Chapter 22 Cohabitation (10) This dream felt so real. ...

The rain was relentlessly lashing at the two of them.

The body in Wen Chen's arms was burning hot, each breath carrying a strong smell of alcohol, its heat spraying onto his neck. He subconsciously turned his head to avoid it, but Gu Moheng seemed to sense it, nestling more intimately into the crook of his shoulder.

Wen Chen lowered her head: "...Gu Moheng?"

There was no response. Only raindrops dripped down Gu Moheng's soaked black hair, landing on Wen Chen's chest and spreading out in dark patches.

Wen Chen took a deep breath, the icy rain making his throat tight. He practically dragged and carried the completely drunk man into the passenger seat with all his might.

The car door slammed shut, shutting out the noisy sound of rain from the outside world.

Wen Chen walked back to the driver's seat and got in. The car's interior was instantly filled with damp steam and a strong smell of alcohol. Wen Chen started the car but didn't drive away immediately. The heater slowly blew out from the air conditioning vents, gradually reducing the humidity. He turned his head and looked at the man beside him.

Gu Moheng leaned back in his chair, his head tilted limply to one side. His usually meticulously combed black hair was now damp and clung to his forehead, a few strands falling down to obscure his always sharp and piercing eyes. Stripped of all his superior aura, his impeccably handsome face seemed to overlap with the image of the boy under the camphor tree.

Wen Chen looked away and started the car. The windshield wipers mechanically swung left and right, clearing the blurry rain curtain time and time again, only to be covered by new rain again, just like his heart at this moment, just as he had sorted out a little bit of his thoughts, only to be overwhelmed by new emotions.

Back in the apartment, another tough battle ensued.

Wen Chen had to drag and pull Gu Moheng's tall body out of the car and help him into the elevator, with Gu Moheng's entire weight pressing down on him.

"bite."

The elevator doors opened.

As soon as he entered the door, he threw Gu Moheng onto the carpet in the entryway and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

The living room was completely dark, with only the neon lights of the city outside the window casting a few dim, ambiguous rays of light through the rain. Gu Moheng lay motionless on the carpet, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

Wen Chen straightened up and looked down at him.

Should we leave him here to fend for himself? Or...?

Wen Chen irritably wiped the rain off her face, but finally bent down and put her arm around Gu Moheng's arm again.

He dragged the person into the bedroom.

Even he himself didn't know why.

Perhaps it's simply because his bed is close to the entrance.

He threw Gu Moheng heavily onto the soft bed. The mattress sank in from the impact, then slowly bounced back up. Looking at the man, soaked to the bone with a dark water stain on the white sheets, Wen Chen's brows furrowed deeply.

He couldn't bear it. Standing by the bed, he stared at Gu Moheng for a full half minute before finally resigning himself to his fate and reaching out to unbutton the soaking wet cashmere sweater he was wearing.

The moment her fingertips touched the man's burning skin, Wen Chen recoiled as if burned.

He closed his eyes briefly, then reached out his hand again.

One, two... the buttons were undone, revealing a well-defined chest, and—a hideous scar extending from below the left collarbone to the chest.

Wen Chen abruptly stopped, staring blankly at Gu Moheng's chest. The scar was long and faded, clearly an old wound from many years ago. He had never known Gu Moheng had such a scar. He couldn't help but recall Lin Ruowei's words, "a difficult road."

That day he asked Gu Moheng, and the answer he received was: Without you by my side, every day is difficult for me.

His heart felt as if it had been stabbed without warning. He suppressed the strange emotions churning within him and continued what he was doing with a blank expression.

As he struggled to pull down Gu Moheng's soaked trousers, a black wallet slipped out of his pocket and fell to the floor with a "thud".

The wallet was thrown open, and half of a carefully laminated, yellowed old photograph slid out from the inner compartment.

Wen Chen's gaze was firmly drawn to the card.

In the photo, two boys in white shirts stand under the huge camphor tree at University A. One has delicate features and smiles warmly at the camera; the other is handsome and sunny, turning his head to look at the boy beside him with eyes full of affection.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering golden fragments across the ground.

Wen Chen slowly squatted down, her fingertips trembling as she picked up the photograph. On the back was a line of elegant yet forceful handwriting:

My Wenchen, my future.

Boom—

A bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky outside the window, instantly illuminating Wen Chen's pale face and the turbulent emotions that suddenly surged within his eyes.

"Wen Chen..." the man sleeping on the bed murmured in pain, "Don't go... I'm sorry..."

Wen Chen couldn't help but turn around. Gu Moheng's brows were tightly furrowed, his lips were chapped, and he was unconsciously muttering to himself.

After Gu Moheng returned to China, every word and action of his showed that he cared about him a lot. But Wen Chen couldn't understand why, if he really cared so much, he left eight years ago.

The person on the bed had an unnaturally flushed face and furrowed brows due to alcohol, indicating unease in their dream. Gu Moheng's alcohol tolerance was usually not bad, and he didn't seem to have drunk much today, so it was unclear why he was so drunk.

Wen Chen's gaze involuntarily fell once again on that hideous scar. Extending from the collarbone to the chest, it resembled an ugly centipede, coiled on the man's well-defined chest.

Wen Chen put the photo back into her wallet, casually placed it on the bedside table, and turned to leave.

Back in his room, he took off his soaking wet trench coat and tossed it on the floor. He went into the bathroom, turned the water temperature slightly lower than usual, and let the water pour over his head, sending a shiver down his spine.

He closed his eyes, letting the chill penetrate his skin, trying to extinguish the wildfire burning in his heart that was making his internal organs ache.

But it was no use. All that kept flashing before my eyes was that photo, that scar, and Gu Moheng's last murmur, broken into the rain.

Wen Chen opened his eyes, water droplets sliding down his handsome cheeks, his bloodshot eyes reflected in the mirror. He turned off the water, dried himself, changed into his pajamas, and threw himself heavily onto the cold bed in the guest room.

He was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

The pattering rain outside the window gradually subsided, and the city lights shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting a faint band of light on the ceiling.

Wen Chen forced herself to close her eyes.

Go to sleep.

Once I'm asleep, I won't think about it anymore. This absurd reunion should come to an end today.

After an unknown amount of time, in extreme exhaustion and confusion, he finally fell into a chaotic darkness.

...

It's late at night.

In the master bedroom, Gu Moheng struggled to open his eyes amidst a severe headache. In the darkness, he could see nothing but the dry mouth and nausea from the hangover were crystal clear.

He wanted to drink water. He sat up, but a scent lingered in his nostrils—a scent he had longed for for eight years, a scent etched into his very bones.

Gu Moheng stumbled out of bed, his stomach churning. He instinctively reached for the bathroom.

He pushed open the door to find the corridor pitch black. Leaning against the wall, his steps unsteady, the alcohol numbing his senses but amplifying his deepest desires.

Wen Chen...

Where is Wen Chen? Like a wild beast searching for its den by following a scent, he didn't even turn on the light. With his eyes half-closed, he followed the faint scent and groped his way to push open another door.

Wen Chen was sleeping soundly, but his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was not at peace even in his dreams.

The mattress sank slightly.

The moment the door opened, a faint smell of alcohol wafted in. Wen Chen, still asleep, uncomfortably turned over and buried her face in the soft pillow.

He thought he was dreaming.

In his dream, he seemed to have returned to the small, rented apartment of only forty square meters near University A. He returned to the warm, sun-drenched double bed, 1.8 meters wide.

Gu Moheng always liked to hug him from behind, his hot chest pressed against his back, his strong arms holding him tightly in his embrace. His chin rested on his neck, his hot breath spraying onto his most sensitive skin.

This dream was so real. So real that he could feel the mattress behind him sag under the weight of another person, smell the familiar, cool scent of cedar mixed with the smell of alcohol, and clearly feel a large, burning hot hand covering his waist.

Then, she slipped her hand under the hem of his pajamas without any obstruction.

Wen Chen's body tensed up unconsciously in her sleep.

The hand, calloused and familiar to him, now seemed to burn like a wildfire, slowly and forcefully tracing and caressing his sensitive skin.

"Hmm..."

Wen Chen shifted uncomfortably, trying to break free from this overly realistic dream.

Her pajamas were easily unbuttoned.

The cool air instantly touched his bare skin, sending a slight shiver through him. Then, a heavy, burning body pressed down on him.

"Wen Chen..."

A muffled murmur, thick with nasal tone, rang close to his ear, a mixture of dreamlike obsession and a long-suppressed yearning.

Wen Chen's consciousness felt trapped in the deep sea, struggling to rise, but that hand and that voice dragged him down relentlessly. Fine, burning kisses landed on the back of his neck, his earlobe, his cheek…

Finally, the man forcefully turned his face and precisely captured his lips. The strong smell of alcohol instantly overwhelmed his breath.

Fine, delicate kisses fell, brushing against his lips, prying open his teeth, slowly and gently invading and entwining him.

"No……"

Wen Chen finally managed to squeeze out a syllable of resistance from her throat.

This is not a dream! This realization struck him like a thunderbolt, exploding in his chaotic mind!

His pajama bottoms had been pulled down at some point. A cool sensation ran between his legs, followed by a tight, burning warmth that enveloped his most vulnerable area completely.

In that instant, the overwhelming feeling of being enveloped made Wen Chen gasp sharply!

In the dark room, the man's suppressed yet satisfied sigh jolted Wen Chen awake.

He suddenly opened his eyes! The city lights outside the window outlined a blurry yet towering silhouette in the darkness, looming over him. In that instant, Wen Chen's blood turned completely cold.

A raging fire instantly ignited in Wen Chen's usually gentle and beautiful eyes.

"Get off me!" A suppressed growl burst from between his teeth! With all his might, he bent his arm and shoved the man on top of him hard!

Gu Moheng clearly hadn't expected him to wake up suddenly, let alone that the resistance would be so fierce. Pushed like that, his body instinctively leaned backward.

Seizing this critical moment, Wen Chen suddenly bent his knee and kicked the person away with all his might!

"Bang--!"

A heavy, loud thud sounded particularly jarring in the quiet of the night!

Gu Moheng's tall body rolled off the bed without warning, crashing heavily onto the cold, hard floor! The intense pain instantly sobered him up considerably. He braced himself against the floor, groaning in pain, and looked up blankly at the bed.

Wen Chen frantically pulled up his pants. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving with anger, his eyes fixed on the man on the floor in the darkness, filled with icy hatred.

“Wen Chen…” Gu Moheng looked at the person on the bed in disbelief.

The answer he received was Wen Chen's voice, trembling and chilling to the bone.

"Get out!"