What to do if you're forced into love by a powerful man?!

Xie Zhizhou felt that the oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe finally loosened a little. He opened his eyes and looked at Zong Ran—the violence and obsession surging in those eyes had not completely subsided, but self-blame and heartache had already surfaced.

He knew the time was right.

He tilted his head up and gently kissed Zong Ran's lips, a kiss that was both tentative and ingratiating. He lingered on Zong Ran's lips for a moment before pulling away, then nuzzled Zong Ran's nose with his own and said softly, "Don't be angry anymore, okay... I really know I was wrong. I'll tell you everything from now on and I won't hide anything from you anymore."

Zong Ran did not respond immediately, but simply looked down at him.

Xie Zhizhou pecked him on the corner of his mouth again, this time for a longer time. When he pulled away, he gently bit his lower lip, then looked up at him with his still red eyes, his gaze filled with a hint of pleading expectation and a touch of coquetry.

Looking into his eyes, Zong Ran suddenly felt that this so-called cold war was a joke from beginning to end. How could he really be so heartless to this person?

He reached out and cupped Xie Zhizhou's head, pulling him back into his arms, and then lowered his head to give Xie Zhizhou a deep kiss on the top of his head.

Xie Zhizhou leaned against his chest, listening to the steady and powerful heartbeat, and secretly smiled with his eyes crinkling – this hurdle was finally over.

Indeed, acting cute is the ultimate weapon; it can even win over a tyrant. Xie Zhizhou is truly gifted in this area.

His mental notebook was already flipping through pages rapidly: what to eat when we go downstairs later, how to take a nice bath tonight, and how to sleep in late tomorrow.

Just as he was deep in his calculations, Zong Ran's unhurried voice suddenly came from above: "You may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment."

Xie Zhizhou's smile froze on his face. He lifted his head from Zong Ran's chest, blinked, and his expression changed from smug to bewildered: "...What do you mean?"

Zong Ran looked down at him, a faint, enigmatic smile curving his lips. It was much gentler than his previous cold laugh, but Xie Zhizhou read a chilling premonition in it.

You'll find out soon enough.

"???"

Zong Ran's hand landed on Xie Zhizhou's shirt collar, and he slowly unbuttoned the first button.

Xie Zhizhou's shoulders, which had just relaxed, tensed up suddenly. He instinctively grabbed Zong Ran's wrist and looked up at him.

Zong Ran looked down to meet his gaze, his hands continuing their work, the second button undone, his slender fingers sliding down his shirt, the fingertips occasionally brushing against the bare skin below his collarbone.

"You..." Xie Zhizhou's voice trembled slightly.

Zong Ran lowered his head and pressed his lips to his neck, gently licking the soft skin before taking it into his mouth and grinding it lightly with his teeth.

Xie Zhizhou shuddered, letting out a very soft groan, his fingers instinctively pushing against Zong Ran's chest.

But Zong Ran remained unmoved. His arm was firmly locked around Xie Zhizhou's waist like an iron hoop, and his lips traveled up Xie Zhizhou's neck, pausing at his Adam's apple before increasing the pressure.

"Don't move." His low voice carried an unyielding force.

Xie Zhizhou immediately stopped pushing him. His still red eyes looked at Zong Ran, his eyelashes fluttered twice, and his fingers changed from pushing to grabbing, tightly gripping the front of Zong Ran's open shirt.

Zong Ran stepped back slightly, brushed his thumb against Xie Zhizhou's reddened lips, and looked at his face.

A surging desire welled up deep within his dark eyes; his heart was filled with affection that belonged only to Xie Zhizhou.

"Don't be afraid, I won't go all the way." His voice was low and husky, with a hint of reassurance. "But you'll always have to pay a price, won't you?"

Xie Zhizhou looked at Zong Ran's face, which was so close to his own. He had seen this kind of scene on TV before, where the protagonist was pinned to the bed by a domineering CEO. He had even complained about it back then, thinking that there was nothing to be nervous about. He would just deal with whatever came his way.

Now it was his turn. He felt his heart pounding so hard it was about to jump out of his throat. He was incredibly nervous. It was true that watching a play and real combat were completely different!

But he didn't push it away anymore. He took a deep breath and quickly did some mental calculations: it was bound to happen sooner or later, and he couldn't escape it anyway, and he didn't really want to escape it. So be it, whatever.

He suddenly loosened his grip on the shirt and instead hooked his arm around Zong Ran's neck, using the momentum to pull himself up a few inches until their noses collided.

He closed his eyes, his tone carrying a sense of resignation, as if he'd given up entirely: "Then... be careful..."

Zong Ran chuckled softly.

"Of course." A gentle voice whispered in her ear, "I can't bear to see you in pain."

……

More than an hour later, Xie Zhizhou lay on the bed, his face buried in the pillow. His shirt was crumpled into a ball and thrown at the foot of the bed. The blanket had been kicked to the ground at some point. He looked like a small animal that had been through a storm, curled up in a ball.

"...You liar," his voice muffled by the pillow, tinged with anger and embarrassment, "what happened to 'keeping things in check'? You call that 'keeping things in check'?!"

Zong Ran leaned against the headboard. His shirt was long gone, and his belt was nowhere to be found. His breathing was a few degrees deeper than usual, but he looked satiated and languid, like a beast that had just had a full meal.

He reached out to scoop Xie Zhizhou up, but as soon as his fingers touched the still slightly red skin, Xie Zhizhou recoiled as if he had been burned.

"Don't touch me—I don't want to talk to you right now—"

Zong Ran reached out and grabbed Xie Zhizhou's wrist, pulling him close without saying a word.

Xie Zhizhou struggled twice but couldn't break free. His back pressed against Zong Ran's burning chest, and the heat of their skin touching made him freeze for a moment. He turned his face to the side, staring at the lamp on the bedside table, unwilling to turn his head to look at Zong Ran.

"Alright, stop being so stubborn." Zong Ran lowered his head, his lips brushing against Xie Zhizhou's earlobe, his voice low and soft. "It's my fault, I couldn't control my strength. Next time, you can stop whenever you want, okay?"

He loosened his hand from Xie Zhizhou's wrist and instead placed it on the back of his neck, gently circling the soft skin. As he did so, his hand became restless—his fingertips slid down the back of the neck, rubbing down segment by segment, the pressure very light, but the direction clearly wrong.

Xie Zhizhou: "..."

Xie Zhizhou's face fell. He grabbed Zong Ran's hand, which had already slid to his waist, turned his head and glared at him, his eyes saying, "Are you ever going to stop?"

Xie Zhizhou immediately got up and stood on the other side of the bed. His whole body was covered with marks, from his neck to his collarbone and down.

He glanced down at his chest, then looked up at the satiated, languid man leaning against the headboard. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he grabbed the pillow next to him and threw it at the man.

The pillow landed squarely on Zong Ran's chest, then bounced softly to the side, causing Zong Ran to raise an eyebrow slightly.

Xie Zhizhou stood by the bed, clutching the corner of another pillow. His hair was a mess, his eyes were red, and his lips were swollen. He looked extremely disheveled, but his fierce demeanor made him look like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

He lifted the pillow over his head and slammed it down on Zong Ran, unleashing a torrent of curses: "Beast! Pervert! You say you're mindful of boundaries—you call this boundaries? I'm covered in marks all over my body, and my neck is covered too! How am I supposed to face anyone now?! How am I supposed to go to class?! What am I supposed to say when Lin Zhiyuan and the others ask?! That I got bitten by mosquitoes? What kind of mosquitoes can bite like this?!"

Zong Ran got up and walked over, gently pulling the ruffled kitten toward him. Xie Zhizhou stumbled and fell into his arms, dropping the pillow in his hand. He was held tightly against Zong Ran's chest and couldn't move.

Zong Ran looked down at his puffed-up face, reached out and brushed aside a strand of hair damp with sweat from his forehead, his voice satisfied and tinged with suppressed laughter: "No one dares to look at you, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare to say anything."

Xie Zhizhou pursed his lips and whispered, "...You wait, next time I'll bite you and let you taste this feeling too."

Zong Ran lowered his head and gently touched the top of his head with his lips, his voice filled with undisguised laughter: "Hmm, feel free to take revenge."