Luo Muchen couldn’t accept it no matter what. He slipped his fingers underneath Qie Xieling’s pyjama shirt and pinched his lover’s nipple. Qie Xieling curled up into a ball while trying to remove that stray paw that found its way into his shirt.

Unable to fend Luo Muchen off he finally said, "Okay okay I will say it," his laughter reverberating in the room.

"I love you too," he said and Luo Muchen felt butterflies flattering in his tummy. He couldn’t resist kissing Qie Xieling again. He pressed him on the bed and kissed not only his lips but his cheeks and neck. He was obviously hard but he knew that Qie Xieling would never agree. He was content with just fooling around till they fell asleep.

***

Qie Xieling exhaled deeply while sitting in the locker room. For over half a month he had dedicated himself passionately, practising tirelessly in an attempt to come out as the victor for this year’s WSCC stock race. They had planned to use this as an exit strategy as they were about to burn the entire city.

Luo Muchen had not only plotted against Lee Ya but he had also plotted against his uncle. The entire house of cards was going to come down and this race was the first step.

Qie Xieling knew he could walk away with the championship but his heart was pounding in his chest with adrenaline coursing through his veins. Luo Muchen sat opposite him his gaze transfixed on him. Qie Xieling prepared himself mentally while Luo Muchen tied his shoelaces.

While Qie Xieling was adjusting his collar, his lover lent a hand before gently stealing a kiss. He blushed and chuckled, his dark eyes glistening with affection for Luo Muchen.

"Careful out there," Luo Muchen whispered, concern evident in his voice. "I’ll be waiting for you at the finish line, cheering you on every step of the way."

Qie Xieling’s heart skipped a beat as he caressed the back of Luo Muchen’s hand with his thumb. "You bett-," he said only for the door to be pushed open disturbing the romantic air lingering around them.

They thought it was Bo Ailun or one of the crew but to their surprise, it was Bager standing by the door.

He had purposefully come to Qie Xieling’s private locker room to start trouble but who would have thought he would find them holding hands and looking at each other affectionately?

Anger and jealousy surged through his veins and with a bitter smile playing on his lips, Bager sarcastically clapped his hands, the sound echoing in the tense silence of the room.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he sneered, his voice dripping with scorn. Luo Muchen turned around and blocked Bager’s view of Qie Xieling. His fist clenched as he said,

"You slipped away once and you should cherish it because the next time you won’t be able to get away," his voice imperious and menacing.

Bager gritted his teeth as he instinctively took a step back. He never thought once in a million years that Luo Muchen would look at him with such disgust and protect Qie Xieling. It was a very hard pill to swallow.

"You know what? Your uncle was right. You are pathetic and so desperate for any ounce of affection that you even hooked up with a person who stole from you and publicly humiliated you. You are so desperate that you slumped up with this bitch," he said and Luo Muchen lunged forward his stance domineering.

"Who did you call a bitch?" he said and Bager’s cowardly nature sprung up. He had the balls to call Qie Xieling that but he didn’t have the balls to face the consequences.

If it weren’t for Qie Xieling holding Luo Muchen back Bager wouldn’t be participating in any kind of race for the rest of his life.

Luo Muchen glared at his disappearing figure while Qie Xieling pressed his hands on his chest stopping him. "Baby... baby look at me. Let it go, okay? When this is over you can deal with him accordingly, okay?" he said trying to coax him but Luo Muchen was pissed off. He couldn’t stand how that roach insulted the love of his life.

Qie Xieling pressed his palms either side of Luo Muchen’s face and leaned in for a deep passionate kiss. Luo Muchen was resistant at first but soon he was chasing after Qie Xieling’s lips his thirst for him unquenchable. Qie Xieling was kissed until his mind was muddled. For a moment he didn’t think he would be able to remember how to drive.

Luo Muchen pressed his forehead against Qie Xieling’s panting out of breath.

"Look what I got for you," said Qie Xieling his smile radiant like the sun.

Luo Muchen turned to look at Qie Xieling’s hand. Between his fingers was a couple’s pendant that when joined formed the complete yin and yang.

Qie Xieling went out and bought it. He wanted to give it to him after the race but seeing that his lover wasn’t in a good mood he decided to gift it to him in advance.

Luo Muchen took one half of it his eyes rippling with emotion. Bager was right about one thing. He was indeed desperate... desperate to have this man all to himself and the more Qie Xieling did such sweet things for him, the more desperate he was.

"Do you like it?" asked Qie Xieling and Luo Muchen nodded his head his heart beating out of his chest.

"I like it very much. Thank you babe... can you put it on for me?" he said and Qie Xieling put it on for him recalling how Luo Muchen gifted him the same pendant in the real world.

***

Bager angrily mumbled to himself as he walked back to his changing room. As soon as he shut his door he lost his mind throwing things around in rage. After turning his room upside down he leaned against the wall breathing heavily.

A surge of determination coursed through his veins as he recalled his true purpose. He had only agreed to enter this particular race without any training for one reason alone which was for revenge. He planned on driving Qie Xieling off the road and making him pay for stealing Luo Muchen away from him. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The image of Qie Xieling’s car engulfed in flames brought a twisted sense of satisfaction to Bager’s mind. The thought of witnessing his rival’s downfall, the destruction of Qie Xieling’s dreams, momentarily dulled the pain in his own heart.