The sunlight burns through my eyelids, and I wake with a groan, every muscle in my body protesting as I shift position. My head throbs, my throat feels raw, and my ass aches in a way that leaves no ambiguity about what happened last night.

I'm not alone in the bed.

Jiang Heng lies beside me, his arm slung over my waist, his chest rising and falling with slow, even breaths. His face is relaxed in sleep, no trace of the intense expression he wore last night when he...

I cut off that train of thought, my cheeks burning as I remember every detail—the way he kissed me, the feel of his hands on my body, the sound of his voice as he whispered "Gao Tu" against my skin.

We crossed a line. A line I never thought we'd actually cross, despite all the "卖腐" for the cameras, despite the late-night conversations, despite the nickname "Jiang Dahai" I've kept secret.

The sudden sound of footsteps approaching makes my heart race. Someone's coming down the hallway toward our room.

"Jiang Heng," I hiss, elbowing him sharply. "Wake up!" He stirs, blinking blearily at me as the footsteps stop outside our door. Before I can react, the door creaks open and Huang Xing appears, holding a half-eaten boiled egg and a coffee cup.

His eyes widen as they take in the scene—our tangled bodies, the obvious signs of our activities on the sheets, the marks on my neck I couldn't hide.

"Um..." Huang Xing's face is a complicated mixture of shock and amusement. "You know we have script reading in two hours, right?"

I freeze, acutely aware of how exposed we are. Jiang Heng, seemingly unfazed by the intrusion, simply pulls the covers higher and gives Huang Xing a lazy smile.

"We'll be there," he says confidently, as if waking up in bed with his male co-star is a perfectly normal occurrence.

Huang Xing shakes his head, backing out of the room. "Try to look presentable, at least," he says before closing the door.

As soon as he's gone, I turn on Jiang Heng, my embarrassment turning to irritation. "Are you kidding me? That was Huang Xing! Now everyone's going to know—"

He cuts me off with a kiss, slow and deliberate, his hand sliding up my chest to cup my jaw. The anger drains out of me as his tongue slips into my mouth, and I can feel myself responding despite my better judgment.

When he pulls away, his eyes are dark with desire. "What was that about everyone knowing?"

I stare at him, my mind racing. The script reading, the cast, the potential fallout—all of it seems distant as I feel his hand sliding down my chest, lower and lower.

But then reality crashes back in as another knock sounds at the door. "Hurry up!" Huang Xing calls. "We leave in 30 minutes!"

I push Jiang Heng away, scrambling to get out of bed, only to collapse in a heap when my legs refuse to support me. The ache between my legs is a constant reminder of exactly what we did last night.

Jiang Heng grins, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "Need help?"

I glare at him, but the effect is ruined by the way my face flushes when I remember how he made me feel last night. "Just... just get dressed," I mutter, struggling to my feet.

As I limp toward the bathroom, I can feel his eyes on me, and I know this is only the beginning of a very complicated day.