Silence.
Dead silence.
Tao Zhi hadn’t reacted at first to what Fu Si Heng was saying. He just felt there was no time to fool around with Fu Si Heng first thing in the morning—he had something very important to say. He needed to hurry back to school and couldn’t stay here any longer.
At the time, Tao Zhi had patted Fu Si Heng’s arm, urging him to let him down quickly.
Until Fu Si Heng’s palm enveloped him completely, covering the place no one had ever touched before. In that instant, his mind went blank.
He couldn’t react.
His brain overloaded, the CPU burning wildly. Faced with the situation before him, he couldn’t process it. He stayed dazed for several minutes before gradually coming back to his senses. Then, a flood of questions surged into his mind, overwhelming him like a tidal wave.
Exposed?
Just like that? Exposed without any warning or preparation?
Yesterday, he had even sacrificed himself by offering to rub Fu Si Heng with his legs and butt, and today it was suddenly, without any sign, exposed…
His true gender had been discovered by Fu Si Heng.
Tao Zhi opened his mouth, refocused his scattered gaze, and looked at Fu Si Heng.
“Hm?”
Their eyes met, Tao Zhi’s still mostly bewildered. Fu Si Heng made a sound and asked again, “What is this?”
Tao Zhi’s eyelashes trembled. Subconsciously: “What…”
“Hm? What?”
The two parroted each other like parrots. Tao Zhi repeated Fu Si Heng’s words, and Fu Si Heng repeated Tao Zhi’s.
After several rounds of this gibberish, Tao Zhi’s crashed brain finally rebooted.
The moment his gaze cleared, he heard Fu Si Heng ask him again, “I’m asking you, baby, what is this?”
As he spoke, Fu Si Heng’s fingers hooked the edge of his underwear. Tao Zhi silently opened his mouth, quickly curled up his body, and pushed Fu Si Heng’s hand away. “I-it’s nothing, I-I don’t know either.”
Tao Zhi’s voice was very soft, thin and weak, pitiful. He pleaded, “I-I don’t know what it is. M-maybe you haven’t woken up yet? Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit?”
Go back to sleep so he could have time to escape.
He really couldn’t take it anymore.
Woo.
Save me.
“I’m not dreaming.” Fu Si Heng almost wanted to laugh at those words.
But if he was acting, he had to commit fully. This wasn’t the time or place to laugh.
He pinched Tao Zhi’s chin, making him lift his head. Their eyes met; Tao Zhi only wanted to dodge, his eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, as if he could hear the soft rustling sound.
“So, you’re actually a man?” Fu Si Heng confirmed with him.
Tao Zhi didn’t dare speak and shook his head stubbornly, refusing to admit it.
His head drooped again.
“Not? Then you—” The unfinished words turned into a gaze that lingered on his chest… and lower abdomen.
Tao Zhi bit his lip, withdrew the hand that had been around Fu Si Heng’s neck, and pulled the loose bathrobe over himself, covering his obviously male body.
Though it was useless.
“Hm?” Fu Si Heng prompted him again.
Tao Zhi still didn’t answer.
He couldn’t come up with any explanation. His mind was a mess; he didn’t know where to start or what his fate would be. Right now, he just wanted to get off Fu Si Heng’s body and run away.
But Fu Si Heng’s strength was far greater than he imagined.
Even holding him with one arm, he couldn’t budge.
Tao Zhi didn’t dare struggle either—wiggling around would just rub against that thing down there with its overwhelming presence.
Poor little peach, he sniffled.
He couldn’t have looked more pitiful.
Fu Si Heng decided to give him a way out.
He thought for a moment. “Intersex?”
As expected of President Fu, who had seen all kinds of things—even the term “intersex” came out of his mouth.
Tao Zhi, on the other hand, had no idea what it meant.
The unfamiliar word made him lift his head blankly. “What does that mean?”
“Are you intersex? Do you have both male and female sexual characteristics?” Fu Si Heng said. “Let me check.”
??
What?!
A jumble of nonsense—his head buzzed!
How could Tao Zhi let him lift it up and check?
Even though everything was so obvious now—the flat chest with no curves, the male features below—all signs pointed to him being a boy.
But deep down, Tao Zhi clung to a sliver of hope. As long as the wig didn’t fall off and Fu Si Heng didn’t truly see that… that organ, there might still be a chance.
Tao Zhi hurriedly covered his little underwear, refusing to let him touch no matter what.
Somehow, he mustered a burst of astonishing strength and broke free from Fu Si Heng’s hold.
Without any hesitation, the first thing he did upon landing was run.
Survive first, deal with the rest later.
Tao Zhi ran off trembling.
Fu Si Heng was stunned for a second, then chased after him, successfully cornering him on the sofa.
“F-Fu-ge…” Only when caught did he beg for mercy, his eyes pitiful, brimming with misty tears, eyelashes damp. He desperately clutched the bathrobe tight. “I was wrong, I know I was wrong.”
Fu Si Heng looked down at him.
Tao Zhi clutched the hem of his bathrobe even tighter.
No choice—he had nothing under the bathrobe except a pair of little underwear.
“I need to confirm.” Fu Si Heng’s gaze darkened.
Tao Zhi: “…”
He didn’t dare.
“Fu-ge, I’m sorry. Can you let me go?”
At this point, denying it was pointless. He could only plead for leniency.
Tao Zhi’s fingers gripped the bathrobe tightly. “I really know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again. I swear I won’t appear in front of you anymore. Okay?”
“No.” Fu Si Heng rejected immediately.
This wasn’t the outcome he wanted.
Right now, he wished he could stuff Tao Zhi in his pocket and carry him everywhere.
“I really didn’t mean to deceive you on purpose…” Tao Zhi’s lips quivered pitifully.
“Mm, I believe you. I know you had your reasons; deceiving me wasn’t your intention.” Fu Si Heng smoothly took his words. “For example, someone threatened you?”
…Huh?
Tao Zhi froze.
Threatened… it didn’t quite count, right?
Though it started with a threat, later he agreed himself, wanting to make money from Fu Zheng, so it shouldn’t count as a threat.
Even at a time like this, Tao Zhi could spare a moment for rational analysis.
And besides, he couldn’t betray Fu Zheng.
When Fu Si Heng beat Fu Zheng, he went all out. Tao Zhi recalled the incident in the dorm, Fu Zheng bleeding from his nose, and his body began to tremble.
Before exposure, Tao Zhi thought that if he got beaten, at least Fu Zheng would share it.
But now that it happened, he figured one person taking the beating was better than two.
He had taken Fu Zheng’s money; he couldn’t betray his boss.
Tao Zhi clamped his mouth shut and shook his head desperately.
Fu Si Heng: …
Good, pretty loyal.
Fu Si Heng laughed in exasperation.
“It really wasn’t Fu Zheng threatening you?” Fu Si Heng asked once more, this time pointedly.
Truth be told, Fu Si Heng had never taken Tao Zhi’s deception seriously.
He just saw it as fate from above.
Without the deception, how would they have met?
A minor issue, not worth dwelling on. He’d even gotten to enjoy the cross-dressing play, which was great.
