Just right

During the days he was locked in the cage, Zhou Min was almost certain that Zhou Qiting would ignore him unless he spoke up.

But what could Zhou Min say?

Would you like to reveal all your tragic past experiences and then watch the heartbreak of this person who once said "I wish I could kill you with my own hands" but was actually very soft-hearted?

Or should I confess my love, ignore the sins I have committed, and continue to be entangled with this person I am not worthy of?

Zhou Min was disheartened to find that she couldn't do any of them.

The words were as sharp as a knife, cutting bloody wounds on the throat. Unable to speak out, he could only swallow them secretly.

It just so happens that dogs can't talk.

Zhou Min was willing to be locked up in this dog cage specially made for her, silently watching over the treasure that did not belong to her on every quiet night.

-

Zhou Qiting's footsteps sounded a little different tonight.

Catching a subtle sound, Zhou Min looked up sharply.

Zhou Qiting walked slowly towards him from the short corridor, his body somewhat unsteady.

She was wearing a white satin long dress, with her long hair loose and her skirt cascading down like a waterfall, as if the bright moonlight was flowing between her steps.

Zhou Min looked at her steadily and found that her eyes were scattered and unfocused, as if she was looking at Zhou Min, but also as if she was just looking in this direction.

Her cheeks were flushed with a hint of pink, and a faint smile hung on the corner of her mouth. She walked to the cage and bent down slightly.

The movement of lowering her head caused a few strands of hair to fall on the side of her face. She raised her hand to brush the loose hair behind her ear. Her movements were slower than usual, with a calm and gentle manner.

Time seemed to stand still here, and Zhou Min couldn't help but slow down his breathing.

Then, she saw Zhou Yiting put his hand through the gap in the railing, and held it in front of her with his palm slightly clenched, without saying a word or retracting his hand, as if waiting for something.

Zhou Min met her misty gaze, leaned forward, and slowly pressed his cheek against her slightly cool palm.

When her palms touched the warm skin, Zhou Yiting moved her fingertips slightly, gently scratching Zhou Min's eyelashes. Zhou Min's eyes flashed, and his eyes were full of longing for her.

Zhou Qiting narrowed her eyes in pleasure at the submissive behavior, and a smile spread across her dark eyes.

"You've been drinking." This was the first sentence Zhou Min said to Zhou Qiting since that day. It didn't sound like there was any deep meaning. It was just a statement of the established facts that he had seen.

"I drank a little." Zhou Qiting's palm was still caressing Zhou Min's cheek, but his fingertips were tracing her earlobe from top to bottom. When he touched the earlobe, he put his two fingers together and pinched the slightly warm and soft spot.

She looked at her earlobes, which had become increasingly rosy from her playing with them, and was in a good mood. Her tone of voice also rose a little, like a light mist, floating upwards.

"Do you think I'm drunk?"

The mist condensed into dark clouds, and a drizzle began to fall in Zhou Min's heart.

She swallowed the days of longing and damp thoughts and sighed, "You're drunk."

That's why he took the initiative to look for me, and you should forget it when you sober up.

Zhou Min had already found an excuse for Zhou Qiting, but he couldn't hide the attachment that overflowed in his eyes.

Zhou Qiting anticipated what Zhou Min would say, so he moved his palm down to his neck, resting his fingertips on Zhou Min's carotid artery.

In front of him were eyes filled with autumn water, and under his fingertips was a violently beating pulse. Zhou Qiting chuckled and asked, "What about you? Are you drunk too?"

That's why it's hard to hide my love, and that's why my heart is beating so fast.

She no longer expected to find an answer from Zhou Min. She withdrew her hand as soon as she said that, turned around and walked towards the bathroom, unwilling to look at this person who still refused to confess.

Behind him, Zhou Min raised his hand and touched his cheek, trying in vain to retain the gentle touch that was gradually fading away.

Not long after, the bedroom door opened again, and the servant entered the room with a tray, placed an opened bottle of whiskey and a crystal glass with an ice ball on the bedside table, and left in a hurry.

After taking a shower this time, Zhou Qiting changed into her nightgown directly in the bathroom. When she passed by Zhou Min, she didn't even bother to glance at her. She sat on the edge of the bed facing her sideways with her legs crossed.

The amber-colored wine is poured into the glass, spreading a layer of crystal light on the ice ball, and slowly rippling into a pool of clear light at the bottom of the glass.

As his throat moved slightly, Zhou Qiting poured himself a second glass. The wine made his already rosy skin look even brighter. The body fragrance and the wine aroma mixed together and evaporated with the body temperature, like a continuous fire, spreading along the sight and breath, and also engulfed the people who were staring at him not far away.

Zhou Min noticed something was wrong with himself and struggled to retract his dark and sticky gaze.

This was the first time Zhou Min saw Zhou Qiting gradually getting drunk. In the past, he was either slightly tipsy with some restraint, or completely drunk, as he saw him only once after he escaped.

Thinking of that time, Zhou Min subconsciously stretched out his finger and poked his cheek, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

She later realized that each time Zhou Qiting was drunk, he had his own unique charm.

But I didn't understand anything at that time, and let these touching moments be buried deep in my mind. It was not until the moment I realized my feelings for Zhou Yiting that they connected and burst out together.

Now it seems that since the day I met Zhou Qiting again, I was destined to be deeply trapped.

Zhou Min avoided the temptation in front of him, but could not escape the maze constructed by past memories, and was immersed in it in a daze.

Soon, Zhou Yiting seemed to be drunk enough to fall asleep. He turned off the lights, fell on the soft bed, found a comfortable position, and fell into a deep sleep.

The light in the room grew dim, and Zhou Min's gaze fell back on the person lying with his back to her. Seeing someone so drunk that he didn't even have a blanket to cover himself, her brows furrowed again.

Although your body will feel hot temporarily after drinking, the cool feeling will become more obvious after the alcohol wears off.

But Zhou Min's behavior of secretly tucking the quilt has been exposed. If she is discovered again, how should she deal with it?

In the dim light of the night lamp, Zhou Min stared at the cage door that had been unlocked and was ajar.

Zhou Qiting deliberately ordered people to do this, simply to say that she had discovered Zhou Min's secret actions.

What she removed was not only the lock, but also Zhou Min's self-righteous cover-up, both in reality and psychologically.

It clearly tells Zhou Min that the cage does not exist, but Zhou Min insists on tying himself up in a cocoon and clinging to his true feelings that have almost been completely exposed.

And Zhou Qiting also trapped herself.

With their hearts in cages, neither of them can be free.

Zhou Min sighed softly, pushed open the cage door again, and tiptoed to the bed.

She first carefully observed the switch panel at the head of the bed, raised the temperature of the indoor heating by two degrees, then stretched her wrists and prepared to concentrate on completing the most difficult task next.

Logically speaking, since Zhou Qiting was drunk, Zhou Min didn't need to be so cautious.

But based on the experience Zhou Min gained from being humiliated many times, Zhou Qiting would most likely be able to infer what Zhou Min had done from any clues.

Zhou Min held the quilt in both hands and carefully covered Zhou Qiting with it. He took a step back, looked at the condition of the quilt, and then stepped forward to make some adjustments.

Zhou Min was relieved only after she was sure that what Zhou Qiting would see after waking up would be a relatively natural state. But before she could completely relax, she saw that the person who always slept restlessly after getting drunk seemed to have dreamed about something, and his body kept shaking slightly.

Is it because of the cold? Zhou Min, whose forehead was sweating from the heating, lifted the quilt a little and gently stroked the back of Zhou Qiting's hand with his palm, finding it was still cool.

Is Zhou Qiting actually an iceberg? Zhou Min thought dejectedly, carefully lying on his side on the bed, slowly slipping his hand under Zhou Qiting's neck, and gently hugging her from behind. Tentatively holding her hands, he followed her contours and tried to get as close to her as possible, letting his slightly hot body temperature transfer to her through the clothes they were wearing.

The rustling sound coming from behind made the sleeping person groan unconsciously, and Zhou Min dared not move.

His cheek rubbed against the hair, a familiar fragrance filled his nose, and there was a soft body in his arms. Zhou Min, who never had a good sleep, felt a little drowsy at this moment.

She closed her eyes and engraved this embrace into her memory, using many limited but real moments to weave an endless and illusory eternity for herself.

-

Zhou Qiting woke up from a hangover, but he didn't feel too uncomfortable. The quilt that had covered him at some point was hanging by his side, drooping and about to slide off the bed.

But the body is warm.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at Zhou Min and found that he was sitting with his back against the railing in the cage, his head drooping as if he was relieving himself, his eyes closed tightly, and he was actually sleeping even deeper than the time he pretended to sleep.

Zhou Qiting sat up from the bed, walked over barefoot and squatted, quietly looking at Zhou Min's unguarded sleeping face.

The long eyelashes cast a very light shadow on the lower eyelid, and the shadow trembled slightly with the slight rise and fall of breathing.

The color of her lips is even lighter than when she was awake, like faded petals, calm and soft.

Only at times like this is it not so hateful.

Zhou Qiting's lips curled up for a fleeting moment, but his expression quickly returned to calm. Thinking of his mother's repeated warnings, the fatigue of the past few days flooded his heart again.

From the moment they met again at the party, she knew that the seemingly harmless man in front of her was actually a murderer.

But as he said, Zhou Min's words and actions were too contradictory. He was killing people and saving people at the same time. He clearly gave her the opportunity to hurt himself, but he chose to retract his claws.

I was attracted by her contradictory temperament.

Zhou Qiting used his eyes to trace Zhou Min's outline from a distance, and the emotions in his eyes became increasingly obscure.

Self-trapped monsters and people with quirks...

A match made in heaven.