The powerful leader was tough on the outside but soft on the inside; the aloof major general fell fo

After saying that, the doctor went back in.

Derek felt a sudden darkness engulf him; the doctor's words were like a bolt from the blue.

He became increasingly unfriendly towards Ashel.

I don't know how long I waited outside, maybe a long time.

The door opened again, bringing both good news and bad news.

"Your Excellency is out of immediate danger, but..."

Derek pressed, "Just what?"

This doctor only tells half of what he's saying, it's driving me crazy!

The doctor hesitated. "Your condition is somewhat strange."

He glanced at Derek's expression, coughed lightly, and said, "Your condition when you were brought in was far too dangerous; you shouldn't have survived, but unexpectedly..."

Derek's face darkened.

What does it mean to be unable to survive in the first place...?

The doctor continued, "Unexpectedly, your heart rate rose again in the end, and you will need to be observed further."

As long as he was out of danger, Derek simply ignored the strange thing the doctor mentioned.

Cen Li was transferred to a ward for observation.

When Derek saw Cen Li's pale face, his heart ached terribly. "My little Li..."

His insect offspring have never suffered like this before.

Derek caught a glimpse of Ashel following in and snorted coldly through his nose.

Ash's drooping fingers tightened. He could understand his father's displeasure, and he even blamed himself.

Ashel looked up and saw the male ruler lying on the bed. He dug his nails into his palms and forced himself not to look away.

He had never seen such a weak ruler, his breathing so shallow, as if he would leave him at any moment.

For three days in a row, Cen Li showed no signs of waking up.

Derek was frantic. "What happened? Weren't they saying he was out of danger? Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

The doctor glanced at the test results and said truthfully, "This is the strange thing. All of your vital signs are normal, but there is no sign that you are about to wake up."

"Like..."

Derek's face darkened as he listened to the doctor's earlier words, thinking to himself that this bug was just repeating his exact words. Then he heard another half-sentence and hurriedly pressed for details.

The doctor finished the sentence, "It's like a living dead worm."

With a "click".

Derek lost his balance and bumped into a nearby table, causing the vase to fall to the ground.

"Say that again." Derek's eyes were terrifying as he stared intently at the doctor.

Ultimately, the doctor, who was simply doing his job, was expelled from the ward.

"How is that possible?!"

After Derek had the bug chase the doctor away, he yelled in a fit of rage, "My little Li won't be... He will definitely wake up! It just needs time."

Derek was so angry that he threw everything around him to the ground. The piercing sound ripped through his eardrums and hit Ash at his feet, but the female insect didn't even glance at him.

Ash's gaze remained fixed on the male insect on the sickbed, whose eyes were tightly closed, unable to open again to look at him.

Ashleigh can no longer see that blue he loved.

Ash heard what the doctor said, and he couldn't believe that the male lord would turn into... a living dead worm.

This is too cruel.

Holding onto hope while being unable to open your eyes to see them is like waiting for a vague and uncertain outcome.

Day after day, the male insect on the sickbed never opened his eyes, his face remained handsome, and he looked as if he were just sleeping.

No matter how busy he was with his work at the military headquarters, Derek would always rush to the hospital to see Cen Li after finishing his tasks. Sometimes he would stay for a long time and talk to him as if it were any other day.

Meanwhile, Derek's attitude toward Ashley worsened.

With his own insect cub lying half-dead in bed, Derek was also in a bad mood, feeling like his heart was being stabbed, with no outlet for his frustration. At this moment, Ash, who was always around him, became a sitting duck.

Making sarcastic remarks was a daily routine for Ash, who never retorted. He would just stand there silently with his head down, letting Derek vent his anger.

Derek was even angrier at his submissive attitude.

I don't know if I'm angry at myself, or angry at something else...

"I think my little bug has spoiled you too much, making you forget the rules."

Derek lowered his gaze, suppressing his displeasure.

Ashel instantly understood and knelt down beside the lord's bed.

Derek saw that he deliberately chose a spot close to Cen Li and gave a cold smile.

"Has it been a long time since you were punished with insects? You've even forgotten these most basic rules!"

Ashel instinctively said, "No, the lord said..."

As if thinking of something, Ash suddenly closed his mouth tightly again.

Seeing his expression, Derek immediately understood. His face darkened. "Just as I thought!"

"Xiao Li is really good to you. He doesn't punish you or make you kneel. Do you think you're being fair to him? He spoils you too much, which has made you start having all sorts of ulterior motives!"

Ashel lowered his head, his body trembling for a moment. "Father, I will accept my punishment."

Derek neither confirmed nor denied it.

Just then, the terminal rang. Derek grabbed his military jacket from the side, answered the call, and went out.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Ashel raised his head and carefully traced the outline of the powerful ruler with his eyes.

A mighty ruler, a mighty ruler, ...

When will you wake up, open your eyes, and look at me...?

Ashel breathed a sigh of relief when his female father left.

He didn't get up, but moved a little closer to the male master, stretching his hand forward as if doing something sacred, and finally placed his hand on the male master's hand that was outside the blanket.

His fingers subtly hooked around the male lord's index finger.

The lord's hands are so cold.

This realization brought a look of sadness to Ash's eyes.

Both hands simultaneously enveloped the right hand of the male ruler, surrounding him completely.

He rubbed it, warming the male master.

Besides all that, besides waiting, there's nothing else he can do...

Ash lowered his eyes, a look of self-loathing on his face.

From that day forward, Ashel would go to receive his punishment every day. His wounds would alternate between old and new, never fully healed, and would soon be covered by new whip marks.

The smell of blood on his body was too strong, so Ashel would take a bath and clean himself up before going to see the lord.

The lord once said that he disliked the smell of blood.

Derek knew perfectly well that Ash had been going to the butler to receive his punishment for a whole week, but so what!

A few beatings, and will Xiao Li wake up?

Derek merely watched coldly as Ashl's neck was marked with crisscrossing, gruesome whip marks.

Cen Li only heard a voice calling to him.

The voice sounded familiar, but his mind was too cluttered to remember who it belonged to.

"A mighty ruler..."

"My lord, could you please open your eyes and look at me?"

Cen Li finally woke up.

He saw Ashir, the female insect kneeling by the bed, looking at him expectantly.

The female soldier's gaze was too complex and mottled, mixed with a kind of heartbroken despair.

Cen Lixin's heart skipped a beat, and he reached out his hand, instinctively wanting to comfort him.

The next second, the hand went straight through Ash's cheek.

Cen Li froze, only then realizing that his hands were transparent...