Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Zong Xian’s strategy was quite effective. Soon, a classmate with whom he was usually on good terms grabbed the seat next to Gui Wen and leaned in gossiping, asking about the relationship between him and Zong Xian. “Didn’t you say he was just your older brother last time?”
Another classmate chuckled crudely. “If you don’t get it by now, it’s that kind of ‘brother’.”
Gui Wen replied, “…”
Seeing the classmates attempt to catch him in a pincer movement, the class bell rang just in time, and the major course professor began playing a PowerPoint presentation to start the lecture, unintentionally rescuing Gui Wen from his dire situation.
The peace proved to be merely a temporary illusion for Gui Wen. He glanced at his phone, noting that the time on the lock screen was unknowingly just a few minutes away from the end of class. While his classmates around him were quietly packing up their things, he didn’t feel like moving at all.
Gui Wen knew Zong Xian would be waiting for him at the bottom of the teaching building.
Until the people around him had all left one by one and Gui Wen was the only one left in the lecture hall, he still showed no intention of getting up. Instead, he picked up a paintbrush and traced lines on the canvas aimlessly, and before he could even drop another stroke, someone suddenly grabbed his palm from behind, stopping his next movement.
“Still painting?” Zong Xian’s voice rang out right beside his ear.
No matter how unfamiliar with art Zong Xian was, he wouldn’t think a few scribbled black lines constituted earnestly finishing a class assignment. Gui Wen sheepishly put away the paintbrush and feigned nonchalance as he organized his other tools. “I’m not painting anymore. Let’s go back.”
With his palm held, Gui Wen walked through the students strolling along the campus path and got into the passenger seat of the sedan.
Zong Xian didn’t rush to start the car. He pulled Gui Wen’s left hand over and slipped a diamond ring onto his ring finger.
The diamond reflected the light from outside, and the cool touch of platinum felt as though it had landed directly on Gui Wen’s heart. He had a strange sensation, as if the major turning point of his life really had been locked onto Zong Xian along with this ring.
Zong Xian lowered his head and kissed the ring on Gui Wen’s hand.
Another matching diamond ring was handed to Gui Wen by Zong Xian. Only then did he notice the name engraved on the inner circle.
“Put it on for me.” Zong Xian handed his hand over to Gui Wen.
Mimicking Zong Xian’s actions, Gui Wen slid the ring onto the other man’s ring finger. With the diamond rings worn on both hands overlapping, he couldn’t help but experience the illusion of being deeply in love.
“My husband.” Zong Xian held his hand tightly, pressing it against his lips.
“Mine.”
Zong Xian continued to live in Gui Wen’s apartment, which was closer to the university and convenient for Gui Wen to commute to classes.
As the end of the term approached, Gui Wen had countless course assignments to deal with, and he had to work like he had three heads and six arms just to review for his exams.
Sensibly, Zong Xian didn’t disturb him, instead tending to Gui Wen’s formal wear in the walk-in closet.
Every inch of fabric was ironed completely free of wrinkles, and beside the exquisitely tailored suit lay the wedding dress Gui Wen had worn on the night he signed the papers.
His nose was practically buried in the white tulle, as if trying to extract Gui Wen’s last lingering scent from it.
Meanwhile, the owner of the formal wear was completely oblivious to his husband’s actions. The moment he stepped through the apartment door, he saw the white cat dressed in a little outfit leisurely coming out to greet him. It seemed even this small pet was expected to attend the wedding as a family member; Zong Xian had custom-made a small suit for it, making it look superior to other cats.
Gui Wen scooped the white cat into his arms. “Meow, what a gentlemanly cat.”
Before he could continue teasing the kitten, his waist was suddenly encircled by someone from behind.
“When did you get here?” Gui Wen turned his head back subconsciously.
“A long time ago.” Zong Xian took the white cat from Gui Wen’s hands, set it down on the floor, and forcefully captured his lips in a kiss.
Zong Xian always left various marks on Gui Wen, leaving hardly a single moment when his skin was clean, as if this was the only way Zong Xian could prove that the person before him was his exclusive possession.
Zong Xian pushed up the hem of Gui Wen’s shirt, exposing a slender slice of white waist, and bit down to leave a deep red tooth mark.
“Ugh…” Gui Wen couldn’t help letting out a muffled groan. “It hurts.”
“You know it hurts?” Zong Xian’s thumb rubbed against the red mark on his waist. “Where were you during the break?”
“In the classroom.”
“Go on.”
“I chatted with my roommate for a bit.”
Clearly, Zong Xian had not yet heard a satisfactory answer. “Continue.”
Gui Wen stayed silent. “…”
“You told them the rings were just playthings worn for fun.”
Gui Wen stayed silent. “…” Gui Wen could not refute the fact. Students about to graduate had reached the legal age, and registering a marriage was common enough, but for some inexplicable reason, he simply couldn’t bring himself to admit he already had a husband.
“What am I to you?” Zong Xian pinched Gui Wen’s chin, forcing the other to meet his gaze.
“My… husband.”
“Say it again.”
“My husband.”
“Be a good boy.” Zong Xian’s kiss landed on Gui Wen’s forehead. “Now you know what to say next time?”
“I know. I’ll tell them I have a newlywed husband.” Gui Wen tried his best to avoid Zong Xian’s gaze, but was firmly held in the palm of the other’s hand the whole time. The back of his head was gently cupped, and another kiss was pressed onto his lips.
Evidently, Zong Xian was quite satisfied with his answer and did not continue to press the matter.
When Gui Wen was first brought up about it, he hadn’t understood how Zong Xian could know details so precisely. Later, he recalled that when he was chatting with his roommate in the professional classroom, Lu Yuteng had been sitting nearby at the time.
He couldn’t guard against Lu Yuteng, and Gui Wen knew that if Zong Xian wanted to find out his movements, he had ways other than Lu Yuteng.
Gui Wen temporarily shelved this episode, packed his backpack as usual, and was dropped off by Zong Xian downstairs at the teaching building. When he got out of the car, he deliberately looked back. Zong Xian didn’t follow him, nor did he try to forcefully hold his hand; instead, he stood in place, watching silently as Gui Wen went upstairs.
Major classes were scheduled in the morning, and with the school’s short lunch break, Gui Wen didn’t make special trips back to the apartment when he had classes, choosing instead to take a nap in the dormitory. After eating his fill at the cafeteria, he returned to the dorm room and opened the door with his key, only to find an uninvited guest occupying his bed.
“Come here.” Zong Xian extended the palm wearing the diamond ring.
The nearby roommate clearly caught the flashing reflection on Zong Xian’s hand, and his gaze instinctively drifted toward Gui Wen with a look of someone waiting to watch a good show.
Gui Wen thought to himself, “…” Gui Wen practically wanted to push open the dorm door and run away. He deliberately hid his left hand behind his back and used his right hand to grasp Zong Xian’s palm.
Zong Xian pulled fiercely on Gui Wen’s arm, causing the latter to tumble uncontrollably into his arms.
The bed curtain was drawn shut, and Zong Xian’s fingertips stroked Gui Wen’s face inch by inch, finally resting on his lips. “Why that expression?”
“I didn’t expect you to come.” Gui Wen blinked subconsciously.
“Did you not expect it,” Zong Xian bit down hard on Gui Wen’s lips, “or did you not want me to come?”
“I didn’t not want you to.” As if to prove his words were true, Gui Wen wrapped both arms around Zong Xian’s neck.
Zong Xian didn’t seem to buy into this routine of his. He forcefully pulled at the hand where Gui Wen wore his wedding ring. “You love me.”
“I love you.”
This coldly toned declaration of love from Gui Wen was clearly unconvincing to Zong Xian, but the man didn’t express dissatisfaction either. Instead, he pulled Gui Wen into his arms to sleep, tucking the thin quilt over them. “Go to sleep.”
He watched Zong Xian close his eyes with his own eyes, and only then did he feel at ease enough to sink into a deep sleep. Although the nap lasted a mere forty minutes, Gui Wen felt as though he had lived through a long dream. In the dream, a monster bit and chewed at him, though not to tear him apart and eat him, but merely to bite every inch of his skin until it bled.
The dream was frighteningly vivid, and Gui Wen could even feel the pain.
He sat up in bed covered in hot sweat, and the other side was already empty; Zong Xian seemed to have left the dorm while he was unaware.
Gui Wen pulled out a tissue from the bedside table to wipe the sweat from his forehead, finding that even his chest was damp. Just as he took off his shirt to change into a new one, he suddenly discovered several bite marks scattered across his upper body.
His husband was like a vicious dog.
Gui Wen frowned imperceptibly and nonchalantly changed into a fresh shirt.
Although his roommate had already left the dorm ahead of time, remembering how the other’s probing gaze had lingered on him more than once, Gui Wen couldn’t help feeling uneasy. He chose to temporarily take off the ring and tuck it into his pocket, only to discover that a deep red circle of tooth marks remained right where the ring had been worn.
“Darling.”
The voice suddenly came from behind.
“What are you doing?”
Zong Xian caught Gui Wen’s hand as he tried to hide it, his fingertips rubbing against the mark he had left while Gui Wen was fast asleep. “Do you like this more than the diamond ring?”
Gui Wen stayed silent. “…” Gui Wen silently slipped the diamond ring back onto his ring finger.
During the period of preparing for exams, Gui Wen would spend late hours at the school library or review his textbooks in the bedroom.
Zong Xian would operate his computer nearby, seemingly handling work, and the two of them reached a temporary balance amidst the busyness.
Gui Wen turned off the desk lamp on his study desk, and when he sat down on the edge of the bed, he was pushed down under Zong Xian.
The hem of his shirt was pulled up, and Zong Xian was kissing Gui Wen’s chest.
“Darling, you’re quite obedient when nobody’s around,” he touched the diamond ring on Gui Wen’s hand. “It seems you aren’t fit to be seen in public.”
“Brother Zong Xian?” Gui Wen’s thoughts immediately drifted back to the chains Zong Xian had dragged out from his room at the villa, and he hurriedly kissed Zong Xian’s chin ingratiatingly. “I won’t take the ring off again. I won’t refuse to acknowledge you. I’ll be good.”
“What, scared? I didn’t say anything frightening.” Zong Xian pulled Gui Wen into his arms, stroking his soft hair.
“I want to see more of you being obedient.”
Zong Xian handed Gui Wen’s phone to its owner, allowing the latter to clearly see the flight information displayed on the screen, revealing a flight heading to the distant north.
“Husband, we haven’t even had our honeymoon yet.” Zong Xian forced his way between Gui Wen’s fingers, intertwining his hands with his. “Your world is about to have only me left in it.”
After the exams came a long vacation, and the timing chosen by Zong Xian was just right.
A quiet, boundless snowfield stretched white and endless into the distance, with frost-covered tree branches hanging horizontally across the sky. Without a guide, Gui Wen was certain he would get lost very quickly.
He stroked a large hound that Zong Xian was holding onto; it had led the way forward along this entire journey.
There was nothing else to hear besides the sound of the wind. Gui Wen had thought this snowfield trip would end with a peaceful trek back through the snow, but everything stubbornly turned out contrary to his expectations.
In the evening, an uninvited guest appeared outside the snowfield cabin where Gui Wen and Zong Xian were staying together.