The morning sunlight hit the older woman's face. Her expression contorted as she groaned and used the blanket to block out the warm light from the window.
But as she's stretching her limbs to wake herself up, her eyes widen upon feeling the soft fabric of the blanket on her naked body. She quickly sat up, her eyes looking around the loft area of Roulan's apartment, and seeing the scattered clothes around.
Her hand grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to cover her upper body as she felt the cold breeze hit her exposed chest. She looked around, not seeing a single strand of hair from her wife.
She stands up cautiously, only to fall back down on the bed as her knees wobble like jelly. Yanmei's hand went to the nearest shirt she could touch, pulling it over her head as she put it on herself.
"Roulan."
Her voice was hoarse from all the activity the two women did last night. She cleared her throat, her hand carefully assisting her to go down the loft area.
As her feet reached the bottom stairs, her ears perked up at a sound from the entrance. Yanmei looked up, her eyes staring at the open door and preparing to defend herself.
The door opened fully; her eyes were greeted by the taller woman whom she had been looking for as soon as she woke up. With a sigh of relief, Yanmei's gaze fell upon the woman's hands, revealing bags brimming with food.
She walked slowly towards Roulan, her knees continuing to wobble, but she didn't mind. She reached out, which caused Roulan to jump in surprise.
"Oh, you're awake."
The taller woman's eyes moved from Yanmei's eyes down to her body. Her cheeks flush a deep shade of red, which causes the older woman to smile teasingly.
"You've seen these, bubby."
"I know."
Roulan shakes her head, smiling at the smaller woman in front of her. She put every bag on her right hand, her left hand crawling on Yanmei's waist before she supported the woman to walk.
"I was the one who was supposed to help you."
"Yanmei, you're tired."
Yanmei's hands went to Roulan's waist, her other one on the taller woman's stomach as she shook her head in disagreement.
"Nope, I want to help you out."
Roulan guided Yanmei to sit down on the stool, her hand supporting the woman as she put down the bags on the counter, which lay beside Yanmei.
She sighs and shakes her head, her hand going onto one of the bags and grabbing the ingredients she bought from the store. Yanmei leans on the counter, admiring Roulan working in the kitchen.
"What can I do?"
"Just watch me and eat the food that I'll be cooking."
Roulan finished washing the ingredients; her gaze landed on the woman on the stool as she gave her a smile. The smaller woman chuckles and nods, her eyes sparkling at the younger.
The latter quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks burning before grabbing the knife and the chopping board in their places. The apartment was filled with silence.
Though it's not the awkward silence Roulan thought.
This one's comforting and warm. Yanmei stares at Roulan with admiration, while the cook herself can feel the tension from her audience's gaze.
Yet she didn't mind.
She's loving every single bit of their interaction. As she finished chopping up the scallions, a knock on the door was heard. Yanmei was about to stand up and answer the door when Roulan beat her to it.
"You should rest more, Yanmei; I'll handle it."
Roulan unconsciously leans towards the older woman's forehead, landing a gentle kiss. She left the woman stunned, frozen in her place as her cheeks burned with a blush.
Unaware of the impact of her actions, the former proceeded to open the door, only to find Guang, Lanfen, and Yu waiting to greet her.
"Uncle's right."
Guang smiled at Roulan before she invited herself inside the taller woman's unit. Yu and Lanfen's shocked gazes looked at her, their hands patting the woman's shoulder.
"Good job at picking someone rich."
They walked like zombies, which confused the woman. Her hand pushes the door to close, looking at the three women who sat down on the couch. Two out of this world and one with a teasing smile.
"You should have told us you wanted to have some alone time with my best friend."
Guang's eyes travelled to the woman who sat on the stool, face still beet-red from the action Roulan did earlier. The taller woman's eyebrows furrowed at what she said before her eyes went to her wife.
She quickly went to Yanmei's place, her gaze full of worry as the back of her hand made contact with the older woman's forehead.
"What happened?"
Yanmei quickly snapped out of her thoughts, her hand swaying Roulan's before she ran towards the bathroom to hide.
"Did you two..."
The taller woman's attention pans towards Guang, seeing the teasing smile the woman held before her hands gesture to the activity the couple did last night.
Roulan's cheeks reddened, but she glared at Guang, turning her heel away to walk into the kitchen and continue cooking the food she was going to serve.
-
The five women ate happily inside the small home of Roulan. They chattered and snapped the two (Yu and Lanfen) out of their trance.
Roulan's friend couldn't help but be a little respectful towards Yanmei; this only caused Guang to laugh as the two tried to please her friend.
Well, learning that the woman came from a mob family scared them to death.
Guang happily chatted with the couple, also being close enough to joke around with Yu and Lanfen, who only know how to bicker with each other. Yu is proving that Lanfen was wrong when, in fact, she's the one who got it wrong.
"Bubby, do you want to skip school?"
Yanmei approaches Roulan in the kitchen, seeing as her wife is cleaning the dishes that she's supposed to wash. The taller woman looked back, her eyebrows furrowed, before shaking her head.
"Nope, for incentives."
Yanmei groans and sits down on the stool from earlier, her head bumping on her arms as she looks at the taller woman, who has finally finished washing the dishes.
It wasn't that much work.
Roulan put the plates inside the rack, humming a song while feeling the eyes of the woman behind her. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, shy even, around the older woman.
"I can help you with your exams."
"I want to do it on my own."
Yanmei groans again, her feet stomping on the air as Roulan looked back at her. The taller woman's eyebrows furrowed, her feet scrambling to walk towards the smaller woman.
"You act like a baby."
"But I'm your baby."
The laughter inside the apartment was quickly taken down by a heavy silence. Roulan and Yanmei held eye contact with each other while the three women, who were enjoying their lives, stopped what they were talking about to look at the couple.
Yu and Lanfen are both stunned, their mouths agape, looking between Roulan and Yanmei. While Guang's face couldn't be controlled, displaying a disgusted expression at the two.
"Eww!"
Yanmei's gaze landed on the woman, her stare starting to sharpen as she glared at her friend before throwing her middle finger.
"Shut up!"