CH 32.1

She was only wearing a bathing suit, and Xie Shuo wasn’t wearing much more. The two embraced with almost no barriers between them.

She was able to feel his rock-hard chest and his gentle fragrance while in his arms.

Ye An looked up and faced his chin and lips and was stunned. Shu hurriedly let go of him, got up, and moved to the edge of the swimming pool.

To prevent him from misunderstanding, she hastily tried to explain, “That was an accident.”

However, once she said these words, it felt as if she meant the opposite.

Xie Shuo knit his brows but said nothing.

Since Grandfather Ye’s birthday, Ye An had calmed down with her teasing antics. The only exception was when she would unconsciously snuggle into his arms at night; other than that, she seldomly stuck to his side unbridled.

When she rushed over, he instinctively thought that she was going to start teasing him again–but the last thing he expected was the opposite to be true and an explanation accompanying it.

He wasn’t too used to her being like this.

Seeing him frown silently, Ye An suspected that he didn’t believe her. After all, she had developed a certain reputation after her previous convictions.

She didn’t try to keep clarifying the situation, so she just floated at the edge of the pool and stared openly at him.

His broad chest and lean waist were especially eye-catching and pleasing for her to look at.

Xie Shuo couldn’t hear her voice or see what she was doing, but he felt that something wasn’t right. After a moment of silence, he said, “If you’re done soaking, then you can get out of the pool.”

Ye An was actually pretty drowsy, so she yawned and said, “I’m going to go up and sleep for a while. Are you coming?”

Xie Shuo didn’t answer, but he propped himself up over the edge of the pool.

Ye An tacitly understood and reached an arm out to help him.

The two got out of the hot spring pool and dried themselves before wrapping themselves in towels and resting on the deck chairs by the pool.

Xie Shuo lay on his back while Ye An lay on her side. She put her chin on her arm and continued to admire his beauty.

The air was humid and carried the scent of osmanthus. Small blossoms on the tops of the osmanthus shrubs swayed lightly in the wind.

Their surroundings were silent, and as Ye An continued to stare at Xie Shuo, her eyelids began to droop.

—-

After leaving the hot springs, the two ate dinner and went for a walk nearby. The two chose not to go out anywhere else and returned to the hotel to rest early. 

Before she went to sleep, Ye An reviewed the photos sent by Zhuang Yinian. There were actually two photos, and the extra one happened to be when she looked up at Xie Shuo.

The lights and shadows shone down diagonally and blurred the scene, creating a breathtaking visual effect.

As expected of the chief photographer of YN, this picture beat all the other ones on her phone. Ye An admired it with satisfaction and saved it.

The next day, their destination was Qianyue Lake.

Qianyue Lake was one of the most famous scenic attractions at Qianyue Mountain. The lake view during a moonlit night was said to be particularly beautiful, so Ye An booked a room at a bed and breakfast inn near the lake in advance.

They could easily commute from the hotel to Qianyue Lake, so the two rode by car to the bed and breakfast. After putting away their luggage, they took a walk along the lake.

This time, their walk wasn’t on a rough mountain path, so Xie Shuo was also less prone to accidents. Xiao Yu deliberately followed them from a long distance away so as to not disturb them.

With the fine sunny weather and the white clouds, the dark blue lake resembled fine jade under the vast sky. The distant mountains intercepted the water rippling on the horizon.

Xie Shuo wore his sunglasses, and Ye An supported him as they walked along the lakeside and depicted their surrounding scenery.

A light breeze swept across their faces and brought along a faint dewiness.

People came and went in twos and threes. Occasionally, there were a few curious gazes that trailed them, but Ye An ignored them.

At some point in their walk, Ye An suddenly looked up and out in excitement. “There’s a small boat in front of us that’s open to rent. Do you want to take the boat to the lake for a spin?”

Although she asked a question, she gave him no chance to object. Ye An called for Xie Shuo to head over and asked about renting the boat.

Xie Shuo didn’t protest. As long as her requests weren’t overly excessive, he basically went along with whatever she wanted to do.

The three of them got on the boat, and Ye An helped Xie Shuo sit down at the front. As a result, the hull dipped into the water, causing the water to ripple.

When they reached the center of the pond, the boat shook slightly, and Ye An instinctively grasped Xie Shuo’s hand.

Xie Shuo, thinking that she was about to fall, squeezed her hand tightly.

The man’s fingers were long and slender. His large hands wrapped tightly around hers, warm and strong.

Ye An looked at him, and her heart skipped a beat.

When the boat became more stable after a while, Xie Shuo let go of her hand. However, her hand took the opportunity to slide down and clasp his fingers, their palms pressing tightly together.

Xie Shuo thought that she was scared, so he didn’t break away.

The early autumn sun beamed against the lake surface, making it gleam like scales, and the light reflected on the sides of Ye An’s face. She looked at him with bright eyes, and her lips secretly curled.

—-

The two did not return to the inn from their lakeside walk until the evening.

The sky was filled with sunset clouds and imbued the walls with colors.

The ancient-style bed and breakfast inn had wooden floors, a small balcony in the room, and many flowers and plants.

Ye An was in a good mood and decided to set the table for dinner on the balcony.

The inn provided dinner service, but she personally had to go down and order the dishes. Ye An had Xie Shuo wait in the room and left.

When she reached the beginning of the stairs, she bumped into Zhuang Yinian and Yan Fei yet once again. Haven’t there been too many coincidences of them meeting for this plotline at this point?

Ye An’s footsteps paused, and she hesitated on whether or not to say hello.

The two walked away from her and didn’t see Ye An coming also going down the stairs. Zhuang Yinian held onto Yan Fei’s arm and said that the food at the inn was really nothing special and completely inferior to Yan Fei’s cooking at home.

Hearing the sweet conversation between the two, Ye An yet again took another critical hit and silently slowed down, not stepping forward to interrupt their moment.

After descending the stairs, Ye An learned that the original chef at the inn was off sick, so a substitute was temporarily hired. Because of that, the food wasn’t as good as it would usually be.

Recalling how picky Eldest Young Master Xie was, Ye An called Xie Shuo to come downstairs, and the two of them went to a nearby restaurant that had good reviews. They ordered some dishes to go and brought them back to the inn.

When they were going upstairs, the lady boss of the inn handed her a bottle of their home-brewed rice wine and said it was the inn’s compensation gift.

The wine was very fragrant, so Ye An didn’t refuse and accepted it.

Back in the room, Ye An put down the food and guided Xie Shuo to the bathroom, so he could wash his hands.

As the splashes of water sounded, she leaned against the door, looking at his profile. She deliberately sighed, saying, “I just ran into Zhuang Yinian again just now. He treats her so well and even cooks for her at home!”

Xie Shuo continued to wash his hands, as if he didn’t hear her at all.

Ye An watched him fumble around to turn off the faucet. She handed him a towel and asked, “Do you know how to cook?”

Xie Shuo didn’t reply to her and slowly wiped his hands.

His fingers were slender and clean, almost resembling jade.

Ye An noticed his hands and was sure that he hadn’t done any hard labor in her heart. She reached a hand out to support him.

After leaving the bathroom, Xie Shuo was silent for a moment, and his thoughts were unclear. He suddenly stopped and said, “Which room do they live in?”

Ye An: “?”

She was puzzled. “Why are you asking about this?”

Xie Shuo’s eyebrows furrowed, and his expression was serious. “Take me over there.”

Ye An became even more confused. Did he really fall for her teasing?

She immediately dismissed the idea. Her words didn’t have much influence over him, and he probably just wanted to talk to them about the development project from last time.

Ye An didn’t ask any more questions and guided him to Zhuang Yinian’s room to knock on the door.

The one who came to open the door turned out to be Yan Fei. He didn’t seem surprised seeing the two of them and had an indifferent expression.

Ye An softly smiled. “Mr. Yan, hello.”

Yan Fei politely responded, “Hello.” He then turned his gaze to Xie Shuo. “Do you need anything?”

Ye An turned to Xie Shuo, and Xie Shuo said to Yan Fei, “Mr. Yan, can we take a few minutes to talk?”

“A’Fei, who is it?” Zhuang Yinian’s voice sounded from inside the room.

Yan Fei obviously knew of Xie Shuo’s identity, so he paused before saying, “Please come in.”

Ye An helped Xie Shuo in. Zhuang Yinian was sitting on the sofa with her phone with her legs propped up, but she was stunned upon seeing them and quickly straightened up while lowering her legs. 

“What’s going on?” she asked Yan Fei in a low voice.

Yan Fei pet her head, looked down, and smiled. “Nothing, we just have something to discuss.” He turned to Xie Shuo and said, “Let’s go to the balcony.”

Ye An guided Xie Shuo to the balcony and returned to the room.

Zhuang Yinian made a cup of tea and handed it to her. “Please sit and make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you.” Ye An smiled and sat down on the sofa with her.

On the balcony, the night breeze blew gently. Yan Fei looked at the person opposite him, and after waiting for a moment, he said, “Last time’s cooperation couldn’t be negotiated, so I’m sorry for that. If Mr. Xie has something to say, feel free to speak out.”

Xie Shuo looked up and slowly said, “I want to ask Mr. Yan about one thing.”