The Villain Saves The Male Lead

In the aftermath of the kidnapping incident and Ren's able handling of the matter, Ren soon became hot property in Sand Country as well as Dune Country. The minister personally appeared at Ren's apartment the same evening to enquire about his well being (and to filch a scrumptious dinner, but no one would mention that, naturally).

Little Brother Wade had insisted on coming over to Ren's apartment. The Blue Wolf member who was supposed to take him back was caught in a dilemma, and ultimately called Fang to ask what to do.

Fang generously decided that he may as well let Ren and Wade reconcile. After all, Wade had been making great efforts to make amends, and Fang's gut feeling was that Wade really did care about his Big Brother.

So Fang asked Wolf's subordinate to bring Wade to Fang first and then the two of them could go home together.

And thus, when Ren arrived with Pax and Wolf, he found Fang and Wade chatting away in the living room like old friends. For an instant, an uncomfortable feeling welled up in Ren's heart - after all, this was the Protagonist and the Male Lead...they made a pretty pair...

The boys spotted him.

"Big Brother!" Wade cried, rushing to hug him. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked anxiously, eyeing Ren up and down frantically.

Ren smiled slightly, realising that all the anger he had towards this Protagonist Little Brother had somehow disappeared. He patted the boy's head lightly.

"I'm all right," he replied calmly. "Did you think your Big Brother could be overwhelmed by riff-raff like that so easily?"

Wade shook his head immediately.

"Wade tells me you were very cool," Fang remarked, walking up to Ren and giving him a possessive 'welcome home' kiss.

Ren's heart settled right away and he kissed Fang back enthusiastically.

Wade blushed at the blatant display of affection and stepped back hurriedly.

Pax and Wolf were too used to the lovebirds' antics to be surprised any more. The two of them walked into the living room and made themselves at home.

A few minutes later, Steward Paul and Jules appeared with lots of snacks, three furballs and a human baby, and then withdrew quietly.

"Say hello to your nieces and nephews, Wade," Ren instructed.

Wade seemed to have truly learnt his lesson. He greeted each of the three furballs by their name and then turned his attention to his new niece.

"She's very beautiful, just like Fang," he muttered, kneeling before Sylvia. "Hello, little one. I'm your Daddy's younger brother. You can call me Uncle Wade when you grow a little bigger."

Why does he only ask Sylvia to call him Uncle Wade? Smoke demanded crossly.

"Because he doesn't know that you can speak yet," Ren whispered in the little pup's ear as he picked him up.

Humans are dumb. Snow said sanctimoniously.

Daddy and Papa and Uncle Pax and Uncle Wolf are humans too. Shadow reminded the kitten.

Snow turned up her nose at him. They're different. She pointed out.

Sylvia, on the other hand, blinked up innocently at Wade, trying to gauge him and his intentions towards her Master...no, Daddy. When she was sure that he didn't harbour any malice at the moment, she offered him a toothless grin.

Ren and Fang could practically see Wade melting into a puddle with the cuteness overload.

Hmph! Snow snorted. We'll see how much he likes her when she's in her snake form!

Ren picked up the kitten and stroked her soft fur with gentle fingers until she purred happily. The cat was going to be the biggest brat of them all, he thought fondly.

"We've also got a snake," Fang informed Wade cheerfully.

Wade froze, scared.

"She's not here right now, but you'll be able to see her in the future," Fang continued, amused at Wade's reaction.

Wade was visibly relieved. He definitely needed to adjust his psyche before he was ready to face a snake! Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to him.

"Don't tell me...is it the rare poisonous snake that was found in our camp a few days ago?!" he asked in a rush.

Fang nodded. "The very same. She immediately took to Ren."

Wade stopped himself from blurting out something offensive with great effort.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the minister chose that moment to appear, with Steward Paul showing him in.

"CEO Ren, are you all right?" the minister asked as soon as he saw Ren.

"I'm perfectly fine," Ren replied. "Is something the matter? The Blue Wolves delivered all the criminals to the police already...was there a problem?"

The minister shook his head. "We're very thankful to you and the Blue Wolves," he said gratefully. "If something happened to that princess or the children of Cosmopolis, our Sand Country would have lost a lot of face." He spotted Wade. "Oh, is this your brother, CEO Ren? He must have had a fright."

Fang introduced Wade to the minister.

"I was afraid, but when Big Brother came to rescue us, it was like everything was ok again," Wade told the minister.

The minister hummed. "Your Big Brother really is quite amazing," he murmured. "The King of Dune Country just called our Prime Minister," he told Ren. "He wants to offer you a reward and also wants to discuss a business deal with you personally."

Ren raised an eyebrow. If it was merely that, the King would have called Ren directly.

The minister smiled ruefully. "I'm afraid he wants to lure you into Dune Country and claim you as a son-in-law..." he murmured, the grievance in his heart leaking out into his voice as he spoke. After all, Ren and Fang were the beautiful young couple that were not only excellent seedlings, but he'd also nurtured them with their own hands.

Ren laughed. "No one's getting me as a son-in-law unless they adopt Fang as their son," he said firmly.. "If the business deal is conditional, I'm afraid it's not my cup of tea."