Xu Lan poured everything out in one breath. His sentences were sprinkled with vulgarity.

“How can I believe you? This was something you promised me since the very beginning,” Bai Wu said with a bitter smile.

“F*ck! Tell me then, what else do you need for you to believe me?!” Xu Lan’s usually pale face had an unnatural flush.

Bai Wu stared at him for a while, then pulled him close and said, “Say it one more time!”

“What do you want me to say?!”

“Say you’ll only like me,” Bai Wu requested in a melancholic tone and hugged Xu Lan, whose body was already soaking wet.

“Yes! Daddy will only like you! From the bottom of my heart! In the future, Daddy will only like you, it will always be…oof…”

Bai Wu drew Xu Lan closer and pressed Xu Lan’s head onto his chest. Bai Wu then gave Xu Lan a rough and eager kiss. It was different from previous hugs and kisses, as those were merely superficial contact.

Xu Lan’s mouth was filled with Bai Wu’s scent, and the latter’s warmth caused Xu Lan to feel dizzy. He could not tell when Bai Wu stopped kissing him.

Bai Wu carried Xu Lan back to the rented room. Wang Hao was anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the doorway. Once he spotted Xu Lan and Bai Wu, he went up to them.

“Sergeant Xu! How’s Sergeant Xu?” The worried Wang Hao checked on Xu Lan. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for his incredibly red lips.

“He’s asleep. Thank you, you can leave now,” Bai Wu said impolitely while looking down at him with arrogance.

Wang Hao was shocked. Had Bai Wu been this tall all the while? Had his aura always been this strong too?

“But Sergeant Xu just left the hospital and he’s drenched. Are you sure he’s alright? Should we go to the doctor?” Wang Hao remarked while placing a hand to his neck in spite of Bai Wu’s loftiness.

“There’s no need for that! He just needs some sleep. You can leave now! If anything happens, I’ll deal with it!” Bai Wu spoke in an ill-mannered tone while staring at him.

“But…” Bai Wu put Xu Lan down. He cracked his knuckles in a clenched fist. With a look that seemed to say ‘you’ll get a piece of this if you don’t shut up’, Wang Hao was sent away.

After giving Xu Lan a warm bath, Bai Wu dried the man’s hair and carried him onto the bed. The roles appeared to have reversed; when Xu Lan first brought Bai Wu home, Xu Lan carried him in his arms and did not let go. There were many things a three- or four-year-old boy could do on his own, but Xu Lan still insisted on doing it himself.

Bai Wu caressed Xu Lan’s rosy lips with his thumb. Recalling the scene that happened in the rain earlier, the edges of his lips curled up subconsciously.

Bai Wu’s ‘liking’ of Xu Lan metamorphosized, though it was unclear when that change actually happened. Back then, the ‘liking’ was a result of fear and dread but sometime later, it turned into desire. Much later still, even Bai Wu did not know what those feelings were, but all he wanted was to be the only person in Xu Lan’s eyes – he wanted to Xu Lan to be bound to him.

If it were not for Song Xi, Bai Wu would not have come to that sudden realization; if it were not for Xu Lan sending him to school, he would not have understood the difference between familial love and romantic love; if it were not for Xu Lan, he would not have known how and what kind of feeling love was.

Bai Wu twirled Xu Lan’s lips between his fingers until they were red. Xu Lan extended his tongue out and licked softly. A fervent kiss immediately landed on Xu Lan’s lips. Xu Lan gasped for air and pushed Bai Wu away with a punch to his chest.

“Bai Wu! What are you doing?!” Remnants of Bai Wu’s scent lingered in Xu Lan’s mouth, and his lips felt somewhat sore and tingling from Bai Wu’s twirling.

“Papa! You’re awake!” Bai Wu’s crescent-like eyes shimmered with a gleam as he smiled.