The Only Choice - 46

After saying those words, Zhou Fanfan was almost sickened by her own saccharine tone.

While waiting in the hallway, she felt utterly self-conscious.

But when she saw Guan Yuanbai coming up the stairs shortly after, she decided that what she'd said was actually… pretty good. The feeling of him coming to get her was genuinely delightful.

"Where are the others?" Guan Yuanbai asked as he reached her side.

Zhou Fanfan knew he meant Song Li and Xu Xiaoqian. "Song Li went into their room earlier. They haven't come out yet."

A slight smile touched Guan Yuanbai's lips. "Let's go ahead, then. No need to wait for them."

"Okay."

They walked downstairs side by side. Remembering the resolve she'd felt in Xu Xiaoqian's room, Zhou Fanfan opened her mouth to speak several times, only to lose her nerve and swallow the words back down.

Honestly, she had never confessed to a guy before.

Aside from celebrity idols, of course.

So now, facing a real man, Guan Yuanbai, no less, her throat felt completely blocked. She simply couldn't force out those mushy, romantic lines.

After wrestling with herself for a while, she thought, Maybe after we leave here… I'll tell him properly then.

——

Although called a small opening party, it wasn't formal at all, leaning more towards a casual, lively vibe. After dinner, everyone was shepherded by Song Li into the garden for drinks and fun.

Music floated over the garden as people mingled and swayed. Some even dove straight into the pool. Glasses clinked, and laughter rang out freely.

"Damn it! Stop pushing me in!" After being shoved into the water for the second time, Song Li clambered onto a giant yellow rubber duck, laughing and shouting at the people on the pool deck.

"You're the host today! Who else are we supposed to push?"

"Dude, I'm not even wearing swim trunks!"

Guan Yuanbai watched the scene with amusement, casually commenting, "You can change after you get out."

"Tch. Guan Yuanbai, it's easy for you to say, " Song Li retorted, splashing water in their direction.

Zhou Fanfan, standing beside Guan Yuanbai, saw the movement and quickly pulled him aside.

The water missed its mark.

Song Li complained, "Fanfan! What was that for?"

Zhou Fanfan shot back, "What do you mean? His clothes are still dry. Don't splash him!"

"Wow, already taking his side, huh? My clothes were dry earlier too!"

Zhou Fanfan shifted to shield Guan Yuanbai further. "Well, they're wet now."

Song Li: "…"

Pulled behind her by Zhou Fanfan, Guan Yuanbai looked at her with a gaze so soft it seemed to overflow.

Before, he'd thought her protectiveness stemmed solely from him being her idol's brother, a thought that had always irked him. But now, thinking back, there was no need for displeasure. At least in her heart, he was on her side.

"Weren't you afraid you'd get wet?" he asked softly.

Zhou Fanfan glanced back. "It's fine. He definitely wouldn't dare splash me."

Guan Yuanbai raised his hand and ruffled her hair. "Alright. Then, thank you for protecting me."

Zhou Fanfan froze for a second but didn't avoid his touch. She lowered her eyes with a small smile. "Oh…"

"This is unbearable! Xiaoqian! Where are you?!" Song Li paddled his duck towards the edge. Xu Xiaoqian arrived belatedly, suppressing a laugh as she helped him out.

Once on dry land, Song Li made no move to change his clothes. Instead, he huddled with a few other guys, seemingly plotting something, before the group began edging towards Guan Yuanbai and Zhou Fanfan.

The two were deep in conversation and didn't notice the approaching crowd.

By the time Zhou Fanfan saw the people behind Guan Yuanbai, it was too late to warn him. Three or four guys grabbed him and hauled him away.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zhou Fanfan cried out.

"One! Two! Three!! In you go!" Song Li yelled.

Guan Yuanbai only had time to glance back at Zhou Fanfan before he was pushed into the pool with a tremendous splash.

Song Li roared with laughter. "Anyone showing off their relationship tonight has to take a dip!"

The water gradually stilled, but Guan Yuanbai didn't surface. A jolt of alarm shot through Zhou Fanfan, and she rushed to the pool's edge. "Where is he?"

Song Li squinted. "Still underwater."

Zhou Fanfan was horrified. "He can't swim?!"

How could he not know how to swim?

Song Li looked skeptical, about to suggest Guan Yuanbai was probably faking, when splash, someone else hit the water.

Xu Xiaoqian gasped. "Fanfan!"

Song Li couldn't grab her in time. He watched, stunned, as Zhou Fanfan jumped into the pool and dove beneath the surface.

Xu Xiaoqian hit him angrily. "What are you doing!"

"I didn't push her! Why did she jump?"

"Then you get in there too!"

"Right! Okay!"

Song Li quickly jumped in to help.

But Zhou Fanfan actually knew how to swim. Once underwater, she immediately reached for Guan Yuanbai, who was resting calmly on the bottom.

She grabbed his arm and pulled, only then realizing he was perfectly fine, and even had his eyes open, looking right at her.

The moment he saw it was her, surprise flashed in his eyes. He instantly reversed his grip on her arm and pushed them both towards the surface.

"Hah…" Zhou Fanfan gasped for air as they broke the surface.

"Are you okay?"

"Why did you jump in?!"

They spoke almost simultaneously. Seeing his reaction, Zhou Fanfan instantly understood he had been faking it.

Of course… If he couldn't swim, he'd be thrashing around, not lying there so peacefully.

She had just panicked, acted without thinking, and rushed in to save him.

"I thought you couldn't swim…" Zhou Fanfan said, feeling embarrassed.

Guan Yuanbai felt a mix of heartache and helplessness. "If I couldn't swim, he wouldn't have dared push me in."

"I… didn't think that far ahead."

Guan Yuanbai fell silent, his gaze burning with intensity. After a brief pause, he said, "Thank you."

Zhou Fanfan averted her eyes. "It's nothing. I can swim."

By now, everyone on the pool deck was watching them.

Catching the amused smiles in her periphery, Zhou Fanfan felt self-conscious. "Let's get out…"

Guan Yuanbai nodded and called to the people on the deck, "Towels."

Someone rushed off to get them. "On it!"

Song Li also surfaced. Seeing Guan Yuanbai, he said, "I knew it! You were just trying to lure me back in. Didn't expect your girlfriend to jump in first, did you?"

Guan Yuanbai responded with a kick under the water.

It didn't hurt, but being subjected to their display yet again made Song Li feel thoroughly sour. He climbed out, grumbling, "First it was Guan Xi and Jiang Suizhou making out in the pool at my birthday party, now you two. What did I ever do to deserve this?"

The moment Zhou Fanfan reached the deck, Xu Xiaoqian wrapped her tightly in a towel.

Guan Yuanbai followed. He was wearing a shirt that day, now soaked and clinging to his frame, outlining his physique in a way that made hearts flutter and faces heat.

"Really, you're okay?" he asked her.

Zhou Fanfan's eyes darted towards his torso before skittering away. "Really, I'm fine. You should put a towel on too, don't catch a cold."

"Okay."

"You two should go change. I need to change as well," Song Li said.

Even though they were staying the night, Zhou Fanfan didn't know which room was hers and asked.

Song Li said, "I've got you two sorted. Just go to room 302."

"M-me? Us two?"

Song Li said, as if it were obvious, "Yeah, that's your room. What's the problem?"

Zhou Fanfan was stunned. It hadn't even occurred to her that Song Li might assign them the same room.

"Got it. We know," Guan Yuanbai said, cutting off any further discussion with Song Li. He took Zhou Fanfan's hand and led her inside.

Once inside, the noise from outside faded, and Zhou Fanfan gradually became aware of her own heartbeat, growing louder and louder.

"Um…"

"Too many people outside. I'll explain to him later and have him arrange another room. Don't panic," Guan Yuanbai said, seemingly reading her mind.

Zhou Fanfan breathed a small sigh of relief. "Okay…"

They went upstairs and found room 302.

Guan Yuanbai urged her to take a hot shower first, while he waited outside.

Although the weather wasn't cold and the room had heating, Zhou Fanfan was still worried he might catch a chill. She took a quick shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and hurried out.

Guan Yuanbai, seeing her emerge with wet hair, was taken aback for a moment. "Why didn't you dry your hair?"

"I brought the hairdryer out. You go take a shower now," Zhou Fanfan said.

"It's not that urgent."

"Of course it is! You'll get sick!" Zhou Fanfan urged. "Hurry, go shower."

A faint smile crossed Guan Yuanbai's lips. "Alright, I'm going."

The sound of the shower running murmured from the bathroom. Zhou Fanfan waited outside, towel-drying her hair a bit more before starting with the hairdryer.

Her hair was thick and jet black. Xu Xiaoqian always said she'd never know the pain of hair loss.

She might not know that pain, but she knew the hassle of having too much hair. Drying it, for instance, took her much longer than most people.

After blow-drying for what felt like ages without it being fully dry, she put the dryer down, thinking good enough since it was mostly dry anyway.

"Let me help."

Suddenly, the hairdryer was taken from her hand. Startled, Zhou Fanfan turned her head, but Guan Yuanbai gently turned it back forward.

She hadn't been standing in front of a mirror, and the noise of the dryer had masked his exit from the bathroom. She hadn't even realized he was out.

Zhou Fanfan: "...It's fine, it's almost done."

"It's nowhere near dry. How is that 'almost'?"

"My hair is just too thick."

"It really is quite thick."

Guan Yuanbai didn't say more. He gathered a section of her hair in one hand and held the dryer with the other.

Zhou Fanfan listened to the hum above her head, feeling the warm air, her ears growing hot along with her scalp.

But this time, she didn't pull away. It was a silent acceptance.

At first, Guan Yuanbai had genuinely just wanted to help because her hair looked like a chore to dry. But as he worked, he found his focus drifting.

As he lifted her long locks, the pale skin of her nape, still dewy from the shower, seemed almost translucent, tinged with a soft pink. From this close, he could even see the fine, soft downy hairs…

Guan Yuanbai pressed his lips together briefly, averting his eyes, but his mind couldn't help wondering… what would her neck feel like to the touch?

"Ouch…"

The dryer had stayed in one spot too long, making a patch of her scalp uncomfortably hot. She let out a faint hiss.

Guan Yuanbai snapped back to reality and immediately moved the dryer away. "Sorry!"

Zhou Fanfan turned around. "Is your arm getting tired? Maybe… I should take it back?"

Her face was flushed from the hot air, like a ripe peach.

Guan Yuanbai looked down at her. "No, it's not tired. Let me keep helping. I won't burn you again."

They were already standing close because of the hair-drying. Now, with her turned towards him, they were barely two fists apart. She had nowhere to retreat, with a table right behind her.

Zhou Fanfan's fingers tightened slightly on her bathrobe belt. Trying to lighten the mood and get the dryer back, she said playfully, "But you already did burn me."

"Sorry. I was… distracted."

"Distracted? By what?"

Guan Yuanbai paused, silent.

Zhou Fanfan immediately realized… distracted because of her?

What had he been thinking?

Her grip on the bathrobe tightened further.

An unspoken attraction seemed to be simmering between them, thickening the air.

The atmosphere was already charged. In this tension, the beating of their hearts seemed to synchronize, their rhythms aligning perfectly.

Zhou Fanfan stared up at him, a sudden, bold thought forming, 

If… if he lowered his head right now… she would rise onto her toes… and she definitely, definitely wouldn't pull away.

Guan Yuanbai's gaze drifted from her eyes to her lips. Truthfully, he had sensed a change in her compared to a few days ago, she wasn't avoiding him now… and precisely because of this perception, the urge stirring within him grew stronger.

He was fighting to suppress the restless energy in every cell.

But he was struggling to hold back.

He was thinking… if he kissed her now, would she…?

Bang, bang, bang, 

"Hey, you two changed yet? No lingering business in there! Get downstairs, I'm about to cut the opening cake!" Suddenly, the door was pounding, and Song Li's voice echoed from the hallway.

Like waking from a dream.

Zhou Fanfan jolted back to awareness, scrambled out of his proximity, and dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Guan Yuanbai's heart clenched. He slowly set the hairdryer down.

"You in there? Ready?" The voice outside persisted.

Guan Yuanbai took a deep breath, composing himself for a moment before opening the door.

"I'm saying, you guys—" Song Li's words died in his throat as he saw Guan Yuanbai's grim expression.

"We'll be down shortly," Guan Yuanbai said, his voice cool.

Song Li felt an inexplicable chill and took a step back. "Right… Well… hurry down then. I'll, uh, I'll head down first."

---

Author's Note:

Song Li: Yes, it's me again...

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