Chapter 47 A Sweet Weekend Doing Yoga Together in the Attic and Houseboat
The sun had long since risen high in the sky, and behind the double-layered linen curtains, the bedroom remained peaceful and dimly lit.
Liang Siyu woke up, but didn't get up. After all, his girlfriend was yawning and leaning in to hug his arm, and he really couldn't refuse.
But he soon regretted it; her hair, everything about her, was too soft.
“Ada, it’s 9:30, get up.” His throat tightened.
She remained unmoved, her nose still rubbing against his upper arm, her voice heavy with sleep: "Sleep for another ten minutes."
Damn it, the small breath of warm air she exhaled was like water vapor stuck to glass, blurring his thoughts and will.
She turned over again and went to sleep hugging her pillow.
The off-white, long, narrow side-sleeping pillow is a recent addition, to make her more comfortable while sleeping.
The white fabric made her look like a wounded little angel. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the area under her shoulder where her wings had folded.
Xu Aida felt as if she were floating between a dream and waking up. She felt like she had just taken a hot bath and was now feeling lazy, not wanting to move a single finger.
"Mmm," a hot towel with a lemon scent was placed on her face, and her lungs came back to life.
"Babe, get up and have lunch." He used his arm forcefully, and she was "invited" out of bed.
She sat groggily on the edge of the bed, wanting to go back to sleep, but the familiar aroma of coffee finally woke her up.
After lunch, she was still a little tired and was ready to enjoy a leisurely weekend. Unfortunately, she only stayed in the garden for two minutes with her lemonade before being driven away by the New York sun.
"I really can't stay here in the summer. I just wanted to soak up some sun," she muttered, starting to miss her backyard, the lawn and sunshine of California.
Liang Siyu chuckled, then suddenly remembered something.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere." He led her upstairs and pushed open the small door next to the library on the top floor.
She had lived here for over a month and had spent several Christmases here in her past life, yet she had never noticed that there was a door here!
They went up a small wooden staircase, and she smelled the familiar scent of grass again.
No, it's a bamboo forest, and it also has the smell of sweet oranges or grapefruits.
By the light of the small wall lamp on the staircase, she saw several futons in the corner, and brass singing bowls and white crystal on the low table.
With a "creak," she heard the sound of an electric motor after pressing something, and then she was surprised to find that the room had brightened. She looked around and realized it was the skylight.
She looked up and saw the electric honeycomb blinds closing, letting in the intense sunlight, which made her squint.
“If it weren’t shaded, this place would turn into a giant steamer in the summer,” he explained with a laugh. “This attic is where my mother practices yoga; we don’t usually come up here.”
"But today, how about we sunbathe together? Pretend we're on a beach on Long Island? I think she enjoys the sun and beach every day and won't mind if we use this place."
Xu Aida chuckled, completely relaxing. She took off her slippers, stepped barefoot onto the teak floor, and walked towards the brightest patch of light.
The sunlight was warm and bright, so she simply lay down.
Liang Siyu shook her head. Is this the relaxed feeling of Californians? Amazing.
He pulled two yoga mats out of the corner. "Get up for a second. I don't want to sleep on the floor."
She watched him spread out the mat, then nimbly rolled over and lay down on it.
She glanced at his legs and suddenly laughed—a regular yoga mat is only 180 centimeters long and can't accommodate his long legs.
He lay down, realized the problem, and burst into laughter.
They enjoyed a relaxing half-hour sunbathing session when Xu Aida suddenly suggested, "Ned, how about we do some yoga together? This place is so beautiful and perfect for it!"
"Uh." Yoga? He'd never thought of it.
“Come on, yoga can calm our minds.” She shook his hand, revealing a sly smile.
Perhaps it was physical discomfort, or perhaps his underlying anxiety had infected her, but she hadn't laughed like that in over a month.
She is a little mischievous, yet incredibly vivid.
Liang Siyu felt his breath catch for a moment. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he could only nod, unable to utter any words of refusal.
“The most common sun salutation is not difficult.” She clicked on the video.
The movement starts with standing and raising your arms, which is not difficult.
But bending forward? Oh no, he was bent over, his knees were bent, and his fingers couldn't even touch the ground.
A push-up-like movement, great, too easy.
But the upward-facing dog pose? His proud pectoral muscles were stretched painfully, and he gasped.
When he got to Downward-Facing Dog, oh my god, how is this possible? He felt like hundreds of tendons were being pulled at the back of his thighs at the same time.
The coach in the video even said, "Let's rest for a few beats on this move."
Rest? Are you kidding me?
Xu Aida turned her head to look at him, biting her lip to control herself and not laugh out loud.
“Ned, relax, take a deep breath, and imagine your ischium is looking for the ceiling.”
He tried his best, but could only manage to create a strange "four-legged support".
"Sorry, it's called an ischium, and its function is to help me fix my buttocks on the slide."
Hsu Ai-ta could no longer hold back, and the laughter he had been trying so hard to suppress burst out.
He collapsed onto the mat, and after just a few seconds of stretching, his hands were sweating.
He rubbed his hands on her trousers and then reached out to hold her hand.
She swatted it away: "No, it's sticky."
But the next second, she gently placed her hand on his upper arm, and laughed again through the short sleeve of his T-shirt.
They looked into each other's eyes, and in the sunlight, every single one of their eyelashes was clearly visible.
After some time, she clapped her hands and said, "Get up, try again, and be serious."
“I was being very serious just now,” he protested.
Ignoring this funny little incident, Hsu Ai-ta found a sense of peace and tranquility in yoga.
As the resting spell ended, she reluctantly got up, inhaling the lemon essential oil from the edge of the white crystal, and thought of the two lemon trees at home.
Liang Siyu picked up her phone and saw a message.
He casually asked, "Ed and CC asked us to have dinner together next week, what do you think?"
At the family gathering in May, CC was suffering from severe morning sickness, so her brother Ed naturally decided to stay in the city instead of going to Long Island.
Now, almost three months have passed, and CC is doing well and is resuming her daily social life.
Xu Aida was stunned. In her previous life, she first met Ed and CC a few days before their wedding.
It was a chaotic day. She was trying on her wedding dress. Claudia was on the phone arranging the venue setup one second, but the next second she turned around and asked the tailor to make the waist half an inch smaller, "It must be according to Ada's measurements, to be as precise as possible."
She didn't understand what the matter was about that tiny half-inch, and was about to say that it was no trouble, but CC took her hand and asked her what kind of flower she liked.
While accompanying her to change into her wedding dress, CC reminded her, "Claudia is a little anxious because she's busy. It's not on purpose. When we got married, she was also afraid it would rain that day and kept checking the weather forecast every day."
Liang Siyu lowered his head and placed his hand on her shoulder: "Ada? What's wrong? Are you tired? Then let's postpone it until next week."
"Oh, no." She seemed to snap out of a daze. "What kind of gift should we buy? Should we prepare anything extra for the baby?"
He shook his head slightly: "Isn't it too early? CC likes white roses, so ordering a bouquet would be fine. Oh, by the way, Ed, like you, likes pour-over coffee, and I think he'll like Blue Bottle too."
Xu Aida added, "Let's add another serving of Decaf beans."
CC is pregnant and might need to control her caffeine intake. Thinking about this, she sighed, realizing she was even worse off than a pregnant woman.
He laughed and leaned in to kiss her: "If your heart rate drops next month, we'll experiment and maybe restore your caffeine supply."
She scoffed, "Fine, I hope I can get into the experimental group soon."
As she went downstairs, she suddenly realized that it was mid-August. In her previous life, they had just returned from their honeymoon at this time.
She stared blankly at the narrow staircase, suddenly remembering that in a small church in southern France, they had also climbed the attic and looked out through the stained glass windows at vast, dreamy fields of purple lavender.
“Ned?” she murmured, but when she saw him bend down, she didn’t know what she wanted to say.
He was puzzled at first, then raised an eyebrow, picked her up in his arms, quickly went down the last few steps, and walked through the corridor with a smile: "Let's go back to take a shower!"
He walked so fast that she felt a little dizzy. She leaned on his shoulder. The brushed stainless steel surface of the elevator was bright and shiny. She met a pair of hazy eyes that were both familiar and strange.
After showering and changing, Liang Siyu drove north along the Hudson River.
Several old friends from their rowing team reunite several times a year. This time, the gathering was held at Sharp Boat House. They first took a tour of the place before having dinner at a nearby restaurant.
The humidity was exceptionally high today. Ten minutes after leaving the parking lot, Xu Aida felt as if he were stuck in a film of water, and his lungs felt like they were filled with cotton wool.
Seeing the huge houseboat, she felt like she had found a lifeline: "Ah, let's go in and enjoy the air conditioning."
As they walked toward the coffee area, Xu Aida felt as if she had stumbled into a land of giants.
Liang Siyu put his arm around her and, seeing a group of boys in high school uniforms, couldn't help but mutter, "Trinity is having their refresher course so early? But why choose the afternoon for the water? The turbulence is too bad."
Xu Aida found it amusing; Trinity and Dalton were their old rivals from high school, and he still remembered them.
When she reached the back of the line, she asked, "Ned, besides lattes, do you have any other recommendations?"
The person in front of them suddenly turned around: "Ma'am, you've asked the wrong person. He'll drink anything as long as it's better than a Hudson Latte."
Xu Aida froze, but Liang Siyu exclaimed in surprise, "Matt!"
She recognized him; he was one of Ned's best men from back then, an old friend from his rowing team.
Actually, several of his teammates attended their wedding, but they were all too tall, and they were all wearing similar linen suits that day. When Ned took her over to toast and chat, all she could see were a bunch of jawlines.
The two boys gave each other a big hug, and the force with which they patted each other's backs was, in Xu Aida's eyes, close to a fight.
Liang Siyu introduced them, his tone lighthearted and teasing: "Ada, this is Dr. Matt Monroe, who works at Presbyterian Hospital."
“Go to hell.” Matt elbowed him. He was graduating with his MD this year and had just completed his residency matching.
He smiled and extended his hand: "Ada, it's a pleasure to meet you. You're a legend among us." Everyone wanted to see what kind of girl could tame Ned, this blockhead.
Xu Aida smiled and ignored the teasing in his words: "Dr. Monroe, I'm glad we didn't meet at the hospital. Then I'll call you Matt?"
Matt shrugged: "Of course."
Xu Aida recalled his earlier words and asked curiously, "Is the Hudson Latte at this shop really that bad?" She assumed it was a specialty coffee from the shop.
The two boys looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Matt first revealed the mystery: "Ned also races in single-person boats. Sometimes when the waves are big and the boat capsizes, he gets a mouthful of river water, which also contains mud and sand."
They used to joke with each other, calling the muddy river water "Hudson Latte".
“Hey, you once choked so badly you couldn’t get on the boat, I had to pull you back.” Liang Siyu couldn’t help but tease him about it.
Matt quickly retorted: "Don't forget who drove you back to school every day!" Ned started school a year earlier and was the youngest among them, only reaching driving age in 12th grade.
The three chatted and laughed, and soon it was their turn to order.
"The usual? Iced Americano?" Liang Siyu saw his old friend nod, then turned to the clerk, "Hello, one iced Americano and two iced lattes from Decaf. Do you have oat milk?"
When did Ned start drinking decaf? And he's so particular about it, is he switching to oat milk?
Matthew was about to complain when he saw him looking down at his girlfriend and smiling. Tsk, so that's how it is. He found a California girl, and even his taste in coffee has changed.
He'll have to give everyone a good talking about this when he sees them later.
That brat! He saw him helping his date with her homework in high school and even mocked him during training. Now, it's finally his turn to get his revenge.
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