiqi was determined to utilize this great advantage to guard Brother, who did not sleep well.

“You want to sleep in the same bed as Brother?”

Shen Zhiheng leaned against the doorframe, looking down at the little guy.

At this moment, the little snake’s nose was a bit red, and a flush of red had also appeared on his face from being frozen by the cold marble. But the silly little snake did not care about that. He held that pillow, which was far too wide for him, with an earnest expression, looking up at his brother like a diligent little guard.

“Yes! I will guard Brother well. Sleep is when one is most defenseless, but Brother, do not be afraid! I am here!”

The little snake’s tiny upper body was about to be submerged in the oversized soft pillow, yet he straightened his back, claiming he would protect his tall brother.