Zoe Pierce lowered her gaze. "Mm."

Erin Xavier got up and directed the robot to bring the prepared dishes to the dining table.

He pulled out a chair for Zoe Pierce, then sat down beside her. He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and placed it in her bowl. "Try this."

By the end of the meal, Zoe felt like she’d been fed until she was stuffed.

All the food on the table had been polished off.

After eating, it was time for a walk to aid digestion.

Erin and Zoe walked along the greenbelt surrounding the villa complex. His eyes glanced at two familiar houses. "I was thinking of buying a house here too, but I couldn’t find a willing seller. Tsk. I even offered more money, but no one would sell."

"That’s because you, Nathan, and Chase all bought houses here. The properties suddenly became hot commodities."

Zoe hadn’t really paid attention to that before. She only knew that Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw had bought houses here.

"You don’t have to buy a place here." This area wasn’t particularly bustling. In fact, because they were older houses, they hadn’t attracted much attention in the past.

She was only living here because the old house might hold some of her memories.

The Pierce Family owned several other properties. Honestly, they had more than a few that were nicer than this one.

Outside, Erin didn’t put his arm around Zoe. It was an unspoken rule among them not to cause her any trouble, so he even kept a respectful distance.

"Besides, your house has a guest room," Erin said.

That was why he wasn’t in any hurry.

’Why stay somewhere else when I can stay right at her place?’

’Making myself at home is the optimal solution.’

"If it really comes to it, I can just stay at Chase’s or Nathan’s place." That is, if she got a new boyfriend and needed him to keep his distance.

The mere thought of it made Erin’s skin crawl, as if ants were crawling all over him.

His desire to stroll around outside vanished.

He just wanted to go back and cling to her, as if afflicted by some ancient malady.

Touch-starvation.

A desperate craving to hold her, kiss her, caress her.

"Let’s go back." After a full loop, Zoe felt they’d walked enough. The sunset had completely given way to night, and the bright moon was faintly visible.

The moment she said "go back," Erin’s face visibly brightened into a brilliant smile.

Zoe noticed the faint dimples at the corners of his lips and thought that guessing his mood really wasn’t that hard.

’After all, he’s practically wagging his tail at me.’

Erin walked ahead, but when he noticed Zoe had fallen behind, he turned sideways and urged her, "Walk faster."

Zoe let out an exasperated laugh. "What’s the rush?"

Erin raised an eyebrow and silently mouthed a word at her. Zoe immediately shot him a harsh glare. "Erin Xavier!!"

The man was incredibly quick to grovel. "Zoe, I was wrong."

There was no sign of repentance on his face; he was clearly just trying to placate her.

Zoe deliberately slowed her pace. Sure enough, she saw Erin’s expression change. A walk that should have taken ten minutes, Zoe deliberately stretched to twenty.

Erin didn’t run his mouth again, obediently trailing behind Zoe.

Whenever Zoe glanced his way, she was met with his pitiful, puppy-dog eyes.

’You’d have to completely ignore him to stay firm.’

They got home and closed the door.

Just as expected, the man who had kept his distance outside immediately closed in, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Zoe, are you mad? I’ll never say that again."

He was used to being unrestrained and had lost his sense of propriety.

’I mean, I’d like to do *that*, but I know it’s not possible, right?’

Zoe just thought Erin was like a big, human-sized puppy—affectionate and clingy.

His chin, resting on her shoulder, kept nuzzling her gently as he called her "Zoe" over and over in a tone that could melt anyone’s heart.

He said it so much that she started to feel like she’d be petty for staying mad at him over something so small.

"Erin..." she said his name. "Don’t say it again."

Erin immediately agreed. "If you don’t like it, I won’t say it."

It seemed she had completely lost any reason to blame him.

Zoe was a little exasperated. "Can you let go of me first?"

With such a big man clinging to her from behind, mimicking her every step, it was impossible to walk.

On this point, Erin felt he could argue. "Can I say no?"

Zoe: "..."

’Doesn’t he ever get tired of this? Being so clingy.’

But Erin’s expression made it clear: he wouldn’t. In fact, he looked like he wanted nothing more than to strip off all of Zoe’s clothes and hold her.

Young men in their early twenties are strong and full of vigorous energy.

Give them a little taste of meat, and they become like persistent flies, buzzing endlessly around it.

Zoe was in for an intensely overwhelming night, forced to watch a movie while nestled in Erin’s arms.

He had no inhibitions whatsoever.

She had no idea what the critically acclaimed, all-time-great movie was even about.

All she knew was that someone was constantly leaning down to kiss her cheek, the shell of her ear.

His fingers toyed with her hand, the pads of his thumbs stroking her skin.

It was utterly distracting.

She was only human, no longer the young girl with a heart as still as water. Naturally, his teasing stirred something within her.

Erin’s entire focus was on her, and he noticed every subtle change in her expression.

In the media room, their seating positions kept changing.

From leaning against his chest, she was now lying back on the custom-made sofa designed for the ultimate viewing experience.

In this age of rapid technological advancement, glasses-free 3D had reached its peak.

The stereoscopic, surround-view special effects made you feel like you were really there.

The plot just happened to be on a barren planet, where a man sat alone on the desolate ground, gazing up at the starry sky.

The music was soothing and relaxed. The special ceiling now looked to the naked eye like a sky full of twinkling stars.

It was as if the two of them were also in that very scene.

A soft meadow, a deep and starry sky.

Belonging only to the two of them.

Erin began to savor the fruit again. Before, he couldn’t truly taste it through the silk, but now he was genuinely relishing its sweetness.

He didn’t just eat; he even praised it to Zoe. "So sweet."

Zoe didn’t want to hear his commentary. She felt like she was a frog being slowly boiled in warm water.

Her nerves were numbed, and she found herself beginning to enjoy this dangerous and captivating pleasure.

Lowering her gaze, she could see just how Erin was savoring it.

His tongue slid over it before he took a bite, his brown eyes curving into a brilliant smile at her under the starry sky.

He bit through the skin and sucked forcefully.

Zoe turned her head to look at the movie, trying to see what the film was about.

In a forest, a man strolled leisurely, specks of light dancing around his hands.

They were fireflies.

Swirling all around him.

’What kind of movie is this? Why are there so many nature scenes?’ Zoe wondered.

Instead of being a sobering influence, it only made her sink deeper into the beautiful scenery.

Suddenly, Erin pressed his forehead to hers, forcing her to look into his deep brown eyes.

"Zoe, I’m better-looking than him." He was comparing himself to the actor in the movie.

He pressed down on her, yet his tone was pleading.

"Kiss me. I’m begging you."