Having a young little boyfriend who is a decade younger does have its downsides—the kid is too earnest, too honest, and too straightforward, completely lacking an understanding of how adults pretend and put on airs.

It’s hard to say these qualities are flaws in human nature, but in this specific situation, they certainly made it somewhat unbearable for Yan Ruoyun.

He opened his eyes helplessly. After sitting up, he first adjusted his messy, disheveled clothes before slowly responding: “Mm, just woke up…”

That wasn’t entirely true.

Yan Ruoyun had actually been awake for a while.

The heat cycle that hit around 5 AM came on aggressively, literally waking him up with its sheer heat. However, before he could even react, the half-asleep youth behind him grabbed him by the back of the neck…

Lin Zhu probably never realized it himself, but he had exceptionally long, strong hands with slightly wide knuckles, and a rough writer’s callus on the side of his middle finger—this detail puzzled Yan Ruoyun a bit, but the situation at hand left no room for him to overthink…

He was like a kitten picked up by the scruff of its neck, completely immobilized, only able to obediently curl up his limbs and accept his training.

When his consciousness was hazy, the youth’s actions carried an unconscious, domineering streak.

The slender fingers broke into that warm territory without any explanation. Like a slithering snake exploring unknown mysteries, their coming and going completely scrambled his brain along with it…

Yan Ruoyun squeezed his eyes shut, yet couldn’t help but slightly part his thin lips. Faint, breathy sounds spilled out in waves, sounding exactly like sleep-talking murmurs.

A numbing, electrifying sensation rose from the soles of his feet.

This electric current was entirely controlled by his little boyfriend’s fingers, unconsciously turned up or down at will, until it thoroughly shattered Yan Ruoyun’s defenses.

Thus, the man was sent deep into a vibrant, kaleidoscopic dream.

That dream was filled with fleeting fireworks, shifting illusions of light and shadow, silhouettes embracing in the ocean breeze, and the minty smoke exhaled between lips…

Yan Ruoyun clearly felt a certain spot trembling, yet he was ruthlessly confined in place, forbidden from advancing even a single step. In the end, he could only pitifully shed two tears of grievance.

Moisture slowly gathered at the corners of his eyes.

A long time passed.

Biting the tip of his tongue, Yan Ruoyun swallowed the scream that was on the verge of escaping back into his throat, quieting down along with the monitor on his arm, which finally stopped emitting its continuous alarms.

The crisis was averted once again.

Lin Zhu fell asleep very quickly, not even having the time to pull his hand back.

But Yan Ruoyun couldn’t fall back asleep no matter what.

The physiological heat receded like the tide, leaving his memories gleaming in the fine sand like washed-up seashells.

The incident around 3 or 4 AM, and this recent one at 5 AM—Yan Ruoyun simply couldn’t believe that under the influence of his heat, he had actually guided the youth hand-in-hand, taking the initiative…

In his previous twenty-eight years of life, even when the endurance was at its most agonizing, he had never done something like that for himself!

Yet, misery, embarrassment, shame… these emotions he expected didn’t surface from the bottom of his heart. Instead, an indescribable sense of relaxed contentment welled up.

At this moment, he realized with unparalleled clarity—

He was actually enjoying all of this. He could even calmly and naturally demand both gentle breezes and violent storms from this youth who was ten years his junior.

Realizing this, Yan Ruoyun stared blankly into space.

After a moment, he twisted his neck in disbelief to look back, gazing at the sleeping face of the blond youth, his emotions churning for a long time.

He knew that while he appeared carefree on the outside, he was actually quite conflicted and twisted on the inside.

When he first established a relationship with Lin Zhu, Yan Ruoyun had thought about the pacing between them. No matter what the situation, he was fully confident he could control the dynamic and steer the relationship exactly how he wanted.

This wasn’t blind arrogance.

Age, social status, life experience…

He and Lin Zhu were not on the same level at all. The blond youth was like a blank sheet of paper in front of him.

But facts proved that Yan Ruoyun had still guessed wrong.

This romance wasn’t a project proposal sitting on his desk—black and white, with clear clauses—just waiting for him to smoothly sign his name at the bottom of the page and wait for the massive payout to roll in.

As for Lin Zhu…

The room was dim, the nightlight casting a soft, understated glow.

With his eyes closed in deep sleep, the blond youth’s usual cold, world-weary aura was mostly reined in, unexpectedly revealing a touch of gentleness.

Yan Ruoyun’s neck grew sore from looking, and he couldn’t help but shift his limbs slightly. The youth reacted instantly—without opening his eyes, he frowned, lowered his head, and used his soft lips to gently kiss his lover’s scent gland over and over again.

Not only that, the arm he had tucked under Yan Ruoyun’s head also moved. His palm cupped the man’s shoulder, patting him softly and patiently.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, be good…”

See.

This is exactly how little kids are.

Not only did he have to chisel open his cavity, but he also smashed a massive hole through the walls around his heart without any explanation… As a result, the wind poured in, the rain blew in, and the youth barged in without half a bit of social etiquette, refusing to ever leave.

In that instant, Yan Ruoyun really wanted to wake him up.

But he only watched Lin Zhu silently for a long time.

Then, the sky grew bright.

The youth’s long eyelashes fluttered, like a stage curtain rising…

Yan Ruoyun hastily turned his head away and quickly shut his eyes, pretending he had never woken up at all.

He didn’t even know why he was doing this.

---

Watching the man personally pull down the hospital shirt that barely covered his collarbones, and then hike his waistband back into place, Lin Zhu swallowed his embarrassment and asked softly, “Ge, are you… feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Given the current context, this was definitely a loaded question. After asking, Lin Zhu pursed his lips nervously, waiting for the man’s reply.

Silence for a moment.

The man was kneeling on the white-and-blue patterned mat. He suddenly lifted his eyelids, shot Lin Zhu a glance, and then crooked his finger at the youth standing by the bed.

Lin Zhu obediently took two steps forward and bent down closely.

He saw the man blink, then cup a hand by his ear as if sharing a secret. In a tone as light as floating clouds, he said, “Save that sentence… for when you actually put it in.”

The volume of a certain syllable was deliberately lowered, yet it made it stand out even more conspicuously in the whole sentence.

Lin Zhu’s face instantly flushed scarlet. He quickly turned his face away, looking at the man with astonishing eyes, and stammered, “Ge, didn’t you say before… uh, that you didn’t want to be…”

“—deeply marked.”

He stumbled over his words for several seconds before finally forcing out the term.

In his original world, there was no such thing as “marking.” The so-called “deep mark” was associated with another two-character exclusive noun, symbolizing the most intimate physical contact between two people.

For a high school student, it was far too early.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the unavoidable biological imperatives of the ABO world, Lin Zhu felt that he never would have progressed to this stage with Yan Ruoyun in such a ridiculously short amount of time, like riding a rocket.

He thought Yan Ruoyun felt the same way.

After all, the resistance the man showed earlier when pinned face-down into the pillow was absolutely not fake. Every single tremor had been exceptionally real.

“…”

Alright then.

Yan Ruoyun didn’t know he was such a fickle person either.

It had only been one night.

Yet the string representing rationality in his brain had completely snapped. He had even had certain crazy thoughts flash through his mind several times…

For instance: If it’s just Lin Zhu, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with it…?

Or perhaps: He’s already twenty-eight, nearing thirty. Isn’t it perfectly normal to develop an intimate relationship with his lover?

Lin Zhu didn’t know what Yan Ruoyun was thinking. He only saw the man’s expression shift a few times before he raised an arm, hooked it around his neck, and murmured:

“Little Dog Lin, I’m a bit scared.”

Lin Zhu: “…”

—The older, mature, and always-in-control older lover was currently curled up in his arms, confessing his fears.

He didn’t know why Yan Ruoyun was always so incredibly potent; it was as if just by saying a casual sentence, he could inexplicably make him feel hot and bothered. To cover it up, Lin Zhu coughed twice, loosely wrapping his arms around the man’s lower back, and explained:

“It’s okay, Ge…”
“I-I don’t want to deep mark you either.”

What Lin Zhu completely didn’t expect was the man burying his face in the crook of his neck and calmly, casually retorting:

“…But I want it.”

After saying it, he repeated it once more.

“I want it.”

Lin Zhu was left completely speechless. He only felt his face burning hot and his ears going completely numb, as if a swarm of ants was biting at his skin.

It took him a long time to stumble out a response:

“Ah, is… cough, is that so…”

After delivering this essentially meaningless reply, his brain was already in a state of semi-shutdown—fortunately, it still worked if he gave it a little mental smack. Lin Zhu’s thoughts spun, catching a certain logical error. As if trying to change the subject, he hastily asked:

“Then… Ge, what are you afraid of?”

If he wasn’t afraid of being deeply marked by an Alpha, then what was he terrified of? Lin Zhu really couldn’t figure it out.

At those words, the man hugged him even tighter, lowered his voice slightly, and whispered: “I think you’re…………”

He paused, then continued:

“……you’re, too big.”
“It makes me a bit scared.”

The two of them had only shared a shower exactly once. At that time, Yan Ruoyun had displayed a wickedly malicious sense of humor, smearing his little boyfriend’s face with thick fluid, leaving Lin Zhu completely stunned and immobilized for ages.

And this time was no less potent.

Lin Zhu’s breathing abruptly hitched. The arm loosely wrapping the man’s lower back suddenly tightened, pulling the loose hospital shirt taut and outlining an exaggerated curve.

Right at that moment.

He heard the man chuckle softly, twice.

With his eyes closed, Lin Zhu could almost trace the image in his mind: the man lowering those peach-blossom eyes, the corners of his lips curved in a half-smile… As he thought about it, a trace of annoyance suddenly rose within him.

Yet, mixed within this annoyance, there seemed to be a tantalizing, itch-inducing joy and shyness, making Lin Zhu unable to stop pondering it, savoring it… Before long, a tart yet sweet taste blossomed from the root of his tongue, filling his entire mouth.

Did he do it on purpose? he thought.

Ah… ah, of course he did it on purpose.

It wasn’t just once or twice. He wasn’t an idiot; he might miss it the first time, but how could he possibly miss it every single time?

So, why does this person always like teasing him so much…?

Is it really that fun?

Lin Zhu’s mind raced with a myriad of thoughts, and he remained silent for a very, very long time.

Knock, knock.

It wasn’t until the sound of the nurse knocking on the door for ward rounds came from outside that Lin Zhu suddenly snapped back to reality. He didn’t know what came over him—perhaps he really had been corrupted by Yan Ruoyun. Without even lifting his head, he swiftly whispered into the man’s ear:

“Time’s up, time for the kitten to go pee.”

As soon as the words fell.

He saw the man’s foot, resting on the mat, suddenly tense up. The red mole on the inside of his ankle bone burned like a scalding spark, burning so hot that he abruptly curled his toes.

Accompanied by a faint tremble.

With his eyes lowered, Lin Zhu couldn’t see the faint smile—one bearing a striking resemblance to Yan Ruoyun’s—that had surfaced on his own face.