With almost no time to think, the intense desire rapidly awakening inside his body made Fan Jun suffocate for a moment.

Zou Yang’s kisses carried tiny electric currents—on his lips, chin, throat, collarbone…

Every gentle touch sent faint shivers across his skin, rippling bit by bit deep into his body.

Fan Jun raised his hand, resting his fingertips on the bridge of Zou Yang’s nose, and with a light hook, took off his glasses.

Then his fingers brushed over his forehead and the damp hair hanging down. Slightly cool water droplets fell onto the scorchingly hot skin, his vision blurring between clarity and a hazy trance.

Carrying the dampness of the hair between his fingers, he slowly trailed down to the back of the neck, shoulder blades, spine… pulling down the already loosened bath towel around Zou Yang’s waist. Following his chaotic breathing and heartbeat, he greedily absorbed the delicate warmth in his palms.

“Don’t move around,” Zou Yang’s somewhat hoarse voice trailed all the way up from his lower abdomen, returning to his ear.

Accompanied by chaotic panting, a body on fire pressed down firmly. Zou Yang reached one hand behind his waist, pulling him up, while his other hand grabbed his waistband and yanked it down.

“Zou Yang…” Fan Jun could hear his own equally hoarse voice.

“Yeah?” Zou Yang’s hands propped up beside his head. He looked down at him, his breath brushing against Fan Jun’s face.

Fan Jun didn’t actually know what he wanted to say; calling out his name seemed to be purely instinctual.

His gaze swept across Zou Yang’s face. It was a bit blurry, and the ceiling light was a bit glaring. He closed his eyes briefly.

Zou Yang reached back, groped for the remote on the sofa’s backrest, and turned off the ceiling light. The room was left with only a floor lamp in the corner. The dim yellow light enveloped Zou Yang from behind, outlining the curve of his waist.

Every sensation was magnified in the dimness. Each rise and fall of Zou Yang’s chest cast warm yellow afterimages. Pressed tightly together, their body temperatures seemed to reach a certain mutual understanding…

Zou Yang pinched a small packet from the coffee table with his fingers, caught it with his canine teeth, and held it at the corner of his mouth.

His fingers slid from the bandage on his left chest down to his waist, then he grabbed Fan Jun’s waist backhanded and applied a little force, rolling his body to the side.

“On your stomach.” Zou Yang could hear his own voice tightening, trembling slightly, driven by his erratic heartbeat.

Every movement of Fan Jun’s body, every tensing and relaxing of his muscles, tugged at his nerves. He pressed his hand against Fan Jun’s back, his palm feeling the subtle tremors beneath the skin…

He pinched the small packet held in his mouth, gave his head a slight flick, and tore open the packaging…

Leaning down closely, Fan Jun turned his head, his panting carrying the faint scent of green grass on him.

Breath against breath, moan against moan. The slight coolness over the searing heat gave him a fleeting moment of clarity, but it was quickly swallowed by nearly out-of-control desire.

He couldn’t see clearly, couldn’t hear clearly.

Touch temporarily hijacked all his senses. The fingertips propped against Fan Jun’s spine were almost digging into his skin.

Trembling rhythms sinking into the fire…

Amidst the tides, he heard a very soft gasp from Fan Jun.

He lowered his head and kissed Fan Jun’s shoulder, then bit down hard, carrying a madness that hadn’t yet had time to release…

…

The panting took a long time to completely settle down, until the lingering throbbing in their bodies gradually dissipated.

“Get off,” Fan Jun lay on the sofa, his voice very low. “You’re crushing me.”

Zou Yang slowly rolled over, sliding off him to the edge of the sofa, then slowly slipped onto the rug. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath, like a sigh.

The soft sound of paws came from above his head, followed by Xiao Bai sniffing around.

“Not dead, Xiao Bai,” he said softly. “It’s fine, go away.”

Xiao Bai didn’t seem reassured, still sniffing right above his forehead.

“Bai,” Fan Jun spoke, his voice a bit hoarse. “Back to your bed.”

Xiao Bai whimpered, pitter-pattered back to the mat by the wall, and lay down.

“Jun’er.” Zou Yang opened his eyes. Although his body felt a sort of empty, floating sensation, he still sat up, turned sideways, and hugged Fan Jun, who was still lying on the sofa.

“Hmm?” Fan Jun tilted his head and looked at him.

“Let me help you…” Zou Yang reached his hand toward his lower abdomen.

“Hey,” Fan Jun smiled and caught his hand, “No need.”

“Hmm?” Zou Yang leaned closer, staring at his face. “Why?”

“For now… I don’t really have the urge.” Fan Jun said.

“Fuck,” Zou Yang was stunned for a moment, then kissed the corner of his eye. “Are you insulting me? That’s a harsh insult.”

“No,” Fan Jun laughed, pulled his hand over, and lightly bit his fingertip. “It’s just… you’ll understand in the future.”

Zou Yang didn’t say anything, just lowered his head and rested his forehead against Fan Jun’s arm.

“I’m going to wash up.” Fan Jun said.

“I’ll help you.” Zou Yang said immediately.

“I can do it myself. I got fked,” Fan Jun slowly got up and ruffled his hair, “I didn’t get fked to death.”

“Get lost.” Zou Yang said.

Xiao Bai lay in his bed, watching them curiously as they showered twice in one night, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Da Hei, on the other hand, was very calm, sleeping belly-up on the windowsill the entire time.

“Are we still… watching a movie?” Fan Jun asked when he saw Zou Yang come out of the bathroom.

“Do you want to?” Zou Yang took a towel, draped it over Fan Jun’s head, pulled him close, and gently dried his hair. “If you want to, I’ll watch it with you.”

“Never mind, you have to get up early tomorrow.” Fan Jun said.

“Yeah.” Zou Yang replied.

After blow-drying their hair and tidying up the sofa, the two went back to the bedroom and lay down.

As Fan Jun turned off the light, Zou Yang shuffled over and hugged him tightly.

“What’s wrong?” Fan Jun patted his back.

“Are you uncomfortable? Does it hurt?” Zou Yang asked.

“It’s… alright,” Fan Jun said softly. “Doesn’t hurt as much as that bite you took out of my shoulder.”

“Shit,” Zou Yang propped himself up on his elbow and reached for the light switch. “I completely forgot, did it break the skin?”

“It did. I checked when I was showering, there’s a drop of blood,” Fan Jun pressed him back onto the pillow. “You bit down pretty hard.”

“Fighting fire with fire,” Zou Yang said. “Distracting you.”

“…Is that so.” Fan Jun smiled.

“Don’t bite me back, I’ll curse at you.” Zou Yang said.

“Hard to say,” Fan Jun said. “Am I supposed to be afraid of your cursing?”

Zou Yang clicked his tongue and didn’t speak, just hugged him tighter.

“Go to sleep,” Fan Jun patted him. “I’ll wake you up tomorrow.”

“I set an alarm,” Zou Yang closed his eyes. “You get a good sleep. If I wake up early, I’ll walk the dog first and bring breakfast back.”

“Are you sleep talking?” Fan Jun laughed.

“Don’t trust me?” Zou Yang asked.

“There’s no reason to,” Fan Jun said. “Since I’ve known you, let alone getting up earlier than me, have you ever even woken up earlier than me?”

“Just you wait.” Zou Yang said.

He was pretty tired. Logically, he wouldn’t be able to get up tomorrow morning without someone waking him.

But Zou Yang was still confident.

Because even though he was sleepy right now, he couldn’t fall asleep.

He held out for a while, then opened his eyes.

“Hmm?” Fan Jun murmured.

“Is there anywhere that’s uncomfortable?” Zou Yang asked.

Fan Jun let out a soft sigh, rolled over to hug him tighter, and buried his face in the crook of his neck. “It’s not that bad, stop worrying about it.”

“Then did it feel good?” Zou Yang asked.

“You…” Fan Jun laughed.

“Did it?” Zou Yang persisted.

“…It did.” Fan Jun said.

“I don’t believe you,” Zou Yang tsked. “The first time is never good.”

Fan Jun didn’t say anything, just hugged him tighter, clearly holding back laughter.

“What are you laughing at,” Zou Yang closed his eyes again. “Anyway, I felt good.”

“Mhm.” Fan Jun replied.

Barely two minutes of silence passed before Zou Yang spoke again. “You…”

“Go to sleep!” Fan Jun covered his mouth.

When the alarm went off in the morning, Zou Yang’s breathing didn’t even change. It was incredibly relaxed, as if he were deaf.

When Fan Jun got out of bed and pulled his arm away, he didn’t react at all.

However, Fan Jun’s biological clock had also failed today. He got up because the alarm was vibrating, but Zou Yang, driven by some unknown confidence, had set an alarm time that was clearly not sufficient.

Wash up, walk the dog, buy breakfast.

He went back inside and threw off Zou Yang’s blanket.

“Nn…” Zou Yang curled his legs up, his hand searching blindly for the blanket.

“Get up,” Fan Jun glanced at his phone. “It’s too late. You have to catch a cab, there’s no time for me to drop you off.”

“Ah…” Zou Yang rolled over, still feeling around for the blanket.

Fan Jun just grabbed him by the arm, dragged him out of bed, and propped him up in front of the bathroom sink.

Zou Yang leaned against the sink, staring at the faucet for almost a minute before recovering. “Holy shit? Are you crazy?”

Fan Jun didn’t speak, just shoved his phone right in front of his face.

Zou Yang pulled back a bit, squinting for a long time before he finally made out the time.

“I’m doomed.” he said.

“Not yet,” Fan Jun said. “If you hurry up right now, there’s still hope.”

Zou Yang felt like he hadn’t slept at all. Even after washing up and sitting at the table to eat breakfast, he was still in a daze.

He casually shoved a few bites into his mouth before Fan Jun pulled him up, saying the cab they called was arriving right away.

“Let’s go.” Fan Jun stuffed the remaining two shumai and a carton of milk from the bag into his hands, grabbed his backpack, and dragged him out the door.

In the elevator, Zou Yang hurried to stuff the rest of the shumai into his mouth, then turned to look at Fan Jun.

Only now was he finally fully awake.

Although it was a bit… he still asked again: “Are you uncomfortable?”

Fan Jun paused before realizing what he was talking about. “I’m fine. Stop asking. If you ask again, I’ll drag you back in right now and let you try it.”

Zou Yang sighed, thought about it, and started laughing. “Damn.”

By the time he got to No. 7 High School, he was still a tiny bit late; the morning reading session had already started.

Zou Yang jogged all the way into the classroom. It was a language reading session, but fortunately, Teacher Zhou wasn’t there.

Only Liu Wenrui and the others were pacing back and forth in the classroom, pretending to look busy, waiting in case any student had questions they could answer.

But really, what questions could there be during morning reading? Their only actual function was to disrupt the students who hadn’t finished their homework yesterday and were trying to copy it now.

“What happened to you!” Liu Wenrui immediately sidled over and questioned him in a low voice the moment he walked in.

“Woke up late, what else could it be.” Zou Yang pulled out his notebook and pen, drew a row of circles on the paper first, and started pretending to be busy.

“Someone as disciplined as Fan Jun didn’t wake you up?” Liu Wenrui said. “‘From then on, the King no longer attended the morning court’…”

“Get lost, get lost, get lost,” Zou Yang elbowed him away. “Is this the time to chat?”

Liu Wenrui gave him a side-eye, tsked, and turned back to his own aisle to continue patrolling.

To avoid any contact with Zou Tianrui, Zou Yang didn’t squeeze between the desks and chairs, but stood at the very back of the classroom.

Zou Tianrui, however, turned around to look at him. She looked different from when she watched him last week; her expression was flat, revealing no emotion.

After morning reading was the Monday flag-raising ceremony. The guys didn’t go to Teacher Zhou’s office, but followed the students to the track field.

“Zou Yang.” Someone called out from behind. It sounded like Zou Tianrui.

Zou Yang turned his head.

“I have something to say to you.” Zou Tianrui said.

“Say it then.” Liu Wenrui said.

Zou Yang pushed Liu Wenrui forward, signaling him to go ahead.

This was, after all, the school where they were interning. If conflicts could be avoided, it was best to avoid them; there was no need for it.

“I’ll keep it short,” Zou Tianrui said as she walked forward. “I know it wasn’t your decision to come here for your internship.”

Zou Yang didn’t speak, just kept walking alongside her.

“We mind our own business,” Zou Tianrui said. “You definitely know what happened with my family.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I know or not. I have zero interest in the people or the affairs of your family.” Zou Yang said.

“That’s for the best,” Zou Tianrui said, her voice suddenly trembling a bit. “No one is going to make a joke out of me.”

Zou Yang sighed. He originally wanted to shoot back a retort, but he felt that if he said one more word, she might burst into tears. So, he stayed quiet and quickly walked ahead.

“The scumbag dad definitely wants a divorce,” Liu Wenrui whispered, standing perfectly straight at the back of the flag-raising formation, listening to the principal’s speech.

“He’s asking for trouble.” Zou Yang said.

“Zou Tianrui has only been a legitimate daughter for a few years,” Liu Wenrui said, “and now it looks like that’s going down the drain too.”

“I don’t care,” Zou Yang said. “One more year of taking his money, and I’ll officially be from a single-parent family.”

“Not really single, right?” Liu Wenrui said. “Aren’t your mom and Uncle Lü almost getting married?”

“Yeah,” Zou Yang thought about it, feeling inexplicably a bit awkward. “I haven’t asked about it recently, so I don’t know what’s going on.”

“That’s good. In the future, your mom will live her life, no one will control you, and you can do whatever you want,” Liu Wenrui said. “Better than me. When I went home yesterday, my mom even slapped me.”

“You…” Zou Yang couldn’t help but turn to look at him. “What did you do to make your mom lay a hand on a grown man?”

“He asked his mom to raise his allowance, and negotiations broke down,” Li Zhirui whispered from behind.

“Even if the deal falls through, the goodwill should remain, right? If it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out,” Liu Wenrui said. “She shouldn’t have smacked me in the back of the head.”

“Loser.” Zou Yang said.

“I’ll get a part-time job,” Liu Wenrui said. “I don’t believe it. With my brains and my physique, you think I can’t make money?”

“It’s the second semester of junior year and you’re just now thinking about a part-time job,” Zhang Chuanlong said. “Are you afraid you won’t find a job after graduation?”

“Hey?” Liu Wenrui turned to look at him. “You’re getting bold, Longlong.”

The flag-raising ceremony ended. The first period was an English class in the multimedia classroom.

Chatting with the students as they walked to the classroom, Zou Yang felt a bit like he was back in high school, but at the same time, he felt a sense of relief that he had finally survived it.

Zou Yang didn’t know what exactly Zou Tianrui meant by “make a joke out of me.”

But with ten minutes left in the first period, Teacher Zhou rushed to the classroom door and called Zou Tianrui out.

After just one sentence, Zou Tianrui burst into tears and ran toward the stairs.

“Something’s happened,” Li Zhiyue said.

Something had definitely happened, and it wasn’t something minor. Zou Yang suddenly had an indescribable feeling.

Before school let out at noon, his mom called.

“Zou Yang, did you hear?” His mom’s voice carried a hint of agitation, but mostly terror.

“Hear what? What happened?” Zou Yang asked.

“Your dad was set on fire in his office by Liu Qiao!” His mom raised her voice.

“What?” Zou Yang was shocked. “Who set him on fire?”

“Liu Qiao! His wife!” His mom said. “Xiao Lin told me. I’m not clear on the details either, but she said he was taken to the hospital and the police are there…”

Xiao Lin was a former employee at his dad’s company. She was some sort of distant, roundabout relative of his mom’s, so they had stayed in touch. The news was probably accurate.

“Are you going to the hospital to see him?” His mom asked.

“Me?” Zou Yang paused. He supposed he should go see; even if a neighbor had been set on fire, he would go take a look. “After I’m done with my stuff, I guess. I’m still interning right now.”

“Yeah, I was just asking.” His mom said.

“Don’t you go,” Zou Yang instructed his mom. “Whether this man lives or dies has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

“I know, I’m not going, Old Lü wouldn’t let me go anyway,” his mom said, and sighed after a moment of thought. “This is just… terrifying…”

“Do you want to go see him?” Fan Jun asked, straddling the bike.

He Chuan needed the car today, so Fan Jun had ridden an electric scooter to pick him up from “work.”

“I… can’t really explain it,” Zou Yang frowned. “I do want to go, actually, but… I don’t know if it’s because I want to watch the drama unfold, or because… he is my biological father, after all.”

“It can be both reasons,” Fan Jun said. “When you were so severely injured, his visit was nothing more than going through the motions.”

Zou Yang looked at him and didn’t speak.

“He’s not worth you feeling conflicted or guilty over.” Fan Jun said.

“Yeah,” Zou Yang replied. He hesitated for a second, then got on the back of the scooter. “Let’s go take a look.”

“Okay.” Fan Jun nodded.

It wasn’t windy today. Riding the scooter now, you could even clearly smell the breath of spring in the air.

Zou Yang wrapped his arms around Fan Jun’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. If they weren’t heading to the hospital right now, this would be perfect.

His hand slipped inside Fan Jun’s jacket. Fan Jun tilted his head but said nothing.

His hand then slipped under Fan Jun’s hoodie.

Fan Jun looked down.

His hands were a bit cold, and he hesitated about whether to press them against Fan Jun’s stomach…

“If you’re going to touch, just touch. Holding my clothes open is letting the wind in,” Fan Jun pressed Zou Yang’s hand through his clothes directly onto his own stomach, then gasped. “Hiss—”

“My hands are cold.” Zou Yang laughed, but didn’t pull his hand away.

“Didn’t you wear enough clothes?” Fan Jun reached back and felt his waist.

“Stop groping blindly!” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun sighed and pulled his hand back.

Xiao Lin had told his mom which hospital it was, though they didn’t know the exact ward. But it didn’t matter; as soon as he entered the inpatient area, Zou Yang spotted his Second Aunt.

“Xiao Yang?” Second Aunt called out to him.

“Second Aunt,” Zou Yang acknowledged. “My dad…”

“He hasn’t woken up yet. The surgery took a long time, it’s too severe, just too severe…” Second Aunt started crying as she spoke.

Zou Yang turned his head away somewhat awkwardly; he really couldn’t force any tears.

“What… what happened?” he asked.

“Liu Qiao has gone mad! That woman is crazy! I always thought she was a lunatic back then…” Second Aunt was getting agitated.

Second Uncle came over, pulled her aside, then walked up and sighed. “Xiao Yang, I didn’t expect you to come.”

“Just came to take a look, after all…” Zou Yang trailed off.

“You can’t visit right now, he’s in critical condition,” Second Uncle said. “That other person… is less severe.”

“Who?” Zou Yang froze for a moment.

“His assistant.” Second Uncle said.

Zou Tianrui’s mom had charged into his dad’s office with gasoline, then set both of them on fire. She had sustained some minor injuries herself, though nothing serious.

Zou Yang was still a bit dazed when he walked out of the hospital. He had never expected his scumbag dad to end up like this, but now that it actually happened, he didn’t seem all that surprised either.

It was just an indescribable sort of daze.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Fan Jun put an arm around his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Zou Yang replied.

“Mashed potatoes.” Fan Jun said.

“You still remember that?” Zou Yang glanced at him.

“What, are you going to back out over some mashed potatoes?” Fan Jun asked.

“That’s all the way by our school, it’s pretty far.” Zou Yang said.

“I don’t mind the distance, do you?” Fan Jun said.

“No, just because you don’t mind doesn’t mean I can’t mind, right?” Zou Yang laughed.

“I just… last night…” Fan Jun started, but was interrupted by Zou Yang before he could finish.

“Let’s go, go, go, go, I’ll drive,” Zou Yang said. “Mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes…”