How to Face Him Now

Splashing and small giggles could be heard from a distance. Yu Mei was sitting on the edge of a random pool in only her outer robe. Her hands were placed on a man's shoulder. His back to her. His shoulders were tan, broad and muscular. Enough to make her heart beat. Strange, truly strange that she found the man attractive. This was the first time in her life that she was captivated by such a sight.

The man on the other hand was sitting in the pool completely submerged to the waist. He sat still as he allowed Yu Mei to gently massage his shoulders. She could only see his back. But that was enough for her to decide that he was definitely her type. She was falling in love just by looking at him.

"Young master, can you turn around so I can see your face?" She coquettishly asked while giggling.

"Do you really want to see my face?" The man spoke deeply.

She nodded.

When he turned around, she screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO~"

Then she woke up. She found herself screaming NO in real life. Her dream just now felt too real. A shiver went down her spine.

"Why is it you? Why why why!" She complained.

Then she looked at the window. It was already morning.

Wanting to forget her dream, she quickly got dressed and opened the door. The moment she opened the door, he was there.

Without a second thought, she slammed the door shut. She leaned her back to the door and breathed in and out a few times. "Yu Mei, why are you still dreaming? His highness surely isn't here."

After telling herself that her eyes were playing tricks on her, she opened the door again.

He was still there.

She bit her bottom lip.

"Are you real? Or is this my imagination?" She quietly asked, slowly reaching to poke his chest with her finger.

He allowed her to poke his chest.

[You're real.] She wished it was not true.

"What are you playing at so early in the morning?" He knocked the side of her head softly. "Forget it. This must be you wanting breakfast. Let's go."

"Where's my shifu?" She looked to the right and then the left. He was nowhere in sight.

"He went out this morning. Said he won't be back until late. I was told to make sure you don't get in trouble." He leaned forward and squint his eyes at her. "Looks like your shifu knows you quite well. Well enough to know you need a guardian to watch over you."

Her face started to become flushed. Without a heads up, she rushed downstairs for breakfast.

It was still early. They were the only ones down for breakfast.

Pei Nan stared at her. Something was wrong. She was not eating like usual. Her head was down and she was nibbling on the rice noodles in front of her.Still on that same strand of noodle minutes later.

[Stop looking at me!] Yu Mei secretly complained. Her face was already flushed and if she looked up, he would know she was blushing.

"What's wrong?" He suddenly asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head, avoiding his suspicions.

Still thinking that she was mad at him, he didn't think much of her suspicious actions. Instead he grabbed more noodles and put it into her bowl. "Eat some more. After breakfast, we'll do some sightseeing. Whatever you want to do, we'll do."

Usually she would be happy but not today. She didn't want to spend the day with him. She looked up at him. A foolproof plan in action.

Seeing how red her face was, Pei Nan became concerned. He rushed over to her side and placed the back of his hand to her forehead. His sudden action shocked Yu Mei. She had no idea he could move so fast. Well...at least faster than she could dodge.

Then her eyes went to his shoulders and that image of her touching his shoulders came to her again. [Darn it Yu Mei. Why in the world did you have to dream about him.] She scolded herself.

"Why are you burning up?" He asked. "Are you sick?"

*Hack* *kakaka* Yu Mei went into a crazy cough. Then she pitifully looked at him. "I think I'm sick."

"This won't do. I'll call the doctor." She held onto his sleeve for dear life. She would be exposed if the doctor said otherwise. "I'll be fine after a nice rest. And you know I don't like doctors."

In the end he could only agree to her request.

After helping her settle in bed, he pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. "Get some sleep. I'll check up on you in a little bit." Then he bent forward and softly left a peck on her forehead. This didn't help either. It only made her even more flustered.

"I'm sorry I can't go sightseeing with your highness today. I really truly regret it." She emphasized.

"It doesn't matter. Your health is more important. Besides, we'll have many more days in the future to come out and play."

"En." She nodded. [Days my butt.] She sarcastically thought as she watched him leave. Once the door closed, she threw the blanket off and sat up. With both her palms on her cheeks, she pouted her lips.

"Yu Mei you fool! What are you going to do if he finds out you had a dream about him?" Then she plopped back on the bed. "I'll never be able to show my face ever again."

She hit the board of the bed a few times. "Maybe I'll forget this whole thing happened when I wake up." With much optimism, she fell fast asleep.