It had been hours.

Hours of nonstop kissing that left Wenzhi dizzy from lack of oxygen and energy because Xinyuan was completely insatiable, obsessed with his lips, his neck, the marks spreading across his skin.

They had not even gone beyond kissing and touching, yet somehow it already felt excessive.

Overwhelming.

Wenzhi had expected Xinyuan to go further by now. To finally pay attention to the aching hardness trapped between his legs.

God knew Wenzhi wanted him to.

But at this rate, that alone might actually kill him.

Xinyuan looked completely gone. Completely consumed. Like kissing Wenzhi was the only thing keeping him functional.

All of a sudden, he pulled back.

Wenzhi was lying beneath him at that point, lips swollen red from being kissed raw, chest rising unevenly while Xinyuan stared down at him with frightening intensity.

His left eye was still red. He was still unstable.

"Are you hurting here, Freckles?" Xinyuan’s hand slipped beneath Wenzhi’s waistband.

Wenzhi jolted immediately, his grey eyes widening as they locked onto Xinyuan’s face.

A low, rough chuckle escaped Xinyuan’s throat.

There was something almost hypnotic about the way he looked at him.

He looked hungry. Focused. Possessive. Completely feral.

Without hesitation, Xinyuan freed Wenzhi’s cock and took it into his mouth.

There was no warning. No teasing. Just one slow, filthy suck.

Wenzhi’s mouth parted soundlessly. His toes curled hard against the sheets.

And before he could even process what was happening, he came. Hard.

Xinyuan did not let a single drop escape.

Wenzhi gripped the side of the bed tightly, a deep groan ripping from his throat as white burst across his vision.

After that, his entire body simply gave out.

For a long moment, he could only hear his own heartbeat pounding inside his ears before everything slowly faded into darkness.

~°~

When Wenzhi woke again, the room was dark. His eyes landed on the clock nearby.

9 PM.

He was laying in Xinyuan’s arms, his head pressed against Xinyuan’s chest while warmth surrounded him completely.

There was a faint citrus taste lingering in his mouth.

Energy restoration pills.

Which meant that somewhere between unconsciousness and sleep, Xinyuan had fed him one.

Wenzhi had several questions about how he even found the pills but right now, escaping Xinyuan’s grip felt more important.

With effort, he finally managed to wiggle free before pushing himself upright and dragging a hand through his messy hair.

Xinyuan remained asleep. Deeply asleep.

Wenzhi grimaced before slipping off the bed and heading into the shower where he found the mirror.

The damage was ridiculous.

His neck, chest, shoulders, back were completely covered in bites and dark marks.

"Fucking psycho," Wenzhi muttered under his breath.

Still, he cleaned himself up, got dressed, grabbed his phone, and left the motel room to get food.

The moment Wenzhi stepped outside, he called Duan Ze.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Which one of you betrayed me?" Wenzhi asked flatly. "How did Shao Xinyuan find me?"

"What?" Duan Ze sounded genuinely horrified. "Xinyuan found you?"

"How else would I be asking this question?"

"I swear it wasn’t me," Duan Ze said immediately. "There’s no way Ru Yi or Pei Luo told him either. He probably used his own connections."

Wenzhi cursed under his breath and hung up.

That sounded believable enough.

Unfortunately.

After grabbing the food he ordered, Wenzhi returned to the motel secretly hoping Xinyuan would finally be gone.

He was not.

Of course he was not.

Xinyuan was standing inside the cheap motel room shirtless, toned muscles catching beneath the dim light while he drank from a bottle of water.

His eyes were normal now. Warm brown.

The violent hostility in the air had calmed significantly.

The moment he saw Wenzhi return, his expression visibly brightened and he started walking toward him.

Wenzhi stopped him at once by raising a hand.

"Don’t touch me," he hissed. "Go back to wherever you came from before someone tracks you here."

The excitement in Xinyuan’s face dimmed almost instantly.

Wenzhi ignored it and walked past him, setting the food down on the bed before pulling everything out.

Xinyuan quietly sat beside him anyway, taking the chopsticks before hesitantly eating one of the dumplings and side dishes Wenzhi bought.

Wenzhi frowned mid-bite. "You don’t like it?"

"Your food tastes better," Xinyuan admitted quietly, visibly dissatisfied with the meal.

Wenzhi dropped his chopsticks onto the table with an irritated clack and glared at him.

"You need to leave," he snapped. "Right now."

Xinyuan pressed his lower lip between his teeth. "You—"

"No," Wenzhi cut him off. "Do not start."

The room fell silent.

Wenzhi leaned back, exhaustion written all over his face.

"I don’t want anything to do with you anymore, Shao Xinyuan," he said flatly. "I guided you last night because you were one second away from losing control, and if that happened, I would’ve died along with half this city."

Xinyuan’s expression didn’t change.

Wenzhi continued anyway.

"I understand that I was your guide. I understand we went through things together." His eyes narrowed. "But we are done."

Still no response.

"I’m not interested in whatever this is supposed to become, so leave."

For a moment, Xinyuan simply sat there, staring at him quietly.

Then he nodded slowly, like he was genuinely considering Wenzhi’s words.

"Okay," he said softly.

Wenzhi didn’t trust that tone at all.

Xinyuan rose to his feet and began dressing properly.

Against his better judgment, Wenzhi fought the urge to stare, but his eyes were drawn to the ink.

The chain tattoo across Xinyuan’s shoulder blades tightened and released with a fluid, predatory grace, mocking Wenzhi’s attempt at indifference.

Xinyuan adjusted his sleeves, found his glasses somehow, and slid them back onto his face.

He paused by the door and turned back toward Wenzhi.

"I received a mission update a few minutes ago," he said calmly. "Perhaps we should go somewhere tonight when I return."

Wenzhi stared at him in disbelief.

That wasn’t a request. It wasn’t even a suggestion.

It was a plan.

A completely decided plan.

Wenzhi was genuinely one second away from throwing something at his head.

But Xinyuan had already opened the door and stepped out.

The moment the door shut behind him, Wenzhi dragged both hands through his hair and groaned.

"This cannot be happening to me right now."

His phone buzzed.

Wenzhi frowned and reached for it.

An Unknown Number.

[Unknown Number: Hello, Lin Wenzhi. It’s commander Jiang Zhaohe. I would like to speak with you privately. It’s about Xinyuan.]

Wenzhi’s eyes twitched.

[Wenzhi: I’m not interested.]

The reply came almost instantly.

[Unknown Number: I think you will be once you hear what I have to say.]

A second message followed.

[Unknown Number: I’m sending the address.]

Wenzhi stared at the screen for a long moment before tossing the phone onto the bed with visible annoyance.

Everything involving Shao Xinyuan was always a problem.