Without a word, expression unchanged. Just as Tao Zhi thought he didn’t mind, Fu Si Heng suddenly spoke: “Do you hate me now?”
Ah?
“No, no.” Tao Zhi waved his hands frantically: “I just think it’s better if I do it myself.”
His voice grew smaller: “After all… the wound is on my lips.”
Such an intimate spot wasn’t convenient for others to help with…
Tao Zhi finally remembered he was currently a “girl,” giving him a perfect excuse to refuse: “Men and women shouldn’t be so intimate; it’s inconvenient.”
“I see.” Fu Si Heng nodded and handed over the ointment.
Tao Zhi took it this time.
He gripped the tube with both hands, his exposed fingers slender and elegant, knuckles slightly bent.
Fu Si Heng recalled last night, how those hands clutched his clothes, head tilted back, enduring.
So cute.
Obedient and cute, kissable however he wanted.
…
Tao Zhi squeezed the tube with both hands, and as the white cream emerged and touched his finger, he suddenly heard Fu Si Heng ask: “You really don’t hate me?”
“Hm?” Tao Zhi looked up.
Realizing he was referring to last night, Tao Zhi’s hand tightened, his gaze panicked. He lowered his head, denying: “No, why would you think that?”
“Because you seem to be avoiding me.” Fu Si Heng said: “Twice.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
“I’m not.” Tao Zhi felt extremely guilty.
But he absolutely wouldn’t admit it.
“I don’t hate you. How could I hate you? No way.” Tao Zhi denied desperately, shaking his head vigorously to show his conviction.
“Oh.”
It seemed successful; Fu Si Heng didn’t pursue it.
But he changed the subject.
“If you don’t hate me, then do you like me?”
“?”
Ah?
His head-shaking halted abruptly.
“I… of course I like you.” The topic was so abrupt and unexpected, but thankfully Tao Zhi remembered his duty and the money Fu Zheng had thrown at him.
He admitted against his conscience, eyes darting, nearly biting his tongue.
After several seconds, he dared look at Fu Si Heng again, bracing with full alertness for follow-ups like why do you like me.
Though he hadn’t prepared for such questions, he could improvise based on Fu Si Heng’s words. He was ready.
“That’s good.” Fu Si Heng said: “Sorry, your reactions were odd, so I overthought it a bit.”
Tao Zhi: “?”
What did that mean?
Tao Zhi didn’t get it, his eyes clear and bewildered: “I wasn’t that strange…”
“Late at night, you suddenly wanted to enter my room, sat on my lap, asked if I could like you. Fine, whatever.” Fu Si Heng’s tone remained flat, but his words made Tao Zhi’s heart skip: “I agreed to your request, expressed that I liked you, and you just bolted. The next day, you avoided meeting me.”
“It’s hard not to overthink.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
Those words left Tao Zhi unsure where to look.
Yeah… it did seem pretty strange.
Not only him—Fu Si Heng was strange too.
Coming to find him now, saying these things, it oddly felt like a resentful husband. It made Tao Zhi feel like he was the scumbag who toyed with others—no, scumbag woman.
The thought made Tao Zhi cringe inwardly, toes curling and digging.
Amid the embarrassment, Fu Si Heng didn’t let up.
“I feel like I was toyed with.”
Cold tone, but saying things that made Tao Zhi want to die.
Tao Zhi’s toes worked overtime, his expression mortified as he forced a denial: “I d-didn’t, didn’t toy with you.”
“Actually, scumming me or toying with me isn’t a big deal.” Fu Si Heng stared at him: “But your identity is special, which complicates things.”
“What?” Tao Zhi’s eyes cleared again.
“You’re Fu Zheng’s classmate.” Fu Si Heng told him: “Fu Zheng and I have a bad relationship. With his brain, he might think of some beauty trap to toy with me, steal something from me for a fatal blow. I have no doubt he’d be that stupid.”
“And you just happen to be the one he introduced.”
“？！”
Tao Zhi jumped in fright!
How did Fu Si Heng… how could he…
Tao Zhi’s face paled, heart pounding, cold sweat on his neck: “W-What are you talking about, Brother Fu? I don’t know what you mean…”
“Of course, it’s just my guess.” Fu Si Heng interrupted.
“I just thought your behavior was strange, so I assumed the worst. I know that’s not the case.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
“Y-Yes, yes, right…” Tao Zhi couldn’t think of anything else to say.
He nodded frantically.
But it felt too monotonous, unconvincing. So he tried adding more for credibility: “I was just scared, Brother Fu. I didn’t mean anything like that. Fu Zheng and I didn’t plan anything.”
“Really, really not.” Tao Zhi was nearly swearing: “I was just scared.”
This part wasn’t lying to Fu Si Heng.
He truly had been frightened and at a loss, unsure how to face or interact with him. Because Fu Zheng hadn’t mentioned being kissed, and he hadn’t anticipated it.
In their plan, once seduction succeeded, they’d play hard to get, build feelings, get into his home or office, steal files, and Tao Zhi’s mission would be done.
Who knew they’d barely reached step one—no, hadn’t even finished step one—when Fu Si Heng kissed his lips raw.
So sudden and scary.
It wasn’t his fault.
Really.
“Just scared?” Fu Si Heng confirmed with Tao Zhi.
Tao Zhi nodded vigorously.
Fu Si Heng: “But that’s a normal way to express liking someone.”
“For expressing like, we can start with holding hands, dating.” Though panicked now, Tao Zhi wasn’t entirely brainless.
He said softly: “Who kisses right away? That’s too fast.”
And so excessively.
Thinking of it made his mouth ache.
He pursed his lips.
Fu Si Heng stood before Tao Zhi, taking in every action, in a good mood.
He chuckled lightly from his nose, muffled.
“Fast?” Fu Si Heng said: “I only kissed you because we hadn’t confirmed our relationship yet. If we had yesterday, you wouldn’t have had a chance to return to your room.”
His voice was cool and detached, but his words weren’t: “We’d go to bed, get engaged after a month of dating, meet my mom with me by year’s end. We could marry a bit later; I can wait until you graduate.”
“But if you don’t want to wait, we could marry next year. The parents can discuss the timing.”
Tao Zhi: “?”
Tao Zhi: “…”
W-What?
Wait, wait, he seemed to stop understanding.
Tao Zhi was completely dumbfounded.
“Right.” Fu Si Heng was truly excessive; as he spoke, his gaze shifted downward to Tao Zhi’s belly, lips curving slightly: “Having kids is up to you—whether, or when. I said yesterday I hate kids; it’s not essential for me.”
Tao Zhi: “………………”
Ah…?
Kids? Who? Him?
Tao Zhi looked down at his own belly, then up at the still-serious Fu Si Heng.
Every word felt like it wanted him dead.
Tao Zhi’s vision went black, nearly collapsing to the ground.
