'Mian is not stupid but she is definitely a little naive.' Mu Yuhaan concluded, immersing himself in the aromatic coffee that left its full-flavored taste on his tongue for a long time, the previous night.
He didn't explain himself, instead, just allowed Mian to go unchecked with her speculation, because the conclusion she reached was actually favorable for him. This would give him better excuses to spend time with her to confirm his feelings.
Mian, on the flip side, was malcontent with the answers. She stared down, playing ducks and drakes with the uneaten cookies lying on her plate, then swishing her coffee around in the cup; out of touch with reality.
All of a sudden, her eyes lit up when a possibility crossed her mind, 'Wait, he must've been hurt when he was a fetus, in his mother's womb. That can explain why he behaves like an immature kid. Albeit, he grew up into a fine gentleman, his brain did not develop as much as it should have.'
...
The clock ticked away the minutes and Mian coudn't help showering it with attentiveness, once in a few minutes.
'Nine-fifty! Why isn't he leaving yet? Ten minutes' coffee visit turned into a three hours' long stay!'
Mian sighed for the multitudinous times already while glancing at the television which had been telecasting tennis match. Impatience descended upon her in the sight and sounds of the TV in front of her.
'How can someone watch tennis for three hours?' She turned back her head, her gaze penetrating through the glass wall, at the sky. Another flash veiled the night, deepening the darkness, and she couldn't help but pinch her nose to shield that constant twitch of her mouth.
'Should notify him of the time? Perhaps, he lost the count of time.'
Mian scrupled a bit, nibbling her lower lip, considering Mu Yuhaan was a little deranged. However, she couldn't allow him at her apartment any longer! Ten at night had already hit her bottom line. Hence, Mian decided to broach, "Mr. Mu, It's already 10pm."
She brought a smile to her lips, and prayed inside so he left quickly.
"Are you hungry?" Mu Yuhaan asked, without taking his eyes off the TV screen. Obviously, he caught the hidden meaning in the words. Nonetheless, he just didn't want to leave Mian yet. He wanted to spend more time with her; as for now, at least one more hour.
Mian, "....." for a moment she doubted her own ears.
Mu Yuhaan turned his head to look at her, "Will you cook dinner at home or should I order takeout?" He asked, then focused on the match.
Mian was literally speechless for about a few seconds, before she found her voice again. "You are having dinner at my place?" She asked half-doubtedly, although, the question had been already answered.
Mu Yuhaan thought for a moment, a wave of embarrassment had overtaken his calm, inky black eyes. His blithe, breezy look soon changed into shamefaced one, compunction in his voice as he said, "It's 10 Pm. Thus, I thought-" He deliberately didn't complete his sentence, and plied Mian with glum look, maintaining a perfect balance between his expression and tone.
Tripping over Mu Yuhaan's deceptive display of shame, Mian coudn't stay on her firmness of purpose, her face became a picture of pity. She was high-minded, having prodigal compassion and absolutely even temperament for weak people.
Unable to resist Mu Yuhaan's embarrassed smile, which was somewhat pitiful, Mian gave him a big smile in order to brighten up his mood.
"No need to be shy, Mr. Mu. I was going to make dinner for myself anyway. What would you like to eat?"
Mu Yuhaan looked happily into Mian's eyes, her decision of conceding was pleasing to him. Starting with little quirks tugging at his lips, it spread, and spilled blissfulness on his face. "I'm not a picky eater. Anything is fine with me."
"Neither am I." Mian walked towards her kitchen.
Opening the freezer, she began poking her lower lip with the knuckle of her index finger in a musing manner. A further 20 seconds of silence passed before she took out a packet of shrimps and thought of cooking Shrimp Fried Rice.
As a doctor, Mian knew that eating a very heavy, sumptuous dinner resulted in a 'fat hangover'! Just the way, too much alcohol caused the next day to be flagging and a fall-off in the work, the digestive system would be snowed under with a big, high-sugar or highfat meal at night.
However, she just couldn't help it sometimes! Now that someone else was also here, she couldn't just serve salad, could she?
Mian washed the rice and the shrimps thoroughly in the water. Just as she took the chopping board, she saw Mu Yuhaan walking towards her from the corner of her eyes.
Mu Yuhaan stood beside Mian; the expression on his face was alternately affectionate and pleasurably entertained; smiling, happy, glowing.
"How can I help you?" He asked, then proceeded to opening the cabinets over the kitchen sink, which was mounted on the wall. However, it stored a whole gamut of items that were for seldom use.
"What's your thing with cupboards? Opening them as you wish, even though they are clearly not yours!" The words were already in the air, before Mian knew. Nonetheless, under her own impression of Mu Yuhaan, there was leniency in her voice.
"I was trying to find you something, you know cutlery, crockery, utensils." Mu Yuhaan went on a knee, benting the other one, as he lowered his eye level to the base kitchen cabinets, which sat directly on the floor supporting the countertop from below; this time bringing out a deep bowl.
Mian thought back to two hours ago, when he availed her in the kitchen.
'Don't lovey-dovey couples always work together in the kitchen?'
The moment, this thought crossed her mind, she subconsciously shuddered, something creeping through her. Hell No! She immediately shrugged off the thought, mentally berating herself for being so silly and childish.
"Thank you, but you don't have to do anything. I love doing my work alone." Mian said, before engaging in cooking the rice first.
Mu Yuhaan absorbed her words, which struck his ears hard. Just as a gloomy, unhappy look was about to be painted on his face, his eyes caught an interesting thing; Mian's moderately rounded, and naked ear, which turned red.
Why was she blushing? He hadn't done anything with her yet.
Staring at the ears, desire spread to smallest of small veins of Mu Yuhaan, hot and fast, as if thousands of ants crawling inside him.
'How would it feel to suck these earlobes hard?'
Unbeknownst to Mu Yuhaan, he started inching towards Mian's ears. He leaned forward, the sight of her snow white cream-y neck catching fire to his heart. One more step, and Mian's left ear would be in his mouth.
Suddenly, Mian paused at cutting the shrimp, "By the way, Mr Mu, I completely forgot to ask you," she slapped her forehead with her fingers, "How stupid of me! What are you allergic to?"