ADTCP Ch47

Fulfilling the sponsor’s duty.

The instant those words fell, the room’s temperature surged, as if an invisible wave of heat swept through. Zhu Wensheng’s breath hitched, his blood first freezing, then boiling all at once.
He closed his eyes, suppressing the flood in his chest, and gave Tao Zhen one last chance to back out: “Zhenbao, do you mean… what I think you mean?”

“Are you sure?”

…Did he really have to spell it out so clearly?

The young man’s voice was hoarse, magnetic, almost bewitching. The blond boy with cat ears and tail curled on the bed, his face flushed scarlet, feeling as though he’d wandered into some adult movie scene.

He couldn’t bring himself to repeat it word for word. Instead, he mustered courage, lifted his arms, looped them around Zhu Wensheng’s neck, and pressed a light, dragonfly kiss to his lips.

“Yes.”

Tao Zhen thought, since this was what Zhu Wensheng wanted, and since he himself felt the same…

Then he should also fulfill his sponsor’s duty.

He could be the “top” for love.

“…”
Hearing this, Zhu Wensheng seemed unable to endure any longer. He flipped over, caging Tao Zhen in his arms, hot breaths and searing kisses raining down endlessly.

“You said it yourself.”

Darkness closed in as Tao Zhen’s lips were pried open, a ruthless invasion stealing all his breath, tongues tangling, brushing his palate with sparks of tingling sensation. And Zhu Wensheng didn’t stop there, his lips grazed every corner: mouth, nose tip, eye corners, earlobes… leaving wet, dense marks everywhere. Even the cat ears atop Tao Zhen’s head were teased again and again, kneaded like soft mochi.

Though it felt good, Tao Zhen remembered his “duty.”

So, even while dizzy from the kisses, barely able to catch his breath, he raised his paw-like hand with its pink pad and blocked Zhu Wensheng, trying to defend his dignity as the “sponsor”:
“Of course I meant it… but Ah-Sheng, you’re not allowed to move—your arm isn’t healed. From here on, it’s my turn…”

Zhu Wensheng’s hand stilled on the boy’s lace shirt, Adam’s apple bobbing hard.

What did he mean his turn?

…Could it be Tao Zhen liked being on top?

That thought alone made Zhu Wensheng wrestle his instincts down. He let Tao Zhen push him back onto the headboard, swollen arm set aside, lying flat.

Tao Zhen, trembling, climbed onto his waist, straddling him, fumbling nervously with the bow at his collar.

“D-don’t rush me, I’m a little slow…”

The half-finger gloves with pink pads peeked in and out as he moved, like a kitten spirit disguised as a boy.

Zhu Wensheng, the “scholar,” felt his very soul being stolen, his breath harsh as he steadied Tao Zhen’s waist against his heat. His voice was low: “Okay, I’m not rushing.”

This terrifying, massive presence beneath him…

Tao Zhen’s hand slipped, nearly making him jump off.

He swallowed hard, forced himself calm, shrugged off the lace shirt and tossed it aside. His thin upper body was left in a cropped vest clinging to his waist.

The black garters at his thighs didn’t loosen; the straps dug into soft flesh, leaving faint red marks.

A perfect picture of someone made to be spoiled and bullied, yet he pretended to be in control. “Th-then I’ll kiss you first…”

Sweat beaded Zhu Wensheng’s forehead. His arms at his sides strained tight, veins standing out. His chest and abs swelled against the thin fabric of his shirt. “Mm. Okay.”

But Tao Zhen’s kisses were torture, still as clumsy as the first, only “pop-pop” pecks like a small, innocent animal.

He kissed between the brows, the nose tip, then finally pressed to his lips.

They still kept a polite distance, yet Tao Zhen’s heart pounded like he had done something monumental.

How was that?

Wasn’t his act as a domineering sponsor spot-on?

Didn’t he look just like in those dramas?!

“…”

But instead of kissing more, the blond boy straightened proudly, his cat ears twitching, tail swishing and tickling Zhu Wensheng’s leg. Zhu Wensheng nearly groaned from the ache building inside. Still, for Tao Zhen’s pride and “preference for being on top,” he rasped, “Not going to continue?”

Snapping out of it, Tao Zhen flustered, “O-of course I am!”

One sat, one lay, eyes locking. Zhu Wensheng’s gaze was molten, waiting.

“But… what comes next might hurt a little.” Tao Zhen swallowed, pretending calm. “Don’t worry, I’m always very gentle…”

Like thunder striking, Zhu Wensheng almost thought he’d misheard. His hands tightened around Tao Zhen’s waist. “What?”

Sensing danger, Tao Zhen stiffly repeated, “I’ll be gentle… I won’t let you hurt—”

Before he could finish, he was swept up and flipped. In an instant, their positions reversed. The black-haired youth looked down at him, disbelief mixed with laughter in his dark eyes.
“Zhenbao, that line should be mine, shouldn’t it?”

“…Eh?” Tao Zhen was dumbstruck.

Like a spring pressed too long, once released, the rebound was even stronger. Zhu Wensheng had endured for Tao Zhen’s sake, only to find the boy’s thoughts completely different. So he stopped restraining himself, letting the flood crash back:

“Zhenbao, let me kiss you, okay?”

Just a kiss…

Dazed, Tao Zhen nodded. “Mm. Okay.”

But unlike Tao Zhen’s light pecks, Zhu Wensheng’s kisses left real marks, red prints blooming on fair skin, especially his face, collarbone, shoulders. Like ink on white paper, like plum blossoms on snow. Beautiful.

Tao Zhen didn’t notice. He only vaguely felt his cat ears and tail, clipped carefully in place, about to fall off. He cried out: “My ears! And tail—”

He tried to sit up, scrambling for the clips.

But then a big hand pressed the sole of his foot through the thin sock, squeezing the soft pink pad.

“If you can’t find them, then don’t,” Zhu Wensheng murmured. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But—”

Tao Zhen still stretched an arm out, unwilling to give up.

Zhu Wensheng didn’t know how else to prove it wasn’t the cat ears or the tail he liked—but the boy himself. His gaze fell to Tao Zhen’s palm. On impulse, he lowered his head and gently bit it.

“…”

Tao Zhen froze, stunned still. At last, he heard Zhu Wensheng’s low, restrained voice: “Zhenbao, can we continue?”

It was Zhu Wensheng…
Tao Zhen, still dazed, whispered: “Yes.”

Unnoticed, the bedside drawer was pulled open. Something inside was taken out.

Rip— Plastic tore open.

Tao Zhen snapped back to himself, a shiver running down his spine. Like a startled little animal, he scrambled back a step, widening the distance between them. Pitifully, he glanced at the dampened pumpkin shorts around his knees and the reddened, swollen skin at the tops of his thighs.

“Ah-Sheng…”
“Mm?”

Tao Zhen’s voice was hazy, threaded with a faint sob. “Didn’t we say, it was supposed to be me fulfilling the duty?”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his head and kissed him slowly. “This is the duty.”

“…”

Perhaps because he had hurried when changing earlier, the curtains hadn’t been fully drawn. A gust of wind lifted the fabric, revealing the brilliant nightscape outside.
The sky was dark and heavy, stars scattered. Manchester’s lights glittered faintly in the distance, cold and hard like a forest of steel.

But the two pressed against each other burned hotter than ever, touching each other’s souls.

***

The next morning.

Sunlight slipped through the curtains, scattering across the corners of the room. The city streets outside bustled with life, even noise floated up from below. But inside the bedroom, the wide bed held only silence, two figures lying entwined.

An alarm buzzed, only to be silenced by a hand marked with mottled purple hickeys. A tousled blond head poked up, blearily checking the time: 10:31.

About… seven hours of sleep.

Tao Zhen was exhausted, body aching everywhere, eyelids drooping. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but the memories of the night before came flooding back.

He looked for the cat ears and tail but couldn’t find them—only later noticing they’d been tossed ruthlessly to the floor. The half-gloves were gone too, discarded for being in the way. Only the garters and socks stayed with him all through the night.

…Better if those had been thrown away too!

Fully awake now, he tried to sit up, only to feel pain tugging at every part of him. The blanket slid off, and he grimaced as he lifted it to peek.

His forearm was covered with hickeys. The rest of his body, hidden beneath the blanket, was no better. Whoever had done this had been merciless.

Legs, calves, toes… everywhere. Nowhere spared.

He hissed through his teeth. Was Zhu Wensheng some kind of strange cannibal, obsessed with “eating him up” this way?

But that “cannibal” was still asleep. Understandable, after all, he’d fought a grueling match yesterday, and then with Tao Zhen… best left unsaid. On top of that, he’d carried Tao Zhen to the bathroom, cleaned him, tidied the wreckage, packed away incriminating trash. That wasn’t a small workload. He must have only fallen asleep at four or five in the morning, resting now for just five or six hours.

And all while his arm was still swollen.

Dragging an injured body to do all that.

Tao Zhen’s shame and restlessness ebbed, replaced by a wave of heartache.
Yes, the “sponsor’s duty” hadn’t turned out the way he imagined. In front of Zhu Wensheng he had no chance of being the “top,” nowhere close to being domineering. But that didn’t matter.

He was still a man.

And as his cousin Tao Jun had taught him, a man should protect and take care of his partner.

With that thought, he drew a deep breath, endured the soreness, pressed the bite mark at his waist, and carefully slipped out of bed—

“Ow!”

Why did his butt hurt this much?!

Tears almost spilled as he staggered like he’d been burned. Even his foot arches cramped.
He gasped, only to recall the moment last night when Zhu Wensheng had lifted him face-to-face. With poor flexibility, he couldn’t move on his own, and scared of falling, he’d clung like an octopus around him… probably then he’d pulled a tendon.

Pull yourself together, Tao Zhen—you’re a man!

Biting back tears, he hobbled to his suitcase, slowly put on clothes, and ordered breakfast through a delivery app. Paying extra for priority, the food arrived quickly.

He thanked the courier softly, carried it inside, and carefully unpacked.

Soon, Zhu Wensheng stirred awake.

The faint smell of something sweet wafted in the air, accompanied by the quiet sound of cooking.

He opened his eyes to see Tao Zhen standing at the table with his back turned. Surprise flickered across his face.

He hadn’t expected Tao Zhen to wake earlier than him.

Last night, the blond boy had been clinging to his neck, tearful, begging him to stop, looking pitiful beyond words. Tao Zhen never exercised; even lying still like a “pillow prince” was too much. Zhu Wensheng had held back throughout. But even so, for their first time, with mismatched sizes, he was afraid he’d hurt him. That was why, after cleaning Tao Zhen, he’d slipped out to a 24-hour pharmacy for ointment. But by then, Tao Zhen had already fainted from exhaustion.

Now, he dressed quickly and padded over, asking softly, “Why didn’t you sleep longer? Are you still sore?”

Tao Zhen hadn’t noticed he was awake. Startled, he nearly spilled what he was holding. Zhu Wensheng’s quick reflexes steadied it, then wiped the splashed drops off his hand.

…Brown liquid?

Zhu Wensheng frowned. A strange premonition stirred as he looked at the small covered pot. “What’s this?”

“Oh, you’re up.”

Relieved, Tao Zhen lifted the lid and beamed. “Breakfast! I made it for you—eat it while it’s hot!”

Sweet steam rose from the pot.
Inside, in brown sugar syrup, floated four perfectly poached eggs.

“…”
Zhu Wensheng was silent a long moment. “…Brown sugar eggs?”

Tao Zhen said brightly, “Mm-hm!”

Zhu Wensheng shut his eyes briefly, voice rough: “…Why did you think of making this?”

“Ah, because when I was little, in the village, my great-aunties always said this was the best for replenishing blood.”

Tao Zhen tilted his head, speaking with earnestness. His face was pale, body covered with hickeys, hand absentmindedly pressing his sore thigh—but his tone was serious:

“You worked so hard yesterday. You need to replenish your strength. I bought a pound of brown sugar and a tray of eggs… once you finish these four, I’ll make more!”

Zhu Wensheng’s brow twitched. He looked at the boy’s eager expression, wanting to say something but swallowing it back. “…Thank you.”

“Then, eat with me?”

Tao Zhen’s eyes curved with a smile. “Okay, let’s eat together.”

The steaming pot was pushed between them. Zhu Wensheng nodded and slowly picked up chopsticks with him.

Brown sugar eggs… Brown sugar eggs it was.

It wasn’t much, but it was good.

And it was made by Tao Zhen himself—impressive, really.

The sugar was perfectly measured, and each egg round and plump.

***

By 11:30, the team was awake, chattering in the group chat about lunch.
Li Min, too lazy to go down, asked everyone to screenshot their delivery orders for reimbursement. But after sending the money back one by one, she noticed there were no orders from Tao Zhen or Zhu Wensheng. Puzzled, she messaged him privately:

[Li Min]: Where’s your order? Even if you two were tossing around all night, you should be awake by now. What are you planning for lunch?

No reply for a long while.

Bored, she sipped water, then nearly spat it out when a picture popped up.

[Li Min]: …You two are this fast?? Already sitting postpartum confinement after one night?? Who eats EIGHT brown sugar eggs alone???