Yang Chen watched as Lin Ruoxi hesitated then assumed that she was just embarrassed. He laughed a little at her inner struggle. “There’s no need to think so hard. It’s just a simple yes-or-no answer. I don’t blame your decision.”
Lin Ruoxi was at a stalemate. She didn’t want Yang Chen to feel like she was avoiding him during this critical time, but she was too shy for any sort of PDA.
Finally, Lin Ruoxi gritted her teeth, then silently bent over to place the fruit tray near the flowers. She turned to face Yang Chen, her face turning red.
Yang Chen grew concerned. A willing person wouldn’t look like this. What’s really going on?
Suddenly, Lin Ruoxi’s eyes welled up with tears.
She was like a flower, so sensitive, but so beautiful.
She looked so vulnerable. Lin Ruoxi gently swayed her shoulders and slender hips, her purple skirt fluttering to the rhythm. She looked every bit like the perfect rich lady she was.
Lin Ruoxi pouted her pink lips, and with a girly tone, she coaxed, “Mmmm… Hubby… I don’t think we should do this outside.”
Her beautiful voice pierced deep through Yang Chen’s mental fog, waking him up!
Yang Chen’s eyes widened, then he rubbed his face to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
God! What did he just witness?!
Did Lin Ruoxi just do that?!
As for Lin Ruoxi, she wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
What was she thinking? Did she just whine like a schoolgirl in a Korean drama?!
Her face turned as red as an apple as she watched Yang Chen’s expression grow more confused by the second.
“Pfft… Hahahahaha!!!”
Yang Chen puffed up his cheeks in an attempt to hold back his laughter, but he ultimately failed!
He laughed so hard that tears started to fall from his eyes. He rocked back and forth, slapping his leg.
“Ahahahaha! Babe, yo—you’re too funny! Hahahaha even your voice… Ouch! Ahahahaha…”
Yang Chen laughed so hard he almost fell from his chair. Lin Ruoxi’s embarrassment turned into rage. She stomped her foot, but couldn’t muster a courageous face. With a crack in her voice, she protested, “You… No laughing! You don’t get to laugh! Yang Chen! Do you hear me?!”
Yang Chen could barely breathe. He forced himself to stop laughing, then crossed his arms. He cocked an eyebrow, asking, “Where did you learn this move? Was it from the Korean dramas? You should’ve called me ‘oppa’ instead. Wouldn’t that have worked out a little better?”
Lin Ruoxi regretted everything she did, but what was done, was done. She huffed. “Fine, laugh all you want. Take it as compensation for your troubles, there won’t be a second time.
“Now that won’t work.” Yang Chen shook his head, grabbing Lin Ruoxi’s wrist.
Lin Ruoxi felt Yang Chen’s warm, rough hand grab her wrist. A shiver ran down her spine.
Yang Chen stopped smiling to say, with utmost sincerity, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. You only did it so I wouldn’t get upset. Then again, you were absolutely adorable.”
A warm breeze blew across Lin Ruoxi’s cheeks. Her heart lurched at her man’s words.
Lin Ruoxi pursed her lips, her head lowered so she didn’t have to look into his eyes.
Her bashful smile resembled a shy water lotus about to bloom…
The two of them fell silent for a moment. Yang Chen then said, “Let me hug you. If anyone walks past, I will know. I will never put you in an awkward situation, alright?”
Lin Ruoxi didn’t hesitate, only nodding placidly.
Yang Chen pulled her body closer with joy, into his solid embrace.
Since the lounge chair was longer than it was wide, Lin Ruoxi had to lie on his chest. It was perfect.
Lin Ruoxi was a little stiff. She dared not move a single muscle. Although they’ve been intimate many times before, a situation like this was a first. She could smell the sun and her man. Bliss.
Yang Chen placed one hand at the nape of her neck and the other on her hip. He didn’t move them, only gently placing them there.
Under the warm sunlight, both of them looked very much at peace.
Lin Ruoxi expected Yang Chen to do something embarrassing which she had mentally prepared herself for. But after a while, Yang Chen hadn’t moved an inch.
She wasn’t sure if she felt disappointed or relieved. It was an odd feeling for her. She didn’t understand this man.
Lin Ruoxi slowly lifted her head to look at his face, which was so close they almost touched. She realized Yang Chen had fallen asleep.
As she stared at him in silence, the corner of his lips curled upwards. His eyes were still closed as he whispered, “Are you too stunned at your husband’s beauty?”
She rolled her eyes, still not speaking.
Yang Chen’s hand patted her back as if comforting a loved one. His lips still spoke gently, “Ruoxi, I’d always felt married life was pure. Two people who occasionally go shopping, buy groceries, some oil or salt. Sometimes even watching a movie together, or a concert, and it didn’t matter if someone fell asleep halfway through. During holidays, they would roam the world, climbing mountains, go fishing, tour cities. Holding hands, they would visit all the places they had never been.
“The feelings between a husband and wife should be warm and inviting. It could be cool and breezy too, as long as they’re comfortable.
“Just like right now. It’s a sunny day, and there’s the summer breeze. To be able to take a nap with someone I love in my arms, under the sun. We don’t need to do anything intimate. What we have is enough. This is enough.”
His gentle words floated past Lin Ruoxi’s ears. She blinked, then asked uncertainly, “That’s so simple, are you sure it is enough?”
“Mm,” he added. “To me, it’s not about me needing you to do things for me. Do you think I am that obsessed with your body? Of course, I’m not a teenager who’d just hit puberty, nor am I a virgin who has never touched a woman. But do you really think I crave women that much?
“Since the beginning, I’ve hoped that you would change. Not change the way you treat me, but the way you treat yourself.
“Don’t always work yourself to the bone, and don’t keep all your worries to yourself. Don’t think that it’s alright to sacrifice yourself.
“To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re not passionate like that now, or in the future. I didn’t marry you for your body.
“It matters more to me that when I wake up, I wake up to your smile and a ‘good morning’. Not the cold routine of just going to work after devouring breakfast. That you would watch TV with my mother after dinner, not hide away in your study. That you would give yourself a vacation with some friends, not working day and night for the entire year.
“I want to know that my wife has a good life after marrying me. Then, as a husband, I wouldn’t have any regrets.”
Lin Ruoxi listened in surprise. She didn’t notice herself tearing up.
Yang Chen caressed her long hair, took a deep breath, then continued, “Therefore, although I’m happy you want me to be happy, don’t force yourself to do anything you don’t want to. I’m not hard to please.”
Lin Ruoxi’s heart swelled with love. She pressed her cheek against his chest, muttering, “Oh you are. If not why would you have so many women…”
Yang Chen was already pretending to be deaf. He looked up, then pretended to fall asleep.
Lin Ruoxi didn’t expose him either. She closed her beautiful eyes and slept in her man’s warm embrace.
All their worries dissolved into emptiness.
