Their Eternal Love

3.5

The following week, Lin Xi wasn't fully healed but he could walk and move normally with the exception of his arm. He entered the forest and found Wang Lei who was surprisingly not running away for once, but he couldn't take any chances. Lin Xi made sure his pressure points had been hit. For some reason, Wang Lei wasn't glaring at him with anger today.

"You took my advice about glaring with your eyebrows. If you continued, I was worried that your face would stay grim forever," Lin Xi joked.

When he put the pill in his mouth, Wang Lei licked his finger which he ignored.

Lin Xi felt that Wang Lei was definitely acting weird after that day. When he woke up the next day, Wang Lei was at his door and spoke his first words to him.

"Food," He stated.

"Huh?" Lin Xi thought it was a dream and invited him in and gave him bread. Then he went back to bed but was rudely woken up by the same boy.

"Herbs," He once again only said one word.

Lin Xi who was still disorientated got dressed and followed Wang Lei into the forest where he witnessed Wang Lei fully transform into his orc. He was a small, adorable black panther. Lin Xi could resist petting him because his fur was so soft and sleek.

"Omg, so cute!" Lin Xi squealed as he picked him up and hugged him.

"Such a good dream!" Wang Lei licked his fingers as he rolled on the ground in excitement.

He continued to play with the small panther before he realized it wasn't a dream due to the familiar forest.

Nonetheless, he was happy because Wang Lei's transformation meant he was getting stronger, so he could defeat the protagonist.

Their happy moment was interrupted by some voices approaching their location. Lin Xi quickly hid in the bushes because he couldn't expose Wang Lei's true form – black panthers were as rare as his nine-tailed fox. Peeking from the bushes, he saw the protagonist and his lackeys who seems to be talking about him and Wang Lei.

"Feng Zhou, I saw your childhood friends, Li Yang and Wang Lei hanging out here all the time."

"Tsk, those weaklings aren't my childhood friends. They could never match my power." Feng Zhou said with confidence. His lackeys just nodded their head in agreement.

When they left, Lin Xi came out of the bushes and stared at the black panther in his hands.

"You can defeat him in the future. Right?" Lin Xi asked and Wang Lei just nodded.

Lin Xi couldn't resist the cute face and hugged him again. Before Wang Lei was crushed by him, he transformed back.

—————

Ever since that day, they got closer and bonded. Wang Lei didn't struggle against Lin Xi feeding him and even helped him find the herbs. Lin Xi realized that the doctor must have told him everything or he wouldn't be so obedient.

Every week, Wang Lei would knock on his door and drag him to collect herbs. Afterwards, they would go back go to Lin Xi's house for food. Lin Xi was nervous to feed Wang Lei because he remembered the time that he had food poisoning from his cooking. He would try the food and make sure it wasn't too hot before handing the spoon to Wang Lei.

For some reason, Wang Lei wouldn't eat unless Li Yang hand fed him. Seeing that he was skinny as a stick, Lin Xi complied and made sure to fatten him up. He also saw that Wang Lei's clothing was worn-out and the color faded to the point where you can't tell what the original color was. He would have to put his designer skills to the test. Using the old materials from his parents clothing, he hand-sewed a child-sized robe because there weren't any sewing machines.

The next day, Lin Xi decided to visit Wang Lei to show him the robe he created and walked to the corner of the village where a small shabby wooden house laid. Knocking on the door, he felt it would fall into pieces if he used anymore force. The door was opened by a man with dark circles under his eyes and he look like he hasn't shaved for months nor have he showered by the smell.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Wang Lei's friend, Li Yang. I came to visit him." Lin Li gave him a beaming smile, but the man gave him a suspicious stare.

"He's not here." With that, the man slammed the door on him.

Lin Xi was flabbergasted by how rude the man was. He was sure that this was Wang Lei's house and he was usually in the forest, but Lin Xi hasn't seen him anywhere today.

Knowing that he must he here, Lin Xi wandered to the back and saw a cracked window that looked like a child could fit through. He peeked in to see a boy curled up on a pile of straws. Lin Xi couldn't see his face, but he heard painful moans coming from inside.

Breaking the window with his bare hands which wasn't a good idea because he started bleeding, Lin Xi ignored it and crawled inside. Plopping on the floor, he quickly went up to Wang Lei who seemed to be flushed red and gasping for air. Placing his hand on his head, Lin Xi knew that he had a fever - a bad one.

He carried the boy tightly against his chest and crawled out of the window making sure that Wang Lei wouldn't get injured. As for himself, his hand was already bloody from the first time he went through the window. His hand was also numb so even if he got more wounds, he didn't feel them.

Running to the doctor's house, Lin Xi glanced down at the boy in anguish. When the doctor saw Wang Lei unconscious and blood on his clothing, he looked at Lin Xi in disapproval.

"Uncle, why do you always assume it's my fault?" Lin Xi pouted when he saw the doctor's stare.

He explained everything from going to Wang Lei's house and the rude man to finding the boy suffering from a high fever excluding the breaking and entering, but the doctor had to bring it up.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Uncle, the rude man wouldn't let me enter so I just found another entrance on my own. Small obstacles couldn't stop me." Lin Xi looked at the doctor with sparkly eyes hoping he would ignore the small details.

The doctor didn't have time to lecture him and focused on Wang Lei. He gave him medicine and made sure his fever wouldn't worsen before giving Lin Xi his attention. He wrapped him up while Lin Xi sat next to Wang Lei. Seeing his complexion improve, he sighed in relief.

The doctor explained to Lin Xi that the rude man was Wang Lei's father. Ever since his mother died, he had a bad relationship with his father.

Lin Xi originally was an orphan and he was passed around from relatives' homes until he turned 18 and ran away. He never experienced parental love until he came to this world. Li Yang's parents adored their son and he bathed in their love while Wang Lei was pitifully fighting the world on his own.