First, then, love.

Shu Yao's mind instantly exploded into a white light.

The blood in my body seemed to freeze at that moment, and then began to flow backward at ten times the speed.

The sensation transmitted through my fingertips was terrifyingly clear.

Moist, hot, and soft.

His tongue, without any hesitation, wrapped around her injured fingertip and sucked hard.

The taste of blood spread through his mouth.

A powerful electric current surged from her fingertips, striking her spine directly.

Shu Yao's legs went weak, and she could barely stand.

She instinctively stepped back, her waist hitting the edge of the sofa, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

"You... what are you doing..." Her voice trembled uncontrollably, with a hint of unbearable discomfort at the end.

He Zheng did not budge.

He slightly raised his eyelids, held her finger in his mouth, and his Adam's apple slowly bobbed up and down.

Shu Yao's breathing became completely disordered.

His chest heaved violently, and his face turned so red it looked like it was about to bleed.

She forcefully pulled her hand back, "Let go... You're dirty..."

He Zheng's large hand gripped her wrist tightly, remaining motionless.

He sucked hard twice, cleaning the stagnant blood from the wound.

Only then did he reluctantly open his mouth.

The moment the finger was pulled out, a trail of ambiguous silver thread appeared.

The air instantly became viscous.

He Zheng straightened up.

He licked the blood off his lower lip, turned around, and walked to the sink.

"Pooh."

Spitting out the blood in my mouth, I turned on the tap and rinsed my mouth.

I pulled out two kitchen paper towels and walked back.

He grabbed her still trembling hand and tightly wrapped the still-bleeding wound with a tissue.

"Hold it down." His voice was terribly hoarse.

Shu Yao mechanically pressed the tissue against her chest, her heart still pounding wildly.

She didn't dare look at him at all, keeping her head down and staring at the mud stain on the carpet.

He Zheng ignored her and rolled up the sleeves of his black windbreaker, revealing his muscular forearms.

Walk to the coffee table.

He stretched out his large hand, grabbed several thorny rose branches, and used his hand to yank them down the branches.

"Sizzle."

The sharp thorns and fragile green leaves were all smoothed out by his iron-fist-like hand.

The thorns pricked his calluses without even breaking the skin.

Less than five minutes.

He cleaned the lower half of all ninety-nine rose stems, leaving them completely bare, without a single thorn.

He picked up the cleaned flowers, walked to the sink, and used scissors to neatly cut off the muddy parts of the roots.

Then I walked back.

"Clang!"

He roughly stuffed the ninety-nine red roses into the crystal vase worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Too many flowers, too small a bottle opening.

They crammed it in, squeezing it in tightly.

The crystal is crystal clear, paired with this wildly growing fire.

It possesses a strange, rough yet vibrant beauty.

"Alright." He Zheng patted the crumbs off his hands.

"The thorns are all cleaned up, they won't prick your hands anymore, you can set it up yourself."

He glanced at Shu Yao, who was still standing by the sofa in a daze.

His gaze lingered on her bright red ear tips for a second.

Without lingering, she turned and walked towards the master bedroom to get her clothes and take a shower.

Shu Yao stood still.

Listening to the sound of rushing water coming from the bathroom.

She raised her right hand and looked at her index finger wrapped in a tissue.

The scalding heat from his mouth seemed to linger on my fingertips.

She bit her lower lip, feeling her legs still go weak.

This man is a monster.

*

It's 11 p.m.

After taking a shower, Shu Yao changed into a long-sleeved, long-legged silk nightgown, wrapping herself up completely.

She left the guest room and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

There was only one floor lamp on in the living room, making the light dim.

In the crystal vase on the coffee table, ninety-nine red roses shone eerily in the dim light.

He Zheng was sitting on the sofa.

After showering, he changed into a black tracksuit, his freshly dried hair a little messy.

The God of War lay sprawled at his feet, while the princess slept on the other end of the sofa, their positions clearly separated.

Hearing footsteps, He Zheng turned around.

I watched as Shu Yao walked out carrying a water glass.

"Come here." He spoke in a deep voice, which was particularly clear in the quiet night.

Shu Yao paused, feeling guilty, but her momentum remained undiminished.

She took her water glass, walked to the opposite side of the coffee table, and stood there.

"What? I want to go back to my room to sleep." She raised her chin.

He Zheng didn't say anything.

He leaned forward, pulled a stack of things out of his sweatpants pocket, and slapped them directly onto the black slab coffee table.

Shu Yao looked down and froze.

A stack of bank cards.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and a completely black card.

At the very bottom, there was a red passbook with the words "Military and Police Subsidy" printed on it.

There were six cards and one passbook in total, a thick stack of them.

He Zheng leaned back on the sofa with his legs wide open, his posture both domineering and relaxed.

He looked up at her, his dark eyes revealing an undeniable firmness.

"I don't recognize brands, and I don't understand those bottles and jars."

He extended his index finger and tapped on the stack of cards.

The sound was deep, crisp, and made a loud thud when it hit the ground.

"The password is your birthday. Go buy a hundred of those face wash bottles tomorrow, it's on me."

*

The air in the living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Six bank cards and a red passbook for military and police subsidies.

A thick stack of roses lay quietly on the black slab coffee table, next to a bottle overflowing with newspaper, emitting a strong, pungent fragrance.

Shu Yao lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over the pile of cards.

My heart skipped a beat.

This man may seem rough around the edges, but he's ruthless when it comes to getting things done. He'll lay his cards on the table without warning, leaving himself no way out.

"Ding-dong—"

The doorbell rang suddenly, breaking the tense, ambiguous atmosphere in the living room.

He Zheng leaned back on the sofa and didn't move.

He lifted his eyelids, glanced at the door, and said, "Go open the door. Same-city express delivery."

Shu Yao was stunned for a moment. Same-city express delivery? In the middle of the night.

She walked over in her slippers and opened the security door.

A delivery guy in a yellow uniform was standing outside the door, carrying a huge black frosted paper bag. The bag had no logo on it, but it looked to be of very high quality.

"Hello, this is Mr. He's urgent shipment." The deliveryman handed over the paper bag.

Shu Yao took it; it was quite heavy.