The Villain And His Sweet Wife

Shao Lin woke up before sunrise.

Long Yat-sen was still asleep next to her. His eyelashes curtained his cheeks, and his arm was sprawled above his head. She bent over him to kiss him lightly before she shifted out from the sheets, her bare feet touching the carpeted floor.​​

Since they married, they had not slept in separate beds, mostly because Long Yat-sen insisted they share a bed after their wedding night. Who knew it would take one night of sex to persuade him, as he considered separate rooms before?

Shao Lin was grateful for it, fearing the distance between them would only stretch if they were to have separate rooms, separate lives, but now she can feel the gap closing in.

She also had the opportunity to appreciate how he looked wholly unguarded and relaxed in the early hours of the morning. Only she was allowed to see him like that.

The day before, Long Yat-sen told her the details about what happened to his sister, and when they went home, he began to fill her in on more details of Long Mei's life.

She was prim and proper. She was kind and smart. She was a flower girl.

Shao Lin had realized she had much in common with her other sister-in-law, which made her understand partly why Long Yat-sen had been pushing her away.

Everyone saw Long Mei's fiancé as a villain, much like how the public saw Long Yat-sen. Had the Long family been wrong about that man?

Thinking about her father, if he had been alive, would he have approved of Long Yat-sen? She feared the answer, and part of her believed Long Yat-sen feared it too.

Shao Lin washed and changed when she went to the greenhouse. All her plants were coming along, growing from seeds to short stems and leaves.

She checked the temperature before she began to water her plants when Long Yat-sen entered in wearing casual clothing. It was his day off. "Need any help?" he questioned.

Shao Lin didn't need the help, but she wanted him to stay anyway. "Yes, if you don't mind, can you plant these hybrid seeds?" She handed over to them and pointed him in the direction of the seed trays.

He began to work, and they were going at it, getting their hands dirty as the sun rose.

"If you were to do anything you wanted without having an inheritance, what would you do?" Long Yat-sen questioned from behind, breaking their silence.

Shao Lin arched a brow, wondering herself. She faced him. "I never thought about it much. I was an only child, so I always knew I would inherit what my father had one day, but if I were to choose something, I wanted to do. I suppose I would run a flower shop."

He grinned at her, and Shao Lin wondered why he asked. She never allowed herself to think about her work if she had a choice in her career. "And if you were an ordinary man, not Long Yat-sen, not a prince of the Dragon, what would you be doing?" she questioned back.

Long Yat-sen glanced at her. Their eyes met. "I would be doing what I am now. If I hadn't had what my father gave me, I would have worked hard to make it on my own, as I am now working hard to keep it."

Shao Lin grinned at him. "You're an impressive man, Yat-sen."

Long Yat-sen smiled as he began to stalk toward her. "I impress you?" he teased.

Long Yat-sen was closer to her now, and Shao Lin rolled her eyes. "You always do."

"And if you were a flower shop owner, not an heiress, not a princess, would you have said yes if I pursued you?"

Shao Lin chuckled. "Let me think," she said, bringing a finger to her chin. "I definitely would have thought you handsome beyond reason, but I would have made things harder for you."

"How so?" he asked her curiously.

"Regardless, you would have been a rich man and a rich man wanting to pursue an ordinary flower girl? I would have thought you would be toying with me."

"I would never," he replied gently.

"I know now," she told him. "But another Shao Lin would have been skeptical and wary of you."

"And what about the Shao Lin before me now?"

She smiled. "I trust you," she began, seriously. "And I like you, so I won't make your pursuits of me any difficult."

"Say it again."

"I won't make your pursuits of me any difficult?"

"No before that."

"I trust you."

He chuckled. "Yes, but after that."

Shao Lin blushed. "I like you…"

Long Yat-sen pulled her in for a warm embrace. Shao Lin's face was red.

"What is there about me to like?" he questioned, almost as if he couldn't believe she did.

She pulled away to look at him. "Everything, Yat-sen. Everything and there is more sides of you I haven't seen, but I know I would like them too."

Long Yat-sen looked away. "Do you want me?" he asked, seemingly afraid to question it.

She smiled warmly. "Yes."

"In what way?"

Shao Lin chuckled. "So many questions today, and before, you weren't even talking to me at all."

Long Yat-sen smiled back at her. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's all right now," she answered softly, "but to answer your question. I want you in every way." She meant she wanted him emotionally, not just physically.

He took her hand to place it over his heart, which was beating rapidly. "If you want this," he began. "It's yours, but you must have all of me."

"Of course," she breathed.

"Then come with me tonight."

Shao Lin widened her eyes. She knew what he was referring to. "Really?" she questioned.

"Yes," he answered. "It's not a pretty sight, and you won't see me as the man before you. I'll be different."

Shao Lin nodded. "That's all right. I want to go with you!"

He gave her a small smile. "Xia and Bojing will be there. I hope that would make you more comfortable."

She kept nodding. "Yes, it does," she hugged him. "Thank you. I'm very excited to go!"

He chuckled. "Normally, that's not the reaction most people would have when they go to this place."

Shao Lin grinned, giving him beading eyes. "Still, it's where you go most of the time, and I want to go with you."

"You're really something, Lin."