Lu Qianzhou solemnly removed his hand from her waist.
"Then let's keep our distance."
As soon as he let go, Yan Xia instantly panicked and began to sink. She quickly reached out to grab Lu Qianzhou's arm.
Lu Qianzhou looked at her with a smile. "You can stand up straight."
Yan Xia flailed around for a couple of times. Hearing this, she stood up straight, her feet touching the bottom of the swimming pool, and her head and shoulders emerging from the water.
The swimming pool was only 1.5 meters deep. As long as she stood up straight, there was no need to worry about drowning. She had just been startled when Lu Qianzhou suddenly pulled her into the water, which was why she had lost her composure.
Lu Qianzhou watched her emotional changes from start to finish, from panic to astonishment, and then to relief. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Are you a pig?"
"Why are you here? Did you follow Fang Jiangyi and me?" Yan Xia frowned. Her eyes fell on Lu Qianzhou's water - glistening face. For a moment, she couldn't tell what she was feeling inside.
Lu Qianzhou counter - questioned her. "Can't I come?"
Seeing his attitude, it seemed she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him. So Yan Xia changed the subject.
"If you're here to have fun, then I wish you a good time. I'll go back first. I don't want someone with ulterior motives to see us, or Fang Jiangyi will suspect me again." She turned around and swam towards the shore.
But the man beside her was faster. He swam to the shore before her, got out of the pool, and wrapped himself in a bath towel.
After Yan Xia got out of the pool, Lu Qianzhou said, "Cheng Yanxia, would you like to take a walk with me?"
Yan Xia stared at him in surprise. "You mean now?"
"Is there any problem?" Lu Qianzhou's smile lingered on his handsome face. "It's rare to be in such an unrestrained environment. I know many interesting places. It would be even more special to go there with someone you like."
He was inviting her again. As long as he called out her name, Cheng Yanxia, and invited her, she just couldn't seem to refuse.
"Cheng Yanxia, shall we go?" he asked.
Yan Xia took a deep breath. "Okay."
Lu Qianzhou said, "The car is at the entrance."
She quickly went back to her room to dry her hair. Looking at the few clothes in her suitcase, she was in a dilemma.
Fang Jiangyi had said they were here on a business trip and would only stay for a few days. Most of the clothes she had brought were business suits. There were no clothes suitable for shopping at all. After much deliberation, she changed into a black knee - length dress, put on a denim jacket, and wore a baseball cap before leaving the room and heading to the hotel entrance.
Lu Qianzhou was already waiting for her in the car. For some reason, whether it was a coincidence or something else, he was also wearing black.
Her heart was pounding wildly, and she felt inexplicably nervous.
In the past, she had always gotten into the car in the most natural way. But this time, she remembered to mind her image. She gracefully sat beside him, straightened her back, and casually looked out of the window.
Lu Qianzhou took her to the famous Gion Kiyomine Hall in Kyoto, where the crowd was bustling.
There was no Fang Jiangyi, no Peng Shiyi, no schemes or conspiracies here. It was just the two of them, knowing and recognizing each other.
Yan Xia hadn't relaxed like this for a long time. A big smile bloomed on her face as she walked in the crowd with him.
There were too many people, and she was constantly pushed aside and left behind. Lu Qianzhou was tall and very considerate. He always noticed when she was pushed away by the crowd. So he simply took her hand and led her forward.
Yan Xia's ears and cheeks turned red. Staring at their joined hands, she felt that the warmth of his palm was about to melt her.
"Let's just hold hands. There are so many people. If I lost you, I really wouldn't know how to return you."
Yan Xia finally mustered up the courage to look at him. Her eyes sparkled like stars. But as soon as their eyes met, she quickly looked away.
The warm lights around them shone on the two of them. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were full of charm. She looked extremely cute.
She coughed and asked, "Where are we going now?"
Lu Qianzhou slid two fingers of his other hand across her cheek. Feeling the burning temperature on her face, the smile in his eyes deepened.
"To watch a performance."
The performance hall of Gion Kiyomine Hall didn't have assigned seats. As long as you had a ticket, you could enter directly. So after they entered, they just found a nice - looking seat and sat down together.
The key thing was that Lu Qianzhou didn't let go of her hand even after they sat down. He kept holding it.
Yan Xia secretly glanced down. His well - defined hand wrapped around hers. His hands were really beautiful. In an unfamiliar place, it was really more reassuring to hold hands.
When the performance started, the lights in the hall went out. The first performance was a kabuki show. Perhaps it was a kind of novel cultural dissemination. Yan Xia found it quite interesting and gradually got absorbed in it.
As she was watching, she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her.
She turned around. Lu Qianzhou was leaning back on his chair, looking at her intently.
She almost choked on her own saliva. "Why are you looking at me... Is there something on my face?"
The dim light fell on his face. Those black eyes stared at her like this. It really put a lot of pressure on her.
He said lazily, "It's so boring. I'm starting to feel sleepy."
Why did he have to look at her when he was sleepy...
Yan Xia quickly shifted her gaze. Now she couldn't focus on the performance on stage at all. Sure enough, beauty was a distraction.
She watched the performance absent - mindedly for a while. Later, the stage started to perform arts like tea ceremony and flower arrangement. She couldn't get into it even more. Mainly because she knew there was someone beside her looking at her, and it made her feel itchy and restless.
"Third Brother." She called him while looking at the stage. "Can I discuss something with you?"
"Hmm?"
Yan Xia summoned up her courage and said, "Could you... stop flirting with me all the time?"
A man like him could be charming without even doing anything. Just standing there was enough. The most annoying thing was that he always did things openly that made her misunderstand. Maybe she was overthinking, but she really couldn't stand Lu Qianzhou's ambiguous attitude.
He had been so cold to her in front of Jiang Yue, but now he seemed like a different person.
Lu Qianzhou let out a snort of laughter but didn't reply.
When the performance on stage finally ended and the two of them walked out of the hall, the heat on Yan Xia's face still hadn't subsided.
The lights on the Japanese streets were as beautiful as a painting. Lu Qianzhou held Yan Xia's hand and walked on the bustling street.
There were all kinds of delicious food in the street shops. It was really mouth - watering. Yan Xia stared at them with wide eyes.
She had been held firmly by Lu Qianzhou all the way. She even had the illusion that she was a little kid being tied to her parent with a safety rope.
"Third Brother, I want to eat ice cream." She tugged at his sleeve and shook it gently.
Lu Qianzhou did as she asked and bought her a matcha ice cream, her favorite.
She took a sip of the cold ice cream and closed her eyes in satisfaction.
All the emotions of a little girl were revealed at this moment. She was naturally playful and gentle - tempered. In fact, she was no different from an ordinary little girl. It was just that this time she had a good opportunity.
She didn't even realize that she had revealed so many little - girlish traits in front of Lu Qianzhou. Whenever she saw something she wanted, she would stop, look at Lu Qianzhou with bright eyes, and tell him she wanted it.