“Why don’t you kiss me?” He asked in a completely serious and sincere tone as if… as if he could not understand why He Juan did not jump on him right at this second!

He Juan’s eyes flew wide in disbelief. And then, he covered his eyes with the palm that was not on Mu Yuze’s face, a deep pained chuckle rumbled out of his throat. Oh dear… he was so certain now. Mu Yuze was not only a walking temptation that would challenge his sanity every second, but he was also a human-sized savagery and brutal honesty wrapped in one gorgeous package; a personal ticking time bomb that was created specifically for He Juan. 

“Xiao Ze ah, Xiao Ze…” a helpless chuckle fell from his lips. He took a few calming breaths and after making sure that his restraints were firmly locked in place, only then did he lift his head and looked at the naïve omega in front of him. Mu Yuze’s brows were furrowed a bit, confusion radiating off him. He was so infuriating and adorable at the same time that He Juan could not resist pinching his cheek again. “What should I do with you…?”

Mu Yuze frowned, “What do you mean?”

He Juan huffed, amused. It seemed like he had to get it straight on Mu Yuze’s mind first. He forced himself to let go of the warmth of Mu Yuze’s cheek and placed both hands staunchly on his lap where he could see them, in case they grew a will on their own and decided to wander to the omega’s body again. 

“Xiao Ze, how old are you this year?” He Juan started with a gentle tone, smiling.

Albeit confused, Mu Yuze still answered honestly. “Twenty four.”

He Juan’s smile did not falter even though inwardly, he was going through a mini heart attack. He had expected Mu Yuze to be younger than him but not a full nine years! Nine years! There was a saying that three years was enough to create a generation gap, then in their case, there would already be three long generation gaps! 

He had already graduated from high school when Mu Yuze was still wearing his little backpack and playing marbles in elementary school! Oh Heavens, He Juan, you are really an old bastard cow preying on young, tender grass[1]!

“What?” Mu Yuze asked haughtily when he found He Juan frozen due to the internal shock. “Do you have a problem with my age?”

He Juan scratched his cheek and let out an awkward laugh. He was really caught off guard this time. “No… nothing. But Xiao Ze… you do know that I am thirty three years old, don’t you?”

For some reason, He Juan felt as if Mu Yuze really wanted to roll his eyes. “I was asking for your personal information just this morning.”

“Good, good.” Again, He Juan let out a small chuckle. As much as it pained him to say this, he could not help but be frank. “Are you sure… about me? You’re so young, gorgeous and brilliant while I am…” For the lack of things to say, He Juan could only make a vague gesture on himself.

Twenty four, Mu Yuze was still in the prime of his life. He was completely the opposite of He Juan, this old man who was carrying so many wounds in his body. He deserved an Alpha who could guide him both physically and mentally — not He Juan, who did not have anything on his name, who could not even remember the past twenty six years of his life. 

Mu Yuze might still be in a period where he could afford to play around with the Alphas who attracted him, but… it was different for He Juan. Maybe because he was not young anymore, He Juan preferred emotional entanglement rather than physical compatibility — not that he would refuse the latter but you got his point. He sought stability and a long-life partner, especially one that could put up with his random clumsiness and memory loss—

He Juan blinked in consternation. Had he told Mu Yuze about his memory loss? Did he talk about it back then in the car? He Juan could not remember. See? He could not even manage something like this properly. What if in the future—

“What about you?” 

He Juan was startled by how close Mu Yuze’s voice was. He lifted his head, stunned, to find Mu Yuze suddenly so close to him. W–When did the omega move? He Juan was so deep in his own thoughts that he failed to notice when Mu Yuze had sat up on his knees and prowled over until the distance between them was practically less than an inch now!

“X–Xiao Ze!” He Juan exclaimed, flustered, when Mu Yuze placed his hands on He Juan’s shoulders and swung his legs over to straddle He Juan’s lap! 

Entirely by reflex, He Juan reached out for the omega's waist to hold him secure, too surprised by the sudden turn of events to react. He Juan’s pupils dilated heavily. Mu Yuze was everywhere; his warmth, his weight, the soft caress of his exhale, his scent — it was all-encompassing, clouding He Juan’s senses until every thought in his mind screeched to a halt.

While He Juan was still trying to regain a semblance of clarity, Mu Yuze squeezed the hard plane of his shoulder before the trail of his hand glided down to his chest, flattening against the rapid thundering of his heartbeat. “What about you?” He asked again, softer this time, edging on something dark and dangerous. He Juan could see it in the way his eyes glinted sharply as though challenging him to retort. "Ask yourself, He Juan. You want me, don't you?"

He Juan’s breath stuttered before it picked up its pace. Oh no, he could not breathe, could not even think of anything in answer to that—

Just like earlier, Mu Yuze did not actually need any answer from him. He just took, took and took, acting as if He Juan was rightfully his and it was entirely his privilege to do this. Goodness, the mere notion of it was so… heady and electrifying.

He Juan might not be prioritizing physical compatibility with his partner, but with Mu Yuze… he could not deny how their bodies desperately sought each other like the much needed oxygen to stay alive. Every strand of his nerves sparked, coming alive like a live wire. It threatened to destroy everything He Juan had known about himself and pulled him under the surface until his eyes, mouth and brain was filled with nothing but raw desire.

Heavens… he had never known that he could produce such vivid and powerful emotions! It was like Mu Yuze had carved out a hole in his chest and forced him to acknowledge all of the things he had neglected for the past seven years. 

—His Alpha’s needs.

“Juan gege, you really have no idea…” Mu Yuze whispered, returning He Juan’s words back to him.

.

[1] Old cow preying on tender grass = idiom for a relationship where one partner is significantly older than the other.