Chapter 160 - Sleeping
Standing in front of her bathroom mirror, Xiu Mei could see her reflection. After removing all her make up and washing her face, the dark circles that Lu Chen pointed out a few days ago could still slightly be seen on her face. Even that small acnes that was popping on her skin was the warning signs how stressed she had been for the past few weeks.
If it wasn’t enough, her body was aching especially the back and her neck after sitting for long hours in her desk. In summary, she was going to show the most awful state of herself to Lu Chen at any minute now.
Xiu Mei’s acne on her forehead:...
Her eyes immediately darted to her acne cream and desperately applied it on her face as if wishing that it could just magically disappear right now.
Goddamnit, why did he have to request it today of all days?
And why the heck did she say yes?! Was she out of her mind? Was she spacing out again a while ago?
"Argh!" She groaned in annoyance as her hands fumbled on the tube of acne cream. She almost tossed it on the counter angrily bearing the brunt of her frustration.
Ah, fudge it. She’ll just open the bedside lamp instead. Maybe in the dark, he won’t be able to see the true tragedy of her face.
After patting down the creases of her long-sleeved patterned pajamas, she walked out of her bathroom. She stopped on her tracks when she saw Lu Chen observing the small bookcase she built inside her room. He was wearing blue long-sleeved pajamas with similar patterns similar to hers except for the color.
"...."
Seeing that he was preoccupied with her other stuff, her eyes shifted from the main light switch of the room and then to the bedside lamplight. She wondered if he’ll be suspicious if she suddenly switches off the main light switch...
Or what if he suddenly assumes that she was being sneaky because she was planning something... uhm...
She was still considering her options when it seems that he finally noticed her presence inside the room as he glanced back briefly behind him. Xiu Mei made a weird expression for a second before finally returning to her senses, shrugging off her formulated plans a few seconds ago.
She walked over to where he was and ran her eyes on the bookcase as well.
"What are you looking at?" She casually asked.
"I’m just looking at what type of book my wife likes so I can read it and we could share your interest." Lu Chen replied with interest as he pulled out a book from her shelf and read the summary at the book.
While his attention was reading the back of the book, Xiu Mei was in a trance as she stared at him.
...he wants to read a book from her shelf so they could share her interests.
She placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding so crazily that she could clearly feel her heartbeat even through her clothes. She was feeling a bit fl.u.s.tered so she quickly looked away from him.
Ah, seriously. How can he always say something that cheesy so easily with a straight face?
Dammit, her heart can’t take it anymore you know? If he continues at this pace, who knows maybe her fort would crumble sooner than expected?
"I-I’m going to bed first." She said before she briskly walked over to her bed. She flipped open her bedside lamp before reminding Lu Chen to turn off the light before he goes to bed. Then she immediately buried herself under the blanket and closed her eyes.
Lu Chen chuckled at her reaction. He closed the book on his hand and put it back on the shelf while thinking how thin Xiu Mei’s face is every time he tries to flirt with her.
Her reaction would always be like this and instead of backing down, he was getting more tempted to tease her even more like this.
He quickly wiped off the smile on his face after turning off the main light. Standing at the opposite side of her bed, he could see the view of her back towards him. The light from the lamp at her side of the bed creating almost a hazy glow surrounding her body.
’If only every night it would always be like this...’ is what he thought, wishing that they could always stay together in one room just like this like a normal husband and wife.
He lifted the blanket then climbed on the space of the bed just beside his wife. His movements paused for a second when he saw how Xiu Mei’s back stiffened as soon as he laid beside her.
He suppressed his smile and settled down beside her. And without any hesitation, he scooted closer beside her and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. He could almost hear the sharp breath she took when he moved closer to her.
"Goodnight, wife."
And then using his other hand, he used it as a support as he planted a kiss on her cheek. When he pulled away, he could see how her eyelashes trembled after the contact. He smiled.
Then he reached over to the lamp and switched off the light filling the room with darkness once again. After laying back down beside her, hugging her from behind, he inhaled deeply breathing her familiar scent.
Slowly, he fell into slumber along with Xiu Mei who gradually relaxed in his arms.
The next day, Xiu Mei woke up from the sound of her alarm ringing loudly in her ears. Out of habit, she buried her face under her pillow to block the sound so with her eyes shut, she grabbed the pillow under her head and dove under it.
A minute later, the sound of the alarm finally stopped. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued sleeping.
"Wife, wake up."
She wondered where the macarons she had been eating had runoff.
"Wife, you’re gonna be late."
She swore she also saw some madeleine calling her name out somewhere too. Where did her food go?
"Wife, you need to wake up."
Goddamnit, can’t that person see that she’s quite busy here? She’s so hungry and someone stole her food ah.
"Wife..."
The pillow she had been hiding under disappeared, so the cool air suddenly hit her cheeks again. Even with her eyes close, she could almost imagine how high the sun hung in the sky.
"Wife, you still have a flight to catch." A voice whispered in her ear.
"Mhm." She groaned in reply in frustration. Without the comfort of her pillow, she was slowly being forced to wake up.
"Wife, come on." Someone was shaking her shoulder, completely preventing her from falling asleep again. In the end, she didn’t have a choice but to open her eyes and wake up.
"Wife, good morning." Seeing her open her eyes, Lu Chen attacked her with his blinding morning smile.
"..."
Xiu Mei was still dozing off as she stared at the man beside her, still drowsy from her sleep.
...who is this? She wondered.
"Wife?"
Xiu Mei rubbed her eyes and yawned. She freely stretched her arms to wake her body up.
Wife? Who is he calling his wif... wife?
Xiu Mei returned to her senses. She blinked and turned to the figure beside her.
He was still in his pajamas from last night but weirdly, the upper part was unbuttoned revealing his collarbone and chest hidden underneath. Since he was also leaning over her, she had a very good view of it too.
She subconsciously gulped. What a view to wake up to ah...
She casually looked away from the tempting view in front of her and met his gaze. He was smiling tenderly at her as he reached out to her head, smoothening her hair and tucking some of the strands behind her ear. She faintly blushed from the action.
"Good morning." She greeted as she immediately raised her hand to run it through her probably messy hair. She unconsciously wiped her lips to check if she drooled in her sleep or not. That would be really embarrassing if Lu Chen saw her drool ah.
Lu Chen smiled in response to her greeting. He leaned over and quickly pecked her in the lips.
"Had a nice sleep?" He murmured without moving away from her face. She blushed from the sudden intimacy.
Xiu Mei nodded in response. "Mhm."
"Good." Then he pecked her on the lips once again and pulled away. He caressed her face and said, "Go wash up first."
Like in a trance, she could only nod and obediently follow his words. Lu Chen climbed off the bed and walked over to her side and knelt in front of her. Then holding her slippers, he slipped her feet into those as if she was a kid who doesn’t know how to wear one.