I Was a First-Timer Too

At those words, Wen Chengze's face immediately darkened.

His voice turned colder as well. "Mr. Zhong, you have business dealings with the Wen Household, and I respect you for that. But please show me some respect too. I'm not someone you can toy with whenever you please."

It was not as though he placed much importance on his first time, but after growing up all these years, he truly had little interest in that sort of thing. He had barely even done it himself.

So what gave Zhong Mohan the right to casually say such filthy things to his face?

Seeing that Wen Chengze's expression had changed, Zhong Mohan realized his joke had gone too far.

He quickly apologized. "Sorry. I just wanted to tease you. Don't be angry."

Wen Chengze still ignored him.

Zhong Mohan moved closer helplessly. "That night was my first time too."

Wen Chengze's eyes widened as he looked at Zhong Mohan, surprise filling his beautiful eyes. That man had clearly been gentle and patient that night; Wen Chengze had barely felt any pain.

"Then why are you still so careless with your words?" For some reason, hearing Zhong Mohan's explanation strangely soothed Wen Chengze's emotions.

Zhong Mohan was taken aback by the question as well.

He was not particularly close to others in ordinary life, but his upbringing made him a gentleman at the very least. He always knew when to advance and when to retreat. Why had he said such things in front of a boy so much younger than himself?

The two looked at each other. Wen Chengze's lashes trembled as he recalled the indescribable look this man had given him before. Compared to that, the man before him was restrained to the extreme.

Wen Chengze was the first to break eye contact. "No matter your reasons, please mind your words and actions in the future."

As he spoke, Wen Chengze thought to himself that if this man did not have business dealings with his Household and was not the current head of the Zhong Household, he would not even bother acknowledging him.

Looking at Wen Chengze's profile, Zhong Mohan gave a quiet hum after a long while.

The people chatting animatedly nearby suddenly turned their attention to the two silent men.

"We're all about to start playing cards. Why are you two still sitting over there doing nothing? There's no party atmosphere at all." As Lu Wen spoke, his gaze shifted back and forth between them.

By his estimate, the distance between that boy and Zhong Mohan had already far exceeded Zhong Mohan's personal boundary. That was Zhong Mohan's absolute territory—he did not even allow his assistant that close.

This boy was interesting.

Zhong Mohan cleared his throat softly. "What are we playing?"

"Just a regular card game. No truth or dare. Whoever loses drinks."

Wen Chengze grumbled inwardly, Of course we don't need to play truth or dare. You've already tricked all the answers out of us.

For that reason, Wen Chengze gave Zhong Mohan another nickname: old fox.

They were friends, after all. Their personalities could not be that different if they got along so well.

Zhong Mohan had no objections. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Order a few more bottles of alcohol. It's on me tonight. And order a glass of milk too—make it hot."

"Whoa, the great Best Actor Zhong is treating us? Then we have to fleece you properly. Don't hold back, either. Order the expensive stuff." It was not hard to tell from his tone just how difficult it was to get Zhong Mohan to treat them.

As for Wen Chengze's group, they were all somewhat embarrassed. They got along well enough, and they could afford a few bottles of alcohol, but was it really appropriate to let Best Actor Zhong buy them drinks?

"Oh, what are you hesitating for? Once we drink together tonight, we'll be friends from now on. There'll be plenty of chances to get together later, but not many chances to fleece him."

With just a few words, he had coaxed those innocent boys into ordering quite a lot of alcohol. Only the hot milk sat steadily in front of Wen Chengze.

"I want alcohol." Wen Chengze gritted his teeth.

They were all adults. Everyone else was drinking while he drank milk—what was that supposed to be?

Zhong Mohan turned to him with a smile. "Your body's too weak. You shouldn't drink."

If there had not been so many people around, Wen Chengze would have bitten Zhong Mohan. But he certainly could not do something like that now.

He could only lower his head and take a sip of milk, viciously biting down on the straw.

"Aren't we playing cards? Let's begin." Ignoring everyone else's appraising looks, Zhong Mohan spoke lazily.

"Right! Let's go!"

During the card game, several of them could not help gossiping. The main culprits were Lu Wen, with Yu Zixu as his accomplice.

"When did you two meet? We've been brothers with Best Actor Zhong for so many years, so how come we've never seen someone this beautiful?" Yu Zixu was a playboy, and he was only somewhat restrained around Zhong Mohan. But even that could not suppress his curiosity.

More importantly, he had never seen any woman or man around Zhong Mohan who might have had a special relationship with him.

"We met at a banquet. I hadn't been back in the country for long." Wen Chengze answered voluntarily. Then he looked at the cards in his hand and called his bet.

"No wonder. We thought Best Actor Zhong couldn't bear to let us see someone so beautiful."

Wen Chengze narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing more.

After one round, unfortunately, the loser was Yu Zixu, who had talked the most.

"Oh, come on! None of you can ever beat me normally, so why are you all suddenly so good today?" He cracked a joke, then readily downed a glass.

Only then did Wen Chengze curl his lips in satisfaction.

Zhong Mohan, who had been watching him from the corner of his eye, had a faint smile flash through his eyes as well. Little fox. He always got even.

Wen Chengze was not flustered at all. Calling a boy pretty or beautiful—wasn't that dancing in a minefield?

The game continued. Over the next few rounds, no one kept focusing on the two of them. They discussed other topics normally, while Wen Chengze looked at his cards and stopped playing tricks.

But man proposed, and fate disposed. This round, Wen Chengze happened to lose.

Looking at the cards in his hand, Wen Chengze was still a little dazed.

But a loss was a loss, and he had no intention of backing out. He reached for a wineglass.

A distinct, bony hand took the glass before he could. "You can't drink. Since I brought you here, I'll drink for you." The alcohol in the glass was drained in one gulp.

"Best Actor Zhong can really hold his liquor!"

"Whoa!"

"Brother Zhong, I want you to drink for me too."

"So manly!"

Zhong Mohan's friends were uninhibited in private and used to teasing one another. As for Wen Chengze's friends, their admiration for Best Actor Zhong grew even stronger.

He was such a gentleman!!!

Cheng Liang, who had been a step too slow, could only regret it silently. He had wanted to drink for Xiao Ze too!

But no one thought too deeply about it. Best Actor Zhong's image as a man free from worldly desires was firmly established, and Wen Chengze had only recently returned to the country. There was no way these two could have gotten involved. At most, Zhong Mohan thought Wen Chengze was young and wanted to take care of him.

As Zhong Mohan poured himself another drink, he smiled and cursed at his awful friends. "Get lost! Keep playing."