The off-white curtains billowed up and fell back down, letting in a sliver of moonlight that illuminated Fu Baizhou’s overly fair skin, making him look like a vampire coming out to forage in the night.
Pale yet gorgeous, chilling yet full of passion.
Tentacles hoisted Lin Zhuo completely into the air. He struggled uncomfortably in his sleep, but it was all in vain; his hands and feet were bound by the tentacles, presenting him before Fu Baizhou like a puppet doll.
Fu Baizhou placed his broad palm against Lin Zhuo’s chest. The beating heart thudded against his ribs and flesh right inside his palm, and that vibrant vitality held an immense attraction for him.
The moment he grew excited, his ink-black pupils would slowly turn red, exuding an eerie bizarreness under the moonlight.
The tentacles probed toward a secretive direction.
“Mh.” A moan spilled from Lin Zhuo’s lips, his slender and soft neck arching backward. His originally inconspicuous Adam’s apple stood out exceptionally due to this movement.
Fu Baizhou clenched his back molars. Once his reason recovered slightly, he cupped the back of Lin Zhuo’s head with one hand, forcing him into a kiss against his will, while the other hand slid beneath his hemline.
Breaths intertwined, body temperatures exchanged.
In his sleep, Lin Zhuo felt something soft slip into his mouth and instinctively resisted, yet his body softened on its own accord.
The blood throughout his body seemed to rush toward a single place. He rejected accepting it, but suddenly a current of electricity coursed through his entire system, leaving his spine tingling with numbness and his mind completely blank.
The oxygen in his lungs was stripped away bit by bit. Like a fish taken out of the water, he could not breathe.
His breathing grew increasingly rapid. He thrashed his limbs in a struggle to snatch a breath of oxygen.
Just when he thought he was about to suffocate to death, Lin Zhuo suddenly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright.
He was gasping heavily, as if he had just been fished out of the water.
The room was dead silent, save for a gust of wind rustling the curtains and producing a faint swishing sound.
The ceaseless stream of traffic downstairs took on a completely different meaning in the night. Remembering that ambiguous dream, the strange sensation between his legs grew more and more pronounced.
It seemed like a long time had passed since he last had a dream like that, and he wondered if it was pressure brought on by going to school.
Lin Zhuo broke out in a sweat, and since the sticky sweat felt uncomfortable on his skin, he grabbed a change of clothes and left his room.
Turning on the bathroom light, he briskly stripped off his upper garments and abruptly saw red marks on his neck reflected in the mirror.
Although he had always remained single, even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run; the marks on his neck were either kiss marks or something left behind by mosquitoes.
However, Fu Baizhou kept the house in immaculate order, and for all this time he had been here, he had not even seen a single mosquito.
He asked, “System, are the marks on my neck something Fu Baizhou did?”
Silently entering his room and leaving marks on his neck was something Fu Baizhou could easily pull off.
During this period, he had let down his guard around Fu Baizhou because the man had always been very obedient and well-behaved, never crossing any lines.
Lin Zhuo suddenly recalled the dream he had a few months ago.
Back then, no marks had been left on his body, and he had simply figured he had been single for too long and felt too empty, which was why he had such dreams. Now that he thought about it, perhaps that time had also been Fu Baizhou’s handiwork.
Because the two instances were strikingly similar.
Fu Baizhou knew he would be unwilling, which was why he made his move in the dead of night, yet why would he leave marks on him to let him know?
[No.]
Lin Zhuo’s tone turned cold. “To be honest, are you trying to make me go ask Fu Baizhou directly?”
[Host, what the system said is the truth; believe it or not.]
Just as Lin Zhuo was about to say something else, the marks on his neck began expanding at a visible rate, quickly merging into a single patch that looked shocking to the eye.
Frightened by the expanding red marks on his neck, Lin Zhuo fled haphazardly to Fu Baizhou’s room, turned on the light, and immediately shook Fu Baizhou awake.
Waking up while rubbing his eyes, Fu Baizhou heard Lin Zhuo say in fear, “I think I am having an allergic reaction.”
He had originally thought these were kiss marks left by Fu Baizhou, never expecting it to be an allergy.
Could it be that that dream really was just a product of him being too lonely?
“Wife, I will take you to the hospital.” Seeing the blazing crimson patch on Lin Zhuo’s neck, Fu Baizhou instantly snapped awake and grabbed his clothes from the side to put them on.
“I am going to get dressed.” Realizing belatedly that he was shirtless, Lin Zhuo hurried out of the room in a panic.
Lin Zhuo jogged into the bathroom, quickly tidied himself up, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and walked back out.
Fu Baizhou grabbed his car keys and walked side-by-side with Lin Zhuo as they headed out together.
The skin on Lin Zhuo’s neck itched intensely, making him want to scratch it. Fu Baizhou tightly clasped his hand to prevent him from tearing up his skin.
Once in the car, knowing where the nearest hospital was, Fu Baizhou drove into the hospital’s basement parking lot in under ten minutes.
The red marks on Lin Zhuo’s neck had stopped spreading once they reached a certain point, though they remained intensely itchy and left his whole body feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
Fu Baizhou quickly pulled an emergency registration number and brought Lin Zhuo in for a consultation.
Due to limited facilities, extensive testing was unavailable, so the doctor ultimately dispensed some allergy medication for Lin Zhuo and instructed him that if the medicine had no effect after finishing it, he should return to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup.
Throughout his entire life, Lin Zhuo had never experienced allergic symptoms. Furthermore, the items he came into contact with day in and day out were quite limited, leaving him completely baffled as to why he would suddenly suffer an allergic reaction.
By the time they tossed about and returned home, it was already three in the morning. Fu Baizhou poured a cup of warm water and personally waited on Lin Zhuo to take his medicine before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Lin Zhuo’s brain was operating somewhat in overdrive. Fu Baizhou’s look of genuine concern did not seem feigned, meaning that dream and the events of tonight probably had nothing to do with him.
Besides, the man had no reason to treat him this way. After all, if he truly wanted to do something, he could easily do it completely silently without making such a huge fuss and letting him catch wind of his ambitions.
“I am much better now. You go get some sleep too.” The cup in Lin Zhuo’s hands retained a lingering warmth. Holding it in both hands, he spoke somewhat absentmindedly to Fu Baizhou.
Fu Baizhou tilted his head to glance at the red marks on Lin Zhuo’s neck. He reached out, but before his hand could touch Lin Zhuo, he was batted away sharply.
Lin Zhuo reacted instinctively, his rejection driven purely by subconscious reflex.
“Wife, does it hurt?” Fu Baizhou withdrew his hand, inquiring with a mix of grievance and concern.
Lin Zhuo rubbed his brow. Ever since noticing the strange red marks on his neck, he had kept his nerves tightly strung. Now, utterly exhausted, he had no energy left to deal with Fu Baizhou.
Sighing, he said, “Fu Baizhou, I am so tired. Can you just let me rest?”
Meeting Lin Zhuo’s vacant eyes, Fu Baizhou fell silent for a few seconds before standing up. “Wife, good night.”
Lin Zhuo nodded, watching Fu Baizhou leave the room.
The moment the door clicked shut, an endless wave of exhaustion washed over Lin Zhuo. He collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep shortly after.
After stepping out of the room, Fu Baizhou had nowhere to vent the pent-up gloom in his chest.
Clearly, he had not anticipated that Lin Zhuo would harbor such a high degree of vigilance toward him; a mere kiss mark had been enough to make him realize something was amiss.
During this period, for the sake of Lin Zhuo’s schooling, he had already suppressed himself for a very long time. Coupled with Lin Zhuo being away from his side all day long, his long-dormant desires made his heart itch with a tormenting yearning, an insatiable bottomless pit.
Although he had a certain selfish motive in leaving those marks this time, Lin Zhuo was simply far too sharp. If he continued to probe further, all his efforts might be completely ruined.
Right now, Lin Zhuo still did not care about him enough, but he did not want to hurt Lin Zhuo either, so he had to take things step by step.