Bai Yuqing finished applying the ointment to his wounds and gently gathered him into his arms.
He let Xiao Qinghe bite his left arm while lifting his right hand to rest on the back of Xiao Qinghe's head, giving it a rub.
"There, be good."
His voice was impossibly gentle.
Xiao Qinghe: "..."
Why did it feel like Master was petting him like a dog?
This whole scene felt as though it wasn't a dream at all.
Xiao the Idiot's brain started malfunctioning again. He took Bai Yuqing's hand and looked at him.
"Master, there's something I'd like to ask you. Are you willing to believe in me? Whether I'm poor, ill, or disabled, will you always believe in me? Are you willing?"
His expression was solemn, and Bai Yuqing couldn't help growing serious as well.
"I am."
"Then hurry up and wake up! Stop dreaming!"
"..."
Helpless, Bai Yuqing raised a hand and pressed it to his forehead.
"Acting up again?"
"???"
"Stop fooling around."
"..."
Weak all over, Xiao Qinghe leaned against him.
He wilted.
His upper garments had been stripped halfway off, revealing mottled bruises that had yet to heal.
In the past, Bai Yuqing would simply have given him a bottle of jade ointment upon seeing them. Now, however, every mark seemed painfully glaring.
He immediately laid him down on the bed, then began undoing his clothes.
Xiao Qinghe was dumbstruck. "M-Master?"
His master had never liked people getting close to him, nor had he been close to the original Xiao Qinghe. Letting the original Xiao Qinghe lie on his bed would have been utterly unthinkable. Yet now...
Bai Yuqing moved swiftly, practically stripping him down completely...
Then he saw the wounds covering his entire body, a shocking sight.
They had been inflicted when he was