After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

The sweet little angel across from him has put it all out there. If Zhu Xun Chuan doesn't refuse, he'd be a beast; but if he does refuse, he'd be worse than an animal!

Zhu Xun Chuan, still a young prince, swallowed hard, his mind involuntarily drifting to the events of the previous night.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to Su Mucheng's neckline, then moved downwards, finally settling on her long, slender legs...

Su Mucheng blushed as she looked at Zhu Xunchuan, the blush spreading all the way down to her neck.

"Brother Chuan..."

Just then, there was another knock on the door; it was Sister Song knocking.

"If you don't come out now, I'm calling your mom! Hurry up!"

Su Mucheng still had three more scenes to shoot that afternoon. Sister Song almost kicked the RV door open, so Su Mucheng had no choice but to leave with a pout and a wronged look on her face.

Before being dragged away, Su Mucheng glanced back at him and silently mouthed a few words.

"8:30 PM."

……

At 8:30 p.m., Zhu Xunchuan still hadn't seen Su Mucheng.

It turns out Su Mucheng had run back to the hotel early! She wanted to prepare a surprise for him!

Victoria Hotel, penthouse suite.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood at the door, hesitating for about 0.7 seconds.

Then he swiped his card and went in.

The suite was huge, ridiculously huge. It had a living room, dining room, and study, and floor-to-ceiling windows that covered an entire wall, offering a panoramic view of Kyoto's nightscape, with the city lights twinkling like an overturned jewelry box.

A bottle of red wine, already decanted, sits on the coffee table. Next to it are two wine glasses, a plate of strawberries, and a plate of cherries.

The sound of water could be heard coming from the bathroom.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat down on the sofa and poured himself a glass of wine.

He took a sip. It was a dry red wine, not cheap, but not outrageously so. Su Mucheng probably didn't know much about wine, choosing one that was on the sweeter side.

The sound of water stopped.

The bathroom door was ajar, and steam rushed out, carrying the sweet orange scent of shower gel.

"Brother Chuan, please turn off the light."

Why?

"You turn it off first!"

Zhu Xun Chuan reached out and pressed the touch panel on the wall, turning off the main light. Only the city lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows and a warm yellow ambient light on the coffee table remained in the living room.

The bathroom door was fully opened.

Su Mucheng came out.

She was wearing a white shirt.

Zhu Xunchuan's white shirt.

It's the one she wore from her dorm last time, saying she'd wash it and return it to him, but ended up sleeping in it all night without washing it.

The shirt was way too big. The shoulder line slid down to the middle of the upper arm, the collar was loose and open, and the collarbone and shoulder hollows were completely exposed. The hem barely covered the upper thighs, and below that were two straight, white legs that seemed to reflect light.

She was barefoot on the carpet, her hair wet and disheveled, water droplets dripping from the ends of her hair and onto the shoulders of her shirt, creating a small, transparent patch.

She stood at the bathroom door, pulling down the hem of her shirt with both hands, her toes curled, her whole body tense as if she were in the state three seconds before going on stage.

"You...you're not allowed to laugh."

Zhu Xunchuan did not laugh.

His hand holding the wine glass was very steady. But his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"come over."

Su Mucheng moved over in small steps and sat down at the other end of the sofa, with about half a cushion separating them. She picked up another glass of wine, holding it with both hands as if it were a bowl of hot soup.

I took a sip.

His face immediately scrunched up.

"It's so bitter!"

"This is dry red wine, not grape juice."

"I know it's dry red! I just... I just felt it should have a certain atmosphere." She took another sip, her eyes narrowing, but she forced herself to swallow it. "I read online that red wine goes very romantic with a night view."

Zhu Xun Chuan watched as she earnestly "created the atmosphere".

A top idol with 20 million fans.

I've done my homework.

"What else did you investigate?"

"I didn't check!" Su Mucheng's ears instantly turned red. "I just glanced at it."

"What did you glance at?"

"It's...it's like...how couples do it..." Her voice trailed off, until it was completely swallowed by the wine glass and could no longer be heard.

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't press the matter. He put his cup on the coffee table and handed it to him with a strawberry.

"Stop drinking, eat this instead."

Su Mucheng put down her wine glass, took the strawberry, and took a bite. Juice spilled from the corner of her mouth, which she wiped with the back of her hand, then onto her shirt sleeve.

The aftereffects of the second glass of wine started to kick in.

Her cheeks flushed pink, her eyes began to glaze over, and her body unconsciously leaned towards him. The distance between them was shrinking.

Finally, she simply pulled her legs up onto the sofa, curled up into a ball, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Brother Chuan".

"Um."

"I kept thinking about you while filming the music video today."

"What are you thinking about me for?"

"I want you to sit behind the monitor and watch me dance." She looked up at him, her eyelashes fluttering. "From now on, you have to be at every one of my concerts."

"OK."

"First row."

"First row."

"First row of the VIP section."

"OK."

She was satisfied. A smile played on her lips as she buried her face back in his shoulder.

There was a moment of silence.

"Brother Chuan".

"Um."

"I think I'm a little drunk."

"You've only had two sips."

"But I feel dizzy."

She lifted her head from his shoulder and cupped his face in her hands.

Her fingers were cool, still damp from her shower. She knelt on the sofa, her knees pressed against the outside of his thighs, the hem of her shirt slipped up a bit.

She stared into his eyes.

The lighting was too dim for him to see her expression clearly, but he could see a light in her eyes. It wasn't the reflection of the neon lights outside the French windows; it was her own.

Please don't leave me.

Her voice was trembling.

"Everyone can leave me. Fans can, the company can, the whole world can."

"But you can't."

Zhu Xunchuan didn't move.

Su Mucheng gently stroked his cheekbone with her thumb. Her body trembled, her breath rapid and hot, all of it pressing against his lips.

"Do you like me too?" she asked.

"You want me to tell the truth?"

"Um."

"When I was sixteen, online dating was just a joke."

Su Mucheng's fingers stiffened for a moment.

"But this afternoon in the RV," Zhu Xun Chuan raised his hand and covered her hand that was resting on his face, "when you were lying on my lap crying, I didn't think it was a joke."

Su Mucheng's tears fell.

There was no sound, only two lines of tears sliding down her cheeks, which she swallowed as they passed the corners of her mouth. Salty.

Zhu Xun Chuan reached out and brushed his thumb across the corner of her eye.

Then he tightened his arms and pulled her over.

Su Mucheng stumbled into his arms, her knees braced on either side of his legs, one button on her shirt popping open. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, tears and snot smeared all over the collar of his T-shirt.

"You're my only fan," she said, her voice slurred as she cried. "When I had zero fans, you were my first."

Zhu Xun Chuan held the back of her head with one hand, his fingers running through her wet, long hair. His other hand was around her waist. Through her shirt, he could feel the warmth of her back.

It's very hot.

He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her earlobe.

"Don't cry."

Su Mucheng looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears. Her lips were pink and slightly swollen from biting them.

She closed her eyes.

Zhu Xun Chuan kissed away the tear stains on her right cheek. Then on her left. Then on the tip of her nose.

Finally, it landed on her lips.

Su Mucheng's body stiffened for a moment, then she clutched the T-shirt on his chest and responded awkwardly.

Their teeth clashed together.

She stepped back slightly, covered her mouth, and blushed all the way to the roots of her neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at it..."

"I don't know either."

"You're lying, you have so many..."

"Shut up and come here."

He held the back of her neck and kissed her again. This time it was a little better than the first. But it was only slightly better.

She was shaking violently.

It's not cold.

It's tension.

When Zhu Xun Chuan picked her up, her legs were wrapped around his waist, her shirt was completely open, and her two bare legs swayed at his waist. She hugged his neck tightly and buried her face behind his shoulder.

Did you turn off the lights?

"It's off."

"Then draw the curtains too..."

"He pooped."

"You're lying, I can still see the lights..."

That's the moon.

She was silent for a second.

"You're not allowed to look at the moon either."

Zhu Xun Chuan laughed out loud. He put her on the bed, and she shrank back a couple of times, her fingers gripping the corner of the pillow until her knuckles turned white.

He bent down.

Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembling. The last two buttons of her shirt were still fastened, and the folds of the sheet were bunched up at her sides.

"Tell me if it hurts."

She nodded.

Then he shook his head.

Then he nodded again.

"Are you nodding or shaking your head?"

"Anything is fine... just be gentle..."

The night view of Kyoto was lit up all night.

The silhouettes of two people were reflected in the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, but later nothing could be seen clearly because the window had fogged up.

……

Six o'clock in the morning.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the foot of the bed.

Zhu Xunchuan woke up first.

He glanced down at it.

Su Mucheng clung to him like a koala. Her legs were wrapped around his right leg, her arms were around his waist, and her face was buried in his chest. Her long hair was spread across the pillow, and her breathing was even and long.

The blanket slipped down to her waist. Her back was exposed, and the sunlight fell directly on her shoulder blades, where there were a few faint red marks.

She looks smaller when she's asleep than when she's awake.

Zhu Xun Chuan reached out and pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders.

He lowered his head and gently touched the top of her head.

Then he saw below his collarbone.

A deep red mark.

A hickey.

The location was tricky, right where the collar couldn't cover it.

Zhu Xun Chuan stared at the mark for two seconds.

Is this girl a suction cup?

Su Mucheng stirred slightly and mumbled indistinctly, "Don't go..."

"I have to go to class."

"Skipping class, huh..."

"I skipped a class last week and was punished by my teacher to write a 3,000-word book report."

Su Mucheng groggily opened one eye.

"What kind of teacher is so fierce..."

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't answer. He gently removed her arm from his waist, got out of bed, and got dressed. Su Mu Cheng turned over, hugged his pillow, buried her face in it, and smiled contentedly.

Zhu Xun Chuan put on his T-shirt, buttoned it up to the second button, and glanced at himself in the mirror.

The hickeys were mostly visible.

He pulled his collar up a little.

It's still showing.

He gave up.

Su Mucheng's voice came from the bed, muffled by the pillow: "Brother Chuan."

"Um."

"You're mine now."

Zhu Xun Chuan turned around and glanced at her.

"You are mine too."

The morning light fell on her face, her eyes still bearing traces of last night's tears, but a smile she couldn't stop playing on her lips.

He didn't say anything, but walked over, bent down, and kissed her forehead.

"Go to sleep."

Su Mucheng closed her eyes, hugged her pillow, snuggled into the blanket, and fell asleep again while smiling.

Zhu Xun Chuan walked out of the suite, closed the door, leaned against the wall in the corridor, and took out his phone.

Turn on.

The moment the screen lit up, messages flooded in like a torrent.

The top one.

Shen Tianxi sent this at 2:17 AM.

A voice message.

He clicked on it.

Shen Tianxi's voice was sickeningly sweet, but every word sounded like it contained crushed ice.

"Brother Chuan, you didn't come back to the dorm last night. Did you go to feed the stray cats?"