Yep but what he did may cause an issue later on (Plot material kind of thing)
I think it’s also that because we don’t get his full pov it’s not completely clear on if he actually likes the MC or if he’s just using him for the experiment.
And even if he does actually like the MC (which I do think he does) being in the MC’s shoes it’d be easy to understand him feeling betrayed or used if/when he finds out. Like I get why the ML wants to be liked for him and not for the soulmate marking but I’d also get the MC feeling manipulated and lied to about their relationship.
Maybe he would feel that if the ML can just go along with an act like he was how can he can be sure what is an act and what isn’t and all.
But it remains to be seen
I really don't understand why so many people berates ML. He's a tricky one but holy shit, i think it's pretty clear that he wants to be liked by MC because it's him and not because he's his soulmate. Imagine forcing yourself to like a person because you're somehow "meant to be". Just stop,really.