The allure of the red rose, the purity of the white rose, and the language of this bouquet of yellow roses, besides the faint sadness of lost love, also carried the unwavering promise of waiting.
Time flies, and nearly a month has passed. She has never taken the initiative to call him, because he still adheres strictly to discipline, calling her every midnight. Sometimes it’s a warm greeting, and sometimes the conversation drifts into more intimate topics.
“Alright, from now on, your hand is my hand,” he softens his voice, “let it gently caress you, touch your forehead, your lips, and your chest.”
……
She really followed his instructions, not missing a single step, but then she heard him ask knowingly, “What are you doing, baby?” He smirked, “Do you want it?”
“Uh…” She was so shy that she didn’t know how to respond. After a long internal struggle, she finally managed to produce a voice that was almost inaudible even to herself, “What about below… what should I do?”
But there was no response from the other end.
“Hello?” she said softly. After a while, she heard faint snoring. This guy actually fell asleep at a time like this. She thought he must be extremely tired. She felt a bit frustrated, but listening to his even breathing made her reluctant to wake him. Gradually, she also felt a bit drowsy, just not wanting to hang up the phone. She liked this, keeping the line open, even if they didn’t say a word, imagining how he looked while asleep, as if he were really there beside her.
The morning sunlight woke him up, and as his consciousness gradually returned, he realized he had actually fallen asleep in his clothes. Before that, it seemed he had done something, and now he was all disheveled. He half-closed his eyes, recalling the interesting conversation he had with her last night, imagining her cute blushing face. Suddenly, he thought of something, his eyes widened, and he grabbed the phone receiver that was beside the bed. There was no dead air on the line, clearly the other party hadn’t hung up. This was not good; he had unknowingly fallen asleep while the phone was still connected, letting it stay on all night. He tentatively cleared his throat into the receiver.
“Are you awake?” came a sweet girl’s voice from the other end. “Good morning, Mr. Quarter Past Twelve.”
Hearing her voice, he relaxed a bit, “Oh my God, did our phone stay connected all night?”
“Yeah, you were sleeping the whole time.” She paused slightly, “I was going to wake you up after an hour to remind you to take off your clothes, shower, and go back to sleep, but I couldn’t bear to do it. I wanted you to sleep a little longer, and before I knew it, it was dawn.”
He pondered for a moment and then asked softly, “Baby, did you not sleep all night?”
“Well, I was a bit dazed at first, but then I was woken up by your snoring.”
“Hmm, what else did I say? Like, calling your name in my dreams?”
“How annoying! How did you know? I had a little selfish motive, which was to eavesdrop and see if you would call out another woman’s name while you were asleep.”
“So what was the result?” he asked again.
“The result…” She seemed to sense his slight guilt and deliberately kept him in suspense, pausing for a few seconds before saying, “A little pig was snoring all night, sleeping very soundly. Snore—snore—snore—snore—” As she spoke, she mimicked the sound of a little pig snoring.
“Haha,” he laughed at her, rarely hearing him laugh so heartily. “Baby, it’s getting late, I should get ready for work.”
“I need to sleep too, I’m so sleepy.” Khanyi yawned, covering her mouth.
“Go ahead and sleep,” he pressed a kiss on the phone receiver, “…my angel.”
After hanging up, he didn’t get out of bed immediately. His eyes scanned the alarm clock on the bedside table; it was almost 6 AM. He still had some time. He rummaged through the bedside cabinet and found a new pack of cigarettes. Here, he could smoke freely without having to sneak around to drink.
For some time now, he had been living in this suite in the office building. The suite was very well-equipped, not much worse than the hotel suites across the square at the Empire Building.
There were also reliable staff coming in daily to clean. No matter how late he worked, he could rest immediately, saving time on the commute. But for some reason, he often thought of the mansion located in the southern city.
He had properties in many countries, of course, these were not known to the public. Perhaps it was because that place was in the mountains, particularly cold in winter. Even during Easter, the temperature difference between morning and evening was still significant. There, he had many old subordinates and a few friends, servants who had followed him for years, his beloved horses, and his favorite dogs…
The sun was gradually rising, shining through the gaps in the branches with tender leaves and the narrow window glass, landing on the bed. He squinted slightly, facing the morning light, looking at the little ballerina in the opened eggshell on the windowsill, her little bottom raised as she posed in a dance, her pink skirt illuminated by the morning light, appearing somewhat transparent.
In the morning, wrapped in the quilt, she had a good sleep. The poor “Teddy” was hungry, crying out loudly, its little paws scratching at the wooden bed frame. Khanyi was finally awakened by it, swaying as she got up to feed it a piece of sausage and a bowl of milk, while she also had some fruit, considering it her lunch. After brewing a cup of tea, she leisurely went to the study.
