CH 5

At this point, Zhou Cheng was originally supposed to take them to the lake, but as Xue Liang wanted to bandage the squirrel, he asked them to go ahead and he would follow later. Cheng Shan said that her dog had bitten the squirrel and wanted to stay to help. Yan Chong didn't give anyone a chance to speak and grabbed Xue Liang's elbow, pulling him towards the villa.

"Hey..." Cheng Shan wanted to chase after them, but her elder sister pulled her back and held her in place, her face smiling with clenched teeth as she said lowly: "It's someone else's, don't be so presumptuous."

Yan Chong left with his assistant, leaving the two executives behind. Zhou Cheng was green with envy, holding his fiancee's hand, feeling depressed. President Song chuckled like a Maitreya Buddha, saying, "Young people."

Han Bowen's face was a bit twisted and he couldn't help but say: "How can President Yan be with this kind of person..."

President Song heard this and turned his head to glance at him lightly. Han Bowen immediately shut his mouth, and Zhou Cheng saw that the atmosphere was becoming more and more awkward, so he hurriedly stood up to break the tension: "In that case, we don't have to just stand here, let's go take a boat and look at the scenery, let them figure it out themselves, I'll have someone come pick them up later. Shall we go?"

On the other side, in the villa room, Xue Liang held the squirrel in his hands, and Yan Chong carefully used cotton swabs to clean its wounds. The squirrel probably knew that the two of them were trying to save it, and it stopped squeaking and scratching and quietly lay in Xue Liang's palm, its big tail swaying in his fingertips.

Xue Liang smiled: "So obedient...oh, it itches."

Yan Chong raised his eyebrows and looked at him, "Do you like it? Want to take it home and keep it?"

"No," Xue Liang said, "It was living freely and unrestrained in the mountains, if I save its life and it becomes obligated to me for life, what would that make it?"

As if by divine intervention, Yan Chong suddenly asked, "What kind of obligation would you accept?"

Xue Liang's gaze suddenly collided with his, and then he immediately avoided it, like a firefly that couldn't be caught. He was momentarily speechless, then he turned his head and cleared his throat before saying, "...you know what I mean."

He thought for a while then said, "But if it were willingly, then it wouldn't count as an obligation."

Yan Chong thoughtfully said, "It looks like you don't like to be taken advantage of."

Xue Liang: "... "This conclusion sounded reasonable, but why did it feel like it was implying something, as if it was covertly criticizing someone?

This vacation spot was a hundred acres, mainly featuring lake and mountain scenery. The lake was serene and blue, the bamboo forest was lush, the boat was in an ancient style, and the cabin was spacious, so you could rest inside, or fish on the deck. There was a small island in the middle of the lake, and Zhou Cheng had someone arrange a lake delicacy banquet on it. The fish was fresh, the bamboo shoots were from the mountains, and there were freshly picked wild vegetables, and fresh wild game. It was both elegant and high-end, but also natural and green.

When Yan Chong and Xue Liang arrived on the island, there were not only President Song and them, but also other guests. Their arrival was not particularly abrupt. Yan Chong was quickly pulled away to chat, and Xue Liang found a place not far from him to sit and watch the lake. He carelessly plucked some tender leaves from the nearby green trees, attracting the fish in the lake to chatter. He was having a great time playing by himself.

Han Bowen followed President Song, but his gaze kept drifting towards Xue Liang. He watched Xue Liang do nothing while people around him kept coming. First it was Cheng Shan coming to talk, then it was Zhou Cheng's fiancée. Finally, Yan Chong personally came over, put his arm around him and led him into their small circle.

He had heard of Xue Liang, knowing that he was the star of the chinese performance arts team. He had made a name for himself at the school's evening show, and was worshipped by many female students in the school as a male god. People said he was funny without arrogance, and was handsome and down-to-earth. Although Han Bowen was also at X University and was popular in school, compared to Xue Liang, who was both talented and handsome and was a male god, there was still a certain gap.

Han Bowen and Xue Liang had never interacted before, and the two should have gone their own ways - if not for Xue Liang taking away the thing that should have belonged to him.

After everyone had finished lunch and was preparing to take the boat back to the shore, Han Bowen deliberately lagged behind and walked behind Xue Liang. Taking advantage of the group of people crossing the boat from the shore, he pretended to stumble over a stone and suddenly threw himself towards Xue Liang. The two of them were pressed against each other chest-to-back, and fell forward together. Han Bowen seemed to be in a hurry, but he just happened to press Xue Liang's hands down, preventing him from struggling, let alone calling for help, and he was dragged into the lake together.

Of course, this was not a sudden impulse. Earlier, when Xue Liang was watching people fishing by the lake, Yan Chong asked if he wanted to try it himself. Han Bowen happened to pass by and heard Xue Liang say that he was a landlubber and afraid of water, so he could only watch from a distance and dared not get too close.

But Han Bowen was very good at swimming and would rather risk getting soaked to pull Xue Liang into the water.

As they were about to fall headfirst into the lake, it was too late to say anything, Yan Chong, who was walking in front of Xue Liang, suddenly sensed the danger and turned around to grab Xue Liang, almost half of his body almost falling out of the boat. The two were stopped for a split second as they were about to fall. However, even with all his strength, Yan Chong could not pull two people, so taking advantage of this momentary pause, he kicked Han Bowen towards the opposite shore without hesitation, and used the reactive force to pull Xue Liang forcefully and threw him into the boat.

Everyone was shocked and rushed forward to help: "President Yan, are you okay?"

Xue Liang's head slammed into Yan Chong's chest, his nose hitting the collarbone, making him feel dizzy and his vision blurry. He felt the arms around his back tightening and the warmth of the skin through the clothes surrounding him. Until he was pulled up from the ground, the warmth still lingered.

Yan Chong was startled by Xue Liang's tears, worrying that he had broken something. He hugged Xue Liang, one hand holding his face, and asked, "Xue Liang, what's the matter? Where did you fall?"

Xue Liang's nose was sour and his eyes filled with tears, so he couldn't see Yan Chong's face clearly. He could only shake his head in response. The shock that had momentarily startled him only came back to him now, and as Yan Chong came closer, he could feel his heart beating wildly. With one hand on his back, Yan Chong comforted him, "It's alright, it's alright. Don't be afraid."

The man's palm gently pressed against his back and Xue Liang, in this sourness and tears, felt the arrival of love for the first time.

No wonder the hero-saves-the-beauty scene has been everlasting and classic. The moment Yan Chong hugged him, the strong sense of security overpowered everything else. If Xue Liang had only been tentatively exploring his feelings before, the hug had smashed him with a giant hammer.

Unlike the faint heartthrob, he had never had such a determined and urgent thought—

He had fallen for Yan Chong.

Han Bowen was also being helped over, looking pale with quivering lips, as if he had taken a hard fall. President Song stood far away at the side of the boat, looking not so great. He was either upset about Yan Chong's merciless kick or embarrassed that Han Bowen had lost his face.

"Wait," Han Bowen stopped his steps and looked back at Yan Chong with a sorrowful expression, "You almost knocked him into the water just now. Have you even said sorry?"

"I..." Han Bowen was taken aback and his eyes immediately reddened. The place where he was kicked still hurt and everything he had done was for Yan Chong, yet the only time Yan Chong looked at him seriously, it was to reprimand him for Xue Liang.

Han Bowen glanced at President Song subconsciously.

After all, he was the one who had brought Han Bowen here, so President Song had to come over, facing Yan Chong and saying, "Forget it, he didn't mean to. You have taught him a lesson yourself, let's not trouble the child."

The big hat of "troubling" was placed down and Yan Chong's brow furrowed a bit deeper. Just as he was about to speak, Xue Liang said before him, "President Song is right. Our boss is too concerned and it's not a big deal. Don't take it to heart."

He spoke obediently and President Song's face eased a bit. He thought, no wonder Yan Chong treats him like a treasure, he is much more sensible than Han Bowen.

Just as this thought passed, Xue Liang continued to rub his nose and said, "We are all adults and should be responsible for our own actions. Bowen, come apologize. Boss, let's take a drink for your reckless behaviour and move on, okay?"