Chapter 334: Chapter 333: Susu, I’m Not a Vegetarian

Their hands were clasped tightly together...

After a long, long time, Zhou Mochen looked up, gave her palm a gentle squeeze, and released her hand.

He cleaned her with gentle, meticulous care.

He helped Xu Su get dressed, then bent down to capture her lips in a kiss.

He cupped her chin, leaving Xu Su no room to pull away. She was forced to accept his kiss.

She simply furrowed her brow and let him kiss her. But as the kiss deepened, she couldn’t resist raising her hands to cup his face.

At that moment, Xu Su even felt he was doing it on purpose. ’He indulges my every whim, always trying to give me the best possible experience.’

’He’s making it harder and harder for me to leave him...’

"Crying?" Zhou Mochen felt the dampness on her lashes and let out a soft chuckle. "Did it feel that good?"

"Mmm..." Xu Su wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck and nuzzling against him with a soft hum. "I like it when you do this."

’Compared to last night, I liked that feeling much better. At least I was still in control.’

"That won’t do..." Seeing right through her, Zhou Mochen tightened his hold on her and sighed. "Susu, I’m not a fan of vegetarian meals. I need meat to feel satisfied."

Especially now that he’d had his first taste, he hadn’t been able to control his thoughts all afternoon. His mind kept replaying snippets from the previous night.

If his concern for her hadn’t won out, he would have absolutely insisted on having a taste tonight...

She was comfortable now, but as for him...

Xu Su noticed it too. She shyly shifted her hips away, gripped his arm, and asked, "Do you... want my help?"

’See how considerate I am?’ Xu Su couldn’t help but praise herself.

But Zhou Mochen just smiled and kissed her. "Just rest. I don’t need your help. You’ll just complain that your hand is sore again."

She was already acting impossibly spoiled, yet he still felt he wasn’t indulging her enough. Disregarding his own unresolved state, he began to gently pat her back, coaxing her to sleep.

Xu Su snuggled into Zhou Mochen’s embrace, inhaling his faint, cool, woody scent, and her eyes blissfully narrowed.

’What kind of paradise is this!’

Right after she was reborn, if someone had told her that the Zhou Mochen of three years later would be this gentle, she wouldn’t have believed them in a million years.

Thinking of this, Xu Su felt a wave of relief. She was glad that in this life, she had been willing to like him and give him a chance.

’Otherwise... a Zhou Mochen this gentle would never have existed.’

...

When she woke up the next day, the person beside her was already gone. Xu Su glanced at the time and lingered in bed for a while before finally getting up.

’It’s too late for breakfast. I’ll just have lunch instead.’

While getting ready, Xu Su checked the marks on her neck in the mirror.

They had mostly faded. She could probably go out tomorrow or the day after.

She felt a slight sense of relief. Her grandmother had called yesterday to ask when she was coming home, so the sooner she could go back, the better.

She opened her bedroom door and walked into the living room to find Shen Chen, surprisingly, still there. He was brewing tea, sitting in the exact same posture as before.

Amidst the rising steam, Shen Chen focused on the tea set. His features were cool and distant, lacking the usual smile he wore, and Xu Su could actually detect a hint of an ascetic aura about him.

He looked nothing like a cynical play-boy. In that moment, with an indifference that seemed to seep from his very bones, one could have claimed he was a chaste young master from a prestigious family, and people would have believed it.

Zhou Mochen was sitting across from Shen Chen, holding a teacup and taking a light sip. He was saying something in a low voice, a smile playing on his lips. His posture was so rakish and carefree that he actually looked more like a worldly hedonist than Shen Chen.

Xu Su stopped in her tracks, frozen in place. For a moment, she couldn’t decide which of the two men was more captivating.

Both men were sitting with their sides to her, and at the sound of her footsteps, they turned their heads in unison to look over.

"You’re awake?" Zhou Mochen stood and pulled her over to sit down.

Shen Chen poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. "You sure can sleep. The sun’s already high in the sky."

"..." Xu Su had a feeling his words were loaded. She pressed her lips together and remained silent.

Her heart was beating too fast. She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on the hand of the person beside her.

Zhou Mochen asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing..." Xu Su shook her head, her fingers clutching his. She didn’t know how to tell him that seeing the two of them sitting together was a bit of a visual overload.

So much so that her heart couldn’t help but pound. Xu Su was surprised at herself. ’Since when am I such a sucker for a handsome face?’

"Could you two be a little more considerate? Less of the lovey-dovey stuff in front of me." Shen Chen glanced at their clasped hands, a faint, humorless smile on his face. "Are you trying to force me to get a girlfriend or something?"

"If you want one, then go get one. Wouldn’t having a proper girlfriend be better than hanging out in nightclubs all the time?"

At this, Xu Su thought of the rose-tinted glasses Huang Feng seemed to see him through and couldn’t help but turn to look at him. "But Shen Chen, you can date whoever you want, just don’t make a move on my friends!"

Zhou Mochen raised an eyebrow and asked, "What friends?"

It sounded like there was a story there he didn’t know about.

Shen Chen was so taken aback by her solemn warning that he let out an exasperated laugh. "I’m not that desperate. You don’t have to guard against me like I’m some kind of predator. Besides, I hardly know any of your friends. I only know that one named Huang Feng..."

As he spoke, something seemed to click, and his voice rose. "She’s into me, isn’t she?"

Before Xu Su could say anything.

Shen Chen scoffed and continued, "So what if she likes me? You can’t pin that on me, can you? If she likes me, you should be warning her to stay away from me, not the other way around. Understand?"

He had taken all the words right out of her mouth. Xu Su stared, wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe how shameless he was!

"Who would make a move on you! Besides, Huang Feng doesn’t even like you! Stop being so full of yourself!"

Xu Su was beyond exasperated. "Anyway, just keep your distance from my friends, and not just Huang Feng. Don’t go around giving girls false hope. If you dare to mess with any of my friends, if you actually lead one of them on until she falls for you, then our friendship is over."

...then our friendship is over.

"I lead them on to like me? Am I that desperate for their affection?" Shen Chen’s face instantly darkened. He sneered at her, "Xu Su, I thought I’ve been pretty good to you, haven’t I? What do you take me for?"

What did she take him for?

He had been completely oblivious to whatever that Huang Feng girl was thinking. He hadn’t given any of her friends a single thought, from start to finish, yet he was the one getting this warning.

’Isn’t it perfectly normal for women to like him? Does she think everyone is as blind as she is!’

Rage swelled in Shen Chen’s chest, and he stared hard at Xu Su. "So that’s how you’re going to play it? Your friend has a thing for me, and that’s my fault? And you’re going to end our friendship over it? What, they’re your friends, so I’m the one who should just step aside?"

His melodramatic air of being the one who had been wronged left Xu Su momentarily speechless...

"...I was just giving you a casual warning."

She really hadn’t expected him to get this angry at the mention of ending their friendship. Xu Su, momentarily stunned, quickly tried to explain, "It’s because I’m scared, okay? What if one of my friends really does fall for you? What am I supposed to do then? I can’t just stand by and watch her leap into a pit of fire!"

"A pit of fire," Shen Chen repeated, his tone laced with amusement. He set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and looked down at her. "Xu Su, you can rest one hundred and twenty percent assured. This pit of fire of mine isn’t for just anyone to jump into."