Ah Cy heard her bone crack as she stretched, yawning loudly. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked around. She loved this feeling of content.
Her eyes fell on Jiu Ming leaning by the door frame with his arms crossed and the most beautiful smile Ah Cy had ever seen on his face.
" Good morning" he said when he saw she had noticed him.
Ah Cy smiled widely. Was this what it felt like? Being pampered and cared for.
" Jeez! You don't have to do this, you know?" She said, the smile still on her face.
Jiu Ming kept his breathtaking smile as he walked up to her and sat on the bed, just in front of her.
" I know" he said with a chuckle.
" Did you sleep well?" He added.
Ah Cy nodded.
" I did. And even if I didn't, this will definitely make up for it" She said.
" Well, that's a plus one for me then" Jiu Ming said and Ah Cy laughed.
" Did you sleep well?" She asked. Jiu Ming nodded.
" Yep I did"
" Very well then"
There was a little bit of silence wihich Ah Cy didn't consider as awkward at all. She was comfortable with him.
" So… what do you have in mind to do today?" Ah Cy asked as she played with the hem of her dress childishly. Jiu Ming noticed it and smiled.
" Whatever you wanna do" he said.
" Ummm…" Ah Cy mumbled as she thought of several things.
" How 'bout a tour round this beautiful island?" She finally decided.
" Well… this island is mainly the forest and the sea, you sure you can handle that?" Jiu Ming asked.
" That's why I have you, right?" Ah Cy said. Jiu Ming looked at her as she said that and with the beautiful smile she had on, he just couldn't say no.
" Fine then! A tour of the island, it is" He said making Ah Cy squeal excitedly like a ten year old. Jiu Ming chuckled and smiled as he watched her. Damn! She was beautiful!
" I'll leave you to get ready then. The bathroom is just there" Jiu Ming said, his hands pointed at a closed door by the corner. He stood up and made to leave when Ah Cy said.
" Ummm.. I think there might be a problem"
" What?"
" I don't have anything to wear" Ah Cy said. Jiu Ming chuckled.
" You don't have to worry about that. There's a stock of clothes here and every other thing you need" He said, opening the doors of the wardrobe. Ah Cy gasped when she saw it was filled with clothes and beneath it was shoes.
" Oh My!" She exclaimed.
" Are they your mum's?" She asked.
" Not really. I got them when you were still unconscious" Jiu Ming said. Ah Cy couldn't help but smile. She still couldn't get over the fact that a stranger cared about her this much. Well,he wasn't much of a stranger anymore.
" Thank you" She said.
" Yep! You're welcome" Jiu Ming said.
" Now get dressed" he added, winked at her and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.
Ah Cy sat silently on her bed after he left smiling to herself. She had never been this happy in God-knows-how-long. All it took was just some kindness from a stranger to make her this happy.
She sighed to herself and smiled again. Then she stood up from the bed and started searching through the wardrobe. She picked out a ripped jeans and a green shirt. She had to admit, Jiu Ming did have a sense of fashion style.
Ah Cy took the clothes with her to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. The bathroom was clean and there were towels stacked there. She smiled again to herself, impressed with everything she saw.
After taking her bath and getting dressed, Ah Cy got out of the bathroom and went to look at herself in the mirror. She ran her hand through her hair and smiled. The last time she remembered, her hair had been rough and hard but now if felt like silk. She was loving this change. Her face was smooth and her cheeks felt nice to touch. She had a lot of flesh now, unlike before. Her eyes ran over her whole body in the mirror. She placed her hand on her waist and ran it down. Her curves were looking very good, the kind of irresistible hour-glass figure. Her legs looked alluring in the jeans she wore, they perfectly fit and she couldn't help but wonder how that was possible. Everything felt different. Everything felt peaceful. She was happy. Happier than she had ever been in her whole life.
Ah Cy smiled widely and took a deep breath. She could stay all day staring at herself in the mirror but Jiu Ming was waiting for her and the last thing she wanted to do was keep him waiting. So after staring at the mirror and smiling one last time, Ah Cy made her way out of the room. She had managed to grab the way into the living room from the day before. In her mind, she wondered what Jiu Ming's reaction would be like when he saw her. Would he give her another mind-blowing compliment? Or would he just look away like Lu Shen does? The thought of Lu Shen made her heart ache so she cleared her mind of his name and tried to stay focus on the present.
Jiu Ming was sitted in the living room busily typing something into his phone. He didn't notice her so she cleared her throat. Jiu Ming immediately tucked the phone aside and that made Ah Cy furrow her brows. However, his next words made her totally forget whatever thought his action had brought to her mind.
" Wow!" He said in a breathless whisper. Ah Cy smiled and looked down to hide the blush that was creeping into her cheeks. Jiu Ming was truly enthralled by her beauty. Her midnight black hair was swooped over her shoulders in coils. Her blue eyes were sparkling and her lips were so full, it made him want to kiss them. Her skin was glowing. What captured him the most though was the way her hips curved in the jeans she was wearing, it was capable of getting any man's attention. Luckily for him, he didn't have to worry about that. It was just him and her.
" You look… amazing" He said. Anyone could have said that to her, even she could have said it to herself but she didn't know why it made her feel the way it did. She saw the sincerity in her eyes and it almost brought tears to her eyes. She couldn't afford to ruin the moment though, so she blinked them back and smiled sweetly.
" Thank you" she said.
" It marvels me how someone could be as beautiful as you are" Jiu Ming continued and Ah Cy blushed again.
" And it marvels me even more how your husband could manage to ignore all of this" Jiu Ming scoffed and added,
" He's such a jerk!"
Again, Ah Cy was almost brought to tears. She had spent so long blaming herself for everything that went wrong in her life. All she needed to hear was this. Lu Shen was the problem. He was such a jerk.
" Are you okay? I'm sorry I shouldn't have…" Jiu Ming immediately said when he noticed her change of expression.
" No it's okay. I'm fine. I actually needed to hear that" Ah Cy said. She smiled lightly at him and he smiled back.
" Alright then. Let's move, shall we?"
Jiu Ming stretched his hand to hers with that smile of his that took her breath away. She took his hand with an amazing smile of her own and they set out of the house.
The morning sun was shining very brightly, casting it's rays to different parts of the earth. It was a beautiful sight. Jiu Ming and Ah Cy walked hand-in-hand. They went the opposite direction of the river into a light forest, their hands still intertwined. They looked like two teenagers who were deeply satisfied with each other, they looked like they'd spent their whole lives together and it had been blissful all along. Looking at the wide smile on Ah Cy's face, no one would believe that she had tried to commit suicide barely a month ago. No one would believe that her whole 27 years had been misery all through it. No one would believe it cause she was happy now. And it was a good thing. This happiness was what she had yearned for all her life. Now she had gotten it, she intended to make the best out of it.
The forest was made of long trees whose branches curved at the top to give a shade from the sunlight. The grasses were green. The trees had climbers wrapping all around their roots. The branches of the trees were fruitful with ripe fruits and they made Ah Cy's mouth water. She had always loved fruits from the start but she had never actually been permitted to eat them. Her parents never listened to her when she said she wanted them and she knew wiser than to insist. A frosty glare from her father was more than enough to make her keep shut. And now they were all over the place, different kinds and she was sure she could get them if she asked, so she stopped and as expected Jiu Ming stopped too.
" Jiu Ming, can I ask something?" Ah Cy asked with a pout.
" Sure! Anything!" Jiu Ming said. They still had their hands together so Ah Cy squeezed it lightly.
" Those berries look very nice. Can I have some?" She asked. Jiu Ming looked around and back at her with furrowed brows.
" You want to have that?" He asked and Ah Cy nodded vigorously.
" But… that's so high. I'm not sure I can reach that" Jiu Ming said.
" You can. You just need something to support you, there! You can maybe use that" Ah Cy said pointing at a huge branch lying a little distance away.
" Ah Cy…"
" Please!" Ah Cy said. She pouted again and he sighed.
" Fine! I can't say no to that cute face" Jiu Ming said and Ah Cy squealed excitedly, for the second time that day.
Jiu Ming just smiled and shook his head lightly. She was cute! Especially when she smiled like that. He could spend the whole day staring at her but that would be creepy, so of course, he had to make use of the little opportunities he got once in a while. This was one of them. It didn't last for long though. He had to get her the fruits she wanted. Jiu Ming reached out for the branch. He picked it up and began poking the fruits with difficulty. The branch was a bit heavy and sandy so he could barely look up to avoid the sand falling into his eyes. It was of no use though. What fell into his eyes must have been up to a handful of sand. He quickly dropped the stick and his hands flew to his eyes.
" My eyes!" He said. Ah Cy rushed towards him with a worried look on her face. What had she done?
" Are you okay?"
" No! My eyes! There's a lot of sand in my eyes" Jiu Ming said as he rubbed his eyes.
" Here! Let me blow them off for you" Ah Cy said. She held his hand down, then she opened his eyes wide and blew air into his eyes. He blinked and opened them again. It was still there.
" It's still there" Jiu Ming said. Ah Cy sighed and repeated the process. At the third time, Jiu Ming's eyes were clear but when he saw the worried look on her face, he decided to play on a little longer. It made him feel good to see her worry about him.
" I can't see anything" Jiu Ming said. He made sure there was panic enough in his voice to scare her. And it worked.
" What do you mean you can't see anything? I've done everything. This is all my fault. Here , I'll try again" Ah Cy ranted worriedly. She blew air into his eyes again.
" I still can't see nothing"
" What have I done? This is all my fault. I shouldn't have insisted. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. What do I do now?" Ah Cy rattled. She always managed to ruin everything for herself and everyone around her. What was going to happen now? A drop of tear escaped from her eyes and at the same time, she saw Jiu Ming smile.
" Ahh! Ah Cy, you worry too much. I was just messing with you" Jiu Ming said.
" What?"
" I'm serious. I'm fine. I can see very clearly"
" You mean there's nothing wrong with your eyes. Like the sand is gone?" Ah Cy said. Jiu Ming nodded. She wiped the stubborn tear that had found its way out.
" I was just messing with you. I'm fine" Jiu Ming said again. Ah Cy punched him hard on his shoulder and he stumbled back.
" Why would you do that? You almost gave me a heart attack. How could you?" She said and punched him again.
" Ouch! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that" Jiu Ming said. His hand was carressing his punched shoulder.
" You.. ugh!" Ah Cy said. She rolled her eyes and turned her back from him.
" Hey! Where you going?" Jiu Ming called when she began to walk away. Ah Cy didn't stop, instead she increased her pace.
" I'm sorry. Hey! Wait up!" He finally caught up with her and held her hand to make her stop.
" I'm sorry. Come on, don't get mad over that"
" You scared the hell out of me. Do you even know how I felt?" Ah Cy said.
" I'm sorry" Jiu Ming said. He smiled at her, that sweet heart melting smile that always reached his eyes. Ah Cy couldn't stay mad at him.
" Just don't do that again" Ah Cy said and Jiu Ming smiled again. She rolled her eyes and sighed and then she heard Jiu Ming laugh. Her brows furrowed in anger.
" What's funny?"
" You needed to have seen your face. You looked so so worried" Jiu Ming said in between laughter.
" Are you laughing at me? I was worried about you" Ah Cy said with a pout.
" How could you? You're so rude" she said again.
" I'm sorry. It was just so funny" Jiu Ming said. He finally stopped his laughter and held Ah Cy's hand.
" I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I won't laugh at you anymore,I promise I won't" He said. Ah Cy refused to look at him, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
" Hey! Look at me" Jiu Ming said. She rolled her eyes again and looked at him.
" I'm sorry" he said and then he smiled. His smile did it's usual magic on her cause her anger instantly faded away.
" Fine!"
She smiled back at him and soon the both of them were laughing freely. Someone seeing them would think they had gone insane for even they didn't know why they were laughing.
When they finally stopped, Jiu Ming found himself staring intently at Ah Cy.
" You're beautiful" he said. Ah Cy blushed and made to look down but he stopped her. He held her chin and ran his hand over her face. She didn't stop him. She loved the look of admiration in his eyes. He tucked her hair behind her ear and ran his hand down her cheeks.
" You're as beautiful as the sun"he said again. Ah Cy couldn't help the wide smile that spread on her face.
" Thank you" Ah Cy said. Jiu Ming sighed and took his hand away from her face. He had done that unconsciously. Her beauty did take its toll on him sometimes.
" Should I still get you the berries?* He asked and Ah Cy shook her head instantly.
" No! Don't bother. Let's go home" she said.
" Are you sure?"
Ah Cy nodded and he shrugged.
" Fine! Let's get you home then" Jiu Ming said. He gave her his hand and they began walking out just the way they came in, hand-in-hand and happy smiles on their faces.