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

Xie Zhizhou was nestled in his arms when his stomach suddenly let out a very loud rumbling sound, which was particularly abrupt in the quiet bedroom.

He froze for a moment, then pretended nothing had happened.

Zong Ran looked down at him, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat."

Xie Zhizhou snorted and turned his face away with great pride, but his stomach growled again. He was silent for a moment, then nodded very slightly.

Zong Ran first tidied himself up, then bent down to pick up the quilt from the floor and put it on the bed. He then turned around and went to the dressing room to take out a set of clean clothes, which were Xie Zhizhou's size.

Xie Zhizhou's clothes had already been prepared in the manor. All the clothes were neatly hung in the most convenient row in the dressing room, and even the innerwear and socks were folded by color.

Zong Ran placed the clothes by the bed, picked up the shirt first and shook it out. Xie Zhizhou reached out to take it, but Zong Ran avoided him.

Zong Ran gently lifted his wrist above his head, pulled his shirt on, and then pulled it down to straighten the collar and hem.

Xie Zhizhou remained silent, a smug smile playing on his lips as he secretly enjoyed Zong Ran's attentive service.

"A tailor will come to take your measurements tomorrow," Zong Ran said while adjusting his cuffs. "He'll make you a few new outfits, including a formal suit. You need to come with me to a private dinner party in a while, remember?"

Xie Zhizhou looked up at him and nodded.

Zong Ran personally helped Xie Zhizhou put on his casual pants, then reached out and pulled him up from the bedside. He lowered his head and gently kissed Xie Zhizhou's forehead, then took his hand and pushed open the bedroom door to walk downstairs.

Xie Zhizhou followed half a step behind him, his hand held by him. Although he was still maintaining an expression that said "I'm not completely over it yet," he was secretly overjoyed.

Chen Du was already waiting at the top of the stairs, his posture upright, his face still showing that unchanging composure.

Seeing Zong Ran leading Xie Zhizhou down the stairs, he bowed slightly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the red marks on Xie Zhizhou's neck that couldn't be concealed. Chen Du's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't seen anything, and he calmly said, "Patriarch, dinner is ready."

Zong Ran nodded, his expression unchanged.

Xie Zhizhou felt his face burning. He quickened his pace, wanting to hurry to the restaurant, but his hand was firmly held by Zong Ran and he couldn't break free no matter what he did.

He could only lower his head and follow Zong Ran, frantically chanting in his mind, "They can't see, they can't see, they can't see anything."

Dinner was served, and Xie Zhizhou was about to pick up his chopsticks when he saw the exquisite dishes on the table. Zong Ran had already put a small pile of stir-fried vegetables into his bowl.

"Eat it all." Zong Ran's tone left no room for negotiation.

Xie Zhizhou glanced at Zong Ran's unyielding face, and finally resigned himself to picking up his chopsticks, grabbing a piece of cabbage heart, and stuffing it into his mouth.

He chewed a couple of times and muttered under his breath, "He just bullied someone and then forced them to eat vegetables. Control freak, unreasonable..."

He muttered to himself as he picked up a second piece of green vegetable, which Zong Ran, sitting next to him, heard clearly.

Zong Ran held his wine glass, his face expressionless. He watched Xie Zhizhou frown as he put stalks of bok choy into his mouth, one by one. One cheek bulged out as he chewed with gritted teeth, yet dared not stop. His aggrieved and resigned expression reminded him of the times when he had forced Xie Zhizhou to eat broccoli during meals—back then, this guy dared to secretly throw fruit into the trash can, but now he had learned his lesson and only dared to mutter under his breath.

While Xie Zhizhou was drinking water, Zong Ran picked up some more vegetables. When Xie Zhizhou looked down, he saw that the vegetables in his bowl had not decreased, but had instead increased by a few more broccoli leaves and spinach stalks.

He took a deep breath, glared at Zong Ran, and then started muttering to himself again:

"The greens are green, but the heart is hard; you cruelly forced me to eat them all."

Broccoli is hard to swallow, and you have to be checked after eating it.

Spinach leaves, too tough to chew, were praised by the tyrant.

She softly said "good girl," but then kept piling more food into the bowl.

Zong Ran: "..."

Zong Ran put down his wine glass, smiled, and reached out to pinch Xie Zhizhou's soft cheek: "What are you muttering about, kid?"

Xie Zhizhou's face was distorted from being pinched, but he remained defiant: "I'm creating spontaneously! Art originates from life, and my life consists of being forced to eat vegetables by you—that's my creative inspiration!"

He finally managed to break free from the clutches, rubbing his cheeks as he added, "When I hold a concert in the future, the first piece will be called 'Tyrant and Broccoli,' the second 'Spinach's Revenge,' and the final piece will be 'Carrot's Trial.'"

Zong Ran raised an eyebrow and placed another carrot in his bowl: "So, what's this song called?"

Xie Zhizhou looked down at the newly added vegetables in his bowl and remained silent for a moment: "...The broccoli is piled up like a small hill, and the carrots have joined in. This is called 'Never Ending'."

Zong Ran paused for a moment after hearing this, then threw his head back and burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the dining room, startling the servants standing by the table—they had served their master for so many years and had never seen Zong Ran laugh like that.

Ah Gui and Lao Mo had just returned from running errands outside and were about to enter the restaurant to check with Chen Du when they heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from inside.

The laughter was deep and loud, echoing several times in the spacious, high-ceilinged restaurant, so loud that Ah Gui stopped abruptly in his tracks, almost dropping the walkie-talkie in his hand.

He nudged Old Mo, who was equally frozen beside him, with his elbow and lowered his voice: "Did I hear that right? That laughter came from the boss?"

Old Mo slowly shook his head, indicating that he also found it hard to believe.

Hearing the commotion, Chen Du prepared to come and take a look. He walked to the restaurant entrance and saw Zong Ran leaning back in his chair, smiling with his eyes crinkling at the corners. Xie Zhizhou was sitting next to him, with a piece of spinach still in his mouth, looking at Zong Ran blankly. He obviously did not expect his impromptu creation to cause such a big reaction.

"...Brother Chen, what's going on inside?" Jiang Chi walked over from the other end of the corridor, holding a report he had just finished compiling. He frowned when he saw Ah Gui and Lao Mo peering into the restaurant from the doorway.

Ah Gui turned around and glanced at him, his expression complicated: "The boss has gone mad."

"?"

"Laughing like that," Old Mo said, pointing inside the restaurant.

Jiang Chi followed his gaze and saw Zong Ran gently pull the spinach leaf out of Xie Zhizhou's mouth and place it on the side of the plate. Then he rubbed Xie Zhizhou's head and said with a smile, "I'll book out your concert from now on. Four songs aren't enough; we'll have to make at least an album."

Xie Zhizhou muttered, "Then you have to make sure I can survive the broccoli's siege until then," and Zong Ran laughed again.

Everyone: "..."

Xie Zhizhou swallowed the last piece of bok choy, picked up his water glass and took a big gulp, then leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath, as if he had just finished a hard-fought battle.

Zong Ran gently rubbed Xie Zhizhou's head again: "Hmm, good boy."

Xie Zhizhou snorted through his nose, not only not dodging the hand that was rubbing his head, but even tilting his head very slightly towards Zong Ran's palm, like a kitten whose fur had been stroked. He was still angry, but his body was already very honest.