"What happened to your hands?" Chen Linyun grabbed both of Xue Jinxu"s hands and turned it palms facing up. There were several tiny horizontal dashed wounds in the middle of both palms.
He so happened to notice these small details, while they were both pa.s.sing time in the living room one cold night.
He had just returned from his drinking feat with his cousin. He entered their home using his own keys and was welcomed by the sight of the missus contentedly sitting on the couch. She was still ignoring him.
He sat beside her and pretended to watch the television with her. The truth was, he"s actually gauging the situation.
The wife extricated her hands from his grip and scrutiny. She couldn"t help feeling annoyed. "It"s a consequence of our quarrel, darn." She wanted to point it out on his innocent-looking face.
But she did not say it out loud. Instead, she said curtly, "Nothing."
Let the man get a dose of his own medicine.
Chen Linyun gingerly rubbed her forearm with his index finger. "Dear…" He started. He looked pitiful too.
Xue Jinxu shot him a side-glance. "Oh, he"s repentant now, isn"t he? Stay firm! Don"t budge!" Xue Jinxu straightened up and even slightly tilted her chin upwards smugly.
She maintained an unreadable face.
Upon seeing the hardened façade of the wife, Chen Linyun lovingly wrapped his arms around her waist in a back hug and placed his chin on her left shoulder. He planted a soft reconciliatory kiss on her exposed neck.
"Darling, I"m sorry." He breathed. He intentionally tightened the grip around her waist.
"It"s my fault. I have hurt you, haven"t I? Sorry."
"Hmph!" Xue Jinxu tried to free herself from him but failed miserably. She grabbed his forearms around her belly but it wouldn"t lift. Her strength wasn"t enough to remove those manly arms around her.
She did not say anything more.
"Still upset?"
"Mhmm." She murmured her response while keeping her head low. She could feel her cheeks heat up, eyebrows coming together in inverted arches. The feeling of hurt the past days was resurfacing.
"Don"t you love me anymore?" She blurted out and bit her lower lips right after. Xue Jinxu took several deep breaths.
"Of course, I love you, dummy! I have loved you every single minute and I always will, to the moon and back, for eternity." He kissed her cheek, near her fringes.
The wife turned around and faced him. He allowed her to, without retrieving his arms around her. "Then why…" She trailed off.
They were facing each other now, the lady still trapped in his tight hug. There wasn"t any gap between them.
"He used to be my safety, security blanket."
"Well, he still is and will be."
"It"s just a small, healthy dispute. We"ll come around. We"ll grow together."
Her minds were bombarded with optimistic self-reflection. However, her face still reflected skepticism and remnants of hurt.
"But your actions speak otherwise." She acted aegyo [1] with big doe eyes. "You made your wife suffer emotional strain these past days. You didn"t trust me. You didn"t allow me to enter into your head…""You shunned me."
"Am I still your wife?"
"Of course. Hush, hush." With his right hand, he cradled the back of her head and pushed it gently forward so that it got buried on his shoulder and chest.
The wife consequently dipped her face onto the nook his neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Her left hand grabbed her right wrist, locking Chen Linyun in her arms, literally.
Xue Jinxu rubbed her face amorously onto his clothes while sniffing his scent – a small habit of hers. "Ghad, I miss you, dear."
"I miss you too, honey. I"m really sorry. I lost myself for a while there." He seethed between his teeth, as his breathing grew heavier.
"d.a.m.n. I miss my wife too much." It was the X-rated type of missing her. "Control, control." He thought.
Sensing his body"s reaction, she smiled wickedly, pulled herself away and locked gazes with him. "But we haven"t resolved the issue yet, have we?"
Chen Linyun kissed her forehead. "You don"t know how to give up, do you?"
"Give up? What"s that?" She said mockingly. "So, mister? How do you want to proceed?"
"Can we continue in the bedroom?" He asked with ragged breathing.
The lady rolled her eyes. She instantly knew that she"s having the leverage in here, right at this very moment. The husband wanted her, but she wouldn"t simply allow him to have his way without getting a compromise.
"We still have something to resolve. Have you forgotten? Is that how it should be, you just say sorry and everything"s all settled?"
Chen Linyun let out a sharp sigh. "Alright. I"m willing to reconsider. Lay down your business proposal on the table. Come to think of it, you haven"t presented it clearly yet…"
"That"s because you won"t listen. Not my fault. Hmph."
Chen Linyun couldn"t help smiling. His wife was acting so childish right now, not fitting a former COO nor an heiress, more like a spoiled kid. Well, maybe it fits her well as an heiress. Deep within him, he knew that Xue Jinxu only acted this way in front of him. It"s something for his eyes only.
"I"m all ears now. Let"s resolve it quickly. Then, let"s move on to the next agenda." He said teasingly, implying something they both knew.
The wife rolled her eyes some more, not ready to give in easily.
[1] aegyo means cute in Korean and is also becoming a popular trend for acting cute or childish