Fan Fiction |
by Ling
As he opened the bathroom door, fleeting memories of last night unknowingly crept into his mind. He flicked a glance to the bath tub, and smiled as a vision of him and his wife lying in it formed in his mind. Entwined limbs and all, they were cradling each other, both breathless and struggling to recover from the love making session that they’d just shared in the bath tub.
He grinned even wider when he recalled the circumstances that had led to it. And it had all started out with a minor argument on whether he should head for work today, after resting for almost a week since his operation. His wife had been so desperate to persuade him not to go to work, that she’d actually followed him into the bathroom unknowingly. The time where she’d realised that she was locked in with him, was when she heard the sound of the door locking.
And after that, nothing else mattered. It was only yesterday that he’d finally regained his strength for lovemaking, and he had wasted no time in divesting her of her clothes. They weren’t delicate, and they weren’t gentle either. They were hot, sweaty and needy, and they’d held on to each other as if they could make time last forever by sheer force of will. When they climaxed, it was fiery and it was simultaneous, both their bodies arching as their cries of release mingled in the night.
He groaned as he realised they he was starting to grow hard again. A cold bath was what he needed right at the moment. Nothing else could help him now unless he woke his wife up again. But, last night had already taken a toll on her. She was pregnant, and so, for the first time in his entire life, he had to practise the art of restraint. Proceeding to divest himself out of his clothes, he adjusted the temperature of the water to the coldest.
And the worst thing was, throughout the whole bath, he had to grit his teeth in order to prevent himself from howling out loud.
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Xiao You stirred when she realised that no one was beside her in bed. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she glanced at the clock and realised that it was already 10 am. Pushing herself up, she glanced around and realised that a note had been stuck on the bathroom door. Walking towards it, she pulled the note out and started reading it.
~*~*~* Note ~*~*~*
Honey,
Alex called me this morning and informed me that our company in America had met up with some problems. You looked so peaceful; I didn’t want to disturb your sleep, so I’ve left you this note. I’m really sorry for not informing you personally, but I’ve got to fly to New York and won’t be back until two weeks later (the maximum time). In the meantime, take care of yourself and approach Ah Si and the guys if you need anything.
I’ll call you once I reach New York. Don’t, and I mean, don’t overstrain yourself at work, alright? See you soon. I’ll miss you.
Ximen.
6.30 am.
~*~*~* the End ~*~*~*
Xiao You stared at the note with her mouth wide opened. Ximen would be 2 whole weeks away from home? She couldn’t help but feel slightly irritated with her husband. She wasn’t irritated because he’d left her. It was, rather, being the workaholic man he is, he’d to leave the country despite the fact that he’d just fully recovered from his operation.
She inwardly grimaced as a slight suspicion formed in her brains. She wouldn’t put past him on not informing her beforehand. He’d already known how much protest he’d drawn from her when he wanted to go back to work. Now, with him leaving the country, she was quite sure that he would have fully expected her to stop him from going, thus informing her right at the last minute where arrangements couldn’t have been changed.
She mentally forced herself to drag her mind away from her errant husband. If he loved work so much, he can jolly well suffer a little. After all, there wasn’t anything else she could do since she was sure that his flight would have taken off hours ago. She could only wait for his call, and give him what he deserved right at that moment.
She sighed when she realised that it had been a really long time since she last went to work. It’d been a long time since she had seen Suzanne and her brother. She grinned when she realised that her brother really needed her back at the office. He still had to take care of her sister. She couldn’t help but smile wistfully as she thought of Ming Jie. She was starting to miss her nephew.
At the thought of her nephew, she caressed her tummy lovingly. Of all the things she’d used to dream about, she had never dared to dream of having a baby together with Ximen. It didn’t really matter to her if her husband didn’t love her. She was already more than satisfied with the situation between Ximen and herself. Now that she was carrying his baby, she couldn’t have asked for more.
She smiled as her hands roved over the slight bulge. It’s funny how she didn’t realise that it was bulging slightly the last few weeks. Unable to contain the overwhelming sense of affection for her child, she lowered her head and whispered softly. “You don’t know how much you mean to me, sweetie. I promise to love you always. Let’s go see Uncle Zeya, Auntie Tian Bian and Little Ming Jie now alright?”
As she waited to see if her baby showed any signs of hearing her, she couldn’t help but grinned at the silliness of her actions when she remembered reading that there wouldn’t be any foetal movements until the 18th week of pregnancy. She was still only into the 13th week of pregnancy. There was going to be another 5 more weeks before she can start expecting any movements.
Xiao You had a sudden urge to see her nephew. She smiled as she decided to drop by at Yeye’s mansion before heading for work. Feeling oddly anticipative, she got out of bed and prepared to dress for work.
**********
“Ge?” Xiao You called out in surprise. She had almost knocked on her brother’s room door when she heard the sounds of the door opening. She’d thought that it would be her sister.
Zeya glanced up when he heard his sister’s voice. “Xiao You? What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you that. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” She asked curiously.
“Yes I am. It’s lunch time now, so I thought of checking up on Tian Bian and Ming Jie. Aren’t you supposed to be resting at home?” He asked sternly.
“I am, but I got too bored. I missed Ming Jie. So I thought of dropping by before heading for work.” She explained.
“Work? You’re still thinking of work in your condition?”
“Ge! I’ve rested enough already! God, Ximen’s not even complaining, why are you complaining?”
“Because, my dear girl, your husband is as hopeless as you when you guys are talking about work. You need someone to watch over you.” He retorted softly.
“I’m fine. You can watch over me at work. Just give me lesser work and everything will be just fine.” She suggested softly. “Besides, you need to be at home too. You don’t really have to worry about me, you know?”
Zeya could only roll his eyes at his sister’s suggestion. No matter what he said, he knew that she wouldn’t bother listening to them. Admitting defeat, he turned to her and asked in concern. “How’s Ximen?”
“Can we talk about him in my room?” Xiao You asked. Before Zeya could answer her, she’d already opened the door to her room. Zeya frowned when he realised that they were already in front of her room. By talking to her, he hadn’t even realised that they had actually been walking! Closing the door, she turned to look at him.
“He’s out of country at the moment.” Xiao You admitted truthfully.
“Where did he go?” He asked in surprise.
“New York. He had some urgent matters to handle in the company there.”
“And you allowed him to go without any persuasion?” He asked incredulously.
“No, he wrote me a note informing me of his whereabouts.”
Xiao You looked around her room and realised with a sudden longing, how much she had missed this home. She missed her boisterous family, she missed her parents, most of all, she missed her room. Her lips curled upwards when a sudden idea came into her head. She turned to her brother and grinned cheekily.
“What’s that for?” Zeya asked cautiously.
“Can I move in here for the next 2 weeks?”
“2 weeks?” Her brother exclaimed in surprise.
Xiao You nodded her head and felt her heart clenching painfully. “Ximen won’t be back until 2 weeks later. And I missed this place and you guys. Can I come home?” She asked with a sudden sadness.
“Is everything alright between you and Ximen, and with Uncle David? Zeya asked in concern. “Remember the time in the hospital? I haven’t forgotten about that girl. Is there anything you want to talk to me?”
Xiao You recomposed herself and shook her head. “Everything’s fine between me and Ximen. Dad has been great. I just feel like coming home ge. I missed this place. I missed this room.” She explained in a low voice.
“You’re not ready to talk yet?” Zeya asked.
“No ge, it’s not a matter of whether I’m ready or not. It’s more of what I have to do, and what I need to prioritise. What happened last time is already a past. I’m contented with what I have now. That’s all that matters to me right now.”
“Xiao You, you told us before that you wanted to fight for your happiness. Where have all that spunk gone to?” He asked softly.
“I’ve already tried ge. Truly, I did. But I’ve given up on that. Apart from fighting for my happiness, I also told you that I wanted to help him recover. It’s about time I start on that. I’ve been delaying it for far too long.”
“You’ve changed, you know?” He commented.
“Yes I did. If I didn’t, I would still be wallowing in misery now. I had to do something about it.” She agreed softly.
Zeya couldn’t help but feel anger towards Ximen. He didn’t know what his brother-in-law was thinking about, but, he had been so sure that Ximen did feel something for his sister. He couldn’t help but mentally berate himself. If he hadn’t agreed to support Xiao You, she wouldn’t be in this state now. He was at a lost. He didn’t know how else he could help her in this instance. He refocused on her when he heard her calling him.
“Ge, you don’t have to reprimand yourself. I’m fine really. Ximen treats me in a way I never imagined possible. If I didn’t know better, I would have suspected that he loved me.” She admitted truthfully.
Zeya looked at his sister in confusion. “Then what makes you so sure that he doesn’t love you, Xiao You? I’ve seen him before the marriage, and then when you guys are married. Both of you looked like a couple in love. You could have easily fooled anyone.”
Xiao You shook her head adamantly. “No ge, he doesn’t. He told me so himself. We had an argument one night in his office, and he told me right in my face that he didn’t promise to love me. I don’t want to delude myself anymore. I don’t want to give myself false hopes. All I want to do now is to help him. That’s all. No other motives involved.”
Zeya winced when he heard what his sister had told him. He fisted his hands by his side, wanting so much to punch Ximen right at the moment. Taking a deep breath, he managed to calm himself down. Turning to look at Xiao You, he asked in a tight voice. “Is this really what you want, Xiao You? You’ll just settle for contentment? You really deserve to be happy you know?”
“I know what I’m doing ge, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She assured him.
“If you say so, Xiao You. I just hope you won’t have any regrets in the end.”
“I won’t. I promise. Now, I want to see Ming Jie for a while. Give me 15 minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Are you sure you want to go back to work?” Zeya asked one last time.
“More than anything else ge. You know that no matter what you say, I still won’t change my mind, so let’s just get going.” Xiao You said laughingly, pulling him out of her room at the same time. Minutes later, when she was standing in front of his bedroom’s door, she turned and continued impishly. “I’m still staying over for the next 2 weeks. Remember that alright?”
Zeya could only roll his eyes upwards, nod his head and than groaned in a loud voice.
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Ximen threw his suitcase on the hotel bed, and loosened his tie at the same time. He had headed for the company immediately after landing, and had worked through until now. He closed his eyes and opened them widely a minute later when he remembered that he’d yet to call his wife.
He groaned as he thought about his wife. He couldn’t help it. How was he going to survive the next two weeks without seeing her? She’d become part of him, so much so that it’d actually felt weird not seeing her at all. “Finish whatever you need to do here fast and fly back home, Ximen.” He mentally chided himself. He’d felt extremely guilty for leaving her in the morning, and most especially when she was pregnant. But he couldn’t help it.
Alex had called early in the morning to inform him of the major problem with their company in America, informing him that they couldn’t afford to have any delay. And as usual, his secretary had been right. Thankfully, the problem was now more or less settled, and all he had to do now was to watch the performance of the company until it had stabilised before he would be ready to fly back to Taiwan.
Out of a sudden, he shuddered involuntarily. He frowned as he felt a niggling feeling that something bad would happen within the period that he was away. Immediately after that, the first person he thought of was his wife. Feeling ill at ease, he took out his cell phone and dialled Lei’s number.
“Hello?” Lei asked sleepily.
“Lei, Ximen here.”
“Ximen, do you know what time is it?” Lei asked grumpily.
“I’m sorry Lei, I didn’t check the time. Am I disturbing?”
“Of course you are. It’s 2 am in the morning!” He continued in frustration.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m in New York now, but I need an urgent favour from you.” Ximen continued apologetically.
Ximen couldn’t help but grinned as he felt the sudden intake of his friend’s breath over the phone. He knew he’d surprised him since his departure had been somewhat urgent. He winced when he realised that he’d forgotten to inform his friends about his impending fatherhood and refocused when he heard Lei’s sober voice.
“That’s fast.” He couldn’t help but teased.
“Of course that’s fast. You never leave the country without informing us beforehand. What’s wrong?” He asked in concern.
“I need you to watch over Xiao You for me. I don’t know why, but I have a weird feeling that something is going to happen to her while I’m away.” He explained.
“You call me in the middle of the night to ask me to watch over her?” He asked incredulously. “What would happen to her Ximen? She’s a grown up for goodness sake!” He continued in exasperation. “You’re being so paranoid!”
“No! Hear me out! I forgot to mention to you guys that she’s already 3 months pregnant. I’m afraid something would happen to the baby or to her while I’m away.”
“Oh, that’s something else.” Lei asked after a moment of stunned silence.
“Yes, I couldn’t depend on the rest because they don’t have the father-to-be experience yet.”
“No problem then. Leave her to me. When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure. But I’ll finish up as fast as possible. Thanks Lei.” Ximen said appreciatively.
“No problem. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to sleep.”
“Night Lei and I’m really sorry for the disturbance.”
Ximen heaved a sigh of relief when he ended the call. He could trust Lei with his wife’s protection. He mentally wondered if he should call Xiao You. After all, from what Lei had just told him, it was already 2 am. He didn’t want to wake his wife if she was already sleeping. But then again, knowing his wife, he was quite sure that she would be furious with him, and waiting up the whole night just for his call. Lifting his hands to see his cell phone, he dialled in the house number just so in case if she’s already asleep, he wouldn’t be disturbing her.
“Hello?”
“Uncle Lin, I’m Ximen. Is Xiao You asleep?”
“Shao ye, Shao fu ren is not at home.” Butler Lin informed him.
“She’s not at home?” Ximen asked in surprise. He panicked when he remembered the niggling feeling earlier. Dear god, had he been too late? In an outwardly calm voice, he continued. “Where did she go?”
“She’s at her family’s mansion Shao ye. She told me that she’ll be staying over there until you come home.”
“Thank you, Uncle Lin. And remember to sleep early.”
“Yes Shao ye. Good night.”
Ximen let out a breath of air as he ended the call. He mentally chided himself for being paranoid. Not wanting to waste any minute, he continued dialling Xiao You’s cell phone number.
“You finally dinged to call huh?” His wife asked over the phone.
“Hi to you too.” Ximen teased.
“Idiot. I bet you hid your trip on purpose!” Xiao You stated in a slightly higher than her normal volume voice.
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet? It’s already so late in Taiwan.” He asked in concern.
“You’re hoping that I would be sleeping so that you would have the chance of skipping this lashing, or are you really concerned Ximen?” She asked sweetly. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” She asked with irritation.
Ximen sighed and then continued. “I explained in the note didn’t I? Alex called me this morning to let me know.”
“You’re taking me for a 3-yr old kid? If I must remind you, I’m still Rainie Yang.”
Ximen took a deep breath before continuing. “Xiao You, I swear I didn’t keep it from you on purpose. If you don’t believe me, you can call Alex. He’ll tell you the truth.” He could understand why his wife was acting this way. No one would believe him given the way he used to be in the past. Business always came before his health. It’s only after marrying Xiao You did health come before business. In fact, if anyone had asked him how he would rank the most important things in his life now, it would be:
1. Xiao You
2. His parents
3. His health
4. F4 and their wives and;
5. Business
He refocused on his wife when he heard her voice.
“You’re sure you telling me the truth?” She asked after a moment’s hesitation.
“I am. Now, enough about me. How are you feeling?” He asked in concern.
“I’m fine, Ximen. You don’t have to worry about me. Promise me you take care of yourself in New York.” She ordered over the phone.
“I promise, Xiao You. You’re staying over at Yeye’s place?”
“How did you know?” She asked in surprise.
“I called home earlier. I didn’t want to disturb you if you were already asleep.”
“Oh. You take care and come back early alright?”
‘”I will. I’m already starting to miss you. Take care of yourself too. Good night honey.”
“Night, Ximen.”
Ximen stared at his phone with a renewed determination after ending the call with his wife. He wanted to go home as soon as possible. He wanted to tell her desperately how much he loved her. He wanted to take the risk with her. Damn whatever consequences there would be in the future. The important thing now was her happiness. If by saying out loud that he loved her would make her happy, he would just have to accede to whatever she wanted, wouldn’t it?
**********
Xiao You turned to stare out of the window, trying her best to rest her mind off the work that she had been trying to clear since morning. She placed her fingers on her forehead and began rubbing in circular motion, just as she had been doing since she had woken up in the morning. Her head had been throbbing since she had started work, and until now, it hadn’t gone away.
She frowned as she compared her performance at work today with yesterday. Yesterday, she had been practically charged with energy, consistently working from papers to papers without feeling tired. But today had been completely opposite.
Instinctively, her fingers started caressing her tummy protectively.
Since she had woken up in the morning, she had felt unwell. She didn’t know what was happening to her. But instead of complaining about her pregnancy symptoms, she’d cherished every single one of them. Other mothers-to-be may dislike having them, but in truth, she loved every single one of them since they started invading in her daily life. It had only served to remind her of the child that would be Ximen and hers someday.
Realising that her headache had started to subside slightly, she tried to refocus back on her work. But just as she was about to pick up her pen, she felt a wave of nausea attacking her. Pushing her chair hurriedly, she’d almost knocked into her brother when she had slammed opened the door.
Zeya frowned when he saw his sister covering her mouth and running towards the directions of the restroom. He mentally wondered what was happening to her. He closed the door behind him and proceeded towards the sofa to wait for her.
“Ge, you’re looking for me?” Xiao You asked 5 minutes later as she walked into her office.
Zeya looked up at his sister and was about to smile when he realised that something was not quite right with her today.
“Ge?” Xiao You called out, waving her hands in front of him as she sat down in the opposite chair.
“Yes?” Zeya asked dazedly.
“What’s wrong with you? You look weird.” Xiao You asked in concern.
“I was just thinking about how different you look today.” He explained. “Anyway, what happened to you earlier?”
“I was feeling nauseous, so I went to the restroom to let it out.” She explained.
Zeya grinned when he heard what his sister had said. “So you’re finally having the pregnancy symptoms huh?”
“Yes. Why do you look so smug?”
“I can tell your sister how unlucky you are finally. She’s been complaining about how lucky you are with your lack of symptoms.” He explained with a grin.
Xiao You narrowed her eyes at her brother. “You’re gloating over my discomfort? What sort of brother are you?”
“A good sort.” He answered cheekily.
“Whatever!” She retorted, wriggling her nose at him at the same time.
Zeya looked intently at Xiao You and smiled when he realised that she was indeed looking better than before. Before he knew what he was saying, he blurted out. “You’ve put on weight you know? That’s scary! When your sister was pregnant, she didn’t put on weight as fast as you did!” He said with the intentions to tease her.
Xiao You widened her eyes when she heard what her brother was saying. “I put on weight? Are you sure? I’ve barely been eating properly!”
“Yes you did.” He assured her cheekily.
Xiao You could only walk towards him and swat him on his shoulders. Before she knew what was happening, she felt her brother grabbing her hands. “What’s that for?” She asked confusedly.
“Look, you can’t even fit your wedding ring into your finger.” He carried on teasingly. After a while, he raised her hands looked intently at her fingers. “That’s strange. Why does your hand looked swelled?”
“It’s normal for swelling during pregnancy, ge!” Xiao You retorted. “Why are you here anyway?“
“Oh, I wanted to ask if you’ve finished the proposal for Sonic Company.”
“Yeah, I’m done with it. Hold on a second. I’ll get it for you.”
Xiao You stood up from the chair and was about to head for her desk when she realised that her desk looked blurry to her. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she gripped the arms of the sofa and forced herself to focus. But instead, all she could still see was a blurry vision of her desk. Before she knew what was happening, she felt her brother supporting her and guiding her back to where she was seated before.
“What’s happening?” He asked anxiously. “God, Xiao You, this is the second time you’re unstable on your feet. Is everything alright?”
“I’m fine. Just feeling dizzy that’s all.”
“I don’t remember Tian Bian feeling dizzy all the time you know? You’re sure everything’s fine?” He continued asking in concern.
“I think so.” She answered softly.
“You can’t think so, girl. You have to be sure. You’ve got you and your baby’s health to take care of!” Zeya reminded her gently.
“I know. Ge, can you do me a favour? I don’t think I’m in any state to drive home now. Can you get a chauffeur to drive me home?”
“I will. Promise me once you reach home you’ll make an appointment with your gynaecologist alright?”
“I will. Thanks for helping me ge.” Xiao You said in appreciation.
Zeya looked at his sister in concern. He didn’t know what was happening to her. But he couldn’t help but utter a silent prayer that everything would be fine for her. She’d already gone through so much; she didn’t deserve any more problems. Filled with affection, he could only gruff at her. “Don’t be silly. You’re the only sister I ever have. How can I even complain?” After a while, he recomposed himself and continued. “Wait here. I’ll call the chauffeur.”
Xiao You tried to focus on her brother when she saw him walking towards her desk. Still blurred by her vision, she decided not to bother herself with what he was doing. Before she knew what she was saying, she murmured in a low voice towards her brother. “Whatever happens in future ge, remember that I love you - always and forever.”
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To: lynsey, XY/X reader, ;)
Hmm... hope that the part where Xm was bathing explained what happened! Not so much details, but you guys can fuel your imaginations eh? =P
Haha... to the rest, hope that you'll like this chapter! Geez.. I'm kinda finding it weird to end off the chapter like this.. goodness, but i can't think of other things to end off with already... Haha.. pardon me for my rambling! Heh. Anyway, thanks for reading, and keep the comments coming in!