The Ferocious Dog and the Ice Queen

[A seemingly aloof but secretly lonely and yearning CEO as the bottom x A seemingly carefree and sunny but secretly sincere and gentle guy as the top]

[His soul's kingdom is cloaked in the blessings of his beloved.]

[PS: The protagonist's name is just a play on the characters in He Bie Jin Chun, nothing more.]

It all began on a chaotic night. That's right, the new intern ended up in his boss's bed...

The first time they met, Fang Jinchu was waiting outside the staff elevator, while Jiang Hebie was ushered into the CEO's private elevator. All Fang Jinchu got was a profoundly cold sidelong glance.

Who could have guessed that the second time they met, they would already be skin to skin?

Or, more accurately, it began with a carefully plotted, unconventional instance of workplace coercion.

Fang Jinchu watched the man sitting on the balcony with his legs crossed. He couldn't tell whether the man was lost in thought or looking down at the colorful lives unfolding beneath the high-rise.

The man seemed to notice Fang Jinchu had woken up, and turned to look at him, still in bed.

Jiang Hebie smiled faintly, unconcerned that he was wearing nothing but a rumpled shirt. The fingers holding his cigarette drifted slowly through Fang Jinchu's dazed field of vision before he leaned down and exhaled.

Through the curling smoke, Fang Jinchu saw his boss, the most arrogant and unapproachable man of all, part his lips and say:

"A pleasure doing business with you. You can name your price now."

Fang Jinchu grinned, raised a hand to sweep the hair out of his eyes, and let out a rakish sigh.

"I want you."

After delivering his half-joking, half-serious words, Fang Jinchu watched wariness rise in Jiang Hebie's eyes. Just as his boss was about to refuse, Fang Jinchu interrupted him at just the right moment.

"I'm only joking. Don't take me seriously, Mr. Jiang."

"Really? I guess I'm not very attractive to you, then?"

Back then, Jiang Hebie thought Fang Jinchu didn't know his place. It was just a transaction for mutual benefit, yet he'd made a demand like that.

But fortunately, Fang Jinchu hadn't really made up his mind, and things went back to a simple exchange of money.

Only later did Jiang Hebie realize that Fang Jinchu, who looked wild and seemed to care only about money, really only wanted him.

And all this time, he hadn't been playing the pig to eat the tiger. He had actually been pretending to be a scoundrel while being a true gentleman.

What began as a transaction under the table ended with them bound to each other.

Fang Jinchu was waiting for the one soul who matched his own, while Jiang Hebie was waiting for the one body in the world that fit his.

They were both drawn to each other by looks, but no one could be more suited to the other.

Content warnings:

" Strictly speaking, the top is a virgin and the bottom is not. Please don't hold it against me if that's an issue for you.

" The characters were born from a burst of inspiration. This is a short story with a much stronger romance plot than plot-driven storyline.

" Finally, please go easy on me, dear reviewer.

Theme: Why give up in the face of hardship?