You're back?

Shu Sizhuo shoved Tong Zhao onto the bed, gripped his chin, and kissed him.

Tong Zhao struggled and kicked, his ankle chain rattling. "Shu Sizhuo! Let me out! I don't want to stay here like a prisoner every day!"

Shu Sizhuo took a kick to the ribs, so he tangled his legs around Tong Zhao's and pinned him down. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Have you forgotten what you said again? You asked me to let the people from the Wind House go and take you in their place. How can you go back on your word like this?"

"Those people?" Tong Zhao hated them, but he hated the man before him even more. "If I weren't afraid you'd make a terrible mistake, why the fuck would I care who you imprisoned? Let me out, Shu Sizhuo! I hate it here! I hate you—mmph!"

Shu Sizhuo bit his tongue, then kissed him fiercely.

Shu Sizhuo felt the vicious, frenzied devil inside him stirring again, wanting to destroy, wanting to tear and bite.

Tong Zhao hated him, and he hated Tong Zhao too!

After all, nineteen-year-old Shu Sizhuo had loved him like a madman and still couldn't have him.

Then could twenty-seven-year-old Shu Sizhuo have him by hating him like a madman?

As long as Tong Zhao was by his side, what did it matter whether it was love or hate?

Just as Shu Sizhuo was on the verge of going mad and resorting to brute force again, he suddenly noticed that Tong Zhao was trembling, tears streaming from his bloodshot, terrified eyes.

His reason, which had nearly slipped away, returned, and he managed to halt his unstoppable assault.

Everything he had spent the day learning flooded into his mind, and he stared blankly into Tong Zhao's eyes.

Suddenly, he bent down and buried his head, leaving Tong Zhao staring in confusion and astonishment.

Tong Zhao's body jerked, and his eyes flew wide open...

The room was sealed off, without even a real window. Without looking at the clock on the wall, there was no telling day from night.

Tong Zhao didn't even have time to look at the clock.

He didn't know why Shu Sizhuo had suddenly become so skilled overnight.

Whether it was Shu Sizhuo's mouth or his hands, both seemed to have become extraordinary, sending Tong Zhao up into the clouds again and again.

Tong Zhao didn't know how long he had slept so deeply. He lay facedown in the bedding, unable even to lift a finger, but he was so thirsty and desperately wanted a glass of water.

Then he felt someone gently turn his chin, and a soft touch and warm water came at the same time, as light as a cloud.

Tong Zhao murmured and fell asleep again.

Soon, a broad chest pressed against his back, and arms wrapped tightly around him. In the chill that swept through early November, it felt so hot and warm.

By the time Tong Zhao properly woke up, Shu Sizhuo was nowhere to be seen again. Weak and sore all over, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He had some difficulty urinating, and only then did he realize just how worn out he was.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

Tong Zhao silently counted the number of times, then looked at the countless marks covering his body in the mirror. After a long while, he cursed in some shock, "How did that bastard suddenly seem to learn..."

When he came out of the bathroom, Xiaoguang was already standing beside the table. "Good morning, Mr. Tong."

"Morning, Xiaoguang." Tong Zhao sat down listlessly at the dining table and looked at the steaming breakfast Xiaoguang had brought in: steamed buns, shumai, and hot soy milk. He couldn't help asking, "Did Shu Sizhuo go to work?"

"Yes, your incomparably handsome, devastatingly dashing husband, who's perfect for spending a lifetime with, has gone to work~"

"..."

Tong Zhao lowered his head and ate breakfast, counting the days in his mind. He had already been locked up for a week. How much longer did Shu Sizhuo intend to keep him here?

If Shu Sizhuo really could lock him up for the rest of his life, he would have nothing to say about it, but that was simply impossible.

Next summer, the system would take him away too.

Even if the system had a bug, when the time came and the tasker failed to return to his original world, the General Institute would send someone to search for him.

Since he would have to leave in the end anyway, he couldn't waste his time in this little dark room.

He could put Shi Ruohe's matter aside for now. After all, once filming wrapped, Shi Ruohe would have some money and opportunities. He probably wouldn't think of terminating his contract again. Step by step, in a year or two, Shi Ruohe would become a film emperor.

It was just that Tong Zhao hadn't completed the task assigned by the system. When he returned to the General Institute, he would be punished and have his pay docked.

None of that mattered.

The most important thing now was Shu Sizhuo.

Shu Sizhuo's predetermined path was a business marriage, a wife and son, and a happy family. The alliance between two powerful families would also shake the economy of this small world.

But...

"You want me to get married? I won't. You want me to have children? I won't."

"What can you do about it?"

"You think you can make someone gay or straight just because you want to?"

"Then why did you come and stir up my feelings eight years ago?"

Chopsticks in hand, Tong Zhao stared blankly at the shumai on his plate.

Yes, Shu Sizhuo was right. It was all his fault. He bore the greatest responsibility for what Shu Sizhuo had become, and Shu Sizhuo had every reason to hate him.

But things had come to this, and he couldn't go on making the same mistake.

Perhaps he could only... perhaps he could only leave...

Leave this world...

No, no, no. He had left for eight years and become Shu Sizhuo's obsession. He had to leave this room first and worry about the rest afterward.

But the system had a bug, and he couldn't contact it at all. How could he get in touch with the outside world?

Or...

Or could he try begging Shu Sizhuo again?

Shu Sizhuo came back very late again that day. Tong Zhao was nearly asleep under the covers when the door finally opened.

It must have gotten colder outside. Shu Sizhuo brought a chill with him when he came close, and his overcoat was a little damp.

Tong Zhao opened his eyes, his black hair and dark eyes making his skin look especially fair. He sat up and, for once, didn't lose his temper at Shu Sizhuo. "You're back?"

At those words, Shu Sizhuo's heart gave a sudden, sharp throb.

Then he opened his arms and embraced Tong Zhao. "Mm, I'm back," he said in a low, husky voice.

Tong Zhao let him hold him, and his obedient manner pleased Shu Sizhuo.

Shu Sizhuo thought he had taken good care of Tong Zhao the day before, that Tong Zhao had felt the pleasure of doing that sort of thing and was no longer opposed to staying here, by his side.

When Shu Sizhuo went to shower, he couldn't wait to carry Tong Zhao into the bathroom with him.

As he held Tong Zhao against the wall and kissed him, Tong Zhao felt the bandage around his left wrist.

The black bandage was wrapped around his forearm in layers.

While Shu Sizhuo nipped at his neck, Tong Zhao panted and asked, "Why are you wearing a bandage?"

Shu Sizhuo paused briefly, then said casually, "My muscles have been hurting a little lately."

His muscles hurt?

Tong Zhao wanted to ask more, but Shu Sizhuo covered his mouth with a kiss.

Soon, steam filled the bathroom, and amid the splashing water came a stirring melody of rising and falling sounds.