Chapter 1: Doctor Su, do you have a boyfriend?

The room was dim, and a suppressed moan of pain filled the air.

“…Let go.”

“Dr. Su, am I going insane?”

The timid and trembling voice of the young man echoed in the ears, but beneath this seemingly harmless tone, there was a fierceness almost as if he wanted to bite off the redness. He knew he should release it, knew how to soothe the pain, but the next moment, his teeth would clamp down again, as if wanting to devour the red completely.

“Xingran, you’re just sick. I’ll save you, but you can’t—” The man was once again swallowed by pain before finishing his sentence, trembling with agony.

Hearing the man’s words, the young man tightly grasped the man’s arm, feeling his shivering body due to pain, his timid eyes flashing with almost paranoid madness as he gazed at the man. Finally, unable to control himself, he bit the man’s beloved spot once again.

Sweet, like the August night osmanthus fragrance on the man’s body. Osmanthus and jasmine, honey and woody scent, blending together, it was an addictive taste.

Dr. Su said, infatuation and liking to bite there weren’t abnormal; he was just sick.

There was a cure, and Su Lixu would save him.

And his medicine was Su Lixu.

“Dr. Su, I’m so scared. I can’t control myself. What should I do? But I don’t want to be hospitalized; I’ve just been discharged after so much effort.” He let go, raised tearful eyes to the man, hands tightly gripping the man’s trembling arms, meeting the man’s crimson eyes, completely different from the gentle and warm demeanor when he wore the white coat, pleasing him entirely.

Only he could see Dr. Su like this, right?

“Dr. Su, please hug me. I’m so scared.”

It wasn’t until the young man tasted the lingering trace of the bloody scent, releasing the man who had fainted in pain. He even leisurely dressed the man in a white shirt, buttoning it up meticulously.

Finally, unsatisfied, he placed his hand on the man’s chest, lingering through the thin shirt.

“Dr. Su, you must save me, okay?”

The young man, fearing his own weakness, pleaded with a difficult-to-articulate fetish, his voice echoing in the dimly lit room, like a nightmare penetrating the man’s mind.

Day after day.

He thought Su Lixu would surely regret saving him.

But he didn’t regret doing this.

Su Lixu was awakened from his sleep, gasping, staring blankly at the ceiling as if still shaken.

The day was dawning, and the clear light filled the room. The open French window allowed the breeze to rustle the curtains, their shadows dancing in the intertwining light. Faint sounds subtly entered his ears, like calling for something.

That dream just now…

After a moment, he reached for his phone on the bedside table. It was only a little past six; he still had two hours before work. However, once awake, he wouldn’t go back to sleep. He decided to get up and take a shower.

Today marked his first day as a counseling psychologist at Peking University.

Stepping out of the bathroom, the mirror on the sink reflected his half-naked upper body. The excessively fair skin made the deep bite mark on his chest stand out vividly.

It wasn’t an ordinary mark; otherwise, it wouldn’t have turned into an indelible scar.

He had passed out from the pain back then.

Due to his cleanliness obsession, his body had been free of any marks originally. Yet, this mark persisted for four years. Despite trying various medications, none could erase it. He had considered laser treatment, but it seemed difficult to talk about, so he abandoned the idea.

His gaze fell on the mark in the mirror, and after a moment, he withdrew his eyes.

He slowly buttoned up the white shirt with meticulous care.

Peking University, School of Fine Arts—

“Wow, they added a mandatory mental health class this semester. They must really be afraid we can’t handle things.”

“It’s because of that student who committed suicide last semester, jumping off the building. The school had no choice; they want to brainwash us with some mental health knowledge to give us comfort.”

“Oh, by the way, Fu Xingran, I heard you chose psychology as your second major last semester?”

Fu Xingran was lying on the table, squinting. Suddenly pushed by his roommate, he raised his head. Looking into his roommate’s eyes, inherently cold and piercing, a single glance from him could make people shiver.

“None of your business.”

“Fu Xingran, you—” The roommate, rebuffed by Fu Xingran, instantly tried to bring out the previously stacked-up resentment: “I can really understand why a top student in college would poison his roommate. Sometimes, I just want to poison you, Fu Xingran, you jerk! Can’t you speak nicely?”

“Zhuo Yi, calm down. You know Fu Xingran’s personality. Why bother him while he’s sleeping? You’re just being impulsive.”

The small commotion in the back of the classroom was just a part of the noise, with Fu Xingran’s presence attracting a few admiring glances.

Zhuo Yi, the guy called, crossed his arms against the chair back, coldly scanning Fu Xingran: “Really, besides your face, I don’t know who would like you. That person must be blind.”

His words were like a fuse, pricking Fu Xingran.

Fu Xingran glanced slightly to the side. His deep and already intense eyes, now filled with violent aversion, made him tense up entirely, like a poised leopard ready to devour the trash in front of him at any moment.

“I do have someone who likes me. He likes me a lot, loves me deeply, and we’ve been together for four years.”

Zhuo Yi found it amusing, “You really have an imagination problem, you lunatic.” If they had really been together for four years, how could it have never come up? He had only seen it unintentionally on Fu Xingran’s phone.

It was a handsome and gentle man in a white shirt.

The term ‘lunatic’ caused the hand Fu Xingran had put aside to tighten instantly. His pupils contracted, and the anger and shouts within his heart, uncontrollable, seemed blocked, causing him unbearable pain, much like when Su Lixu disappeared from his world.

He had gone mad.

“Good morning, students.”

Just as he was about to spiral back into emotional entanglement, a voice as gentle as a spring breeze entered his ears. In an instant, the cocoon binding his heart seemed to unravel, falling layer by layer.

He raised his eyes in astonishment.

Su Lixu entered the classroom, greeted by quite a few exclamations from female students. He smiled in response; after all, he didn’t want the first meeting to be too serious. He hoped to see these kids laughing after he made his requests.

Stepping onto the podium and placing the books down, he wrote his name on the blackboard.

As university students, they were quite self-aware, stopping their discussions naturally. Their gaze gathered on the beautifully written name on the blackboard, and naturally, they were attracted by the gentle and charming aura emanating from this man on the podium.

True to his name, his writing matched his name.

The three characters ‘Su Lixu’ made an impression on everyone in the moment he wrote them.

It also completely reignited someone’s previously fanciful heart.

Su Lixu turned around, putting down the chalk and lightly brushing off the chalk dust from his fingertips. Smiling at the students below, he said, “I’m Su Lixu, the new psychological counselor at the school. I graduated from the psychology department at Peking University for my undergraduate and completed my master’s and Ph.D. at Cornell University. I’m not your regular course teacher; I’m just filling in for this specialized class this semester. So, you can call me Dr. Su or Mr. Su, either is fine.”

“If you have any questions, you can come to the counseling room to find me; I’m more than willing to help you.”

“Mr. Su, how old are you this year?”

One of the girls suddenly asked, sparking everyone’s curiosity.

Su Lixu turned to the questioning girl, tilting his head slightly, as if contemplating how to answer, and then smiled, “Probably ten years older than you. I’m thirty this year.”

Someone was also staring intently, nervous and tense, afraid to hear an answer that might drive them crazy.

Su Lixu smiled, “Single.”

“Wow! Sisters, we have a chance!!”

This is the School of Fine Arts, and Su Lixu heard that the gender ratio here favors more male students. He initially thought it might not be as lively, but it turned out to be unexpected. There were a few particularly active female students.

He smiled, and almost inadvertently, his gaze collided with a fiery look.

This was a tall and handsome guy, well-dressed in a bright green crewneck sweatshirt paired with an oversized blue shirt. His outer layer was a dark gray baseball-style jacket.

Almost instinctively, the bite mark on his chest faintly itched.

Then he saw the guy raising his hand.

“Dr. Su, do you have a boyfriend?”

Su Lixu was momentarily stunned by that voice. This voice… He flashed a hint of surprise in his eyes but didn’t directly ask. It wouldn’t be good if he made a mistake.

Lowering his gaze, concealing the unusual expression, he then regained composure and smiled directly at the guy, “No.”

“Good.”

Su Lixu saw the guy smile, a particularly radiant smile, like the sunshine he saw when he just stepped out. It was dazzling. In his heart, he couldn’t help but sigh – youth is truly wonderful.

“Well, let’s start the class.”

During the subsequent class, Su Lixu was completely unaware that the passionate and infatuated gaze had never left him from start to finish.

Little did he know that behind that gaze, hidden four years of obsessive affection, completely unraveled the sealed devotion from four years ago and began brewing fervently once again.

“Dr. Su, I finally found you.”