41: A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!

Aunt Fen really did know what she was doing. As soon as she took the kitten from Shen Lian's hands, she ran to the bathroom. She turned on the warm water, submerged half of the kitten's body in it, and pressed on its heart several times. Seeing the kitten let out a faint whimper, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The house was well-stocked. At Aunt Fen's command, Shen Lian immediately found a syringe and some glucose.

Chu Yilan had changed his clothes and come over. He saw the two of them huddled together in front of the washbasin, with Shen Lian still wearing his coat over his shoulders.

"Go take a shower," Chu Yilan said in a low voice.

Shen Lian didn't even look back. "No, no, no, Aunt Fen is saving a life here."

Chu Yilan stood on the periphery, his arms crossed as he watched the kitten suck down most of the glucose in one breath. He thought to himself that it would probably live.

The three of them squeezed together in silence until Aunt Fen straightened up. "Oh, finally saved. Now it just needs to stay warm. We'll see how it is tomorrow."

Shen Lian exclaimed sincerely, "Aunt Fen, you are a miracle worker!"

Aunt Fen couldn't stop laughing at his praise. "What miracle worker? Back in the countryside, when the chickens, ducks, and geese got sick, we'd always try to save them one way or another."

Now Shen Lian could finally go change and shower with peace of mind.

He was still feeling a bit lightheaded. Under the mist of the hot water, he felt like falling asleep. Shen Lian absentmindedly rubbed his chest, then heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Who else could it be but me?" Chu Yilan said. "Are you planning to live in there?"

Shen Lian hurriedly rinsed off the soap. "Coming."

He wiped away the water droplets and threw on a bathrobe.

This was a matching set he had bought online out of boredom—one black and one grey. He kept the grey one for himself and gave the black one to Chu Yilan. But Master Chu was a refined man and had never let Shen Lian see whether he actually wore it or not.

Hearing the bathroom door open, Chu Yilan's tightly knit brows relaxed slightly.

He was sitting on Shen Lian's bed, wearing a set of casual loungewear. He looked calm and handsome, with the light perfectly obscuring the scars on his face. With just one look, Shen Lian made up his mind—he had to stay by Chu Yilan's side until all those scars were gone; otherwise, it would be an insult to God's masterpiece.

Just as Shen Lian was about to walk over to Chu Yilan, the man said, "Dry your hair."

"Oh."

After finishing, Shen Lian was exhausted, but he was still thinking about the kitten.

"Master Chu..."

As soon as Shen Lian spoke, he saw Chu Yilan's expression change, and he immediately turned his head away.

Shen Lian: "???"

"Don't tell me you're disgusted by me now!"

Chu Yilan's jaw tightened slightly, as if some surging emotion was being forcibly suppressed. Soon, Chu Yilan turned his head back and said coldly, without expression, "Is the house short on underwear for you?"

Underwear? What underwear?

At that thought, Shen Lian felt a chill down below.

Mmm... Although Shen Lian was openly flirtatious, he still cared about his dignity. Just as he was about to head back to the bathroom to fix the oversight, he saw Chu Yilan's ears turn red.

No exaggeration, Shen Lian's "cute" button had been smashed.

Not to mention that the alcohol hadn't worn off yet, giving him an indescribable boldness under the stimulation.

Under Chu Yilan's death stare, Shen Lian walked up to him step by step.

Chu Yilan's face was grim.

Shen Lian leaned down to kiss him.

"Am I good-looking everywhere?" Shen Lian asked in a husky voice.

Everything after that felt like a soft quilt had been thrown over his head. All sounds became muffled; the sound of the rain felt mountains away, but Chu Yilan's breathing was very real.

Before Shen Lian could understand what was happening, his consciousness instantly scattered.

The ceiling kept spinning. After a while, Shen Lian's chest was heaving violently, his expression filled with disbelief.

Chu Yilan actually... (Imagine the rest for yourself; I've been censored QAQ)

Surprisingly, Chu Yilan's voice actually carried a hint of a smile. "Shen Lian, how many minutes did you even last?"

Shen Lian: "??????"

He stubbornly lifted his upper body and yelled at Chu Yilan, "A gentleman can be killed, but not insulted!"

Chu Yilan let out a deep laugh.

"You... wait, wait! You don't have to..."

"No need," Chu Yilan interrupted.

It wasn't time yet. Although Chu Yilan was slowly accepting Shen Lian, his heart was encased in a shell with thorns. They wouldn't hurt anyone for now, but if the relationship got any closer, it was hard to say. For the first time, Chu Yilan had the thought of doing some "cleaning." Once he was a bit more "normal," he would naturally possess him completely.

Chu Yilan helped clean Shen Lian up. He fell into a heavy sleep, coughing a bit in the middle of the night. He was dizzily picked up and fed a few bitter pills. He wanted to spit them out, but when the other person said "Swallow it," he cooperatively did so.

Shen Lian slept until dawn. When he sat up, he was still in a daze.

He pressed his head; there was a slight discomfort, likely from drinking too much last night.

Then Shen Lian remembered something. He immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, hurriedly washed up, and went to find Aunt Fen.

"Aunt Fen!"

"I'm here, I'm here." As soon as Aunt Fen heard Shen Lian's movement, she knew what he meant. "On the balcony, I put down a heating blanket. The temperature is just right. It's still alive."

Shen Lian ran over to look.

Aunt Fen was thorough and careful. The kitten had clearly been cleaned. Looking at its pattern, it was a cow cat.

A cow cat is good. Shen Lian pointed at the kitten and said to Chu Yilan, who happened to be coming downstairs, "I can tell at a glance that this cat is destined for us. Master Chu, come on, do me the honor and give it a name."

Chu Yilan adjusted his cuffs and said indifferently, "Three Minutes."

Shen Lian was stunned. "What kind of name is that?"

Chu Yilan looked at him calmly and said nothing.

"Shen Lian, how many minutes did you even last?" Those words suddenly exploded in his ears.

Aunt Fen came out just in time to see Shen Lian standing there in a daze, and then, bit by bit, his entire body turned visibly red.

"Oh my." Aunt Fen was surprised. "What's wrong? Did you eat those millet chilies I grew?"

Shen Lian's steps were stiff and fast as he dove into the kitchen.

There were some freshly baked small cakes on the table. Shen Lian grabbed two and stuffed them into his mouth, his eyes fierce as if he were eating someone's flesh and blood.

Aunt Fen was bewildered. "Xiao Shen?"

"I'm going to choke myself to death!" Shen Lian said indistinctly. "Let Chu Yilan live with the regret for the rest of his life!"

Chu Yilan leaned against the doorway in a relaxed posture. "If you're hungry, you're hungry. Don't go blaming me. There's something at the company, I'm leaving now."

Aunt Fen: "Won't you eat something, Sir?"

"I'm going to starve myself to death," Chu Yilan mimicked Shen Lian's words with a straight face. "Lest someone be lonely in the afterlife."

Shen Lian thought, why don't you just tease me to death then.

It took half an hour after Chu Yilan left for Shen Lian to recover.

Around noon, Aunt Fen received a call. She listened for a moment, looked outside, and then covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "Yes, his spirits are good. I stewed some chicken soup. Okay, I'll keep an eye on him."

Shen Lian was completely unaware of this. He moved the kitten along with the heating blanket to the sofa and just sat there watching it.

Cute!