"Boss, oh please have mercy on me and hurry up. I'm starving! I'm gonna die if I wait one more second to eat." Dom immediately whined when Iris and Jin Liwei arrived at the dining table.
Yi Mei knocked on his head. "Behave!" She turned to Iris and smiled. "Please have a seat, Young Miss…Mr. Jin."
Jin Liwei walked over and pulled a chair for his Xiulan.
"Thanks," she said as she sat down.
He kissed her forehead before taking a seat beside her.
"Ehehe." Dom looked at them with sparkling eyes. He didn't know whether his drool was because of the lovebirds or the delicious food on the table.
The dinner was Filipino-inspired once again, which explained Dom's impatience. The main dishes were chicken afritada [1], lumpia [2], and regular steamed jie lan [3] with oyster sauce for the vegetable dish.
Dom wolfed down the food and Iris had to remind him numerous times to chew before swallowing.
It was the first time Iris and Jin Liwei tasted afritada and they were very curious about it. Dom was more than happy to tell them about the dish in between shoving spoonful of food into his mouth.
After the simple yet sumptuous meal, they were served with hot hibiscus tea.
Jin Liwei gave his baby girl's assistant a steely look. Dom immediately understood and quickly excused himself and left the two alone at the dining table.
Iris enjoyed her cup of tea in an unhurried manner. This nightly ritual calmed and relaxed her, slowly easing the tiredness from her body.
Jin Liwei only drank half a cup of the tea. He sat quietly beside his Xiulan, admiring her with intense eyes.
Finally, she finished two cups and stood up. He stood up as well.
Thanks to the tea, she was calm when she looked at him straight in the eyes. "Let's go."
She started to walk, intending for him to follow her, but he took her hand and held it, clasping their hands together. She looked at their held hands and subconsciously smiled, as they walked together.
Inside the bedroom.
"You can use the bathroom first. I'll go after you," she said and tried to pull her hand from him but failed.
"Kiss me first."
"You…" She sighed and hesitated before pulling him down by the shoulder with her other hand and pressing her lips to his cheek. "Now go."
"En." He let her go, picked up his sports bag from the floor and headed to the connecting bathroom.
She watched until the bathroom door closed behind him. Her lips lifted into a soft smile. Then she walked to her study desk and turned on her laptop computer.
Her smile brightened when she saw that the yellow roses were now sitting on a vase beside the red roses by the corner. She admired the flowers for a few moments before pulling all her attention to the laptop in front of her.
When Jin Liwei came out of the bathroom, he saw his baby girl focused in front of her laptop. He rubbed his dripping hair with a towel as he walked to her. He had no shirt on, exposing his lean and well-defined muscles, only wearing plaid pyjama pants hanging loosely around his hips.
He stood behind her and looked at what she was doing. It looked like she was writing some sort of computer code. He didn't really understand the string of characters on the screen. What he found impressive, however, was the speed of her typing. Her wrists remained steady as her fingers flew in a blur over the keyboard, making no sound as they pressed the keys.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek but got no reaction from her. He kissed her again but still no reaction.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
No answer.
"I'm done showering. It's your turn."
No answer.
"Baby girl."
"Mmn." She finally made a noise, but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence.
Displeased that he was being ignored, he pulled her up but even when she was standing, her eyes and hands never left the laptop. He scooted over and sat on the swivel chair before pulling her down to sit on his lap. She never missed a bit, continuing to type nonstop.
He wrapped his arms around her and leaned his chin on her shoulder. When his roving hands failed to elicit any reaction from her, he sulked.
Was the stupid computer more interesting than him?
He had the urge to grab the computer and toss it in the garbage. Sighing, he hugged her tighter and just watched her work so seriously.
After a while, his sulking turned to curiosity and then to awe. Curiosity as to what kind of code she was writing, and awe at her superb typing skills and concentration. He noticed that as time passed, her fingers moved faster than his eyes could keep up.
Finally, she stopped. She stretched her back, neck, and arms like a cat. Massaging her hands, it seemed that she only now noticed that she was sitting on his lap. She twisted and looked at him in surprise.
He scowled.
"You like your computer more than me?"
Without thinking, she nodded but suddenly stopped when his expression turned ugly.
###
Footnotes:
[1] A stew made of meat, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, peas, and sometimes with pineapple chunks, all cooked in tomato sauce. It's delicious!
Gah! Now I'm craving. Dammit!
[2] Filipino spring rolls, consisting of minced meat and chopped mixed vegetables. I've also eaten a lot with just meat on them. I like the one with the veggies more, though.
[3] Chinese broccoli. The meal isn't completely Filipino, but this is what I actually always eat for my veggies almost everyday regardless of what the main dish is. Very easy to prepare and gives me my daily dose of nutrition and fibre. Yum yum!
