Lin Xiuqing stood by the back door, watching him rinse off and nagging him. "I told you to take a walk to settle your stomach, then have a bath and go to bed. But once you went out, you forgot all about coming home..."
"You knew perfectly well you had to leave for the city tonight, yet you only came home now, reeking of booze. It's already nine. Now you won't get any sleep at all..."
"Couldn't you drink some other time? Did you have to go drinking tonight? You could've drunk tomorrow after you got back. Going a whole night without sleep-let's see if you can hold up tomorrow."
Ye Yaodong glanced at her without saying anything and let her nag. He wrung out a towel, held it by both ends behind his back, and scrubbed back and forth.
"Let me scrub your back."
"Mm. Are all the kids asleep?"
"They're asleep. Each of them chewed a spoonful of dry malt milk powder before finally going to sleep satisfied." Lin Xiuqing wrung out the towel and spread it across his back, scrubbing up and down as she answered.
"Mm... good."
Lin Xiuqing gave his back a puzzled look and kept scrubbing. Only when she finished did she put the towel in the basin and leave him to finish washing himself.
But Ye Yaodong suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind.
His hot, bare chest pressed against her back, his strong arms circling her waist and holding her in his embrace. That startled her.
"What are you doing?"
"Hugging you!" Ye Yaodong whispered in her ear.
"You're nuts. Let go. Someone might see."
"It's the middle of the night and pitch-black. Who's going to see?"
"Don't try anything..."
"In your dreams! I just wanted a hug... ow..."
Lin Xiuqing