First kiss

Their breaths came hot and uneven, and the angle at which Shen Lian had tipped his head back was a little uncomfortable.

Then Chu Yilan wrapped an arm around his waist, nearly circling it with one arm. So slim, Chu Yilan thought, and lifted Shen Lian with a firm pull.

Now their eyes were level. Shen Lian slid his fingers into Chu Yilan's hair. It had grown a little longer, prickling against his palm in a strangely thrilling way.

Shen Lian let Chu Yilan kiss his neck, a low, sultry laugh spilling from his lips.

Zheng Ge naturally heard it and stopped outside the storage room.

He had watched Chu Yilan come in, and this was the only room with anyone inside.

Chu Yilan pinched Shen Lian's waist, drawing a muffled moan from him.

This time, the sound was even clearer, and it was obvious what they were doing. Zheng Ge froze, his cheeks instantly turning crimson. But he was curious, too. Who was in there...

Zheng Ge actually reached out and knocked. "Is anyone there?"

You motherfucker!

Shen Lian's temper flared. He was just about to curse when Chu Yilan suddenly kicked the door with a thunderous bang, sending the person outside fleeing in fright.

Now they really were alone. Still breathing unevenly, Shen Lian laughed and asked, "Aren't you worried about hurting Zheng Ge's feelings?"

Chu Yilan caught his lips in a kiss, unwilling to listen to his nonsense.

They drifted through a haze of passion, their souls meeting at the farthest edge of the world's wilderness. With nothing held back, they unleashed all their longing, then leaped from a dizzying height in each other's arms.

After an indeterminate stretch of time, Chu Yilan released Shen Lian.

Shen Lian could barely stand and had to lean against him.

"Chu Yilan."

"Hmm?"

"Don't treat me like an object. No testing me out, and no chasing novelty."

"..."

Shen Lian said, "Try loving me."

Chu Yilan wanted to say something to Shen Lian face-to-face, but Shen Lian's legs kept giving out. After steadying him several times, he finally realized something was wrong. He freed one hand to cup Shen Lian's face and asked with a frown, "What's wrong?"

"I've got no strength." Shen Lian didn't understand it either. He tried moving his fingertips, which felt numb and tingly. "Master Chu, I think my blood sugar's a little low."

At that, Chu Yilan scooped Shen Lian into his arms and strode upstairs.

On the way, every part of Shen Lian went limp except his stubborn mouth. He kept insisting to Chu Yilan that this was because he hadn't eaten dinner and had nothing to do with kissing. He was a stud, a total beast! Seven rounds a night were as easy as drinking soup.

Chu Yilan glanced down at Shen Lian as though committing that claim to memory.

Shen Lian's scalp immediately prickled, and he finally went quiet.

The hotel was a joint venture between Zhou Yuanlin's family and two other families, so it was hardly surprising that Chu Yilan had a room here.

A server soon brought food: steaming rice porridge and several light, tasty side dishes, followed by a pile of sweets.

Shen Lian ate a piece of chocolate mousse first. After a few minutes, he seemed to feel a little better.

He leaned back in the soft chair, swallowing the porridge one spoonful at a time.

Looking at his pale face, Chu Yilan felt his temper rise. "Are you a child? Do you need someone watching over you just to make sure you eat?"

Shen Lian sighed. "You just stole my first kiss, and now you're turning on me."

Chu Yilan: "..."

When he received no answer, Shen Lian suddenly looked at him. "Master Chu, that was your first kiss too, wasn't it?!"

Chu Yilan said, "Eat your food!"

Shen Lian was utterly delighted.

For people like Feng Yueshan and Zhou Yuanlin, a first kiss meant nothing. With their status, who bothered with such innocent notions anymore? But Chu Yilan was different. His experiences made it impossible for him to get close to just anyone.

After eating, some color gradually returned to Shen Lian's face, but he was still exhausted. Chu Yilan carried him to the bed. "Get some sleep."

Shen Lian jolted. "I need to make more connections."

"I'm a connection." Chu Yilan tucked him in, his movements firm enough to leave Shen Lian no chance to refuse. "Forget those random companies. Come to Xingkai."

Xingkai was one of the businesses under Chu Yilan's name.

"Then I'd be getting in through the back door." Shen Lian grumbled, "That doesn't fit my independent, self-made leading-man persona."

"If you don't make money, I'll kick you out, leading man." Chu Yilan continued, "And didn't you find this connection yourself? It's settled. Go to sleep. I'll come get you when the banquet ends."

Shen Lian instantly gave up resisting. Before his consciousness faded, he still struggled to shout at Chu Yilan, "Master Chu, I'll make you a fortune!"

Chu Yilan watched Shen Lian quietly for a long while before leaving the room.

Although forty minutes had passed in all, Feng Yueshan and Zhou Yuanlin surrounded Chu Yilan the moment he returned to the banquet hall.

Feng Yueshan looked utterly incredulous, as though he had seen a ghost. "Who were you messing around with?"

Chu Yilan still tried to put up a fight. "I have no idea what nonsense you're talking about."

"Nonsense?!" Feng Yueshan nearly jumped. He pointed at Chu Yilan's lips for Ning Sixian to see, as though he had caught him red-handed. "If that wasn't from kissing someone, I'll eat Zhou Yuanlin alive."

Zhou Yuanlin said, "Fuck off!"

Ning Sixian was surprised too, but only that Chu Yilan had actually gone this far. As for who it was with, he had figured that out long ago.

"Yueshan, calm down," Ning Sixian said. "Don't you know perfectly well who Master Chu's been keeping by his side?"

Who? Feng Yueshan blanked for a moment, then thought of something, his eyes widening steadily.

"Shen... Shen Lian..." Feng Yueshan looked around as he spoke. "Right, where's Shen Lian?!"

"He's resting. Stop screeching," Chu Yilan replied. A faint smile lingered on his face, making his good mood obvious.

"No, man, that's Shen Lian." Feng Yueshan almost wondered if his friend had been possessed. "You could have anyone you wanted. I thought you kept Shen Lian around to amuse yourself. How did you get serious?"

"I wasn't playing," Chu Yilan said.

That one sentence silenced all three men opposite him.

"But..." Feng Yueshan simply couldn't understand it. "What about that young master from the Lin family who showed an interest in you a while back? Wasn't he good enough?"

"He was all right. Is he as good-looking as Shen Lian?" Chu Yilan countered.

Feng Yueshan instinctively wanted to argue, but remembering how Shen Lian had looked tonight, he couldn't get the words out. Instead, he remarked flatly, "So you're a sucker for a pretty face?"

Chu Yilan merely smiled.

So that was it. Understanding dawned on Feng Yueshan. Now there was a reasonable explanation for Chu Yilan's unusual behavior tonight.

These two had been acting out a secret-agent romance right under their noses!

Across the crowd, Zheng Ge stared blankly at Chu Yilan. He was certain now that one of the people in the storage room earlier had been Chu Yilan.

An hour later, Chu Yilan went upstairs. By then, Shen Lian was awake.

They took the elevator straight down to the underground parking garage. Shen Lian had just gotten into the car when Zhou Tangsi came down with Zheng Ge. As luck would have it, their car was parked right opposite.

The instant Zhou Tangsi saw Chu Yilan, he reacted as though facing a deadly enemy, pushing Zheng Ge behind him.

Shen Lian saw it all clearly through the window and cursed under his breath, "Fucking idiot!"