To sum up Pei Ying’s current daily life, she spent each day filming for her drama and indulging in the company of a handsome man.
Mm, and she was also eating meat. Real meat.
She was filming another eating scene that day, and it was high-grade steak that the hero had cooked for the heroine. The steak was specially prepared by the head chef of one of the Yu’s restaurant branches. Per the rules of the universe, Pei Ying first took a photo of the meal and posted it to Weibo. (Note: I just noticed that Universe Pictures and the restaurant group are both headed by families surnamed Yu, but to clarify, they are different groups.)
As usual, there came a wave of envious commenters, who were especially proactive.
“Ever since she started filming Season of Love, my Pei has turned into a food blogger :)”
“I have to see photos of you eating meat on Weibo every day, and then I have to watch the scene again later on TV. So tiring (bye)”
“Your good friend, Pei Ying plus, is coming soon. (smile)”
“I decided to have steak for dinner. (smile)”
“It’s true that Universe’s props are known for being good, but I’ve never seen you so obsessed with blogging (bye) Hope you get fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat.”
“Pei Pei, does your drama still need help? qaq For a role that gets to eat meat qaq”
Pei Ying wasn’t done after her Weibo post though. She even went and sent Song Nanchuan a photo.
[Ying Ying] What are you up to? I’m eating meat (photo)
Song Nanchuan, “….”
He swiped through his photo album and then sent a picture to Pei ying.
[Bastard Song] I have meat to eat too (photo)
Pei Ying looked at the photo he sent and her face immediately went dark. He’d sent her a photo of herself sleeping in bed.
[Ying Ying] When did you take that?! (angry)
[Bastard Song] Two nights ago?
[Ying Ying] Delete it. (smile)
[Bastard Song] No, this is for my personal collection. (smile)
Pei Ying, “….”
Shameless!
After filming ended that day, Song Nanchuan came to pick her up. He’d already looked over the filming schedule for the series, so as he helped Pei Ying put on her seatbelt, he asked her, “You’re not filming tomorrow, right?”
“Mm.” The cast and crew only had about one in ten days off, so Pei Ying was planning on sleeping in all day and resting.
Song Nanchuan nodded and then said, “Then I won’t go to work tomorrow either.”
“…As the CEO, can you act so carelessly?”
“It’s because I’m the CEO that I can act as I’d like.” Song Nanchuan raised his brow and looked at Pei Ying. “Since you’re off tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to swim.”
Pei Ying’s eyebrows jumped up. “When did I ever say that I wanted to learn how to swim?”
“Swimming is a fundamental life skill; of course you should learn it. Or did you want to try sinking again?”
“No, I’m not going anywhere near the water.” Pei Ying smiled.
“But it’s almost summer now, so there will surely be lots of pool parties. If you get invited, are you planning on just skipping out?”
“…We’ll talk about it when I get invited. Anyway, I plan on sleeping in tomorrow.”
“Okay, you can sleep in the morning, and we’ll go swimming in the afternoon.”
Pei Ying, “….”
She’d thought that Song Nanchuan just had a momentary interest in it. Who’d have thought that he’d pull her out of bed so cruelly the next morning?! Pei Ying rubbed her messy bed head and looked at him with a less than stellar complexion. “Why do I have to learn to swim?! Haven’t I lived well enough all these years without knowing how?!”
Song Nanchuan blinked his eyes at her innocently. “If you don’t know how to swim, I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing you out to sea on the yacht. And then, how could I take you to the seaside for a vacation?”
Pei Ying, “….”
“Or were you planning on wearing a life vest the entire time?”
…Pei Ying thought about that image for a moment, and then decided it might be better to just learn how to swim.
Song Nanchuan’s villa had a pool, so after Pei Ying ate lunch, she followed him out.
Although she’d already been living at his house for awhile, it was the first time she’d gone to the pool. It was actually pretty big. Song Nanchuan handed her a swimsuit and then let her go change. Pei Ying looked at the blue polka dot bikini and frowned. “There’s no one-piece?”
Song Nanchuan looked at her in surprise. “What century is this that people still wear one-piece swimming suits?”
Pei Ying, “….”
Seriously?!
But Pei Ying decided she might as well go and put on the swimsuit that the rich and overbearing CEO Song had prepared. When she returned, Song Nanchuan had already changed into swim trunks and was resting on a beach chair. Pei Ying dilly dallied over and Song Nanchuan turned to look at her. He couldn’t help whistling. “Very fitting. It’s even sexier than when you’re not wearing anything.”
Pei Ying was fuming. “…So that was your motive! Sex maniac!”
Song Nanchuan stood up and generously said, “Aren’t I letting you see as well?”
…Who wants to look at you?!
Pei Ying could only ridicule herself though. Her eyes couldn’t help glancing over at Song Nanchuan’s abs. When he noticed, Song Nanchuan laughed. “Satisfied with what you see?”
Pei Ying, “….”
Tell the truth, CEO Song. Did you go overboard with your cramming and read too many CEO novels?
Song Nanchuan had her do some warm-up exercises before letting her into the water. When Pei Ying heard that they were heading into the pool, she couldn’t help feeling a bit faint. She stood at the edge of the pool and said to Song Nanchuan, “When I was a child and learning to swim, I nearly drowned. Ever since then, I haven’t wanted to go into water.”
Song Nanchuan pat her on the back. With a gentle tone, he said, “It’s okay, we’ll go to the shallow area of the pool. The water there is only 1.5m deep. If you stand up straight, it will only be at your shoulders.”
“Okay.” Pei Ying followed him to the shallow end of the pool and carefully stepped into the water. Song Nanchuan kept holding her hands as he pulled her forward. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be right here. I won’t let you sink in.”
“Mm…”
“Everyone has a natural buoyancy. Try to float on top of the water.” Song Nanchuan pulled her forward a few more steps and let Pei Ying slowly float on the surface of the water.
Just as her feet left the bottom of the pool, Pei Ying started to panic. She could feel the residual fear of drowning within her body, and the moment that her face touched the water, that fear swept over her. Song Nanchuan saw her panicking and quickly went to hold onto her.
“What’s wrong?”He held her waist to stop her from falling. Pei Ying let out several breaths and held onto his shoulders. “I can’t. I’m too scared. I decided I’m never going to vacation at the seaside.”
Song Nanchuan chuckled and gently pat her back. “It’s okay. Did you suddenly think about almost drowning before?”
“Mm. When the water rolled over me, I got scared.”
Song Nanchuan comforted her a bit and then asked, “What happened back then? Who was teaching you how to swim?”
“My brother…” Pei Ying’s brow twist. “I didn’t know how to swim, and there was no one to teach me either. One summer, after I started junior high, my brother called me out to go swimming. I used to always wear a swimming ring, but he took it away from me. He said it was a disgrace that a junior high student still used a swimming ring… So he said he would teach me how to swim. But then my foot started cramping. He couldn’t pull me out of the water, so in the end, an adult had to come to save me.”
Back then, Pei Ying had really thought that she was going to drown to her death. By the time she got back onto land, her whole body was shaking. When her parents found out about it after they got home, they didn’t say anything to her brother. Instead, they educated her, and she never tried to swim again after that.
“Your brother was too foolish. He only knew a bit himself. How did he dare to teach someone else how to swim?” Song Nanchuan already didn’t have a good impression of Pei Ying’s brother because of how biased her parents were. This knowledge only added onto his poor opinion of him.
Pei Ying didn’t say anything. Song Nanchuan looked at her and said, “If you’re this scared of water, you definitely won’t be able to properly learn to swim. How about this. Why don’t you first get used to being immersed in water, and then you won’t be so scared anymore.”
“Immersed in water?” Pei Ying didn’t quite understand.
Song Nanchuan explained, “You crouch under so that you’re completely under water. Stay under for as long as you can hold your breath.”
“…It still sounds kind of scary.”
Song Nanchuan couldn’t help laughing at her bunny-like eyes. He pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be here holding your hand. I promise I won’t let go.”
“Oh… Will you go under water with me too?”
“Mm.”
Pei Ying considered it for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll give it a try.”
Song Nanchuan handed her a pair of goggles and then put on a pair himself. He held onto Pei Ying’s hand and smiled at her. “Are you ready?”
“Mm.” Pei Ying nodded.
“I’ll count to three and then we’ll go under.”
“Okay.”
“One, two, three.” After he finished counting, Song Nanchuan and Pei Ying both submerged themselves into the water.
Being completely surrounded in water caused Pei Ying’s fear to start swelling up. As if sensing her emotions, Song Nanchuan pressed on her hands slightly, locking his fingers with hers.
Pei Ying subconsciously looked toward him, and his lips raised into a smile. He moved closer to her and then pressed his lips to hers.
It was the first time in Pei Ying’s life that she kissed someone underwater. The feeling was amazing, as if they were each other’s breath, a necessity that they sought out from the other. It felt as romantic as a fairytale.
Caught up in Song Nanchuan’s kiss, Pei Ying had long forgotten her fear of the water; it had already floated on past the clouds. As their lungs started to run out of air, Song Nanchuan pulled them both out of the water.
Once she broke the surface of the water, Pei Ying violently gasped for air. Song Nanchuan pulled off his goggles and wrapped his arms around her waist. As they waded towards the pool’s edge, he asked, “How do you feel? Isn’t it more refreshing than kissing above the water?”
Pei Ying still hadn’t recovered fully, but she still did her best to roll her eyes.
Song Nanchuan laughed and then gave her another kiss. He looked at her and said, “From now on, your memories of water won’t be of drowning but of our kiss just now.”
Although Pei Ying didn’t want to admit it, she was a bit touched by his words. It must have been because her brain was still lacking oxygen.
Song Nanchuan moved close to her and then hinted, “What do you think it would feel like to do it under the water?”
“……You really are a sex maniac!” Even though she still hadn’t come back to her senses entirely, she couldn’t stop herself from shouting at him.
“It may look that way to you, I guess.” Song Nanchuan spoke very nobly, “We’ll stop the lesson here today. Let’s go back inside, hm?”
“No!”
“Then you want to do it here?”
“…Can you think about anything else ever?!”
Song Nanchuan felt wronged. “You said you were really tired two days ago, so I held myself back. It wasn’t easy to get a day off like this. You’re still refusing to acknowledge your promise? Holding yourself back for too long is bad for your body.”
Pei Ying, “….”
Pei Ying knew it! Song Nanchuan wanting to teach her how to swim couldn’t have been out of the goodness of his heart!