Chapter 12 - The Honeymoon

Qing Chen's hands enclosed upon the cold doorknob and he pushed it open. It was a good idea to have scanned through the blueprints for they wouldn't have been able to tell which room was which. This one was on the right side of the house.

The lights were on in the huge bedroom. There was a television setup and chandeliers like suspended rain hung above the enormous bed. There was a huge heart made with red rose petals on top of the silk sheets. On one side, the view of the backyard, and beyond that, the sea.

He heard Feng Xuan from behind him. "I'll clean this up."

"Would it be okay if I use the bathroom first, then?"

"Sure," his wife replied to him. The bathroom was next to a wall of shelves with little statues and books that seemed to be only there for decoration purposes. He found two suitcases inside the bathroom. Like the rest of the house, it looked very modern with the angles and the mixture of light and dark elements.

After a short hot shower, Qing Chen unzipped the black suitcase because the pink one was obviously Feng Xuan's. Inside he found a few clothes, only meant for the weekend. He pulled on a shirt and a pair of pajamas. Grabbing his laptop case, he headed out.

Feng Xuan was so busy trying to get every piece of petal away from the bed. This was what she had been afraid of. She knew there was something fishy with the house. She had also found candles that smelled like lavenders. She was just keeping her hands busy because she didn't want to think about what she would be doing in the bed in the next hour.

Her heart almost stopped beating when the bathroom door opened. She breathed in relief when she saw Qing Chen fully-clothed. Why she was expecting him to suddenly pop out stark n.a.k.e.d? She did not know.

"I got all the petals out," she informed him.

"Thank you," he said.

She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in front of the mirror. "Oh, no. Please tell me I wasn't that red when he came out," she whimpered. "What the heck, Feng Xuan, what are you thinking? Why did you get married?"

In annoyance, she started pulling out the pins that was holding her hair up. Lock by lock, her hair fell down to her body. She massaged her scalp while in the shower and blew it dry.

After her hair was done, she washed her face twice and brushed her teeth thrice. It felt like all the muscles in her body were jumping. Or maybe it was her soul that wanted to come out and leave the body for a few hours.

Oh, how she wished she could talk to Wang Yimin right now. She should've gotten that 'talk' when she had the chance. She did not even know what to do. How do you even kiss someone? How do you... you know? Were people supposed to just, like, know how to? Was there a manual about it?

Feng Xuan unzipped her suitcase with a deep breath. "What on earth?" she asked herself as she pulled out a pair of what was supposed to be underwear. She gasped when she saw how thin the lace was. "Why bother wearing it?!"

She saw a little yellow paper, small like a business card.

**

Good luck!

- WY

**

"Oh, that woman!" she gritted through her teeth. She rummaged through the bag and found almost all sorts of lingerie that would barely cover her private parts. "Goodness," she whispered when she found a pair of pinkish violet pajamas. They were made of silk and exposed her midriff and a part of her butt cheeks because the shorts was too, well, short. Better than close to nothing.

Her hands were shaking a little while she was applying a thin layer of lotion on her skin. She was even tempted to say a little prayer just to calm herself down.

"Now or never," she said to herself, gathering up courage to open the bathroom door. "When I leave this door, I will be another woman, brave and strong," she whispered.

Thankfully when she stepped outside, the lights were already off and only the two lampshades on both nightstands remained on. Qing Chen was there on the bed with his laptop on his lap, calmly typing.

Her heart was beating so loud she almost couldn't hear it anymore. This is my duty as a wife, she reminded herself. I am sure Qing Chen would be kind to me. Right?

She bit her lip and started talking small steps towards the bed.

"Do you want to keep a light on, or do you want to turn it all off?" Qing Chen asked her and flipped his laptop close. "I'm fine either way."

Feng Xuan forced herself to swallow even though her mouth had gone dry minutes ago. "O-off."

"Alright, then." Qing Chen put his laptop on the nightstand and moved to turn his light off but stopped midway when Feng Xuan stood in front of him. "Oh, sorry," he said. "Do you sleep on this side of the bed?"

Feng Xuan's eyebrows shut upwards. "What?"

"Do you prefer this side of the bed?"

Feng Xuan blinked, some of her nervousness ebbing away while getting lost in the conversation. What was he talking about? "N-no."

Qing Chen gave her a confused look. "Then...?"

"Aren't we supposed to do something?"

"Uh... what?"

That was it. Feng Xuan had enough of this suspense. Just get it over and done with. It would be better that way. At least she would no longer feel like her stomach was trying to claw its way out of her.

Unsure but brave, she lifted her leg and straddled Qing Chen's h.i.p.s.

Feng Xuan saw how realization punched Qing Chen in the face.

"O-oh!" her husband said. "Right," he laughed, putting his head on his hand. "The honeymoon. I forgot."

"Really?" What kind of man would forget something like that? Wasn't he supposed to be excited about this night? He was now married, wouldn't he want to sleep with his wife?

"No, no, no, not really. It just slipped my mind for a second. I'm sorry we are not in somewhere more romantic. I have business to attend to tomorrow. Sorry we couldn't go to the honeymoon immediately."

Qing Chen really did almost forget about the honeymoon. He had not even planned it yet because he knew he would be busy over the next few days. But upon seeing Feng Xuan now, he was sort of regretting not having planned it. There were thoughts that were knocking in his mind, but they were unwelcome.

"Oh," Feng Xuan replied to him softly. Her cheeks were tinged with pink again. Just how many more times would his wife going to blush before the night was over? "S-still..."

Qing Chen felt his body jolt a little in surprise. She wanted to push through? First impression on Feng Xuan: delicate, beautiful, and she might break if you handled it too much. But... really? Wow.

Excitement started to rush in his veins and he took a calming breath to slow them down.

The words left his lips. "Well, then," he said, putting his hands on Feng Xuan's waist and waited. He was just there, sitting, looking at her brown eyes that looked like bronze with the orange light of the lamp.

A few seconds passed and Feng Xuan did not move. Qing Chen's eyebrows furrowed in curiousity. "Have you done this before?"

The question seemed to bring Feng Xuan back to reality. The shake of her head came first before the answer. "N-no."

Qing Chen's lips spread into a smile and a light chuckle. "It's all right. I have a question though. Do you really want to do this tonight?"

Feng Xuan's pinkish lips answered, "Y-yes."

"Obviously not," he said with a kinder smile. He really did not mind. He was not even planning on doing 'it' tonight. "We can do this some other night. When you're ready."

"I am ready."

"You're not."

"I. am."

Feng Xuan's eyes seemed to pin him into position. How cute? he thought. But he was not having any of this. If she was just going to do this because she was just trying to prove a point, no thank you.

Tentatively, he put his hands on Feng Xuan's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "We really don't have to do this tonight. It's okay."

Something broke inside Feng Xuan's eyes. Bingo! "Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank goodness!" she breathed in relief. Whew! She thought she would really have to do this right now. She lifted her leg off Qing Chen and dropped to her side of the bed. She felt like she wanted to laugh. What were those nervous feelings earlier? It was all for nothing. Silly her.

By the way Feng Xuan sighed, Qing Chen knew she was not really ready for it. He was not going to blame her. It would be her first time and it would be really hard having to let that go. He wouldn't impose his will on her body.

Feng Xuan had her hand on top of her forehead, as if she felt feverish. Qing Chen turned his light off and fixed his pillows before lying down. He was just watching her chest go up and down faster than normal.

He asked, "You ever kissed someone?"

"No."

Interesting, he thought. "What did your daddy do? Caged you up? Prohibited you from having boyfriends?"

"No," she answered. Feng Xuan moved and put herself under the blanket. She turned to Qing Chen's inquiring face. It struck her yet again just how handsome she found him. "I had always known I was going to be married to someone like this one day. I just... I wanted to keep myself clean."

"It's your choice?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because having no other man touch me, makes me the perfect wife."

Feng Xuan looked like a person who was very modern in way of thinking. But somehow, when it came to this she was traditional. Qing Chen found that a little puzzling. "Being celibate does not make the perfect wife. Kissing people, loving their bodies—it makes you human."

"Well, my father is stuck in an era I can no longer see."

Right, he guessed that about Feng Lizhao. Why else would he have chosen to have Feng Xuan marry him in the first place? "Many are," he said to her, feeling a little sorry.

Now it was Feng Xuan who got curious. "How many girls have you kissed?"

"Does it matter?" he wanted to ask but then pulled it back. "Well it might matter to you because I would probably be your first kiss. The answer is: not very many. I didn't have much time for such a thing."

"I need a number."

"Four," he answered.

"And the women you slept with?"

"Half of that."

He watched Feng Xuan's silent gasp. "Really?!"

Qing Chen shrugged. "I told you, I didn't have much time. Most of my life I had just been learning the, uh, business. To be in the right state of mind to lead it."

Feng Xuan nodded at him, looking a little impressed. "Another question."

"Yeah?"

"Did you want to kiss me?"

Qing Chen laughed, flipping to his back. "Of course I did," he answered her truthfully and Feng Xuan felt another flutter in her stomach. HE WANTED TO KISS HER.

"That's why I asked you if you have done this before, because I don't think I am worthy to be your first. You saved it up to this point. Twenty-two years and I am just a man you met today."

It was like something warm touched her chest. "You're going to have to kiss me at some point." Feng Xuan, finding courage knowing Qing Chen had no intentions for tonight, she teasingly trailed her fingers on his arm. "You're gonna have to have s.e.x with me."

A smile started to appear in Qing Chen's face. "Yeah, I know."

She withdrew her hand. "Were your parents arranged too?"

His fingers found their way to his hair and Feng Xuan wondered how soft they were. "Yes, they were."

"Were they okay together?"

Short memories of his parents flashed in his mind and he smiled. "They were great."

"Did they love each other?"

"Very much." Until the end, he almost added.

Feng Xuan rolled to her back. "Mine did too." She turned her head to look at him and waited for him to look back at her before she asked. "Are you waiting to love me before you have s.e.x with me?"

His lips moved as if he was trying to stop laughter. Why was she so curious as to when? For Qing Chen, it would be something that would just happen. He swallowed and in all honest tone, "When the time is right."

Xuan smiled. She accepted his answer although it did not really answer her question. She felt like it was enough. He didn't promise that he would love her and she liked that.

At least she knew he was not the type of guy that would make empty promises.

"Just a reminder though," she started. "If this all ends in a divorce you're on the losing side."

Qing Chen's lips smiled wider. "It won't. I'll make sure that it won't."