When Zhou Wenshi saw A'Yao again in his dream afterward, he still couldn't hold back.
The familiar hotel setting.
He sat leaning against the sofa, not relieving himself, merely waiting for the reaction to subside, breathing with difficulty.
A'Yao suddenly came over. Before she could react, he grabbed her. She stumbled, flustered, and fell toward him.
Collapsing onto him.
Being held by him.
Her waist, which had just straightened, was pinned down and gave way.
She clutched his loose bathrobe, her entire body pressed against him.
So close.
Warm breaths fell, brushing past his lips.
Her warm presence continuously washed over him, softening his bones.
"Zhou—"
He couldn't wait—he licked open her lips, pushed inside, swallowing the rest of her words.
Plundering.
She gripped his bathrobe, but her hand slipped, accidentally pulling it open. He didn't care at all, simply kissing her relentlessly, his tongue trembling slightly, urgent and eager.
He was almost entranced.
He couldn't help it, couldn't control it, and didn't want to restrain it.
He thought… let him just drown here, like this.
In the warm breath exchanged between them, let him never wake.
He kept swallowing.
"A'Yao… A'Yao…"
Her lips and tongue never came together again, continuously ravaged by him—he didn't even spare the sweetness within, devouring it eagerly.
Her fingertips pressed against his shoulders, her long hair draping over his arms, lightly brushing across.
Sending a shiver through him.
He grew thirstier, eagerly consuming everything that belonged to her, his breath trembling.
His heartbeat thundered violently, the beautifully defined muscles of his chest tensing and rippling. (Because kissing the female lead made him excited, his emotions were stirred, and his chest muscles stirred too—this really isn't about sex.)
She could passively feel the intensity of his emotions and the hunger of his kisses. He sought her lips, kissing her again and again. Chu Yao, stirred by his fervent kisses, could only dig her fingers into his arms—not frightened by his kisses, nor wanting to press closer abruptly, always maintaining a certain distance from him.
(This isn't sex—they're just kissing, quite intensely.)
Because he had obtained her kiss, the surging emotions in his chest couldn't be concealed at all.
Her warm breath swept over him, and he wanted to be even more unrestrained. (The female lead carries a scent—a warm fragrance. This is what the male lead smells.)
He wanted to go further, to kiss deeper into her throat.
He called A'Yao in a low voice.
And so he did what he dared not do in reality.
Zhou Wenshi kissed her for a long time.
——【Dream Boundary Line】——
——【The Following Is Reality】——
The next day.
Chu Yao jolted awake, utterly beside herself.
Springing up from bed like one rising from the dead!
She sat up in bed, her heart pounding, pounding, racing fast.
No other reason—she was purely scared!
Scared by the dream.
She was utterly shocked!
Wait, why—when the first half had been fine—could she dream of something even more excessive?! (Is it a problem to be scared awake by a dream?)
In the dream.
The hotel room.
Zhou Wenshi had directly pulled her over and… kissed her.
She hadn't even processed it.
By the time she did… it was too late—lips and tongues had already intertwined.
He was… kissing her mouth.
The scorching heat seemed to linger there still, like a brand.
Deep, deep, it had been seared in.
She could still recall it.
He had called her name in a low voice, his chest heaving beyond his control.
Each time, more urgent, more desperate.
The moment she entertained the thought of pulling away, he would kiss her more urgently, more fervently.
Holding her close, refusing to let go.
Lavishing his passion and desire upon her without restraint.
So focused, so intense it burned.
It was simply… simply… too much! Far too much! He wasn't considering at all whether she could handle it!
Chu Yao's fingertips were trembling slightly.
In disbelief, she murmured softly to herself, "Oh my god… this… this… how could this happen? Why would I dream something like this?"
How could he possibly do such a thing? Impossible.
Why was he so—so strange—in her dream?
Treating her like that.
It really was… too much.
This time, the sensation was especially vivid.
He didn't have much technique—just raw force, and… passion.
Giving twelve parts of passion for what should have been ten.
She could barely… withstand it.
He was like someone addicted, never having enough, only endlessly taking.
It really was… too much!
What on earth was she dreaming about?
Chu Yao covered her face.
Why was the Zhou Wenshi in her dreams so… indescribably… like someone suffering from unfulfilled desires.
Oh god!
How could he be portrayed like that? Could the impression he left at the hotel really have been that severe?
Twice—twice in one night!
Dreaming of Zhou Wenshi kissing her like that, twice in a row—no matter how she thought about it, something felt off.
Chu Yao felt inexplicably awkward.
Sure, his abdominal muscles and pectorals were nicely shaped, but—but that didn't mean she'd lost her head entirely.
Dreaming something so intense out of nowhere just felt strange.
Thank goodness it was only a dream. Just a dream. Otherwise, she truly wouldn't know how to face Zhou Wenshi.
Mainly because she didn't think he had any sense of shame—he might very well, upon hearing about it, do the first thing that came to mind—
"Want to try it? With me."
Making the request with utter seriousness.
Just like at the hotel—so bold it left her dumbfounded.
She felt he was entirely capable of it, more than capable, in fact—he'd certainly shown her that.
Chu Yao thought to herself, this won't do. Some things simply can't be done.
Once the arrow leaves the bow, there's no turning back.
Once a precedent is set, there's no stopping.
For something that can never lead anywhere, there should be no exceptions from the very start—only then can people stay firmly in their designated positions, without any change.
If this were a different setting, a different beginning, she would have agreed.
Chu Yao didn't have any strict requirement that intimacy must never occur after entering a relationship.
On the contrary, she believed a certain degree of intimacy was quite common in such a relationship.
But now, the person was wrong.
She let out a sigh, pulled open the bed curtains, and bright daylight flooded in. Checking the time, it was indeed around eight o'clock.
She got out of bed obediently and went to wash up.
As Chu Yao descended the stairs, she scrolled through her unread messages.
When she saw the messages Zhou Wenshi had sent her, complete with all sorts of flirtatious emojis, she burst into a violent coughing fit, her face flushing red.
Seriously, what kind of nonsense had he been looking at?!
He sent her things like this, even asking her to pick one out—he, he, he was simply—
Chu Yao racked her brain but couldn't find a suitable adjective.
Words that were too frivolous or insulting, she couldn't bring herself to apply to him.
She had no intention of insulting him.
Chu Yao had simply never encountered someone like this before.
Shameless! Frivolous! Dissolute!
She walked a bit faster, not paying attention to where she was going, and ran straight into… Zhou Wenshi.
He caught her in a full embrace.
Warm breath rushed against him, and the fingertips encircling her were trembling.
Zhou Wenshi couldn't help but recall how, in his dreams, he had held her again and again, refusing to let go.
Except back then, the focus had been entirely on—deep, passionate kisses.
Not like now, where the sensation was more real.
The person in reality was warmer, right there in his arms, her fragrance washing over him in waves.
It reminded him of that kiss he couldn't control.
She had pressed against him… and then… been licked and kissed by his tongue.
Unable to restrain himself, he had pulled her tighter, his fingertips digging into her shoulders.
Warm… devoured by him to his heart's content.
Zhou Wenshi unconsciously pressed his lips together, as if her fragrance and warmth still lingered there.
Reality was even more vivid than dreams, and he couldn't bear to let go.
Zhou Wenshi curled his fingers slightly, brushing against a strand of her hair before quickly releasing it. His expression revealed nothing—calm and composed.
He swallowed the name "A'Yao" and instead said, "Chu Yao."
In response, he got a glare from A'Yao. Zhou Wenshi paused, not knowing why, but his heart itched slightly, and a restless heat stirred within him.
It made him want to… kiss her.
Zhou Wenshi's gaze lingered subtly on her lips—pale pink, as if dusted with a light layer of honey powder.
They hadn't been kissed into that alluring, vivid red by him at all.
She would breathe in shallow gasps, except he had swallowed them all.
Zhou Wenshi's tongue tip lightly pressed against his own lip, a tingling urgency building. The root of his tongue also yearned for last night's warmth.
A morbid craving to suck and taste.
It truly made him… tremble.
He didn't show it. Steady, as if nothing had happened, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Chu Yao saw his bewildered, oblivious expression and irritation rose to her face: "You're asking me what's wrong? You—what exactly did you send me?"
Zhou Wenshi clearly hadn't forgotten what he'd sent last night—toys meant to win his girlfriend's favor. But he only cared about one thing: "You don't like them?"
Chu Yao saw that he showed no sign of recognizing anything wrong, carrying himself with complete self-righteousness, maintaining his proper image so that no one would ever guess he was the kind of person who sent messages like that!
How could she possibly shout about something like that in public?
He might be shameless, but she still had her dignity. Even if there were barely any people around, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
Zhou Wenshi was counting on the fact that she couldn't say it openly—that was why he was so brazen!
She was both furious and embarrassed: "Can you… can you tone it down? Don't—don't send me things like that."
Zhou Wenshi understood: "You like them."
He observed carefully—A'Yao's eyes held only shame and annoyance, no aversion. Which meant she liked them.
But she couldn't swallow her pride.
That was easy to handle.
He lowered his voice: "I can buy them all and wear them. You can look at me whenever you want."
Chu Yao: "…" So everything she said was for nothing—he was going to wear them for her to see! That wasn't what she meant at all, who asked him to wear them!
Her face flushed crimson: "You—you're simply—"
She didn't even know how to rebuke him anymore. How could Zhou Wenshi be like this?
Zhou Wenshi said calmly, "I'm not shameless. I'm just trying to please you."
The heat in Chu Yao's face intensified. She didn't even know how to look him in the eye anymore. Really, how could anyone be like this?
Did he truly not care about his image at all?
How dare he say something so bold with that cold, aloof face of his?
Zhou Wenshi had absolutely no sense of shame.
It left Chu Yao staring at him, wanting to speak but holding back, unable to utter a single harsh word.
She no longer knew what someone like Zhou Wenshi actually cared about.
She could only walk forward in frustration, glancing at him as she went: "Don't follow me. If you keep following me, I really—"
What male god? What campus heartthrob? What male lead? All fake. The real Zhou Wenshi was utterly shameless! His face was as thick as a city wall!
Zhou Wenshi's expression was perfectly natural as he selectively chose not to listen.
Not everything a girlfriend said came from the heart; as a boyfriend, one had to learn to discern.
She cared about face, and some of her words were insincere—no need to take them seriously.
But a girlfriend's words still had to be heeded.
So he could only follow from a distance.
From far enough away, it didn't count as following.
Chu Yao trudged along huffing for a good while, heard no sound behind her, and turned to look. He was trailing slowly, a long stretch away.
He was following, but not too closely.
So it didn't count as following.
Chu Yao weirdly understood this line of reasoning, leaving her with only: "…" She was truly done with him.
She had no choice but to stop and look at him.
Zhou Wenshi, not far off, caught on immediately, quickened his pace, and caught up in two or three steps—never making her wait a single second longer.
Chu Yao tugged at the corner of her mouth: "You really know how to read the room. Not a moment's hesitation."
Zhou Wenshi pressed his lips together, pride written all over his brows: "It's my duty."
Chu Yao choked: "…I wasn't complimenting you. Don't flatter yourself."
Zhou Wenshi stated plainly: "I have eyes that see for themselves, and a brain that can think. I can tell what's real from what's fake."
"I'm not the kind of character in a soap opera who only looks at the surface, takes every word at face value, and ignores the truth."
"What your eyes tell me is more honest than what your mouth says. They don't go against your wishes."
He was so unnervingly normal that Chu Yao couldn't find anything else to say, so she simply stopped talking.
"I really can't out-argue you, Zhou Wenshi."
She was calling his name again—a bit annoyed, but not angry. The tone was different.
Zhou Wenshi caught it. That meant they could continue negotiating.
"Do you need me to lose, A'Yao?"
Chu Yao glared at him: "Zhou Wenshi!"
This time there was a hint of real irritation. Zhou Wenshi immediately lowered his head: "Sorry, I didn't think it through."
His girlfriend cared a lot about face, so he couldn't ask so directly, or she'd get embarrassed and angry, and most likely wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the day.
Zhou Wenshi switched tactics: "I concede."
Chu Yao was about to call his name again, but wait—had he just called her something?
"…Why did you call me A'Yao?"
That "A'Yao" briefly overlapped with the person in her dream.
Unexpectedly, he thought for a good while before answering: "Is it not allowed? I thought we were at a stage in our relationship where we could advance our form of address."
—"Aren't we in a relationship where we can hold hands? A'Yao."
In the hazy scene, a figure as cold and elegant as a crane stood quietly with lowered eyes, dressed clean and neat, awaiting the judgment that belonged to him.
The scene and the person from her dream eerily overlapped with this moment.
Chu Yao was briefly stunned, overcome by an indescribable sense of strangeness.
Similar.
Not just the structure of the sentence, but the tone as well.
Before this, Zhou Wenshi had never called her A'Yao.
But was this possible?
Were they the same person?
Chu Yao compared the Zhou Wenshi in her dream with the one in reality.
The same handsome features, the same temperament—the only difference being that in the dream, Zhou Wenshi was more unrestrained, his emotions less guarded.
His coquettishness came easily, and he even whined, acting more like a puppy than he did in real life.
In the dream, she would push him away, but outside the dream, watching from a third-person perspective, she could see it more clearly—he was indeed acting spoiled, and even… burying his face in her shoulder.
At first, she thought whoever had orchestrated this dream was trying to sabotage Zhou Wenshi's image.
But now, comparing the two, she wasn't so sure anymore.
Because they really were alike—it was just a feeling.
Chu Yao thought to herself, This is insane.
It couldn't actually be… Zhou Wenshi, could it?
But in the dream, he… licked, kissed—if you said he had no technique, that was true, but it wasn't entirely without skill either.
Chu Yao's expression was subtle, even a little strange.
He had kissed her until her lips no longer looked like her own, and still… wanted to kiss her more.
She could feel his presence everywhere he had kissed.
How infuriating!
Who kisses like that? Isn't it supposed to be a light peck, just a brief brush of lips?