Su Ling lay on the bed, an IV drip in his arm, his eyes staring blankly ahead. One of his legs was suspended high in the air. No, not a whole leg—half of it! It had been cruelly sawed off at the knee. He had watched with his own eyes as his leg was gradually severed, piece by piece, separating from his body.
Despair, terror, fear… All these emotions pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness.
“There, there, don’t cry. You’ve been crying all day today. If you keep this up, you won’t look pretty anymore.” Gu Qingyuan sat by the bed, gently brushing away the messy hair from the little thing’s forehead.
Su Ling bit his lip and turned his head away, not wanting to look at her. Seeing this, Gu Qingyuan simply reached out and forcefully turned his head back.
“If you want your second leg to be cut off too, feel free to keep that up.” Gu Qingyuan’s voice was cold, her gaze fixed intently on Su Ling as if searching for something she wanted to find.
Su Ling’s body trembled violently. Tears surged forth again. He shook his head, his eyes pleading with her.
“As long as you behave, I won’t cut it off. Be obedient from now on, okay?”
Su Ling nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Obedient. He would be obedient. From now on, he would always be obedient. He was truly scared now. One of his legs was already gone. If he didn’t behave, his other leg would be gone too. Being a pet didn’t matter, as long as she didn’t force him to do anything too extreme. He could agree to that.
“That’s a good boy. Alright, I’ll go get your food. I had someone make claypot rice today. It’s delicious. And there are shrimp, your favorite. Make sure to eat plenty. Your wound needs nutrition to heal.”
Su Ling obediently nodded, not blinking as he stared at her until she left. Only then did he look away.
Su Ling lay in bed, unable to do anything. His eyes stared numbly at the ceiling. Everything around him was unfamiliar. Even the only person he knew had left, making him feel as though he had been abandoned by the entire world. He was especially uneasy.
Gu Qingyuan returned quickly, carrying two bags in her hands. She didn’t immediately give the food to the little thing. Instead, she picked up a small table nearby and placed it on the bed, then walked to the other side to raise the head of the bed. Only after the little fellow was in a sitting position did she return and place the food on the table.
“Eat.”
Su Ling obediently opened the food container. He secretly glanced at her before scooping up a spoonful and putting it in his mouth. The taste was good. Very good. But Su Ling couldn’t feel happy at all. In the past, whenever he ate something delicious, he would be overjoyed. So why couldn’t he feel even a hint of happiness now?
Su Ling ate and then stopped. He looked at the food in the container but couldn’t bring himself to lift another spoonful to his mouth.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Su Ling looked up at her and shook his head. He wanted to tell her he didn’t want to eat anymore, that he had no appetite. But Gu Qingyuan didn’t understand his meaning. She took his container, glanced at it, and pushed her own container in front of the little fellow.
“Don’t like that one? Then eat mine.”
Su Ling bit his lip, hesitating inwardly. He didn’t know if he should refuse. He glanced at his leg, then shook his head. He still scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. He really didn’t want to eat, but what if she got angry? The taste was truly good, but to Su Ling, it was like chewing wax. He couldn’t swallow it at all.
Gu Qingyuan frowned as she looked at the little thing. “The taste isn’t bad. Why aren’t you eating?”
She couldn’t understand. But she didn’t want to force the little thing either. She spoke up. “If you can’t eat, then don’t. Wait until you’re hungry.”
Hearing this, Su Ling felt as if a great burden had been lifted. He spat out all the food in his mouth.
Gu Qingyuan put the things away and adjusted the hospital bed again. After doing all this, she climbed onto the bed as well. The hospital bed was large, not one of those narrow single beds. It was a double bed. Combined with the little thing’s petite frame, there was more than enough room for Gu Qingyuan.
Su Ling turned his head to look at her. The moment their eyes met, he quickly lowered his head, afraid to look. Gu Qingyuan just smiled and didn’t mind much. She reached out and pulled the little thing closer. Su Ling obediently leaned against her.
Su Ling sniffed. He seemed to smell a special scent on her. It was like some kind of flower fragrance, but one he had never smelled before. Very unique. It was a mix of a milky scent and a fresh fruity aroma. Very distinctive. And intoxicating!
Gu Qingyuan sniffed as well. She smelled something too. She knew it was the little thing’s scent. So she held him even tighter.
“Even though you can’t speak now, I still want you to understand that I am your master. Everything about you belongs to me. You don’t have the right to choose for yourself. Do you understand?”
“The reason I ruined your throat earlier was that your mouth kept spewing things I didn’t want to hear. After a while, I’ll find a doctor to come and treat your voice. For now… it won’t happen again, will it?”
Su Ling bit his lip. A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes. But in the end, he nodded. Hearing that his throat could recover, Su Ling shook his head in excitement. Afraid she would misunderstand, he grabbed the notebook by the bed and wrote down that it wouldn’t happen again. He showed it to her.
“Hmm? I remember I just said I am your master. Why didn’t you add ‘Master’ before this sentence?”
Su Ling’s body trembled. He immediately added “Master” before that sentence.
“Yes, that’s right. From now on, no matter what you do—whether it’s writing, using sign language, or speaking—you must add ‘Master’ before it.”
Su Ling nodded, indicating he understood.
“Now that’s a good boy. Here, take this painkiller. Eat it, then get some sleep. The anesthetic should wear off soon. When it does, it’ll hurt a lot.”
Hearing it would hurt a lot, Su Ling didn’t think twice. He took the pill she handed him and swallowed it, then took the water she offered and drank a large gulp.
“Haha, look at you, so scared. Don’t worry. Master will be with you. After a while, once the wound heals, it won’t hurt anymore.”
Su Ling curled up, draping himself over her body. His forehead pressed deeply against Master’s chest, as if doing so could dispel some of his unease. In truth, Su Ling himself was conflicted. He couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. She was the one who had cut off his leg. And yet, here he was, seeking comfort from his attacker.
But what could he do? Besides this person, no one else could comfort him. If he made her angry, he would be abandoned too. In the past, he could run away whenever he wanted. Back then, he thought he could take care of himself. But now, with one leg gone, even walking was difficult, let alone supporting himself. And the only one who could give him comfort was the person right in front of him.