When Meng Shuyao woke, her head was still swollen with a dull ache, and her whole body felt weak.
She sat up in bed and looked around in confusion.
Her thoughts slowly returned.
Last night, she had drunk half a bottle of wine and gotten so drunk she was muddleheaded. In front of Pei Yuzhou, she had cried and made a scene, and later even clung to him, refusing to let him leave.
Getting drunk wasn’t frightening. What was frightening was being able to remember everything she had done while drunk.
“Meng Shuyao, let go.” The man’s voice was cold and low.
It was the first time she had heard Pei Yuzhou call her by her full name, and her heart gave a timid jolt. “Why are you being so fierce?”
The air froze for a moment. Then she whispered, “Add me as a contact and I’ll let go, okay?”
Pei Yuzhou’s brows creased slightly, and he relented. “Your phone.”
The corners of Meng Shuyao’s lips lifted. She immediately reached into her pocket, only to come up empty. “My phone’s gone…”
“It should be at the restaurant. I’ll have someone send it over tomorrow.”
“But… will you still keep your word tomorrow?”
He answered with a patient “Mm.”
“Then fine.” Meng Shuyao finally let go of his hand. “Goodbye, Mr. Pei.”
The memory peeled away.
She fell back onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.
So she was actually this difficult when she got drunk? It was a blessing Pei Yuzhou hadn’t thrown her out.
After dawdling in bed for another ten minutes, Meng Shuyao finally got up to wash up, shower, and change clothes.
By the time she finished tidying up, it was already ten in the morning.
Last night, she had only drunk and barely eaten a few bites. Now she was starving.
She used the villa’s landline to call for room service.
About half an hour later, a staff member knocked on the door and brought her phone along with the food.
Meng Shuyao hurriedly thanked them.
After finishing brunch, she took her phone and went out.
The staff member had said that Mr. Pei was staying in the villa next door.
Only a few steps away.
She walked to the door and raised her hand to press the doorbell.
Mark opened the door. “Miss Meng, is something the matter?”
Meng Shuyao asked, “Is Mr. Pei busy?”
Mark said, “He’s upstairs handling work. Would you like to come in and wait?”
“Okay.” Meng Shuyao entered and sat quietly on the sofa in the living room.
Mark poured her a glass of water.
Meng Shuyao accepted it with both hands. “Thank you.”
She suddenly thought of what had happened last night. “Um, I have a question I want to ask you.”
Mark nodded. “Go ahead, Miss Meng.”
Meng Shuyao lowered her voice. “Who was the girl who had dinner with Mr. Pei yesterday?”
Mark said, “The younger sister of a business partner.”
Meng Shuyao was puzzled. Why would a business partner’s younger sister have dinner alone with him?
Before she could ask further, footsteps sounded from the stairway.
Her gaze shifted toward the sound.
Beneath long, straight suit trousers were a pair of firm, powerful legs. His top was more casual, made of finely cut high-count fabric that outlined his superior figure.
His posture was languid, yet it did not diminish his noble air in the slightest.
Meng Shuyao stood up and called, “Mr. Pei.”
Pei Yuzhou’s gaze swept over her. He walked closer and sat down on the sofa opposite her, his long legs casually crossed. “Sober now?”
“Mm.” Meng Shuyao looked slightly embarrassed. “I came to apologize. I was drunk last night. Everything I did was unintentional, so please don’t hold it against me.”
After a pause, she weakly added, “But what you promised me still has to count.”
Pei Yuzhou raised an eyebrow, a soft scoff rolling from his throat. “You remember everything, don’t you?”
Meng Shuyao said nothing.
She didn’t want to remember either. It was too embarrassing.
But thinking on the bright side, if she could add his contact information, then this humiliation wouldn’t have been for nothing.
Pei Yuzhou glanced at Mark. “Give her the number.”
Mark nodded. “Miss Meng, I’ve sent it to you.”
Meng Shuyao lowered her head to look at her phone and immediately saved it, adding his name as the note.
Pei Yuzhou picked up the financial daily beside him and spoke indifferently. “Anything else?”
Meng Shuyao lifted her eyes and thought for a moment. “Are you still busy this afternoon?”
She turned to look out the window. “The weather outside is so nice. Aren’t you going out for a walk?”
“You can go.” Pei Yuzhou found her noisy and got up to head to the dining room.
Meng Shuyao chased after him. “But I want to go with you.”
Pei Yuzhou walked to the coffee machine and pressed the switch to preheat it.
The young woman chattered beside him.
“Shall we go boating on the lake?”
“Oh, no, we can’t. There are anacondas. We can’t go.”
“Ah, wait, that’s not right. Anacondas live in South America. How could there be any here?”
“Mr. Pei, you were scaring me.”
Pei Yuzhou glanced sideways at her, his voice slightly heavier. “Be quiet.”
Meng Shuyao shut her mouth resentfully. Before a few seconds had passed, she asked again, “Then are we going or not?”
Pei Yuzhou had no doubt that he had found trouble for himself.
-
At four in the afternoon, half the sun was hidden behind the clouds. Both the light and temperature were just right.
The lake surface glittered, ripples spreading across it.
Trees surrounded the area, with birdsong drifting over from time to time and branches and leaves rustling softly.
A wooden boat was moored by the shore, its lines smooth and its grain exquisite.
The staff prepared tea and refreshments and delivered them onto the boat. After everything was arranged, they said, “Sir, miss, you may board now.”
Meng Shuyao lifted the hem of her skirt and carefully stepped onto the stern. “Is this boat safe? It won’t capsize, right?”
The staff member smiled and said, “Please rest assured. It’s absolutely safe, and there are lifeguards patrolling nearby.”
Meng Shuyao felt slightly more at ease.
She had only taken two steps when the boat suddenly rocked. Losing her balance, she fell backward, a cry of alarm spilling from her lips.
Just as she nearly thought she was going to fall, a hand firmly supported her waist in time.
The arm was strong and powerful, holding her effortlessly.
“Stand steady.” Pei Yuzhou withdrew his hand and entered the cabin to sit down.
The cold fir scent lingering at the tip of her nose moved away.
Meng Shuyao took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat. “That scared me to death.”
Pei Yuzhou picked up the teapot and brewed tea. “You dare to street race, but you’re afraid of sitting in a boat?”
Meng Shuyao held the railing beside her and bent at the waist as she sat opposite him. “That’s different.”
Once the two of them were seated, the boatman rowed away from the shore.
Layers of ripples spread across the water.
The space inside the cabin was not large, with a square mahogany table between them.
The fragrance of tea drifted out in wisps.
Pei Yuzhou sat with his legs spread, his long, well-defined fingers pinching a teacup as he brought it to his lips and took a sip.
Meng Shuyao propped her cheek with her left hand and used her right to pick up a palmier, stuffing it into her mouth. She sighed inwardly—what a grievance for his long legs.
After swallowing the dessert in her mouth, she asked tentatively, “Mr. Pei, that girl yesterday… does she like you?”
Pei Yuzhou’s eyes were calm. “Whether she likes me or not, what does that have to do with me?”
Meng Shuyao refuted, “How does it have nothing to do with you? You even had dinner with her alone.”
Who knew whether he was giving other people chances too?
Pei Yuzhou’s brow lifted slightly. “So? You want to say I’m a scumbag?”
Meng Shuyao hurriedly denied it. “I didn’t.”
When she wasn’t drunk, she didn’t dare say such a thing.
“What I said last night was drunken nonsense. Don’t take it seriously.”
“It wasn’t alone,” he corrected.
“Mm?” Meng Shuyao took a moment to react.
Not dinner alone—meaning there had been other people.
All right, it seemed she had misunderstood.
A soft splash sounded by her ear.
Meng Shuyao poked her head out the window and saw a fish leap out of the water, splashing up droplets.
Several fish were gathered by the boat, swishing their tails.
“So many fish. I’ll feed them a little.”
She picked up a packet of fish food from the table, opened it, and generously scattered a handful.
The little fish instantly gathered together, opening their mouths to swallow the food, their gills puffing in and out.
These fish were fed every day by dedicated staff.
Pei Yuzhou spoke unhurriedly. “Are you trying to stuff these fish to death so we can have a whole-fish banquet tonight?”
“…”