Her hair had grown so much ever since she met him.
Shao Yan remembered it was shoulder length, and she looked weird when she had to tie them up, as her whole face was directly exposed right away.
But it had been a few months, and her hair surprisngly had grown longer, down to her back.
So a few days before her flight, after so many years, Shao Yan finally stepped into a hair salon again.
"I have always have this hairstyle on me. Like, forever. But I want to change my image. Can you recommend me a new hairstyle?" Shao Yan said to the male hairstylist who was standing behind her as he brushed her hair to learn the structure.
"Eh. Your current style, I will call it "safe safe lady". No matter what image you want to show, it"s always safe. See your left and right are perfectly straight. Girl, you give me so difficult challenge to upgrade this look, huh?"
In front of the tall mirror next to the bathroom sliding door, Shao Yan was admiring her new look.
After a few tries, she finally learned the rope of the kimono. Donned in the delicate yellow and red kimono, Shao Yan looked like she had transported to the ancient era.
The hairstylist had decided to keep the length; as he said, "Girl, your face fits to have longer hair, so I will just trim a little bit." And Shao Yan decided to trust his instinct.
"Also, do you want to try to color it? Yesterday I was playing around with some colors, and I think there"s one color that will suit your skin tone. Let"s try it?"
Shao Yan had never dyed her hair in her life. Her eyes widened nervously. After a few moment, a sprout of courage pushed her to do it, so she slowly nodded her head, "What color is it? If I like it, then sure, let"s do it?"
She brushed her hair gently. The soft strands of mahogany gold were fluttering around her soft face.
She remembered what the hairstylist said to her as he stood behind her while holding the coloring bowl, "You see this portion here is mahogany red. The other half here is brown gold. When I put them in your hair, I will mix it slowly, I want to create an illusion of two colors are trying to blend into one as you move. Trust me, girl, you will looove it!"
And she did.
Shao Yan moved her head slowly, swinging it from side to side. The window on the side gave her hair the little bit of sunrays before the day totally set to dark.
She could see the mix of the soft dark reddish color and a slight of golden brown touch trying to coexist together.
Initially, she decided to braid her hair to match her kimono vintage style. But Shao Yan decided not to do it anymore, she wanted to show off her new color, so she just decided to clip her hair on both sides.
The final touch was the cherub necklace that Li Xiqing had given to her. She had been wearing it everyday, and only took it off during shower and sleep. Her fingertips slowly touched the cherub"s hand and she brushed the diamond star gently.
Feeling so immensely happy with herself, she skimmed her eyes all over her hair, face and body one more time before Shao Yan slides the door open and stepped out.
Li Xiqing was sitting in the balcony.
Next to the oval shape stone tub, was a set of rattan chairs and coffee table that people could sit on to enjoy the outdoor view.
Their room was facing the creek and hills across from it. When people sat on the balcony, they would be able to hear the sound of streaming water, along with the quietness of the mountain surrounding them.
He had just brewed a fresh pot of green tea while waiting for Shao Yan to shower.
Leaning back to the chair, Li Xiqing was savoring the quiet time he rarely had. Inhaling the fresh green tea, he closed his eyes while calming his heart with the tranquil sound of flowing water from below.
He heard the door was sliding open, and he opened his eyes. Li Xiqing tilted his head to see Shao Yan was walking towards him.
He was stunned.
The soft yellow and red kimono grabbed his attention right away. She had let her hair hang loose on her back. Slight wavy curls at the end of her hair swayed along her body movement as Shao Yan walked closer.
"I"m done, go take a shower now. I can"t wait for dinner, I"m hungry," she sat next to him.
Shao Yan saw the tea pot, and she poured another cup for herself.
As she leaned back, she caught him still staring at her.
Shao Yan pursed her lips, and slowly smiled at him, "Go take a shower, Mister. You can look at me as long as you want later," and then she leaned closer to pat on his cheek.
Shao Yan was enjoying her tea happily, sipping away the warm, green liquid helped to calm her restless heart.
Ever since her last discussion with Risa, Shao Yan had been aware of the happiness that she was swimming in right now. Her fingertips slowly tightened their hold on to the tea cup as she felt the nervousness started to come again.
Being away on a vacation like this, with her ever so loving boyfriend, staying in the same room. Shao Yan could not help but keep antic.i.p.ating on what he may do next. She could not lie to herself. Both of them were adults, and she knew what could happen.
The questions were, "Is she ready? Is he ready?"
And to be honest to herself, Shao Yan finally admitted, that she was also eager to take their relations.h.i.+p to the next step.
Thinking back to the few skin care treatments that she had done to herself over the past few days, Shao Yan thought inwardly, "I tried to give my best to you, Xiqing." She brought the cup to her lips, and started to sip it slowly.
"I hope you know that in the end, it is my whole heart that matters, too."