Daoming Si ran through Heathrow airport like he was running a marathon. He had to make this flight, he just had to.
He swore under his breath when he saw that he had only 5 more minutes before the boarding gate closed. He could hear them announcing him name through the PA system and his heart filled with panic and dread. Why are these boarding gates so damn far??! And why did that meeting have to drag on forever??!
Unfortunately there were also no buggies in sight so he couldn't ask one to bring him to the boarding gate. He didn't even have his business class privileges this time, as the seats were full, so he had opted to fly coach, just so that he could make it back to Shanghai in time.
He arrived, panting, at the gate, 10 minutes later, only to find the plane slowly pulling away.
"Fvck!!" he cursed as he collapsed on a nearby chair. He almost wept as he buried his face in his hands. Shancai would be terribly disappointed. By the time he got on the next plane, it would be much too late. There was no hope of him getting back on time.
He pulled out his phone and typed out a very apologetic message peppered with terms of endearment. Then he wearily got up and made his way to the ticketing counter, still hoping for a miracle.
Si opened the front door to the Daoming mansion quietly. The whole house was in darkness. It was his first wedding anniversary, and he had missed it. He had promised Shancai a special evening, and he had broken his promise. Awful didn't even begin to describe what he felt.
He stepped into their master bedroom and found the love of his life in their bed, fast asleep. He saw that she was still dressed up, and even had makeup on. What was it that she had replied to his text? "Don't worry dear, I'll wait up, maybe you won't be that late and we can still have a nice evening in." His heart twisted when he realised that she had fallen asleep while waiting for him.
He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and slowly tucked her into bed, careful not to wake her. He took a shower and climbed into bed himself, thinking that he wouldn't even see her the next morning as he had to be up extra early for an important meeting. He sighed, feeling terrible that her hopes of him arriving early that evening were dashed.
Brushing away the tears that filled his eyes, he hugged her close to him as he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
The next day, he arrived home early, as he had asked his secretary to cancel all his afternoon appointments. He had texted Shancai earlier "Wear something nice. I'll take you somewhere extra special tonight, to make up for yesterday."
He arrived home, again to find the house in complete darkness. Are we having an electricity-saving campaign? he thought amusedly to himself.
"Shancai! Shancai, where are you?" he called out to her as he climbed the stairs to their bedroom. "Are you ready to go?"
Suddenly she appeared at the doorway of the room and he drew a sharp breath.
She looked stunning in an off-shoulder white dress, which perfectly accented her collarbones and shapely legs.
Suddenly his throat went dry. How was he expected to sit through an entire dinner with her looking like that?
He didn't realise that he had spoken his thoughts out loud. Shancai looked mischievously at him.
"I knew you would say that, so we're not going out tonight," she told him.
"We're not?" Si asked, still dazed by his wife's ethereal beauty.
She gently took his hand and led him to the balcony of their house. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to," He readily complied, allowing her to guide him.
"Open your eyes now, surprise!" Si slowly opened his eyes to find the balcony beautifully decorated with twinkling fairy lights and a candle-lit table set for two in the middle of it.
"You did this, for me?"
Shancai nodded happily, as she looked at him with adoration in her eyes.
Si cupped her face with both his hands, as he gazed into the lovely brown eyes that he had fallen in love with the moment that he saw them. He slowly bent his head, whispering "I love you so much Shancai," as his lips touched hers, gently at first. Shancai wound her hands around his neck, whispering, "I love you so much too, Ah Si", pulling his neck to deepen the kiss, as he wrapped his hands tightly around her.
"This is the best thing about being at home, we can do this without worrying about getting carried away," he murmured as he pushed her gently against the wall, his hands now tangling in her hair as his mouth melded against hers, their tongues moving in sync.
They finally broke for air, and Shancai giggled at him. "We should eat before the food gets cold."
"I don't have any appetite except for you," Si replied, staring at her. "I can't keep my eyes or my hands off you," he said, reaching out for her again.
Shancai took hold of his hands and tugged him to sit at the table. "Eat!" she commanded. "I put a lot of effort in making this dinner."
"Yes ma'am," he replied dutifully.
He took a first bite of his steak and moaned in delight. "Shancai, this is delicious!"
"I told you so," she grinned at him. "Eat up, I have another surprise for you."
"Another surprise? Is it under that dress?" he winked naughtily at her, earning him a slap on the arm.
"Well, technically yes, but you will have to wait to find out!"
"You're making me too excited to eat, Shancai. Let's skip dessert, or even better, you can be my dessert!" he told her, as she rolled her eyes at him.
Si concentrated on polishing off his steak in record time, giving her compliments in between bites.
When he was finished, he looked at her hopefully. "So can I have my dessert now?"
Shancai reached under the table and pulled out a small box and handed it to him. "Happy first anniversary Daoming Si" she told him as she gave him a peck on his cheek.
"What's this?" he looked at her, confused.
"Open it and you'll see," she smiled at him.
He opened the box slowly and then he saw something which made his heart skip a beat, or maybe two beats. He was silent for a few seconds, causing Shancai to glance anxiously at him.
Suddenly he gave a whoop of joy and jumped out from his seat. He grabbed Shancai by the waist and twirled her around until she begged for mercy. He then put her down and planted kisses all over her face despite her shrieks of protest.
"I was speaking the truth, wasn't I, when I said the surprise was under the dress?" she laughed at him as he continued to kiss her.
Finally he put her down, and when they had both caught their breath, he gazed at her in wonder, both his hands still wrapped tightly around her. "I'm going to be a daddy? Those two lines are for real?"
"As real as it can be, darling," she replied touching his cheek. "I've been to see the doctor, and he confirmed it," she smiled at him.
Without warning, he broke down in tears, causing Shancai to look at him in alarm.
"What's wrong, Ah Si?"
"I'm so sorry, so sorry that I crushed your hopes yesterday when I didn't make it back in time, that you fell asleep waiting for me, that I had to rush off again this morning, but I swear that's going to change. I will make more time, for you and for our baby," his eyes still glistened with tears.
Shancai looked back at him, her own eyes glistening with tears. "I know you will, you will be the best daddy that our baby could ever wish for. And we have a new hope to look forward to together."
He embraced her tightly, knowing that all he could have ever hoped and dreamed for was right there in his arms.
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A/N: I'm back, so sorry for the long absence! But real life is real, as most of you know haha, and also I lately have no idea what to write about. JVH624 and Dr-Cokebottles have however very "kindly" given me a new set of prompts (which are super hard!) so watch this space! 😜
The bgm is one of my current favourite songs - not surprising that it made it into my Spotify Wrapped 2019! 😁
I was also inspired by that beautiful dress which Yue wore to the Madame Figaro event yesterday so here it is in this story! 🤩💖