Chapter 158 – Scales
Jian Luo held the medicine bowl, looking at Lu Shifeng with some suspicion. His gaze flickered uncertainly, but eventually he set down the ladle and whispered softly, “Is this… your dragon scale?”
Lu Shifeng sat beside him, flipping through documents. The pages turned in his hands as he nodded in response. “Hmm.”
—
Suddenly, silence filled the room.
Jian Luo’s words felt stuck in his throat. He wanted to say that dragon scales were precious, and aside from that, Lu Shifeng wasn’t due for a molting period yet. Where did the scales in his drink come from? The pain of forcefully shedding scales was unimaginable.
Thinking of this, Jian Luo found it difficult to swallow the soup in his hands. The weight of this favor was too heavy. He felt a mix of gratitude and heaviness in his heart, indescribable.
Lu Shifeng spoke lightly, “Drink it while it’s hot.”
“You…” Jian Luo hesitated with the bowl in his hands, lowering his head. “Thank you.”
“Thank me for what?”
“It must be painful.”
“Oh?” Lu Shifeng shifted his attention completely from the documents to Jian Luo. His demeanor was composed, yet unexpectedly solemn. He asked seriously, “Was it painful when you gave birth to them?”
“Painful.”
Lu Shifeng’s gaze softened with tenderness. He reached out and gently ruffled Jian Luo’s hair. “So I should thank you too.”
His hand was warm, imparting an inexplicable soothing strength.
Jian Luo inexplicably felt his nose tingle. “Are you being so good to me because of this?”
Lu Shifeng paused in his actions.
He hadn’t expected Jian Luo to think this way, but he was glad he asked. It would make it easier to tell him the truth.
“Choosing random answers in a math test will lead to failure,” Lu Shifeng said, making Jian Luo look at him. “But I can let you cheat a few times and tell you the correct answers.”
Jian Luo’s eyes flickered slightly, his breath unconsciously hitched.
Lu Shifeng lifted Jian Luo’s chin with a finger. “Because plucking scales doesn’t hurt, but seeing you suffering from fever and illness does.”
Jian Luo widened his eyes.
Lu Shifeng gently pinched Jian Luo’s cheek in that position, tenderly like between lovers, his voice low and magnetic. “Now, continue drinking your medicine.”
?
Jian Luo was released, sitting alone with his bowl in the messy room.
He couldn’t quite follow Lu Shifeng’s train of thought. What had he just said, was it true or not? Could it be that he was hallucinating?
If that was the case, Lu Shifeng’s kindness toward him wasn’t because of the child, nor was it to repay a favor. It was because he… pitied him?
This possibility made Jian Luo restless all over, unable to calm down at all. Mechanically, he finished the bowl of medicinal soup that had lost its taste.
Jian Luo obediently said, “I’ve finished.”
Lu Shifeng glanced at him, nodding. “In two hours, I’ll have the doctor come in to check your condition.”
Jian Luo nodded.
Just a moment ago, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now he slowly realized Lu Shifeng might have been speaking sweet nothings. This realization made Jian Luo feel shy and belatedly embarrassed. In fact, he wasn’t very good at this sort of thing and had never experienced it before. He hadn’t even had a date before.
Oh, right!
*The Dominating Dragon Falls in Love with Me* must have updated. He could learn from the novel, right? Wasn’t it said that the female lead was very relatable?
Jian Luo opened the novel, flipping to where he had last read. Unexpectedly, the progress of the relationship between the male and female leads was so fast. In the following days, the female lead happened to get injured, and not only did the male lead care for her meticulously, but his sweet words were endless. Jian Luo looked at it and couldn’t help but smile, feeling his heart stir:
“I only want you to be safe.”
“Darling, don’t make me worry.”
Although these words were somewhat Mary Sue, they were damn sweet to read. Compared to the flirtatious lines of the male lead in the novel, Lu Shifeng was still a bit lacking. However, recently, it seemed like Commander Lu had been studying textbooks as his progress was nothing short of remarkable!
Jian Luo also wanted to learn some gentle tricks like the female lead in the book.
The female lead in the novel had many ways to make the male lead fall for her, like being skilled at makeup and dressing beautifully, or pretending she couldn’t open a bottle and acting cute, or saying she hurt her foot to be carried. Every time, the male lead found her adorable, which made Jian Luo wonder if all relationships were like this!
*Knock, knock.*
A knock sounded from outside.
Lu Shifeng: “Come in.”
Feeling guilty for reading the novel secretly, Jian Luo quickly closed the e-reader and looked outside, seeing doctors coming in with bags.
The doctors came to examine Jian Luo’s condition. Since he had just taken the dragon scale, his body should be improving. This required repeated checks, and they now understood his importance to Lu Shifeng, treating him with the same respect they would show Lu Shifeng himself.
After all the examinations, the doctors spoke privately with Lu Shifeng.
“Sir, we’ve examined him and found that the virus in Mr. Jian’s body has almost disappeared. He should be able to lower his fever by this afternoon.”
“Go on.”
“But there’s a rather tricky issue now.” The doctor sighed. “The dragon scale’s effect is too powerful. Mr. Jian’s body can’t withstand such strong medicinal effects. In the coming week, his fever might not come down, and he’ll need to soak in cold springs daily to alleviate it.”
Lu Shifeng frowned slightly.
The doctors panicked under his gaze and hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, sir. We’ll work on developing medications that Mr. Jian can tolerate as soon as possible.”
But it might not help.
They could develop cold medicine, but they couldn’t predict human ailments in advance. If they waited to develop medication every time an issue arose, it would delay treatment.
However, the side effects of taking dragon scales were evident and quite distressing. Jian Luo’s body couldn’t handle it.
Lu Shifeng fell into silence, and his silence weighed heavily on the doctors.
After a while, Lu Shifeng said, “Prepare the cold spring. I’ll take him there.”
The doctors felt relieved when they sensed the pressure easing. They were truly afraid, knowing that if the Marshal decided to be difficult, no one could handle it.
—
On the other side,
The dragon cubs hadn’t seen Jian Luo for three days, and they were not happy about it.
Long Aotian rarely spoke now, but seeing Su Liang, he stuck to him, nudging and asking, “Daddy, want daddy.”
Previously, even if Jian Luo was busy, he would keep in touch. It wouldn’t exceed two days, but this time, Jian Luo hadn’t messaged them for three days. Though there was a nutritionist with them, they missed their dad.
Little Silver Dragon asked Grandma daily about Jian Luo’s whereabouts. Even the usually quiet Second Child couldn’t sit still anymore and sought out Su Liang, albeit silently, asking him for dad.
Su Liang had to reassure them, saying, “Dad’s busy. He’ll be back soon.”
Such excuses only worked for a day. After three days of being stalled and misled by various people, the cubs were furious!
*Hmph.*
Long Aotian turned his face away from the milk pudding.
He refused to eat, and the other two cubs followed suit, all three accustomed to only Jian Luo and Lu Shifeng’s management.
Su Liang frowned, “Cubs, why aren’t you eating?”
The black cub turned away, looking miserable, softly humming, “Want dad to feed.”
Su Liang sighed at the stubborn little dragon. She wanted to take the children to see Jian Luo, but he was still sick and sleeping most of the time. He had no energy to communicate and was too hoarse to speak normally. She was afraid the children would be scared, so she delayed.
Little Silver Dragon saw Su Liang’s expression and understood immediately. Her eyes welled up, and she said softly, “I’ll do my homework properly.”
She thought she hadn’t done her homework properly, so this was Jian Luo’s punishment for her.
Su Liang was stunned.
Long Aotian, hearing his sister, jumped off the table and found a small ball for physical education homework, chattering and gesturing with his hands. In the end, he pushed another ball, indicating not just one, but two, and that he was super powerful. The teachers always praised him for being so great, Dad, look, he’s really awesome.
The second child quietly pushed three balls over and sat down obediently beside him, although he didn’t talk, his meaning was very clear!
Su Liang looked at the three of them, feeling a little sad. She hugged the three children before leaving.
As soon as she was about to call Jian Luo, he had already called her. He said, “Mom, are the cubs okay?”
“Luo Luo, is your fever gone?” Su Liang was slightly surprised to hear Jian Luo’s voice. “Your voice isn’t so hoarse now.”
Jian Luo said, “The dragon scale made me suffer, so I’m better now. Don’t worry.”
He knew there was no use hiding it, so he gave Su Liang a brief overview to put her mind at ease, instead of worrying about him all the time.
Su Liang was touched. “The Marshal really treats you well. Are you going to be discharged?”
“It’s not going well for now,” Jian Luo sighed, “because the doctor said the effects of the adult dragon scale medicine are too intense. So, I still need to stay in the hospital and soak in the cold spring for a few more days to observe.”
Su Liang sighed, “It’s unavoidable. Are you feeling any better now?”
“The fever hasn’t gone down yet; I still feel very hot,” Jian Luo touched his head, “but the dizziness and other symptoms from the fever are subsiding. Maybe in the next few days, it’ll just be a bit warm.”
“That’s good then, at least you’re not suffering,” Su Liang said.
“Yeah,” Jian Luo finished explaining and then asked, “And what about the little ones, how are they doing?”
“They miss you a lot,” Su Liang sighed, “Long Aotian refused to eat today, and his younger siblings followed suit. They’re throwing tantrums.”
Jian Luo felt both amused and annoyed. Before he could speak, the door behind Su Liang opened, and the three little ones crouched in a row, blatantly eavesdropping.
?!
Su Liang was shocked; she hadn’t heard a sound or movement!
Clearly, all three little ones had already heard everything. After spending so much time in lessons, they understood almost all the vocabulary and knew Jian Luo was ill, and it was serious.
The younger sister tilted her head, took a step forward, her childish voice earnestly saying, “Use the little ones’ scales to cure Dad.”
Su Liang was stunned.
Long Aotian strongly agreed, even proudly puffing out his little chest.
Su Liang couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “How could we use your scales?”
“Because the little ones’ scales are not overpowering,” the younger sister said softly, “Dad can come back then.”
T/N: Hope you’re having a good day! Drink water and make sure to sleep early! (>w<)/
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
and many, many more!
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