Like and Love

Lin Wanwan's fingers paused at the second button of Chen Zhi's shirt.

Trembling slightly from nerves, she tried twice but failed to slip the round plastic button out of its hole.

Chen Zhi didn't rush her. He simply leaned against the back of the sofa, his hands resting loosely on her lower back, feeling her body heat radiating through the thin fabric of her clothes.

The living room was lit only by a warm yellow floor lamp. A comedy variety show was still playing on the TV screen, the guests' exaggerated laughter seeming somewhat abrupt in the quiet suite.

Lin Wanwan finally undid the button.

She let out a breath and rested her forehead against Chen Zhi's chest, listening to the violent beating of his heart inside.

Lin Wanwan had once heard a saying: "Like is wild, but love is restraint."

At the time, she thought it was beautifully written and even specially copied it onto the title page of her notebook.

But now, Lin Wanwan felt that this saying was total bullshit.

When you truly fall in love with someone, how could you ever think about restraint? Her mind was entirely consumed with how to completely monopolize the man in front of her, wanting to possess everything about him and leave her own mark on him.

When did she start liking Chen Zhi?

Lin Wanwan couldn't clearly say herself.

Was it when they were kids, and Chen Zhi got scalded by a pot of boiling water just to protect her? Or during those three years in middle school, when he waited for her at the intersection every day in the morning light, and walked his bicycle home with her in the setting sun? Or maybe in high school, when she deliberately broke her bicycle chain just for a legitimate excuse to forcefully commandeer the backseat of his beat-up electric scooter?

It had been so long, so long that these memories had already melted into her very bones and blood.

Anyway, she had liked him since a very, very long time ago. Perhaps in her past life, or the life before that, she had already fallen for this guy who always loved to tease her but would forever stand in front of her during crucial moments.

And now, that liking had fermented into love.

Lin Wanwan discovered that love was not only wild, but also a complex emotion that made one worry about gains and losses.

Lately, she thought about Chen Zhi every single day. She thought about him when she woke up and didn't see a message from him, she thought about him while practicing in the recording studio, and even on the highly anticipated stage of the Singer finale, her mind was spinning with whether he was watching or not.

She thought about him every hour of every day, thinking about him so much she was going crazy.

"Chen Zhi," Lin Wanwan said, lying against his chest.

"Mhm."

"Turn off the TV."

Chen Zhi groped for the remote control tossed in the corner of the sofa and pressed the power button.

The room instantly plunged into dimness, leaving only a small halo of light spilling from the floor lamp.

Chen Zhi knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, leaning over and looking at the girl who appeared exceptionally docile in the dim light.

Two lifetimes.

This was the first time in both of Chen Zhi's lifetimes combined that he and Lin Wanwan had reached this step.

In his past life, he was a miserable corporate slave who couldn't even take care of himself, only able to watch helplessly as Lin Wanwan flew higher and higher. In this life, having been reborn and holding a multi-billion dollar business empire in his hands, he finally had the confidence to completely protect this girl under his wings.

Because he cared so much, his movements became incredibly gentle.

He carefully tended to Lin Wanwan's emotions, navigating around her muscles that were tense from nerves.

Lin Wanwan also felt his gentleness; starting from initial stiffness, she slowly transitioned into clumsy yet passionate responses.

In the dim bedroom, there was only the city neon shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The temperature was rising.

Everything seemed to be developing in the most perfect, romantic direction.

Until three minutes later.

Chen Zhi lay flat on the pillow, his eyes staring blankly at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

This makes no sense.

This absolutely makes no sense!

Chen Zhi fell into deep self-doubt. He even started to reflect on whether staying up too late recently to develop that AI Driving Open Platform had caused his bodily functions to take a cliff-like plunge.

Just as Chen Zhi was frantically looking for an excuse to save face...

A rustling sound came from beside him.

Lin Wanwan pulled the blanket over herself and slowly shimmied over.

Not only did she not show any expression of disgust, but she also put on the demeanor of an understanding older sister, reaching out her arms to hug Chen Zhi.

One hand even patted him gently on the back twice.

"It's okay," Lin Wanwan's voice was soft and sweet, carrying a soothing tone. "I've read about it online. It's always like this for a boy's first time. It's completely normal."

Chen Zhi's eyelids twitched violently. He jerked his head around, looking at Lin Wanwan's face, which was practically glowing with maternal radiance.

"Don't listen to the nonsense people say online," Chen Zhi said with a dark expression, trying to salvage his dignity as a man. "Can you even trust things on the internet? I'm just... I'm just too tired these past few days! Plus, it's my first time and I was too nervous. It would absolutely never be like this normally!"

Lin Wanwan buried her face in the blanket, her shoulders twitching uncontrollably a couple of times.

"Are you laughing?" Chen Zhi gritted his teeth.

"I'm not laughing." Lin Wanwan lifted her head, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek, playing along with his words. "Mhm, I know. Our Chen Zhi is the best. Just now was definitely an accident."

Chen Zhi felt this was simply the ultimate humiliation.

He took a deep breath, suddenly rolled over, and propped his hands on either side of Lin Wanwan's body, looking down at her.

"What are you doing?" Lin Wanwan was startled and instinctively shrank back into the blanket.

"I don't accept this baseless slander," Chen Zhi said, staring into her eyes and enunciating every word. "Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. If you don't believe me, let's do it again. That last one didn't count."

Lin Wanwan's face instantly flushed completely red; even the tips of her ears looked like they were about to drip blood.

Looking at Chen Zhi's dead-serious expression, not only did she not feel afraid, but she actually found him fatally cute.

Lin Wanwan bit her lower lip, slid her hands out from under the blanket, and wrapped them around Chen Zhi's neck once more.

"Mhm," she softly hummed in agreement.

This time, Chen Zhi completely cast aside all his so-called nervousness and caution.

He was going to use practical action to prove that the CEO of Deep Space Technology could not only fight a war of attrition on the commercial battlefield but also possessed a formidable strength on other battlefields that could not be underestimated.

The night was still long.