Wu Suo Wei stood in Chi Cheng's bedroom feeling completely out of his depth.
The room was massive, dominated by a king-sized bed with black silk sheets.& Dark,—
just like its owner.
Chi Cheng emerged from the bathroom in just sweatpants, his torso bare, revealing the landscape of scars Wu Suo Wei had seen during surgery. But now, in the soft lamplight, they looked different.
"You're staring," Chi Cheng said,
"I'm a doctor. I can't help analyzing injuries."
"These aren't injuries anymore. They're reminders." Chi Cheng crossed the room, standing close enough that Wu Suo Wei could feel the heat radiating from his skin. "Every scar is a lesson. Every mark is proof I survived when I shouldn't have."
Wu Suo Wei's fingers moved without permission, tracing the long scar across Chi Cheng's abdomen—
the one from the recent surgery.
"This one's mine," Wu Suo Wei said softly. "I gave you this one by saving your life."
"Best scar I have." Chi Cheng caught Wu Suo Wei's hand, pressing it flat against his chest where his heart beat strong and steady. "You gave me more than a scar. You gave me a reason to want to survive. To want more than just power and territory."
"Chi Cheng—"
"Get in bed, Doctor. Before I change my mind about just holding you."
Wu Suo Wei's face flushed but he climbed into the massive bed, feeling small and vulnerable in the sea of black silk.
Chi Cheng slid in beside him, immediately pulling Wu Suo Wei against his chest, arms wrapping around him possessively.
"Sleep," Chi Cheng commanded softly. "You're safe here."
But Wu Suo Wei couldn't sleep. His mind was racing, his body hyper-aware of every point where Chi Cheng touched him.
"I can feel you thinking," Chi Cheng murmured against his hair. "What's wrong?"
"How is this my life now?" Wu Suo Wei whispered.
"A week ago I was a normal doctor. Now I'm sleeping in a mafia boss's bed, hiding from people who want to kill me, falling for someone I should be terrified of."
Chi Cheng's arms tightened. "Are you? Terrified of me?"
Wu Suo Wei thought about it honestly. "I should be. But I'm not. Not of you. Of this situation? Yes. Of losing myself? Definitely. But you? No."
"Good." Chi Cheng pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Because I'd never hurt you. I'd kill anyone who tried, including myself if I ever became a threat to you."
"Don't say things like that—"
"I mean it." Chi Cheng turned Wu Suo Wei in his arms so they were face to face. "You've become everything to me in less than a week. That should terrify me. Instead, it feels right. Like I was waiting for you without knowing it."
Wu Suo Wei's hand came up to touch Chi Cheng's face, fingers tracing his sharp jawline. "You're intense."
"I'm obsessed." Chi Cheng caught Wu Suo Wei's hand, kissing his palm. "With you. Only you."
"Is this how you are with everyone you want?"
"I've never wanted anyone like this." Chi Cheng's eyes were dark, honest. "I've had... arrangements. Physical needs met. But wanting someone? Being willing to burn the world down for them? That's only you."
Wu Suo Wei's breath caught. "That's—"
"Insane? Probably. But insanity seems to run in my world." Chi Cheng's thumb traced Wu Suo Wei's lower lip. "Tell me you don't feel it too. Tell me you don't feel this pull between us."
Wu Suo Wei couldn't lie. "I feel it. I just don't understand it."
"Neither do I. But I'm not fighting it." Chi Cheng leaned in, his lips a breath away. "Are you?"
"I should," Wu Suo Wei whispered. "This is crazy—"
"Then be crazy with me." Chi Cheng closed the distance, kissing him slow and deep.
This kiss was different from the others—
Like Chi Cheng was learning him, memorizing him,
Chi Cheng pressed his forehead against Wu Suo Wei's.
"Sleep now," he murmured. "Tomorrow, the Zhao family makes their next move. And when they do, I'm ending this once and for all. Then you'll be free to choose—stay with me because you want to, not because you have to."
"And if I choose to leave?"
Chi Cheng's jaw clenched. "I'll let you go. But I'll never stop protecting you. Never stop wanting you. Never stop being yours."
Wu Suo Wei felt something crack open in his chest—something that felt dangerously close to love.
"Sleep, Chi Cheng," he whispered, pressing a kiss to Chi Cheng's chest. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."
Chi Cheng held him tighter, and eventually, Wu Suo Wei drifted off to sleep feeling safer than he had in days.