By the time Le Zhuo stormed in, Bai Jiao had already told Xia Gu to put on a coat and a pair of pants over the revealing outfit.
Only then did Bai Jiao belatedly realize he didn’t want Le Zhuo to see Xia Gu like that.
“Bai Jiao! Where did you hide that little vixen?!”
Le Zhuo arrived with overwhelming force, still unwilling to believe that Xia Gu was Bai Jiao’s half brother.
Before the person even appeared, his voice was heard first. When Bai Jiao heard the words “little vixen,” his eyelid twitched.
“Why are you shouting so loudly?” Bai Jiao looked toward the doorway, where Le Zhuo’s beast form stood and said helplessly, “I’m right here. You’ll see me as soon as you come in.”
“It’s him! You came all this way just to see him!” The snow leopard darted in swiftly, lunging straight toward Xia Gu.
Startled, Xia Gu instinctively tried to hide behind Bai Jiao.
“Baby, don’t make trouble.” Bai Jiao easily caught the big cat by the scruff of its neck.
“Who’s making trouble with you?! Let go of me, I’m going to tear that vixen apart!” Le Zhuo bared his fangs and flailed his claws wildly. Though his tone was fierce, his attitude had already softened. “Why are you protecting him? And you still say there’s nothing going on between you!”
“He really is my half brother. Don’t move, look carefully. Don’t we look alike?”
Completely ignoring the sharp claws, Bai Jiao infused soothing spiritual power and forcibly pulled the large snow leopard into his arms.
As Le Zhuo withdrew his claws, he slipped for a moment, before he could fully retract them, the tips grazed across Bai Jiao’s neck. A large gush of blood instantly spilled out.
It had cut the artery.
Bai Jiao: “……”
【Ahhhhhh! Host! Host! I’m using a recovery agent on you, hold on!】886 panicked immediately, darting around the room in chaos.
Le Zhuo froze stiff as a statue. The sight of the vivid red was unbearably glaring as he trembled and reached out to cover Bai Jiao’s neck.
“Jiao jiao, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, Jiao jiao…”
“Mm, I know.” Bai Jiao set him down, then found some tissues nearby to stop the bleeding.
Of course he knew Le Zhuo hadn’t done it on purpose. He had been the one to forcefully pull Le Zhuo into his arms in an attempt to calm him, not giving him any time to retract his claws.
If Le Zhuo had intended to hurt him, he would have sensed the danger and avoided it long ago. At most, this could only be called an accident, caused by Bai Jiao’s own urgency to soothe him.
Le Zhuo’s mind was filled with the thought that he had hurt Bai Jiao. His brain struggled to function. “Jiao jiao, I… I’m sorry. I’ll call an ambulance, you hold on. No, I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”
“No need. It’ll stop soon.”
Bai Jiao remained calm and unhurried. “It’s just a scratch. Not serious.”
How could losing that much blood possibly be “just a scratch”?
Le Zhuo couldn’t think rationally anymore. He immediately enlarged his body, then nudged Bai Jiao onto his head and bolted outside with him balanced there.
If the doorway hadn’t been wide enough, Bai Jiao would have smashed into the frame and fallen off.
“There’s really no need to rush like this.”
The blood loss made Bai Jiao a little dizzy. Although Le Zhuo was trying his best to keep his head steady, the rapid movement still made the jolting unavoidable.
A massive snow leopard charging wildly through the city naturally caused a huge commotion.
Very quickly, Bai Jiao was taken to the hospital. With the rapid effects of the recovery agent, the doctor examined him and confirmed the injury wasn’t serious, finally allowing Le Zhuo to relax.
But he was consumed with guilt and self blame. Staring at his own claws, he even thought of pulling them all out.
The news of Bai Jiao’s injury not only failed to remain hidden, it spread widely and the entire Bai family soon learned about it.
Le Zhuo turned into a small snow leopard and buried himself in Bai Jiao’s arms, secretly shedding tears. Bai Jiao hid him beneath the blanket while dealing with the visitors who came to see him.
His injury wasn’t severe and didn’t require hospitalization yet his parents insisted he stay, urging him to only leave once he had fully recovered.
Bai Jiao became like a giant panda in everyone’s eyes, people who had nothing to do with him even used the excuse of seeking medical care just to come and disturb him.
Le Zhuo remained downcast the entire time. Only at night would he cry softly and whisper apologies to Bai Jiao over and over again.
It was as if he had shut himself off, unwilling to go anywhere except within Bai Jiao’s embrace.
The hospital was filled with surveillance monitoring their every move. Bai Jiao didn’t rashly hack into it. Instead, he waited until his injury had fully healed. Only after taking Le Zhuo home did he finally sit down to talk to him properly.
“It was just a minor injury. Don’t blame yourself anymore.”
Bai Jiao gently pinched the small snow leopard’s ear and leaned close, trying to make his words reach deep into Le Zhuo’s heart.
Le Zhuo didn’t move at all, like a cute yet sorrowful doll.
These past few days, he had been in a daze, his mind filled entirely with the fact that he had hurt Bai Jiao.
They had only just become boyfriends for a single day and he had nearly slit his boyfriend’s throat, who could bear something like that?
“Baby, although you’re very cute like this, I prefer you in human form. Turn back.”
Bai Jiao was truly at a loss with this little snow leopard. He had said so many things over the past few days yet not a single word had gotten through.
But this one did.
In a flash of white light, Le Zhuo transformed back into his human form within Bai Jiao’s arms.
He lay there obediently, completely unclothed, his expression filled with distress. His lower lip had been bitten until it bled.
Bai Jiao pried his teeth apart. For the first time, he felt a trace of regret, if he hadn’t forced Le Zhuo into his arms that day, none of this would have happened and Le Zhuo wouldn’t be drowning in guilt to the point of shutting himself away.
【Host, what do we do? Should we tell him you’re immortal? Even if he stabbed you a hundred times, you wouldn’t die!】886 grew so worried that it began suggesting nonsense.
Bai Jiao didn’t think that would make Le Zhuo feel any better.
If their positions were reversed, if Le Zhuo were immortal, Bai Jiao still wouldn’t bear to let him be hurt in the slightest.
Knowing someone couldn’t die and still putting them in danger, that wasn’t love. That was selfish exploitation.
Bai Jiao pried his teeth apart again, licking away the blood from Le Zhuo’s lips before kissing him gently.
The soft entanglement of their tongues was like spring rain, attempting to draw Le Zhuo back from the endless mire of guilt.
At last, Le Zhuo reacted. His lashes trembled and a tear slipped down from the corner of his eye.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like me kissing you?” Bai Jiao wiped away his tears, only for Le Zhuo to shake his head and avoid his touch.
For a moment, Bai Jiao couldn’t tell whether he liked it or not and his hand slowly fell away.
Unexpectedly, Le Zhuo turned around, presenting his back to him, burying his face in the blanket as he muttered, “Hit me.”
Bai Jiao: “……”
Le Zhuo grabbed his hand and placed it on his own backside. “Hit me. Hit me harder.”
This was the first time Bai Jiao had ever heard such an unreasonable request outside of those troublemaking villains who practically begged to be beaten.
“Why would I hit you?” Bai Jiao felt, for the first time, that touching Le Zhuo’s body was almost too hot to handle.
“Then kill me. Take revenge for yourself.”
Le Zhuo took his hand again and placed it against his own neck.
Bai Jiao’s gaze darkened slightly as he grasped the back of his neck. “Do you really want to die that much?”
Of course, Le Zhuo didn’t want to die.
But he had hurt Bai Jiao and he wanted to atone.
“Baby, do you think I could bear to hurt you? Could I bear to let you die?” Bai Jiao pressed him down beneath himself and leaned in to kiss the reddened corner of his eyes.
Le Zhuo’s tears fell without end, his voice murmuring, “I’m sorry…”
“I’m not blaming you. I’ve told you, it was just an accident.” Bai Jiao had lost count of how many times he had repeated those words.
He felt that something stronger was needed now, something to break Le Zhuo out of this endless cycle of guilt.
“But I still hurt you.” Le Zhuo didn’t even care anymore whether that person was truly Bai Jiao’s father’s illegitimate son.
No matter what, he should never have hurt Bai Jiao.
Suddenly, he remembered his earlier thought of pulling out his claws. He quickly hid his hands behind his back and said anxiously, “Jiao jiao, move aside for a moment.”
“What are you trying to do?” Bai Jiao noticed something off about him. Not only did he refuse to move aside, he pulled Le Zhuo into his arms instead.
“I want to… fix my nails. I don’t want to hurt you again.” Le Zhuo chose his words vaguely.
In truth, he felt that just tearing out his nails wouldn’t be enough. Maybe he should cut off his hands altogether, as atonement for Bai Jiao.
“I’ll trim them for you.” Bai Jiao pretended to get up to fetch a nail clipper. The person behind him immediately turned into a snow leopard and tried to run, only to be caught in one swift motion.
This time, Le Zhuo didn’t move at all. He tucked his paws in, not daring to struggle in the slightest, afraid he might hurt Bai Jiao again.
“Don’t run,” Bai Jiao said with a darkened expression, his lashes lowered slightly as he looked down at the leopard in his hand. “If you run again, I’ll lock you up.”
Le Zhuo shivered.
He was especially afraid of Bai Jiao like this. It was obvious he was angry. He could only obediently let himself be handled and to avoid hurting Bai Jiao, he even shrank himself smaller.
Bai Jiao switched to a pet nail clipper and carefully trimmed Le Zhuo’s claws. After finishing, he patted his head and told him to turn back into a human.
Le Zhuo complied obediently. The moment he returned to human form, Bai Jiao gave his backside a light smack.
“Mm…” It hurt, he felt wronged, like crying.
“I’ve hit you now. No need to feel guilty anymore.” Bai Jiao carried him over to a beanbag chair, wrapped him in a blanket and lazily turned on the built in television.
“It didn’t hurt at all,” Le Zhuo murmured softly.
“You want it to hurt?” Bai Jiao pinched his cheek. “If it hurts, will you stop feeling guilty?”
Le Zhuo didn’t know. He looked at Bai Jiao with innocent, watery eyes, tears still lingering within them.
All he knew was that he desperately wanted to do something for Bai Jiao, anything, to make up for what he had done.
Bai Jiao pulled him onto his lap and said softly, “Let’s watch a movie.”
Movies in this world were divided by classification, adults and minors saw different versions. Naturally, Bai Jiao chose the adult one.
The homepage recommended a newly released love story between a sentinel and a guide, said to be a beautiful, pure romance, with exceptional intimate scenes, so it had become quite popular.
Le Zhuo, however, had no mood for movies. Restless, he picked at his nails again, trying to tear them off, only for Bai Jiao to catch his hand in the next moment.
Their hands overlapped beneath the blanket, resting against Le Zhuo’s thigh, very close to somewhere sensitive.
Only then did Le Zhuo feel a flicker of tension.
He had been so immersed in guilt earlier that he hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Now, belated embarrassment crept in.
“Focus.” Bai Jiao squeezed his hand lightly.
The movie opened with a beautiful stretch of ocean, where the two protagonists first met.
Le Zhuo still couldn’t concentrate. Nestled in Bai Jiao’s arms, he curled his fingers carefully.
“Baby, are you watching properly?”
“Mm…”
“You’re lying. Little liar.”
Bai Jiao’s fingers brushed along the soft inner part of Le Zhuo’s thigh, sending a tremor through him.
“I… I can’t focus. I’m not in the mood,” Le Zhuo explained in a fluster yet didn’t dare reach out to stop him.
“Then what would put you in the mood?” Bai Jiao held him steady and rubbed his head.
Le Zhuo’s entire body went soft, the unfamiliar sensation leaving his mind blank.
“Baby, watch the movie properly,” Bai Jiao said casually as he continued, “I’ll make it hurt later, give you a chance to atone.”
It was time for him to feel a little pain.
“Really?” At the mention of atonement, Le Zhuo even felt a hint of anticipation. “Are you going to hit me?”
“…No.” Bai Jiao’s expression cooled slightly. “I don’t have that kind of strange preference.”
Le Zhuo frowned in confusion. “Then what are you going to do?”
“Do you.”
The moment the words fell, Le Zhuo felt his body lifted. Bai Jiao flipped him over, making him drape across his shoulder.
Le Zhuo was still a little dazed, thinking Bai Jiao meant “do” as in hitting him, until a chill ran along his back and he finally realized what was happening.
“I’ll only give you three fingers. The rest, you’ll have to manage on your own,” Bai Jiao said, tilting his head to kiss Le Zhuo’s earlobe. “Didn’t you want pain? Let this teach you a lesson.”
With that, he gave Le Zhuo’s backside a firm smack.
…
Le Zhuo truly learned his lesson.
He lay sprawled on the bed, teeth clenched from the pain, unable to get up at all yet not a single complaint left his lips.
He had never imagined Bai Jiao would be this kind of person, harboring such thoughts toward him!
As a sentinel, Le Zhuo had never imagined himself in the submissive position. After all, the sentinel guide dynamic was the norm but now, he didn’t even have the thought of reversing it.
It felt good, very good but the pain at the beginning had been real, especially with Bai Jiao… that thing… It was far too large to be normal, larger even than a sentinel’s and so long. Le Zhuo felt as though he had been completely pierced through.
“Alright, does your guilt feel any lighter now?”
Bai Jiao realized that the only time he didn’t feel heartache over Le Zhuo’s tears was when they were shed on the bed. At all other times, he wanted to comfort him with all his heart.
“It’s… effective.” Le Zhuo was too exhausted to speak properly, his voice hoarse and rough.
In truth, it only helped a little but at least he felt somewhat more alive now, already thinking about how he would treat Bai Jiao better in the future.
“Another round?”
Bai Jiao rubbed his waist, his gaze sweeping over the marks on his neck, his eyes darkening slightly.
“Okay.” Le Zhuo wrapped his arms around his neck, offering his lips willingly.
“Little liar. You’re still feeling guilty.” Bai Jiao bit his lip lightly.
“I can’t help it… I hurt you.” Le Zhuo gently touched the faint scar on Bai Jiao’s neck, his heart aching.
Bai Jiao’s neck had once been pale and elegant. Now it bore a flaw. It didn’t affect his beauty but no matter what, Le Zhuo could never forget the sight of blood gushing out that day.
He had nearly fainted on the spot, barely holding on only because of his concern for Bai Jiao.
“Then from now on, does that mean you’ll obey me in everything?”
Le Zhuo nodded. “Whatever you say, I’ll agree.”
Bai Jiao looked at him, so completely at his mercy and a flicker passed through his eyes.
“Still, I need to make this clear to you, that really is my father’s illegitimate son. I’m planning to place him under my command.”
“Mm, whatever you say, I believe you.” Le Zhuo closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Bai Jiao. His long lashes trembled incessantly, like the fluttering wings of a butterfly.
“I’m planning to have him seduce my parents’ other two illegitimate sons, Bai Xiuzhu and Lan Tingxue.”
“Aren’t they both sentinels? How is he supposed to seduce them?” Le Zhuo opened his eyes again, staring at Bai Jiao in surprise.
“Who told you Xia Gu is a sentinel? He’s a guide I won at the arena that day. I’m planning to have him stir the whole family into chaos…”
“He’s actually a guide?” Le Zhuo’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Mm. So you say you trust me but you’ve been hiding something in your heart.” Bai Jiao pierced straight through his earlier lie in one stroke.
Le Zhuo fell silent. He hummed softly and clung to Bai Jiao, secretly hiding the tears that had once again welled up in his eyes.
The guilt only deepened.
“Idiot. Go to sleep.”
With a helpless sigh, Bai Jiao ruffled Le Zhuo’s hair. Just as he was about to say “good night,” a thought suddenly struck him.
So earlier, Le Zhuo had thought he and Xia Gu were involved and because of that, had been so guilt ridden and obedient in everything?
Was this person a fool?
If Le Zhuo’s kind of affection were given to someone else, he would inevitably be hurt beyond repair, left shattered and devastated.
Fortunately, the one he loved was Bai Jiao and what he gave also belonged to Bai Jiao. No matter what, Bai Jiao would never have anyone else.
Bai Jiao pinched his cheek, then lowered his head and lightly bit his face. “Good night.”
“Good night, Jiao Jiao,” Le Zhuo said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“If you say sorry again, I’ll help you ‘ease that guilt’ tonight.”
“Th… then… maybe ease it in a couple of days instead.”
Le Zhuo’s backside was still sore.
……..
Le Zhuo was coaxed by Bai Jiao into going home to work on the robot.
He had originally planned to half heartedly complete Bai Jiao’s order but now he threw himself into it with full determination, resolved to build the most incredible robot in the entire world for Bai Jiao!
Bai Jiao, on the other hand, remained completely unaware of this. His only thought was to settle Xia Gu’s matter as soon as possible and then marry Le Zhuo as soon as he could.
Unexpectedly, not long after he had sent Le Zhuo away, Bai Feng arrived at his door, holding his belly and went straight to the point.
“I’m pregnant.”
Bai Jiao’s gaze drifted thoughtfully to his stomach.
[Host, do you want to get pregnant? You can get pregnant too.] 886 chirped excitedly.
In this world, guides could bear children and it only took three months for a pregnancy to come to term.
“I don’t,” Bai Jiao refused decisively.
The reason he had been looking at Bai Feng’s stomach just now was simply to consider how to expose this matter to their parents.
[Alright then.] 886 replied, somewhat disappointed.
It went off to play its synthesis game, combining photos of Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo to see what kind of child they might produce.
“The child isn’t mine. Why are you coming to me?” Bai Jiao’s tone was indifferent; he couldn’t even be bothered to lift his eyes to look at Bai Feng.
“The child is Le Shan’s.” Bai Feng’s expression was strained. He walked up to Bai Jiao, lowering his head to stare at the tips of his shoes, his thoughts unreadable.
“That still has nothing to do with me.”
Bai Jiao felt that Bai Feng was simply ridiculous.
He was pregnant yet instead of going to the child’s father, he had come here, what could Bai Jiao possibly do?
“I know it’s not yours, I already said it’s Le Shan’s…” Bai Feng suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud.
Bai Jiao didn’t move. He simply wanted to see what kind of spectacle he intended to make.
“Jiao Jiao, growing up, your brother has never asked you for anything,” Bai Feng bent forward, his forehead hitting the ground heavily. “Now I’m begging you, please, give Le Shan to me. The family property will all be yours in the future. I only want Le Shan.”
Bai Jiao thought he was unbelievably foolish, giving up such a vast fortune for the sake of a man.
[If it were you, would you choose your beloved or money?]
“……”
886 was promptly shut into solitary confinement.
“You should talk to our parents yourself about swapping fiances,” Bai Jiao said, resting his chin on his hand with a hint of amusement. “I have no objections anyway.”
“Really?” Bai Feng’s face lit up with joy but gradually, that joy shifted into hesitation. “Jiao Jiao, you may have lost your memory now but you shouldn’t fall for a fool…”
“I didn’t lose my memory. That was just an excuse to avoid marrying Le Shan,” Bai Jiao said, lifting Bai Feng’s chin with the tip of his shoe, looking down at him from above. “Brother, I should thank you for giving me a treasure like Le Zhuo.”
If Bai Feng and Le Zhuo had actually had anything between them, Bai Jiao would have killed Bai Feng without hesitation.
“Wh… what? You… you didn’t lose your memory? You really like a fool and don’t like Le Shan?”
“Mm. I don’t like him. He’s not as good looking as Le Zhuo and his personality isn’t as good either. No, he’s not even worthy of being compared to Le Zhuo. Only a blind person like you would like him.”
Bai Jiao stood up, a faint smile playing on his lips. “But we should make one thing clear, you’re never allowed to regret this and you’re never allowed to pester Le Zhuo again.”
If Le Zhuo could recover the memories from the original storyline, then Bai Feng and Le Shan might not be exceptions either.
In the original story, Le Zhuo had once saved Bai Feng and become a fool and another time saved him again at the cost of his life. That had plunged Bai Feng into grief for a time.
Bai Jiao didn’t believe that version of events.
If someone had once received another person’s complete love, love so profound it was worth sacrificing one’s life, how could they then accept, without the slightest reservation, a love divided into countless fragments?
“Regret? I won’t regret it. I definitely won’t regret it.” Bai Feng spoke with unwavering certainty.
“Good. Since I’ve agreed, you can leave.”
He truly couldn’t understand how someone could mistake a worthless fish eye for a pearl, how could anyone be this foolish?
Though Bai Feng still found it hard to believe, he had obtained Bai Jiao’s forgiveness and consent and that alone was enough to satisfy him. He decided he would return and inform Le Shan and their parents of the matter at once.
He was already carrying Le Shan’s child and the baby was close to being born, there was no possibility of terminating the pregnancy now. At this point, no one could stop him from being with Le Shan.
“Jiao Jiao, I’m back!”
Le Zhuo, who had practically moved his entire workshop over, froze for a moment when he saw Bai Feng. Instinctively, he was about to pretend to be foolish again but Bai Jiao pressed a hand against his head, stopping him.
“No need to pretend anymore. He already knows we’re together.” Bai Jiao pulled him over and kissed him, then raised a brow and shot a sidelong glance at Bai Feng.
“Oh! Let me tell you, I’ve packed up all my things and brought them here. From now on, I’m going to stay with you every single day!”
At this point, Le Zhuo couldn’t be bothered to think about revenge or anything else. All he wanted was to be close to Bai Jiao.
They had only been apart for a short while yet he already missed Bai Jiao terribly, so much that it felt unbearable.
“Alright. You can go upstairs and pick any room you like to put your things in. Of course, at night, you’ll still sleep with me.” Bai Jiao had no objections.
Their intimate behavior, as though no one else existed, made Bai Feng’s steps come to an abrupt halt.
He stared blankly at the lively, completely normal looking Le Zhuo, his mouth half open. It took him a long moment before he finally managed to speak. “You… you’re better?”
Le Zhuo found it strange. “Didn’t Jiao Jiao tell you?”
Only then did Le Zhuo notice Bai Feng’s belly and his face lit up with delight. “You’re pregnant?”
“Jiao Jiao, he’s pregnant, it must be Le Shan’s!” Le Zhuo exclaimed happily, throwing himself straight into Bai Jiao’s arms. “We can finally be together openly!”
Bai Jiao smiled. “That’s right. Bai Feng came to see me just to talk about this. He’ll bring it up with the elders himself.”
However, before the two of them could celebrate for long, a loud thud echoed through the room.
They both turned toward the sound.
Bai Feng had actually fainted on the spot.