Equilibrium

A long time later Li Wei was woken up by the discreet buzz of a text message. He reached for his phone, careful not to disturb An Mei, who was sleeping peacefully with her arms tightly enveloping his body.

The message was from his sister-in-law, An Jing.

An Jing: Wei-ge. I'm coming over to pick up that physics problem set you promised.

Li Wei: No problem. But please don't ring the bell. Your sister is still sleeping.

An Jing: 👍

Li Wei looked at the time and then at his wife.

Li Wei: Xiao-Jing, can you get your sister and me some lunch from the university cafeteria? I will send you the money. And... if you see Jing-jie in the apartment, can you please take her with you? She was really drunk.

One online transfer later, the reply came immediately.

An Jing: Don't worry, Jie-fu. You just go cuddle with my sister. I'll handle everything.

Li Wei placed the phone back on the nightstand and turned his full attention to his wife. He observed her for a while, the gentle cadence of her breathing, her soft and delicate features, and the smile that always graced her lips while she slept. He leaned in and placed a ghost of a kiss on her forehead, careful not to disturb her rest. Then silently wrapping his arms around her, he succumbed to their shared peaceful repose.

                                                                          *    *    *

When the pair drifted back to consciousness, the ambience of the room had completely changed. Gone was the lazy morning sunlight. Instead, they faced the energetic rays of the midday sun as it streamed through the windows.

An Mei stretched like a lazy kitten after a well-earned rest. "I think...we should probably get up for real this time," she mumbled.

Li Wei nodded in agreement, even though he would have been completely content to just stay in the bed with her forever.

She scooted closer to him, leaning against his frame as he sat upright. "Should we order something for lunch?"

Li Wei kissed her hands and replied, "No need. Your sister already brought us food."

An Mei's face lit up with a brilliant smile that made his heart flutter. She cupped his cheeks and gave him a long and appreciative kiss. "You thought of everything! Li Jiaoshou."

"Well," he murmured against her lips, "I had a very good teacher."

She chuckled while wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her cheek against his. "You are too adorable, Qin ai de."

Giving her one last kiss, Li Wei untangled himself from his wife's embrace and got off the bed. He looked down at his beloved and in one smooth motion scooped her up into his arms.

An Mei let out a startled gasp, which quickly gave way to delightful giggling. "What are you doing...Weiwei?" she purred.

"Carrying my wonderful wife," he beamed, his voice full of affection. "We are going to take a bath together... and it's going to be very, very long."