Chapter 96#

The Disabled Big Shot’s Stepson#

After his protest proved futile, Lin Pei seemed to give up on the idea of making Lin Xiaodong leave his bedroom.

He lay in bed, listening to the even breathing of the person beside him. After an unknown amount of time, he finally began to relax his body.

The man turned his head slightly, gazing absent-mindedly at his companion’s sleeping expression. His gaze lingered for a moment on the youth’s slightly parted, rosy lips, then he reached out and gently pulled the quilt over both of them.

The young body was supple and hot, like a mass of burning fire, constantly radiating heat. Lin Pei’s constitution tended towards cold. In winter, if the air conditioner and electric blanket weren’t on, his two sensationless legs would be as cold as popsicles, requiring a long massage to recover.

However, at this moment, Lin Pei truly felt a faint warmth coming from where Lin Xiaodong’s thigh pressed against his own.

This feeling… had been a long time coming.

The man was momentary dazed, thinking it was his imagination. But after repeated confirmation, Lin Pei took a deep breath, his body even trembling uncontrollably—this was actually not a dream!

“Xiaodong, wake up, Xiaodong!” He nudged the youth lying beside him. Lin Xiaodong, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up and rubbed his eyes irritably. “What? What time is it?”

“My legs can feel temperature!” Even though Lin Pei was usually mature and calm, his voice now carried a hint of excitement.

“What?” Lin Xiaodong woke up instantly and rolled over to sit up.

The nap was certainly over. The two huddled together, seriously studying Lin Pei’s two legs.

“Can you feel anything here?” Lin Xiaodong pinched his calf.

The man shook his head.

“Here?”

Still a shake of the head.

Lin Xiaodong pinched the entire leg from bottom to top, yet Lin Pei still felt nothing. The youth wondered if he wasn’t being harsh enough. Just as he was about to continue further up, he suddenly heard the man hiss. He was instantly overjoyed. “You felt something here?”

“Xiaodong,” Lin Pei pinched the bridge of his nose, enduring. “That’s not a problem with my legs.”

“…Oh.” Lin Xiaodong gave an awkward smile and withdrew his hand from the base of the man’s thigh.

“But this is no different from before, is it? Or can you only feel temperature?” Lin Xiaodong sat on the bed, his gaze scanning around before settling on the thermos on the bedside table.

A foreboding premonition rose in Lin Pei’s heart. “You’re not planning to—”

That water was over sixty degrees!

“Don’t worry, it won’t kill anyone. Just a test.” Lin Xiaodong enthusiastically reached over him for the thermos. Lin Pei had to lean back, one hand hovering near the youth’s waist, for fear this reckless brat would accidentally press down on his critical areas.

Having finally secured the thermos, Lin Xiaodong opened the lid and took a sip, sticking out his tongue from the heat.

“I think we should forget it…”

Lin Pei tactfully tried to refuse, but Lin Xiaodong had already poured out a capful and splashed it onto his leg without warning.

“!!!”

“It worked!” Seeing the distorted expression that instantly appeared on the man’s face from the scald, the youth shouted in surprise. Without even waiting to speak to Lin Pei, he quickly jumped off the bed and ran out of the room to find the doctor.

Lin Pei: “…………”

He silently pulled out a few tissues and wiped the water from his leg.

Looking at the patch of skin slightly reddened by the hot water, Lin Pei ground his teeth. The ecstasy he had felt from perceiving temperature had vanished instantly under Lin Xiaodong’s “creative” operation.

But a moment later, he looked out the window, and the corner of his lips couldn’t help but curl into a tiny arc.

After hundreds of days and nights of dark, agonizing illness, this was the first time Lin Pei had personally experienced the arrival of hope through pain.

“Come on, come to Papa.”

Lin Xiaodong bent down with a look of fatherly affection, spreading his arms in a guiding gesture.

The sound of clanking machinery stopped.

Lin Pei stood by the wall, staring at him coldly. “Whose papa are you?”

It wasn’t until Lin Xiaodong’s gaze started to wander that the man snorted and resumed his arduous rehabilitation exercises.

Both of his hands tightly gripped the handrails by the wall. Because of the excessive force, veins popped out on his forearms. His legs were fixed with rehabilitation equipment that looked a bit like steel claws, though much lighter than actual steel.

The man was like a child just learning to walk, inching forward with difficulty by holding onto the wall. It took him over ten seconds to move half a normal person’s step. After two or three steps, he would be drenched in sweat from the pain and had to stop and rest for a long time to recover.

But Lin Pei didn’t feel it was bitter at all.

Compared to before, when no matter how much effort he put in or how much he dreamed of regaining the ability to walk, he remained powerless, this was a rapid breakthrough. And…

Lin Pei gritted his teeth and wiped the sweat from his forehead, glancing at Lin Xiaodong, who was seriously recording a so-called “rehab diary” with a video camera. He said irritably, “Do you still want to take the college entrance exam? Have you finished your sketches? How can you be so idle all day!”

“It’s break time. Mr. Ye said to balance work and rest.” Lin Xiaodong said with a grin, taking advantage of the fact that Lin Pei couldn’t catch up to discipline him by deliberately shoving the lens right under the man’s nose. “Come on, tell us how you feel about today’s rehab. These will be precious memories once you’re healthy and can run and jump!”

Lin Pei was almost laughed into anger. “You certainly have confidence in me.”

Even Dr. Lin had said that if his lower limbs could recover to thirty percent of a normal person’s function, it would be an achievement beyond imagination. That is to say, although he wouldn’t have to rely on a wheelchair every moment, Lin Pei would likely never be able to leave a walking aid for the rest of his life, and being able to stand independently was still far off.

However, Lin Xiaodong acted as if he hadn’t heard the doctor’s diagnosis at all, remaining steadfast in his belief that Lin Pei would one day be able to run and jump like a normal person. Lin Pei didn’t even dare to dream of such a scenario, but the youth’s constant teasing and stimulation made Lin Pei begin to feel blindly optimistic as well.

“When I can really stand up on my own,” Lin Pei panted, looking at Lin Xiaodong, who insisted on taking a polaroid selfie with him, and gave a gentle smile, “Xiaodong, I will definitely ‘repay’ you well.”

The smile on Lin Xiaodong’s face froze.

But his hand was a step faster, and the polaroid had already clicked, capturing the two of them.

In the photo, the black-haired man leaning against the wall was drenched in sweat, his eyes narrowed, his smile meaningful, and the expression with which he gazed at the youth beside him carried a hint of tender indulgence. The slightly shorter youth was shrouded in the man’s shadow, his smile forced, and because his hand had shaken, the “V” sign he made appeared as a blurred shadow.

Looking at the developed photo, Lin Pei was very satisfied, while Lin Xiaodong looked sour.

“All he knows is how to threaten people. I wasn’t raised by fear,” he complained to the system dismissively. “With Lin Pei like this, even if he really can stand up, what can he do to me?”

System: “Pick you up and f—…?”

Lin Xiaodong: ????

Is that something a person would say!?

However, the system wasn’t human to begin with. Lin Xiaodong could only condemn it with heartfelt grief, then told Lin Pei with a stiff face that he was going to do some practice papers and told the man to pack up his things, as that was enough exercise for now.

“Alright,” Lin Pei sighed.

True, enough was enough. Although his desire to stand was urgent, rehabilitation definitely couldn’t be completed in a day or two. Lin Xiaodong very skillfully pushed the wheelchair over for Lin Pei to sit down, then bent down to help him remove the equipment fixed to his legs.

“You seem to have gained a bit of weight.” He measured the width of Lin Pei’s calf with his hand, saying seriously.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Lin Pei looked down at the black swirl of hair on the youth’s head, his finger on the armrest trembling slightly.

Actually, these tasks were originally supposed to be done by a specialized caregiver. Lin Pei had also told Lin Xiaodong to focus on his studies, but how could Lin Xiaodong agree after hearing Dr. Lin’s words? He was nervous even when Lin Pei picked up a craft knife, and would deliberately put on an “I don’t care at all” act while talking about other things, which Lin Pei found amusing.

For a period of time before, he had indeed fallen into a certain inexplicable low mood due to medication and surgery. But Lin Pei possessed very strong self-control and psychological adjustment abilities, so he hadn’t wanted much contact with Lin Xiaodong, hoping to get through this special period on his own.

However, the youth was like a copper pea that couldn’t be steamed soft, boiled through, or hammered flat. Just like when they first met, he barged into Lin Pei’s life, grabbing his hand as he was sinking into the dark mud, pulling back the curtain that blocked the sun, and giving Lin Pei no chance to retreat of his own accord.

“Which university do you want to apply to?” Lin Pei asked him in the corridor.

Lin Xiaodong thought for a moment and replied casually, “Just one in this city.”

“Why?” Lin Pei’s voice was a bit dry, but he forced himself to ask this somewhat sharp question. “With your grades… if you go out of province, you might get into a better Tier 1 university.”

“I don’t want to go somewhere too far from home,” the youth replied in a cheerful voice.

Home…

Looking at their reflections in the window, a sincere smile appeared in Lin Pei’s eyes.

“By the way, when will the fence in the yard be removed?” Lin Xiaodong complained as they walked. “It’s ugly as hell and blocks the view.”

“Soon,” Lin Pei came back to his senses and said flatly. “Don’t you want sunflowers? Sunflower season is in July and August. With the greenhouse, we can have them a bit earlier, but you’ll have to wait until your next birthday to see them.”

Lin Xiaodong said whimsically, “Then we can admire the flowers while eating sunflower seeds! I’m even planning to fry a batch for Mr. Ye. He was busy as hell the other day but still came to the castle to see me and brought a bunch of snacks.”

“Is that so?” Lin Pei gave a faint smile. “No wonder I thought your face looked a bit rounder lately. I was wondering if the cafeteria food suited your appetite. It seems Ye Shiyuan deserves a lot of credit.”

“…Nonsense!”

Just as Lin Xiaodong was about to have a good argument with Lin Pei over this issue, he saw Dr. Lin standing not far away with his medical bag, smiling and waving at him.

“Go on,” Lin Pei turned to look at him. “I can go back to my room by myself.”

He knew that during the rehabilitation period, Dr. Lin often communicated his condition with Lin Xiaodong, so he didn’t stop him.

“Alright.”

Lin Xiaodong watched the man’s receding back, withdrew his gaze, and strode towards Dr. Lin. Before he could speak, he was pulled into a forceful embrace.

In the distance, Lin Pei, who had inadvertently turned back, narrowed his eyes and suddenly gripped the armrest tightly.