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Spice

AN: Here's my spice which is not very spicy Dr-Cokebottles lindaisfangirling Meggyhashope monicacantwrite JVH624 Daphnecs8 evfabricando Zazounette86
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It had not been the best of days. Daoming Si stared blearily into his laptop, looking at the spreadsheet before him which did not look good at all. One of the companies under the Daoming group was taking a major hit from the financial crisis and he was expected to miraculously turn the situation around. He knew that he had a brilliant mind when it came to finance, but even this would be a tough one for him. He groaned silently, his mind spinning with ideas, none of which seemed palpable.

On top of that, he was also feeling melancholy because he remembered that today was the anniversary of that last bittersweet date which he had with Shancai in London. Even after all this time, the memories never failed to leave heavy feelings in his chest and he wished most of all for that day to have turned out differently.

He heard a soft knock and the door of his study opened. He looked up and saw his beautiful wife standing in the doorway, truly she was a vision to behold for his tired eyes. They had been married for almost a year, but she still never failed to take his breath away.

"Hi handsome, what are you doing?" she greeted him with a smile.

She walked over to his desk and settled herself at the edge of it but in two seconds, Si had tugged on her hand and pulled her into his lap, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Shancai, I'm so glad you're here. Stay with me," he murmured.

"Well, someone's clingy today," she teased him. But when he remained silent, and she could only hear his heavy breathing, she knew something was not right. This was not usually like her husband.

"Ah Si, what's wrong?" her voice was laced with concern. When still he said nothing, she grew increasingly worried. "Tell me, please," she begged him.

He finally looked up at her and she could see the tiredness in his eyes. "It's just this company, I don't know what to do to turn the numbers around. So many people are depending on me, and it just doesn't look promising," he told her dejectedly.

Shancai cupped his face with both her hands. "Listen to me, remember how the whole group was going down and you single-handedly saved it? This is just a small fraction of that. You got this, love, I believe in you," she looked at him earnestly with her beautiful big brown eyes. Seeing Shancai look at him that way stirred memories of her looking at him with the same admiration as he had confidently spoken about Schumpeter's theory during one of their study sessions. Back then, he knew he could do anything with her confidence and admiration, so today, it should be no different.

He took her hands in both of his as he gave her a grateful kiss on her forehead, and then again on her nose, his mouth crinkling in a smile. "You know," he said, "you truly are my strength. With you saying that and looking at me like that, I believe I can do wonders." He added with a grin, "I am Ironman, after all."

Shancai heaved a sigh of relief. Her cheeky husband was back. She climbed off his lap saying, "Ok Ironman, go back to crunching your numbers. I'm going to make you something to eat." She beamed at him as she left his study, making him feel on top of the world, chuckling as he went back to studying the spreadsheet on his laptop.

An amazing waft soon filled the house and after an hour, Shancai came back, bearing a tray of food. "I made your favourite - Eight Treasures Spicy Noodles!" The all-familiar smell penetrated his nostrils and again, memories of London hit him like a flash, thinking about the last meal they had at Feng Shui Inn. A sudden wave of emotions hit him and tears suddenly sprang to his eyes. He hastily tried to brush them away but nothing escaped Shancai's quick eye. In two quick strides she was beside him, wrapping her arms around him.

"It's not just the company right? What's wrong?" she asked him quietly. This time it was his turn to cup her face in his hands.

"Do you remember what day it is?" Si looked at her. She shook her head, racking her brains to think whether she had missed his birthday? Anniversary? Why was he being so sensitive today?

"It's our London date anniversary," he told her with a sigh. "It brings back so many feelings, that's all, everything we had to go through to get to where we are today."

"I do remember," Shancai told him. "Which is why I made the spicy noodles after so long. I could never bring myself to make it again after that day at Feng Shui Inn because it brought back too many painful memories. But I felt we should give it a fresh start, and what better day than today. After all, it is one of my signature dishes, which you inspired." She too now had tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at her handsome husband.

"You have a point," Si told her as he gently released his hands from her face. "To be honest, I've missed eating it too. It's one of my favourite dishes which you make."

Shancai beamed at him through her tears as he picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. He moaned in satisfaction as the spice of the noodles and the tanginess of the sweet pineapple tickled his tastebuds. She gave a chuckle as she looked at him. "You said before that you enjoy watching me eat, you should really watch yourself eat!"

Si answered her with his mouth full of noodles, "IloveanythingyoumakecosyoumakeitwithloveandittastessodelicioustooWouldyouliketohavesome?" He knew that she would know exactly what he said, she had an uncanny gift in understanding him when he spoke with his mouth full. True enough she replied, "No, love, you eat, I'm still stuffed from breakfast, so you enjoy it," she smiled at him.

Si finished his noodles and pulled his wife into his arms, hugging her in a tight embrace. "What's that for?" she murmured into his chest. "For being such an amazing wife," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "That's all I get?" she teased him, lifting her head to look at him. Without another word, he had captured her lips with his in a slow, passionate kiss, teasing and sucking, until his tongue explored every inch of her mouth. She kissed him back fervently with abandon, as she wrapped her hands around his neck, pressing him tighter against her. They kissed until they ran out of breath and they finally stopped, their pupils dilated as they stared at each other.

"Well, that was spicy!" Shancai said with a giggle. "Both literally and figuratively! I can actually taste the spicy noodles which you just had," she laughed at him. "Although..." she ran her fingers up and down his chest, "I think it's not quite spicy enough..." her eyes twinkled mischievously at him.

Without a second warning, he had lifted her in his arms, bridal-style and carried her out of the study, heading towards their bedroom. "If that's the case," he grinned at her, "now it's time for something extra spicy!" Her sounds of laughter could be heard echoing down the hallway as he kicked close the bedroom door behind him ❤️