Eating in bed was like paradise for Yu Mei.
Early in the morning, Chu'mei had placed a small table in front of her as food was placed one by one on the table. Yu Mei got in two bites before Pei Nan arrived. When she saw him, she quickly shoved as much food as she could in her mouth. If he was here, that meant trouble. Trouble meant no food. And she was right.
Pei Nan shook his head disapprovingly when he saw all the greasy food on the table. "Chu'mei, take away the food." Pei Nan demanded. Hearing his low commanding voice, Chu'mei could not say no. Only a female tiger like Yu Mei could go against the fierce tiger in front of her. A rabbit like Chu'mei was no match for his powers.
Yu Mei on the other hand looked at him disapprovingly. Too bad she had too much food in her mouth or else she would have refuted. Like habit, Yu Mei reached to grab a piece of braised rib. *Ahem* Yu Mei cursed Pei Nan as she set her hand down and watched as Chu'mei took the dishes away. Slowly it was replaced by a bowl of rice porridge in front of her.
Yu Mei quickly chewed and swallowed. "Your highness, surely you aren't here to bully me, right?" she gave him a suspicious look. Pei Nan ignored her ridiculous accusation as he continued to open the lid to the bowl of porridge. "It is not good for sick people to eat greasy food. Aren't you afraid you might become fat?" she didn't know if he was being serious or not. He almost sounded annoyed. He didn't like big girls? An idea popped up in her head. Maybe she should just gain more weight and become chubby. Would he detest her?
"But I'm not sick. I only have a sprained ankle." She pointed to her leg. Pei Nan tried hard not to pick on a sick person. "Forget it, I won't argue with you today."
"Then why are you here?"
Pei Nan couldn't help but stare at the clueless woman in front of him. Was that how she really viewed him? As someone who liked to pick on her? This time he tried even harder not to say anything mean to her. Best way was to ignore her question. Instead, he chose to slowly pick up the spoon on the table. Yu Mei watched as he scooped up a spoon of porridge. It slowly headed towards her mouth. "Open." He didn't sound very nice. This didn't make Yu Mei want to open up either. She only crossed her arms and stared at him like a kid. "Open up." He clenched his teeth.
"Don't want to. I'm not hungry."
Pei Nan was quick to anger. If she wasn't hungry, why did she reach out for that rib earlier. She was clearly doing this to spite him. It was a good thing she was sick, if not, he might have already yelled at her. Pei Nan gently set the spoon on the side of the bowl and leaned his body forward. The distance between them quickly closed in. There was no more than two inches separating their bodies. He faintly smiled at her. "Should I feed you mouth to mouth instead?" he playfully threatened her.
"Mmm…" she quickly shook her head no as her hands went up to cover her mouth. "Use the spoon." Her eyes pointed at the spoon.
"Really? I feel using my mouth would be better. Don't you think so?" LIke a great seducer, his eyes went down to her covered lips. "Should we try?" She quickly shook her head no.
"Are you crazy?" she mumbled through her hands.
"If you know I am crazy, don't test my patience." He stopped using his flirty voice as he warned her. Pei Nan once again scooped up a spoon of porridge for her. This time, Yu Mei obeyed.
Chu'mei and Ban Shi (Pei Nan's maid) were both standing at the side feeling embarrassed for their bosses. Chu'mei almost let out a happy squeal when Pei Nan teased Yu Mei. Thankfully she wasn't as reckless as her lady; she had enough brain to know to keep quiet. Ban Shi was probably the most mature of the two. Her expression never changed but her face had turned slightly pink when she saw the two "flirt".
Bite after bite, Yu Mei kept eating until the bowl was empty. It was probably the most awkward thirty minutes in her life. She could finally breathe again.
After breakfast, Chu'mei and Ban Shi took the dish and table away. The only two people left in the room were Yu Mei and Pei Nan. Yu Mei was waiting for him to leave but he didn't. "Your highness can go now." The uncomfortable Yu Mei tried to chase him away. This time, Pei Nan was not going to let her have her way. "Not going." Two simple but powerful words.
"Surely your highness is too busy to be spending time here. I don't want to waste your precious time."
[Chasing me away? Dream on it.] Pei Nan scoffed. "I told you already. No matter how busy I am, I will make time to visit you."
"Aren't you afraid you will hurt Consort Ning's feelings? I'm really okay. You can leave." Once again she tried to nicely chase him away. It was as if he didn't understand human language. "I'll leave after I apply medicine on your arm." Pei Nan pulled out a small medicine bottle from his sleeve. He looked at her as if he wanted a certain reaction from her. Yu Mei did not look moved nor appreciated his thoughtfulness.
[What are you playing at?] Yu Mei was not buying this nice attitude of his. There was surely something he wanted for sure. "Your highness can set it at the desk. I'll have Chu'mei help me apply later."
Pei Nan was tired of her chasing him away. He scooted closer to her and held onto her wrist. Next thing she knew, her arm was already pulled over to his side. "I'm already here. I will help apply for you before I leave." He didn't wait nor did he care if Yu Mei refused. He opened the lid and poured some of the powder into his hand. "Turn your arm." Yu Mei obeyed his orders. He was more stubborn than she ever imagined. Why fight with someone like him. She thought, when he finihses, he will leave on his own.
When Pei Nan saw the scratches on her arms, he couldn't help but scold her. "How can a woman be so careless? What were you doing up there so late at night anyways? Don't you know how dangerous it is?" he started a so called conversation as he gently spread the powder on her scratches.
"I couldn't sleep so I went on a walk." She causally lied. If it was one thing she was good at, it was lying.
"Take a lamp with you next time. Or ask me to accompany you." As he spoke, Yu Mei's eyes gradually fell on his face. This was the first time she had really looked at him. Most of the times she was with him, she was running for her dear life. His features were sharp and prominent. She never noticed how long his lashes were. She lost track of time. She didn't know how long she had been staring at him.
"Am I that handsome?" Pei Nan lightheartedly asked as he lifted his head to face hers. Yu Mei quickly looked away and cleared her throat. "What handsome? I wasn't looking at you. I was…I was…spacing out." Yu Mei stuttered. His laughter. She knew he didn't believe her.
"I'm going to court duty, I'll be back at dinner to feed you." Pei Nan stood up. He had just turned around when he felt her warm small hand wrap around his fingers. "Your highness doesn't need to bother about me. I'll have Chu'mei look after me. You don't have to come over in the evening." She was not being considerate but trying to avoid any more awkward meetings with him.
"You don't have to be considerate of me. I'll see you in the evening." Yu Mei let go of his hand. All her attempts had been useless. She thought she had been off the hook. She just avoided having to serve him but why did it feel like the next two weeks was going to be more painful than serving him.