Lin Zhi’s eyes widened hugely. “Um!”
Song Mian, who had been pressing him, froze. His breathing quickened. “You’re just admitting it?”
Lin Zhi looked perfectly reasonable. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Lin Zhi’s frankness actually made Song Mian a bit uncomfortable. He lay back down in the bedding and pulled Lin Zhi back into his arms. His voice was low. “Since you’re being so honest, we’ll call it even on the previous accounts. But now that it’s out in the open, you need to keep a certain distance from other men from now on.”
Faced with Song Mian’s sudden gentleness and his string of baffling words, Lin Zhi—who had still been thinking about Song Mian’s physical needs—grew even more confused. He tilted his face up. “Why?”
Lin Zhi’s cheeks were smooth and delicate to the touch. Song Mian used to just pinch them, but now that the window paper had been pierced, he rubbed them without any qualms. Song Mian said, “Why do you think? What, you still want to cheat?”
The word “cheat” made Lin Zhi realize something was off.
He grabbed Song Mian’s wrist to stop him from rubbing his face, then rolled right out of Song Mian’s arms. Lin Zhi rolled to the edge of the bed, deeming himself safe there, before rubbing his own face and asking, “Brother Song Mian, can I ask you a question?”
Song Mian grunted an “Mm.”
Lin Zhi asked, “Can ‘cheating’ be used between friends or brothers?”
Song Mian denied it outright. “No.”
Lin Zhi fell silent, his expression turning grave as he fully realized things had gone south. He tried to slip under the covers unnoticed, but Song Mian yanked him right back into his arms.
Lin Zhi lay pillowed on Song Mian’s chest, his face dazed.
Pinching his face was routine for Song Mian, but his tone wasn’t great. “What are you thinking? Do you really have cheating on your mind?”
Lin Zhi didn’t speak.
Song Mian lowered his gaze. “Talk.”
Lin Zhi inexplicably went along. “No cheating.”
Song Mian was satisfied and released Lin Zhi’s face.
Lin Zhi tilted his face up again to look at Song Mian, pointing at himself in utter confusion. “Am I gay?”
“Otherwise?” Song Mian seemed to recall something. “You’re still treating me like a woman?”
Lin Zhi’s eyes darted evasively.
Song Mian’s expression grew complicated, but he didn’t dwell on it. “Think what you want. It doesn’t make a difference.”
Lin Zhi’s eyes went wide and still again.
No!
“I’m straight!”
Lin Zhi finally figured out where it had gone wrong. His eyes widened. “You just asked if I liked you, right? I do like you, but it’s brotherly affection!”
“Brother Song Mian, how could you overthink it like that? You’ve misunderstood me!” Lin Zhi’s voice was urgent and innocent, as if he’d suffered a massive injustice.
Lin Zhi’s excuses only made Song Mian pinch his cheeks harder in frustration, sneering coldly. “Misunderstood? I didn’t say anything when I fell for a dummy like you, and now you’re playing dumb with me?”
Lin Zhi froze for a second, his pupils contracting in shock.
He scrambled up from the bed, yanking all the covers with him and huddling at the edge. His voice stuttered. “Y-you like me? What do you mean by ‘like’?”
Song Mian frowned slightly. “What do you mean, what? Why are you so far away?”
Lin Zhi’s pupils trembled. “Are you trying to date me?”
Song Mian said, “Strictly speaking, you’re the one trying to date me.”
Lin Zhi felt wronged.
“I didn’t! I’m straight—why would I date a gay guy like you?”
Watching Lin Zhi desperately distance himself, Song Mian’s brows knitted tighter. “What the hell? Do you think I shouldn’t have called you out so soon? Were you planore perverted stuff?”
Lin Zhi felt utterly aggrieved.
“I didn’t! What did I even do?”
Song Mian couldn’t believe it. “What did you do? Like you haven’t done enough? It was too dark at night, so you couldn’t find my mouth and groped around with your hand. Once you did, you kissed it precisely. Wasn’t that you?”
Lin Zhi turned to stone. H-he even remembered the details!
“Y-you were pretending to sleep?”
Song Mian laughed in exasperation. “Pretend what? You think you were quiet? Even if I was pretending, nothing would’ve happened if you hadn’t kissed me.”
Lin Zhi guiltily lowered his eyelids, mumbling, “It was a misunderstanding.”
Song Mian gave him no room to argue, staring intently as he calmly listed Lin Zhi’s misdeeds one by one. “Switching my pillow, stealing my socks to keep as treasures, barging into my bathroom multiple times while I showered, licking the sweat off my abs even when sick, insisting on sitting close in the hot springs and claiming it was a back rub when you were actually groping my abs.”
Lin Zhi couldn’t hold his head up, inwardly yelling furiously at the Romance Survival System.
“Come out! This was all your fault—you made me do it!”
The Romance Survival System stayed silent, spectating from the sidelines.
Song Mian continued, “And always staring at my dick. Does it give you a sense of accomplishment seeing it get hard because of you?”
Lin Zhi wilted and looked up, not daring to meet his eyes. “That one’s a misunderstanding. It was my first time seeing one so impressive, so I paid extra attention.”
Song Mian: “……”
Song Mian cleared his throat lightly. “Were the earlier ones true or not?”
Lin Zhi inwardly raged at the Romance Survival System again.
“Come out! Did you hear that? Come out!”
The Romance Survival System had vanished.
Left alone, Lin Zhi admitted, “They’re true, but I was forced.”
Song Mian didn’t buy it but gave him a chance. “Who forced you?”
Lin Zhi felt weak himself, hanging his head. “That Romance Survival System. It made me do them, or I’d die.”
After a long silence with no response, Lin Zhi sneaked a peek at Song Mian, who was looking at him like he was an idiot.
Lin Zhi’s heart ached, and he turned his head sharply. “Even if you don’t believe me, you don’t have to look at me like that.”
Song Mian suddenly asked, “Do you want me to believe you?”
Lin Zhi’s face thickened. “Yeah.”
Song Mian got up and walked over to Lin Zhi’s side. Lin Zhi wrapped himself tighter, but the next second, Song Mian scooped him up—bedding and all—onto his lap. Lin Zhi suddenly found himself eye-to-eye with Song Mian, his own eyes bulging.
“W-what are you doing? I really am straight.”
Song Mian looked down at him. “If you can bind to a system, why can’t I?”
Lin Zhi: “Huh?”
Song Mian said expressionlessly, “I’m bound to a Do System. If I don’t Do it with someone I like, I’ll die.”
Holy shit.
Lin Zhi muttered, “I was just worrying my next task would be that.”
Song Mian’s brow arched slightly.
Song Mian cupped Lin Zhi’s face again, his thumb pressing the soft cheek as he stared straight at him. His voice was low with a hint of coaxing. “If you want to stay straight, be my boyfriend. I’ll indulge all your weird fetishes.”
Song Mian was basically offering to be his girlfriend. Lin Zhi’s cheeks burned. Because he’d wrapped himself up in the bedding, he was now trapped in Song Mian’s arms with no escape.
Lin Zhi sighed wistfully. “Y-you really like me?”
Song Mian rested his forehead against Lin Zhi’s. His dark eyes brightened. “Do you think I’d wrong myself by being with someone I don’t like?”
Nope.
No way.
Lin Zhi couldn’t dodge it. He lowered his head, then suddenly thought of something and looked up, his face scrunching like a seal’s. “You’re gay, but we’ve always gotten along great before. Did you… fall for me just because of my perverted behavior lately?”
Song Mian’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t reply.
Lin Zhi pressed, “Have you been coveting my good looks all along?”
He did have some charm.
Song Mian said lightly, “Want the truth?”
There’s a truth serum now?
Lin Zhi nodded miserably.
Song Mian watched his expression. “Mm.”
Lin Zhi’s eyes bulged, words tumbling out. “Y-you! You big perv!”
Song Mian didn’t get mad. “You could say that.”
With that, Song Mian cupped Lin Zhi’s face again. Lin Zhi had no idea what was coming, letting Song Mian’s handsome face draw near. By the time he reacted, his lips were covered by a gentle warmth. His eyes widened as he tried to pull back, but Song Mian gripped the back of his head. His lips parted under the lick, and a nimble tongue slipped inside.
Lin Zhi went completely blank. He let Song Mian ravage his mouth, the man’s intense scent filling it. When he was finally released, Lin Zhi’s mind was empty, his lips flushed and hot enough to fry an egg.
“Y-you molested a straight guy!” The realization hit, and Lin Zhi panicked, throwing off the bedding to flee.
But Song Mian noticed something and chuckled. As Lin Zhi reached the door, Song Mian rasped a reminder. “Would a straight guy get hard from a man’s kiss?”
Lin Zhi froze in disbelief and looked down. In his extreme agitation, he hadn’t noticed his body’s reaction.
He sucked in a breath. How could this happen??
Song Mian sat up on the bed, picked up Lin Zhi’s slippers from the floor, and walked to the door. He set them by Lin Zhi’s feet. “Put them on. You’ll catch a cold.”
Lin Zhi hung his head and slipped them on, then glanced at Song Mian’s crotch, his face turning beet red. Men were all horny; he was no exception. Getting hard from a guy’s kiss—what the hell.
Song Mian cupped his face again. Lin Zhi’s eyes darted everywhere but at him.
Song Mian commanded, “Look at me.”
Lin Zhi aggrievedly met his gaze.
Song Mian softened his voice, negotiating. “If you still enjoy doing sneaky perverted stuff, I’ll keep playing along. Of course, if being official now kills the thrill for you, we can hold off on that.”
Lin Zhi sighed. “Sigh. Ah.”
Song Mian’s brow furrowed. “That’s still not good enough?”
Lin Zhi felt aggrieved. “No, you’re good enough to me. It’s just… I really am straight.”
Song Mian had always been patient with him, so he didn’t argue, analyzing instead. “Is it the identity shift? Fine, stay straight—as long as you like me.”
Lin Zhi said, “It’s brotherly like.”
But Song Mian’s thumb pressed his lips shut. His voice dropped. “Want to piss me off for real?”
Lin Zhi shook his head frantically.
Song Mian released him and pressed. “So, what’s your choice?”
Lin Zhi actually picked one. “No dating.”
Amusement flashed in Song Mian’s eyes. “Fine, keep going then.”
Lin Zhi looked miserable. Song Mian pinched his cheek. “I’ll help you take care of it.”
Lin Zhi instantly knew what he meant and flushed crimson, rejecting hastily. “N-no need!”
But Song Mian had already pulled him close and slipped a hand under his clothes. Lin Zhi’s mind blanked. As a pure virgin, he came quickly—but it felt really good.
Ever image-conscious, Lin Zhi huddled alone in the bedding, unwilling to face Song Mian. But soon, like a penguin, he shuffled over red-faced. “Do you want me to… uh… y’know…”
Song Mian cut him off. “No need for that now. Lie down. Closer.”
Lin Zhi obediently lay down, keeping some distance despite the instruction, but Song Mian reeled him into his arms. “You’re hogging all the covers? I don’t need any?”
Lin Zhi reluctantly pushed some over. “Here.”
Song Mian’s throat bobbed. “Mm. Lights out.”
Lin Zhi settled honestly in Song Mian’s arms. It wasn’t too awkward—he was used to sleeping like this anyway. It was just… their relationship now…
Lin Zhi fretted anxiously. Forcing a straight guy to date his bro—what a mess!
