Fragments

Morning Glory

Dong Shancai had never been much of a cuddler. Even as a child, she had never been much for physical contact. When hurt, she had preferred to take care of herself - she had always picked herself up, wiped her own tears and cleaned up her own messes. Perhaps because her parents had always been so busy, she had just become accustomed to taking care of herself. She had been a very self sufficient child, and this had carried over into her adult life. She could take care of herself no problem; Shancai knew she was resourceful and she was grateful that she had learned to rely on herself. In fact, she supposed she had sort of taken it upon herself to start looking after her parents too as soon as she could; anything to lessen the burden. She had tried her best to help her mama with her home kitchen business, delivering orders at all hours of the day despite how busy she was with her studies. She had always tried to help her papa by helping him keep the household finances in order, filing his receipts, balancing his books and generally keeping him organised (her papa was prone to being scatterbrained.) What Shancai wasn't used to was being taken care of. That was until she met Daoming Si.

He had made it his mission in life to take care of her. No matter the personal cost. At first it had baffled her, enraged her even; how dare this audacious man presume he could barge into her life and take it upon himself to thrust himself into her affairs? She had been so very cold to him at the beginning, stoically believing his affection was naught but deceit, but she had been wrong. Oh so wrong. It had been a slow learning process, but Shancai had finally realised that a burden shared was in fact a burden halved. Like it or not, from the very beginning of their unconventional relationship, she had always been able to rely on Daoming Si. How could she forget the personal and physical sacrifices he had made on her behalf? The man had thought absolutely nothing of offering her a million yuan to bail her father out of trouble, had taken beatings and stabbings for her without a second thought. He had proved over and over, time and time again that he loved her beyond all others. Shancai smiled to herself as she allowed herself to snuggle into her husband's muscular back, her nose skimming his shoulder as she breathed him in. He smelled like heaven and home all rolled into one, and she could never get enough of him. She wished she could bottle his scent, she was sure she could make her fortune if she sold it to the masses. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be married to Daoming Si, the tenacious and terrible leader of F4, her sworn enemy, she would have told them to get their heads examined. She hated him, after all. However, as Ah Si had reminded her repeatedly, the line between love and hate was incredibly delicate and fine. He had been right, of course, he always was; her hatred had melted away into the purest love, and now she couldn't imagine her life without him. Her silly, childish, affectionate husband. Her biggest supporter and her caregiver when she needed it. Her superman. Her Ah Si.

The light streaming though the window was milky and pale, a sure sign dawn was breaking, bringing with it all the responsibilities of adult life. Shancai's heart swelled as she slid a slim arm around her delectable husband's waist, kissing his shoulder blade lovingly as he murmured unintelligibly. She knew what was going to happen next; his alarm would blare to life, ripping him from his peaceful slumber and subsequently from her arms. However, greedy wife she was, Shancai wasn't ready for him to leave the bed so early. No, she wanted to bask in his warmth, feel his strong, secure arms around her as they lazed the morning away like a normal young couple. They were only newlyweds after all; she was entitled to feel a little possessive, she justified to herself as she stroked the smooth skin of his stomach.

Shancai supposed that this was the price she paid for marrying an important man like Daoming Si; his time was precious and highly sought after. He was the future CEO after all. But that didn't mean she had to like the early mornings; her poor husband often looked exhausted when he dragged himself out of bed, he was working himself to the death. She was disgruntled as the clock ticked them closer and closer to 6am, the time when he would be cruelly taken from her. He wouldn't take a day off even if he was ill... Ah Si shifted suddenly, turning sleepily and wrapping her in his arms, his breath ruffling her hair as he drew her to his chest. She felt so warm, so safe and dainty as he cradled her - she really didn't want him to leave today! Almost as if she had forced it, his alarm suddenly flared, the shrill sounds echoing around her and causing her to burrow deeper into her husband's chest in denial. A groan rumbled through his chest, his arms tightening around her fractionally, just for a second. He didn't want to go either, she could sense this in the stiff set of his body, but there was only one way he would deign to take the day off... An idea formed hazily in Shancai's mind as Ah Si reluctantly threw the duvet back, affording her a delightful glimpse of his toned back as he rose to perch on the end of the bed. She watched him surreptitiously as he buried his head into his hands, sighing miserably. His grim determination to start his day, his obvious reluctance to go to work hardened her resolve; her husband needed a day off, he deserved a break!