You have a crush on me

Nan Zhou gave it some serious thought. "I suppose it was different."

Huo Xingye finally stopped what he was doing and looked over at him, a faint restlessness in his eyes. "What I meant was..."

He broke off abruptly halfway through.

"After all, it was an incredibly wonderful, unforgettable experience for me." With that, Nan Zhou tipped his head back and took a few more sips of his drink.

Although "Copulate" was only one of the many hit songs he had written, it was closer to reality than the others. It had not come from his imagination, nor did it transcend reality. It was about their thoroughly satisfying union.

Huo Xingye's deep eyes flickered. His thin lips pressed together slightly, but in the end, he did not ask the question on his mind.

[Why do I feel like the best actor means something else? He doesn't seem to be talking about "Summer Flame," does he?]

[An incredibly wonderful, unforgettable experience-Zhouzhou must mean this performance. After all, he used to sing nothing but trash songs in the group, written by Little Rat.]

[Lmao, now I'm starting to suspect they bullied Nan Zhou in the group. Otherwise, why was Rat always the songwriter when he's this good?]

[Lu Zhou has completely lost his real name in this livestream.]

[Aaaaaah, Nan Zhou is so sexy, I want to fuck him!!!]

The instant Nan Zhou finished his drink and set his glass down, he suddenly remembered that Huo Xingye probably did not know he had written "Copulate."

So he had been asking about "Summer Flame"?

"Summer Flame" was just one of his many hits. There was nothing special about it.

...Hmm, should I clear that up?

The song was nearing its end, its lingering melody like the moments just after the rain stopped, still carrying a dampness in the air.

The suggestive final notes were like an embrace after the most intimate of moments.

A few fragments flashed through Nan Zhou's mind, and his body warmed slightly. He could not tell whether it was the alcohol or his longing for those remembered moments.

He looked at Huo Xingye again and unexpectedly met his deep, faintly heated gaze.

His heart skipped a beat. "This song..."

"Copulate" had just finished playing in Soul Bar, and another song came on.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Forget it. Who knew what he would think if he learned I'd turned what happened between us into a song and released it? We still have to film the show together. Making things awkward would make work such a hassle.

Their work at Soul Bar ended perfectly. At nearly midnight, Huo Xingye and Nan Zhou returned to the apartment building in the production team's car.

When the car stopped, Huo Xingye stopped Nan Zhou as he was about to get up. "I have something for you."

With that, he produced an exquisitely wrapped gift as though performing a magic trick.

It was flat and square.

"A Christmas present."

"A task the production team gave you?" Nan Zhou took it, running his fingertips over the wrapping. A confident smile curved his lips. "Vinyl?"

As though he was not at all surprised that Nan Zhou had guessed correctly, Huo Xingye returned the same smile in acknowledgment.

"Honestly, you really get me." Nan Zhou licked his lips. "Do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?"

The cramped interior of the car was dimly lit, and at midnight, even their voices were especially quiet.

The Alpha's scent and voice were amplified, lingering around Nan Zhou with a comforting sense of being enveloped.

Nan Zhou chuckled softly, his eyes full of mischief. "You have a crush on me."

Rather than a secret crush, it was more like a seemingly sweet trap whose depths remained unknown once you fell into it.

Huo Xingye stared at him without answering, but his deep eyes seemed to speak of tender feelings that could neither be clearly seen nor explained.

An actor's eyes could speak, and a best actor's eyes were even better at speaking words of love.

Nan Zhou thought that if Huo Xingye wanted to deceive someone, he would surely find it very easy.

There were a few light taps on the window. Huo Xingye's assistant was hurrying him along.

He had an early-morning flight abroad. If he did not hurry, he would miss it.

"I won't come upstairs. Remember to lock the door when you get back." Huo Xingye opened the car door. "And don't avoid taking your medicine."

Nan Zhou: "..." How did he know I didn't want to keep taking it?!

"Take care of yourself. Call me if anything comes up." With that, Huo Xingye reached out instinctively to touch Nan Zhou's face.

Halfway through the motion, he seemed to remember something. With a self-mocking chuckle, he let his hand settle unobtrusively on Nan Zhou's shoulder instead.

Nan Zhou nodded. "Well, goodbye?"

"Goodbye."

Nan Zhou got out with the vinyl record.

Huo Xingye sat in the car, watching his retreating figure, barely able to conceal the reluctance in his eyes.

The car door closed, and he sighed.

Suddenly, with a swish, someone pulled the closed door open again from outside.

Nan Zhou's face appeared in Huo Xingye's line of sight.

Holding the door with one hand, he leaned his upper body into the car and, before Huo Xingye could react, pressed a warm kiss carrying traces of an Omega's sweet scent to the corner of his lips.

Those deep eyes widened abruptly.

Nan Zhou straightened up outside the car door and waved the vinyl record in his hand. "Almost forgot. A goodbye kiss. Have a safe trip."

The car door closed again.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

[Mom, this is so sweet! Nan Zhou, how are you so good at flirting?!]

[Leopard and kitty, I've been born!]

[Does anyone get it? Brother Ye looks like he's still sitting there, but he's actually already gone with Nan Zhou.]

[That damn Luo Nan, what kind of bullshit schedule did he arrange for Huo Xingye? He can't even spend Christmas with his own wife!]

[Waaah, can we get an extended stream? I still want to watch. I don't want it to end!]

Huo Xingye's departure also marked the end of the first livestream of this season of "You Make My Heart Flutter."

Nan Zhou tucked the vinyl record under his arm and slowly headed upstairs with both hands in his pockets.

He would stay at the apartment again tonight and wait for Hao Jia to pick him up first thing tomorrow morning.

When he reached the apartment door, Nan Zhou was just about to take out his keys and unlock it when a hand suddenly reached out from behind him and swiftly snatched the keys from his hand.

Nan Zhou turned around and saw a furious Lu Zhou.

Holding the keys in one hand, Lu Zhou reached for his arm with the other, but Nan Zhou nimbly dodged him.

"What the hell is wrong with you this late at night? Looking for a beating?" With that, Nan Zhou raised his arm, his expression cold, and landed a punch squarely on Lu Zhou's face.

As though he had never expected Nan Zhou to hit him, Lu Zhou froze on the spot.

Nan Zhou rubbed his wrist. "You should be grateful I haven't come looking for you, yet you still dare show up at my door."

Fuck... why does it hurt so much...

Is this guy's face made of stone?

After all, there was a considerable gap between an Omega's strength and physical constitution and an Alpha's.

Nan Zhou's sudden punch had not actually done Lu Zhou much damage, but it was deeply humiliating.

His eyes reddened with anger. "Tell me the truth. Did you sleep with Huo Xingye?!"

Lu Zhou had been upstairs earlier and had seen the entire scene below, when Nan Zhou took the initiative to kiss Huo Xingye.

In that instant, immense fury had flooded his mind.

That towering rage was a hundred times stronger than what he had felt when he saw Nan Zhou giving him the middle finger in the trending searches.