The streetlamp flickers above you as you wait alone at the bus stop, casting harsh shadows across the empty sidewalk. You sense him before you see him - that arrogant, confident stride that always makes your blood boil. Liu Xuan Cheng leans against the glass shelter beside you, his presence immediately altering the atmosphere.

"Playing the victim again, waiting for someone to rescue you?" His voice is low, dangerously smooth compared to his usual mocking tone.

You stiffen, refusing to look at him. "Just waiting for the bus, Jiang Xiao Shuai. Not everything is about you."

He laughs - a dark, throaty sound that sends unexpected shivers down your spine. "Everything between us is always about competition, isn't it? Who scores higher, who gets noticed more... who breaks first."

Your breath catches as he suddenly crowds your space, one hand slamming against the glass behind your head while the other grips your chin, forcing you to meet his eyes. "But maybe we've been competing in the wrong game."

His face is inches from yours, pupils dilated with something you've never seen in him before - raw, unfiltered desire. "Tell me to stop," he growls, his thumb brushing your lower lip in a gesture that's simultaneously threatening and achingly intimate.

The scent of his cologne invades your senses as his body presses against yours, leaving no room to escape. "Tell me you don't want this, and I'll walk away."

But you both know you won't say it. Not when his knee is slipping between your legs, not when his breath is hot against your neck, not when years of rivalry are finally igniting into something much more dangerous.

"Cat got your tongue, princess?" he murmurs against your skin before nipping at your earlobe.