After the Cold, Stoic Little Bear Returns from His Arctic Posting

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1.

Lu Huaiqing, an abandoned baby raised by the Lu family as a walking blood bank.

He was neither clever nor likable. The only value of his life was the blood in his veins: the Lu family's only young master had a congenital blood disease.

One day, after having his blood drawn, he found a dusty little teddy bear in a trash can outside the hospital.

The bear felt warm in his arms and had a faint, pleasant scent. Lu Huaiqing secretly took it back to his shabby rented room and spent the money he had saved from collecting trash on a secondhand children's suit.

The teddy bear looked very handsome in its suit. Lu Huaiqing held it as he fell into a sweet sleep.

When he woke up the next day, the teddy bear was gone.

The teddy bear had run away.

2.

The most frustrating thing in the world is being a fluffy teddy bear with your soul trapped inside.

Shen Muchen rubbed the ears clipped to the clothes-drying rack, then touched his two damp little legs. He strained to turn his body and stared motionlessly at Lu Huaiqing downstairs, smiling brightly at someone else. His black button eyes were full of resentment.

Why does he look so good when he smiles?

I've never seen him smile at me like that.

He's put on a little weight. He looks so soft and cuddly. I want to touch him.

He's mine to raise.

The teddy bear turned around, put its paws on its hips, and lifted its head confidently. He's mine to raise. No one can steal him away.

3.

"Get out! Leave! I don't want to see you!"

A sharp blade rested against his neck. One slight push was all it would take to separate life from death.

"Don't you just want my blood? If I die, where will you find another blood bank this useful?"

Shen Muchen looked at Lu Huaiqing's reddened eyelids and increasingly frail body. The veins on his arms bulged grotesquely, each one like a knife cutting into Shen Muchen.

He backed out of the hospital room step by step, his face white as paper. "I never wanted your blood."

"...If you don't want to see me, I'll leave."

No one stole him away, but fate still led them astray.

[Reader's guide:

1. Child-raising story, melodramatic tropes, both protagonists' first relationship, one-on-one romance. Lu Huaiqing is the bottom, Shen Muchen is the top.

2. The medical details are made up. Please don't scrutinize them.

3. Please leave comments and add it to your collection! Love you all!]

Theme: Every child deserves to grow up safe and sound.