Bai Yang uneasily sat in the study for around twenty minutes, until Shao Cheng pushed the door open with a gloomy expression.
The two of them exchanged a silent gaze.
“Did Zheng Hanqin leave already?” Bai Yang was the first to break the silence.
Shao Cheng just looked at him without answering.
Under the sharpness of that gaze, Bai Yang grew increasingly restless and anxious. Numerous questions in his mind involuntarily spilled out, “Did she come to reconcile with you? Do… you like her?” He urgently wanted to know the answer, yet he feared that the answer might align with his suspicions.
Shao Cheng slowly approached him, pressing him against the bookshelf, his gaze fixed on Bai Yang’s eyes, as he said in a deep voice:
“I like her.”
Bai Yang stiffened, and the color drained from his face in an instant.
Shao Cheng leisurely watched his reaction and asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Bai Yang thought his expression at the moment must look quite terrible. He barely mustered a smile, trying to appear less gloomy, and said, “You two make a great couple. You’ll definitely be happy together.”
Shao Cheng sneered, “didn’t you say you like me? Giving up so easily?”
“Where would I even have the qualifications to compete with her?” Bai Yang smiled again, but his dimples didn’t appear, and his eyes lacked their usual luster. “I know you can’t possibly like me. It’s enough that I like you.”
Shao Cheng’s gaze darkened as he stared at him, remaining silent.
Bai Yang inwardly mocked his own melodrama, steadied his emotions, and forced a casual tone, “But since you like her, you should be with her officially. Don’t have any more contact with someone like me. I don’t want to be a third party. Let’s not—”
“Bai Yang.”
Shao Cheng suddenly called out his name in a low voice, causing his heart to skip a beat.
“… yes?”
Shao Cheng seemed to move even closer, his pitch-black eyes bottomless.
“I like Zheng Hanqin as I would a sister. We grew up together.”
Bai Yang froze, momentarily unable to react. Shao Cheng continued, “She has someone she likes, but their family backgrounds are vastly different. Her family doesn’t approve, so she asked me to provide cover. When you saw us buying clothes last time, it was for her boyfriend. She asked me to host a gathering at home so she could have a date with her boyfriend. And just now, she came for her boyfriend’s matter.”
Shao Cheng rarely spoke so much at once, and Bai Yang only returned to his senses after a long while, “Then why did you… just now?”
Shao Cheng glanced deeply at him, his expression displeased. “Because you don’t listen to me.”
“…?”
“I said I gave you the clothes, and I also said you don’t need to return them but you don’t listen. What do I have to repeat before you get it? Also you can only accept what I give you. Others’, you can’t. Understand?”
Despite the cold tone, warmth spread through Bai Yang’s heart. Shao Cheng didn’t need to explain so much to someone as insignificant as him, yet he still clarified his relationship with Zheng Hanqin in person. Others might not see it, but Bai Yang could always sense Shao Cheng’s tenderness in these details.
“Why are you smiling like an idiot?” Shao Cheng asked irritably, surprised that Bai Yang could smile even after being scolded.
Bai Yang quickly wiped the smile off his face, but after a while, the dimples reappeared. He promised, “I understand, I’ll definitely listen to you in the future.”
Shao Cheng looked at the glint of laughter in Bai Yang’s eyes, and his hand, which had been pinching Bai Yang’s chin, slid down instinctively, brushing against the side of his neck. The red mark he had previously bitten into was now faded and barely visible.
His gaze darkened, and he leaned in, pressing Bai Yang against the bookshelf.
His lips met the same spot, and his tongue gently touched it.
Bai Yang noticeably tensed, seemingly aware of what he was about to do. He softly murmured, “Can you be gentler…”
Shao Cheng let out a low chuckle and indeed softened as he pleased Bai Yang, leaving a fresh red mark on that patch of skin. As if not satisfied, he marked several more spots on Bai Yang’s neck.
Bai Yang tilted his head back, exposing his vulnerable neck. The sucking sensations left him weak in the limbs, and he clutched at Shao Cheng’s clothes while catching his breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably.
Finally, Shao Cheng stopped, straightening up to look at the red marks he had left on Bai Yang’s neck. His gaze grew even darker, and he touched Bai Yang’s lips with his fingers, tracing them a few times. Then, he lowered his head slowly—
“Knock, knock!”
An abrupt knocking shattered the quiet in the room. Aunt Fang’s voice came from outside, “Shao Cheng, is your classmate staying for dinner?”
Shao Cheng abruptly snapped back to reality, swiftly increasing the distance between them. He answered in a tone that held no difference, “No.” Then, he turned to Bai Yang and said, “You can go back now.” With that, he entered the bedroom.
In an instant, the study was empty, leaving Bai Yang alone. The tense atmosphere from before had completely dissipated.
His heart was still racing wildly. Leaning against the bookshelf, he took deep breaths and absentmindedly touched his lips, where he could still feel the touch and warmth of Shao Cheng’s fingers.
He had thought he was about to be kissed…
Immediately, he shook his head to deny that thought.
How could that be possible? Fantasies needed limits too.
