"Did you just call me, 'sweet little boy'?" Liu Longwei asked in surprise, not sure if he heard clearly. Or maybe it's was not actually his wife that said that to him with her mouth because the wife he married didn't look like she would one day call him that.
"Mmmmm. You are next" Chen Lihua said as she admired the beautiful henna design on the back of her hands.
Liu Longwei glimpsed at her hands and saw an initial 'LL', so he asked, "what is that?" not quite sure if what he had in mind, was actually what it truly was.
"Oh! It's your initials. Now that I have written your name on my palm, you will have to reciprocate," Chen Lihua said while glancing at him.
"That won't be a problem at all," Liu Longwei replied with a smile as he suddenly pulled off his polo to reveal his built chest muscles.
What a drool-worthy sight to behold?
Chen Lihua pulled down the sunglasses over her eyes to the bridge of her nose, almost ruining the henna on her fingertips.
She glanced at Liu Longwei's chest muscles and then gave a quick sharp look at the female servants nearby, but she wasn't able to catch anyone peeping at her man. With a wave at her hand, she sent all of them away.
The servants didn't dare to go anywhere farther from them, in case their services were required. So they just shifted at a distance where Chen Lihua was satisfied.
"Jealous?" Liu Longwei whispered to Chen Lihua's ear with a proud smile on his face.
"Mmmmm. They shouldn't be looking at what doesn't belong to them," Chen Lihua admitted.
Liu Longwei chuckled softly at her declaration of ownership on him.
'What a domineering woman,' He thought to himself.
While Liu Longwei was getting henna done on his right chest by the middle-aged henna artist; the henna mud on Chen Lihua's were drying up, about to crack.
Henna paste is usually applied on the skin using a plastic cone, a paintbrush, or a stick.
After about 15–20 minutes, the mud will dry and begin to crack up. During this time, a mixture of lemon juice and white sugar can be applied over the henna design to remoisten the henna mud so that the henna will stain darker. The designed area is then wrapped with tissue, plastic, or medical tape to lock in body heat, creating a more intense color on the skin. The wrap (not a traditional method), is worn for two to six hours, or sometimes overnight, and then removed.
When first removed, the henna design is pale to dark orange in color. It gradually darkens through oxidation, over 24 to 72 hours.
The final color is reddish-brown and can last anywhere from one to three weeks. The duration it lasts depends on the quality and type of henna paste, as well as the body part where it's applied. On thicker skin, stains are darker and stay longer than thin skin.
Moisturizing with natural oils, such as olive, sesame seed, or coconut, will also help extend the lifetime of the stain. Skin exfoliation causes the henna tattoo to fade.
After the henna artist was done with Liu Longwei, she re-moistened the henna mud on him and Chen Lihua, before wrapping those places up.
Since Chen Lihua had henna on her palms, she couldn't feed herself during dinner. So she left the work of her feeding to Liu Longwei.
No one could do that work other than him, because Chen Lihua would prefer he did it for her, then for the servants to feed her.
Liu Longwei happily fed her. And while feeding her, he felt as if he was feeding a daughter he just adopted. But he didn't dare to say those words aloud.
When she was about to have a night bath, Chen Lihua had no choice but to remove the wrap over her palms.
If not, how could she bathe herself?
Although she planned to remove the wrap tomorrow morning in other to get a better effect (colors from the henna). It was impossible now that she really had to make use of her hands.
Liu Longwei wanted to take advantage of the situation by opting to help her scrub, but Chen Lihua rejected his idea without a second thought.
Who was he trying to deceive?
She just knew that it would not only end with helping her bath, something else must take place.
It was either he took advantage of her to sleep with her again, or he teased her senselessly. But she wasn't ready for either of them.
Even if Liu Longwei would have a pure mind about helping to scrub her body which was impossible in this situation. She didn't dare to allow him to wash her body.
Him helping her to bath this morning, was because she had no other alternative. But as for now, she had other options.
After their shower, Chen Lihua and Liu Longwei laid on the bed, busy with their eyes.
Chen Lihua was admiring her hands under the lamp, while Liu Longwei was admiring the beauty beside him.
Chen Lihua turned over to look at him while saying excitedly, "Let me take a look at the henna design on your chest."
Liu Longwei just stared at her without moving an inch or saying anything.
Chen Lihua was not in the mood to ask him while he was looking at her that way or maybe trying to figure out what the problem was.
So she just directly opened his night robe without caring about her composure.
Well, it was not important to her now. What was currently important to her now was to see the effect of the henna design on her husband's chest.
"Are you satisfied now?" Liu Longwei asked the woman who was drawing circles around his chest, where her name was written.
"Mmmmmm!" Chen Lihua replied happily before turning her back to him.
Liu Longwei smuggled her body against his chest while breathing in her scent.
"We didn't post our wedding pictures on social media," Chen Lihua said while patting his hands that were on her stomach.
"It's not a problem, we can always do it at any time," Liu Longwei said and left a kiss on her hair.