Chapter 28: Reward

“Don’t be afraid.”

Ye Moran gently patted the little guy’s back.

Su Ling’s emotions gradually stabilized. With his head lowered, he curled his body inward cautiously and slowly followed her to the examination. Throughout the process, the woman performing the check-up remained expressionless. By the time it was over, Su Ling’s eyes were brimming with tears. He ran quickly to his sister’s side and clung tightly to her arm.

“Alright, alright, be a good boy. Go to the waiting room next door and wait for a moment. I need to have a word with the doctor.”

“I’m scared…”

“It’s okay. I’ll be there very soon. Go on.”

Su Ling bit his lip and, looking back every few steps, slowly left the room.

“What did you do to him?”

The woman, who had been expressionless the entire time, finally spoke. Her tone was dead serious as she stared unblinkingly at Ye Moran.

“Haven’t you already guessed?”

The woman fell silent, her fingers tracing the fountain pen in her hand. “Although that drug has seen some improvements in recent years, it is still unstable. There is a high probability it will cause irreversible damage.”

This time, it was Ye Moran’s turn to be silent. She turned her head toward the waiting room and closed her eyes tightly.

She didn’t want to hurt the little guy. He seemed to depend on her, but that dependency was merely that of a brother for a sister—not the devotion of a lover.

From start to finish, he had never loved her. She had to do this. Only by doing this would the little guy accept her and love her the way she wanted. As these thoughts crossed her mind, her gaze suddenly sharpened. The flicker of hesitation that had just emerged vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, the woman knew Ye Moran had made up her mind. There was nothing more to say.

“I’ll prescribe some medication for you. These can suppress his heat cycles, but he can’t take them indefinitely. The best way to handle a heat cycle is still through release.”

“I know…”

Ye Moran nodded, a hint of sorrow in her heart. If only the little guy were willing to let her be his “release.”

“Also, I suggest you find a different doctor next time. The scent on me strikes fear into all animals. You can’t smell it since you’re a regular person, but that little guy was nearly scared out of his wits.”

“Heh. I did it on purpose!”

A wicked smile suddenly spread across Ye Moran’s lips. She knew perfectly well that the doctor’s scent would terrify any “animal,” yet she had brought him here anyway.

As for the reason? She wanted the little guy to have something to fear. That way, she could use it to threaten him whenever he was disobedient.

“Sister, let’s not come here again, okay?”

On the way back, Su Ling’s small hands gripped his sister’s wrist tightly, his voice bordering on a plea.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I’m scared. That woman is terrifying.”

“Heh, why be scared? It’s not like she’s going to eat you.”

“Mmph…”

Su Ling lowered his head. He couldn’t understand it either. Why was he so afraid? The woman didn’t look scary, but she gave him a bone-chilling feeling.

“Fine. Since you’re scared, next time we come, we’ll see a different doctor, alright?”

“Okay!”

Hearing his sister agree, the little guy finally cried tears of joy and snuggled happily into her arms. If they weren’t both in the front seats of the car right now, he would have hugged her properly.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll take you to dinner first; we’re in no rush to get home today.”

“We’re not eating at home?”

“You haven’t been out in so long. I’m taking you out to eat. Isn’t that nice?”

“Mmph… then can we have hotpot? I haven’t had it in forever.” Su Ling looked up at his sister cautiously. He loved hotpot, but his sister didn’t. Usually, even when she accompanied him out, she wouldn’t allow it.

“Sure!”

“Do you know why I didn’t let you eat it before?”

“Why?”

“Because every time I took you out back then, it was a reward for recovering from an illness! At that time, your body had just healed, and you couldn’t eat food that was too stimulating. Understand?”

Ye Moran’s voice carried a hint of nostalgia. She remembered how the little guy used to be in poor health and was always getting sick. Whenever he was ill, he became incredibly clingy. Once he recovered, he’d happily want to go out, and she would take him—but he always wanted to eat spicy, “stimulating” food. For the sake of his health, she’d had no choice but to restrict him at every turn.

“Was that why?”

Su Ling blinked his bright, large eyes, suddenly feeling a bit conflicted. “Then… should we not eat hotpot after all?”

“Huh? Why the change of heart?” Ye Moran looked at him, puzzled.

“Because I’m sick right now, too… I just saw the doctor…” The little guy’s voice was uncertain. He didn’t know if his current condition counted as being “sick,” but he assumed it did.

“Oh, it’s actually fine. I asked the doctor, this illness isn’t affected by the food you eat. You can eat whatever you like.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“Yay! Then I’m going to eat a whole lot!”

“Alright. Eat as much as you want, little guy. Sister can afford to keep you fed!”

Ye Moran gently stroked his head. In truth, she quite liked this current dynamic—it was just a pity she couldn’t “consume” him yet. If she could add that to this lifestyle, she would be truly happy.

Ye Moran chose a high-end hotpot restaurant with excellent privacy. She watched the little guy eat while she handled some work on her phone. She didn’t care for hotpot herself, but if he liked it, she was fine with it.

After finishing, Su Ling’s stomach was round and full. He flashed a smile, a ring of oil visible around his mouth. Ye Moran pulled out a tissue and wiped it away for him.

“Are you full? If there’s anything else you want to do, tell me. I’ll take you.”

“Nothing else. Let’s go home, Sister.”

“Are you sure?” Ye Moran smiled and pushed her phone toward him. “How about this?”

Su Ling looked at the screen in confusion and saw a movie poster.

“This is…?”

“The sequel to that movie you like is out. It premiered today. I’ll take you to see it.”

“Wow! Sister, you’re the best!”

“Then… how about a little reward for your best sister?”

“Eh?!” Su Ling bit his lip. He knew she would likely make an excessive request. But she had been so good to him lately; as long as it wasn’t too much, he… he would try to satisfy her.

“How about a kiss right here?” Ye Moran pointed to her cheek, a smile on her face.

Su Ling looked up at her smile. It seemed almost forced, as if she were saying,

“It’s okay, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

His heart softened. He slowly leaned in toward her cheek and, closing his eyes, gave her a tiny, fleeting peck.

“T-there. Is that enough?”

Su Ling lowered his head, his face flushed red, his small hands twisting together nervously. Ye Moran really wanted to tease him more, but fearing she might scare him off, she restrained herself. She patted his head and whispered softly, “That’s enough.”

“Let’s go. Time for the movie!”