Deliberately, Aren't You?

The humid heat of their breaths, the dim yellow light—the atmosphere grew increasingly intimate.

Watching Wen Chengze's movements, Zhong Mohan pinched his palm and summoned tremendous willpower. "No need."

Wen Chengze's body stiffened at being stopped, disbelief flashing through his eyes.

"No need?" His voice was a little hoarse, but the disbelief in it reached the man across from him loud and clear.

Wen Chengze pursed his lips. "If you reject me this time, you might not get such a good opportunity again."

A flicker of struggle crossed Zhong Mohan's features. In the end, he still took Wen Chengze's hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a light kiss to it.

"Right now, I'm the one pursuing you. If you need help, I can help you, but you don't need to help me. That would be disrespectful to you. No matter what form it takes, I can't bear to."

His voice was thick with desire, yet he was speaking of the purest feelings. In that instant, Wen Chengze was completely stunned.

He turned over and lay on his side beside Zhong Mohan.

He watched Zhong Mohan pull out a wet wipe from the bedside table and clean his fingers. What was on them had been left by him.

This time, he truly had been the one who felt good.

But someone like Zhong Mohan, practically standing above countless others, had actually gone this far for him. If he claimed he wasn't moved, even he wouldn't believe it.

He admitted that he had meant to test Zhong Mohan just now.

If Zhong Mohan had said there was something at home and hadn't stopped, he wouldn't have thought much of it. After all, it took two people for that sort of thing, and since they were both men, neither of them was really losing out. But at the same time, he would have unhesitatingly shut Zhong Mohan out of his world.

He was selfish to the extreme. Either he wouldn't date at all, or, if he truly did date, his lover had to have eyes only for him and put him first in everything, even against his own wishes. When Zhong Mohan had stopped just now, he had already been pleasantly surprised, so he had wanted to reward him. But he hadn't expected Zhong Mohan to do far more than he could have imagined.

He had even refused to do that sort of thing. Setting everything else aside, on this matter alone, Zhong Mohan had completely bowed his head before him.

Zhong Mohan's hand rested on Wen Chengze's back, stroking it again and again as he tried to calm his own agitation.

"Zhong Mohan." Compared to his soft voice from before, this call was absolutely calm to the extreme.

Yet Zhong Mohan felt no discomfort at all. Instead, he became excited.

His beloved was calling his name in his own bed. Who could withstand that kind of stimulation? Zhong Mohan, at least, proved through his actions that all his previous efforts to calm down had gone to waste.

Still, he softened his voice. "What is it, Zeze?"

Wen Chengze said calmly, "Do you really want to pursue me?"

"Mm. After all this, how could it be fake?"

Although Zhong Mohan had no intention of overstepping with Wen Chengze, their bodies were pressed very close together. No matter what, some natural reactions were impossible to avoid.

A trace of unease crossed Wen Chengze's face. He coughed lightly. "Then you'd better be prepared. I'm a very selfish person. Even if you're only pursuing me, I won't allow you to have unclear relationships with anyone else. I have a bad temper, so you'll have to tolerate me. I have plenty of bad habits too, so you'll have to indulge me. You can't argue with what I say. Whatever I do, you can only help me—you can't go against me."

He said all that, but his gaze never left Zhong Mohan. He knew how harsh and willful his demands were, but this was his bottom line. If someone couldn't do those things, he would rather be alone. It wasn't as if he lacked money; there was no need to make trouble for himself.

Zhong Mohan studied Wen Chengze. The little fox beside him seemed spoiled and willful, yet the fragility in his eyes made Zhong Mohan's heart ache. He was clearly a young master who had been doted on all his life, but once his hard shell was stripped away, he was as vulnerable as a fox cub that had been hurt by the whole world.

How could Zhong Mohan not feel for someone like Wen Chengze?

The hand behind Wen Chengze did not pause for even a moment.

"Zeze, what you said is the bare minimum a lover should do. If they can't even do that, what use is such a lover? You can be bolder. With me, you have immunity. There are no limits, as long as it's you."

Zhong Mohan's reaction far exceeded Wen Chengze's expectations. The paw he had cautiously extended hadn't been hurt at all. Instead, it had been wrapped in a soft blanket and treated with the utmost tenderness.

At that moment, Wen Chengze stopped resisting Zhong Mohan and nestled into his arms.

"I gave you a chance." Zhong Mohan heard the quiet murmur clearly.

He didn't understand why Xiao Ze, someone so stunning and so perfectly privileged, could be so lacking in confidence.

Everything he had said earlier had been nothing but a fierce front masking weakness. He was only using those words to warn himself that he wasn't someone worthy of love. But Zhong Mohan felt there was no one in the world better than Wen Chengze.

He had investigated every part of Wen Chengze's past. Wen Chengze had always been cold and ruthless toward those who pursued him, yet he had clearly treated Zhong Mohan differently. Zhong Mohan didn't know why, but since Zeze had given him a chance to get close, he would hold tightly onto him.

Zeze had finally extended a paw to test the world. Zhong Mohan would protect him well and never allow him to retreat again.

And thinking of what Wen Chengze had said just now, Zhong Mohan only found him adorable beyond measure. The other pursuers didn't even have a chance to take the stage, but Zeze had treated him entirely as his possession. That kind of special treatment was impossible not to make Zhong Mohan's heart stir.

Even if he was only a pursuer for now, Zhong Mohan was certain that the only person who would stand beside Wen Chengze in the future would be himself.

On a cold winter night, in the bedroom on the top floor of a luxury apartment, the beautiful pair slept in each other's arms.

This was also the first time Wen Chengze learned that having a warm body beside him in winter could feel so comfortable. He wasn't afraid of the cold, but this warmth seemed to soothe his heart, slowly nourishing places that had long since dried up.

In the morning, Wen Chengze was awakened by voices outside.

He frowned, then remembered that he had slept at Zhong Mohan's home last night. There were no clothes of his here, so Wen Chengze got straight out of bed, stood before the wardrobe, and looked through it. He found a black shirt and put it on. Too lazy to button the collar, he left it hanging loose, completely exposing his delicate collarbones.

As for pants, Wen Chengze considered the difference in size between himself and Zhong Mohan and decided not to make things difficult for himself.

He walked out of the bedroom barefoot, curious who could be making such a racket in Zhong Mohan's home so early in the morning.

On the living room sofa, Zhong Mohan sat calmly reading a magazine. Across from him, a man was animatedly talking away.

"Bro, you're seriously too unreasonable! You came here to live and cooked for yourself, yet you didn't let me come eat! Do you know the last time I ate something you made was five years ago?!"

"And yesterday, you went to the production crew not to pick me up, but to flirt with a beauty. That's so unfair!"

"I was the one who spotted the beauty first! How could you go and court him instead?!"

"I don't care. You have to compensate me—at least five sets of LEGO! Only then will I reluctantly consider not being mad at you."

Zhong Sirui talked until his mouth was dry. He picked up the glass on the coffee table and had just taken a sip when he caught sight of a flash of white from the corner of his eye. His gaze moved upward, and before he could swallow the water, he sprayed it straight out.

"You..."

Before Zhong Sirui could finish, he saw his cousin, who had been composed to the extreme just moments ago, stride quickly toward the beauty.

Before the beauty could say a word, his cousin swept him up in his arms and carried him back to the bedroom.

If he hadn't been mistaken just now, there had seemed to be a large number of kiss marks on Wen Chengze's neck!!!

It was known that the one who had taken Wen Chengze away last night was his cousin, and today, Wen Chengze had kiss marks on him.

Who had left them was obvious without saying.

Unable to resist, Zhong Sirui pinched himself. He felt like the world had turned fantastical.

Inside the bedroom, Wen Chengze obediently allowed Zhong Mohan to carry him to the bed.

"Where did you get those clothes?"

"From your wardrobe."

Zhong Mohan gritted his teeth and gave Wen Chengze's backside a light slap. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Hmm?"

Wen Chengze looked innocently at Zhong Mohan, as though he had absolutely no idea what Zhong Mohan was talking about.

Zhong Mohan sighed. What else could he do with the little ancestor he had brought upon himself except spoil him?

He picked up the slippers beside the bed and put them on Wen Chengze, then went to the wardrobe and took out another piece of clothing. "Wear this for now. I'll have someone bring over clothes later."

Wen Chengze leaned back slightly, one hand braced against the bed while the other rested on his thigh. The shirt slipped down from one shoulder with the motion, leaving that pale shoulder half exposed.

"I think I look pretty good dressed like this."

The lazy tone made Zhong Mohan's throat tighten, but he could only helplessly pull Wen Chengze's shirt back into place. "Don't tease me. My self-control really isn't that good."

"Huh? The head of the Zhong Household, hailed as the reincarnation of Liu Xiahui, doesn't even have this much self-control?"

A dark gleam passed through Zhong Mohan's eyes. "If you want to go out and see Zhong Sirui dressed like this, fine. But you can only sit on my lap."

Wen Chengze's expression froze. He obediently held out his arms and let Zhong Mohan dress him.

He could act like this in front of Zhong Mohan, but he still needed to save face in front of others. He had only wanted to tease Zhong Mohan just now. If he went out like this now... well, he still had his pride!!!

When they went back out, Zhong Sirui was still sitting dazedly on the sofa, looking as though he had suffered a devastating blow.

Seeing the two emerge together, he pointed at Wen Chengze, then at Zhong Mohan. "You, you... you two?"

Wen Chengze couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention, and Zhong Mohan had even less time for him. He whispered into Wen Chengze's ear, "I made breakfast for you. Go eat something first."

"Mm."

Zhong Sirui, who had been completely ignored: ...He felt his place in his cousin's heart was in grave danger!

Taking advantage of Zhong Mohan going into the kitchen, Zhong Sirui immediately jumped over to Wen Chengze's side. "What's going on with you two? Lovers? Or just a one-night stand?"

Wen Chengze folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Zhong Sirui, who was practically pressing his face up to his.

Before he could speak, a large hand had already grabbed Zhong Sirui by the collar. "Back off."