He leaned closer to me and I pushed against his chest lightly. But even at the light touch, he frowned and took a hitched breath, as if he was in pain. Then he continued wlaking ahead.
I was sure now that something was wrong.
"What happened to you?"
" Nothing..", he smiled and turned back , " I"m just a bit tired. Sorry to disappoint you."
I quietly held his hand. On his wrist, was a black watch, looking as shiny and new as it was three years ago.
He pulled his hand towards himself with force and I stumbled, falling into his arms. There was a very slight fragrance on his body.
" Girl.."
I reached out and traced his face with my fingers. Happiness was never this close to me, right at my fingertips.
I stood on my toes and brushed my lips against his.
It was a long,emotional kiss causing heat to flow through my body like lava
We continued till both of us were out of breath. It was only then that Ye Zhengchen let me go. We inhaled deeply.
He looked very tired today. In the past, even when I ran out of breath, I had never seen him breathless. Today , our long kiss had made him breathless and sweating.
" Are you ok ? "
" Yes.I will leave now. I"ll see you tomorrow."
Before I could acknowledge him, he had already walked away. As he drove away, I suddenly wondered where he was staying tonight.
From that day on, Ye Zhengchen came to pick me up from work and drop me home everyday. Every time I asked him where he was saying, he would go all mysterious and secretive and whisper in my ear, " That"s confidential."
I did not ask him again.
One day, I had worked the night shift. When he picked me up, I asked him, " Are you free today ?"
" Why?"
" I am on leave today. Do you want to have hotpot at my place/"
" Are you inviting me only to eat hotpot?"
Ye Zhengchen"s eyes were shining as if tonight, the item on the menu was not mutton but me
I realised I was leading the wolf into my lair and cursed myself for my stupidity. It was very likely that today he would torture and tease me mercilessly over the whole night.
I almost started sweating at the vision
I blamed my lack of sleep for this mistake. My brain had short-circuited and that is why I had come up with this ridiculous idea.
Seeing that I was silent, Ye Zhengchen said, " Don"t get angry over a hotpot!"
Hr was already antic.i.p.ating our time together eaerly.
I squeezed out a helpless smile at him.
" Brother, if I remember correctly, you are a soldier. Can you please maintain the dignity of your profession?"
Ye Zhengchen did not agree with my statement. " I remember I told you this three years ago. The military personnel are not as dignified as you think. They have physiological needs just like any other man…"
My body heated up with his words. Even the air conditioner in the car was unable to keep me cool.
The light finally turned green and I hurriedly pointed out a street in front. " Please park here. There is a supermarket right there."
Ye Zhengchen turned the wheel to the direction I was pointing to.
In the supermarket, Ye Zhengchen pushed the car while I walked in the front and put things in the car. I looked back from time to time. I would always catch his eyes. They were still shining mischievously.
Suddenly, I was reminded of the times we went to the supermarket in Osaka.
Soon after I had landed in j.a.pan, I was curious about everything, I would point out different things in the supermarket and ask him what they were. He would patiently read the labels and translate it for me. Once I had asked him about a piece of yellow cream cake, " What is this cake? It looks so beautiful!"
There was nothing on the label, so he asked the person who was making the cake. After receiving the details of the ingredients and procedure, he had translated all of that word for word to me.
When he finished, I was still staring at him.
" What are you looking at ?" he ad touched his face, wondering if there was something on it.
I had smiled and shaken my head. "Brother, you look so cute when you are serious."
He had smiled then, looking even cuter.
" Girl, I know I look cute. But don"t go and fall in love with me."
At those words, I had grabbed the cake from his hand and put it in the shopping cart. " Don"t be so smug. I don"t like you that way, I only see you as a brother."
Ye Zhengchen had reached out and ruffled my hair. " Little girl, from now on, brother will look after you."
Somebody had told me
A pack of paper towels was suddenly thrust in front of my face, s.n.a.t.c.hing me back from my daydreams.
" Girl, you are smiling and drooling."
I pushed away Ye Zhengchen"s hand. When I looked down in the cart, I spotted fresh egg pudding cake in the cart. The bright yellow of the cake hit my eyes.
All of a sudden, there were tears in my eyes.I didn"t care how big the supermarket was. I rushed forward an hugged him
Ye Zhengchen was stunnd, bending low, he whispered in my ears, " This place has CCTV cameras."
" What if there are cameras? Who said I can"t hug someone in a supermarket?" I sobbed.
" I am just worried. The next part… it may not be suitable for children."
I laughed out and pushed him away.
" Do you always have to talk about things that are not suitable for children?"
As he helped me wipe away my tears, he spoke. " I have never seen a woman who is as easily moved as you. A simple cake touched you like this. If people saw you, they would think I had gifted you a five carat diamond ring."
All men knew that any woman would love a five carat diamond ring. But only Ye Zhengchen knew that egg pudding cake was y favourite. Every time I ate the cake, I would remember the serious expression on his face when he explained the recipe to me. The more I ate , the happier I would feel.
Till I had lost him, I had never realised how precious these memories, were. This time, no matter what happened, I would not let go of his hand. Absolutely not.
Super sweet chapter. Just 7 more chapters to go… If you leave enough comments , I may be tempted to finish this novel in the next 15 days:)