She once asked her Sensei, "What happens beyond comfort?"
He answered her, "Life happens."
"What if life made me weak?" She asked back then.
The reply came, "You can only seize the miracles of life when you're pushed to the edge of being weak and you have no other choice left but to fight with all you've left."
"What if we are so weak that nothing is left to fight with?" She questioned again.
"Then believe. Believe that there is someone, somewhere in this world who wants you to survive. Survive for that person and life will change its meaning for you." She was answered.
There is always that one person who has the ability to pull you out of your comfort zone. Not being vulnerable was Xu Mey's comfort zone. She didn't want to show her naked soul to anyone. She always had that looming fear that once she bared her soul to someone, that person will destroy her.
Today, she realized what it felt like to explore the magical world outside her comfort zone. It surely was magical for her since she still felt giddy at the thought of it.
She was blushing when she saw her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but scream. "Ahhhh!"
Ye Jie was immediately alarmed. He ran towards the bathroom door and knocked asking, "Baby, are you okay? What happened?"
Xu Mey covered her mouth with her hand and cursed herself for screaming like that. She cleared her throat and said, "I'm fine. Don't worry." Her voice was like a hamster was squeaking.
Ye Jie surely wasn't convinced by her. "Are you sure? Why did you scream? Open the door and let me see."
"Nooo..." She frantically replied. "I'm really okay. I just lost my balance a bit but thankfully I didn't fall."
Although Ye Jie was still not very much convinced he didn't probe any further.
Inside the bathroom, Xu Mey looked at all the red marks on her neck, collarbones, and even her shoulder, she was completely at loss for words. These were the red marks she hated seeing on her best friend, Wu Wang.
She shook her head. 'His were lust bites with no feelings involved. Mine are pure, love bites. And there are feelings involved.' She touched a red mark on her neck and softly said, "Clearly a lot of feelings are involved."
After the shower, she wore a simple long sleeve formal bow button shirt in maroon color along with black pants. Although the shirt hid her collarbones and shoulders; her neck was still visible which had the reddest marks to give away the exploits of last night. She picked a black chiffon scarf and wrapped it around her neck. It looked kind of weird but she didn't care at all.
When she came downstairs, Ye Jie looked at her scarf and couldn't help but purse his lips to hide his smile. "Baby, why are you wearing a scarf? It doesn't look good." He was teasing her and she knew that. She glared at him.
"And whose fault it is that I have to wear a scarf?" She asked with puffed up cheeks.
Ye Jie couldn't hold it anymore and cackle out. He walked closer to her and caressed her cheeks with the back of his hand saying, "First, there is no need to hide from the world that your husband loves you so much. Second, there are other ways to hide the love bites."
She frowned and gazed into his brown eyes asking, "For instance?" Big mistake on her part!
He looked hungrily at her lips and said, "For instance," his thumb moved over lips rubbing them slowly. "We could just stay at home and no one will see those marks that my love left on you."
Xu Mey gaped and he took the chance to invade her mouth. She punched his arms and pulled away, "That was not funny."
Seeing her huffing, he chuckled and said, "I wasn't kidding. But if you'll act like it then I'll feel like you're ashamed of my love marks on you." He made such a pitiful face that Xu Mey forgot about all her embarrassment and pulled off the scarf to throw it away.
"I won't wear it. I'm not ashamed at all." She said sincerely making Ye Jie's already mushed heart, a puddle of something he couldn't describe.
He pulled her in his arms and said, "I know. I was just messing with you. But I wasn't kidding when I said that there are other ways to hide the marks. You can use make-up to cover them up." He suggested.
She lifted her face and asked, "How?"
His index finger touched the space between her brows and pushed her a bit. "My silly baby. How would I know that?"
"But I also don't know." She complained.
"Then we can check a video online. We're already late from work. It wouldn't matter if we go a bit later." He answered and pulled out his phone to check online.
It was true that after the exploits of the early morning, they were quite late from work. Therefore, both of them took their time to look up a video online and applied the make-up to hide the marks on Xu Mey's neck. Ye Jie was helping her exactly as he saw in the video.
While Ye Jie was driving Xu Mey to the office, she was staring at the side of his face intently. On normal days, she liked seeing out the window but particularly today, she wanted to just stare at him.
Ye Jie had felt her scorching gaze and when his body really couldn't take the heat, he said, "Baby, if you kept looking at me like this, we really won't be going to the office anymore."
Xu Mey's cheeks reddened like a ripped tomato and she straightened up to look straight at the road. "You aren't thinking about taking advantage of me, are you?" He asked playfully.
She punched his arm. "Of course not Mr. Jacob." She replied.
"Don't tell me you're still upset about that?" He inquired.
"Why would I be upset?" Ye Jie heaved a sigh of relief but her next words made his breath hitch. "After all, now you're even more useful than before." Ye Jie narrowed his eyes and turned to look at her while they were waiting at the red light. Xu Mey laughed seeing his expression.
"Baby, I don't care whether you use me or not. Just don't leave me alone. Okay?" He implored and Xu Mey stopped laughing. She was lost for words once more.
But she suddenly realized that Ye Jie must be really scared of being left alone just like her. If she wanted him to protect her, then he wanted her to stay by his side. He's been left by his real parents, his fake parents don't really care about him, and even his ex left him. He really was looking for a constant in his life.
She smiled sadly and hugged him. "I only plan on using you as my husband. Are you willing?"
He smiled back. "Of course. I'm willing to protect you with all I got."
They hugged until they heard a car horn making them realize that the red light was green now. They settled back and got on the road again. Xu Mey was thinking about the time when she heard somewhere in an Anime that 'True love is like playing chess. A boy always afraid of losing his queen. And a girl risking everything just to protect her king.(*)'
Just like that saying, Xu Mey knew that Ye Jie was afraid of losing her now. And as for her, she was willing to risk everything unknowingly just for him.
(*): Dialogue from Anime (No Game, No Life)