Raising My Sweet, Well-Behaved Puppy-Snake to Be My Wife - Chapter 2

“You two, be quiet for a moment.”

Shen Zhiheng stopped Uncle Wang from calling the police and looked down to pat the trembling child in his arms.

He had caught a glimpse of the child’s lower body while it was hiding in the shrubbery. A massive snake tail had crushed quite a few of the roadside bushes; its dark green color made it incredibly difficult to spot in the night.

Whether it was because the body tucked into his arms was too frail, Shen Zhiheng couldn’t help but feel that the thick, heavy tail looked entirely out of place with the young human upper body.

“Stop crying. The rain is getting heavier, so why don’t you come home with me first?”

Shen Zhiheng gently patted the cold, shivering little body in his arms, trying his best to soften his voice. The last time he had used this tone was back when he was a child, talking to his collection of adorable plush toys.

But he was met only with silence.

“Hey, little one.”

Shen Zhiheng grabbed the collar of the child’s tattered clothes and pulled him away from his chest.

The child had fallen unconscious at some point, lying so still that only a faint breath remained. Shen Zhiheng had a thousand questions he hadn’t had the chance to ask, but for now, he had no choice but to carry the child out of the bushes.

“Uncle Wang, give Uncle Lin a call and tell him he needs to work overtime tonight.”

Uncle Lin was the family doctor Shen’s father had hired for Shen Zhiheng, and he had been working for the family for over a decade.

Shen Zhiheng picked the child up, supporting the long, thick snake tail. With Uncle Wang’s help, they managed to tuck the child into the car. As he stared at the tail resting on his shoes, he curiously reached out to touch it. It was cold and firm, yet the texture was strangely soft.

Parts of the snake tail were injured; scales had been scraped off, and there were clear signs of scarring and festering infection.

Shen Zhiheng was somewhat afraid of snakes, or perhaps it was deeply encoded in human DNA to fear such creatures. Seeing a legless creature slithering forward usually sent a chill down his spine. However, Xiao Qi’s body and face belonged to a poor, fragile child on the brink of death. His head didn’t seem to be working very well either, and he showed no signs of being a threat.

When Dr. Lin arrived at the mansion, he was startled by the half-human, half-snake creature lying on the bed.

“It’s not that scary, Uncle Lin. He is just a child.”

Shen Zhiheng forcibly pushed Dr. Lin back into the room, not saying a word about how he himself had stumbled back in fear when he first encountered the boy.

Dr. Lin moved toward the bedside and said with difficulty, “Xiao Heng, you really need a veterinarian for this. I know nothing about snakes; I only know how to treat a human who has been bitten by one.”

“Oh, I might need that later, too.”

Seeing Dr. Lin’s surprised and shocked expression, Shen Zhiheng coughed lightly.

“For now, Uncle Lin, just treat his upper body. I will call a vet tomorrow to take a look.”

Dr. Lin found that the child’s body temperature offered no medical reference, so he had to treat the wounds and administer anti-inflammatory medication as he would for any child. As he examined the snake scales that were spreading across the child’s face, arms, and waist, he frowned slightly.

“Xiao Heng, have you ever heard of fusion-type Omegas?”

“Like cat-hybrids or dog-hybrids? I think I have seen those occasionally, but never a snake-type,” Shen Zhiheng replied.

“I have heard rumors. They say the technology came from a barren planet, originally designed to save critically ill children and frail infants who would not survive otherwise. We introduced the technology and founded a hospital specifically for these surgeries, but it was later shut down due to ethical concerns.”

Dr. Lin organized the makeshift anti-inflammatory medicine and ointments, placing them on the nightstand.

“I do not know which generation of fusion-type Omega he is. If he is a first-generation, he was likely pulled back from the brink of death using this method. Add his current state to that…”

Shen Zhiheng understood what Dr. Lin was implying: given how frail the child was, there was no guarantee he would wake up; even if he did, he might not live long.

“It is up to fate. We are linked by destiny now,” he said, casting a complex look at the child.

To Shen Zhiheng, having a doctor treat this mysterious, terminally ill child was a trivial effort; the cost was less than what he spent in a single night of partying with his shallow friends. But to the little snake Omega, this act of kindness was everything. The vanity of being someone’s only lifeline actually gave him a strange sense of fulfillment, a feeling of being needed.

The night grew late, and the horizon was already showing signs of graying.

Shen Zhiheng relentlessly called the veterinarian Dr. Lin recommended, waking him from a deep sleep, and paid a massive premium to get him to work overtime and retrieve his equipment from the clinic. The price he paid was enough to cover the renowned vet’s monthly salary; that was just the booking fee.

His phone vibrated, and a payment notification popped up. It was from his group of friends, whose all-night expenses were nearing the amount he had just paid the vet. Seeing the two messages side-by-side left him feeling dazed.

The playboy eldest son of the Shen family lacked nothing but money. His mother had passed away early, and his father had remarried the daughter of an old, wealthy family from A-Star, shifting the family business in that direction. His father had left Shen Zhiheng with his grandmother and worked himself to the bone on another planet to elevate the family business.

The phrase his parents used most often in his life was, “Where the money is, the love is.” Consequently, they never skimped on sending him money, but they almost never came back to see him. In the wealthy young master’s drawer lay a pile of bank cards with countless numbers; those were his parents’ most profound love.

Only Shen Zhiheng, who had grown up in isolation, knew that he had never wanted any of this. He knew that relationships maintained by money were ephemeral, like his parents’ love or the so-called friendship he had with his companions.

But what if this money could save an Omega’s life?

Perhaps it was staying up too late, or the discomfort of his recent heat cycle, but Shen Zhiheng felt a bit dizzy and his forehead felt warm.

The little snake Omega was transferred from the Shen mansion to a specialized hospital. The treatment process was grueling; the vet had no experience with humans, and the doctors had no clue how to treat a snake. But the young master of the Shen family had insisted that, regardless of the cost in time or money, the child must be saved.

Both sides consulted, brought in experts, and ultimately managed to save the little snake Omega who had been in a coma for days.

Shen Zhiheng stood by the hospital bed, listening to the beep of the various machines and watching the child surrounded by heavy equipment, staring blankly for a long time. The child, already thin, had become skin and bones; his cheeks had sunken in, and his forehead was covered in IV drips and layer upon layer of gauze. The doctors said that in human years, the child was only about eight.

Something inside Shen Zhiheng was touched, perhaps it was pity for the young, ill child, or perhaps something else. He swallowed hard, then turned to dip a cotton swab in water and gently touched the child’s cracked lips.

The child remained unconscious for a while longer before finally waking up in a daze.

He opened his eyes to a strange white ceiling and the unpleasant smell of disinfectant. Startled, he tried to jump up, but due to his extreme exhaustion, he only managed a slight shift in the bed.

“Don’t move around. You have still got needles in your head.”

Xiao Qi heard a familiar voice and, enduring the headache, turned his head with difficulty. He did not quite remember who this person was, as the person now carried a scent he did not recognize. His round, bean-like eyes looked at Shen Zhiheng in confusion, staring for a long time without recognizing him.

Shen Zhiheng did not understand what the child was thinking as he blinked, so he simply sat by the bedside and watched him silently.

After a long while, the child’s hoarse, dry voice drifted out from among the machines:

“May I ask, who are you?”

“?”

Shen Zhiheng frowned in confusion. So, after all the effort and money he spent to save this dying child, the kid just turns around and forgets him? How could his brain fail him at such a critical time!

“Xiao Qi, think carefully. I am the one who bought you food and brought you home.”

Xiao Qi blankly flicked his thin snake tongue, struggling to recall what happened before he passed out. He remembered it seemed he had smelled the scent of food on the street. It smelled incredibly good, like fresh blood. He had only ever smelled that scent on delicious little milk mice, and he had not expected that such a delicious scent would come his way. He had never seen such a large ration before; it smelled good and was huge, perfect as a “reserve food.”

Watching Shen Zhiheng’s gaze, Xiao Qi finally had a moment of realization.

“I remember now! It is Big… Big Brother Reserve Food!”

The child spoke in a rush, as if he was not yet used to his own mouth and throat, making many syllables unclear. Shen Zhiheng only caught the sweet-sounding “Brother,” failing to understand the word in between.

“Big what brother?” Shen Zhiheng pressed.

Xiao Qi covered his mouth, realizing too late that it was rude to treat someone as prey to their face. He felt relieved that Shen Zhiheng had not understood him and hastily corrected himself: “Big Brother Benefactor!”

After saying this, he guiltily flicked his tongue and poked the tip of his dark green tail out from under the covers, tapping the side of the bed frame. The bed frame made a few soft tapping sounds, and the IV bottle hanging nearby shook slightly.

Snakes would not usually use their tails to show affection this way. Shen Zhiheng subconsciously thought of a puppy wagging its tail for scraps. This messy, instinctive behavior was so cute that it made him laugh out loud.

“Alright, stop tapping. The doctor said your tail is still injured and has not fully healed.”

He tucked the exposed snake tail back under the covers and carefully straightened the blankets.

“It is good that you know I am your benefactor, little snake. I saved your life.”

“You have to pay me back.”

Xiao Qi pursed his dry, cracked lips, his little brain working hard to think. Seeing that Xiao Qi had gone quiet, Shen Zhiheng assumed he was taking his words to heart. He poured a cup of lukewarm water, dipped a cotton swab in it, and dabbed the child’s lips. The doctors said Xiao Qi could not eat yet, so Shen Zhiheng had been caring for him this way the whole time.

Xiao Qi felt the cool moisture on his lips and looked at the face of the man who, despite his cold demeanor, had been guarding his bedside. His little brain worked slowly, but he could recognize that Shen Zhiheng gave him a familiar feeling of warmth, just like the dog-mother who had patiently raised him.

He really should be grateful; this Big Brother was a good person.

After a long time, Xiao Qi opened his round eyes and asked earnestly:

“Brother, do you want me to catch you some little milk mice?”