Page 47

Xin Chun watched Owen approach, reach out to embrace him, lower his head, and try to kiss him.

Xin Chun turned his head aside and avoided him. The kiss missed, about to land on his cheek.

Owen paused. His dark green eyes were unfathomably deep, like a bottomless lake. He stared intently at Xin Chun, his voice low. "You don't want me to kiss you?"

"It's work hours," Xin Chun said. "The company isn't a place for this."

But Owen held him even tighter. Xin Chun struggled, but could not break free. He looked up at Owen. "How long do you intend to hold me?"

"If I could, I'd hold you like this forever," Owen said.

One hand clamped tightly around Xin Chun's waist while the other gripped his chin, leaving him no room to move. Owen lowered his head in an irresistible posture, pried open his lips, and thrust his tongue deeply into his throat.

Xin Chun made two muffled sounds and gradually became immersed, able only to follow Owen's rhythm. His neck was firmly held in Owen's palm, like trapped prey.

Only after a long while was the prey released.

Xin Chun panted as he came back to himself, then immediately shoved Owen away. He wiped the damp corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at him, but there was no intimidation in the look. Instead, his eyes were moist, making him seem even more tempting to bully.

"You called me here just to do this?"

Owen gazed at him. "No. I have something to ask you."

"What?" Xin Chun asked.

Owen curled one hand behind Xin Chun's ear and slowly stroked the outer rim and earlobe as he spoke unhurriedly. "What did you and Duan Wei talk about alone in Y Country?"

"In the glasshouse in the garden."

Xin Chun abruptly raised his head. "You saw us? You followed me?"

Owen said, "It was only a coincidence. Don't think of me that way. I wouldn't deny you even that little freedom."

Xin Chun said, "We didn't talk about anything. She's from Hua Country and hasn't been back for a long time, so she just chatted with me."

"Is that so?" Owen's fingers paused. His attitude was neither confirming nor denying as his deep eyes fixed on Xin Chun.

Xin Chun said, "Believe it or not. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."

With that, Xin Chun tried to leave the office. But the moment he turned around, Owen tightly embraced him again, locking an arm around his waist from behind. His lips bit at Xin Chun's neck as he said in a low voice, "We're dating, Xin Chun. Stop testing my patience, and don't leave me or betray me."

"I'm giving you freedom now because I love you."

Do you understand how I feel about you?

Owen sucked at a patch of skin as though he were a beast biting down on his prey's throat, refusing to let go.

Xin Chun grabbed Owen's hair with one hand and pulled it back, frowning with his lips pressed together. "It hurts. Don't."

Owen withdrew accordingly, pressed a hand against Xin Chun's shoulder, and turned him back around.

Xin Chun said, "Do you think I'd be interested in an old woman?"

Instead of retreating, he stepped closer. A faint smile curved his lips as he imitated Owen, reaching one hand behind him to press against Owen's neck and push down slightly. "Dating you doesn't mean I like people older than me, understand? Besides..."

Xin Chun's hand moved to the front again, slowly stroking Owen's cheek. He lifted his eyes in apparent provocation. "Don't forget, I agreed to date you because you offered to sell me part of the company's shares."

"Otherwise, why would I have agreed?"

No emotion showed on Owen's face. "Now that you have the company shares, do you want to go back on your word?"

Xin Chun said, "Go back on my word? No. That had been my original plan—date for a while, then break up—but I've changed my mind now."

"You seem like you can't live without me. What should we do? It's quite interesting..."

Xin Chun did not notice that when he said, "date for a while, then break up," Owen's eyes flickered. For an instant, they darkened with a shadowy gloom and surged with danger.

The next moment, Owen lifted Xin Chun's chin again, pinched the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and kissed him fiercely. His other arm locked down Xin Chun's struggling arm.

This time, he did not let him off lightly.

The office door was tightly locked, and the soundproofing was excellent. Ivy returned after finishing her work and saw that the door was still shut. She knocked, but no one answered from inside.

Unable to help feeling puzzled, she called out, "Boss?"

Before long, Owen's voice came from within. "What is it?"

Ivy said, "The minutes for the meeting later have been compiled. Would you like to look them over first?"

Owen said, "Leave them there. There's no rush."

"Okay," Ivy said.

She was about to turn and leave after speaking, but she seemed to hear some movement from inside the office. When she listened more closely, there was nothing. It was probably just her imagination. Ivy shook her head and walked away in her high heels.

Inside the office, Xin Chun was pressed down on the desk by Owen. Everything had been swept aside, and the broad, tidy desktop was more than enough to support Xin Chun's body.

Owen's expensive suit was spread underneath him, already wrinkled beyond recognition.

A fountain pen on the desk rolled from the vibrations, slowly reaching the edge. Then, after a violent jolt, it instantly rolled off.

Xin Chun's legs had originally been hooked over Owen's arm. His eyes were damp, and then he was turned over and laid facedown on the desk. Between his legs, it hurt and was red, accompanied by an unbearable, strange sensation.

A long time later, Xin Chun slowly walked out of the office. When he passed Ivy's workstation, he paused. Just as he was about to keep his head down and hurry past her, Ivy's sharp ears caught the sound, and she looked up.

That look said not a single word, yet conveyed everything. Xin Chun returned in a fluster, his face burning red.

Not long afterward, Ivy entered the office after knocking to report on work. When she saw Owen, she could not help raising an eyebrow. "Boss, do you need a bandage?"

The obvious bite mark on his neck could not be concealed by his collar alone.

Owen said, "No. What is it?"

Ivy shrugged. Fine, if he did not need one, then so be it. She began reporting on her work.

Xin Chun returned to his seat and covered his burning face. That did not seem enough, so he lay facedown on the desk, burying his face between his arms. His heart was beating wildly.

From now on, he truly would never be able to look directly at that desk in Owen's office again.