A Hug, More or Less

Elaine held back what he thought would be an offensive gesture toward Shi Sheng.

When facing Shi Sheng, the Alpha known as the Reaper was so cautious that he hardly seemed like himself.

Shi Sheng naturally had no idea what Elaine was thinking. He only looked at Elaine nervously.

Because he felt that they were a little too close.

He tilted his head up while Elaine lowered his golden eyes. His nose was filled with the Alpha's cold pheromones.

[Goddess above, h-he-he-he-he isn't about to kiss me, is he...]

[But I'm not ready yet!]

[If I'd known getting hurt came with benefits like this, I should've told that magical beast to swipe me one more time.]

The sudden inner voice startled Elaine. The next second, he straightened up and put some distance between himself and Shi Sheng.

Under the Omega's bewildered gaze, Elaine fell silent for a few seconds before gently, briefly patting Shi Sheng's head.

"Next time you encounter danger..."

He wanted to tell Shi Sheng not to joke around like that, that when he truly encountered danger, he shouldn't worry about others and should protect himself.

But Shi Sheng had done nothing wrong in this accident. The boy was a brave and kind Omega. Elaine simply hadn't protected him well enough.

"I won't let you get hurt again." Elaine's cold voice carried a solemn weight. "I will protect you."

It was as though Shi Sheng had been struck by an arrow from the Goddess of Love. His heart began pounding.

How strange. It was such an ordinary sentence, yet to him, it sounded like a grand confession.

Because Elaine was the one making that promise—the person Shi Sheng held so dearly in his heart.

Without thinking, Shi Sheng grabbed Elaine's wrist with both hands, his amber eyes sparkling.

"Th-thank you."

No sound came out, but Elaine understood the shape of his lips.

Elaine's voice softened. "I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for protecting Yumian."

His hand paused before he gently patted Shi Sheng's head again. "You are braver than the Empire's knights."

Shi Sheng's face abruptly reddened. If he had been a puppy, he felt as though his ears would already be standing upright.

Then he quickly remembered Yumian and hurriedly gestured.

But he realized Elaine couldn't understand, so he could only mouth the words forcefully. "Yu-mian..."

"He's fine." Elaine reassured him. "I had him go home."

Shi Sheng nodded and lowered his head to touch the blanket beside him.

[Is this a hospital? I want to go home too... It'd be nice if I could go back to the Carlos family.]

[Forget it. I can't cause Elaine any more trouble.]

Even his inner voice carried a sense of dejection and melancholy.

"Do you want to go back?" Elaine asked.

Shi Sheng immediately looked up.

[How does Elaine know what I'm thinking? He's amazing!]

Elaine fell silent for a moment and tucked Shi Sheng's blanket in for him. "Wait for me."

Before Shi Sheng could react, Elaine had already risen and walked out. When he returned, he was carrying a thick coat.

"I want to fulfill all your wishes, but in this situation, it's best to follow the doctor's orders." Elaine stood beside the bed. He was too tall, but so Shi Sheng could hear him clearly, he bent down and leaned close.

Shi Sheng was a little disappointed, but he obediently nodded.

A hint of amusement appeared in Elaine's eyes. "So once the doctor says there's no problem, I think we should be able to go home."

Shi Sheng's eyes brightened again, and he hurriedly sat up.

The movement pulled at his wound, and only then did he belatedly realize that his entire body hurt.

Elaine gently pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Careful."

Then that cool scent drew near, and Shi Sheng was wrapped up tightly in a coat.

Elaine carefully pulled the hood over Shi Sheng's head and zipped it all the way up, leaving almost nothing exposed except his round eyes.

"If anything feels uncomfortable, tell me." The Alpha's low voice sounded beside his ear.

Shi Sheng nodded hard. Just as he was about to slowly slide off the hospital bed, his body suddenly grew light. Elaine had lifted him into his arms.

"!!!" Shi Sheng's eyes widened. The next second, he scrambled up Elaine's body with both hands and feet.

Taking the opportunity, he wrapped his arms around the Alpha's neck and secretly pressed his cheek against him.

[By that logic, this counts as a hug!]

The corners of Elaine's lips slowly lifted. The arms holding Shi Sheng were gentle, yet strong.

"There are doctors at home too." He didn't allow himself to become too immersed in the Omega's adorable inner voice. "They'll be on call tonight. Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable, and I'll relay it for you."

Shi Sheng was a little surprised. Was Elaine going to stay with him today?

He had lost his voice device, and the doctors might not understand sign language. Did Elaine mean that he would act as his interpreter?

Strangely enough, Shi Sheng realized that Elaine really did seem to understand what he was trying to say every time.

And Elaine's wording...

Home. Elaine had said "home."

It felt as though a feather in Shi Sheng's heart had floated all the way into the sky.

With a little selfish calculation, he buried his face in Elaine's chest and nodded hard.

After leaving the hospital room, Shi Sheng wasn't exposed to even a hint of wind before Elaine gently placed him inside the temperature-controlled aircraft.

Shi Sheng turned to look out the window, but there was no sign of anyone else.

As though he knew who Shi Sheng was looking for, Elaine explained, "The situation was urgent earlier, so I asked your mother to go back first."

Shi Sheng froze for a moment, then nodded.

He didn't want his mother to worry either. He planned to message her after getting settled.

"I already told your mother that you were safe," Elaine said. His tone paused. "Sorry, I made the decision on my own."

The Alpha's features were cold and calm, and no one could tell that he was actually annoyed with himself.

What he hadn't told Shi Sheng was that when he had urgently brought the Omega to the medical center, his attitude toward Mother Shi and the nephew beside her could not exactly be called friendly.

"Tears are useless. If you really are worried about him, stand in the corner and do not interfere with the doctors' efforts to save him."

After Shi Sheng entered the operating room, he saw that Mother Shi was pale and unsteady on her feet, so he had Alrid send her back to the Shi family.

No matter what, Shi Sheng probably wouldn't like the way he had treated his family.

Besides, it was his fault that Shi Sheng woke up without seeing his loved ones.

Yet Shi Sheng shook his head hard in Elaine's view, smiled at him, and slowly asked with a combination of gestures and lip movements:

"Can I see Mother tomorrow?"

Elaine didn't recognize every lip movement, but he understood the general meaning.

The Omega didn't blame him at all. He was only cautiously asking for a chance to see his family.

Elaine's heart softened. "Of course."

To make the injured boy more comfortable, Elaine had not made Shi Sheng sit in the seat earlier. Instead, he had let the boy recline half in his arms.

Shi Sheng was a little too thin. It was easy to feel his slender bones.

Elaine carefully adjusted their position, making sure not to touch Shi Sheng's wound.

"Rest." He gently patted the Omega. "When you wake up tomorrow, you'll see your mother."

It wasn't until broad daylight the next day that Shi Sheng woke up in the Carlos family home.

But he didn't see his mother right away. Instead, he first saw Yumian standing at the bedroom door with a conflicted expression.

Shi Sheng was still groggy from sleep, and his gaze at Yumian was even more bewildered.

Yumian stood there awkwardly by himself for a long time. Seeing that Shi Sheng was awake, he finally shuffled over slowly.

"Um, I came to see if you slept yourself to death."

When Shi Sheng didn't speak, Yumian loudly explained as if trying to hide his embarrassment.

"The doctor said you can't sleep too long. More than twelve hours might mean you're in a coma, so of course I had to come check. You can't die in my house."

Shi Sheng paused, then couldn't help laughing.

"You still have the strength to laugh. Looks like you're fine."

With his hands behind his back, Yumian paced around the bedroom for a long time like an inspecting leader. When he turned around, he saw Shi Sheng stretching his neck toward the door.

The Omega's neck was still wrapped in thick bandages. Yumian was truly afraid that with one movement, his head would fall off with a snap, so he hurried over.

"My brother went to the military department. Oh, he told me to pass on that he didn't wake you because he didn't want to disturb your sleep, but he left you a message on the Star Network." Yumian rattled off a whole stream of words, then pointed to the bedside.

"The palace said your voice device was damaged. My brother had someone send this over just now. It's the new model. See if it works well."

"And he didn't abandon you for work... Wait, why am I explaining this to you?"

"Forget it. Anyway, what I'm saying is that the accident at this ball was caused by someone at the palace neglecting their duties. You got hurt, so no matter what, my brother will personally handle this matter."

Shi Sheng groggily processed Yumian's words. The first thing he did was hurriedly open his wristband. Sure enough, there was a message from Elaine.

Even though the message was so proper that even its punctuation was serious, Shi Sheng felt as though his face was heating up.

After replying earnestly, he picked up the new voice device. It looked very similar to his old one, but it was thinner and lighter. It really was a new model.

Though it was a new device, all the necessary settings had already been configured. It had not only Shi Sheng's favorite kitten stickers, but even the rough little boy voice he hadn't used since coming to the Carlos family.

Seeing Shi Sheng fiddling seriously with the new device, Yumian felt that the timing was good. He lightly cleared his throat.

"Um, well... thank you."

Shi Sheng suddenly looked up.

Yumian jumped back a huge step in fright. "You heard that?"

Shi Sheng suddenly smiled soundlessly.

Most of the time, in front of Yumian, he wore a pale, expressionless look. But now his eyes curved like crescents, and his smile was bright.

Yumian heard a childish voice from the voice device, made comical by how rough it sounded—

"No need to thank me, Yumi."

"Big brothers should protect their little brothers."

Yumian's heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Who said you could call me Yumi?"

That was how his mother had called him when she was still alive. It wasn't especially private, but even his other two brothers didn't call him so affectionately.

Seeing Shi Sheng tilt his head at him, a faint blush rose to Yumian's fair face. In the end, he awkwardly gave in.

"Whatever. But if you call me that outside, you're dead!"

Shi Sheng laughed again and sent him a kitten sticker bowing with clasped paws through the voice device.