Chapter 97#

The Disabled Big Shot’s Stepson#

To be honest, the moment Dr. Lin hugged him, Lin Xiaodong was completely bewildered.

In fact, because the man was so excited, he felt his feet leave the ground. Only then did he come back to his senses and asked, between laughter and tears, “Dr. Lin, what’s wrong? Are you getting married?”

Looking at Dr. Lin’s frantic appearance, he didn’t seem like someone about to start a family.

“Xiaodong, thank you so much!” Dr. Lin didn’t even hear what he was saying. The man’s lips were trembling with excitement, and he just kept repeating, “Really, it’s a miracle, a miracle among miracles…”

Lin Xiaodong was listening in a fog, but he managed to understand from the scattered words that this matter was probably related to Lin Pei.

Although Dr. Lin was not a member of the expert group invited by Lin Pei, because he knew Lin Pei’s condition like the back of his hand, an exception was made for him to join the expert group, whose average age was over fifty. This was to facilitate providing data related to the surgery and to help the patient with subsequent rehabilitation and other recovery activities.

Half of his face was hurting from being pressed against the buttons of the man’s white coat, so he had to pat Dr. Lin’s hand, signaling him to put him down first and talk properly. “Is there some good news?”

Only then did Dr. Lin notice their current posture. He immediately let go of him, rubbing his nose somewhat embarrassedly. “Sorry, I got carried away.” Pausing for a second, his expression became excited again. “But Xiaodong, it really is great news!”

“What is it?”

“Just last night, a domestic research barrier regarding nerve repair was broken through,” Dr. Lin swallowed. Although he tried his best to remain calm, he still couldn’t hide the excitement in his tone. “You were right, Xiaodong. With the help of this technology, the Head of the Family’s legs are expected to recover to the same level as a normal person’s!”

“Oh, so that’s it,” Lin Xiaodong breathed a long sigh of relief and smiled. “You scared me, Dr. Lin. But this is indeed good news. I said long ago that Lin Pei is blessed and wouldn’t need to worry.”

He turned his head, looking in the direction the man had left, just in time to see the armrest of the wheelchair disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor.

“I’ll tell him tonight,” Lin Xiaodong didn’t suspect anything and turned back to Dr. Lin. “Thank you, Dr. Lin, for being so dedicated.”

“What kind of talk is that? I’m a doctor. Although Lin Pei is the Head of the Family, he’s also my patient. I naturally have to be responsible for him.” Dr. Lin put on a serious face, but soon relaxed, returning to his original smiling appearance. “Xiaodong, I really want to thank you. No expert or doctor, including myself, expected the Head of the Family to recover so well in such a short time. Half the credit is definitely yours!”

“You’re making me embarrassed…”

“No, I’m serious.” Dr. Lin suddenly became grave.

He looked at the youth before him, his gaze containing both relief and the affection of an elder for a junior. “Xiaodong, you’re a good child. I’ve also heard from Mr. Ye that you want to be a painter in the future. But my view is the same as his: you can’t stay in the castle forever, by the Head of the Family’s side. You also need to have your own dreams, your own life, understand?”

Seeing Lin Xiaodong open his mouth to speak, he waved his hand and said seriously, “Listen to me first. I clearly understand that you have feelings for the Head of the Family, and he isn’t some casual person. But the age difference between you is there after all. So I’m saying this not to break you up, but because I hope you can think carefully. After seeing the world and truly growing up, if you can still firmly choose the person you love.”

Lin Xiaodong nodded. “I understand.”

Dr. Lin rubbed the youth’s hair and bid farewell with a smile. “That’s all I wanted to say. I won’t say more, or the Head of the Family will surely send me to Sweden to plant potatoes too. Next, I’m going to study abroad for a dual degree. It might be years before I return. I came this time just to check on the Head of the Family’s condition and to say goodbye to you. Take care, Xiaodong.”

“Ding, Good Person Card +1.”

Four Good Person Cards collected meant he was one step closer to leaving this world.

After saying goodbye to Dr. Lin, Lin Xiaodong was somewhat absent-minded when he returned to the bedroom at night.

“…Turn off the light.”

Lin Pei leaned against the headboard and read for a while as usual, but his attention was always on the youth lying beside him. Seeing Lin Xiaodong staring at the ceiling in a daze, he couldn’t help but feel a bit restless. He simply closed his book and prepared to sleep.

However, after the lights were turned off, the darkness was even better at evoking stray thoughts.

Remembering the scene he saw in the corridor during the day, Lin Pei only felt a faint bitterness in his mouth. His reason told him that it was impossible for anything to be between Lin Xiaodong and Dr. Lin; they were in the simplest relationship of a patient’s family member and a doctor. But another voice in his mind mocked him:

Patient’s family member? Did Xiaodong ever admit that?

True, in terms of bloodline, they did have a certain relationship—but this relationship was so thin that even the law wouldn’t recognize Lin Xiaodong’s eligibility to inherit his estate, so it was basically equivalent to nothing.

And in terms of emotion, he was more than a dozen years older than Xiaodong. In terms of emotional solace, Xiaodong definitely gave him more. And in terms of physical… the former Lin Pei was certainly very confident, but now, he only dared to carefully reach out his hand in the dead of night to pull the sleeping youth into his arms, coveting this momentary warmth.

Even Lin Pei himself felt that if he said the word “love” to Lin Xiaodong now, it would be a bit too despicable.

This was clearly a one-sided demand.

Therefore, upon seeing Dr. Lin hug the youth, he had been so restless and tossed and turned.

Because compared to a paralyzed and disabled billionaire, anyone would choose a healthy young doctor with a bright future. Lin Pei thought with a bitter smile that although his net worth was hundreds of times that of Dr. Lin, the other man possessed a pair of straight legs, able to walk and run freely, and easily pick up his loved one with his arms.

“Why turn off the light so early?” By his ear came the youth’s soft complaint. “I still have things to tell you.”

At that moment, Lin Pei’s heart felt as if it were tangled in thorns.

He felt as if he were split into two halves: one half was a soul already covered in bruises and suffering, and the other half was a body already numb—he could even squeeze out a smile of blessing.

The only thing to be thankful for was that in the dark of night, such a disguise was temporarily unnecessary.

The man was silent for a few seconds before asking in a hoarse voice, “Do you want to talk about Dr. Lin?”

“How did you know?” Lin Xiaodong propped up half his body, looking at him in confusion.

By the moonlight from the window, Lin Pei saw the youth’s bright eyes and uncontrollable smile, as if there were some good news he wanted to share. The man tightened his jaw and used all the self-control of his life to turn his head away, not looking at him. “Since you’re already together, for the sake of avoiding suspicion, there’s no need for you to sleep in the same bed as me anymore… Go.”

Lin Xiaodong: ?

“No,” he stared at the man lying on the bed with his back to him, looking like a moribund corpse, and asked incredulously, “What did you just say? Who am I with?”

“Lin Xiaodong,” Lin Pei turned around and said angrily, “Do you have to be so cruel?”

Lin Xiaodong: “…………”

He put his hand to his forehead, let out a long sigh under Lin Pei’s glare, then lowered his head and bit down hard on the man’s thigh.

“You—!!!”

“Let this be a lesson to you, stop overthinking all day.” Lin Xiaodong wiped his mouth and sneered at Lin Pei’s furrowed brow. “I wanted to tell you that Dr. Lin went abroad! Today he came to say goodbye to me, and incidentally told me that there’s been a major breakthrough in the medical field. Your legs are very likely to return to normal. What on earth were you thinking?”

Before he could even be happy about his legs, Lin Pei’s eyes lit up instantly.

He rolled over and sat up, asking with sparkling eyes, “Are you serious? You didn’t… with him…”

“No!” Lin Xiaodong yelled irritably.

Seeing that the youth was about to jump out of bed in a huff to go back to his own room to sleep, Lin Pei quickly grabbed his wrist, apologizing repeatedly, “It’s my fault, Xiaodong, don’t be angry. I just had a momentary lapse in thought…”

“Let go!”

Lin Xiaodong wanted to shake him off, but was instead pulled to the center of the large bed and held tightly in the man’s arms.

“Don’t leave me.” Behind him, Lin Pei’s voice was hoarse.

The man rested his chin on Lin Xiaodong’s shoulder and, with a trace of trembling, lightly placed a feather-soft kiss on the side of the youth’s neck.

The struggle of the person in his arms gradually quieted down.

Although they had shared a bed for so long, and Lin Xiaodong had even slept almost naked in Lin Pei’s arms for an entire night before, this was still their first proper kiss.

Seeing that Lin Xiaodong remained silent but didn’t resist, Lin Pei’s confidence gradually grew. He tentatively turned the youth in his arms around, lifted his chin, and looked into those clear, bright eyes. His warm fingertip slowly rubbed the youth’s fair, smooth face, but he hesitated to take another step.

“What are you thinking?”

Wrapped in his blanket, Lin Xiaodong looked up at him, his voice carrying a bit of a smile.

It also carried a hint of subtle, lingering ambiguity.

“I’m thinking…” Lin Pei whispered, his fingers slowly moving through the hair at the back of the youth’s head as he leaned down, pressing his forehead against the other’s. “I regret it.”

“Is that so,” Lin Xiaodong said calmly, his fingers clutching the blanket involuntarily twitching. “Regret kissing me?”

Lin Pei shook his head.

He lowered his eyes and kissed the youth’s lips forcefully.

“I regret why I didn’t do this earlier.”