Shen Zhiqi curiously poked the black watch face with his finger. With his touch, the originally pitch-black dial lit up. The screen displayed not only the time, but also an extremely cute golden pixel puppy. The puppy’s little round eyes blinked, and its tail wagged.
“Wow! It is a golden puppy!” the little snake exclaimed, his tongue flicking in and out. He held his wrist high, inspecting it from every angle, and even carefully tapped the screen a few times with his little pink snake tongue. The golden puppy looks just like Dog Mom! I will grow up to be a puppy just like her one day!
“Big Brother, it is a glowing golden puppy!” Shen Zhiqi excitedly tapped the expensive sofa surface with his tail and held his wrist up to his brother like a treasure. “Is this Xiaoqi? Will I also grow up to be a fluffy golden puppy?”
The silly little snake had never even seen common toys, let alone high-end electronics. In his eyes, this was not a shackle used to monitor him, but a precious gift from his brother.
“Yes, Big Brother sees it. This puppy is Xiaoqi; the watch means Xiaoqi.” Shen Zhiheng breathed a light sigh of relief and gently pinched the little guy’s cheek, which was slightly burning with excitement. The morbid satisfaction of keeping the little snake captive now covered up the hidden guilt in his heart. He remembered that the little snake loved golden puppies and had drawn many golden puppy doodles, pasting them all over the house. The little snake must have wanted to become a golden puppy for that reason. How can there be such an adorable cognitive impairment in this world?
Shen Zhiheng thought this to himself, pulling the watch-exploring little snake into his arms and gently smoothing his short, dark green hair. “As long as Xiaoqi wears it obediently, the glowing golden puppy will always be with you.”
“With this, no matter where Xiaoqi is, Big Brother will be able to find you immediately, so you will never be afraid alone again.”
The emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes were a possessiveness he had not even noticed himself. “Does the baby like this gift?”
“I love it!” Shen Zhiqi nodded earnestly, covering the watch with both hands like it was the most precious treasure. “Thank you, Big Brother! You are so good! You are the best person in the world!”
He promised solemnly, “I will take good care of it. If the watch is here, I am here; if the watch is gone, I…”
Before the little guy could finish his childish vow, he was covered by Shen Zhiheng’s hand over his mouth.
“Baby, do not talk nonsense.”
The little snake, with his mouth covered, could not speak and could only nod repeatedly, making vague “mmm-mmm” sounds.
That night, Shen Zhiheng taught the snake how to use the watch, most importantly how to call Big Brother and how to charge it. The little snake coiled himself up, watching the watch charge intently, mesmerized by the glowing pixel puppy on the dial opening its mouth to catch food falling from the sky. He was amused by the puppy and poked the dial. He stayed right by it even while it was charging, obediently following his brother’s instructions to take good care of the watch.
Uncle Wang, who had come upstairs to deliver hot milk, witnessed this scene. His more acute adult perception made him frown deeply. He walked over to see the young master adjusting the exclusive software on his phone.
“Young Master, you cannot treat Xiaoqi this way.” Perhaps acting from the stance of Shen Zhiqi’s legal guardian, Uncle Wang whispered his advice.
Shen Zhiheng’s hand, scrolling through his phone, paused slightly. His expression was complex; the guilt he had previously suppressed surged back up. But he did not back down, instead asking, “How am I treating him?”
Shen Zhiheng did not look up, his eyes fixed on the various data points regarding the little snake on his screen. Everything was normal: heart rate, blood oxygen, location, audio. All information was under Shen Zhiheng’s impenetrable control. It seemed that only by hiding all this data inside a small phone, which he held tightly in his hand, could he gain a sense of immense security.
“Young Master, you should at least not monitor him like a prisoner.” Uncle Wang’s gaze fell on the little snake, who was foolishly happy with his watch nearby, and a trace of unbearable pity flashed in his eyes. The rationality of an adult felt concern for their morbid relationship. Was this merely supervision of the snake? Would the young master really stop at this harsh, morbid discipline? Would he become increasingly hollow and fearful, until he became even more severe and pathologically twisted?
“The little snake does not understand your intentions, that is why he has not refused.” Sensing Shen Zhiheng’s wavering, Uncle Wang pressed his advantage: “You are now using his innocence and trust in you to put something on him that is for absolute surveillance, restricting his freedom. When he grows up and understands, what will he think?”
Shen Zhiheng’s breathing quickened. He perhaps imagined the future where the little snake grew up, discovered that his suffocating control was not normal, and broke away from him. He gripped his phone so tightly that his palm began to ache.
“When Father locked me on this isolated island, why did no one come to ask if I wanted freedom?”
At this, Uncle Wang was left completely speechless.
“He will not think anything. He will understand me. I am his only brother, his only family in this world.” Shen Zhiheng’s voice was very low, as if he were comforting himself. The eyes that had once been cynical and indifferent to everything in the world were now terrifyingly paranoid. “Except for me, he has no other reliance in this world.”
“He only has me. He can only have me.”
Shen Zhiheng’s hand on the edge of the bed slowly tightened into a fist, white-knuckled with effort. “He will only have me.”
Uncle Wang had a complex look on his face, his expression rigid. He did not know how far Shen Zhiheng would go for this promise. What did “he will only have me” mean? Uncle Wang did not know what else to advise; after all, the young master who once cared for nothing, living as if on an isolated island, had now found his only anchor in the little snake. Even if this extreme caring had twisted into an airtight net.
“Big Brother?” Shen Zhiqi seemed to sense the low pressure in the room.
He held the newly charged electronic watch in his hands and used his beautiful, newly grown, dark green tail to skillfully shuffle over to his brother’s side.
“Is Big Brother unhappy?” The little guy tilted his head, finally making eye contact with his brother from below.
“No, I am not unhappy.” Shen Zhiheng retracted the edge he showed to others. When he looked at the little snake, his gaze was as deep and gentle as ever. “As long as the little snake is here, Big Brother is happy every day.”
“Mhm, I am happy too!” Shen Zhiqi foolishly believed his brother’s words and said happily.
He wanted to take the milk from Uncle Wang, but his hands were busy carefully holding the electronic watch, so he had no spare hand to take the cup. The little snake thought for a moment and curled the tip of his slender tail around the lukewarm glass.
“Big Brother, do not be unhappy. I will serve you your milk.”
The little tail circled the glass, forming a smooth, dark-green sleeve. Shen Zhiheng was amused by the little snake’s cute actions and pinched his little face.
“Is your tail meant to be used like this?”
“It works! It works! This is my third hand. Big Brother drank my milk, so you cannot be unhappy anymore!”
Shen Zhiheng smiled, holding the cup wrapped in the snake tail with both hands, gently rubbing the smooth, shiny scales.
“Once Big Brother has Xiaoqi, he will not be unhappy.”
He tilted his head and drank the milk the little one offered in one go; the cool temperature spread from his throat down to his stomach. Shen Zhiheng fed his own cup of warm milk to the little snake and then handed the two empty glasses to Uncle Wang, who had been standing to the side for a long time.
“It is Xiaoqi himself who is willing to stay by my side, is it not?”
Before Uncle Wang could respond, the little snake, hearing this, immediately replied: “Yes!”
Shen Zhiqi took the initiative to reach out his hand, wanting his brother to put the electronic watch on him. “When I could not see, I was so scared… even, even the little milk mice could bully me at that time!”
The hand putting the watch on Shen Zhiqi paused for a moment. Shen Zhiqi did not notice anything unusual, continuing: “But, it was the first time I had someone with me at that time…”
“I, I mean, it is just. Big Brother!”
The little snake, who had always been full of fear for the world, had gained the ultimate sense of security and satisfaction from his brother. Of course, he wanted to hold onto this unprecedented sense of safety. But he did not know how to express his greed so that his brother would accept it.
Shen Zhiheng raised an eyebrow slightly; he vaguely sensed what the little snake wanted to express. The little snake needed him, and he desperately wanted to be needed. He did not point it out, and for once, he did not guide him.
The black hole of extreme insecurity at the bottom of his heart was so hungry to hear Shen Zhiqi admit his need for him. He wanted to hear the little snake tell him that everything was exactly as he wished—that Xiaoqi had no other reliance in this world.
Xiaoqi only had him.
Shen Zhiheng looked at the little guy’s tangled, anxious appearance, and pretending to be puzzled, asked:
“Big Brother what?”
“Big Brother knows!” Shen Zhiqi poked his brother’s chest with the tip of his tail, his moist, golden eyes looking at him pleadingly. “Big Brother must know what is on my mind!”
Shen Zhiheng chuckled, his tone becoming incomparably innocent: “If the baby does not say it, how can Big Brother know? Big Brother is a human; how can a human guess what is in a little dog’s head?”
He pinched the little snake’s soft cheek. “Big Brother said that whatever the baby wants, Big Brother will give it to you.”
The little snake flicked his pink tongue and finally mustered the courage to say, “I want Big Brother to stay.”
An unspeakable joy and morbid satisfaction spread through his blood and bones, wrapping Shen Zhiheng in extreme happiness.
“Of course, Big Brother will stay with you.”
Shen Zhiqi blinked, his tail falling unconsciously from his brother’s chest and quietly wrapping a circle around his waist. “I do not know what I would do without Big Brother.”
“Is it just the blind period?”
“And usually, usually too! What would I do without Big Brother. I cannot be without Big Brother.”
“So obedient.”
Shen Zhiheng’s tense expression relaxed, and he gently patted the little snake’s head. He turned to look at Uncle Wang, who was standing to the side, for the first time revealing a victory-filled but actually quite childish pleasure in his eyes.
Uncle Wang, holding an empty cup in each hand, looked at this one, then looked at that one. This mutual, codependent illness.
Some bonds are destined to be impossible to cut from the very beginning. Was it the older brother pathologically possessing and disciplining the little snake, or the little snake pathologically relying on and enjoying the shackles? Uncle Wang did not know if he had planted a seed of warning in Shen Zhiheng, and he even began to doubt whether his advice as an outsider was truly clear-headed.
He had to leave Shen Zhiheng’s bedroom and close the door. He felt that if he stayed with these two brothers any longer, his own thinking would be twisted by their magnetic field.
Closing the door, the bedroom quickly fell silent. Shen Zhiqi found a comfortable position in the quilt, let half of his tail hang off the bed, habitually leaned into his brother’s embrace, and closed his eyes.
Before long, the little guy’s breathing became steady and long. As a snake, he slept deeply; having developed a habit of being completely defenseless beside his brother, he often would not wake up even when his brother carried him around.
Shen Zhiheng lay on his side beside him, his fingers gently stroking the little snake’s cheek. The posture of a victor he had held in front of outsiders settled into calm, and his gaze resembled an invisible chain bound around the little snake.
Uncle Wang was right; he was indeed exploiting the little guy’s innocence. If the little snake were as smart as a human Omega, he would definitely have seen through all his schemes.
But he did not care.
Over the long years of watching the little snake grow up healthy, he had plenty of time and energy to let the little guy adapt to his discipline and control. Shen Zhiheng wanted to be relied upon, wanted a chance to express affection, and what Shen Zhiqi wanted just happened to be to be valued and cared for. Their pasts had fatefully shaped a demand that fit together perfectly, like a mortise and tenon.
A rational adult could not understand it—just like Uncle Wang, who had no way to intervene in this structure that fit perfectly without a trace of error.
The press release from the Omega Protection Association was delayed. Shen Zhiheng asked Lin Ze to inquire, only to receive the reply: “We are preparing an 18th birthday gift for Young Master Shen; wishing you a happy birthday in advance.” It seemed they would only give Shen Zhiheng a result once they received the money via check.
Shen Zhiheng was burning with anxiety; even though he had already put a real-time monitoring watch on his brother, not receiving a report still kept his heart suspended in mid-air. One million could make a ghost grind flour, fabricate news, and manipulate public opinion and human hearts. From beginning to end, public opinion was just a chess piece played casually in the hands of this group.
His little snake had been bullied by these people.
But his strength was too weak. As a mere eighteen-year-old, he had wasted his studies and had nothing but a lot of money. No connections, no power, not even ability.
Shen Zhiheng agitatedly rubbed his hair, digging out his high school exam account password from old chat logs on his phone.
Not enough. It is far from enough.
He had to grow quickly, to fight and seize power until he had the ability to really build a safe greenhouse for the little snake. Even if it was not time to check the scores yet, Shen Zhiheng knew his results this time would definitely not be enough. He had to re-plan his future, a future that included Shen Zhiqi.
Shen Zhiheng felt a fervor he had never felt before, just like an eighteen-year-old boy should. He specially hired a career planner to come to the house and also found Lin Ze, the acting executive president of the family business’s domestic branch, asking him to bring him along to familiarize himself with the company’s existing layout.
Shen Zhiheng became visibly busy, yet he was deeply troubled by the fact that he could not take the little snake with him, bringing him away from their isolated island. He instructed Shen Zhiqi that he must stay at home whenever he left to handle business, and he adjusted the monitoring alarms on the software to the highest level.
As long as Shen Zhiqi’s location left the villa building, the software would immediately issue an alarm.
The brother’s strict supervision did not provoke dissatisfaction from the little snake; instead, he became depressed because his brother left him at home alone. His brother was busy and came home late, only having a little bit of time at night to accompany him. The servants in the manor were all busy with their own things and ignored him, and he could not find Dog Mom either.
The sense of grievance in the little guy’s heart quickly compounded over time.
He was not happy at all; he even felt uneasy and anxious. Every time he watched his brother leave, he was full of reluctance. Once his brother left, Shen Zhiqi would walk in circles against the walls of the first floor of the villa, until he was so tired his belly felt sore.
Shen Zhiheng, having been busy for another full day, came home, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and found the villa door felt like it was blocked by something, making it very difficult to open. He frowned in confusion and turned on the indoor camera on the door. What met his eyes was Shen Zhiqi’s body leaning against the door, along with chairs, bottles, books, and other objects used to block it.
Seeing the little snake standing behind the door, Shen Zhiheng, considering his safety, stopped pushing the door with force. He used the video doorbell to speak to Shen Zhiqi: “Baby? Why are you blocking the door?”
The figure standing in front of the camera had been standing quietly just a moment ago, but upon hearing Shen Zhiheng’s voice, he began to tremble slightly.
“How many days has it been?” Shen Zhiqi did not turn around; his reproachful voice was already laced with a weeping tone. He stretched his hand to the side, turning his back to the person, and counted off his fingers one by one.
After struggling to finish counting, Shen Zhiqi let out a soft “Hmph,” and muttered:
“I have counted both hands! When Uncle Wang taught me to count, he said people can also count their toes, so that makes… that makes twenty days!”
“But I do not have human toes, so that does not count. You have left me alone at home for ten days!”
On that side, he raised his voice to accuse him of his “crimes.” On this side, Shen Zhiheng was about to burst out laughing.
This is not the time to laugh, otherwise that little guy with a huge temper inside will definitely cry a lot. Unless he could not help it.
Shen Zhiheng took a deep breath, forcing the laughter back. Luckily, the little snake inside was immersed in his own world, wallowing in sorrow, and did not notice his brother laughing at all.
“Brother does not accompany me anymore. If Brother wants to go out, why can you not take me with you?”
“If I were really just a tiny, thin little thing, that would be great. I could hide in your sleeve or your pocket, so no matter where you go, I would be with you!”
Shen Zhiqi lowered his head, muttering endlessly, his tail tip drawing circles on the floor.
“Bad Brother. Bad human Brother.”
“The day is so long, so long. The sun shines on this end of the living room, and then it shines on that end.”
“It is not that I do not want to stay in the house and go out, I just want to stay with you. I will be obedient.”
Shen Zhiqi became more and more miserable the more he spoke. He was not really angry at his brother; it was just anxiety and worry. At the hospital, Dog Mom was like this too—at first, she just was not there during the day, and then she was there very late at night eventually, she was never there again.
Shen Zhiqi had his own understanding of the outside world.
Whenever people spent less and less time by his side, it was a precursor to them leaving forever. He did not want his brother to fall into his pattern either, so he had to try his best to make his brother stay.
Shen Zhiheng, who had been sighing at how cute the little snake’s murmuring was, heard the sobbing and felt his heart ache again. He knocked on the door and softened his voice to coax him:
“Baby, do not cry. It is Brother’s fault. Open the door and let me hug you, okay?”
The small, thin shoulders trembled even more violently, not moving at all from the door.
This bad Brother must reflect properly outside the door!
Shen Zhiqi leaned his back against the door, rubbing his little belly, which was particularly sore after walking for an afternoon, while nursing his grudge. He had not heard a sound from the video doorbell for a long time, and he began to feel anxious again.
Why are you not speaking? Is, is it because I made too much of a scene?
Thinking of this, Shen Zhiqi’s anger dissipated by half, and he immediately turned around to lie on the video doorbell to look. His tail swung into a beautiful arc, then he coiled it up on the floor again.
Sure enough, his brother was no longer in front of the door.
Shen Zhiqi was just about to fall into self-pity and fierce self-reproach when he heard a voice behind him.
“Is the baby looking for Big Brother by leaning against the door?”
Shen Zhiqi was startled by the voice, and his snake tail trembled.
“B-Big Brother, do you know how to walk through walls?”
“I do not.”
Shen Zhiqi blinked blankly.
“Then Brother…”
“But Brother knows how to climb through windows.”
“Oh!”
The silly little snake’s slow brain actually reacted to what his brother said, and then he understood.
“I thought you had left.”
Shen Zhiheng laughed, answering: “Leave? Go where? Is my Xiaoqi not waiting for Brother to coax him?”
He ruffled Shen Zhiqi’s hair, certain that this little guy was no longer angry at all.
“You know, Brother has been blocked outside his own house for the first time in his life.”
Before, no one controlled him; everything on this isolated island was decided by Shen Zhiheng.
“First time?”
The little dimwit lowered his head and thought; he had always believed “one” was a very beautiful number.
“Then Brother, you should thank me.”
“…”
How was he supposed to explain to this silly little snake who could not tell good talk from bad?
Shen Zhiqi crossed his arms in front of him and started muttering again:
“Brother left me alone at home, and I even did a good deed. You are really too much.”
Shen Zhiheng was genuinely amused by the silly little snake with the bizarre train of thought, and he reached out to pull the little guy into his arms.
“Fine, fine, I should thank you for allowing me to have the best baby in the world.”
Shen Zhiqi nodded with satisfaction. He had a rare moment of clarity and poked his brother’s chest with his finger.
“The matter just now cannot be settled like this. You cannot leave me alone at home every day and make me count up to two hands.”
“I have been returning every night.”
“That does not count!”
The little snake in his arms flared up with anger, raised his head, and shouted, his brow furrowing again.
“Fine, fine, I promise you. On the days I am not home in the future, I will definitely not let you count to two hands.”
Shen Zhiheng earnestly reflected on his recent behavior; he had indeed been busy dealing with immediate problems and future plans, and had gone out too many days in a row. Although he had his reasons for saying he was doing “proper business,” he did not want to use the excuse of being “busy” to make the little snake wait. He could not stand hearing the words, “I am busy, so I cannot accompany you.”
If he said such a thing, how would he be any different from his father? He could not treat his young brother like that.
Hearing his brother’s promise, Shen Zhiqi’s mood finally improved a little. However, he was still a bit unsatisfied.
He held up one hand and started to bargain with his brother: “Not two hands, just one hand, five days!”
Shen Zhiqi had always been obedient; this was a rare time he was pushing his luck. The anxiety of separation exceeded his obsession with keeping the title of “obedient puppy,” and for the first time, he defied his brother’s words.
His reliance and the straightforwardness he displayed made Shen Zhiheng very satisfied. The smile on his face was impossible to hide, yet he still came up with a mischievous idea to tease the child:
“Five days is too short, eight days.”
“Three days!”
Shen Zhiqi interrupted him, not showing any courtesy. The little guy angrily pulled back two fingers, and even went as far as to check if his raised fingers added up to three. After confirming, he shoved his fingers into Shen Zhiheng’s face, and the tip of his little tail struck the carpet in frustration, making a muffled sound to show his protest.
Seeing that the little snake was agitated, Shen Zhiheng quickly stopped while ahead, laughing as he went to hold that small hand raised in mid-air, compromising:
“Fine, Brother was wrong. Five days, five days it is.”
“No! Just three days!”
One man and one snake stared at each other for a second. The second before the little snake was about to break into aggrieved tears, Shen Zhiheng completely raised his hands in surrender:
“Fine, three days. I will not stay outside for even one extra day.”
Shen Zhiheng used his palm to rub the soft flesh that the little snake had finally managed to grow on his face, muttering: “How come Brother can never win an argument against our Xiaoqi now?”
Although he said this, his rising tone was filled with the satisfaction of being pleased by the bottomless clinginess.
“It is clearly Brother’s fault, and you still want to argue with me.”
Shen Zhiqi could not hear the subtext of his brother’s words. He tapped away the hand that was wreaking havoc on his cheek, pinched his own flushed face, and silently bypassed his brother.
He deliberately twisted his waist as he walked, wandering from the far left of his field of vision to the far right, and then shuffled from the far right to the far left. It looked like a lot of movement, but in a straight line, he had not moved very far at all.
Shen Zhiheng stood where he was, watching his little snake sway in his field of vision, and could not help but chuckle softly.
“Brother really knows he was wrong, my good baby. Brother will accompany you all the time from now on. Do not go away, okay?”
Before Shen Zhiheng could react, the snake tail flicked, and he bounded toward him with the fastest speed as if he were levitating, crashing into his arms and causing him to stumble back a step.
Shen Zhiqi held onto his brother as if hugging a giant tree, twisting his waist to get even closer to his brother. The gloom on his face was swept away, and he revealed a passionate, puppy-like smile.
“Good Brother. I, I forgive you.”
“You!”
Shen Zhiheng felt quite helpless, yet his words were full of indulgence.
Shen Zhiheng kept his word, trying to bring materials home as much as possible to understand the situation of his vast company on various planets, and how to save the studies he had abandoned. The little snake was very happy about this, and would constantly hang himself on the person, treating him like a heat-radiating tree, wrapping himself tight.
The manor staff became busy, starting to prepare for Shen Zhiheng’s grand coming-of-age ceremony. Every birthday in the past, Shen Zhiheng would invite many people to the isolated island to hold a wild party. This year, Shen Zhiheng did not mention this, but the people in the manor did not dare to be negligent.
Shen Zhiheng was also looking forward to this birthday. But unlike in the past, what he was looking forward to was not a party, but the day the Omega Protection Association would cash the check and issue a notice about the little snake. If so, Shen Zhiqi’s identity would be safe for the time being.
Shen Zhiqi sensed a change in the atmosphere among the manor staff; they became very, very busy, their steps even quickening. He shuffled to Uncle Wang’s side and gently tugged on the hem of his uncle’s clothes.
“Uncle is so busy, Big Brother is also so busy, what is everyone busy with?”
“Everyone is preparing for your brother’s birthday. He is coming of age this year, turning eighteen.”
“Oh! Is it Brother’s birthday?”
Shen Zhiqi knew the concept of a birthday. His birthday was the same day as the director’s, so his birthday was always particularly lively. Dog Mom would bring back a delicious, fragrant cream cake from a place he did not know, and wish him “Happy Birthday.”
“A birthday is a particularly important day. I also want to prepare a gift for Brother.”
Uncle Wang listened slightly surprised as the little snake talked to himself, and turned his head to see the young master who was buried in data, racked with worry about the little snake’s background.
“If you prepare a gift for your brother, he will be especially happy.” He lovingly lowered his head and patted the little snake’s head, continuing: “If you want to buy anything, just tell Uncle; I will prepare it for you, no matter how much it costs.”
“Thank you, Uncle!” Shen Zhiqi gave a sweet smile and answered politely.
“Hmm… then does Uncle know what Big Brother likes?”
Uncle Wang was stumped by the question, lost for words: “Ah?”
“I mean, I mean, does Brother have anything he likes? A birthday gift should be something Brother likes, right?”
Shen Zhiqi explained, feeling confused because he thought his question was obscure. He looked at Uncle Wang eagerly, the tip of his little snake tail flicking.
“Hmm… this he, the Young Master does not lack anything.” Uncle Wang could not answer.
“No, it is not about lacking something, it is about liking something! What does Big Brother like?”
Shen Zhiqi became more and more anxious as he spoke, dragging his tail and walking back and forth anxiously in front of Uncle Wang. How could such an intelligent creature as a human not understand what he meant? He was asking what Big Brother liked!
Uncle Wang shook his head from side to side, tracking the figure of the little snake walking back and forth anxiously. He really could not answer. After all, everyone around Shen Zhiheng had never once asked what he liked. This simplest of questions had been ignored by everyone.
Uncle Wang tried hard to recall his decades of working in the manor, spending eighteen years accompanying the old lady, and then another eighteen years accompanying Shen Zhiheng. He weighed his words and replied: “The Young Master as long as it is something you send, Xiaoqi, no matter what it is, he will definitely like it.”
Shen Zhiqi frowned slightly upon hearing this, his pink snake tongue flicking in distress.
“How can that be Dog Mom once said, everyone has their own treasure they want.”
“Who said that?” Uncle Wang did not quite catch the little snake’s muttering.
“I said, everyone has their own treasure they want, and Big Brother must have a treasure he likes too.” Shen Zhiqi repeated.
Uncle Wang carefully recalled the eighteen years of being by Shen Zhiheng’s side, pondering whether this young master—who was ill-tempered and had always been a playboy—had a treasure he liked. His gaze drifted unconsciously toward Shen Zhiheng, who was rarely busy working at his desk. He felt he had never seen Shen Zhiheng care about anyone like this before. From childhood to adulthood, the Young Master had only ever called Xiao Zhiqi “baby.”
“I guess, the Young Master must like snakes, right?”
“Snake… Snake?! Big Brother likes snakes?”
Shen Zhiqi stopped his anxious pacing and stood stiffly in place. He stared at the person blankly; his brain, which was not very smart to begin with, felt like Uncle Wang had dropped a stone into it, splashing up a wave. His dark pupils widened slightly from the extreme shock, and the little snake tongue he had flicked out he forgot to retract.
Uncle Wang saw his stupefied appearance, and reached out with a chuckle to wave his hand in front of him.
“Yeah, the Young Master has only ever called you ‘baby,’ right? He must treasure you the most, right?”
“I… me? It is actually me.” Shen Zhiqi regained his senses, his cheeks instantly turning bright red. He covered his little face with both hands, dragging his tail and twisting restlessly on the spot. “Uncle, are you lying to me? How could it be me?”
Uncle Wang was charmed by his muttering appearance, and the smile on his face became even more kindly.
“What is so strange about that? He calls you ‘baby’ all day long; of course, he treasures you.”
It took Shen Zhiqi a long time to digest this unbelievable statement. He asked Uncle Wang for the snake skin that had been prepared for medicinal wine, and carefully rolled it up. The snake skin had been well-treated, and the fishy smell had faded a lot, but a bit of the original snake scent still remained. It was faint, and smelled a bit like freshly popped popcorn. The rolled-up snake skin was pale yellow, and you could vaguely see the clear scale marks on the surface, distributed neatly.
Shen Zhiqi’s snake tail was very long and large, so the snake skin also became a very large cylinder when wrapped up. After thinking, he asked Uncle Wang for a deep red ribbon and tied a bow on the snake skin. Uncle Wang fixed the red bow and took the opportunity to prepare a large gift box.
“Uncle, is it true that Big Brother likes snakes? You are not lying to me, are you?” Even after the gift was ready, the little snake, who had very low self-esteem, was still worriedly struggling with the question.
“Of course, it is true. Your brother really likes snakes; let alone a bow tied on the snake skin, even if you tied it on your big snake tail, your brother would still love it.”
“W… What snake tail? I do not have a snake tail, I am a little dog.” Shen Zhiqi said in a small voice, twisting his tail and hiding under the quilt, covering his head.
A piece of snake tail exposed outside the quilt twisted happily, making a “swish” sound on the bedding.
Actually, if what Big Brother likes is snakes, not being a puppy is fine too!