Chapter 15

Tao Ran ignored him, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand a few times, then pushed Li Zekun aside while pulling the exam paper towards himself.

"Little rascal..." Li Zekun laughed, "Are you afraid of me or not? Why aren't you willing to negotiate?"

Tao Ran was also stunned. He wasn't afraid of Li Zekun. He could feel that even if Li Zekun spoke coldly and tried to intimidate him, it wouldn't cause him much harm. What he was truly afraid of, what he had been carefully avoiding, was the thought of returning to that place again.

"Will you let me go back?" Tao Ran's voice sounded a bit muffled, like a light and airy sentence, but it slipped into Li Zekun's ears like a demonic wind.

After a moment of thought, Li Zekun realized what Taoran was talking about. He had initially intended to deny it, but he had already made the decision to stay with Taoran since the day he made that choice. However, as his mind raced, he smiled and pinched Taoran's cheek, saying, "Let's see how you perform."

Tao Ran placed down his pen with a hint of annoyance and declared, "If you don't want me to write, then I won't write! Carry me to bed!" The spoiled child's little demeanor was actually quite beautiful, with a slightly raised chin, wet and shiny cat-like eyes, and open arms waiting to be held.

Li Zekun, by some strange twist of fate, actually carried someone horizontally. He had a lover before Cheng Xia, but they were both very sensible and knew how to act, so where did this audacity come from to let the Prince hold and comfort him? After Cheng Xia... Tao Ran was also left alone.

Tao Ran was startled and instinctively reached out to wrap his arms around Li Zekun's neck when he was held in his arms. He was as obedient and pliable as a cat, snuggling up to him. Li Zekun's heartfelt softened by his touch, he couldn't help but question whether the feeling of closeness in this intimate embrace was normal. He had only hugged two people in his life, and both times his heart had turned to mush.

The apartment was tidier than the one Tao Ran was brought to by Li Zekun for the first time. It seemed to be regularly cleaned by hired help. Tao Ran was held tightly by Li Zekun from behind while lying on the large bed in the master bedroom. The man's chin pressed against his neck, and with each breath, Li Zekun's touch made Tao Ran's cheeks numb, without any hint of resistance.

"Sleeping alone always feels cold." Li Zekun sighed softly in the darkness, unsure if he was speaking to himself or having a late-night conversation with Taoran.

"...Raise the air conditioning a little." Tao Ran gently struggled out of Li Zekun's embrace and replied.

Li Zekun smiled faintly, "You're just a child, what do you know?" Li Zekun has been shivering every night for the past four years, perhaps due to psychological reasons. He always has nightmares of Cheng Xia being bullied, penniless, starving, and freezing below. At his most absurd time, he stored a lot of paper money in that British apartment and would wake up in the middle of the night to smoke and burn money for Cheng Xia. Sometimes, he would also cry. Later, he almost set the room on fire and became more peaceful.

Li Zekun hugged Tao Ran tightly in the darkness, biting his lips tightly. He had thought about it for a long time before. The two people were so similar in their words and deeds, likes and dislikes. Would hugging them be the same? Li Zekun chuckled bitterly. Yes, it was really the same.

Tao Ran got up at six in the morning. He was quite odd in that he always knew what time he wanted to wake up before going to bed and never missed it by more than a few minutes, without even needing an alarm clock. When he woke up, Li Zekun was still sleeping, with deep wrinkles between his eyebrows and dark circles under his eyes. The man must have been working hard outside these past few days.

After Tao Ran finished washing up, Li Zekun's alarm clock went off. Li Zekun used to have a habit of oversleeping when he was young, but it has improved significantly since he started his business.

“So early?” Li Zekun leaned against the master bedroom door and watched Tao Ran packing his school bag.

"Young master, I am going to attend early morning self-study."

Li Zekun smiled and said, "I didn't forget. Isn't that why I came to send you off?"

Tao Ran was momentarily stunned and said, "I am truly honored."

On the way, Li Zekun bought Xiaolongbao and Soybean Milk for Tao Ran, so the child could eat before going to class. Tao Ran looked around at the luxurious interior and leather seats of the S600 and joked, "Aren't you afraid that the whole car will smell like dumplings?"

"Eat it.", Li Zekun originally wanted to say that Cheng Xia had even eaten stinky tofu in the car before, but ultimately didn't say it and instead said, "I don't mind."