A Guide to Raising a Sickly Mad Dog

Reborn.

Wen Xian has been reborn.

In his previous life, he was a legendary Resonance player in the EOC League, a three-time world champion, but he died unexpectedly at the height of his career.

Only after his death did he learn that a teenage prodigy named Mu Shiyu had been obsessed with him for seven whole years, engraving his name into his very bones in a place he never knew about.

When he opens his eyes again, Wen Xian is back three years in the past.

In this life, Mu Shiyu is still just a sixteen-year-old rookie competing in city tournaments. He is frail and sickly, and his eyes conceal an obsession that doesn't suit his age.

Wen Xian decides to approach him first.

He wants to save him, protect him, understand where the fire in those eyes comes from, and set it alight with his own hands, so that it will never have to burn alone again.

1.

On the day they first meet, Wen Xian finds the boy curled up on the ground in the middle of an asthma attack. His fingers helplessly fumble at his throat and chest, while cold sweat soaks his back with every breath.

A photograph lies on the corner of the table.

It is Wen Xian, standing on a winner's podium in some past year.

The corners of the photo are worn, clearly rubbed countless times.

Mu Shiyu grips his wrist tightly, his breathing ragged and his eyes bloodshot, staring at him without blinking as if afraid he will disappear the very next second.

Wen Xian lowers his head and presses the inhaler to his lips. "Breathe in. Take it slowly."

Only later does Wen Xian learn that this is their reunion after a long separation.

And Mu Shiyu has been waiting for this moment for three whole years.

From the end of his previous life to their first meeting in this one, he has turned all his longing into a reunion.

2.

Mu Shiyu is so well-behaved on the team that he won't say a word even when training gives him a stomachache. His face turns white as paper, but he still refuses to leave the training station. He will only take medicine if Wen Xian feeds it to him.

Until the night he wins the city tournament. Looking straight at Wen Xian below the stage, he says on camera that Wen Xian is his only light. The crowd erupts, but Mu Shiyu only watches Wen Xian, with a secret satisfaction in his eyes.

That night, Wen Xian discovers an entire wall of clippings and photographs in his room.

Some of the photos have tiny notes beneath them.

[You won.]

[I miss you so much.]

[If all goes as expected, you'll meet me today.]

It feels less like a fan's admiration and more like a longing that runs to the bone and has crossed the boundary of death.

3.

Under the pressure of professional competition, Mu Shiyu's health repeatedly takes a turn for the worse: he has an asthma attack during a match, then is hospitalized with gastric bleeding afterward. The liquid in his IV drips drop by drop, and even in unconsciousness, his brow remains furrowed.

In his delirium, Mu Shiyu grips Wen Xian's hand and murmurs, "Don't go."

"I came back before you did."

His sleep-talking pieces together a cruel truth.

Endless self-destructive training, untreated illnesses, and the name Wen Xian spoken on an empty winner's podium.

The Mu Shiyu of this life is a remnant that has crawled back from a long decay, yet he still chose to return to the world where Wen Xian exists, even if he had to come back covered in wounds.

With red-rimmed eyes, Wen Xian asks him why he pushes himself so hard. The boy's voice is hoarse. "Because I already lost you once, gege."

So even if it hurts again this time, he has to hold on to you.

4.

The world championship final.

Despite an asthma attack and stomach pain, Mu Shiyu plays through the last round, using an almost self-destructive method to create the perfect memory-retrieval channel for Wen Xian.

The moment they win, Mu Shiyu collapses into Wen Xian's arms. Even as his consciousness blurs, he says, "Gege... this time, I'll protect you."

Blood seeps from the corner of his mouth, yet he smiles with relief.

In front of the cameras, Wen Xian bows his head and kisses his forehead. The silent, reverent gesture says more than a thousand words.

Afterward, Mu Shiyu still sometimes wakes from nightmares. Wen Xian holds his hand and says gently, "I'm here. You haven't lost me."

The blood-soaked past in his dreams is soothed by those quiet words.

You haven't lost me.

Sickly, unhinged top x gentle, distant bottom

Mu Shiyu (top) x Wen Xian (bottom)

Theme: Salvation