“I don’t trust what you’ll do to me in that very nice big bed if I spend a night with you.” Meilei got to her knees, dusting herself down, and yelped when he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her between his legs now he was sitting on his ass.
“Last time was all you, baby. I should be the one fearing for my purity.” Kai tugged her down to kiss, but Meilei resisted, knowing exactly what he was trying to do, and stopped him with a pointer finger on his closed lips. This is how he convinced her to stay last weekend. It started with kisses and stalling, and she never made it to class the next day. She was not doing that again.
“You’re coming to me in a few days. We will see each other then. I can stay with you on the long weekend at the end of the month.”
“Hey!” Kai took after her, jogging to catch her up and caught her easily. Tugging her back into his arm to walk together while planting a peck on her temple.
“Only because Yuelin would cut off your manhood if you cheated on me.” She prodded him, knowing she had nothing to worry about when it came to other girls. Kai was hers, and she didn’t doubt that she could trust him. There had been plenty of opportunities in the last year for him to stray, yet he only seemed to have eyes for her.
She snuggled in for the short walk back to the station, mentally making a note to book somewhere for them to stay when he came to hers in a week. Somewhere special and romantic that was memorable.
“We’re home… Did you miss me?” Yue ran into Ling’s open arms at a run, squealing with delight as she was scooped up and hugged half to death. Filling the quiet apartment with childish giggles made it sound like home again. This house had been unbearable and lonely without them.
“You were, and you look so rosy-cheeked and brown. Did you have a good time, my little one?” She put her back on her feet and tweaked her cheeks, irresistible to pinching when you missed her to death as Ling had. She hated that she couldn’t go with them, but she dreaded breaking the current news to her returning friend.
“Yue will probably pass out soon. She’s had a long day.” Meilei dragged in their cases, followed by Suying, and both women slumped down on the couches with heavy exhales. Resting their weary bodies like comical bookends. Exhaustion was evident in both of them.
“I’ll take over, bathe, and put her to bed tonight. You two relax. You look beat.” Ling offered.
“I can’t. I need to change and head to the hospital for the night shift. I only managed to get leave by promising I would work doubles for the rest of the week.” Suying jumped up and headed to her room, catching her case as she passed and left the two women in the lounge. They watched her go with matching frowns, knowing that girl worked harder than most. She was a superwoman sometimes, and Meilei was so heavy with guilt that she now had to make up for the lost time from their trip.
Yue picked up her backpack and ran to investigate her bedroom like she hadn’t seen it in months. Exclaiming loud hellos to her stuffed toys in delight before she shut her door.
“How are you feeling?” Ling eyed up Meilei with scrutiny, trying to gauge her mood and wondering how on earth she was going to break the news. She knew Meilei was going to be mad as hell. There was a lot to unpack.
Ling couldn’t argue with that because she agreed. As much as she was against Meilei ever missing a scheduled counseling session, Suying had done the best thing by taking her away. Sometimes, Meilei needed to be taken out of the problem to breathe so she could better handle it. She needed the distance to look at things and not be overwhelmed into hysteria by them. Being close friends all these years had taught Ling that.
Meilei warily eyed Ling, who was still standing by the edge of the couch, and her stiff posture had her sitting up in worry.
“What is it?”
“Move over.” Ling shooed her to one side and slid beside her, picking up Meilei’s hand and squeezing it. She figured giving comfort first might soften the blow.
“Xucheng suspended Inhale’s testing… He froze the funding, and your project has been shelved until further notice.” She let it out in a whoosh, like ripping off a band-aid, knowing any other way would cause her a coronary. She had been sitting on this for the last few days, waiting for Meilei to come home so she didn’t ruin their trip.
Meilei’s face dropped. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted in stunned silence.
“Do you think he will reinstate after I leave? Really?” Meilei got up and started pacing, wringing her hands as images of her team flashed through her brain. Their eager and trusting faces. The hours and months they had worked overtime, sweated through issues, and never waivered to get this app pulled together. They all worked late nights and early starts for a month when they were told to get beta testing ready. They relied on her, and this was all of their baby. So much work and dedication for this app.
How could he do something like that?