the language of flowers.

one | 早晨

The first thing Yuankai realises in the morning is that he can't feel his right arm.

His alarm blares, splitting his eardrums like sirens; he peels his eyes open slowly and blinks blearily at the head of soft black hair right in front of his face. Inhaling, Yuankai wearily registers the familiar scent of his girlfriend Yuting's sweet-smelling shampoo.

He shuts his eyes again. Maybe he could afford to not go into work today, instead opting to watch thoughtfully as the wind played gently with the curtains, sunlight painting itself in soft stripes along the baby blue walls. Especially with how soft the sheets feel, his body seemingly sinking deeper into the mattress. Especially with Yuting asleep beside him, her breathing shallow as she dreams – probably of landing some new modeling contract for a big-shot fashion magazine, or perhaps the leading female role in an Eddie Peng movie.

Fighting against the overwhelming urge to fall back into sleep, Yuankai gets up, slowly removing his already prickling arm from under Yuting's head and nearly knocking his knee into the book stand near his bed on his way to the bathroom.

As the haze clears from his mind, Yuankai realigns his thoughts and mentally structures his day. An important meeting comes to mind, one with a big client whose brief could probably earn him that spot as project manager that he's been eyeing for the past year, and he exhales in relief, thankful that he resisted the temptation of sleep in the end.

He's drawn from his thoughts, nearly choking on his toothbrush in surprise when delicate arms wrap themselves around his bare waist, giving him a light squeeze.

"Where're you going?" Yuting mumbles sleepily, her lips mouthing against the skin of his back. He stiffens when he recalls that she isn't wearing any clothes.

"Work, baby," he replies messily through a mouthful of toothpaste foam, placing one hand over hers and giving it a light pat. "It's Monday today. Go back to sleep."

Yuting mutters something inaudible before releasing her grip on him and stumbling back to the bed. Yuankai watches her, letting his eyes linger on the backs of her bare thighs for a little longer than necessary, and twists open the faucet to rinse his toothbrush.

He goes over the plan in his mind as he gets dressed, carefully picking out his smartest looking blazer and a well-pressed button-up. The client he was meeting today was none other than Li Fangwei, the chief operating officer of Bai He Telecommunications, the second largest in the country. They'd been discussing a proposal for the launch of a new ad campaign over the past five months, and Yuankai was certain that he had it in the bag.

Before he leaves, he kisses a sleeping Yuting on the forehead, eliciting a tiny grumble from her as he slips his phone into his pocket. Vaguely, he makes a note to text his mother, letting her know that he'd be joining his family for dinner. He hadn't seen them for nearly a month, not with all the late nights spent at the office finalising interface designs with the creative team and going over assorted budgets with the finance department, and was glad to finally put an end to that.

Yuankai takes a deep breath, shutting the door behind him and plastering on a bold smile for his own benefit.

Today was going to be his day, whether he landed the deal or not–

And he was going to make sure of that.