There's a scarf on the armchair

Ying Yue stirred, suddenly becoming aware of the awkward position she was sleeping in. 'Hold on, was I sleeping?' she thought.

Her eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was Fei Huangjin's face up close, quietly observing her as she navigated through her groggy state of mind. He seemed to look good in whatever angle she saw him.

When she finally realized that she'd fallen asleep while being cradled in his lap, she sat upright and stood up in embarrassment, turning red almost instantly. "Oh no, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." A small smile graced his lips. He was trying to keep a straight face to hide the fact that his legs were numb and he could hardly move them.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour."

She checked her watch and did a double take. It was already past four in the afternoon. "Huangjin, your meeting!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door, but he seemed like he was purposely making himself heavy as Ying Yue couldn't pull him from his seat. "You have a meeting with one of the teams in the operations department! You're late!"

There was an unreadable look on his face as his hands slid to his thighs, subtly massaging them. He felt like there were wooden mallets beating at his thighs and legs all at the same time as his body pumped more blood through them. His left lower leg was also beginning to cramp up.

Ying Yue realized that he wasn't saying anything and stopped tugging. "What's wrong?"

He glanced at her with a complicated expression. "Nothing. I've already let Haocheng handle the meeting so there's no need to rush. They're probably wrapping up anytime now." Doubt was painted all over her face, so he flashed her a reassuring look. "He can handle it. Don't worry. But we should probably treat him out for a meal tonight as thanks."

She was still a bit skeptical. "I should probably check up on that meeting myself," she frowned.

"Mmm. Go ahead." She turned to go, but before she reached the door, Fei Huangjin called out to her again. "Wait."

She glanced at him with her eyebrows raised.

"There's a scarf on the arm chair. You can put it around you to cover that stain."

"Oh." She blinked. Indeed, there was a beige scarf folded on the armchair at one side of the office. It was contrasting to her deep red dress, but it would do fine as a cover-up if she tied it around her hips like a sarong [1].

At least, that way, the stain couldn't be seen.

She picked it up and beamed at him brightly, like sunshine on a cloudy day. "You're the best hubby, you know?"

"Mmm." His lips lifted up at the ends, and he felt like his head was floating in the air. When your woman tells you that you're the best, perhaps that meant you were doing it right. His chest puffed up at Ying Yue's words, almost invariably making him forget his pain.

"By the way," she turned to him with a confused look. "Why is there a knife on the doorway?"

He flashed her an innocent look. "Oh, I was practicing earlier."

Her eyes narrowed.

When she left, it was only then that Fei Huangjin allowed himself to sink back and groan -- punching at his calves, which had now progressed to both cramping and stabbing spasms.

***

Fei Haocheng rubbed at his chin, pondering on what to say. There was a seriousness in his eyes that was only seen when he was truly immersed in his work, in contrast to that of Fei Huangjin's, which was seen during the most of every day. "I stand by what I said. Have the modifications ready and re-present the proposal to the CEO two days from now. Meeting is dismissed."

There was a buzz from the team as they filed out one by one, until only Ying Yue and Fei Haocheng were left in the meeting room.

She stood up and started to leave, too.

A proud smirk grazed her lips. Fei Haocheng rarely showed his serious side; but when he did, he performed quite well. She had nothing to disagree from the modifications he wanted.

If only she knew that he was dead-serious during the meeting because of a certain knife thrown at him.

"Sister-in-law!"