Late at night, the residential complex was unusually quiet. Cheng Yue pulled free of the arms around him and promptly demonstrated how quickly he could turn on someone.
"All right, you should go now."
He had no idea why this man had appeared here at this hour, but that hardly stopped him from burning his bridges the moment he no longer needed them.
Ji Huaijin didn't mind his usual tricks in the slightest. He reached up to straighten the collar that had slipped to one side and asked pointedly, "Is the shirt comfortable?"
Under the yellow streetlights, the royal-blue shirt shimmered with rippling silver, like water beneath the moon.
Only then did Cheng Yue remember that he was still monopolizing the man's clothes, and a trace of embarrassment crept onto his burning cheeks.
He feigned composure, brushing the hair over his forehead to hide the unease in his eyes. "It's all right."
A soft chuckle drifted through the breeze. Embarrassment turning to anger, Cheng Yue raised his voice. "Don't tell me you came over in the middle of the night just to get your shirt back?"
This time, Ji Huaijin genuinely couldn't help laughing, amusement lingering at the corners of his eyes. "What if I said I did?"
Fuck! I knew he couldn't be that nice! Caught him out, didn't I?
Furious, Cheng Yue started unbuttoning the shirt. "Here! Who wants your stupid shirt anyway?"
He hadn't undone even half the buttons before his raised hands were caught, stopping him from stripping naked out in the open.
"I'd rather not get hauled in by the police."
Cheng Yue shook off his hand and gritted his teeth. "Then what do you want me to do?"
With one hand in his pocket, Ji Huaijin gazed meaningfully into those brown eyes. "Let's go upstairs first."
Just great. Is he that worried I'll run off with his shirt?
Cheng Yue turned indignantly and stomped toward the building entrance.
The early-summer night sky glittered with light.
A breeze brushed aside the man's soft hair, revealing the tempest surging in his eyes.
Cheng Yue practically held his breath all the way to his front door, an inexplicable anger churning in his chest.
Without even bothering to turn on the lights, he quickly undid the buttons, turned, balled up the shirt, and hurled it straight into Ji Huaijin's face.
"Here! Now get the hell out!"
Or don't blame me if I kill you to shut you up!
The smooth silk carried a faint fragrance. Ji Huaijin let the shirt slide down his face, then reached up and caught it just before it fell.
His long lashes lifted, revealing a deep, dark gaze.
Then the light from the hallway was mercilessly shut outside.
Through the narrowing gap, a flash of utter astonishment seemed to cross Cheng Yue's eyes.
He had let a wolf into his home.
The living room's sheer curtains stood open on either side of the window. A light suddenly came on in one of the windows opposite, only to go dark again less than two minutes later.
The fabric sofa cradled his back, its stuffy, airless feel leaving Cheng Yue restless.
He tried to shift his body, searching for an opening to catch his breath, but forgot that the royal-blue shirt bound his wrists, denying him what he wanted.
Just as Cheng Yue was about to reach his limit, a large hand with bulging veins pressed against his neck, applying a little pressure and ruthlessly stealing what little breath he had left.
Blinding white light swept through his mind, and the smooth sofa cover was clenched into tight wrinkles.
The next second, a finger hooked beneath his stylish collar and tugged him upright.
The evening breeze stirred the drifting sheer curtains and restored Cheng Yue's right to breathe.
Ji Huaijin leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the red mole beneath his eye, murmuring tenderly.
"How are you so beautiful, hmm?"
Cheng Yue recovered what little reason he had left. Tilting his head back with a muffled groan, he said haltingly, "If you've got the guts... untie me!"
Ji Huaijin chuckled, but his movements were swift and decisive. His thumb rubbed the Adam's apple beneath the collar until it flushed red, and even then he couldn't bear to stop.
"Royal blue suits you. Be good and let it stay on you a little longer."
Was that something a human being would say?!
The sweeping invasion came crashing over him, and Cheng Yue's reason instantly vanished, his gaze turning hazy and unfocused.
In a world of pleasure, there was no need to heed tangled thoughts. All he needed to do was surrender without restraint and revel in sheer bliss.
Ji Huaijin hooked the royal-blue shirt over his shoulder, then rose with a flex of his waist and abdomen.
"Hold on tight. I'm taking you to the bedroom."
Cheng Yue's abdominal muscles tightened into beautiful lines. He clenched his teeth, swallowing the broken sounds as his fingers gripped hard.
The leather necklace wasn't unfastened until Ji Huaijin left. Cheng Yue slept soundly, completely unaware that he had been made to lose another piece of equipment.
When he opened his eyes again, the golden sunset hung low on the horizon, poised to fall.
Cheng Yue first moved his body a little and discovered that, apart from some soreness, nothing else was wrong.
Every sign seemed to suggest that he had already grown accustomed to certain things.
With a long, despairing sigh, Cheng Yue draped a hand over his eyes, unwilling to face that shameful fact.
Daylight gradually thinned, and the crescent moon played hide-and-seek.
The apartment was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the darkness of the night before.
Cheng Yue had just stepped out of the bathroom when he heard someone knocking at the door.
"Who is it?"
His first thought was Ji Huaijin. After all, very few people knew where he lived.
"Hello, food delivery."
Cheng Yue's hesitant footsteps paused. Ignoring the little twinge of disappointment in his heart, he opened the door with an unchanged expression.
"I didn't order anything. Have you got the wrong address?"
The delivery guy checked the order. "No, this is the right address."
He delivered to this complex all the time. There was no way he'd made a mistake.
Cheng Yue frowned. That was indeed his address.
Before he could figure it out, the delivery guy continued, "Apartment 803, entrance two, building 7C, Splendid China Garden. Mr. Ji, phone number ending in 7783. Is that you?"
"..."
Mystery solved.
Cheng Yue silently cursed the man for not even letting him know, but his expression immediately relaxed, and his voice grew a little lighter.
"Sorry, my... friend must have ordered it for me."
The delivery guy was in a hurry to get to his next order, so he didn't complain. He handed everything over and hurried away.
Judging by the outer packaging, it was a meal order. Cheng Yue took out the containers one by one, and before long, they covered half the coffee table.
Cheng Yue stared, dumbfounded. "...Is he trying to feed a pig?"
That was what he thought, and exactly what he sent in accusation.
In the time it took him to sip some soup, the reply arrived.
[Not feeding a pig. Feeding Orange.]
Cheng Yue: "!"
[Don't call me that! And how did you find out about that name?]
Far away overseas, Ji Huaijin had just stepped off a plane. He handed his suitcase to his assistant, and as he imagined Cheng Yue flailing furiously, an unconscious smile curved his lips, instantly dispelling the weariness around his eyes.
[Eat properly. Wait for me to come back.]
Pah! Who's waiting for you?
Cheng Yue glared furiously at the chat window and fired off more than a dozen reaction stickers in a rapid burst.
A knife slid back and forth against a little white cat's neck. Ji Huaijin couldn't help laughing. He typed a few words and sent them, then put away his phone and got into the car his assistant had opened for him.
[Next time, I'll treat Orange to navel oranges.]
The innocent Cheng Yue was utterly bewildered. "What does that mean? Is he making fun of me?!"
Before you continue