A Small Victory

Guo Lantai's shocking words were enough to infuriate anyone. He was disgusting on his own, yet he wanted to drag Cen Muxiao into it too. With one sentence, he left the big pig trotter with no way to continue.

Cen Muxiao gave him a long, hard look. Guo Lantai was not merely a little reckless—he was genuinely reckless, boldly hopping farther down the road to his own destruction.

Ever since Song Anning had entered, he had been stealing the spotlight. He truly caught people off guard, impossible to defend against!

Hah! Causing trouble, playing tricks, disgusting people—his methods were crude and vile, and his behavior was even more unbearable to watch!

The key was that he dared to mess around so openly right in front of him!

He could spout nonsense the moment he opened his mouth. Earlier, he had been shouting about ghosts and acting like he was scared, but now that he was pranking Song Anning, he had absolutely no reservations!

Even saliva had become a miracle disinfectant. His ability to talk utter nonsense truly broadened Cen Muxiao's horizons!

Was this really the son of business tycoon Guo Huaiyuan?

Had he really become this unruly?

If he had known Guo Lantai was like this, he never would have agreed to this marriage alliance!

"Outrageous!"

Cen Muxiao clamped down on his wrist, squeezing hard until he released Song Anning, then used the opportunity to shove him away, wishing he could get as far from Song Anning as possible.

Guo Lantai barely steadied himself, yet he was not angry. Deliberately ignoring Cen Muxiao's murderous glare, he rubbed his wrist and raised his brows at Song Anning. "If Mr. Song still feels uneasy, I can add another—"

"No need!"

Song Anning finally came back to his senses. His body stiffened as he quickly retreated several steps, completely guarded, as though some savage beast stood before him.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to have Guo Lantai sliced into a thousand pieces. He even had the urge to cut off his own fingers.

Getting Guo Lantai's nosebleed all over his hand had already been unlucky enough. Who would have thought Guo Lantai would spit saliva all over it too!

Song Anning felt as though his entire body had been contaminated!

If Cen Muxiao had not been right there, and if he had not needed to maintain his usual gentle and kind demeanor, would he have let Guo Lantai seize the chance to humiliate him in every possible way?

"Guo Lantai, shut up!"

Cen Muxiao could not bear to see Song Anning suffer any more grievance, so he sharply cut off Guo Lantai before he could continue.

Then he turned to Song Anning, his tone concerned. "Anning, are you all right?"

How could someone who had always cared so much about appearances and was somewhat of a germaphobe endure such treatment? Seeing Song Anning's fingers stretched stiffly, as though blood could no longer flow through them, Cen Muxiao could not help but feel distressed.

"Let me see your wound!"

He moved closer, wanting to change the subject, but Song Anning visibly jolted and refused. "The wound is fine. I'll just go back and wash up!"

Was he kidding? Guo Lantai was standing there grinning. Who knew whether, the moment Cen Muxiao came over, he might spit straight into his face? If that happened, Song Anning truly would not be able to go on living!

"Well, I'll be going back! You two... carry on!"

He looked at Cen Muxiao and barely forced out a smile, making his restraint and hurt perfectly clear.

He could not take it anymore. Song Anning felt as though he had been poisoned; he was uncomfortable all over. After calculating every possibility, he had never expected to lose the bait along with the fish, to die before achieving anything.

Still, leaving like this did not necessarily mean he had lost. Cen Muxiao had seen Guo Lantai's performance just now. That would only make him feel more sorry for Song Anning, the one who had suffered, and despise Guo Lantai even more in return.

With nothing left to linger over or worry about, Song Anning turned and left. Without pausing at all, he opened and shut the door, returned directly to his room, and plunged straight into the bathroom.

He needed to wash himself clean—clean himself from head to toe!

A quick battle, a quick decision! Watching the person who should not have appeared arrive full of anticipation and leave in disarray, Guo Lantai gave a small cheer inside.

Feeling a chilling gaze fall upon his face, Guo Lantai brazenly met it. "He said he was fine and left on his own. Why are you looking at me like that, sir?"

"You did that on purpose!"

"I was helping ease your troubles. Besides, sir, you wanted to do the same thing just now, didn't you? The method was just a little different. Saliva is saliva, no matter whose it is!"

Cen Muxiao: ...Was that merely a little different? The nature of it was completely different, all right? And had Guo Lantai done that because he had realized Cen Muxiao would suck the blood from Song Anning's wound?

"What twisted logic!"

"You find me disgusting? We've already kissed, and you didn't seem bothered then. Isn't Mr. Song's reaction a little excessive?"

Guo Lantai acted as if he had not heard the accusation. He had caused such a scene precisely to make them uncomfortable. He was not a good person in Cen Muxiao's eyes anyway, so being a little more excessive would hardly be surprising.

Cen Muxiao's face visibly darkened at those words. Guo Lantai really knew how to bring up the sorest subject. He could describe a one-sided forced kiss and stolen kiss as a mutually affectionate kiss—just how thick was his skin, to actually say such a thing aloud?

What upset him most was that it had been his first kiss, stolen just like that by such a shameless bastard!

Yet as he thought that, his gaze inadvertently fell upon Guo Lantai's lightly pressed lips again, and he had no choice but to admit that what had angered and repulsed him at the time had not actually been Guo Lantai's kiss. It had been that uncontrollable, provocative act. He had feared it would make Song Anning misunderstand, thinking that someone else was already in his heart.

That was all!

"Stop changing the subject. I'm warning you again: what happens between Song Anning and me is not your concern. And he is not someone you can touch whenever you please. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself!"

The tyrannical CEO Cen was finally putting on his threatening act again. Guo Lantai did not care in the slightest. Of course, he would not touch him casually. He would deal with that foul little green tea properly.

Today had merely been an insignificant covert confrontation, a small victory. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. In order to preserve his beautiful white moonlight image, Song Anning would only make moves behind the scenes.

But Guo Lantai was different. His skin was thick. He could set traps in secret and challenge him openly. He would see how long Song Anning could keep pretending!

Still, now that things had come to this, Guo Lantai was willing to leave the big pig trotter a little dignity. He immediately put on an expression of humble acceptance. "Mr. Cen is right to reprimand me. I'll be more mindful of my boundaries in the future."

What those boundaries were would still be for him to decide!

"Mm."

Cen Muxiao was barely satisfied. Seeing that the cotton ball in Guo Lantai's nostril was no longer stained red, he began ushering him out. "You're fine now. Go back to your room too!"

Song Anning had already left, so he certainly could not leave Guo Lantai alone in the room. Otherwise, who knew what he might misunderstand? It would be impossible to explain clearly afterward.

Yet upon hearing this, Guo Lantai shamelessly turned around and, with two swift motions, undid the buttons of his shirt again, exposing his smooth back. Pointing behind himself, he said, "Look at this before I go!"

Cen Muxiao: ...His memory was really good. He had not forgotten about this after all!

Taking a deep breath, and in order to send this demon away as quickly as possible, the tyrannical CEO swallowed the word "get out" that was about to leave his mouth and leaned forward slightly.

There was an irregular red mark on each side of Guo Lantai's back, the centers tinged with bruised purple. He had clearly struck something.

"The ghosts you encountered were certainly unusual."

After teasing him, Cen Muxiao went straight to the medical kit to find medicine for bruises.

"Mm, one dragon and one phoenix, and also..." Big pig trotter!

Still unaware that he himself was the culprit, Cen Muxiao found a tube of ointment and tossed it directly into Guo Lantai's arms. "Take it back and use it. Go now!"

"I can't reach it!"

"..."

"I really can't reach it!"

"..."

Cen Muxiao ground his teeth. Guo Lantai really was pushing his luck!