Keep My First Kiss Safe For Me - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, seeping into the room.

Having slept beautifully, Fan Yue rolled over and lay on her back, stretching her limbs in a long, satisfying yawn before poking her head out from under the covers.

Across the room, Xie Yanyan had already gotten up at some unknown hour and was lying on her bed playing with her phone. Fan Yue propped herself up and called out brightly, “Happy Birthday!”

Xie Yanyan put down her phone and looked at her with a smile. “Thank you.”

Today was Xie Yanyan’s birthday, the primary reason for this resort trip. As for how to celebrate, Xie Yanyan didn’t mind, so Fan Yue suggested an outdoor barbecue for the evening—a proposal Fan Xinghang naturally supported with both hands and feet.

Since they had spent the previous day entertaining the “brat,” Fan Shicheng and Xie Rong took Fan Xinghang to a nearby botanical garden today, leaving the two girls free to make their own plans for the afternoon.

After idling away half the day in the air-conditioned room, Fan Yue grew restless. she stood by the window and noticed the sun didn’t look quite as fierce anymore. She dug her swimsuit out of her bag, held it up against herself, and asked, “Want to go for a swim?”

Xie Yanyan glanced at the still-bright sun, thought for a few seconds, and finally got out of bed to find her own swimsuit.

Leaving the room and passing through the hotel lobby and long corridors, they reached a separate indoor swimming complex. From a distance, the smell of disinfectant wafted toward them, and the clamor of voices rose and fell with the splashing of the waves.

Once inside, they saw the pool was packed like a pot of boiling dumplings, filled with rowdy children making as much noise as an amusement park. The two girls shared a look and immediately turned to flee in silent agreement.

Passing through the lobby again, Fan Yue stopped and stared at the outdoor pool. While it was hot and sunny outside, the outdoor pool was nearly deserted.

She tilted her chin toward the glass doors. “How about there?”

Xie Yanyan didn’t object, so they headed out together.

The moment they stepped outside, waves of heat hit them, making their air-conditioned skin feel as though it had been touched by an iron. However, by the time they reached the poolside, their bodies had adapted to the scorching temperature.

The hotel’s outdoor pool consisted of several circular pools of varying depths overlapping each other, forming a floral shape.

Fan Yue dipped her foot into the nearest shallow pool. The water had been baked by the sun to a searing temperature; playing inside the indoor pool was like being a “boiled dumpling,” but out here, it felt like becoming a “poached shrimp.”

Once her legs adjusted to the water, Fan Yue turned to see Xie Yanyan taking a yellow bottle from her bag. She squeezed out some white lotion, spread it across her palms, and applied it to her face and neck before reaching back to do her shoulders.

Xie Yanyan’s already beautiful skin glistened under the sun due to the slightly oily sunscreen. Fan Yue couldn’t help but feel curious—what would her skin feel like to the touch?

Pulling her foot out of the water, Fan Yue walked over and took the bottle from Xie Yanyan’s hand with a mischievous grin. “It’s your birthday, the ‘birthday star’ gets special treatment. Let me do it for you.”

Xie Yanyan glanced at her, swept her hair to one side to reveal her smooth neck and back, and lay face-down on the lounge chair to enjoy the service.

As the tacky lotion met Xie Yanyan’s skin, Fan Yue felt a firm yet elastic texture. It felt remarkably nice, and she instinctively increased the pressure. Her hands were small and her palms soft; Xie Yanyan’s body tensed slightly under the contact.

Like a prankster, Fan Yue gave Xie Yanyan’s waist a quick pinch. Having satisfied her curiosity and played the “rogue,” she prepared to bolt, only to be grabbed by a sudden force and pulled down onto the lounge chair.

Xie Yanyan pinned her down with one knee and smiled faintly. “I can’t let you do all the work. Let me return the favor.”

Fan Yue swallowed hard and stammered, “No need to be so polite! It’s not my birthday, I don’t need it!”

Xie Yanyan gave her no chance to escape, squeezing a dollop of lotion directly onto her.

As her hot, dry skin met the cool lotion, Fan Yue shuddered, instinctively feeling that this wouldn’t end well. Xie Yanyan held her down with one hand while the other spread the white lotion along her neck, shoulders, and arms.

Fan Yue was incredibly relieved she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, as the exposed skin was limited. Xie Yanyan was definitely doing this on purpose; her hand circled over Fan Yue’s skin with varying pressure, sending a tingle from her flesh straight to her heart.

This wasn’t “service”—it was torture. Fan Yue protested, “Enough, enough! I’m already tanned, don’t waste so much!”

The moment the grip loosened, Fan Yue broke free and sprang up as if her seat were on fire, diving headfirst into the pool.

The soft sensation under her hands gone, Xie Yanyan rubbed her palms together as if wanting more, then followed her in, though she pulled back the moment her toes touched the water.

The more reluctant Xie Yanyan seemed, the more Fan Yue wanted to tease her. Fan Yue pretended to swim away, then caught Xie Yanyan off guard and yanked her wrist. Caught unprepared, Xie Yanyan stumbled and fell into the water.

A beautiful spray erupted from the surface.

The pool was shallow, only reaching Xie Yanyan’s waist. She wore a sky-blue two-piece swimsuit with an off-the-shoulder top that accentuated her straight shoulders and delicate collarbones. The skirted bottom hugged her curves and revealed her long, straight legs, with a strip of flat, toned midriff showing in between.

Drenched in water, the light blue fabric turned into patches of deep navy, looking like a flower blooming in the water.

Having successfully pulled her in, Fan Yue moved to the adjacent deeper pool. Her swimming skills were mediocre; after a whole summer of lessons from her father as a child, she could barely manage a few meters of basic breaststroke. After splashing around and feeling like a “slow-boiled frog,” she climbed out.

Grabbing a towel to dry off, she said to Xie Yanyan, who was watching her, “Take some photos of me.”

Since they were at a resort with such a beautiful pool and a castle-like hotel in the background, the money would be wasted if she didn’t take photos for her social media.

Before Fan Yue could grab her own phone, Xie Yanyan was already aiming hers. Fan Yue quickly tidied her hair and swimsuit, checked for any wardrobe malfunctions, and reclined on a lounge chair under a parasol. She put on her sunglasses and struck several poses for the camera.

Xie Yanyan took the task seriously, finding several angles.

“Done.”

Fan Yue stood up, took the phone, and zoomed in on the photos one by one. “Not bad! These look great.”

As the water evaporated, she grew thirsty. Forgetting her earlier promise of serving the birthday girl, she gestured toward Xie Yanyan without looking up. “Go grab me a bottle of water.”

Xie Yanyan glanced at her, but Fan Yue was too busy transferring photos between the two phones to notice, so Xie Yanyan turned and headed toward the lobby.

Fan Yue was busy comparing two photos—same pose, slightly different expressions—unable to decide which one to post.

SPLASH!

The sudden sound of a heavy object hitting the water made Fan Yue snap her head up.

In the deep pool across from her, a small boy was thrashing wildly. Having inhaled water, his mouth was wide open, but he couldn’t make a sound to call for help.

Fan Yue froze in shock. Scanning the area and seeing no one else nearby, she didn’t have time to think. She dropped the phones and dove in.

The water was deeper than she had expected. The feeling of weightlessness upon entering sent a momentary jolt of panic through her. With the sound of rushing water in her ears and her heart thumping like thunder, she swam toward the boy with all her might.

Fortunately, she caught him. The child, terrified, gripped her like a lifeline, struggling and pulling at her frantically.

Fan Yue wasn’t a strong swimmer, and swimming that distance at that speed had pushed her to her limit. Water stung her eyes, and the boy felt like he weighed a hundred pounds, rapidly draining her strength.

Driven by survival instinct, she fought to bring the child toward the edge, trying to soothe him even though her voice was broken by the water: “Don’t… don’t be afraid. I’ve got you.”

Her body felt heavier and heavier. This was the closest Fan Yue had ever been to death.

“Fan Yue!”

She vaguely heard Xie Yanyan calling her name. The voice was loud and sharp, almost cracking, pulling Fan Yue back from the brink of unconsciousness. Her sluggish movements found a final burst of strength.

It had only been a minute or two. Xie Yanyan had stepped out with the water, found the parasol empty, and screamed Fan Yue’s name the moment she saw the scene in the pool.

Finally, others noticed. Lobby staff came running out, and the boy’s parents realized their child was missing. A crowd rushed to the poolside.

The noise grew—shouting, frantic footsteps. Someone jumped into the water and swam over to take the child from her.

He’s safe.

Her strength vanished instantly. Water flooded her nose and mouth as she choked. Then, a pair of hands caught her, pulling her up just as they had during that moment of weightlessness on the bus.

She knew it was Xie Yanyan.

With surprising strength, Xie Yanyan pushed her toward the surface, and people on the edge helped pull her out.

Once out of the water, the suffocating terror vanished. Human voices drowned out the sound of the water, but Fan Yue felt as if too much water had entered her brain; it roared in her ears like thunder, numbing her senses. She even forgot how to breathe.

She felt hands pressing on her chest, over and over, with desperate force. She could hear the shouts and the voices, but they were muffled and distorted by the roaring in her ears, sounding distant and unreal.

Though the ground was scorching, her body felt icy cold. Then, there was a sudden, soft contact, bringing with it a breath that smelled of Xie Yanyan. Fan Yue realized with a shock that all her sensations were rushing toward her lips.

Her five senses flooded back like a broken dam. She coughed up a lungful of water, and the roaring in her ears finally faded, replaced by the vivid, noisy reality.

Before she could process the situation, she was pulled into a tight, trembling embrace. Xie Yanyan was soaked, her hair dripping.

A few droplets felt exceptionally hot against Fan Yue’s skin.

Fan Yue thought blankly: Are these tears?

Is Xie Yanyan crying?