Such was how they consummated their love on their wedding night.

"Are you… alright?" Chen Linyun asked his wife after their pa.s.sionate love-making. It was both their first time engaging into the intimate activity. He was worried about her, more than anything else.

"Yes…" She said softly almost a whisper. She was tired and sore, but nevertheless, accomplished.

"I'm glad it's you…" Xue Jinxu glanced up to lock gazes with him. Her cheeks were still flushed.

"Have you… have you… dated other guys before?" Chen Linyun asked, as if it still matters. He asked out of curiosity, but as they said, curiosity killed the cat, so he was not quite sure if he really wanted to know.

"No… I have not dated anyone before you."

"Would you believe, I'm not popular to the guys when I was younger, like way back in high school? The popular girl was my friend, Teng Man Rui, and I'm the tomboy. Hehehe." She was recalling her childhood. He was all ears.

"Our school was exclusive for girls, but it had a neighboring school which was exclusive for boys. That was where my twin brother, Minhe-ge studied. One time both schools were having its annual soiree [1]. The boys from the other school asked out the girls from our school. All the boys flocked around my friend Man Rui, while…" She trailed off, with apparent sadness in her tone, "no one asked me out." She laughed sadly recalling the incident.

"I cried each pa.s.sing day before the soiree. I had never felt so ugly. Teng Man Rui and I always spent our free time together so I was there whenever a boy approached her. The difference in the treatment that we experienced was so vast. Every time, I felt so ugly and hurt. I never told anyone about it."

"Not that I got envious of my friend… But… the feeling of being unwanted, and the feeling of being an outcast, a spectator when all the other kids my age partic.i.p.ated in all those asking out and waiting and preparing for the party… I was left out… That feeling… It sucked big time…"

She smiled and looked at Chen Linyun. "Do you know what happened next? Can you guess?"

"Ahh, hehe." He scratched his head. "You didn't go to the soiree, I guess?"

"I decided not to go. But then, my twin brother asked me why. So I had to tell him what happened."

"Chen Linyun, do you know what my brother did?"

"He knew what was happening all along. He knew that the boys in his school did not ask me out. He thought that they were intimidated by us – him and me both. He felt slightly guilty. My brother was popular back then. He was like a celebrity. Girls screamed his name and supported him whenever he had compet.i.tions. At the time of the soiree, all the girls in my school were waiting to be asked out by him."

"Do you know Chen Linyun? He did not ask anyone out. He went with me instead. Yes, he became my partner. He wanted me to go, to experience it like any other girl, and escorted me all night. I did not care about anyone anymore, because my twin brother was looking out for me…" She sighed.

"You miss your brother?" Chen Linyun asked. By now he had already known the family secret that he already pa.s.sed away.

"Yeah. I miss him every single day. We were together ever since we were conceived in the womb, until we were eighteen. We used to be inseparable. We were partners in crime. We were a team, always." She sighed, then smiled. "I hope he's at peace now, wherever he is."

"My benchmark of a guy is my twin brother. That's probably why I have not liked anyone before. He's near perfect. If he's still here with us, I'm sure the both of you will be in good terms with each other. You're both kindred spirits, gentle people." She kissed his cheek.

Chen Linyun squeezed her arm and pulled her tighter to console her. He was glad that she's letting him into her head, into her past. He felt honored that she finds him trustworthy to share her deepest secrets with.

"I should have been there. I would have asked you out." He kissed her forehead. He tightened the arm that was wrapped around her.

"Around the time that we first met, it was then that my brother pa.s.sed away. I was grieving when you first saw me. That was also the reason why I had to leave the university so suddenly." She explained her side of the story when they first met.

"They said that nice people leave this world sooner. That's why Chen Linyun, don't be too nice alright?" She looked at him with pleading doe eyes. It was undeniably cute.

Chen Linyun was amused and enthralled at the same time. "What is your idea of not being too nice?"

"Hmm… Be naughty sometimes! Intentionally!" She said, more of a command.

Chen Linyun suddenly pulled her waist closer to him. She gasped. His hold was too tight, she was having a hard time to breathe. "Like this?" He probed, then started showering her with kisses all over, utilizing his tongue in the process. He kept on sucking her skin, that most probably it would have formed hickeys. The lady was quite getting weaker with his love attacks. Soon, they had started another round of their pa.s.sionate love-making.

---

For the first few days they spent their married life mostly in their suite, drunk with pa.s.sion and intoxicated with each other. They could not get enough of one another. They filled their days snuggling with eah other, or doing mundane things like eating breakfast in bed together, talking about sweet nothings. Mixed with these came rains of kisses and warmth from one to the other. Sometimes the lady initiated bashfully, while most of the times, it's the husband who made sure the lady was loved profusely.

At times, they snuggled while telling past adventures during their childhood, or anything worth noting. They shared their memories with their friends, their families, and their insights about life.

While cuddling they talked about random topics which they could think of. They talked about their beliefs, their hobbies, and their dislikes. They talked about their plans for the future, and the direction their life together was headed.

[1] party