The room was actually quite dark, but the man's appearance was already etched in Song Ting's mind, making it easy for him to recognize Chu Huaixu's features.

His gaze lingered on the man's face for a long time, tracing it with his eyes.

Eyebrows, eyes, nose, thin lips, and a prominent Adam's apple.

The kiss marks left by Song Tingluo are still visible on it.

"master."

"Don't abandon the puppy."

"Please."

He stared at the man, who was more important to him than life itself, with a fascination that made him feel like a stray dog ​​that had been truly abandoned, his eyes welling up with tears.

Song Ting secretly and cautiously touched the hand beside her.

After waiting a while, seeing that the man showed no signs of waking up, she took advantage of the situation and held on a little bit more, until she completely grasped his hand in her palm.

He then smiled contentedly, pursing his lips.

Even the excruciating pain in her body lessened considerably, and she slowly fell asleep.

Chu Huaixu was awakened by the scalding heat half an hour later. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone lying on his side pressed against him.

The two hands were clasped tightly together.

In the darkness, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a furrowed brow and was covered in sweat; one could easily imagine the torment he was enduring.

"Song Ting?"

"Wake up, Song Ting..."

He shoved the man's shoulder, but the latter showed no sign of waking up, his jaw clenched and his face contorted in pain.

Chu Huaixu clicked his tongue and reached out to touch the man's forehead, and sure enough, he felt a burning hot spot.

It's burning even more intensely than before.

It was the middle of the night, and Chu Huaixu didn't really want to pay attention to him. Anyway, the commander was like a wild dog, and a fever wouldn't really kill him.

"Puppy...puppy hurts..." the man mumbled incoherently, tears streaming down his tightly closed eyes and unknowingly covering his face.

"..." I'll just let you suffer in pain.

"Master, the puppy is in pain, please don't abandon the puppy..."

So confused, could she have really gone mad from the fever?

That won't do.

Moreover… he glanced out the window; of course, the people outside wouldn’t really let Song Ting die or become mentally impaired like that.

Chu Huaixu sighed and sat up.

The person who was in a deep sleep seemed to sense his intention to leave, and gripped his hand even tighter.

"My lord, how cruel you are! Do you intend to crush my hands?"

At this moment, Song Ting was not in a clear mind, so how could she listen to Chu Huaixu's sarcasm? The latter was just really angry, so he just muttered that sentence to himself.

However, to his surprise, the hand that was holding him tightly actually loosened its grip a little.

"..." Chu Huaixu opened his mouth, lowered his eyes and scoffed softly.

"Who's on duty outside tonight?" he asked softly, gazing out the window.

As he finished speaking, a ghostly figure seemed to appear out of thin air outside the door, casting a blurry black shadow through the bright moonlight.

"Young master."

It was Qi Zhou's voice.

"Your master is burning up; go and bring a basin of cold water."

Qi Zhou worked quickly and brought the water in no time. Chu Huaixu was trapped and couldn't move, so he directed Qi Zhou to rub a handkerchief.

"Give it to me."

Qi Zhou hesitated for a moment.

Chu Huaixu raised an eyebrow and said irritably, "What's wrong, young master? Do you think I'm going to strangle or kill your master with a handkerchief?"

"..." Qi Zhou finally handed over the handkerchief in his hand.

Chu Huaixu placed a damp cloth on Song Ting's burning forehead, while Qi Zhou wore a solemn expression, looking worried.

"Why are you frowning? He's tough as nails, he won't die," Chu Huaixu said.

He was leaning against the headboard, wearing only his undergarments, the front of which was wide open. His tone and expression were indifferent, as if he had said something trivial.

It's as if he doesn't care even if Song Tingzhen dies.

Qi Zhou's brows furrowed even more unconsciously.

"What?" This subtle movement caught Chu Huaixu's eye, and the latter lifted his eyelids, his gaze piercing him. "Trying to kill me?"

Qi Zhou bowed: "This subordinate dares not."

"Tch." Chu Huaixu found it boring, fiddled with the jade thumb ring on his hand, and lazily dismissed the person, "Alright, get lost."

Qi Zhou bowed and took his leave. As he approached the door, he suddenly stopped, his gaze quickly sweeping over Huai Xu's green thumb ring.

“Your subordinate has overstepped his bounds, but the lord has given us a death order. The lord said that the young master is above all else, including the lord himself.”

Chu Huaixu paused for a moment, then asked with great interest:

"Oh? If I hadn't called you in just now, would you really have let his fever stay so high?"

Qi Zhou: "...Yes."

"That's alright. A scourge can live for a thousand years. If a high fever really takes his life, then he's just useless."

Chu Huaixu said with a smile, "More than that, what I want to know is, if one day I asked you to kill him, would you obey?"

Qi Zhou's expression turned serious again. This question seemed somewhat difficult for him to answer, but he still obeyed orders and addressed Chu Huaixu:

"Your subordinate... will certainly obey orders."

"Is that so?" Chu Huaixu glanced at the person thoughtfully. "Get lost."

He had a faint smile on his face the whole time, but it vanished as soon as Qi Zhou left.

Chu Huaixu lowered his eyes and stared at the person on the bed, his gaze icy.

The man seemed to sense the unease, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid, as if he was desperately trying to open his eyes and wake up, but failed.

Chu Huaixu found it hard to describe his feelings at this moment. Everything this person was doing for him seemed to be a sign that he was deeply in love with him and willing to die for him.

But belated affection is cheap as grass; whether it's love or guilt, he doesn't need it.

The gaze fell again on the two hands clasped tightly together. Song Ting also had a deep whip mark on her wrist.

What was hidden beneath clothing during the day was now clearly visible. The wound was gaping open in a gruesome manner, with rotting flesh faintly visible on both sides.

Chu Huaixu used his other hand to grab Song Ting's wrist and gently massaged her wrist bone.

The wound had spread all the way here, and it must have been very painful, but Song Ting's brow relaxed instead, and her previously rapid breathing gradually calmed down.

He seemed to instinctively recognize Chu Huaixu's voice and body, and trusted him wholeheartedly.

Therefore, even the pain inflicted by this person can make him feel relaxed.

He longed for Chu Huaixu, and for everything about Chu Huaixu.

………

After an unknown amount of time, Song Ting slowly opened her eyes.

Chu Huaixu was already feeling sleepy. His health wasn't good to begin with, and he couldn't stay up all night. After all that tossing and turning, he couldn't take it anymore and leaned against the headboard with his eyes closed.

He didn't realize that Song Ting had woken up, nor did he know that he was being watched.

Song Ting remained motionless. He knew that if he moved, Chu Huaixu would notice that he was awake and push him away.

He couldn't bear to part with it.