One Night, One Day, One Year, One Lifetime

Two

When I woke the next morning, the skies were lit with a faint brightness.

I often slept late and woke early, and this was one of the things which made Gao Fei unhappy with me. Because when I had first married him, I was still a self-absorbed child who acted wilfully without thinking about how my actions would affect another person.

As I did not like to stay in bed, out of habit, as I left bed each morning, my movements were clumsy and loud. Each time Gao Fei was awoken by me, he would turn to stare at me. His gaze was sharp as a knife and his voice cold as an arrow, as though afraid that even a part of me would escape his displeasure.

He said, 'Even if you had nothing to do at home all day long, could you be more considerate to the sleep required by others?'

When he said these words, I remained smiling, my smile brilliant. I firmly believed that my smile could eclipse even the radiance of the morning sun, except no matter how widely I smiled, I could never warm Gao Fei's heart.

I clung onto him and said, 'Did I wake you up? I'll take note of it in future. You have good rest – I'm going to make breakfast.' Then I delivered to him his morning kiss. Each time I did that, Gao Fei would close his eyes, wipe away my saliva, before turning his head away to continue sleeping.

Perhaps it was because my movements were quiet today that Gao Fei did not wake up. He was still sleeping, his bare arm slung across the quilt, back presented towards me. Carefully, I sat up, leaning over to observe him. As I stared at his face, I could not control myself, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on his face. Yet in my heart, I was shouting, 'Gao Fei, I love you. In this world, no one will love you as much as I do.'

After this stolen kiss, my heart was content.

I left the bed to prepare his breakfast.

Gao Fei loved soy sauce noodles. A bowl of noodles and some sauce was all that was needed to make him happy. I remember the first time I invited him out as friends, I had booked a table at the best restaurant in the city, hoping to have a good meal with him.

But my Gao Fei was so adorable and courteous and understanding. He did not put on any airs.

He stood in front of me, dressed in a white shirt and casual pants, simple and neat. As his gaze shifted, taking in the resplendent inner hall of the restaurant, he laughed lightly, then said, 'Miss He, we shouldn't eat here.'

I was intoxicated within his laugh, but mistook his words as an attempt to shirk away from our dinner, so I hurriedly said, 'It's alright, it's alright.' I was extremely anxious.

But Gao Fei continued, 'Why do you have to spend so much when you're not even treating your boss to a meal? This meal would cost us half our salaries for the month. Somewhere simpler will do. Of course, if Miss He is proposing this meal as a business engagement, then I will accept.'

Ah, you see, Gao Fei, how could my heart remain unmoved? Did you know that the person who stood in front of you had the wealth needed in letting you dine on such exorbitant meals in the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year? So, Gao Fei, you also have to bear part of the responsibility in my falling for you.

If you were not so accomplished and talented, if you were more materialistic, just like all the other men in this world, how could I have fallen for you? For what reason would I have resorted to such unscrupulous ways to obtain your heart?

The soy sauce noodles were simple and delicious but difficult to make. In the beginning, when learning to cook it, you could say that I had wasted over fifty kilograms worth of noodles. Every day, researching the ways in cooking Gao Fei's favourite dishes became the only hobby I had.