Yan was speechless. Throw her overboard? I don’t dare to do that. What if Lin Qin’er doesn’t know how to swim? Then I’ll have to go into the water to save her. The problem is… I can’t swim either. If I don’t jump into the water to save her and she drowns, then I will carry the sin of murder on my back.
This was a crime that she, Zhou Xiaoyan, could not afford to bear. Besides, she wanted to extend her hand to help others, not harm them. Even if Lin Qin’er had other intentions in mind, she had no wish to get her revenge. At most, she would settle all the past transgressions Lin Qin’er had done to her, then cut off all contact with the woman in question.
“You can tell from a glance that that woman is not young. Moreover, her eyes looked a little psychotic. I saw how she looked when she was leaving; it looked like she wanted to kill you. You and your husband better take care in the future.”
“True; watch over your husband well. No matter how sickening a woman is, they are all attractive to men. So, you must watch your husband well.”
Surrounded by the crowd as they gave her advice, she felt extremely embarrassed and could only smile at them. “Thank you, everyone; I understand.”
Later, the crowd gradually dispersed. Even so, Yan was too embarrassed to return to Han Qing’s side. Just now… she had lied—she and Han Qing were not married yet. Forget about marriage, it had not been that long since they started dating. But, what happened? Not only did she fake her identity as Mrs. Han, but she also lied and put on an act in her efforts to go against Lin Qin’er. Han Qing… Will he think that I am a scheming woman who uses underhanded methods?
Hence, she was fully regretting her actions now; she should not have done that. While she was feeling conflicted over it, a clear gaze fell on her.
“Are you not coming over? How long do you plan on standing there? Once the boat starts to move, you will be unsteady on your feet.” The light voice floated into her ears. In response, she couldn’t help blushing and lowering her head; she slowly made her way toward Han Qing.
Han Qing had saved a seat for her on the inner side, facing the sea. However, Yan did not dare cross over to the seat. Instead, she sat on a seat toward the aisle. However, before her butt touched the chair, he grabbed her with both hands and pulled her onto his lap.
“Ah—” She was so surprised, she nearly let out a shriek. Fortunately, she managed to stop her voice from coming out. Then, she widened her eyes and stared at him in shock. “L-Let go of me.”
After all, they were currently in a public place. For her to sit on his lap like this was bad for their public image. Be that as it may, he didn’t seem bothered by it and only said, “I saved a seat for you. Why aren’t you sitting here?”
“Ugh…” She shook her head and bit on her lower lip. “I don’t feel like sitting there anymore.” While she was talking, she struggled and tried to get off his lap. For some reason, his arms wrapped around her waist tightly—like an iron chain firmly locking her in place. Furthermore, he slowly moved his face closer to hers.
“Mrs. Han, why are you acting so nervous?” The deep, hoarse voice rumbled out of his thin lips; the heat from his breath mingled with hers. He pulled her chin in and held her tightly in his arms. When she heard how he addressed her, her mind went blank with a roaring sound.
After a moment, she turned her pitiful eyes upon him and whispered in a barely audible voice, “I didn’t mean to…” If Lin Qin’er had not mentioned that we weren’t married and tore apart our pretense on the spot, I would not have jumped out to stop her. For him to mention this incident, is he bothered by it after all? Does he think that I am a conniving woman? Will he hate me for it?
As the thoughts flashed through her mind, the expression on her face became wrought with anxiety. Reaching out, he tapped her nose. “Of course, I know it wasn’t unintentional.”
Her breathing paused. “What?”
“You did it on purpose.”
She denied, “No, I really didn’t…”
“Why are you so tense?” Han Qing tidied up her hair and her clothes for her; his voice was as light as ever. “You can say whatever you want; I won’t blame you for it.”
Hearing that, Yan was stunned. Then, she stared at him blankly. “You really won’t blame me for it?”
He smiled at her.
“Then… do you think that I am very devious for doing that? I mean… I chased Lin Qin’er off the boat.” Although the result was due to mass condemnation, it all began with her words. If she had not stood up and said those words, the crowd might not have held such harsh opinions toward Lin Qin’er.
However, he reached out and rubbed her head instead when he heard those words. Then, he said in an indulgent tone of voice, “Isn’t that a good thing? It shows that my young lady has grown up. At least now, she knows what methods to use when dealing with people like that.”
She was shocked speechless. Goodness! To think this was what he was thinking! His response was simply unexpected—she was sure that he would find her especially deceitful. After all, men seemed to hate women who were good at playing mind games. Contrary to her expectations, he dotingly patted her on her head as he claimed that she had grown up. How smooth! What a tease!
Sob, sob… She couldn’t help reaching out and grabbing the collar of his shirt and gazing at him in awe. “Do you really think that way?”
“How else should I think? Do you not trust me?”
Yan chewed on her lower lip, then she leaned closer to him while blushing hard. “I’m very touched, and a bit…” Although they were in a public area right now, a strong urge popped into her head suddenly when she heard those words. She wanted to kiss him; not only that, she wanted to kiss him hard and deeply. However, there were simply too many people surrounding them right now… She was too shy to kiss him.
“A bit what?” Han Qing was unaware of what was going through the young lady’s mind. He simply thought that she wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring herself to say it, so he asked her in a low voice.
She mulled over it for a bit, then blinked her eyes. All of a sudden, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. I didn’t kiss him on the mouth; just his cheek. So, this isn’t considered a public display of affection, right?
Utterly stunned, he gazed at her in astonishment. The young lady’s kiss had caught him totally unaware. When he pulled her into his lap just now, she had been so shy that she had tried to push him away; her face was flushing beet-red. Who could have expected her to be so bold as to kiss him suddenly?
While he was still in a daze from the shock, she had already gotten up and moved over into the seat on the inside. Then, she lowered her head and focused on putting on her life jacket and buckling in her safety belt. She carried out her actions seriously as if nothing had happened a moment ago. Only the slight trembling of her eyelashes gave her away.
After sneaking a kiss, she had wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. Even so, she was unable to completely control the nervousness she felt inside. The careless little actions of hers that revealed her inner emotions were so endearing that Han Qing couldn’t help but feel attracted. He was tempted to pull her toward him, grab her chin, and show her how a kiss should work. However, he gave up on the idea after considering their immediate surroundings.
On the other hand, Yan seemed unbelievably calm on the surface, but her heart was jumping all over the place. When she tried to buckle her safety belt, it took her a few tries before she succeeded. After she was done, she noticed that her hands were still trembling slightly. But… the feeling of sneaking a kiss is pretty good.
