He Xingzhou quickly regained his composure amidst Charlie’s noisy cries. He squinted his eyes slightly, his gaze towards Xiao Can obscure and unclear.
Xiao Can was tense all over, deliberately keeping his back straight to appear imposing.
In the few short seconds of silence between them, he was already regretting it, worrying about how it would end.
He didn’t want to tell He Xingzhou what had happened between them.
No one else in this world knew this secret, so he arrogantly deceived himself.
If He Xingzhou was single, he might have some cunning thoughts, using this as a condition to demand compensation from He Xingzhou.
For example, creating songs for him, introducing him to some big shots in the industry, or openly praising his progress, all of which would bring him huge benefits.
But unfortunately, He Xingzhou was taken.
Xiao Can had a very good impression of Tan Zhen. Even if their previous relationship was not intentional, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
Telling He Xingzhou about this now would be of no benefit to him. It would only complicate things unnecessarily.
But the words had already slipped out, and there was no turning back.
He Xingzhou stared at his face and spoke after a moment, “Tan Zhen told you.”
There was no doubt in his tone, very certain.
Obviously, in the half-minute just now, he had considered all the possibilities of how Xiao Can could know this information and only came to this one conclusion.
Xiao Can denied it, “It has nothing to do with him.”
He suddenly had an idea.
There was absolutely no need to tell He Xingzhou how he found out. He could simply let He Xingzhou guess randomly, with the probability of him reaching the correct conclusion being extremely low.
He just needed to keep denying his guesses, adopt a mysterious demeanor, and even indulge in some sarcasm and ridicule if necessary.
He Xingzhou would surely become confused and helpless, while he would invisibly hold power over him.
Regardless of whether it would be effective or not, it would definitely feel satisfying.
With this in mind, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Is he the kind of person who would casually share such private matters with others?” he asked He Xingzhou, “Aren’t you being disrespectful to your lover with your judgment?”
“There’s no other possibility,” He Xingzhou said, “There’s no second person in this world who knows about this.”
Xiao Can thought to himself, it seems that he really is quite honest.
“Not necessarily,” Xiao Can said, playing with Charlie while looking down, “Your parents must know about it too.”
He Xingzhou shook his head, “No.”
Xiao Can vaguely sensed that something was amiss, forcing a strained smile, “How is that possible?”
“If it wasn’t Tan Zhen who told you, then the only other possibility is…” He Xingzhou picked up his phone, “That day at the hotel, you entered my room.”
“What a joke,” Xiao Can panicked, but outwardly remained composed, even forcing a couple of laughs, “There are probably too many people in this world who have seen your birthmark. Besides your family, your kindergarten teachers, doctors who examined you, and even peeping toms, are all possibilities. And I just happened to know one of them.”
He Xingzhou’s lips gradually curved into a smile, “Provided, of course, that it really is a birthmark.”
“Isn’t it?”
“It’s a bruise, I was bitten that morning,” He Xingzhou said, “It was gone the next day.”
“…”
“So, only Tan Zhen has seen it,” He Xingzhou said.
Amidst shock and embarrassment, Xiao Can keenly caught a crucial piece of information.
So, Tan Zhen had only seen that part on that day?
It felt strange.
“Or…” He Xingzhou said, “You’ve been to my room.”
“I haven’t!” Xiao Can said.
The smile on He Xingzhou’s face disappeared completely, his gaze turning sharp, “Did you place the flowers?”
Xiao Can shook his head quickly, “No!”
“Give me a reasonable explanation,” He Xingzhou raised his phone, “If you can’t explain it to me, then I’ll have to choose to call the police and let you explain it to them.”
Xiao Can regretted deeply, feeling extremely distressed.
“Your attitude towards me is so unfriendly, yet you specifically came to visit me, and immediately asked me about the poisoning perpetrator,” He Xingzhou raised his chin slightly, “I always found the incident in the elevator strange. Clearly, you released pheromones first, yet you denied it and acted panicked.”
“I didn’t!” Xiao Can tried to clarify.
“You did, I only lost control because I was stimulated by your pheromones that day,” He Xingzhou shook his head slowly, “Considering all this, only one conclusion can be drawn.”
“… What?”
“You want to have a relationship with me,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can was so angry that he almost fainted, feeling overwhelmed with anger.
He clutched Charlie, who was enjoying the caress, tightly in his hands, his fingers gripping Charlie’s neck.
“Your son is in my hands,” he gritted his teeth, “Mind your words.”
He Xingzhou was shocked, “Are you still human?”
Charlie remained oblivious, closing its eyes contentedly, its body turning into a ball.
Of course, Xiao Can couldn’t actually take out his anger on this little creature. He was just extremely annoyed and wanted to undermine He Xingzhou’s sharpness.
The feeling of the feathers was softer than he imagined. Having this warm little thing nestling against him was of immense help in stabilizing his emotions.
Xiao Can rubbed it twice, slightly calming his mood, and said, “Then don’t say such disgusting things.”
Due to his previous remarks, He Xingzhou was highly tense, showing great concern about Xiao Can’s vigorous stroking of Charlie.
“Stop touching it,” He Xingzhou frowned, “Give it to me.”
Xiao Can opened his hands, indicating it was free to go.
“Charlie,” He Xingzhou called, “Come here.”
Charlie tilted its head to look at him.
Helplessly, He Xingzhou stood up and walked over to Xiao Can, attempting to pick up Charlie with one hand.
But Charlie didn’t cooperate, flapping and struggling. He Xingzhou had to use his other hand, the one with the injured shoulder, to twist himself awkwardly to lift it up with both hands and take it away forcibly.
Who knew that as soon as they sat down, Charlie immediately took flight, flapping and flying towards Xiao Can.
Its wings had been clipped, so its flight was chaotic and clumsy. Finally, it crashed into Xiao Can’s arms.
“Charlie!” He Xingzhou shouted in distress.
Charlie adjusted its posture, stretched its neck, and affectionately exclaimed towards Xiao Can, “Pretty!”
It was too adorable. Xiao Can, who had just been furious, instantly felt overjoyed.
He raised his head and smiled at He Xingzhou, “It really likes me!”
He Xingzhou stared at him for a few seconds, then turned his head away, seemingly swallowing a mouthful of saliva, and said, “Back to the previous topic. If you want to deny the conclusion I’ve drawn, then provide me with a more reasonable explanation.”
“Whoever makes the claim bears the burden of proof,” Xiao Can said, his expression darkening, “You don’t have any evidence. I don’t need to refute it.”
“In that case, I’ll call the police and let them find the evidence,” He Xingzhou said.
Knowing He Xingzhou as he did, Xiao Can knew that this Alpha wouldn’t mind making private matters public and letting people watch and judge freely.
But Xiao Can couldn’t be that self-centered. He didn’t want to be pointed and judged by others.
But how could he prove himself?
Xiao Can looked down at Charlie, gently stroking its small red beak with his thumb, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
He raised his head again, showing a smile: “You’re really strange, Mr. He.”
“What do you mean?” He Xingzhou asked.
“What kind of perspective are you looking at me with? Clearly, you have a boyfriend, yet you keep imagining… sexual relations with me. Are you lusting after my body?”
He Xingzhou was stunned.
“You have those thoughts… would Charlie say such things to me? Did you teach him? Do you want to show me affection?”
“I didn’t,” He Xingzhou said firmly, “I didn’t teach him.”
“I don’t believe you,” Xiao Can said, lowering his head and trying to address Charlie, “Little Charlie, did he teach you?”
He deliberately slowed down and emphasized the last three words, and it indeed had an effect.
Charlie stretched its neck, “He teach me! teach me!”
Xiao Can raised his head, his eyes suddenly sharp: “You’re really despicable, attempting something with me and then shifting blame onto me. You deliberately deceived me today and even threatened me. What exactly are you planning?” He exaggeratedly leaned back and crossed his arms over his body, shielding himself with his arms. “Are you planning to force yourself on me?”
He Xingzhou’s expression changed dramatically, his mouth half-open, his hand gesturing helplessly for a while without saying a word.
