105: Chapter 104 Ripples in the Pool, Song Qian

In the morning, Su Bai was woken up by an itch.

The itch started on his chest, like the tip of a feather lightly brushing against him—once, pause, then again.

To be precise, his consciousness was still hazy, but his body had woken up first.

The itch moved from his chest to his collarbone, circled in the hollow, then traveled up along his neck, passing his Adam's apple, passing his chin, and stopped at his lips.

His lips were lightly touched by something.

He opened his eyes.

Mu Qing was lying on his chest, her chin resting on his collarbone, looking up at him.

Her hair was loose, hanging down.

Morning light squeezed in through the gap in the curtains and fell on her face. Her skin appeared exceptionally fair in the light, and he could see the tiny downy hairs beneath her cheekbones.

Her eyes were bright, the corners of her mouth curled up, wearing an expression of someone who had done something naughty but didn't want to admit it.

"You're awake," she asked.

Su Bai looked at her, "What are you doing?"

Mu Qing blinked, "Nothing, hee hee."

"What time is it?"

Mu Qing didn't look up. She stretched her hand out from under the quilt, felt around on the nightstand, grabbed her phone, and pulled it back into the covers to check, "Eight-forty."

Su Bai closed his eyes.

Eight-forty. He had slept for less than four hours.

He had gone to sleep too late last night, but fortunately, he was in good physical shape.

Mu Qing's fingers started getting restless again.

Su Bai grabbed her wrist, "It's early in the morning, what are you doing?"

Mu Qing lifted her head to look at him.

Her face was flushed, her eyes were watery, and her lips were slightly pouted, "Didn't you say I count as your woman?" She stated righteously, "Isn't it normal for a woman to be like this to her man?"

"Who taught you that?"

Mu Qing blinked, "What do you mean, who taught me?"

"These things." Su Bai looked down and said, "Who taught you these things?"

Mu Qing's face turned even redder.

She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, her voice muffled, "No one taught me... I just... saw it in a movie." She paused, "You don't like it?"

Su Bai stroked her hair and said, "I like it."

"Then I can..."

The room fell silent.

There was only the sound of a stray cat passing by outside, secretly licking a cat treat.

After a while, Mu Qing lay on him and said, "Su Bai."

"Hm?"

"Where are we going today?"

Su Bai thought for a moment, "Where do you want to go?"

Mu Qing was silent for a moment, "I don't know." She paused, "Can we just stay by the seaside? Let's not go anywhere."

"Sure."

Mu Qing hummed in satisfaction and rubbed against his neck like a cat.

Her nose was cool, pressing against his skin, feeling ticklish.

Su Bai didn't move, letting her rub against him.

Once she was done rubbing, she lifted her head and looked at him, "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Then shall we go find something to eat?"

Mu Qing rolled off him and sat up.

"Let's go, let's eat," Su Bai said, helping her up.

The two of them got ready and left the room.

The restaurant was on the second floor, serving a buffet breakfast.

Mu Qing took some fruit, a fried egg, and two slices of bread.

Su Bai took a plate of steak, scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes, and baked beans, along with two glasses of orange juice.

The two found a seat by the window. Outside the window was the sea, blue and boundless.

After finishing breakfast, the two returned to their room.

Today, Mu Qing's legs were aching badly, and she didn't want to go out to play.

Mu Qing kicked off her sneakers, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and "whooshed" the curtains open.

Sunlight poured in, and the whole room brightened up.

"So beautiful, it's gorgeous no matter how you look at it."

Mu Qing turned around and leaned against the glass. The sunlight shone from behind her, casting a golden rim around her entire figure.

Su Bai placed his phone on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa.

"The scenery is beautiful, but the person is even more so."

"I have a villa here that I haven't been to stay in yet. If you like it, you can come live here in the future."

Mu Qing smiled and nodded. She walked over, sat down beside him, leaned back into the sofa, curled up her legs, and her toes glistened in the sunlight.

She tilted her head to look out the window. After a while, she turned back to look at Su Bai, the corners of her mouth curling up, "Su Bai, how can you be so amazing?"

Su Bai smiled meaningfully and said, "Which aspect are you referring to?"

"You're bad!"

Su Bai pulled her close and picked up his phone to scroll through it.

Yin Suwan had sent a voice message yesterday. When he tapped it, her soft voice played: "Boss, I bought a new house here. When will you come over to visit, warm the house, and warm me up too?"

Mu Qing leaned in, resting her chin on his shoulder, and glanced at his phone screen, "Who is that?"

"A... business partner."

"A woman?"

"Yeah, she has shares."

Su Bai turned his head to look at her.

Mu Qing blinked and didn't ask further.

She stood up and stretched.

Her white T-shirt was tucked into her denim shorts; her waist was slim, her legs were long, and her bottom was perky.

Her ponytail swayed back and forth behind her head.

She pushed open the balcony door, walked out, and stood by the railing to watch the sea.

The sea breeze blew through her hair, and the neckline of her T-shirt was blown slightly open.

Su Bai followed her out.

The balcony was large. On the left side was a small swimming pool with clear water, shimmering with blue light in the sunlight.

The pool wasn't big; it was rectangular, about five or six meters long and over a meter deep—just right for two people to soak in.

The poolside was paved with wooden decking, with two lounge chairs and a parasol set up.

Mu Qing also saw the pool, and her eyes lit up, "Oh, why didn't I notice there was a pool here before?"

Su Bai leaned against the railing, "You were too busy running out to play to notice this."

Mu Qing gave him a playful glare, then crouched down and reached out to test the water temperature, "It's warm!"

She looked back at Su Bai, "It's temperature-controlled."

Mu Qing stood up, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the hem of her T-shirt with both hands and lifted it up.

She took off the T-shirt, revealing a white swimsuit underneath, a very simple style.

Her skin appeared very fair in the sunlight; her navel was round, and there was a small patch of skin beside it that had been tanned to a light pink.

She stood at the edge of the pool, turned around, and quickly sat into the water.

Splashes flew up, glistening in the sunlight.

She huddled in a corner of the pool, with the water reaching her shoulders, leaving only her face exposed.

Su Bai stood at the edge of the pool, looking down at her.

She looked up at him, her eyes bright, her lips slightly pouted, "Aren't you coming down?"

Su Bai took off his T-shirt and shorts, wearing only his swim trunks.

Mu Qing's gaze traveled down from his face, paused on his chest, then moved to his abs, then to his waist, before quickly looking away.

Su Bai sat into the pool. The water was very warm, exactly at body temperature; soaking in it felt like being wrapped in something.

He sat opposite her, leaning against the pool wall, with the water reaching his chest.

Mu Qing reached out to tuck her hair behind her ears and stole a glance at Su Bai.

He was leaning against the pool wall with his eyes closed. The sunlight fell on his face, casting a small shadow from his eyelashes onto his eyelids. His nose was high and straight, and his lips were slightly pursed.

Droplets of water dripped from his chin onto his chest, slowly trickling down along the grooves of his abs.

Mu Qing watched the droplet and swallowed.

She stood up, and the water flowed off her, running down her thighs back into the pool.

She walked over to him, sat down between his legs, facing him, and rested her hands on his shoulders.

The water reached her chest, just up to her collarbone.

Su Bai opened his eyes and looked at her.

Her face was flushed, her eyes were bright, her lips were slightly parted, and her breathing was a bit rapid.

Su Bai reached out, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her closer.

Su Bai lowered his head.

Her hands moved up from his shoulders, threading into his hair, her fingers tightening.

The water was warm, the sun was bright, and the breeze was gentle.

The water in the pool swayed gently, creating ripples around their bodies.

The green plants rustled in the wind.

They soaked in the pool for a long time.

Until Su Bai received a phone call.

It was from Song Qian, and her voice was very anxious.

"Master, where are you right now?"

Su Bai frowned, soothed Mu Qing, who was doing something naughty, and then asked calmly,

"I'm out. What happened?"

Song Qian was panting heavily, out of breath, "I, my brother, he owes a lot of debts again. The people collecting the debts came to my house, robbed and smashed everything, and they want to take me away to settle the debt!"