In the next few days, Cheng Zhou continued doing his own thing: taking photos, editing pictures, and when he got tired, he would snuggle in bed and sleep for a whole day, doing everything according to his mood.

These days felt especially carefree and pleasant; at least for Cheng Zhou, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. But there’s a saying—’born from hardship, die in comfort.’ That’s exactly how it was.

Cheng Zhou looked at Nie Shanglin standing at his front door, his mind filled with thoughts of hardship and comfort, endlessly swirling around.

At that moment, he thought it was the delivery guy because sometimes he got lazy and ordered takeout instead of cooking. When he heard the knock on the door, he wondered why the delivery had arrived so quickly. But when he opened the door, he was stunned.

After a few seconds of silence between the two, Cheng Zhou grinned widely, his smile bright and sunny: “Big brother, you are seeing things. There’s actually no one at home today.”

Saying this, he quickly returned to his blank expression and raised his hand to slam the door shut.

But he didn’t anticipate that Nie Shanglin would push the door open first, no matter how hard Cheng Zhou tried, he couldn’t shut it.

Cheng Zhou angrily asked, “Why are you so persistent?”

“I’m here to see you.”

“See me for what?”

Nie Shanglin stared at Cheng Zhou’s face for a long while before replying, “Just to check on you.”

Cheng Zhou felt uncomfortable under Nie Shanglin’s gaze and shrugged, saying, “Look, bro, I’m just standing here for you to see. Once you’re done, hurry up and leave. Blocking someone’s door in broad daylight really doesn’t suit your elegant and aloof style, does it?”

Cheng Zhou’s tone was sincere, and his expression was on point, but Nie Shanglin could detect a hint of sarcasm. Suddenly, something seemed to come to his mind, and with a furrowed brow, he forgot to apply pressure with his hand. Seizing the moment, Cheng Zhou quickly slammed the door shut with a loud ‘bang!’

Outside, Nie Shanglin snapped back to reality, his cold and aloof demeanor fading away, leaving him feeling lost and helpless. He unconsciously muttered, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

———

Back in college.

After getting into the same university as Nie Shanglin, Cheng Zhou became his loyal little follower. Wherever Nie Shanglin went, Cheng Zhou followed, and whatever Nie Shanglin liked, he liked too. Over time, Nie Shanglin came to accept this without question.

In Cheng Zhou’s junior year, an unexpected turn of events led them to become a couple.

This unexpected turn of events made Cheng Zhou feel quite embarrassed. In his junior year, when Nie Shanglin was about to graduate and take over the family business, everyone knew how much Cheng Zhou liked to follow him around. During that time, Cheng Zhou had surprisingly gotten close to Mu Chenfeng, so when Nie Shanglin and his friends were planning a graduation party, Mu Chenfeng invited him along.

There weren’t many people there, just seven or eight, and among them was Cheng Yuze.

Cheng Yuze was so aloof, maintaining a subtle smile throughout the party that Cheng Zhou found annoying, while others seemed to appreciate it. Whenever Nie Shanglin glanced at him, Cheng Yuze would smile even more sweetly.

This only annoyed Cheng Zhou further.

Mu Chenfeng told Cheng Zhou that Nie Shanglin had known Cheng Yuze for a long time and had always liked him, but Cheng Yuze only regarded him as a friend. In the end, Mu Chenfeng scoffed, saying, “Friends, my foot! I think he’s just playing hard to get.”

To be honest, it was the first time Cheng Zhou found himself in complete agreement with what Mu Chenfeng said.

By the end of the party, most people were thoroughly drunk, with only the aloof Cheng Yuze, the seemingly unshakeable Mu Chenfeng, and the overlooked Cheng Zhou remaining sober.

Cheng Yuze was so aloof that, after helping the extremely drunk Nie Shanglin, he handed him over to Mu Chenfeng. He lightly chuckled and offered a few casual yet suggestive remarks, then got into his own car and left without looking back, all while under Nie Shanglin’s gaze.

Mu Chenfeng scoffed, “Tch.”

Then he handed Nie Shanglin over to Cheng Zhou, saying, “He’s your responsibility now. Just get him to his apartment near campus; you know the key is in his pocket.”

With that, he turned to attend to the other guests.

Cheng Zhou smiled and replied, “Got it.”

Cheng Zhou supported and carried Nie Shanglin the whole way, managing to hail a taxi. Unfortunately, Nie Shanglin vomited in the car, leaving Cheng Zhou covered in it. Once they got out, he didn’t have time to deal with the mess on himself and hurriedly brought Nie Shanglin back home. He made honey water and gently fed it to him, doing everything with patience and care.

There was no helping it; after all, he liked him.

Once everything was taken care of, Nie Shanglin looked like he was asleep. Cheng Zhou finally glanced down at himself and then called out to the figure on the bed, “Uh, look at what you’ve done to my clothes. Can I borrow your bathroom and wear a set of your clothes? … If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes!”

A few minutes later, Cheng Zhou happily carried Nie Shanglin’s clothes into the bathroom.

After taking a shower, Cheng Zhou was wearing Nie Shanglin’s shirt and pants, which were a size too big for him, his face flushed. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Nie Shanglin’s sleeping face for a while before softly saying, “So, um, I guess I’ll be going now?”

As Cheng Zhou stood up, he suddenly felt his wrist being grabbed. Looking down, he saw Nie Shanglin staring at him, looking very serious.

Cheng Zhou’s face turned bright red under Nie Shanglin’s gaze. He opened his mouth to say something but felt a sudden rush as Nie Shanglin pushed him down onto the bed.

“Um… that…” Cheng Zhou stammered, his ears also turning red. “Isn’t this a bit too close…?”

Cheng Zhou couldn’t find the words to say, but his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts: Even though I like you and we’re bound to be together eventually, I’m not ready for… well, all that yet. How about we pick an auspicious day to define our relationship, maybe go on a date, and then…then…then

Just then, Nie Shanglin leaned down and kissed him.

With the strong smell of alcohol and warmth around him, Cheng Zhou forgot everything.

Soon, Nie Shanglin had taken off all his clothes, and there were several marks on his body. They kissed clumsily at first, but then it turned into something soft and sweet.

Cheng Zhou was experiencing this for the first time and was so overwhelmed that he had no idea what he was doing. Nie Shanglin also had no experience, especially since he was still drunk. By the time Cheng Zhou realized what was happening, Nie Shanglin had already spread his legs apart. The next moment, a sharp pain tore through him, making him cry out.

Nie Shanglin had forced his way in.

Cheng Zhou was sweating from the pain, his face pale. Nie Shanglin felt pain too from the tightness, but more than that, he was overwhelmed by the warm, snug feeling. Following his instincts, he pushed in hard, fully burying himself inside, and then began to thrust relentlessly.

Chen Zhou was in so much pain that he couldn’t speak, but he didn’t push Nie shanglin away. Instead he tried to relax and accept what being done to him.. His obedient demeanor only make the other person thrust harder against him.

Cheng Zhou was in pain, but he felt a bit of secret joy thinking that Nie Shanglin might actually like him a little.

At the moment Nie Shanglin released himself, he leaned close to Cheng Zhou’s ear and whispered, “Yuze…”

In that instant, Cheng Zhou felt a chill run from his head to his toes.

After Nie Shanglin released himself, he changed Cheng Zhou’s position. Realizing his intentions, Cheng Zhou hurriedly resisted, kicking and struggling to break free from Nie Shanglin’s grasp. However, he was quickly restrained with a tie, and the next moment, Nie Shanglin thrust into him forcefully again.

Tears streamed down Cheng Zhou’s face as he found himself unable to move, repeatedly murmuring, “Let me go… I’m not… not…”

The next day, when Nie Shanglin woke up, he found Cheng Zhou lying beside him, feeling hot and in a disheveled state.

Nie Shanglin frowned and rubbed his temples, still recalling some of what happened last night.

At the same time, Cheng Zhou woke up in pain, struggling to sit up as he looked at Nie Shanglin. His eyes were moist, his cheeks slightly flushed, and his mind was a bit hazy, yet he still tried to force a carefree smile and said to Nie Shanglin, “You see, don’t you think you should take responsibility?”

It was as if he were telling him that it was his first time, and he had no way to escape because he was coerced into it.

Nie Shanglin furrowed his brows even tighter, contemplating the consequences if Cheng Zhou were to spread word about what happened last night. Cheng Zhou didn’t care about the repercussions, but the Nie family still had to maintain their reputation.

So, Nie Shanglin nodded and said, “Let’s be together.”

Cheng Zhou couldn’t quite tell whether he felt heartache or pain elsewhere. “As long as I don’t say we’re breaking up, it won’t end.”

Nie Shanglin paused for a moment. “Okay.”

After that, Cheng Zhou went to the hospital alone to get an IV drip.

Even though they were together, Nie Shanglin remained indifferent toward Cheng Zhou. However, Cheng Zhou believed that being in a relationship meant there was a chance for Nie Shanglin to develop feelings for him as well. He was convinced that he could warm up this cold stone, thinking that even if Nie Shanglin liked him only one-tenth as much as he liked him, it would be worth it. So, he made an effort to be nice to Nie Shanglin, ignoring anyone who tried to advise him otherwise.

In Mu Chenfeng’s words, that meant he had a thick skin.

Cheng Zhou thought to himself, well, that’s not wrong.

Author’s Note: The gong is a scumbag, but both the him and shou are pure.