The Young Master's Stand-in Little White Rabbit Ran Away - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Scare

“What is it?” Qi Jinnan, unusually patient, slowly guided Shen Nian to speak. His face, when stern, made people feel distant, but now with his features relaxed, those light purple eyes seemed full of gentleness, making one unconsciously want to confess everything.

Shen Nian looked at Qi Jinnan, remembering Wen Yu’s threatening words before leaving. This strengthened his resolve to keep the secret well and protect A-Nan.

He pressed his lips together, imitating lovers on TV by hugging Qi Jinnan and nestling into his neck, “I accidentally got scalded by porridge today. Please don’t be angry, sir…”

Qi Jinnan sighed, reaching out to rub Shen Nian’s soft hair, “Alright, be more careful next time. If you really can’t manage, I’ll find a nanny to look after you.”

“No, no need for that.” Shen Nian’s eyelashes trembled in fear, instinctively rejecting Qi Jinnan’s suggestion.

He feared strangers. Every time he was moved to a new beastman room, he would be bullied by unfamiliar beastmen. Some beastmen who initially ignored him would gradually join in bullying him.

He instinctively resisted and rejected unfamiliar environments and people.

“Okay, just stay out of the kitchen for the next few days. The housekeeper will take care of the meals,” Qi Jinnan lowered his clothes, his large hand holding Shen Nian’s slender wrist. “Don’t move around carelessly now, or the wound will hurt more.”

Shen Nian nodded obediently, looking very seriously at Qi Jinnan, “I’ll listen to sir. I won’t move.”

Soon after, the private doctor arrived.

After a simple diagnosis and treatment, Shen Nian had fallen into a deep sleep, his fever gradually subsiding. Qi Jinnan sat on the other side of the sofa listening to the private doctor’s instructions, occasionally glancing at Shen Nian’s little rabbit ears twitching in his sleep, a smile tugging at his lips.

The private doctor, Su Ziqing, a longtime friend of Qi Jinnan, could see that he had taken a liking to the silly rabbit.

But even if he noticed Qi Jinnan’s unusual attitude towards Shen Nian, what could he do? If someone wants to play deaf and dumb, anything you say is useless.

After Su Ziqing left, Qi Jinnan carried Shen Nian back to the room to wash up and sleep.

The room was cleaned daily by Shen Nian, so the wooden floor was spotless. The room carried the scent of ebony incense and a faint sweet smell. The bedding was always aired in the sun when possible, so even the quilts were fragrant.

The silly rabbit was actually quite good. He could cook meals and various desserts, would purse his lips in concentration when decorating cakes, would softly and obediently hug him and call him ‘sir’, and didn’t covet any of his possessions. Except for not liking piano lessons and being slow at calligraphy practice due to his poor mind, everything else was especially good.

Qi Jinnan half-embraced him in his arms, then covered them with the quilt and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, Shen Nian woke up from the pain in his abdomen and arm wounds. He carefully moved a bit, trying to get further from Qi Jinnan so as not to disturb him.

But no matter how he tried to control his voice, the light sleeper Qi Jinnan still woke up.

Qi Jinnan sat up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Nian, lying beside him, bit his lip as tears fell from the corners of his eyes. The sir had still been woken up by him, but he didn’t mean to. It was just that the wounds were both painful and itchy, making him too uncomfortable to sleep.

Seeing Shen Nian’s thin shoulders trembling slightly, Qi Jinnan lost the mood to continue sleeping. He turned Shen Nian’s head, “Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Shen Nian raised his hand to wipe the tears on his face, his big wet eyes staring blankly at Qi Jinnan, “Sir, I hurt… and it’s very itchy. There are many, many bugs biting me…”

Qi Jinnan frowned slightly, then lifted the quilt, pulling up Shen Nian’s cartoon bear pajamas. Seeing blood seeping through the bandages, he checked his phone and muttered, “It’s been three hours since the medicine was changed…”

He got out of bed, picked up the ointment and bandages from the table, and said to Shen Nian, “Come, take off your clothes yourself. I’ll change your dressing.”

Shen Nian obediently took off his clothes, watching as Qi Jinnan lowered his head to undo the bandages on his body. Tears instantly filled his eyes.

The sir used to be very good to him, would hold him in his arms on snowy days, cuddling on the sofa watching the snow through the floor-to-ceiling windows, would gently teach him to read and write, never saying a harsh word even when he learned slowly.

But gradually, the sir lost patience with him, from initial perfunctory responses to later coldly watching him practice piano. Finally, as time passed, he himself gradually forgot what it felt like to be loved.

He didn’t know what he had done wrong to make the sir start to tire of him.

Now, watching Qi Jinnan occasionally blow on the ointment as he applied it, asking if it hurt, it seemed like they had returned to how things were before.

Hot tears fell directly onto Qi Jinnan’s hand, causing him to look up, “Does the wound hurt a lot?”

Shen Nian nodded, but his finger pointed not at the wound, but at his chest, “It hurts here… This is the kindest sir has been to me recently. Sir is so gentle tonight. Can I see the gentle sir again tomorrow…?”

“I promise I’ll be very obedient from now on, I’ll study piano well… make many delicious things for sir…”

Qi Jinnan’s hands paused for a moment. He sat up straight, pulled Shen Nian into his arms, and gently kissed his forehead. “Alright, don’t cry anymore. Crying too much at night is bad for your eyes.”

“Mm, Nian Nian won’t cry.” Shen Nian’s nose twitched slightly. He had been crying quite hard, and his breathing hadn’t evened out yet, so he started hiccuping from crying.

“Good boy.” This time, Qi Jinnan patiently patted Shen Nian’s back.

“I’m good…” Shen Nian hugged Qi Jinnan tightly, large teardrops falling from the corners of his eyes.

Finally, under Qi Jinnan’s comfort, Shen Nian calmed down. Feeling thirsty from crying for so long, he was now gulping down a glass of water. He wasn’t complaining about pain anymore, and his fluffy little rabbit ears were twitching happily back and forth.

“The medicine has been changed. Go to sleep now.” Qi Jinnan tucked Shen Nian in, then turned off the main light, leaving only a small floor lamp by the bed.

“Mm!” Shen Nian felt extremely happy. He snuggled closer into Qi Jinnan’s embrace. His sir not only didn’t get angry with him but was even comforting him. What delicious food should he make for sir tomorrow?

Just thinking about it made Shen Nian’s lips curl up involuntarily. He nestled closer to Qi Jinnan, who quickly wrapped an arm around his waist.

Feeling Qi Jinnan’s steady breathing, Shen Nian also closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep…