Mo Jinnian's fingertips slid from Zi Xi's brow bone to the corner of her lips, the movement as gentle as if he were polishing a rare treasure.

"You can be angry."

His lips brushed against her trembling eyelashes, and he placed a feather-like kiss on her eyelid.

"You can scold me, you can even hit me."

His slender fingers unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, his canine teeth gently grinding against her collarbone, leaving marks.

"Just don't leave me."

The sudden tightening of his arms caused her to fall into his embrace, and the two of them sank into the soft seat together.

When Zi Xi looked up at him, she discovered that this man, who was usually so composed, had a vulnerability hidden in his eyes that was hard to detect.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she reached out to smooth his slightly furrowed brow: "I never really wanted to leave you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a sudden, tighter hug.

Mo Jinnian buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled by the fabric: "Please... I'm changing little by little, you have to stay by my side and supervise me..."

Zi Xi recalled their first meeting. Who could have imagined that he would hold her like this now, like a child afraid of being abandoned?

"From the moment you agreed to my request..."

"I have no intention of letting you go."

Mo Jinnian suddenly lifted her onto the low cabinet by the window, a height that forced her to look down at him.

He raised his hand and pressed the switch, and the entire floor-to-ceiling window instantly became transparent.

The lights outside blurred in the rain, and their reflections were clearly visible.

Zi Xi saw him standing between her legs, his fingers slowly and deliberately unfastening his wristwatch, the metal buckle making a crisp sound.

"Don't leave me, or I don't know what I might do."

He held her by the back of the neck, their intertwined shadows reflected in the glass, and kissed her slightly parted lips.

Zi Xi chuckled softly during a pause for breath: "Is Teacher Mo threatening me?"

"No, I'm just stating the facts."

He reverted to his gentle and refined self, even considerately straightening her disheveled collar.

The phone on the coffee table suddenly lit up; it was a message from the agent indicating that there would be a magazine photoshoot tomorrow.

Mo Jinnian glanced at the contents and calmly turned his phone face down.

As he carried Zixi toward the bedroom, he whispered his last words in her ear: "I'll go with you to the shoot tomorrow. Now, it's time to collect my interest."

The negotiations ultimately ended with Zi Xi's compromise.

Therefore, she acquiesced to some of his behaviors, such as phone tracking and his occasional surprise checks.

However, she also drew a clear line: no one could interfere with her work, no one could make unreasonable demands, and no one could hurt the people around her.

Mo Jinnian agreed.

Thus, they achieved a delicate balance.

Mo Jinnian would still follow her to every film set, but he would no longer assert his dominance in a high-profile manner. He would still get jealous, but he had learned to express it in a more mature way. He was still extremely controlling, but he had also learned to give her room to breathe.

In an interview, the host jokingly asked Zi Xi, "Isn't it annoying that President Mo is so clingy?"

Zi Xi smiled and looked at Mo Jinnian off-camera. He was leaning against the wall, gazing intently at her.

"Ugh, so annoying."

"But there's nothing I can do, I just like it when he's so clingy."

She said it on purpose.

Mo Jinnian raised an eyebrow and silently mouthed, "Tonight."

Zi Xi's ears turned slightly red as she turned to the host and said:

"However, no matter how clingy he is, it's only towards me."

She willingly allowed herself to be bound by his chains, simply because the other end of the chains held his burning love.

*

On a rainy night, the damp, musty smell permeated the cramped rented room.