Qin Mu learned to smoke after parting with Shen Liu. For a long stretch of time after leaving Tingyun Town, he was in a state of mental and physical disorientation. During the day, he was like a walking corpse, and at night, he was like a wandering ghost. He visibly lost weight, alarming his friends. However, heartbreak was not something that could be overcome with a few words of advice from others; it could only be slowly dissolved by oneself. Feiyan had always treated him like a younger brother, and seeing him like this pained her immensely. Furious, she sent a barrage of messages cursing Shen Liu. “You heartless bastard who has committed sins in eight lifetimes! Look at what you’ve done to a perfectly good person—he’s wasted away! You scoundrel just left without a word, and still had the nerve to ask us to take care of him. How are we supposed to do that?” “Why can’t a long-distance relationship work? Why insist on breaking up? Even if breaking up, why make it so absolute? Not calling is one thing, but at least send an occasional message. Do you really plan to never speak again for the rest of your lives? All those vows of love back then were just fart?” “He’s someone who never arrives late, yet he’s skipped an entire week’s worth of classes… Shen Liu, you wait—if anything happens to him, we’ll fly to Germany and twist your head off!” After waiting a long time with no reply from the other end, Feiyan fumed and completely blocked Shen Liu. During that period, friends like Glasses, Fatty, and Zhou Yi took turns spending time with Qin Mu, dragging him out to eat, accompanying him to unwind, doing everything they could to help him return to a normal life. Fatty had secretly smoked since childhood and was a real heavy smoker. Seeing Qin Mu so despondent, he simply handed him a cigarette, “Try it. It might make you feel a bit better.” Qin Mu hesitated for a few seconds before taking it. The first puff, smoke rushed into his throat, choking him to the point of tears. The second puff, the warm mass reached his lungs, warming his chest as well. The third puff, the exhaled smoke diffused into mist in the air, blurring his vision; his brain seemed to become an empty room where all emotions vanished. The illusion created by nicotine soothed his sadness; the false pleasure numbed the pain. The smoke he exhaled served as an outlet for his pent-up emotions, allowing him to briefly forget that person. Later, whenever he thought of Shen Liu, he could not help but light one, and it gradually became a habit. At his heaviest, he smoked more than two packs a day, sometimes unable to distinguish whether it was nicotine addiction or emotional addiction that controlled him. Time healed the wound, and Qin Mu eventually recovered from this devastating emotional ordeal. He buried himself in studies like his life depended on it, passed the bar exam, earned his master’s degree, started as a legal assistant, and gradually accumulated experience, becoming more and more outstanding, more composed, and more accustomed to living alone. Later, he decided to quit smoking. It was quite difficult at first; when cravings hit, he often felt drowsy. So he kept a few mint candies in his pocket, sucking on one when the urge became unbearable. Zhou Yi once asked him why he wanted to quit. Qin Mu replied because he no longer needed it. Six years had passed; he felt it was time to forget that person.
Qin Mu had thought his life would pass quietly like this, never expecting sudden waves to arise.
His revered mentor was murdered, a suspended case loomed with dangers everywhere, and his client was pitiful and helpless—heavy pressures crashed onto his shoulders like a mountain. The moment he reignited the spark between his fingers, he resolved to exhaust all his knowledge and risk his life to tear open a rift in this pitch-black curtain, seeking justice for the victims and consoling Teacher Xiao’s spirit in heaven. Who knew fate would capriciously tie a knot on that broken red thread? A momentous encounter in J City brought him face-to-face with Shen Liu again.
The emotional calamity from ten years ago now lay before him once more. His heart was restless, and his emotions were uncontrollable.
It turned out that ‘forgetting’ was nothing but a self-deceiving lie; recited millions of times to only trick himself into believing it.
Qin Mu wanted to escape, but this time Shen Liu did not let go. He recklessly toppled the Zhao family, cleanly and decisively left the Shen family, and finally shamelessly squeezed into Qin Mu’s home—a series of moves as flamboyant as could be.
The fact that the mirror broken for ten years could still be made whole again, leaving those around them in awe, even Qin Mu himself sometimes felt it unreal. But the warm embrace at night was not fake; that person used his own body heat to gradually warm Qin Mu’s cold and empty heart.
They finally got together.
After being swept out of the Shen family, Shen Liu became an angel investor, selecting several projects that yielded good returns. In his spare time from work, Qin Mu joined a public interest lawyer organization, keeping endlessly busy. This time, when Zhou Yi accompanied him on a business trip to H City, he caught sight of Qin Mu pulling out a familiar mint candy from his pocket and asked in surprise, “What, trying to quit again?”
Qin Mu hummed in affirmation, glancing at the documents in his hand while deftly tearing open the corner of the wrapper.
Quitting smoking was not easy. Zhou Yi advised, “Don’t quit. Your addiction isn’t heavy now; what’s wrong with having a couple now and then?” Then, seizing the chance to tease, “Is the one at home controlling you that strictly?”
Qin Mu popped the candy into his mouth and smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
This ambiguous attitude left Zhou Yi frustrated, “Damn, why am I forcing myself to eat a mouthful of dog food?”
This business trip lasted a full three days. Qin Mu returned home at dusk, opening the door to the aroma of food, mingled with something spicy. Shen Liu was tinkering with something in the kitchen, while their two cats squatted on the counter watching the excitement.
“I’m back.” Qin Mu set his suitcase aside, changed into slippers, and had only removed half his coat when he was pinned against the door by the man.
Shen Liu pressed chest to chest with him, face to face, close enough to see every eyelash.
“Missed me?” Qin Mu asked with a smile.
Shen Liu narrowed his eyes, interrogating, “Confess honestly—did you smoke in these three days?”
“No.” Qin Mu’s hands were still trapped in his coat sleeves, yet he did not move, allowing the chaos to unfold.
“Good. Next is the routine inspection—cooperate obediently.” Without further ado, Shen Liu tilted his head and pressed his lips against Qin Mu’s.
Qin Mu obediently closed his eyes and responded. The moment he parted his lips, that tongue eagerly invaded—like an invitation, like conquest—constantly entangling and provoking. Shen Liu kissed him until his breathing grew unsteady, his Adam’s apple trembled, and his heartbeat quickened. It was a long while before Shen Liu released him, licking his own lips as he said, “There’s a mint taste.”
“I ate a mint candy.” Qin Mu’s ears flushed red as he helplessly said, “Is the inspection over?”
“It’s still early.” Shen Liu unbuttoned his shirt one by one. “There are still many places to check thoroughly.” The hand wearing the ring stroked over Qin Mu’s chest, ravaging the buds there, his lips against the side of his face, voice light yet sticky. “Tsk, the marks I left are gone…”
The tingling itch made Qin Mu tilt his head uncomfortably. Shen Liu punitively bit his earlobe, then buried his head in his chest and neck, kissing constantly, marking his territory with traces unique to himself on this body—like a clingy big cat. He asked, “What did you promise me when you left?”
Trapped between the man and the door with no retreat, Qin Mu honestly answered, “To reply to your messages right away.”
“Anything else?”
“…More than ten words in each message.” He had not fulfilled this one, knowing he was in the wrong, and proactively kissed Shen Liu’s lips, his words carrying a plea for mercy, “I’m hungry, really.”
“Now you’ve learned to play victim.” Shen Liu always softened whenever he showed weakness, reluctantly pinching his waist, “Wash your hands before dinner. I made mapo tofu.”
This was Qin Mu’s favourite dish. It was Shen Liu’s first attempt following a recipe; though the taste was not great, Qin Mu appreciated the thought and enthusiastically cleaned his plate.
The moonlight swayed gently that night. After showering, Qin Mu emerged to see Shen Liu sitting on the sofa playing a game on the screen, the flickering light illuminating his face in shifting brightness and shadow, the focused gleam in his eyes exceptionally captivating. He walked over, plucked the controller from the man’s hands, and straddled his lap face-to-face, asking, “Doesn’t Master want to play with me?”
Shen Liu looked up at him and curved his lips, “Strip naked and lie on the desk.”
The study was unlit; moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, hazy and gentle. Qin Mu lay naked at the desk’s edge, hearing faint sounds behind him. He did not dare look back, waiting silently. Soon, something cool patted his buttocks—not heavily; from the texture, it seemed to be a ruler.
“Arch your ass up.” Shen Liu said.
Qin Mu sank his waist against the desktop, lifting his hips higher. The beautiful muscle curves became even more alluring under the moonlight. A phone slid in front of him; the man behind commanded, “Read.”
It was Shen Liu’s phone, the screen open to their messaging interface. Qin Mu obediently read from the top, one by one. “First message. You said, Have you landed? Remember to eat breakfast. I replied, Arrived.”
“Did your reply have over ten characters?”
“…No.”
The ruler smacked his left buttock with force this time, hurting enough that Qin Mu tensed his back and quickly admitted, “I was wrong, Master.”
“Continue.”
“Second message. You said, The weather in H City has been bad lately; remember to bring an umbrella when going out. I replied, Got it.” This time, the punishing ruler struck the right side directly; Qin Mu endured the pain and said, “I was wrong, Master.”
“Continue.”
Qin Mu smiled bitterly in resignation, regretting why he had completely forgotten this damned ‘ten-word agreement’ whenever he got busy. Over these three days, Shen Liu had sent him many messages; he had replied to most, but few exceeded ten characters. By the seventh message, his buttocks already ached numbly, thin sweat breaking on his back. Yet his master showed no intention of stopping; he could only continue, “Eighth message. You said, Did you eat lunch on time? Your stomach hasn’t been well lately; don’t drink cold water. I… didn’t reply.”
Shen Liu chuckled coolly, clearly displeased. The ruler in his hand struck across both buttocks with half force. This time, the pain was intense; Qin Mu could not help but groan muffledly, clenching his fists to steady his trembling body, “I was wrong, Master. Please forgive me.”
Shen Liu kneaded the crimson flesh of his spanked buttocks, saying unhurriedly, “I’ve taught you how to beg for mercy properly.”
Before Qin Mu even spoke, his ears burned. Embarrassed, he closed his eyes briefly and said softly, “I like the way Master disciplines me… I like when you kiss me, like when you bite my chest… like when you touch my lower body, like when you… enter and fvck me…” These words were too shameful for him, spoken haltingly yet carrying a unique allure.
“How do you like me to fvck you?” The desire in the man’s eyes deepened; he asked even more bluntly.
“No matter what way Master uses, this slave likes it all.” Qin Mu lowered his head, submissively lying on the desk, using his own hands to part his buttocks and expose the hidden entrance, saying with flushed difficulty, “Please use me.”
Shen Liu curved the corners of his lips.
Cool lubricant trickled down his cleft, wetting the previously dilated rear entrance. The thick, scorching hardness pressed in, slowly thrusting to the hilt amid the man beneath’s gasps. Shen Liu gripped Qin Mu’s hips and began thrusting forcefully, faster and faster. Pain and pleasure mingled; an overwhelming tide formed a massive vortex that engulfed Qin Mu—gasps, moans, craving, loss of control. In this moment, he had fully submitted to desire, offering everything of himself with both hands to the man who dominated him.
He loved him. This love was not only the spring passion filling the room but also about spending the rest of his life together, not just about mutual consent but also about the deep connection in their heart.
For Qin Mu, quitting smoking would only take a month, but this love—he feared was something he could never quit in a lifetime.
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