Chapter 1

My roommate was outrageously handsome, with a fiercely predatory gaze. One look at him, and you knew he was cold and proud.

Until one day, he suddenly bent down, sniffed my neck, and said:

“You’re aroused.”

I’d just finished reading a little erotic novel. My face flamed as I timidly snapped back:

“You—you’re the one who’s aroused!”

He picked me up and lightly licked my neck.

“Yes. You’ve affected me. Now I’m aroused.”

“Are you a dog?”

“I’m a cat. A big cat.”

Me: “…”

Quite big, actually.

I’d bought an apartment and decided to rent out a room to ease the financial pressure.

I’d assumed the online friend I’d been chatting with for ages was a woman. We made the arrangements online, and I reserved the room.

Only when we met did I discover a tall, handsome man with an intimidating presence and aggressively striking features.

He came to view the room. Handsome or not, I hesitated, wondering whether I should back out of the agreement.

After all, my apartment only had one bathroom. It really wasn’t convenient.

But the moment he spotted the balls of yarn hanging on my balcony, he seemed delighted. He thought the apartment was clean and the surroundings pleasant.

And he offered so much…

No, wait. It was because his family had thrown him out. He looked so pitiful I couldn’t bear to refuse.

When I first learned he’d been kicked out, I’d actually felt some sympathy.

“Do you still have any money?”

The rent really was rather high.

Ten thousand yuan a month, with no private bathroom and nowhere near the city center. More than a little above the going rate.

But he’d originally offered twenty thousand. I’d thought it would be a terrible loss to tell him three or four thousand would do, so I’d only cut his offer in half.

My conscience hurt a little.

Oh, who was I kidding? I had no conscience. Just the courage of a mouse. I was terrified he’d discover the local rents and expose me online as a heartless landlady.

He answered honestly:

“Not much.”

Just as I was wondering whether to lower his rent again, he added:

“Only a little over a million.”

“Huh?”

I wondered if I’d misheard.

Jing Song sat back on the sofa, completely at ease, as though this were his own home. Scrolling through his phone, he said casually:

“My cards have been frozen. I only have two or three million altogether, and just a few hundred thousand in my mobile wallet.”

Only!!!

I gave a hollow laugh.

“Yes. Very poor indeed.”

His poverty nearly moved me to tears.

The man who knew nothing of worldly suffering replied:

“A little poor, yes.”

Me: “…”

He loved the wind chime on my balcony.

It was made of little balls I’d knitted from colorful yarn.

I’d meant to make flowers, but my clumsy hands had produced balls instead. They were bright and looked quite pretty hanging there.

Sometimes he stood on the balcony, batting them back and forth with his fingers.

His hands really were beautiful.

Jing Song asked if I would sell it.

What could something like that be worth?

I waved a hand and gave it to him.

He glanced at me.

His gaze was so sharp that my whole body stiffened.

I’d quit my job not long before. Being worked like a beast of burden was exhausting, so I planned to rest for a while.

Occasionally, I accepted illustration commissions to earn a living.

Jing Song, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have a job.

I often shut myself in my bedroom, rarely venturing out, even to the living room.

Lately, I’d become hooked on novels too.

A friend sent me some files, and I eagerly opened them.

Then…

Hmm?

Something wasn’t quite right.

Oh my God. How embarrassing.

I’d never even dated. I didn’t dare examine my own body closely in the shower, yet… the things in these stories were terrifying.

The detailed descriptions made me blush furiously.

Dazed, I went into the living room for water, just as Jing Song emerged from the shower.

He wore a loose silk robe. The thin fabric clung to his chest, outlining firm muscles.

As if that weren’t enough, the deep V of the neckline exposed more of his beautiful body. Water droplets glistened on him, outrageously suggestive.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs. Firm chest and abdominal muscles. A powerful torso.

Heat rushed to my head. My face reddened, and my eyes darted away.

I slowly dragged my gaze off his body, only to look helplessly at his face.

Deep-set features. Clean, sculpted lines. Absurdly exquisite. Everything about him radiated privilege.

So handsome.

Water still dripped from his hair. He was unreasonably alluring, as though someone had put a beauty filter over him.

Restless and hot-faced, I awkwardly asked the most unnecessary question:

“Um… Did you take a shower?”

He was holding a pair of underpants stretched over a hanger.

So… so big.

Realizing what I was thinking, I felt thoroughly impure.

His voice was low, rich, and resonant, his gaze indifferent.

“Yes. Do you need the bathroom? Give me a moment. I haven’t finished wiping it down.”

“Oh, okay.”

Only after answering did I realize something was wrong.

No.

I’d come out for water, not the bathroom.

But I’d already said it. Was I supposed to explain now that I didn’t need it?

So I stood stiffly outside the bathroom, waiting for him to dry the water on the floor.

Jing Song even wiped the mirror.

He really was clean.

My opinion of him improved considerably.

He washed his hands and came out, looking at me with an unfathomable intensity.

I felt as though some enormous animal was watching me.

Nervously, I widened my eyes.

“Wh-what is it?”

His brow furrowed slightly. His nose twitched.

“Fu Tianxu, do you… have a boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

I shook my head blankly, blushing.

“No. I don’t.”

He nodded and went back to his bedroom.

Without showing the slightest interest in getting to know me better.

Yet that inexplicable question inexplicably made my little heart skip several beats.

Eventually, I reached a conclusion:

The bastard was seducing me.

Still, I tried to keep my unruly thoughts in check.

One look told you this man wasn’t the sort to settle down. He really wasn’t suitable for a long-term life together.

What if he only wanted a one-night stand?

No, no, no.

I was a conservative country girl. I couldn’t accept that.

But that evening, after reading another trashy story, even more stimulating and morally dubious…

My mind began to unravel again.

When I left my bedroom, I found a handsome man lifting weights shirtless in the living room.

My legs went weak. I nearly dropped to the floor and hurriedly braced myself against a shelf.

My face was red as an apple.

Inside, I was shrieking like a kangaroo.

Aaaaaah!

That was cheating!

Cheating!

He paused and turned.

His biceps tightened and swelled with the movement.

“What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t count all eight abs, but there were definitely six.

My gaze slid downward without my permission.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness.

He was properly wearing trousers.

But that curve…

I wiped my face, which had no sweat on it.

“N-nothing. Maybe my blood sugar’s a little low.”

Frowning, he put down the weights and came over.

I nervously looked away.

His tall figure stopped in front of me, making it a little hard to breathe.

Instinctively, I looked up. An incredibly handsome face filled my vision.

High nose. Sharp brows. A piercing, cool gaze. A presence powerful enough to fluster anyone.

I felt an arrow strike my little heart.

Thump, thump. It raced wildly.

I was going to die.

Heat still radiated from his workout.

He showered often, so there was no sweaty smell, only a faint trace of body wash carried toward me on that warmth.

Pure, concentrated sex appeal.

My legs weakened further, but I barely managed to stay upright.

Having heard me mention low blood sugar, he took my arm and helped me to the sofa.

Me: “…”

What else could I do?

I could only lean weakly against him.

Once I was seated, he fetched a bread roll, tore open the wrapper, and handed it to me.

“Eat this first.”

His gesture warmed my heart.

“Thank you.”

But I still couldn’t stop looking at him.

“Um… Would you like to put a shirt on? The weather’s been rather… changeable lately. I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”

Good heavens. What was I saying?

Outside, the sun shone brilliantly, streaming straight in through the balcony.

The apartment was bright and pleasantly warm.

My expression stayed calm, as though I really were worried about him.

But my face couldn’t possibly get any redder.

He glanced at my unnaturally flushed cheeks, then slowly took a T-shirt from the rack and put it on.

“Fu Tianxu. You can look now.”

“Huh?”

Confused, I looked up and met his amber eyes.

Jing Song said:

“You can look at me now. You don’t seem to dare when I’m not dressed.”

His face was expressionless, but those indifferent eyes stared straight at me.

It felt as though an enormous predator had fixed its gaze on me.

Goose bumps sprang up all over.

Strangely, the fear wasn’t in my mind. It felt more like an automatic physical response.

But I had no attention to spare for that.

If he’d told me to look, wouldn’t it be a waste not to?

I immediately looked straight at him, my eyes landing precisely on his ridiculously handsome face. My voice, however, remained timid.

“Um… I’m all right now. Go ahead with what you were doing. Don’t worry about me.”

His brows lowered slightly in confusion.

“I’m not busy. I’m exercising. Do you mind if I do it here?”

I hurriedly shook my head.

“N-no.”

Could life really be this good?

My eyes lit up at once.