You can only look at me

The little incident on the top floor was nothing compared to the "young master." It was like being offered juicy gossip and discovering your best friend might be filthy rich at the same time-which one mattered more?

A sprawling apartment at Blue Sky No. 1, a seven-figure luxury car, a professorship at Kyoto University, and now, apparently, the son of Ding Sheng Lou's owner.

Cheng Yue shakily hugged himself. "Young master, if I've offended you in any way, please be magnanimous and forgive me. This lowly servant failed to recognize your greatness."

So he really did come from money. Pumpkin and millet porridge had indeed been beneath the young master.

Caught between laughter and exasperation, Ji Huaijin flicked his forehead. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Cheng Yue's anger lasted all of one second. The moment his eyes landed on the logo on the steering wheel, reason returned. "Well struck, young master. You didn't hurt your hand, did you?"

His skin was fair. Ji Huaijin hadn't thought he'd used much force, yet a faint red mark appeared on his forehead.

Ji Huaijin reached over and gently rubbed it. "Why are you so delicate?"

Who are you calling a delicate little wife?!

Cheng Yue really wasn't cut out to be a lackey. He glared and went right back to being himself. "I'm a hardcore top!"

Young master or not, right now Ji Huaijin was nothing but a debt collector standing in the way of his path to becoming a hardcore top.

He wasn't wrong. Half an hour later, Ji Huaijin came to his door in person to collect.

Rewinding to when they left the restaurant: they made it back to the foot of Cheng Yue's apartment building without incident. Cheng Yue unbuckled his seat belt, offered an absentminded thanks, and was about to get out when a long black gift box appeared before him.

"For me?"

Ji Huaijin tipped his chin slightly. "See if you like it."

Deep blue diamonds were set into silver, diamond-shaped chain links. Cheng Yue counted six in total.

It was a waist chain far more exquisite than the one he'd bought for a few hundred yuan. Given the other man's financial means, he strongly suspected the diamonds were real.

"I haven't done anything to deserve it. I'd better not."

Joking was one thing, but actually accepting such extravagant riches left Cheng Yue feeling as though they would burn his hands.

Ji Huaijin lifted his eyes to look at him and didn't press the issue. As he watched him get out and enter the building, an inexplicable smile curved his lips.

Actually, Cheng Yue regretted it the instant he got out. The problem was that the waist chain was just too beautiful. For a fashion-conscious guy, passing it up was no different from spitting out a delicious morsel already in his mouth.

"So what if I'd taken it? I let him have his fill so many times, and I brought him meals over and over, rain or shine. Why couldn't I take one lousy waist chain?"

Cheng Yue bitterly regretted his decision, wishing he could punch the version of himself who'd pretended to be above it all. "Why the hell did I have to put on airs then?"

He'd only had one chance. Hadn't the man let him get all the way home without calling him back?

Then again, why hadn't that bastard tried to persuade him a little more? Just one more word, and he might have accepted it with tears in his eyes.

Ugh!

Tap, tap.

Cheng Yue was sighing as he changed clothes when a knock suddenly came at the door.

He assumed the neighbor across the hall had lost their cat again. The instant he opened the door and saw who was there, his mind went blank.

Ji Huaijin stood with one hand in his pocket, something dark flickering in his eyes behind his glasses. "Do you enjoy greeting visitors like this?"

Cheng Yue stared down blankly at his bare torso before his thoughts snapped back into place. "Didn't you leave?"

"Where did you want me to go?"

Ji Huaijin took his hand out of his pocket and leisurely rolled up his cuffs. Before Cheng Yue could speak again, he shoved him inside in one swift motion, then pressed close.

The cat across the hall really was missing. Its owner must have called plenty of people over to help search, because hurried footsteps came and went in the corridor.

Cheng Yue braced himself against the front door, struggling to endure it without letting a single sound escape.

The waist chain he'd rejected himself and then regretted so bitterly was now hanging around his waist, just as he'd wished.

"A disobedient cat needs to be taught a lesson once it's caught."

Ji Huaijin hooked an arm around him and asked lightly, "Don't you agree?"

Cheng Yue's hand abruptly tightened on the door handle, several crescent marks digging into his flushed palm.

The cat across the hall had been found. Its meows and its owner's scolding carried clearly through the door.

"How many times have I told you not to eat things outside? You never listen. Don't I feed you enough?"

"If you misbehave again, I'll smack your bottom raw!"

The endless scolding gradually faded into silence, leaving certain quiet sounds to intrude on his ears, again and again.

Cheng Yue stumbled as he was pushed into the bedroom. Once the door closed and shut out every sound from the outside world, he could finally draw deep breaths.

But Ji Huaijin gave him no room to catch his breath. He stripped away his last pretense, and the cold darkness in his eyes spilled out like stars sinking into an icy pool.

A large, well-defined hand gripped his vulnerable neck, the back of it pushing his chin upward as Cheng Yue struggled for air.

"Cheng Yue, who am I?"

"Ji... bastard."

The man in control seemed to smile.

No one was born cold-hearted, and neither was Ji Huaijin. As a child, he too had been showered with love. All of that had vanished after his sickly younger brother was born.

He remembered his parents' wholehearted love, and he remembered how everything had suddenly changed one day. Their attention had shifted entirely to the child many years his junior.

The food and toys he'd once loved most were all handed over to a child who couldn't even speak yet, without anyone asking him.

Ji Huaijin admitted he hadn't been a perfect child. He couldn't accept being brought crashing down from such heights.

He knew they loved him, but that love was fleeting. One moment they were asking about his studies; the next, a cry could make them abandon him without hesitation.

Ji Huaijin's voice was rough as gravel. "Cheng Yue, I was jealous."

So I want your eyes on me, and only me.

"Keep looking at me."

The evening breeze stirred the curtains, letting moonlight seep inside. Before the storm broke, Cheng Yue caught sight of the startling possessiveness in his eyes.

Late that night, everything was calm. For once, Cheng Yue hadn't passed out. He lay on his stomach with his eyes half closed, waiting for his racing heartbeat to settle.

A fragrance drifted to his nose. He turned his head with effort and saw the man leaning against the headboard, hot sweat still beading around his shoulder blades, a cigarette between his fingers as he lazily exhaled smoke.

Cheng Yue stared for a while before finally reaching out. "Let me have a drag."

Ji Huaijin didn't hand it over. Instead, he took Cheng Yue's hand and brought the cigarette to his lips.

The taste was full-bodied and mellow, with rich layers and a lingering finish.

Cheng Yue licked his dry lips. "Black Stone Forest?"

A trace of a smile touched the corners of Ji Huaijin's eyes. He tenderly rubbed the knuckles in his hand, then closed his eyes and let the cigarette burn.

The time it took to finish a cigarette passed quickly. Cheng Yue hauled his exhausted body out of bed and slowly made his way into the bathroom.

Before long, Ji Huaijin squeezed in too.

The bathroom was small, leaving them crowded together almost cheek to cheek. Afraid things might get out of hand again, Cheng Yue gave himself a hasty rinse and left the man who was still meticulously brushing his teeth behind.

Some drunk downstairs was yelling and carrying on, howling loudly enough to make his head ache.

Lying on his side facing the window, Cheng Yue suddenly said, "I don't even like him."

What was there to be jealous of?

A soft chuckle sounded above him in the cramped but warm bedroom.

A long arm slipped around his waist. Ji Huaijin watched the man with his eyes tightly shut and gently kissed the rim of his ear.

"Then who do you like?"