Chapter 1

I’m Straight. Stay Away from Me.

When my germaphobic childhood friend pinned me to the wall and kissed me, I was still struggling to process it.

The more I fought, the harder he kissed.

After being held there for over ten minutes, I got so angry that I punched him.

I thought that would teach him some restraint.

Instead, the shameless bastard climbed through my window at midnight and pinned me down again.

He even claimed he wasn’t feeling well. Looking at me pitifully, he said, “Wen Qi, help me.”

The sharp pain in my tongue reminded me what was happening.

Our fingers were locked together, my hands pinned to the wall.

His other hand held my face.

Helpless, I tilted my head back. There was nothing I could do but endure it.

His breath was hot. His lips were far too soft.

Each time our mouths tangled, his canine teeth caught my lower lip, slowly biting and sucking.

Gentle, yet edged with aggression.

Enough to make my whole body go weak.

In that stifling afternoon, my head spinning, I reached one firm conclusion.

Ying Yanjue really was a dog.

More than ten minutes later, I sat on his bed with a thunderous expression. My fist still ached against my thigh.

He stood off to one side, head lowered. Scratches of varying severity marked his face and forehead.

I glared and tried to sneer.

The movement tugged at my swollen lips.

Wincing, I covered my mouth and sucked in a breath.

He immediately looked up and strode toward me.

I sprang off the bed.

“Fuck! Stay over there!”

He stopped, then bent to open a drawer and took out a first-aid kit.

Holding a white tube of ointment, he said in a low voice, “I was only getting you some anti-inflammatory cream.”

I glared harder.

Bastard.

If it weren’t for him, would my mouth be this swollen?

Who was he playing innocent for?

Germaphobic, my ass.

What germaphobe spent ten minutes kissing someone and swallowing their saliva?

I clenched my fist, ready for round two.

Just then, his bedroom door opened.

“Xiaowen, I heard you came to see Ajue... Oh!”

The exclamation stopped me.

I turned blankly.

The woman in the doorway was elegant and distinguished.

Her widened, alluring eyes were just like Ying Yanjue’s.

Aunt Lin gently applied the pale ointment to my lips.

Then she glared at her son.

“You little brat. Have you been bullying Xiaowen?

“You wear that miserable face all day. He’s the only one willing to come and play with you, and this is how you treat him!”

I was about to nod vigorously.

Then “come and play with you” stopped me.

Who wanted to play with him?

I’d come to pick a fight!

Ying Yanjue said nothing.

I glanced at him.

Who knew he was so well behaved in front of his mother?

“Does it hurt, Xiaowen?

“Because of his condition, he doesn’t like contact with people. He’s surly and bad-tempered. You’re his only friend.”

My ears caught one word.

Condition?

Germaphobia?

The way he’d pinned me down and kissed me like a madman hadn’t looked particularly germaphobic.

Before I could finish thinking, he interrupted his mother.

“I know, Mom. I’ll take proper responsibility.”

Responsibility?

For what?

I’d only zoned out for a moment. How far had the plot jumped?

Before applying any ointment to himself, he pulled me outside.

His hand was as hot as ever.

I suddenly remembered those hands interlaced with mine.

An inexplicable heat prickled in my palm.

Uncomfortable, I shifted my wrist and pulled free.

“Hey.

“Ying Yanjue.”

He stopped and looked back.

The scratches on his face were beginning to bruise.

The annoying thing was...

They did nothing to diminish his looks.

Girls passing by kept giving him sympathetic glances.

“I’m letting you off this time. I’m too generous to hold a grudge.

“Touch me again and I’ll punch you!”

I’d done plenty of things deliberately to disgust him in the past.

If this was his underhanded revenge, I could only swallow it.

He looked at me with dark eyes, then suddenly smiled.

“You’re very generous, Wen Qi.”

I raised an eyebrow, silently accepting the compliment.

I was about to leave when I remembered Aunt Lin’s words.

I looked him up and down.

“What exactly is wrong with you that you can’t touch other people?”

He watched me steadily.

“What do you think?”

I frowned.

“Germaphobia?”

Ever since I’d known him, he’d acted as though nobody deserved his attention.

If someone stood too close, he immediately retreated three steps and told them to get lost.

I remembered a girl falling right in front of him in middle school.

Not only had he failed to help her up, he’d backed away.

At “germaphobia,” he smiled again.

“Something like that.”

Something like that?

Not even close!

At two in the morning, his barrage of calls woke me.

Red-faced and grinding my teeth, I hung up.

Remembering the heavy breathing through the receiver, I muttered a curse.

How was that anything like germaphobia?

Our families had bought neighboring villas in the suburbs.

Getting to my house took him only a few steps.

A soft knock came at the window.

The vein in my forehead twitched along with it.

I turned. The window was already sliding open.

He climbed nimbly inside.

Nothing like the weak, helpless voice on the phone.

My face hadn’t cooled since the call.

I glared, though with rather less force than intended.

“Was everything you said on the phone true?”

“Yes. I’m not lying.”

His voice was hoarse.

Slowly, step by step, he approached.

I held my breath without meaning to.

“Wen Qi. Help me.”

He stopped beside the bed and leaned down. Hot breath brushed my face.

He repeated it.

“Help me.”

My heart missed a beat. Flustered, I turned away.

I swallowed.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

He looked at me.

“I have no reason to lie to you, Wen Qi.

“Haven’t you always wondered why I go to the hospital every weekend?

“Why I’ve never been intimate with anyone? Why I never go out for fun?”

He came closer. I could feel his heat.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes.

“I used to keep it under control. But you keep coming close, rubbing against me. I’ve been holding back for a long time, Wen Qi.”