Misunderstanding
I’ll admit, that was the most nerve-racking night of sleep I’ve ever had.
Originally, I had already stepped into the guest room with my left foot—but in the next dizzy second, I was slung over a shoulder, and by the time I came to, I was already in the master bedroom.
And lying right beside me… was a man.
Zhou Shou.
Damn it.
I didn’t dare turn my back to him, convinced he might do something out of line if I did—but facing him directly was even worse.
That would definitely lead to something more outrageous.
I was just thinking about how to sneak past him when he wasn’t paying attention and tiptoe my way back to the guest room—
The next second, an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me straight into his chest. My back was pressed completely against his body as Zhou Shou spoke lowly beside my ear, “Don’t even think about running.”
Before I could react, he bit down on the side of my neck. Only when I let out a sound of pain did he release me. I cursed, calling him a dog, and he just said he could be my little dog forever.
…
Unbelievable.
Impossible to reason with.
Completely insane!
I raised a hand, wanting to check how deep the bite mark was, but Zhou Shou caught my wrist and started planting kisses all over the back of my hand.
“I don’t like this,” I said coldly, jerking my hand back.
Zhou Shou only hugged me tighter, burying his face into the crook of my neck and mumbling an apology. His breath was warm, brushing against my ear like feathers, tickling me unbearably.
His tone sounded so aggrieved that my anger fizzled out before it could ignite. I shifted slightly, trying to free myself from his arms, but his warning came immediately—if I moved again, he wouldn’t stop at just biting me.
So I stayed still, lying obediently in his arms. Eyes closed, I listened to his breathing gradually even out, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fall asleep. Thoughts kept swirling around in my head.
“Can’t sleep?” Zhou Shou asked.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t even surprised he was still awake.
“Turn around.”
“What?”
Before I could resist, he moved me, and suddenly the darkness in front of me was replaced by the warm glow of the bedside lamp. Even though the light was soft, it still stung my eyes.
Then Zhou Shou pressed a gentle kiss to my eyelids and coaxed softly, like talking to a child. “Go to sleep, baby.”
?
Baby?
Who? Me?
“Uh, are you misunderstanding something?” I looked him straight in the eyes.
The warmth in Zhou Shou’s gaze slowly faded, replaced by a mix of displeasure and… restraint.
I didn’t know what he was holding back, but one thing was certain—he was angry.
“What am I misunderstanding?” His voice was quiet—too quiet for me to tell if it was anger or a question.
I couldn’t answer right away. After staring at him for a while, I finally said, “…I’m not your baby.”
Zhou Shou suddenly chuckled. He brushed the loose strands of hair from my forehead, dropped a kiss there, and then moved down, his lips pressing against mine.
His hand tightened around my waist, while mine hovered awkwardly on his chest.
His lips pressed down harder, enough to make me wince. Taking advantage of the small gasp that slipped out, he slipped his tongue past my lips.
!?
Every alarm in my brain went off.
I bit down on instinct—but Zhou Shou didn’t back away. Instead, he bit back in punishment, gnawing on my tongue a few times.
My eyes immediately filled with tears. He must have seen them, because he finally let go and carefully kissed the tears from my cheeks.
“I won’t call you baby anymore. Don’t cry.”
…Was that really the point here?
This man had been misunderstanding me from start to finish!
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The pain-induced tears had long dried up. I looked Zhou Shou straight in the eye and said seriously, “Mr. Zhou, first of all, we’re not in a relationship, so this kind of physical closeness and those pet names are inappropriate. Second, we basically just met and should still be… uh, strangers?”
Zhou Shou looked like he’d just heard the funniest joke in thirty years. Holding back a laugh, he said, “Little obedient one, I think you’re the one misunderstanding. The reason I’m doing all this—”
He leaned close to my ear, his breath hot as he whispered, “Is because I. Want. To. Sleep. With. You. No matter what relationship we are in right now.”