It had been far too long since they had kissed.
These past few days, Yan Chengfeng had been driven crazy, both physically and emotionally. His kisses were rough and desperate, entirely without rhythm. As he kissed Zhen Ning, he pressed him up against the wall.
Though his technique was clumsy, Yan Chengfeng was actually quite crafty. Anticipating that Zhen Ning might try to push him away, he domineeringly grabbed both of Zhen Ning’s hands in advance. With no room to resist, Zhen Ning could only endure Yan Chengfeng’s impulsive, fiery kisses with difficulty.
In the end, the sound of a car horn outside interrupted the kiss.
Yan Chengfeng snapped back to reality and raised his head. Only then did he realize they were still at the back entrance of the base. Thankfully, it was a secluded area with few passersby. If someone had seen them…
When he saw Zhen Ning breathlessly glance back, he suddenly remembered that Zhen Ning had booked a car for the hotel.
Yan Chengfeng immediately stepped in front of Zhen Ning defensively. “Y-you’re not seriously thinking about going to that stupid hotel, are you? Do you really believe I’ll—”
Zhen Ning stared at Yan Chengfeng’s face for a long moment before saying, “But my heat is approaching.”
His eyes were still dark and calm, but his lips were slightly reddened from the kiss, his clothes a little disheveled. The faint sheen of moisture at the corners of his eyes hadn’t completely faded. He looked… indescribably beautiful.
Yan Chengfeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
At first, he didn’t grasp the deeper meaning of Zhen Ning’s words. He pursed his lips and instinctively objected, “…Even so, you can’t go.”
Zhen Ning: “I already paid the deposit.”
Yan Chengfeng: “You’re still not allowed to go.”
Zhen Ning: “The hotel doesn’t refund deposits.”
Yan Chengfeng became agitated. “You’re still not going!”
Zhen Ning sighed softly. “It’s a king-sized bed.”
Yan Chengfeng: “I said you’re not going, so you’re not goi— huh?”
Five minutes later, Yan Chengfeng, carrying his luggage, dazedly got into the car with Zhen Ning.
On the way to the hotel, Yan Chengfeng felt like his entire body was floating.
Even now, everything still felt surreal. He couldn’t believe how things had unfolded in the end. The only thing he was sure of was how incredible it felt to know their feelings were mutual.
All the wild speculations, the sting of jealousy, the unfamiliar sense of unease—all of it had vanished the moment he learned that Zhen Ning liked him too.
Zhen Ning… liked him too.
But if Zhen Ning had already liked him back then… why had he left? Had life’s plans outweighed the naive feelings of youth?
And why… had he come back now?
Yan Chengfeng stared blankly at the tightly closed bathroom door of the hotel, took a deep breath, and told himself there would be plenty of opportunities to ask in the future.
His gaze drifted to Zhen Ning’s luggage. It wasn’t much—just a few changes of clothes and some snacks.
The thought of how Zhen Ning would have been completely alone in this tiny room for an unknown number of days, if he hadn’t stopped him earlier or if they hadn’t cleared things up, sent shivers down Yan Chengfeng’s spine.
When Zhen Ning came out of the bathroom, he found Yan Chengfeng sitting on the bed, holding a bag of potato chips and munching away.
Zhen Ning asked, “Why did you open the chips?”
Yan Chengfeng froze. “I saw a few bags in your luggage, so I ate one. Why?”
Zhen Ning: “…I brought those to replenish my strength.”
Yan Chengfeng: “… ”
His face turned bright red, and he jumped off the bed. “I-I-I’ll go downstairs and buy you some more right now! What do you want—”
“It’s fine.” Zhen Ning shook his head and said, “Just lie down with me for a while.”
They lay on the bed together, quietly watching TV.
Yan Chengfeng didn’t care about what was on. Before long, he grew bored and started glancing around restlessly.
He lifted his arm and wrapped it around Zhen Ning’s waist from behind.
He felt Zhen Ning tremble slightly.
An omega about to go into heat isn’t afraid of being alone but having a lovestruck alpha beside them, feeling warm all over and starting to cling to them.
Zhen Ning’s glands were particularly sensitive, and when Yan Chengfeng’s warm breath brushed over them, he instinctively shrank back.
Yan Chengfeng murmured in his ear, “Zhen Ning… your body is so hot.”
Zhen Ning was already highly sensitive and couldn’t handle such words. Coupled with the fact that Yan Chengfeng, like a large dog catching the scent of meat, kept leaning in closer and closer, Zhen Ning raised his hand, ready to swat him. “Yan Chengfeng, you—”
Yan Chengfeng seemed to have anticipated this, firmly catching Zhen Ning’s wrist. He leaned in even closer to his ear, and the words he’d been holding back the entire ride finally spilled out—
“When exactly did you start liking me?”
“Back when you gave me that keyboard, was it because you already liked me?”
“When you agreed to go to the KYM trials with me, was that also because you liked me?”
“Could it be… you’ve liked me since the very first time we met?”
The rogue, persistently childish alpha was fixated on knowing exactly when his crush had fallen for him. He wanted to know the time and place, and it even seemed like he wanted to figure out whether it had been a windy or cloudy day.
Yan Chengfeng leaned in close, staring expectantly at Zhen Ning’s face.
Before his shower, Zhen Ning had managed to keep the fever in his body relatively stable. But thanks to Yan Chengfeng’s antics, his glands and pheromones were now stirred up in ways he hadn’t expected. His body temperature was steadily rising, and his breathing had grown erratic.
Zhen Ning refused to give a clear answer. And while Yan Chengfeng didn’t press him directly, his hands grew increasingly restless.
Still holding Zhen Ning from behind, Yan Chengfeng’s hands began to move, sliding from Zhen Ning’s lower back to his slim, flat stomach.
His fingertips, like sparks of fire, first brushed against Zhen Ning’s abdomen before slowly exploring lower…
The sound of breathing grew louder and more distinct, eventually drowning out the noise of the television in the background.
“…Why did you stop talking again?” Yan Chengfeng murmured vaguely in Zhen Ning’s ear. “I feel like your pheromones are a bit unstable… Are you feeling unwell already?”
Zhen Ning wasn’t exactly uncomfortable—more like unbearably teased by Yan Chengfeng’s wandering hands. But he certainly couldn’t admit that to his face.
Feeling scorched by Yan Chengfeng’s intense gaze, Zhen Ning turned his face away and muttered, “…It’s not too bad.”
Yan Chengfeng stared at Zhen Ning’s profile for a moment before suddenly loosening his grip. “Ah, okay then.”
Zhen Ning froze and turned to look at him. “…What’s wrong?”
“Your heat is already uncomfortable enough. I’m afraid my clumsy self… might do something wrong and upset you,” Yan Chengfeng said. “How about this—you tell me what I can do to help you. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it, okay?”
Zhen Ning: “…”
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew full well that Yan Chengfeng wasn’t really worried about “upsetting” him. He just wanted to coax Zhen Ning into saying what he wanted to hear.
And yet, Yan Chengfeng managed to maintain an innocent expression.
Taking a deep breath, Zhen Ning’s ears turned faintly red as he averted his gaze. After a long pause, he finally muttered, “…Kiss me.”
Yan Chengfeng let out a “Hmm.”
He actually complied, leaning down to plant a light kiss on the tip of Zhen Ning’s nose. Then, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water, his lips trailed downward, brushing gently against Zhen Ning’s chin and neck.
But these fleeting, scattered kisses did nothing to alleviate the turmoil of an omega in heat. Instead, they only fueled more unspoken sparks.
Whether Yan Chengfeng was oblivious to this or simply pretending not to notice was unclear. Partway through, he suddenly paused, hovering in place without continuing, his gaze locking onto Zhen Ning’s eyes.
“Back at the base, I said so much to you from the bottom of my heart, but you still haven’t said, even once, that you like me.”
He continued pressing pitifully, “I just want to know—when exactly did you start liking me? Don’t I deserve to at least know that much?”
Zhen Ning hadn’t expected Yan Chengfeng to pull such a stunt at this moment.
They’d already reached this point—his body craving the alpha’s closeness, longing for more kisses and intimacy. Yet, shamelessly, Yan Chengfeng chose to stop here, wearing an aggrieved expression, as if he truly couldn’t bring himself to continue without an answer.
Even Yan Chengfeng himself realized he might have gone too far.
Seeing Zhen Ning’s discomfort, he quickly tried to appease him, holding his hand and leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Alright, alright. If you don’t want to say it, then don’t. I was just—”
Before he could finish, he heard Zhen Ning softly murmur, “I do.”
“I’ve liked you… ever since the first time I saw you,” Zhen Ning said.
Yan Chengfeng stared at Zhen Ning’s face, stunned. Then, as the realization hit, his eyes widened.
It felt as if his entire being was on fire.
“Say it again…” He grasped Zhen Ning’s wrist eagerly, his excitement making his words almost incoherent. “Zhen Ning, can you say that again?”
Zhen Ning turned his face away, his chest rising and falling as he refused to utter another word.
Yan Chengfeng: “How about this: if you say it one more time, I’ll—”
But Zhen Ning finally ran out of patience.
He pressed a hand against Yan Chengfeng’s chest, then swiftly flipped their positions, straddling him. Maintaining this posture, he leaned down and kissed him.
Although Zhen Ning had kissed Yan Chengfeng before, his previous kisses had always been composed and restrained—gentle kisses.
This time, however, his kiss carried anger—a forceful, commanding kiss. Though there was still a trace of weakness from his impending heat, it was enough to leave Yan Chengfeng completely dazed.
This kiss was anything but what one would expect from an omega about to enter heat, who should have been soft and delicate.
Their breaths became erratic, and for a moment, the only sounds in the room were heavy panting and the sticky, ambiguous noises of saliva being exchanged.
“…Yan Chengfeng.”
After a moment, Zhen Ning straightened up. Grabbing Yan Chengfeng’s collar, he said in a slightly hoarse voice, “Who are you threatening?”
Yan Chengfeng was caught off guard by the pull. “I wasn’t—”
He desperately wanted to explain that he hadn’t meant to threaten Zhen Ning. He’d simply gotten carried away, wanting to hear more sweet words from him, and ended up pushing too far.
But at this moment, he couldn’t even string together a full sentence. Not when Zhen Ning was sitting right on his thighs, in a posture… so daring and suggestive.
The position was both intimate and ambiguous. With their bodies pressed tightly together, even the slightest movement from one of them was immediately felt by the other.
Zhen Ning’s face was right in front of him. Yan Chengfeng knew he was angry because he could see the slight trembling of Zhen Ning’s eyelashes and the beautiful fury in his expression.
“Quit stalling.” Zhen Ning lowered his head, gritting his teeth as he said, “Either do it or don’t…”
Yan Chengfeng’s pupils contracted slightly.
The next moment, he watched as Zhen Ning untied the belt of his bathrobe, revealing a slender collarbone and a stretch of fair skin on his chest. Further down was…
Yan Chengfeng’s gaze darted upward, only to meet Zhen Ning’s cold eyes.
Through ragged breaths, Zhen Ning said, “I’ll do it myself.”
Author’s note:
Kitchen’s Diary:
Location: Hotel
Weather: Sunny
Mood: Not happy
Reason for unhappiness: Today was my first time with Zhen Ning. Because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, he scolded me. I think I accidentally hurt him at some point, and he scolded me again.
Later, I couldn’t hold back and… well, we ended up in the bathroom, where I got scolded yet again.
…Hehe.
