Don't move. Come a little closer to me

Li Shu felt that Pei Song'an was a little too obsessive and sensitive in certain respects. The very night they met, Li Shu had clearly said that he would no longer harbor any unnecessary, inappropriate feelings for Chen Yannan.

Yet Pei Song'an simply wouldn't let it go, turning especially sharp whenever Chen Yannan was involved.

Was Pei Song'an worried that, because of his childhood ties with the Chen family, Li Shu would turn around and stab Young Master Pei in the back?

The feeling of not being trusted infuriated Li Shu. Just as he was wondering whether to charge over and give Pei Song'an a couple of solid punches, the system, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

[Beep-]

[Plot trigger detected. Loading-]

[The atmosphere at the pool party reached its peak along with the heavy metal music. The men and women, high on the fun, chased one another around. A few boys at the front accidentally collided with Pei Song'an while dodging the water guns of the girls behind them.]

[With a splash, the crown prince fell into the water.]

[The boys panicked a little. They wanted to jump in, but worried about embarrassing the crown prince. After all, how could someone from Hong Kong City's Pei family possibly not know how to swim?]

[But after two seconds, Pei Song'an still hadn't surfaced. Instead, the splashing on the calm pool grew increasingly violent. Soon, Zheng Linchuan, the bodyguard who accompanied Pei Song'an, jumped in to rescue him.]

The plot stopped abruptly.

They had just finished arguing, and Li Shu's brain still wasn't quite up to speed. He asked the system, "So Pei Song'an can't fall into the water?"

The system helpfully provided an explanation: [Hong Kong City's crown prince cannot let anyone discover his weaknesses. Even a tiny opening can be blown out of proportion by those with ulterior motives. A butterfly flaps its wings, and who knows which shortcoming might become the key to affecting the future.]

Li Shu understood at once.

What he hadn't expected was that he would launch himself forward so fast that, once he reached the pool, he couldn't stop. With a couple of yelps, he plunged headfirst into the water.

"Glug, glug-"

Watching Li Shu fall in, Pei Song'an didn't even have time for his mind to go blank. He immediately considered what to do if Li Shu couldn't swim.

He couldn't swim himself. Jumping in like this would only make it a two-for-one deal. The best solution was to have Zheng Linchuan pull him out immediately.

He couldn't call for help. That would expose his weakness just the same.

Yet although he understood all of this rationally, Pei Song'an still walked uncontrollably toward the pool.

They had clearly just argued, yet it seemed that, the moment his radar activated, Li Shu had still chosen to protect him first. It was an exceedingly unfamiliar feeling for Pei Song'an.

In that instant, his unruly emotions inexplicably made him want to step forward and grab the person in the pool.

As though, if he failed to catch him, Li Shu would disappear into the night along with the flowing water and the restless music.

Splash-

Li Shu emerged from the water and shook his head, spraying Pei Song'an with droplets.

His dazzlingly fair neck was exposed to the air. Using his amateurish swimming skills, he reached the edge closest to Pei Song'an. Water rolled off his finely shaped nose, and he carelessly wiped his face, baring his teeth in a grin at the man:

"Hahaha, see that, Pei Song'an? I'm not a useless dummy. I can doggy-paddle!"

"The water only looks deep. I can actually touch the bottom with my feet."

Pei Song'an knelt on one knee, closing the distance between them as much as possible. His burning palm clasped Li Shu's wet nape, hot enough to evaporate the water on that patch of skin.

He swept the loose hair off Li Shu's forehead and back over his head. His smooth forehead, his jet-black hair-everything set off the handsome, endearing face beneath.

"Hey, what are you doing? Grabbing a dog?"

Pei Song'an said, "Don't move. Come a little closer to me."

"Okay, okay, okay. You really are a spoiled young master."

Li Shu had long since forgotten their little spat. So he didn't trust him. Whatever. How many days had they even known each other?

Pei Song'an had already turned a blind eye to his danger-sensing radar. There weren't many good people left who wouldn't immediately send him to a research institute for dissection!

Li Shu's clothes were soaked. The thin fabric clung to him, laying bare the contours of his shoulder blades and back. Perhaps it was the hormones at work, but Pei Song'an felt there was something erotic about Li Shu's exposed flesh.

His gaze licked over it along with the light, and even his heart swelled.

A few girls trailing at the back of the group of rich kids who had bumped into them accidentally caught sight of the scene and sucked in a breath.

Li Shu braced himself up, and the large hand on his neck wandered down his spine to the small of his back.

Pei Song'an watched as Li Shu's tongue licked the water from the peak of his upper lip, leaving only a faint, moist sheen. He couldn't hold back a soft gasp.

Still floundering in the water, Li Shu heard that sound, and half his body instantly went numb.

Mostly, Pei Song'an's voice was far too smoldering. Somehow, even though Li Shu was the one who had fallen into the water, the crown prince was the one with the hoarse voice. His breathing sounded like some large animal about to feed.

Hearing it, Li Shu instinctively felt that Pei Song'an would # him right here.

"..."

No, no, no. Water really had gotten into his brain.

What was he thinking?!

Li Shu, you really were that desperate!

At that moment, even the surrounding clamor seemed to quiet considerably.

To everyone else, although Pei Song'an was half-kneeling on the ground with one knee bent, there was something distinctly submissive about him, as though he had bowed for the boy in the pool. The contrast of someone powerful willingly kneeling was impossible for these boys and girls, whose romantic feelings had only recently begun to stir, not to scream over.

Even if no one actually dared to cry out, looks, stares, and even cameras were already coming at them like they cost nothing.

A little nervous and embarrassed, Li Shu scratched the back of Pei Song'an's hand and tried to negotiate. "That's enough, right, man? I only fell into a pool, not a vat of boiling oil. What's all this for?"

Pei Song'an's briefly wandering awareness returned. The next second, he pulled Li Shu out of the water, then lowered his head of his own accord and said, "Sorry."

Li Shu felt the temperature of his back, where Pei Song'an had touched him, rise rapidly. He shivered. "What are you apologizing for? Thank heavens you didn't fall in."

Pei Song'an led him to the changing room. Only after Li Shu had changed into dry clothes did he ask, "Protecting me?"

Those words carried some weight. If Li Shu admitted it, that would mean he knew Pei Song'an couldn't swim. But the logic didn't hold, because someone with Li Shu's background had no way of accessing information on that level.

Unfortunately, none of this occurred to Li Shu.

He only felt that Pei Song'an's voice scraped over his skin and throat like a little knife, leaving him uncomfortable all over.

"It was an emergency. All I could think of was knocking you out of the way. Did I hurt you?"

Pei Song'an looked at him and suddenly smiled. "No. I'm fine."

Cheng Zhen had gone off somewhere to have fun, so Li Shu could only send him a message saying he was heading back to the dorm first.

When Pei Song'an dropped him off at the campus gates, he casually handed over his phone. "Let's exchange contact details."

Li Shu said, "Oh, okay. What for?"

"You fell into the water because of me. Call me if you get sick. I have to take responsibility for you." Even after they added each other, Pei Song'an still seemed uneasy. He tapped the phone screen like a teacher marking out the key topics for a final exam. "Don't call Chen Yannan."

Li Shu: ???

Are you all right?

Hehehe, don't rush. Right now, our little Shu is still a handsome, adorable blockhead~!

This chapter marks a small turning point in Daddy Pei's feelings for little Shu, so I wrote just a tiny bit more about the fall into the water.