Chapter 131: Little Rabbit x Archon

“…Adoptive father?” Wen Chu subconsciously repeated Xiu’s words.

“Mn,” Xiu responded indifferently.

It was only then that Wen Chu realized with hindsight what he had just said. Looking at the young man before him, his face instantly flushed red.

Xiu found it amusing. “You weren’t like this when you called me ‘Mom’.”

Wen Chu froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered his delirious ramblings before he passed out. His face turned even redder.

“No… it’s because you smell very nice… no, I mean, I’m sorry, I…”

Wen Chu’s speech center completely short-circuited. He stammered for a long time, finally looking at Xiu with teary eyes, appearing as if he might burst into tears at any second.

Xiu, whose intention was just to tease him to lighten the mood: …

He didn’t seem to have a single funny bone in his body; he had nearly scared the child to tears right off the bat.

Fortunately, the doctors rushed in at that moment. They pushed open the ward door and swarmed in, quickly conducting various basic checks on Wen Chu.

Clutching his insulated food container, Xiu was squeezed to the side, losing the chance to speak to Wen Chu again.

But their eyes remained locked on each other.

Wen Chu’s round, azure eyes followed the Archon’s figure unblinkingly.

Their gazes wove together over the chaotic crowd. He saw the blond Archon mouth the words to him:

Don’t be afraid.

Afraid of what?

Wen Chu was a little bewildered. He looked down only to realize a doctor was drawing a blood sample from him.

The syringe was already filled with more than half a tube of blood. Wen Chu glanced at it expressionlessly, then went back to looking at Xiu.

It was just a blood draw; it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as the fever and headache.

Behind the crowd, Xiu was more nervous than the patient himself. He didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the blood draw was finished. Then, he raised the stainless steel food container in his hand toward Wen Chu before pushing the door open and leaving.

Wen Chu finally realized that the container with the delicious smell was the Archon’s dinner.

So, had Xiu been guarding his bedside the whole time…?

“Thirty-seven point five. It’s up by zero point five degrees compared to half an hour ago. The fever is starting again!”

Upon hearing this, the doctors moved much faster. Wen Chu watched quietly as they changed his IV fluids and stuck him with several more needles. It wasn’t until they seemed to be finishing up that he spoke.

“Um…”

The doctors instantly fell silent, waiting for his next words.

It was the first time Wen Chu had been treated with such solemnity. He forgot his words for a moment, and it took a long time before he whispered, “What is my current situation?”

The doctors looked at each other for a moment, clearly surprised that the Archon hadn’t explained the situation to the child just now.

One doctor explained patiently, “You were infected with the plague and fell into a coma. The Archon saved you and brought you back.”

“From now on, the Archon will be responsible for your food, clothing, housing, and transportation. However, he may need your help to appear on camera occasionally and say a few words—you don’t need to promote anything, just tell the truth.”

Wen Chu blinked his long white eyelashes and let out a slow “Oh.”

He didn’t know if it was the fever rising or if those words had stirred up a storm of emotions, but Wen Chu’s mind felt messy.

He thought of the words from the news again, and Xiu’s cold, calm tone.

He was ten years old and had basic comprehension skills. Even if he couldn’t fully understand, he could vaguely make out the meaning behind the words.

—He was the example the Archon was presenting to the public.

And merely an example.

The “adoptive father” thing… Xiu was probably just teasing him, right?

Teasing him was fine, too.

He wasn’t a normal human being; he wasn’t suitable for adoption anyway.

Wen Chu had been laid flat again. He stared at the IV drip for a long while before asking, “Is my illness serious? Can I survive?”

The doctor explaining things to him paused.

Meeting those clear blue eyes, the doctor’s gaze gradually became firm. “You definitely can.”

Wen Chu felt relieved.

It was good that he could survive. If he died right now, it would cause a lot of trouble for Xiu.

“He has fallen asleep. The current situation is not optimistic. Before this, he didn’t know he needed to consume normal food to maintain his vitals after turning into a human. Coupled with the poor environment of the laboratory and his weak constitution, plus this being his third infection…”

Outside the ward, Xiu quickly finished the dinner he hadn’t had time to eat earlier while listening to the doctor’s report.

Only when the other party finished did Xiu speak. “His name is Wen Chu.”

“Ah, oh, right.” The doctor was stunned for a moment, not expecting this to be the Archon’s first response. He couldn’t quite gauge Xiu’s attitude.

Thinking of the excessively thin child, the doctor added a sentence almost instinctively, “I briefly explained the situation to him. He asked me if he could survive. He seems… to really want to live.”

“I know.” Xiu rubbed his fingers together—the hand that had touched Wen Chu’s head earlier.

He raised his eyes. “Since I said I would save him, I will save him to the end. You all continue according to the original plan.”

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “We have developed an initial version of a specific drug, but we didn’t expect anyone to be infected three times. None of the volunteers recruited previously have been infected three times, so the clinical trials might require Wen Chu…”

Seeing the look on Xiu’s face, the doctor tactfully fell silent.

Xiu was silent.

He couldn’t forcibly grab someone and make them suffer three rounds of infection, not to mention Wen Chu had been infected more than three times.

The test subjects previously rescued from the lab had already been sent to the Upper City for convalescence; asking them to bear this risk again was obviously impossible.

But to personally agree to let the child he saved participate in experiments…

“Wait a bit longer.” Xiu pursed his lips. “Wait until he wakes up and ask for his opinion. He is not a lab rabbit; he has the right to decide for himself.”

After detecting that Wen Chu was a rabbit, Xiu had quickly retrieved all the laboratory’s data and found the experiment plan from back then.

Gene Fusion Experiment.

Wen Chu was a descendant bred generation after generation from humans injected with rabbit genes, which was why he could freely transform between human and rabbit forms.

fundamentally, he was a human, not a rabbit.

But because of the characteristics in his genes—pain tolerance, strong recovery, and a docile nature—combined with being almost identical to a human, the laboratory had used him as a “higher-grade” rabbit.

“Understood,” the doctor responded and left.

Xiu, who had been working non-stop for two days, didn’t even have time to rub his brow before he heard Secretary Li’s anxious voice: “Archon, Sir, the adjutant reports that a large-scale outbreak of the plague has begun in Sector E-01.”

Xiu’s forehead throbbed with pain. He stood up and tossed the insulated container to the secretary. “Quarantine according to the plan. Play the press conference from earlier on loop on all large screens and print flyers immediately. The plague isn’t the most terrifying thing; riots are.”

Secretary Li caught the food container and hurriedly followed. “Yes, sir. I’ve already printed the photo of you eating by the child’s bedside on the most prominent spot on the flyers. You eating and living alongside an infected patient will surely act as a tranquilizer for the masses!”

“…When did you take that? Forget it, just use it.”

Xiu sighed and quickened his pace.

Most people in the Lower City had only suffered one round of infection, and the specific drug was showing initial results.

Additionally, Xiu had arrested the monopolizing drug merchants in the Lower City on the first day. Under precise management and a large supply of medicine, disturbances everywhere were quickly brought under control.

Only Wen Chu, due to recurring high fevers, tossed and turned for two nights before finally waking up again.

Secretary Li was very efficient; flyers were scattered as if they cost nothing. When Wen Chu woke up again, the paper the nurse used to teach him origami to coax him was actually the flyers.

Wen Chu couldn’t read, but he could understand pictures.

The photo on the flyer was obviously taken secretly.

Through the crack in the glass door, he saw himself lying on the hospital bed, an IV drip in his slender arm, while Xiu sat on a stool that was a bit too small for him, awkwardly holding the food container to eat, with unfinished documents resting on his knees.

Concern and anxiety almost spilled out of the image.

So, even eating by his bedside was just for propaganda?

Wen Chu’s hand paused.

He knew he was lucky to be saved, but after having experienced Xiu’s warm embrace and being jokingly tricked into calling him “Adoptive Father,” he couldn’t help but indulge in a delusion.

He imagined if Xiu really was his adoptive father.

Would he be able to see Xiu every day, smell that nice scent on him, and be patted on the head?

Just thinking about it made him feel a little disappointed.

Wen Chu spaced out for a moment and missed the nurse’s folding steps.

The nurse, who had been watching him, stopped patiently. “Did you miss this part? Let me teach you.”

“Look, open it up like this, then align it and fold it down—”

As she spoke, she unfolded her own and demonstrated it again.

Wen Chu snapped back to reality and mimicked her actions.

He didn’t want to trouble the nurse, so he didn’t zone out again this time and folded it successfully.

Looking at the finished product in front of him, Wen Chu was stunned.

Resting in his hand was a round, chubby little rabbit.

The nurse smiled. “Cute, right? It’s a little bunny.”

Wen Chu carefully cupped the rabbit in his hands and nodded.

It was amazing; folding paper back and forth could actually create a little rabbit.

The nurse clapped her hands. “You’re really good at this. The doctor said you can eat simple liquid food in a few days. Is there anything you like to eat? I’ll write it down and apply to the Archon for you.”

Wen Chu thought for a moment. “Timothy hay?”

The nurse: “…”

The nurse sighed. “Never mind. Wait a moment, I’ll go get you a menu.”

Saying that, she stood up and opened the door to leave.

Because she left in a hurry, the nurse didn’t close the door completely, leaving a small crack.

Wen Chu didn’t mind. He picked up another flyer, wanting to fold it again.

But the next moment, the faint sound of an argument came from outside the door.

The argument was far away, but Wen Chu was a rabbit; if he focused, he could hear the gist of it.

“Sir, why don’t you just tell him we need clinical trials? The current specific drug can only temporarily control the situation, and Little John is missing. If chaos breaks out, what about your performance review?”

What clinical trials? What performance?

Wen Chu was confused.

Who was talking?

Xiu’s cold voice immediately followed. “He is a human being. Research on the specific drug is already progressing steadily. Even if he joins, it will only speed up the research. Do we really need a ten-year-old child to buy us this one month of time?”

The other person was still unwilling. “A month is still time. Besides, hasn’t it been proven that there’s no harm to the body? He hasn’t recovered for so long, and people are already raising doubts. We just need his experimental data…”

“Secretary Li,” Xiu’s voice cut in, colder than before.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Wen Chu finally understood.

It seemed that because he hadn’t recovered for so long and couldn’t participate in experiments, he was causing trouble for Xiu.

Wait, hadn’t he been here the whole time? Couldn’t they do experiments whenever they wanted?

Wen Chu was confused again.

He had just woken up temporarily and was still running a low fever, so his thinking was sluggish.

After thinking seriously for a while, Wen Chu still couldn’t figure out why.

Did they have to pick a special day to do experiments?

Just as Wen Chu was struggling with his thoughts, the door was pushed open.

The blond Archon walked into the ward, his face looking incredibly grim. However, the moment he saw Wen Chu awake, his expression instantly softened.

“When did you wake up?” Xiu asked, his tone completely different from the gentle one he used just now.

“Just now,” Wen Chu answered obediently. “I woke up a moment ago. The nurse told me not to sleep yet and taught me how to fold a little rabbit.”

As he spoke, he held the paper rabbit in his palm to show Xiu.

A gentle smile appeared on Xiu’s cold, handsome face. He pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “You folded it really well.”

As Xiu got closer, that familiar cold scent swept over him again.

Wen Chu couldn’t help but want to lean towards Xiu.

He carefully reached out his hand, his slender fingertips touching the Archon’s large hand as he passed the rabbit over.

“For you,” Wen Chu whispered, quickly withdrawing his hand.

He seemed to be feverish again; his fingertips felt frighteningly hot when they touched the other person.

Caught off guard, Xiu flusteredly caught the fragile paper rabbit. Looking at Wen Chu sitting obediently at the head of the bed, he said after a long while, “…Thank you. I will keep it safe.”

He could understand Secretary Li’s good intentions. Since coming to the Lower City, he had poured all his energy into the plague. He hadn’t had time to deal with the local gangs yet, and a month was enough time for too many variables to arise.

But asking a child who had been tortured by the lab to this extent to agree to clinical trials… that was too cruel.

Wen Chu, meanwhile, was pinching the fingertips that had just touched Xiu, feeling his heartbeat start to race uncontrollably.

He really touched Xiu.

The Archon, who was always so serious on TV… he had touched his fingertips.

Wen Chu felt he was probably really starting to burn up. Afraid he might faint the next moment, he bit his lower lip and made a decision.

“Archon, Sir…” Wen Chu whispered.

Hearing this address, Xiu raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but say, “That doesn’t seem to be what you called me the last time you woke up?”

Wen Chu’s face turned bright red. Looking at the man’s young face, it took him a long time to hum quietly, “Adoptive Father.”

Xiu’s mood inexplicably lightened. He reached out and pinched Wen Chu’s cheek, which didn’t have much meat on it. “That’s better.”

It was more fun to tease the kid like this.

Xiu didn’t use any force, but two red marks quickly appeared on Wen Chu’s cheek.

He was dazedly mauled by the mischievously bad adult for a while. It wasn’t until Xiu lifted his hand and let him go that he stared blankly and said, “I have something to say. Wait a moment before touching my face.”

Xiu couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud, then said, “What is it? Just say it.”

Wen Chu looked serious. “You can use me for experiments; you don’t need to pick a specific time.”

The smile on Xiu’s face didn’t have time to fade before it froze. He looked at the child on the hospital bed in astonishment. “Do you know what you are saying? You are a human, you…”

Wen Chu interrupted in confusion, “But I’m a rabbit, aren’t I?”

As he said this, realization dawned on him. He finally understood the crux of the problem.

So they couldn’t experiment on humans. They should have said so earlier.

Seeing Xiu frozen in place, he thought Xiu didn’t believe him, so he transformed directly into a rabbit.

The hospital bed suddenly became empty. A palm-sized lop-eared rabbit nestled on the bed, raising one ear to show the Archon the clearly visible veins on the edge of his ear.

“I am a little rabbit, I can just turn into a person. I’m very easy to experiment on. Look at my ears, they’re really easy to give injections to, and I’m not afraid of pain… Ah, hey?!”

As Wen Chu was speaking, all four of his paws suddenly went airborne, and he flailed around chaotically.

“Wen Chu…” Xiu’s voice trembled.

Wen Chu thought the other party was angry. Just as he was wildly thinking that Xiu might not want to save a rabbit, he was pulled into a warm embrace.

He was cherished and held in the Archon’s arms.

Through the gap in the fabric of his clothes, Wen Chu met Xiu’s gaze.

Emotions he couldn’t understand flickered in those transparent blue eyes. Just from this one look, Wen Chu felt his heart clench.

It clearly wasn’t a look of blame, nor was it anger.

Xiu looked at him so gently, holding him as carefully as he had held the paper rabbit just now.

Wen Chu, however, felt a stinging sensation in his nose.

It didn’t hurt.

So why did he feel like crying?