12 You Dare

*Splash* without hesitation, Pei Nan dived into the deep water. He searched under the water for about a minute before coming up for air. "PAN YU MEI! Where are you?" his voice was loud and shaky. There was no doubt, he was panicking. His head turned in all directions a few times, trying to detect any traces of her. When he didn't see any signs, he once again dived under the water, frantically looking for her. 15 minutes later…still no signs of her. His heart grew worried, "Where are you? Pan Yu Mei, don't scare me like this," he kept calling out to her.

What he didn't know was that Pan Yu Mei was already on land, looking from the distance with a big evil smile on her face.

Earlier, after she faked her drown; she swam underwater until she reached land. When he dived under the water, searching for her the first time, she used that chance to crawl up, hiding behind the bushes. She lay on her stomach, making sure he couldn't see her. Even though she was soaking wet, watching the miserable state he was in satisfied her. Just by looking at his actions and face, she could tell he was feeling stressed and uneasy. [Hmph! Take that, Petty Nan. I'd like to see how long you will look for me. I hope you feel bad, you deserve it] Yu Mei did not feel bad that she was playing a trick on him. For the first time, she felt he really deserved it. What if she didn't really know how to swim? She could possibly have died twice already. Just the thought of it made her whole body shake from anger. [Who told you to pick on me?] she stuck her tongue out at him.

Yu Mei continued to watch the wretched Pei Nan continuously search for her. She used her elbows as support and set her chin on her hands. A naughty smile appeared on her face, as if what she was watching was very fun. Another 5 minutes passed and Pei Nan was still looking for her. By this time, he must have been very cold. Yu Mei even prayed he would catch a cold from this. She could not keep track of how many times he went under water.

Pei Nan felt his whole body shake from fear. Even when his body was getting fatigue, he dared not give up. This was the first time he had ever felt this way. If he knew she couldn't swim, he wouldn't have walked away. He really thought she was playing a trick on him again.

After watching Pei Nan for a good 40 minutes, Yu Mei felt it was not fun anymore. Her body was starting to get cold too. Yu Mei crawled over to the edge and sat there, with her feet soaked in the water. She waited for him to come up from the water, "What are you doing?" she asked loudly. Pei Nan immediately looked her way and his heart almost dropped. [You didn't die] he sighed, relieved. His first reaction was to swim over to her. The moment he stood up, he grabbed onto Yu Mei's wrist and pulled her to his side. She did not expect it. His strength was no joke; she literally got pulled like a paper plane his way. The next thing she knew, she was wrapped in his chest, locked. Her head lay on his chest; she could hear his beating heart. "Do you know how worry I was?"Pei Nan didn't realize he was the first to hug her. "You were worried right? Don't worry, I am a good swimmer, I won't die. You really feel bad for not saving me, right?" she asked in a naughty cheerful voice. Her whole purpose was to make him feel miserable and she succeeded. He immediately let go of her and pushed her away. "You lied to me? How can you trick me?" Yu Mei stood firm on the grass with her hands on her hips. "It was your fault; you should've saved me from the beginning. Why should I be the only one to get wet, it's only fair if you also fell in, hmph!" she rolled her eyes.

"So you did this to get back at me?" she nodded her head confidently. "It's fair to you now right? We both fell in, is that fair?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'm happy now," she smiled just before turning to leave satisfied. With one quick hold, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back his way. "But I'm not satisfied. I was in the freezing water for almost an hour. How is that fair?" his voice was filled with evil intentions. Yu Mei pouted her lips annoyed, "Prince Nan, don't you think you are going too far? How can I stay in the water for an hour? I'll surely get sick again," Yu Mei tried to persuade him after reading the intentions on his face. He leaned over, next to her ears. "Then you shouldn't have played with me in the first place. I am very petty," he wrapped his arms around her waist, ready to toss her back in the water. Yu Mei instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, locking her hands together tightly. Pei Nan froze on the spot. No one has ever dared act so boldly towards him before. Not even his beloved Fei Ning has acted this intimate with him. This new kind of skin ship, he didn't know how to react but to freeze on the spot. "Fine, push me then. We'll both fall in," still clinging onto him like a sloth, she threatened him. She waited…he didn't move. A big smile appeared on her face, it worked! Her threat worked on him! She wanted to let go of his neck but the moment she let go, who knows if he would try to push her again or not. [What should I do? Should I compromise with him? Have us both walk onto shore like this?] Yu Mei didn't know what to do. The longer she held onto him, the redder he got. She was pressed next to him. With her wet clothes sticking to her skin, he could feel every inch of her on his body. He closed his eyes to calm himself down before speaking. "Can you let go now? I'm not playing anymore," he finally ended the silence. "Really?" she asked happily as she released his neck. She proceeded to point a finger at him, "You better keep your promise. Don't you try anything, if we are done here, I am leaving," she bowed before trying to take off. [I'm free at last!] She was never so thankful to escape before. "Wait!" he commanded with a strict tone. [Damn it, what now? Can't I just leave?] She scrunched her eyebrows for a second before turning around with a smile, "Yes, your highness?" he suddenly looked her up and down and frowned. Her wet dress was too revealing. The material stuck onto her skin, outlining her perfect curves, too revealing. When he thought about other people looking at his woman, his face turned dark. "How un-lady like, how can you just leave like that?" Yu Mei looked at her clothes and then at him confused. It was only a wet dress to her. "It's okay, my room is only a few minutes away from here, I can just run back," she tried to reason with him. "Are you arguing with me?" he snapped at her. "But…" she pointed over to her room. She could see it in the far distance. If she ran, she could get back in no more than four minutes. [Did the fall make you stupid? How can you let those male servants see you like this] he shook his head in disbelief. When did she ever become this unruly? Pei Nan took off his outer robe, walked over to her and placed it around her shoulders. "Much better, make sure to not let anyone see you," with the last warning, he shooed her away.