Applying ointment

After receiving the pet shop owner's call, Pei Song'an immediately had Zheng Linchuan pull up the surveillance footage near the shop and quickly pinpointed the location.

Once the man let Zhaocai out of the two-bedroom apartment, the dog hurried to the door and turned back to bark at Pei Song'an.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Follow me!

The sun still set early in early spring, and dusk had already fallen, but Zhaocai followed the scent and was the first to find Li Shu nearby.

He lay on the ground, his fair, clean face smeared with dust. The little backpack he liked to stuff with all sorts of things had been snatched by the man beside him, its crumpled mouth hanging open, looking just as pitiful as its little owner.

Pei Song'an rushed forward and gathered him into his arms, a certain anxiety in his dark gaze. He did not even notice the slight trembling of his own fingertips.

Actually, the moment those words had left his mouth, Li Shu had been so embarrassed that he wanted to borrow Zhaocai's paws to dig a huge hole and crawl into it.

He was dressed warmly, and between the cushioning of his clothes and the fact that the two men really had not been trying to beat him to death, he probably only had a few bruises. It was not even as bad as the time he had secretly gone hiking, accidentally fallen, and broken his leg.

Zheng Linchuan stepped forward and quickly subdued the man Li Shu had force-fed a bug, while the other bodyguards pinned down the second man.

"Who sent you? Talk!"

The two men's faces were pressed to the ground, but they stubbornly refused to utter a word. After confirming that Li Shu was all right, Pei Song'an raised his eyes, his gaze sharp but restrained. His mere presence seemed to give people a sense of reassurance and steadfastness.

"Take them away. We'll deal with this when we get back."

Inside the car.

Li Shu hugged his filthy backpack, his round eyes repeatedly darting toward Pei Song'an. Once he relaxed, that distress quickly melted away, though the nerves at his temples were still throbbing, a little like he had just done a dangerous extreme sport.

"I'll find out who did this and give you an answer."

Pei Song'an's gaze moved from Li Shu to Zhaocai at his feet, then finally returned to Li Shu's face. In his peripheral vision were the backpack in Li Shu's arms and a little yellow wildflower poking out of its zippered opening.

Li Shu had no idea Pei Song'an had looked at so many things in that glance, because his attention was entirely on what the man had said.

"Why are you the one who has to give me an answer? Have you already decided they came after me because of you, young master? Are you a bodhisattva? Why do you take everything on yourself?"

Noticing that Li Shu's lips were a little chapped, Pei Song'an took out a bottle of mineral water kept in the car, unscrewed the cap, and handed it over.

"Drink first."

Although he was already safe, this was Li Shu's first encounter with anything like this, and his mind was unusually active. He took a couple of careless sips, his voice audibly animated, though it sounded less like lingering fear and more like the excitement of a calf unafraid of a tiger.

"Pei Song'an, do you know what I was thinking when those two stood in front of me like a pair of mountains?"

"What?"

"If this is the price of skipping evening self-study, I swear I'll love studying for the rest of my life."

Pei Song'an was not particularly satisfied with Li Shu's slapdash way of drinking. Thinking there were probably cuts inside his mouth, he got a straw and had Li Shu take small sips to avoid irritating the wounds.

Remembering what those two had said, Li Shu caught the straw Pei Song'an offered between his lips, took a sip, and hurriedly continued.

"They said they only wanted to scare me, and only kicked me a couple of times because I ran. No, Pei Song'an, can you understand? The two of them were like pigs ready for slaughter, and they came straight up and asked if I was Li Shu. How could I not run? Oh, stop giving me water. I don't want any more."

Li Shu pushed the water bottle away, a hint of regret in his words. "What a waste of those bugs I worked so hard to catch. Only Zhaocai got to see them, and I stuffed one into the mouth of the pig who kicked my leg."

"Ha! What do you think? I'm no pushover either!"

There was no lingering fear, only relish.

Li Shu looked very pleased with himself as he said this, his handsome features even more lively. He did not consider it an undeserved calamity at all, but rather a rare experience in life.

Pei Song'an took in everything about Li Shu.

He had a keen awareness of danger, but his adventurous spirit meant that the possibility of him getting caught up in future risks could not be ruled out. Most people would take this experience as a lesson, their first instinct being to stay away from the source of trouble, but Li Shu was different.

He had a clear sense of right and wrong and would not let his emotions hold him hostage. He could clearly recognize that the person at fault was not Pei Song'an, but someone else.

It was clear that his family had raised him well.

But the care the Li Family had given Li Shu growing up was not enough to produce this result, so was it all thanks to Chen Yannan?

At that thought, Pei Song'an's gaze darkened. His fingertips brushed the corner of Li Shu's mouth, wiping away a drop of water. "Mm. Anything else you want to say?"

Li Shu thought briefly, then sat up straight despite the pain in his flesh, looking utterly serious.

"One more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Crown prince, did you ask for leave from evening self-study for me?"

"..."

Pei Song'an's pause brought Li Shu's world crashing down.

As the old saying went.

Even the hardest-to-kill college student couldn't skip evening self-study!!!

Li Shu did not return to his dorm. Pei Song'an bundled him and the puppy off to the large, single-floor apartment he had bought near campus.

As soon as they entered, Pei Song'an got slippers for Li Shu with his left hand and caught Zhaocai, who was about to run wild, with his right. He wiped the dirt off the puppy's paws with wet wipes before letting the dog go.

"The doctor will be another couple of minutes. What would you like to drink?"

He received no response at all, because Li Shu was only half a beat behind Zhaocai. Starting off with a huge leap, he charged in from the doorway.

But Li Shu did not touch things here and there; he only looked around. Whether the original owner had seen anything like this aside, it was Li Shu's first time seeing such a large home in either of his lives. In his original world, even after his family received compensation for their demolished home, his parents had planned out how to use the money very sensibly rather than spending recklessly.

He looked at the crystal chandelier hanging from the living room ceiling for a while, scampered over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to see the night outside, then ran to the sofa and cautiously touched its fabric with his fingertips, exclaiming in unsophisticated wonder.

Pei Song'an watched everything Li Shu did, but said nothing and asked nothing.

"Li Shu, come drink some water."

Li Shu's bottom hurt, so he could only squat to play with the dog, leaving Pei Song'an facing the back of his head. "No, no. I'm going to turn into a water buffalo at this rate."

"You've barely had a few sips. Even the dog drank more than you. Come here."

With no other choice, Li Shu walked over and picked up the glass. "Gulp, gulp. Oh, it's honey water. Gulp, gulp. Why didn't you say so?"

After finishing the water, he turned to run wild again. Watching him insist on running around even as he grimaced in pain made Pei Song'an's temples throb too. He drew a steadying breath.

"Where are you off to now? Come back. The doctor's at the door."

By the time the doctor came out of the bedroom, Li Shu was lying listlessly on his stomach on the bed. The bruises on his bottom and inner thighs looked frightening, but the doctor said they were only superficial injuries and would gradually heal with some topical medication.

After seeing the doctor off, Pei Song'an pushed open the guest bedroom door and happened to catch Li Shu lifting the hem of his shirt. Most of his pale, slender waist was exposed, and following its curves down, he could vaguely make out a rounded contour, along with the bruise on his left buttock.

Li Shu turned his head, his gaze coming into focus. His long, straight arm rested against the evenly proportioned muscles at his waist, his thin T-shirt hugging his lovely shoulder blades. The line of his spine easily invited wandering thoughts.

Yet Li Shu was utterly unaware of this.

Their gazes met like a brief, fleeting kiss.

Belatedly embarrassed, Li Shu hurriedly tugged the blanket over his bottom, trying to figure out how to pull up his half-lowered underwear without being noticed.

"Hey, hey, why didn't you knock before coming in?"

"Sorry." Pei Song'an apologized readily, stepped outside, and knocked on the door. "May I come in?"

Li Shu said, "...No. I'm going to apply my ointment."

Standing in the doorway, Pei Song'an spoke in a level, steady voice. "Your injuries are behind you, on your buttocks and the backs of your thighs. Can you easily apply it yourself?"

Li Shu hesitated a little, but did not take the bait. "Those are my private parts. Would it be any more appropriate for you to apply it?"

Pei Song'an said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. If I wanted to take liberties with you, I'd ask first. For example, may I touch you...? Just as, although I have felt the desire to kiss you under certain circumstances, I haven't acted on it and have restrained myself well. That shows I'm more principled than you think."

No, dude...

Is this how all you rich people express yourselves?

Still dubious, Li Shu said, "Then... okay?"

Pei Song'an walked in, his eyes fixed on the dip at Li Shu's waist. "I'm going to lift the blanket. Don't be nervous."

Thanks. Now that you've said that, I'm even more nervous.

Daddy Pei, here's your chance. You'd better make the most of it!

Darlings, updates might be a little irregular over the next couple of days, because my parents are coming from home to visit me~ There might only be one update a day, though I'll still do two if we don't have plans to go out. I'll probably go through verification after the National Day holiday ends!

Hehe, finally, happy National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival to all my sweethearts and wives~