His physiological preference

Inside the car, Yang Zhiyan sat in the back seat, bewildered. She had exercised a lot today and eaten little breakfast, so she was extremely hungry.

Just now, when Mu Cheng and the others were discussing where to eat, her stomach growled and her mouth watered.

"Weren't we supposed to go eat?" she asked. "I'm so hungry today."

He turned around and looked at her, his expression serious.

"Baby, you have to believe me," he said softly. "I really won't hit anyone."

Yang Zhiyan looked at him. "But wasn't the bruise on his lip from you?"

Qin Yuzheng was silent for a second. He wanted to say "yes," but the word sounded like a confession.

He wanted to say "no," but the bruise on his lip was indeed from him. He considered his words carefully.

"Yes. But we were just sparring and exchanging skills, not fighting or domestic violence."

Yang Zhiyan remained silent, implying that she could try to argue her point again.

He changed direction.

"I got a divorce because I'm impotent," Qin Yuzheng explained.

He didn't originally want to tell Yang Zhiyan about this, after all, it's not like he's really impotent...

Yang Zhiyan was stunned for a moment. She blinked. "You can't?" Her gaze unconsciously shifted downwards, then snapped back, her ears turning red.

Although they didn't go all the way, she could feel his reaction when they kissed.

He's good at it. At least, that's what his body tells her.

Qin Yuzheng noticed the change in her ears and the moment her gaze shifted downwards.

His lips twitched, but he managed to suppress a laugh.

"It's not impossible," he said, speaking slowly as he considered how best to explain the situation.

"It just doesn't work on others, it doesn't work on her." He looked into her eyes. "It only works on you."

Yang Zhiyan blushed. The blush ran from the tips of her ears all the way to the roots of her neck. She was still an innocent child; why did they have to let her hear such suggestive words?

She understood, yet it seemed she didn't. He said he divorced because of a lack of sex life, that he only responded to her. So, nothing ever happened between him and his ex-wife?

He's not good to others. Is he only good to her?

"So," Yang Zhiyan asked, "you like me just because you react to me?"

Qin Yuzheng shook his head. He reached out and took her hand in his palm.

His hands were warm, from his fingertips to his palms.

"My body likes you, and my heart likes you too. These are not contradictory."

Yang Zhiyan was delighted by his words. Her mood brightened.

Looking at her smile, Qin Yuzheng finally felt a weight lifted from his heart.

He held her hand in his, his thumb slowly circling the back of her hand.

"Baby, I love everything about you. I hope to grow old with you."

"You know I'm in a high position of power. If I just wanted to sleep with you, I have plenty of ways and means. I don't even need to lift a finger; as long as I show interest in you, I can have you immediately."

His thumb paused on the back of her hand.

"But that's not what I want. I want a future with you, so I'd rather pursue you in the most awkward way possible. Until you're ready, until the day you're willing."

Yang Zhiyan looked at him. His eyes held seriousness, frankness, and sincerity.

She reached out her other hand and placed it on the back of his hand.

"I have a question for you," Qin Yuzheng said.

"Go ahead and ask."

Why did you say I'm more terrifying than loan sharks?

"Who told you that?"

"Qin Yushang told me."

Yang Zhiyan's face flushed again. She remembered that day when she was by the flower bed in the community and told Li Fengxia, "My boyfriend is more terrifying than a loan shark."

She thought no one could hear her, but Qin Yushang did.

Qin Yuzheng looked at her flushed face and her slightly pursed lips.

"So," a hint of amusement crept into his voice, "in your sister-in-law's heart, I'm more terrifying than a loan shark?"

Yang Zhiyan looked up. "That was just something I said to scare her. I didn't think you were fierce. You're the one who thought I was fierce and kept asking me."

Qin Yuzheng looked at her, and she looked at Qin Yuzheng. They looked at each other, and then smiled at the same time.

Qin Yuzheng reached out and pulled her into his arms. His chin rested on the top of her head, and his arms were around her waist.

She pressed her face against his chest and could hear his heartbeat. Thump-thump-thump, faster than usual.

The two hugged for a while, then Qin Yuzheng let go of her, lowered his head, and looked into her eyes.

His fingers cupped her chin, and his thumb gently brushed against her lower lip.

"From now on," he said in a low voice, "don't doubt that I will hurt you. Never."

He didn't wait for her answer. His lips landed.

Qin Yuzheng's hand slid from her chin to the back of her neck, his fingers running through her hair and gently cupping the back of her head.

Her fingers gripped the sweater at his chest. The yarn tugged between her fingers, making a soft, rustling sound.

The back seat wasn't very spacious, and the two of them were very close together, so close that she could feel the outline of his muscles under his sweater, and his body heat was burning through the wool.

He didn't deepen the kiss, but simply lingered on her lips for a long time.

When the two arrived at the restaurant, all the dishes had already been served.

Mu Cheng sat at one side of the dining table, holding chopsticks in his hand.

Seeing Qin Yuzheng and Yang Zhiyan walk in, his gaze swept back and forth between the two of them before settling on Yang Zhiyan's face.

Yang Zhiyan's face was still red, and her lips were also red. Mu Cheng glanced at Qin Yuzheng's expression again, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Yang Zhiyan blushed even more under his gaze, lowered her head, and quickly walked to her seat.

Qin Yuzheng glared at Mu Cheng. That glare seemed to say, "Have you looked enough?"

Mu Cheng turned his gaze away, picked up a piece of pork rib, put it in his mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.

"Yes, it's still warm," he said.

Yang Zhiyan was starving. She had been exercising for over an hour, only ate five small steamed buns for breakfast, and had also used up a lot of energy in the car.

Qin Yuzheng turned the dishes to her, put the best piece of fish belly meat into her bowl, and picked out the tenderest pieces of ribs and placed them on the plate in front of her.

Yang Zhiyan was so engrossed in eating that her chopsticks were almost constantly in use.

Yang Zhiyan took the tissue and wiped her mouth, then put the last piece of pork rib from her bowl into his bowl.

"Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold." Qin Yuzheng looked at the piece of pork rib in the bowl and smiled with a heart full of spring fever.

Watching the interaction between the two, Mu Cheng realized that eating with them would indeed cause indigestion, since it's not good to eat too much PDA.

It was almost one o'clock when we finished eating. The group walked out of the restaurant. The sun was high overhead, but it wasn't too hot; it was warm and pleasant.

Yang Zhiyan had a lot of exercise today and hadn't slept well last night. After getting in the car, she leaned back in the passenger seat and her eyes started to droop.

She forced her eyes open a few times, then closed them again, opened them once more, and finally couldn't open them at all.

The sunlight filtering through the window fell through her eyelids, turning into a warm orange-red hue. She was asleep.