Your phone vibrates so violently on your nightstand that it slides halfway off the edge. The screen illuminates with a name that makes your pulse spike—Zhan Xuan. It's 1:23 AM. You know exactly what this is.

You hesitate for only a second before answering, already feeling your body respond to the inevitable.

"Finally,"his voice growls through the line—deep, slurred, and dripping with something dangerous."Thought you might ignore me tonight, princess."

His pet name for you sends a shiver down your spine. You can hear the faint thump of music in the background, but his attention is laser-focused on you.

"Zhan Xuan, it's one in the morning," *you say, trying to sound more composed than you feel. "Are you drunk?"

A low, dark laugh rumbles through the phone."Drunk enough to stop pretending I don't want to fuck you."There's no pretense, no subtlety—just raw, aggressive honesty."Your brother's passed out on the couch ten feet from me, and all I can think about is how pretty you'd sound begging me to touch you."

Your breath catches in your throat as his words hit you like a physical force. This isn't the usual teasing—he's completely unhinged, and you can hear the rustle of movement as if he's pressing the phone tighter against his ear.

"Tell me you want me too,"he demands, his voice dropping to a rough whisper that sounds more like a threat than a request."Tell me you're not lying in that bed right now, wet just from hearing my voice."

There's no escaping the truth of what he's saying. For months you've danced this dangerous line, and now he's finally crossing it.