Chapter 26 - Day 1

After that somewhat of a disastrous lunch, Feng Xuan went home. If she were being honest with herself, she was feeling a little nauseated with everything that was happening in her life and wanted a few short hours to herself. She just wanted some time alone to get her bearings straight before people could throw something at her.

She drew a long warm bath and stayed in the water until the skin on her fingertips wrinkled. She spread a sweet-smelling lotion on her legs and arms. After that, she sat down on the bed and listed down the things that she needed in the redecorating of the other rooms. She went to the kitchen and whipped up dinner. The feeling of the knife in her hand and cutting down vegetables made her felt in control. Finally, she heard the front door open at around half past eight in the evening.

"What are you cooking?" she heard Qing Chen asked from the doorway.

She smiled at him. "Just some soup. Are you hungry?"

"Yes," he answered. "Is it nearly done?"

"Almost."

"Great."

Qing Chen disappeared and Feng Xuan started to set the table. It wasn't much of a big dinner. She had been craving for something sweet and crispy and so she decided to cook lemon chicken as the main dish.

"How was your day?" Qing Chen asked her when they started eating.

Feng Xuan fought a smile. There was just something warming when someone asked you how your day was. "It was okay. It's not that eventful. How was yours?

"It's okay too," he said and realized their conversation would go stale if none of them would talk some more. "How was your grandfather?"

"Lively," Feng Xuan answered. "Did you know he married Xiu Kimmy?"

Qing Chen chuckled. "Yes," he answered. "They had their wedding reception at the hotel."

"Really?!" she couldn't believe it. "It was a weird lunch."

Qing Chen's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Were you uncomfortable?"

"She is just about my age." Feng Xuan forked a chicken way too hard. "It's..." she couldn't find the words to explain how she was feeling about it. Or mainly, she was just worried that Qing Chen would do just the same in the future. After all being a bride for sale also meant "bride for disposal".

"That does not always happen," Qing Chen assured her.

"But it's not unheard of."

Why was she even being so negative about this? Shouldn't she be just minding her own business? She should just catalogue this thought in the "things I should worry about when I'm in my sixties". She was a young twenty-two-year-old. She still had plenty of good years ahead of her.

Desperate for a change of topic, she chose the next thing on top of her mind. "When is the new maid coming?"

Qing Chen blinked a little too slow and long at that one. He was trying to push it to the farthest of his mind. He didn't want to be reminded of having his old nanny back in his life. For crying out loud, he was already a grown man. "Within this week," he answered because he was not sure either. "Grandma loves surprising people. They might be here by tomorrow."

Feng Xuan sighed. "If that's the only way your grandmother would like me," she just said.

"I think she's just testing you. There is no way I'd let that old maid stay here for a whole month," he said. They needed their privacy to get to know each other. It wouldn't do them any good if an old maid was there like a vulture.

"Do you think she'll allow that?"

"It's our house, Feng Xuan. I think we have a say on who gets in and who gets out." Another change of the subject because he thought he couldn't live through that one anymore. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"Right," Feng Xuan said in surprise. On the night of their wedding party, Qing Chen asked her if she would like a position in the company. "I'm still giving it some thought. When do you need an answer?"

"There's not a deadline on it. Just let me know when you're ready so we could make adjustments for you."

"I just think I would be really busy with grad school and the house. I would like to be here on the days that the redecorating would happen."

Qing Chen nodded. "That's fine." But he was not really fine. There were a lot of things in his mind. If Feng Xuan would not get on board with The Kingly Empire, he would have to make another way to explain where all the money was coming from. Their numbers were getting all over the place. If that bucket overfilled, the government would be up their butts.

He had to find a way to launder the money. They already had too many restaurants and properties. He could not just invest it immediately in another small company because that would show up in their financial statement. Worst case scenario, he would have a thousand small companies created and built with the mafia's money. That, and finding a new thing to invest on with only a few regulations.

When dinner was over, he took a long shower thinking about what he should do. There was another list of reports on the mafia and it was just getting too much. People were getting too lax and were thinking they could get away with the violations they were committing in The Underground. If his father only allowed him to dispatch at least one of them…

He was not a fan of the unnecessary violence coming from the mafia. But he was willing to make an example of someone so everyone would follow. (Another) But he knew he would never hear the end of it if he touched a single hair on the head of his father's friends. He cracked his neck. He felt like his father was just twisting the knob behind him and watch him do programmed moves.

Another thing, there was another shipment coming. He groaned to himself. This had to be the thing he hated the most. He hated running the mafia, but this… it was the highest degree of loathe.

He quickly got dressed and went out of the bathroom. He checked his emails on his phone for the last time of the day and reminded his secretary of what were the important things for tomorrow.

Inside the bathroom, Feng Xuan's heart was beating so fast in her chest. It was just a kiss, she convinced herself. There was no way this should be an issue. But never had she ever kissed someone in her life apart from her girl friends' cheeks in the form of greeting.

"It's just a kiss on the cheek," she told herself. "Plain and simple."

There she was again, feeling so anxious over something. She suddenly remembered her first night with Qing Chen. She was so nervous but she battled her way through it.

"This is just a kiss. On the cheek," she reminded herself again and took a deep breath before going out of the lavatory.

Qing Chen was on his phone when she came out and put herself under the comforter. She turned her light off and Qing Chen took it as a signal that she was ready to sleep. He also turned his light off before burying himself in the blanket.

"Good night," he said to her.

"Good night," she said back to him. It felt like her tongue was twisting upon itself. Her skin was prickling like something small was crawling on it. She knew she would feel like that the rest of the night if she wouldn't make a move. "Qing Chen," she said.

Qing Chen turned his face towards her. It was rare that Feng Xuan had something to add after saying good night. "Yeah?"

Then, he felt her cold fingers on his bicep, sending a small chill in him. "I want to try something."

There was his heart, beating too slow all of a sudden. His mind was screaming, what was it?! He also felt a little panic in him. Please, please, please, his mind was whispering although he did not know what he was praying for. Maybe he was praying that they wouldn't mess up whatever this is.

"Okay," he told her.

Feng Xuan raised herself on her elbow, hovering a little on Qing Chen's moonlit face. "I'm going to kiss you on the cheek. Is that okay?"

Qing Chen's jaw tightened. She was just so adorable he was trying not to smile and break her confidence with asking such a cute question. "It's okay," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Which side do you want? The left or the right?"

Then suddenly, it was Feng Xuan who was laughing, her face twisting her features beautifully as her pinkish lips opened. Qing Chen smiled at that. "I hate you," she said.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," he said.

"You weren't but I was trying to concentrate here."

He just really wanted to make her comfortable. Kisses weren't supposed to be awkward. Kisses were something you do with intention. "I know," he said. "So which side do you want? The left one? Or the right one?" he touched his cheek. "I think the skin on the left side is clearer, I recommend this one."

Feng Xuan smiled, her heart feeling a thousand times lighter than when she left the bathroom. "Alright, Qing Chen."

There was something about the way Feng Xuan said Qing Chen's name that made him melt on the inside. Then he turned his face some more so she could more access to his cheek.

He had to admit, his heart rate was going too slow... or was it going too fast? He closed his eyes to highten his other senses. He wanted to feel this, he wanted to smell this. Oh, how he wanted to engulf Feng Xuan in a hug right then and there. He wanted to know how her skin would be soft and warm against his.

But that would be for another day. Feng Xuan deserve to be taking these little steps on her own, the reason why he was not suggesting anything physical between them. Because it all had to be according to Feng Xuan's time. He would just be there, happy to comply and help her take the steps.

He could feel her leaning over, smelling like a baby's powder and her warmth crawled to his neck, face, and chest. He felt her breath on his cheek before her lips landed.

A firework exploded in his chest just as Feng Xuan's lips made the small kiss sound against his skin.

He smiled at her, proud and happy. "That was good," he told her.

"As if you can tell anything by it!" Feng Xuan defended, already back in the comforts of the blanket. She would have been red by now, Qing Chen thought.

"It was nice. Wasn't it nice?" he asked.

It took Feng Xuan a few seconds to gather her thoughts. As she was getting closer to Qing Chen earlier, her heart felt like it would explode. She was pretty sure he could hear her heartbeat. Was it nice? "Yes, it was," she answered. She loved the feeling. "That's a good night kiss. It'll happen every night," she told him.

Qing Chen smiled in the darkness, it was just then that his heart was returning to its normal pace. "I'm looking forward to it."