You beast, how could you not control yourself?

You beast, how could you not control yourself?

The study is decorated in warm colors, with light streaming freely through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Several well-maintained green plants adorn the desk and windowsill, showcasing the owner's taste.

The two were very close, one standing and one sitting, their shadows overlapping.

Lin Shiren lowered his head and carefully wiped his chin with a cotton swab dipped in iodine. Long hair spilled out from his ears with the movement, and a fragrance filled the air. A few strands accidentally brushed against his arm, and Zhou Lin's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

The wound itched, the throat itched, and the heart itched too. Finally, I couldn't resist reaching out to scratch, but she gently patted my hand away: "Don't touch it, I just finished disinfecting it."

Zhou Lin's hand froze on the spot, his body seemed to be paused, his gaze fixed on the rosy cheeks, almost unable to look away.

Her voice was soft, her movements were practiced, and she frowned as she continued to scold, "You keep getting your wound wet, that's why it's not healing. Don't do any exercise for the next couple of days, wait until it scabs over."

Zhou Lin considered herself to have good self-control, but her alluring yet virtuous demeanor was enough to arouse wicked thoughts in him, so when he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse.

"Can't I take a shower now?"

Lin Shih-ren glanced at him critically, holding his forearm wrapped in gauze: "Not taking a bath might just make you smell a little, it won't kill you, but wound infection is a big deal. The mortality rate of tetanus is about the same as that of rabies."

Her fingertips were icy cold, and a tingling current spread from the small patch of skin they touched. Some indescribable images flashed through Zhou Lin's mind, and his breathing suddenly became heavy.

Lin Shiren suddenly softened his grip and asked, "Did I hurt you?"

A hidden, indescribable urge flickered in Zhou Lin's eyes, which he concealed by a resentful tone: "Mmm, it hurts."

Half of his body went limp. Lin Shiren's small mouth formed a slightly open circle as he was surprised and picked at his ears. Such a tall guy, fierce and aggressive when fighting, but he turned into a delicate little thing the moment he applied medicine?

Her long eyelashes blinked briefly, and she pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh: "Oh, then you'll have to bear with it."

These shocking injuries naturally made Lin Shih-ren imagine a scene of him fighting with Tsai Shih-chen. His hands were beautiful, with thin calluses on his middle finger; they shouldn't be used for fighting.

Lin Shiren cut the gauze in half with scissors and tied a bow on her thin forearm, finally finishing treating all the wounds. While tidying up the first-aid kit, she said somewhat awkwardly, "Don't fight next time."

Zhou Lin looked up and asked in a soft voice, "Lin Shiren, are you concerned about me?"

Several blood-stained cotton balls were conspicuously visible in the trash can at my feet.

Looking at him now, Lin Shiren felt that this person was not as smart as he had imagined. Otherwise, why would he risk his future to fight? For a moment, he wanted to ask him why he did this, but he was afraid that the answer would make their relationship more complicated.

That sentence was like a shard of glass, stuck in my throat, neither here nor there.

She swallowed hard a couple of times and said stiffly, "I'm not your mother, how can I take care of you? I'm just afraid that if you get arrested by the police, you'll implicate me as the mastermind and end up going to jail with you."

Zhou Lin discreetly observed every subtle expression on her face, a hint of amusement in his clear pupils: "Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped. Even if you force me to confess, I won't expose you."

After saying this, he stood up, and the distance between the two suddenly became even closer, so close that their breaths mingled. Lin Shiren subconsciously took half a step back, her legs touching the table leg, with nowhere to retreat. She grabbed a piece of paper haphazardly with her palms on the table and glanced at it in between.

One glance, and my mind exploded.

Her confession!!!

Zhou Lin, a head taller than her, pressed down on her with an imposing aura: "Perfect, let's settle some other scores."

Lin Shiren's ears burned with a bad feeling, and he could only change the subject: "It's too late, my mom wants me to go home for dinner... Can I return this letter?"

"Don't even think about it!"

He pulled the letter from her fingers, put it back on the desk, and looked down at her again: "There's something I can't figure out. Can you explain it to me?"

Lin Shiren felt guilty and dared not look him in the eye. The two were very close, their breaths mingling. From this angle, he could see a delicate jawline above and a bobbing Adam's apple below, making her unsure where to look and suddenly feeling annoyed.

"Hey, why do you, a grown man, always like to pry into things!"

Zhou Lin narrowed his eyes slightly: "So you pretended to have a crush on me back then just because you were afraid I would hold you accountable for badmouthing me online?"

Damn it!

Why be so smart? She laid out her entire thought process in just a few words, making herself seem like a bad person. There was clearly a backstory to this whole thing: he bought Jissbon and she got knocked out by a bottle of RIO... Okay, whatever you do, she's the one who lied.

After much deliberation, Lin Shiren finally decided to confess and accept leniency. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she nodded.

"You're really something." The cold voice was devoid of both emotion and warmth.

After a long silence of half a minute, a burning heat came from her chin, and with a slight effort, their eyes met silently.

"What are you doing?" Lin Shiren tried to break free from his hand, but hesitated to use force because of the injury on his arm.

The air was thick with the ambiguous smell of medicine; my heart was racing, and my body and brain were about to lose their connection.

Lin Shiren subconsciously held her breath. They were so close, was he going to hit her?

Just as I was about to suffocate, a cat suddenly meowed at the door.

Zhou Lin subconsciously looked toward the source of the sound, while Lin Shiren took the opportunity to slip out from under his arm, strode to the door, squatted down and stroked the cat's head: "Hello, Schrödinger."

Zhou Lin was somewhat surprised: "You know about it?"

Lin Shiren was speechless. She couldn't very well admit that she had stalked him using a fake account, could she? She could only pretend not to hear the question, pull out a few packets of cat treats from her bag, and say in a high-pitched voice, "Little kitty, I brought you some treats, let me hug you!"

Zhou Lin raised an eyebrow. Bringing cat treats when visiting someone in the hospital? He began to suspect her motives…

Blue-gold shaded kittens are exactly to Lin Shih-ren's aesthetic sensibilities—round, chubby, and incredibly cute. She usually spends a long time looking at photos of them, let alone having a live one right in front of her.

So the script I devised after entering was to first treat Zhou Lin's wounds, then play with the cat for a while, and finally make a successful exit.

Who knew the plot would get stuck on the cat?

Schrödinger was aloof and dismissive of the enthusiastic Lin Shiren and the cat treats she brought. The quiet room was filled with a pleading female voice.

"Schrödinger, why do you always turn your back to me?"

"The cat treats smell so good, aren't you going to eat some?"

"Please let me hug you, please."

"Is that a little mouse with a tail? Come and chase it!"

Unfortunately, Schrödinger remained unmoved, so Lin Shiren could only ask Zhou Lin for help: "Please, just tell it that I only need to hug it once."

Zhou Lin seemed to smile, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and when Tom and Jerry appeared on the TV, Schrödinger jumped onto the sofa and found a comfortable spot to sit down.

Lin Shiren: ...

Anyway, I finally got to hold it as I wished.

The central air conditioning was set to a very comfortable temperature. After chasing the kitten for a while, she got a little tired, rubbed her forehead, yawned, and her eyes were droopy and watery, making her look sleepy.

Lin Shiren lifted Schrödinger's chin, rubbing its ears and stroking its skull, then stole a glance at Zhou Lin who was busy in the kitchen, and muttered softly, "Living with an unpredictable owner must be very hard. You have to learn to fight back. Ambush him while he's sleeping, or pee in his bed. Got it?"

The TV was still playing the Tom and Jerry cartoon, and Schrödinger was so comfortable that he was completely oblivious to what she was saying.

In less than ten minutes, the aroma of coffee filled the air. Zhou Lin, carrying a freshly ground coffee, walked around the central island, looked ahead, and paused slightly.

Lin Shih-jen actually fell asleep on the sofa.

Zhou Lin subconsciously slowed his pace, placed the coffee on the coffee table, and looked at her with his eyes half-lowered for a while.

She looked uncomfortable in her sleeping position, leaning against the armrest, her neck twisted in the opposite direction, clutching a ball in her hand, her long eyelashes drooping down, and obvious dark circles under her eyes.

No high school senior is ever sleep-deprived, but this girl is so unguarded. Is he really that trustworthy?

After hesitating for a while, Zhou Lin reached out, bent his index finger, and gently poked Lin Shiren's face. She frowned but did not wake up.

Her skin was completely different from that of a boy; it was fair and soft, with a fine layer of downy hair, and her lips were naturally rosy. He recalled that fleeting kiss, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

If I kiss her now, will she wake up? Will she be terrified and burst into tears, or will she slap me?

After watching for an unknown amount of time, Zhou Lin straightened up, went back to the bedroom to get a blanket, and covered the person completely, leaving only a fair and delicate face exposed.

Time slipped by quietly with the ticking of the second hand, the bright sunlight gradually faded, and the coffee had gone cold.

The doorbell rang, and Zhou Lin, who was sitting at the other end of the sofa, reflexively looked at Lin Shiren. Seeing that she was still breathing evenly, he put down the book in his hand, lifted his knee, and went to open the door.

As soon as the door was opened a crack, Song Ci's loud voice burst out: "Why is it taking so long to open the door?"

Zhou Lin braced his arm against the doorframe, clearly indicating his refusal to see the visitor, and his words carried a strong sense of danger: "Keep your voice down."

Song Ci was already used to his attitude. She slipped in like a saury: "Lin Shiren has been here, right? I'm exhausted. I was in such a hurry that I forgot my elevator card, so I climbed the stairs."

He walked confidently into the living room: "How was your conversation today? If you two get together, you have to give me, the matchmaker, a big bonus..."

Before the word "bag" could be finished, the sleeping beauty on the sofa suddenly burst into view.

Song Ci's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she cursed a word that started with "C," her eyes instantly turning ambiguous: "What are you two doing? Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day? Did I come at the wrong time?"

Zhou Lin glared at him coldly: "Get lost."

When Song Ci didn't get a direct answer, she became even more agitated, pointing her finger at him and saying, "You beast! People came to visit you out of kindness, how could you not control yourself?"

Zhou Lin's face remained expressionless as he grabbed Song Ci by the collar and dragged him toward the door. Song Ci was pulled along by him, and like a robber, he snatched an orange from the coffee table.

"You've crossed the river and then burned the bridge!"

The door closed in front of him, and the world finally became quiet.

Lin Shih-jen hadn't slept so soundly in a long time, and when he woke up, he even remembered the content of his dream.

In the dream, Zhou Lin was wrapped up like a mummy by her. He lay in a coffin, only his eyeballs could move, and the sounds coming from his mouth were muffled, as if they came from a very far place: "Lin Shiren, you've crossed the river and burned the bridge!"

Then bright red blood flowed from the gauze, and she was startled awake.

Lin Shiren sat up, wrapped in a blanket, his eyes misty with tears, looking lost and unsure of where he was.

"woke up?"

A deep, pleasant male voice, tinged with laughter, came through the air, sounding both distant and intimate, instantly waking her up.

Oh my god!

How did you end up sleeping at someone else's house?

Lin Shiren pulled her long hair out from her sweaty neck, her cheeks flushed, whether from the heat or embarrassment, she said: "I'm sorry, I haven't been sleeping well lately."

Zhou Lin poured her a glass of warm water, lifting his eyelids slightly: "You have no sense of danger at all when you go to a boy's house. Should I praise your courage?"

Lin Shiren's mind was also filled with many news stories about society, and he couldn't help but shiver. But he still tried to remain calm and said, "Even if you are a perverted killer, I'm not afraid. I brought pepper spray."

Zhou Lin was so angry he laughed. Bringing cat treats and pepper spray to his house? What kind of visit was that?

Another awkward silence ensued.

Perhaps because of that accidental kiss, Lin Shiren's gaze would always involuntarily fall on his lips when she looked at him. She forced herself to look away and changed the subject: "Are you really not going back to school?"

Why go back?

Perhaps realizing his tone was a bit harsh, Zhou Lin softened his tone: "Didn't you want to ask Teacher Chen to change seats? What difference does it make whether I go back or not?"

Changing seats was a thought she had in the heat of the moment that day, and looking back now, it seemed quite irrational. She didn't want to continue being so one-sided with Shen Xuqing.

Lin Shiren blinked her long eyelashes: "Is this why you're not going to school?"

"After all, you already have a new deskmate, and I don't want to get in your way."

Her eyes widened in disbelief that such a complaining woman's words could come from his mouth, and she could only bite the bullet and say, "No, it's fine to sit next to you."

As if to prove that what he said was true, Lin Shiren showed him his monthly exam results, his eyes sparkling: "Look, my grades have improved so much."

"So I'm just a tool for explaining problems?" Zhou Lin's tone was sinister.

"?" Oh my god, please spare her!

He kept staring into her eyes and decided to be direct: "Do you really want me to go back to school?"

Putting aside impulses and emotions, the topic of their long-standing separation was finally brought to the forefront. That unexpected kiss that sparked a whirlwind, and all the lurking, hidden schemes, were finally revealed at this moment.

Lin Shiren still had that innocent look on his face. He put his hands together in front of his chest and nodded sincerely. His silly gesture was so captivating that it made it hard for him to look away.

The room was dark, only bathed in the glow of the setting sun. Her eyes were clear and bright, as if washed with water.

Zhou Lin was finally satisfied with the answer he had been waiting for. He said slowly, "Since you want to sit next to me so badly, then I have no choice but to go back."

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Author's Note: I updated early today, so praise me! It's almost the end of the month, so those of you who still have nutrient solution in reserve, shower me with it!

50 red envelopes