With all the stress and anxiety masking it, Chang had not realized how much her hunger had built up all day. Before she realized it, she had scraped her plate clean that had been full of food only the moment before. As soon as she had scraped the last bit off, Jian made another small pile on it. Looking at the mountain he had put on her plate again, Chang blushed, feeling like a total glutton. Not only had she been hungrier than she had realized, but he had also ordered some of her favorite foods. Sweet and sour pork ribs, moo goo gai pan, lo bak go, he had even poured a bowl of egg drop soup for both her mother and herself, although hers still sat untouched.
'How did he know that I love the food from this place? Where did he even get these dishes from, and how did he even get the food and the dishes in? I didn't know you could bring outside food into a hospital, how did he get this in..? Hmm, should I even still be surprised by the things this man does?' Raising an eyebrow, Chang chewed on the end of her chopsticks as she got lost in her thoughts.
"Xiao Xi, don't chew on your chopsticks! You have to eat, you've grown so skinny, how will you fulfill your mama's wish if you're so thin!" LiHua's admonishment brought Chang out of her thoughts. She was confused at her mother's words and wondered what she meant before remembering what she meant. It was the topic from earlier coming around to haunt her again. Her mother was such a spoon sometimes, she just loved to stir up trouble. It was one of her mother's fortes.
"Hmm I concur, you should eat more, I like it when you have more to hold onto." Jian leaned over and whispered the second half into her ear, causing them to turn red.
Slapping her chopsticks onto her plate, Chang stared at the two of them, fuming. The two of them continued to eat nonchalantly as if they had not been teasing her only a moment before. Unable to maintain her composure, Chang got up and stalked into the private adjoining bathroom and slammed the door shut.
"Such a child still in so many ways." LiHua snorted and laughed seeing her daughter's flustered reaction.
"Mm." Liang JianAmal replied with a low grunt, his eyes twinkling while his lips were curled into a satisfied smile.
LiHua brightened seeing his reaction, 'I'm glad she found such a caring man like her father, good job Chang!'
----
In the bathroom, Chang ran cold water to splash on her face and neck. Eventually, her face stopped burning and she only had a hint of rosiness on her cheeks. As she did so, she was careful not to displace her makeup as best she could. Even though she could only feel the bruise on her cheek when she pressed on it, it would do her no good to have her mother see it. Looking in the mirror, Chang could tell there was a hint of swelling in the area in her cheek as well as her lower lip and hoped her mother would not notice.
'Ah, I guess this is as good as it gets.'
Drying her hands, Chang exited the bathroom swiftly her dress swirling around her knees with her quick motion. She sat down back in her chair to eat more, as dammit she was still hungry and would just have to brave through their wicked ways! As she sat down, her mother was nibbling at a lo bak go cake. As she nibbled LiHua looked up at her daughter and dropped the food from her chopsticks onto her plate. She stared in wide-eyed shock at what she saw.
Chang was confused as to her mom's reaction but followed the line of sight to her neck, where she'd unbuttoned her collar a couple buttons while she splashed water on her neck.
'Wait, my neck!' Chang instantly slapped a hand over the area her mother was staring at and glared at Jian. 'This is your fault!' Silently she accused him with blazing eyes.
LiHua coughed lightly and eventually tore her eyes off the marks on her daughter's neck with difficulty. "It appears I need not say anymore, I had no idea my daughter was so good to her old mother. I will be patient and await good news soon."
"Hmm look forward to it." Liang JianAmal replied quickly while smirking at Chang. Needing a change of topic quickly, Chang cleared her throat and quickly interjected before either of them could say more.
"So mom how come you're here? You didn't hit your head on a cabinet or anything did you?"
1 Moo goo gai pan- in short nummy nummy an americanized version of a cantonese dish that has mushrooms, chicken, snow peas, bamboo shoots, horse chestnut, and usually carrots.
2 Lo Bak Go shredded Chinese radish and rice flour baked into a cake, usually served as a dim sum type of food, again nummy nummy.
3 Egg Drop Soup made of boiled chicken broth and wispy beaten eggs, usually has tofu and scallions in it too
Uh and now I'm super hungry, never write about food when you're hungry..
Thankfully Jian had booked the two of them a hotel to sleep for the night after leaving the hospital. While her childhood home was not too far, but with all the car traffic of the area, it would be more than a few hours to reach it with the time it was.
After eating and chatting with her mother for a long while, LiHua told them that she was tiring and needed to rest. Taking their leave Chang gave her mom a big hug and kiss on the cheek before leaving. While holding her mother Chang whispered sorry to her. Chang knew that an apology would not come anywhere close enough to making up for all the time she had been away, but she did not know what else to say. LiHua had told her that it was fine while patting her back. Even though her mother had said it was fine, Chang still did not feel right inside.
As she lay in bed next to Jian, Chang's mind kept spinning around, circling around all the unusual circumstances surrounding her mother. While she could not figure out what it was she knew something was off.
'Ugh I shouldn't have taken a nap earlier, stupid brain won't turn off now!' Lamenting to herself Chang tried to count sheep to bring herself to sleep. The sheep soon became lambs though, which then became babies, bringing her mind right back to her mother's words, Jian's devilish ways and hands.
'Ahhhhhh my brain has been infected by them!' Smashing a pillow to her face, Chang tried to block out the thoughts and images that were flooding her mind. Rocking slightly, Chang felt the pillow she was clutching to get removed. Looking up she saw Jian looking at her quizzically, one eyebrow raised. Afraid he would read her thoughts and act on them, Chang scrunched up her eyes tight and turned them away. 'Oh shit, I thought he was asleep! Just ignore me, please go back to sleep demon beast-man!' His arms wrapped around her waist anyways and pulled her closer to him, rolling her so that her back was to his chest.
"Just go to sleep." Rumbling in a low, gravelly voice, Jian's breathing disturbed the hairs around her neck. Further stirring up her already overly active mind, especially when he spoke in such a sexy voice.
'How can I?!?' Chang thought incredulously to herself. She could clearly feel his hard body pressed up against her surrounding her in an almost embarrassing heat. Chang lay there stiffly in his embrace for the longest time before sleep eventually took her as she relaxed.
Chang awoke alone in the bed to muted light shining in through the hotel curtains. She briefly looked around for Jian before shrugging her shoulders and heading to the window. Throwing back the curtains and opening the window wide she looked out on a bright grey foggy morning, thick with the smell of salt and moisture. Taking in a deep whiff of the refreshing smell of home, Chang felt invigorated and lingered for a while before carrying on with her day. With a bright mood, she hustled to the bathroom to shower and change out of her pajamas.
Jian had already prepared her a set of clothes for the day as well as the cotton pajamas she currently wore. To her, it seemed as if he had already planned everything out thoroughly as he even had prepared a bag of toiletries of products for her as well as the clothes.
Humming a little tune she strode right into the bathroom and came face to face with a very surprised Jian who stood on the other side of the doorway.
Naked.
His bronzed skin still glistened with water rivulets and droplets from having just gotten out of the shower. As she entered he was still reaching for the towel hanging in front of him.
Chang unwittingly was riveted to the spot, stuck on the sight. Going from his widened amber eyes, her eyes followed down from his bobbing Adam's apple to his wide shoulders and further. He was an incredibly well-proportioned man with a built chest and 6-pack abs that led down to narrow hips and long lean legs from years of running and horseback riding. Her eyes lingered on the v from his hips, feeling heat creep up on her face as she did.
"Are you prepared to take responsibility if you keep staring at me like that." His smoldering voice shook Chang out of her reverie.
"Oh my God, I was staring at him so lecherously. How embarrassing!' Chang immediately turned around slapping her hands on her eyes. This was only her second time in her life at having seen him naked, she was not used to such a sight at all! Especially so early in the morning. With her back turned Chang kept her eyes covered as she waited for him to cover himself, still seeing the after image that was burned into her head. Jian let out a deep sigh from behind her as she heard the sound of him pulling the towel off of the rack.
Walking up beside her wearing only a small towel wrapped around his, Jian gave her a kiss on the side of her cheek where her hand did not cover. As he kissed her he whispered gently into her ear.
"Good morning."
Chang was not sure if it was because of the way he whispered it or the image still burned into her mind, but the two words sounded exceptionally filthy to her and not innocent as he intended. Flustered Chang uncovered her face and hurriedly rushed him out of the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind him once he was out. Leaning against the back of the door, Chang felt her heart race as if she had just a marathon.
'That man will be the death of me!' Even though she complained to herself, Chang still wore a small smile.
Hopping in the shower, Chang thoroughly washed herself, trying to avoid looking at the marks fading on her. While the shower felt amazing to her and she would have loved to luxuriate in it for a while longer, she was eager to find out what the promised surprise for today would be. Drying herself, Chang unfolded the prepared clothes and smiled in wonderment as she studied it.
Jian had picked out for her a light pink chiffon dress that ended just above her knees in a bell form. At the top of the high neck, there were some ruffles as well as a black ribbon that tied it together at the top. Putting it on Chang gave a twirl in front of the mirror, loving the way the skirt flowed as she moved. The dress was just her style, and also helped mask the marks he had left on her to her relief.
Chang was touched by Jian's consideration, he was so thorough in everything he did. Smiling to herself Chang felt the soft part of her heart warm. Quickly finger-combing her hair as best she could, Chang exited the bathroom, ready to face the day.
Good morning♡
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