The world late at night was silent.
Su Ling lay in bed, but no matter how he tossed or turned, he could not fall asleep. The itching sensation on his neck was growing more intense, making rest impossible.
‘I must be allergic to this collar,’ he thought. Aside from that, he really could not think of any other reason!
When that woman finally came back, he would definitely have a word with her. He needed to get this thing off quickly. Even if he had to wear one, she could at least change it for a different one, couldn’t she?!
Speaking of which, why hadn’t she come in yet?
‘Shouldn’t she be coming to sleep by now?’
At that moment, Ye Moran was slumped back in her office chair, her expression pained. She seemed to have fallen ill.
She tried to sit up several times but failed. Instead, her body felt increasingly weak, and waves of dull pain radiated from every part of her being.
Left with no choice, she could only remain slumped in the chair, hoping to feel a bit better before searching for medicine.
Su Ling waited in bed for a long time, but she never appeared. He wanted to just ignore her, yet the itching on his neck made it impossible to dismiss her presence.
He sat up, glared fiercely at the door, climbed out of bed, and walked over.
“Hey, you!”
Su Ling had intended to knock, assuming she would have locked the door as usual. To his surprise, the door swung open as soon as he touched it.
A surge of joy instantly welled up in his heart. It was night—did this mean he could leave?
With that thought in mind, he pushed the door open and stepped out, only to see her sitting in the chair.
“You!”
Startled at first, a wave of anger soon followed. She was sitting right outside the room but hadn’t come in. What was that supposed to mean?!
He walked over resentfully, intending to strike her, but the moment his body brushed against hers, he recoiled.
“So hot!”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Are you sick?”
His previous anger vanished without a trace, replaced by overwhelming worry and a faint, barely perceptible flicker of panic in his heart.
“No… don’t touch me. Go back to sleep. I… I’ll just stay here for a while,” Ye Moran said, forcing herself to speak despite the discomfort when she saw the little fellow.
Hearing this, the temper Su Ling had just suppressed flared up again. He glared at her, unable to stop himself from cursing her in his mind.
‘You think sitting here for a bit will make you better? Honestly… you treat me like this and don’t even apologize, then you just run off.’
‘Fine then, you’ve gone and caught a cold. Are you satisfied now? If it weren’t for this thing being so stiff, I wouldn’t care about you at all!’
“Where is the medicine? I’ll go find it for you.”
“Heh… little fellow, are you worried about me?”
“I am not! I’m not worried about you at all. I’m just afraid you’ll die. I… I just can’t stand seeing someone die in front of me!”
“Next time, if you’re going to die, do it somewhere far away. Don’t do it in front of me!”
Su Ling regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He felt he had been a bit too harsh, but when he thought about what she had done to him, he couldn’t bring himself to comfort her.
He could only grit his teeth and pretend to be fierce.
“Hurry up and tell me where the medicine is.”
Ye Moran remained silent for a moment before saying weakly, “It’s in the nightstand in the bedroom. Go get it for me. Just bring the red medicine box.”
“Got it!”
After saying that, Su Ling fled back into the room. He rummaged through the nightstand and pulled out a red medicine box. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a packet of green medicine in the corner.
He didn’t recognize the other medicines, but he knew this one. He remembered that every time he had a cold, she would brew this for him to drink.
After a moment’s thought, he took a packet, grabbed her cup, and went to the water dispenser. Once the medicine was brewed, he carefully carried the cup and placed it in front of her.
“I brought it. Can you take it yourself?”
Ye Moran didn’t speak. She tried to lift her hand to grab the cup, but her hand began to tremble violently before she could even touch it.
“Fine, fine, stop moving. I’ll feed you.”
Having no other choice, Su Ling picked up the cup, held it to her lips, and carefully fed her.
A glimmer of cunning flashed in Ye Moran’s tired eyes, but the temperature of the water the moment it entered her mouth made that light vanish instantly.
If it weren’t for her strong willpower, she probably would have spat it out immediately. It was incredibly hot!
However, seeing the serious way the little fellow was feeding her, she could only endure it. This was the first time the little fellow had ever fed her anything; she couldn’t let it go to waste.
Thus, she swayed back and forth between pain and enjoyment. After she finished the medicine, the little fellow ran off to fetch another cup of water. Then, he picked up the red medicine box and took out a single pill.
“Take this medicine. Will you get better after eating this?”
Ye Moran wanted to nod immediately, but looking at the steaming cup in the little fellow’s hand, she spoke with difficulty.
“Little fellow… the water is a bit hot. Can you pour some cold water in or let it sit for a bit? I’ll drink it once the temperature drops.”
“Huh?!”
Su Ling looked down blankly at the steaming water, and his face instantly turned bright red.
“I… you… drink it or don’t, see if I care!”
Su Ling set the cup down and ran back into the bedroom in a panic.
Once inside, he immediately buried himself under the covers, his small hands twisting together.
‘Hmph, I didn’t know. If it was hot, why didn’t she say something? Honestly, she’s a bad person, a really bad person.’
‘Wait… the first cup I gave her was probably hot water too. Will she be burned or something?’
‘Ugh… should I apologize to her later?’
Su Ling didn’t want to apologize, but he felt he had done something wrong, and his parents had taught him from a young age that one should apologize for their mistakes.
A while later, the door was pushed open, and Ye Moran walked in. After taking the medicine, she felt slightly better—at least enough to move.
She walked to the bedside, looked at the little fellow curled up under the covers, and smiled softly. She lifted the blanket and slid inside.
“You… you… you!”
“What? Little fellow, are you trying to kick me out?”
“I apologize for what happened today. I didn’t want it to be like that. I was just too scared—scared that you would leave me.”
“Don’t ever talk about leaving me again, okay?”
She gently held the little fellow, whispering soft words that sounded almost like a plea.
Su Ling’s heart softened, but the itching on his neck served as a sharp reminder of how uncomfortable he was.
“You… if you take this thing off my neck, I’ll forgive you!”
“I can’t…”
“Why not?”
Ye Moran lowered her head in silence, not daring to meet the little fellow’s eyes.
“Sob… if you won’t take it off, can you at least change it for another one? Please?”
“I’m a little allergic to this one. My neck is so itchy, and it’s really miserable. Can you?”
“It’s itchy?”
“Yes, it’s been itching the whole time. It’s so uncomfortable that I can’t sleep well.”
Su Ling told a small lie. In truth, the itching wasn’t unbearable; it was just a slight, constant irritation. However, because it never stopped, once he started paying attention to it, he couldn’t think of anything else, which made his mood turn sour.
Ye Moran thought about it for a moment, then pulled out her mobile phone and called the shop clerk.
Fortunately, the clerk had proactively added her on WeChat, saying they could resolve any after-sales issues. Fearing that the collar might have some negative effect on the little fellow, she had agreed.
The call was answered immediately, and she wasted no time asking about the issue.
“Madam, please don’t worry. This is a normal reaction. The Regeneration Technology is gradually penetrating the subcutaneous tissue and bonding with the flesh. In about three to five days, once the collar and the flesh are completely integrated, this will never happen again!”
Ye Moran fell silent for a moment. She suddenly sat up and left the room. Only after she was outside did she speak again.
“Is there a way to remove it?”
“There is none, Madam. Once it is put on, it can never be removed. If it is forcibly taken off, it may cause severe bodily damage or even be life-threatening. I strongly advise against attempting to do so!”
“Fine, I understand.”
Ye Moran took a deep breath, her resolve hardening. She must never let the little fellow know the secret that the collar could not be removed. If he knew, he would surely hate her for the rest of his life.