Love Someone, How Could You Bear to Watch Him Become a Trapped Beast

There were no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, nor any disputes between sisters-in-law.

Li Mao, who only had himself to feed, moved straight into Wan Fuqi's Barbie Dream Castle with his bags.

Having already spent seven days of a susceptible period together, cohabitation was not as suffocating as he had imagined.

The two had more or less come to understand each other's temperaments during that time, completing a rough adjustment period.

Besides, one was a hardened veteran who had struggled through society for years, while the other was a young master from a wealthy family who had seen every kind of monster and demon.

Unless one of them deliberately made things difficult, there really was no matter that required them to argue over who was right and who was wrong, which spared them plenty of fights.

Not to mention that when it came to bed, where their conflicts were greatest, Li Mao, who had made a fortune, simply spread his legs, shut his eyes, and truly treated his sugar-daddy boyfriend like a disobedient dog.

The method was not exactly honorable, but it worked surprisingly well.

Whenever that psychological suggestion took effect, Li Mao's tolerance for Wan Fuqi frolicking on top of him rose considerably.

Why bother arguing with a little beast that did not understand human speech?

Anyway, this "part-time job" of his let him eat and drink lavishly, live in a mansion, count money until his hands cramped, enjoy a devoted simp constantly trying to please him, and receive wholehearted service from a free stud whose pheromones matched his.

Why make things difficult for himself again over dignity that had already been trampled to pieces?

"What are you thinking about?"

Noticing that the person in his arms was somewhat absent-minded, Wan Fuqi tightened his arms around Alpha, pressed his forehead to Li Mao's nape, greedily inhaled the astringent scent of green apple, and asked softly, considerate as ever.

Li Mao, whose mind had already wandered into outer space, was pulled back by those words.

As if hiding something, he blinked several times before breaking free from the human shackles around him. He pulled away and sat against the headboard, then reached for the cigarette pack on the bedside table.

He skillfully pulled one out and held it between his lips. As he searched for a lighter, he answered Wan Fuqi's question in an offhand manner.

"Nothing. I just, just had a thought and was considering your fu-future career plans for you."

"Oh?" Wan Fuqi looked somewhat surprised.

He shifted over and rested his head on Li Mao's thigh, tilting his face up to study Alpha from this rarely seen angle.

"So what job does my darling think I'd be suited for in the future?"

"I think if you, if you made lamb-tail hotpot, you'd definitely be great at it."

Though eloquence was hardly a word that could be associated with Li Mao, he was pretty good at making homophonic puns.

After saying it, even he could not help laughing twice.

Over the past few days, he had figured out that as long as he did not touch Wan Fuqi's landmines by bringing up things like removing the mark or going their separate ways, he would not trigger this man's mad-dog tendencies.

Most of the time, Li Mao was actually the one who seemed more like the master.

Just as Li Mao had expected, Wan Fuqi did not get angry. Instead, he followed Li Mao's laughter and laughed too.

He liked seeing Li Mao so relaxed around him.

Natural, vivid, unrestrained.

This rose that he had uprooted, half-dead and stubbornly unwilling to show him any signs of life, was finally receiving rain and nourishment meant for it alone, beginning to grow again in his soil.

It was his, and it could only be his.

If even a single branch dared to stretch beyond the thorny fence, all it would receive was the cold, sharp bite of iron shears.

Li Mao's laughing face abruptly fell. He cursed under his breath, "Fuck! Why, why can't I find my lighter? Where the hell did I pu-put it? Have you seen it?"

When he wanted to smoke but could not find a light, that was when Li Mao was at his most restless and agitated.

If he could not get that cigarette into his mouth, his brain seemed to give up thinking. All his careful planning and endurance became worthless.

Just then, there came the crisp scrape of flint.

Click!

Li Mao lowered his head toward the sound.

A flickering, twisting flame pounced onto the cigarette paper between his lips.

The bitterness that could calm him instantly flooded his nostrils.

Behind the warm glow, Enigma's pale blue eyes were like glaciers melting in magma.

Scattered flecks made that twisted "love" tangible.

As their eyes met, Li Mao even forgot what he was supposed to do after lighting the cigarette.

His body moved entirely on muscle memory as he took a drag with the heat rising against his lips.

A moment later, his mouth, throat, and chest were all set ablaze.

Click.

Seeing that Li Mao had lit the cigarette, Wan Fuqi released the thumb pressing the lighter.

The flame went out, and everything returned to normal.

As though waking from a dream, Li Mao looked away. He shifted slightly to the side and began smoking with the cigarette held between two fingers.

Wan Fuqi casually tossed the lighter aside and explained, "When you took off your pants earlier, the lighter flew out of your pocket. I picked it up and put it on the bedside table on my side."

"Mm."

After responding, Li Mao glanced again at Wan Fuqi, who was resting on his thigh and looking up at him obediently, then looked away once more.

Only this time, after looking away, he raised his free hand and stroked Wan Fuqi's black hair, gently rubbing it as though rewarding a pet.

Once he treated the Enigma on his lap like a puppy, the pressure accumulated in Li Mao's heart indeed lessened considerably.

Wan Fuqi had no idea what prompted Li Mao's actions.

He narrowed his eyes, enjoying his lover's caress as he watched the smoke drift from Li Mao's slightly parted lips.

He seemed to especially love every wisp of smoke that wound around Li Mao's teeth and tongue before emerging.

Wan Fuqi felt that he ought to say something right now.

So he said, "Wifey, you're so beautiful."

Li Mao had only exhaled half the smoke from his latest drag when he was forced to stop short.

He lowered his eyes to look at Enigma, whose eyes shone brightly as he gazed up at him like an actual puppy. After three seconds of silence, he blew the remaining half-drag of smoke directly into Wan Fuqi's face.

"Id-idiot," he cursed.

After the smoke that had hit his face dispersed, Wan Fuqi was still smiling.

"Darling, I can't wait until I'm twenty-two. I want to marry you."

This time, Li Mao did not punish him with choking secondhand smoke. Instead, he chose to ignore him completely.

Wan Fuqi's smile gradually faded.

He asked stubbornly, "Li Mao, do you love me?"

Li Mao did not hesitate at all. He answered bluntly, "No."

Wan Fuqi asked again, "Then do you think I love you?"

Li Mao did not answer immediately. He slowly finished the last drag of his cigarette before looking into Wan Fuqi's blue eyes and answering seriously, "No."

The instant the answer was revealed, Wan Fuqi rose up, cupped Li Mao's face, and kissed him.

The white haze passing between their noses and lips was like what Li Mao had sensed in the firelight: steam born from magma and glaciers destroying each other.

Numbly, he closed his eyes and kissed him back.

No love.

If you loved someone, how could you bear to watch him become a trapped beast?