The next day, Hou Lei had just arrived at Pei Nan's residence in a very very very good mood. He walked with his hands behind his back, smiling at everyone with a delightful smile. Which women would not fall for his boyish smile. Hou Lei had just gotten a raise and wanted to take Pei Nan out.
He made a sudden stop just a short distacne away from Pei Nan's study. In the corner of his eyes, he caught her, the very awkward Yu Mei hiding behind a tree not too far from Pei Nan's study. She had her hands placed on the tree trunk, popping her head out every so often like a stalker. Hou Lei didn't know what she wanted but when he saw her actions, he couldn't help but think, adorable. He decided, he would help her. He had his own selfish reasons too. Pei Nan has been giving him a hell of a time ever since Yu Mei stopped visiting him.
Inside the study, Pei Nan was sitting at his desk, one hand holding a government report while the other grasped the cup of tea in front of him. Hou Lei interrupted his concentration, "What did you do to sister in law?" a loud and teasing Hou Lei walked in. His mood now was much better than when he found out about his raise. This meant...more teasing.
Pei Nan arched his brow in question. Which sister in law?
"Who are you referring to?"
"The sister in law you are aching to see," Hou Lei had already started to tease.
"You better speak nicely or else you'll get it,"
"Look out the window and you'll see who I'm referring to," Hou Lei pointed towards the window. Pei Nan gave him a look as if he was being tricked. Hou Lei felt wronged and sighed as if hurt. "Don't believe me? Look for yourself, she's really out there," Pei Nan slowly strode over, peeped out the window. He was about to scold Hou Lei for lying to him when he saw Yu Mei's head pop out from behind the tree trunk. "Yu Mei?" he didn't know what to do with her anymore. A week later…she finally appeared in front of him but why like this?
At first Pei Nan was pleased but as he continued to watch her, she was acting odd, too odd. Hou Lei placed his hand on Pei Nan's shoulder, "Buddy, why don't I go get her for you. Who knows how long sister in law will stay there," Pei Nan didn't say anything, for once he was thankful his friend had common sense.
Hou Lei walked around, hoping to startle her. He walked behind her and almost lost his sanity. Even her actions from the back look silly. He quietly tiptoed next to her, maybe Yu Mei was too nervous because she didn't realize Hou Lei next to her. He had been standing there for a few minutes. "What are we looking at?" he softly whispered.
"Shhh…I'm trying to find a way to enter that room,"
"Then go in,"
"I can't…" Yu Mei turned around, startled. Seeing Hou Lei in front of her, she almost lost her balance. If it wasn't for the tree supporting her, she would have fallen on her bottom. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? Sister in law, shouldn't I be asking you that? If you want to see Pei Nan, go in. He's free, very free right now," she crossed her arms, "Who says I want to see him," no matter how hard she tried to deny it, it couldn't get pass the flirty Hou Lei. He bent his body forward, looking her dead straight in the eyes. "Sister in law, you can't lie to me. It's written all over your face, you want to see Pei Nan," he pointed his finger at her. "You're blushing," he laughed.
Yu Mei had enough of his cruel teasing. Her hand in a flash caught his finger. The next instance she went in, placed his finger in her mouth. *CHOMP* A cruel bite. "Arghhhhh," he let out a loud scream. Yu Mei released her deadly teeth and quickly ran off. "You're so cruel, sister in law!" even when he was in pain, he couldn't help but keep joking around. Hou Lei had to admit, this Yu Mei was very fun to play around with.
Pei Nan who was still looking out the window saw her coming from the distance. He immediately ran back to his desk, sat down and picked up the nearest report in one hand. The next moment, he held it with both hands and crossed his legs. Once again, he set the book on the table and pretended to read it like that. In the couple of minutes he had sat down, his position changed more than five times. Not quite sure how he should look when she appeared in front of him.
*Door slowly opens*
She was here. The flustered Pei Nan quickly picked up the report from the desk, holding it in one hand, putting it near his face. In the corner of his eyes, he saw her peeking in. Inch by inch, she made her way into his study. He still had his report in hand trying hard to ignore her, "Yu Mei, why are you here?" he spoke using the coolest tone he could find in his body
.
"I was taking a stroll and accidently walked to your studies," she also coolly spoke. Of course it was a lie and she had been caught already. "I won't disturb you from your walk then, carry on," he shooed her away. [Damn it, why are you being like this? I spent so much effort to get here, why are you chasing me away]
She stood there silent for a long time. Pei Nan put the report down and looked at her. "Is there something else?"
"I…I actually came to talk to you," she forced herself to say. If it wasn't for Mu Yi's benefit, she would never have walked to his estate on her own will. "Fine," he leaned back. "What do you want to talk about? I am all ears,"
"Your highness looks so tense, why don't I give you a quick massage first," she rushed over, took the small stairs up to his desk. In less than ten seconds, she had already stood behind him. "Okay," once again with a very cool voice, he agreed to her suggestion.
Yu Mei quickly put her hands on his shoulder. When she thought about it, there was no use trying to prolong the topic. The faster she could get it out in the open, the sooner she could leave. The moment he felt her hands touch his shoulders, he became frustrated once more. Not the frustration where one was annoyed but frustration as in a man's frustration. His eyes closed as if in a trance. Her hands skillfully massaged and squeezed his shoulders with just the right amount of pressure. "Your highness, why don't we invite Prince Mu Yan and Princess Mu Yi back to our residence before they head off," she suggested. His eyes opened, giving off a very annoyed expression. Bring back Mu Yan? No way in hell he would! Just recalling what Mu Yan said about Yu Mei, he scrunched his fist together tightly. After Yu Mei and Mu Yi left for a walk that day, Mu Yan had the audacity to call his woman cute. Back then, Pei Nan almost lost it. He had no intentions of bringing him back, or at least not in front of Yu Mei. "Who am I?" he asked sternly. She blinked a few times confused. "What is your highness playing at?"
"Who am I?" he once again repeated using the same tone.
"Prince Nan," no reply. "Your highness?" still no reply. She lifted her hand and curled it into a tight ball, ready to smack him in the head. Could he annoy her anymore? Thankfully it stopped half way, or else she would really be dead meat. "Your husband," he answered for her. So that was what he was trying to get at, but Yu Mei didn't know why he would say that. They were the furthest thing from husband and wife. "Yes, you are my very strict and stern husband," Yu Mei teased.
"If you know that I am very strict and stern, why are you trying to get on my nerves?" [How? What did I do?] Yu Mei had no idea what he was referring to. They were clearly not on the same page. "You actually dare to invite another man into your husband's house. Do you take me for a fool?" Yu Mei bit her lips, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. [Aish, you're so stupid. Why do I bother talking to you] was what Yu Mei wanted to say to him but instead she replied with, "Your highness is thinking too much. How can I think of having an affair with another man when I have such a handsome man in front of me," Pei Nan smiled satisfied. If he knew she didn't mean a single thing she just said to him, he would probably faint from rage. Why did she do that? Yu Mei was rational enough to know that if Pei Nan was in a foul mood, she wouldn't have the chance to bring up the topic of Mu Yi. She didn't know if her praising technique would work but seeing that he didn't say anything, she took it as a yes, it worked.
"I really only wanted to invite Princess Mu Yi back but it was only out of courtesy that I included Prince Mu Yan,"
"You really like Princess Mu Yi that much?" she nodded at his question. "I like her so much; I want to make her my sister. Mu Yi is beautiful and talented. In the future, if you marry her, there will be many advantages such as a pretty wife…"
"PAN YU MEI!" Yu Mei almost lost her balance when his chair scooted backwards, hitting her legs. She held her hands nervously as her gaze was met up with Pei Nan;s. She felt fear for the first time; he looked like a beast. His breathing was hard, and his face had a look of a crazy man. "Is that why you are here?" he took a step closer. "I am not an object you can give away to anyone just because you feel like it," one more step was taken. "If this is your reason for seeing me, LEAVE!" he roared at her, pointing at the door. Yu Mei didn't know why he was getting so angry. Shouldn't he be happy that she was okay with marrying another woman? After all, he has four wives; it must mean something…something along the line of, he needs more than one women to satisfy himself. Didn't guys like him like pretty women? Of course her case was different though; she had married him under the power of her father. But with his other three consorts, they were all beauties and so Yu Mei misjudged his character...selfish.
Yu Mei was left utterly speechless. What was he getting so worked up for. All she did was help him. "Why are you getting mad at me? Weren't you acting very lovingly towards me yesterday to get Mu Yi jealous? She likes you too, so why don't you just ask her hand in marriage," Yu Mei yelled back. This was the second time she had raised her voice at him. "You dare raise your voice at me," his hands reached out, grabbed her shoulders and spun her. Yu Mei's back met with the desk. Once again, she was trapped between Pei Nan's arms. His body had advance forward before Yu Mei could react. Their noses almost touched. They were so close she could hear his heartbeat. Pei Nan on the other hand regretted his actions. He smelt it again, the smell of orange jasmine on her was addicting.
"My personal affairs are up to me to decide, not you," Yu Mei hated when he was like this. Whenever he acted like this, it was never good for her. And she was not going to let anything happen to her again. All of sudden, his head slowly advanced forward. *BANG* Yu Mei swung her forehead directly at his, making the loudest bang. For a moment, she was amazed this tiny body of hers had so much energy.
Her attack sent him backwards a few steps. Now was her chance, she used this chance to run off. By the time he came to his sense, she was already half way out the door. Yu Mei never stopped running. [Ju Ming…you are in so much trouble. Things weren't supposed to turn out this way…]