Han Geng was coming back today. You repeated it to yourself. “Han Geng is coming back today!” you exclaimed, rolling out of bed.

You had been counting down the days for weeks. It had been so lonely without him. It wasn’t that you had no life without him. You did see your friends and family to make up for it, but without him you felt incomplete, as cheesy as it sounded. Now that he was coming back though, you were off the walls with excitement.

While Han Geng was gone, you had subsisted on text messages and phone calls only, and short ones at that. He had been so busy with his promotions, but you were glad that he was getting a short break to visit you now. It felt like it had been forever when it had only been a little over two months.

You checked the time. It was ten in the morning. Thankfully, he was arriving on the weekend. You didn’t have anything to do so you planned to spend the whole day preparing for his return. There were so many things to do. You quickly got ready and headed out the door.

Your first stop was the grocery store. Han Geng always said he loved your cooking, and you had whipped up a few new dishes while he was away. Now all you wanted was to make him a romantic dinner with a table full of different foods for him. It was so much fun to cook for him and watch his face. He loved eating just as much as you did, and he was such an expressive person that he just lit up when he ate something delicious. It was almost as much as when he saw you. You often questioned his love of food, teasingly accusing him loving your cooking more than you.

The grocery store you went to was one of those small, local ones. It was owned by a sweet older woman who liked to think of you as her adopted daughter. She was always asking about Han Geng since you often came with him when he was visiting.

Shopping took longer than usual. That was probably due to the fact that your grocery list was incredibly long with all the food you wanted to make. It was basically going to be a feast tonight, and you couldn’t wait to get started.

After collecting all the ingredients you needed, you made your way to the checkout counter where the owner sat. Fortunately, there were few people in the store at this hour so there was no one in front of you.

“How are you, ________________?” the woman asked as she began to scan all of your items.

You smiled. “I’m wonderful! How about you?”

“No complaints,” she said, returning with a toothy grin. “Where’s Han Geng today?”

Your smile grew, if that was even possible. “He’s coming back from China today,” you explained.

“I’m glad to hear that! That explains why you are so happy today,” she said. “You are going to cook him a big dinner tonight then, I assume?” She finished scanning the last of your items.

You nodded. Just then, your phone chirped in your purse. You pulled it out, and, speak of the devil, you had a text from Han Geng. “It’s him!” you exclaimed and opened it up.

Getting on the plane. See you soon. Love you.

You recited it to the woman. “I’m so excited to see him.” You handed her your credit card to pay.

“How long has it been now?”

“Two months.” You sighed. “Well, at least it’s over now. I cleaned my apartment yesterday so today I’m going to cook a delicious meal for him. Oh, and I’m going to stop by the market to grab some fresh flowers to decorate my apartment with.”

She laughed as she handed you your things. “I’m sure he’ll love all of it. I hope you have a good day and a good night.” She winked, and you blushed as you exited the store.

You walked out with a spring in your step. Actually you had to fight the urge to skip. That’s how happy you were. Telling the storeowner about Han Geng’s return only served to get you even more excited. You just wanted to tell everyone about it.

You headed to your next destination: the fresh market. There was a certain flower stand that you frequented because they had all kinds of flowers, everything from begonias and peonies to daisies and poppies. You weren’t sure what kind to get so you picked a few of each. You could arrange them how you pleased when you got home.

With everything you needed, you headed back to your apartment. You had so much to do and so little time. It was getting close to one already, and you had yet to eat lunch. So when you got home, you made yourself a little sandwich then left a few things prepared for when you started cooking.

After that, you began to arrange the flowers. You wanted to put them everywhere: your office, your bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and, of course, the dining room. You were sure you had enough. The flower shop owner had convinced you to get many different flowers. You got out a few different vases and played around flower arrangements, all while listening to Han Geng’s voice in his music. You smiled to yourself as you picked and prodded each and every one of them. You wanted them to be perfect.

As you began to place them around the apartment, you were proud of yourself for the excellent job cleaning that you had done yesterday. Everywhere you looked was immaculate, dustless, and organized.

When you finished that, you put on an apron to start cooking. It was getting close to three already, and you needed to finish cooking before six-thirty. Han Geng was supposed to arrive then. You had suggested meeting him at the airport because you wanted to see him as soon as possible, but he had insisted on just taking a cab. He had said he didn’t want to see you mixed in with all of his fans. He wanted to see just you. Of course, you couldn’t help but melt at his words and agree to wait for him at home.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You whipped it out, hoping it was Han Geng. Maybe he was arriving early?

Flight delayed by one hour. Sorry. I’ll see you soon. Love you.

You sighed and pocketed your cell phone. At least, it would give you extra time to make sure everything was exactly the way you wanted it to be.

Unfortunately, you were not the most patient woman in the world. So as you cooked, you kept glancing at the clock, watching time go by the slowest it felt like it had ever gone in your life. On the positive side, it helped your cooking because you were precise with times.

The four hours of cooking dragged on, but when it was finally over, you were nearly jumping with glee. You served each of the dishes and brought them into the dining room. With your especially particular eye for arranging, you placed and moved and shifted each individual plate until they were perfect. Then you set the table with a plate for each of you along with tumblers and silverware. The final touch was a pair of candles. You wanted it to be sweet and romantic.

You sighed happily as you surveyed your work. You glanced at your watch. Han Geng would be here soon. You hung up your apron then walked into the bathroom to fix up your appearance. Your hair was a bit of a mess after all the running around to get things ready. You changed clothes, brushed your hair and put on a little make-up, something you didn’t normally do, but you were hoping it would kill the waiting time.

But Han Geng was still wasn’t there. So you went into the living room and lay on the couch to wait. You closed your eyes. You were so exhausted that you fell asleep. You didn’t care though, positive that Han Geng knocking on the door would wake you up.

You woke up to the feeling of someone kissing you. You opened your eyes to find Han Geng before you. His lips were soft though slightly chapped against yours. Your eyes grew wide as you registered who it was. You sat up.

“You’re home!” You threw your arms around his neck. “I missed you so much!”

He laughed, holding your waist. “I can tell,” he said. “You even fell asleep waiting for me.”

You blushed and pulled away to kiss his cheek. “Sorry, Geng,” you said softly. “I was just so tired after all that I did today.”

He smiled and shook his head. “It’s okay. There’s a reason you gave me a spare key,” he said then dropped a kiss on your forehead. “So did you make all that?” He nodded toward all of the food on the table.

“Yes, I wanted it to be special,” you said, pulling at the collar of his jacket. You kissed him, a little harder than before. “I really missed you,” you said softly, breath hitched in your throat.

“Me, too,” he whispered, barely audible. He kissed you again, deepening it. His hands wandered your body, like he was exploring something he had forgotten.

You pulled away with a smile. “We can continue this later,” you said, “but I really don’t want the food to get cold. I don’t think it’s been out for too long. What time is it anyway?”

Han Geng sighed and looked at his watch. “Almost exactly seven,” he said.

“I thought you were going to be delayed an hour. That was only thirty minutes,” you said, leading him over to the table.

He shrugged. “I guess the pilot knew how badly I wanted to see you.” He grinned and sat down across from you. His eyes grew wide as he studied all the dishes before him. “This looks delicious. All of it.”

You smiled. “I’ve been practicing a lot of new things while you were gone,” you said.

“A lot of new things?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

You blushed, realizing what he was insinuating. You nodded.

“You’ll have to show me some of those things later,” he said as he began to serve himself plentiful portions. He winked.

You giggled to yourself and lit the candles on the table.

The food turned out to be even better than you’d hoped. Han Geng loved every single dish, even asking for seconds. Between bites, he recounted stories from this recent time in China, telling you about people that he wanted you to meet and times he wished you had been with him.

“I wish I could go with you everywhere,” you said, a bit downhearted.

He smiled. “I wish you could, too. But you know, not seeing each other all the time makes these moments extra special,” he said. “Anyway, I’m hoping it won’t be too much longer before we get to see each other all the time.”

You grinned. “Are you about to take another long break?”

Han Geng laughed. “Something like that.” He finished off his dessert and the last of his champagne. “I am so full.” He sat back. “This was all so wonderful and delicious. I don’t know how you do it sometimes.”

You lifted your shoulders, a satisfied grin on your face. You too had finished so you picked up the plates and brought them into the kitchen. Han Geng followed you with a few that you couldn’t get. You placed everything in the sink to wash later. Right now, all you wanted was to give your full attention to Han Geng.

You spun around and leapt on him.

He laughed, catching you up in his arms and spinning you around. When he put you on the ground, he gave you the sweetest, most delicate of kisses. “I missed you so much. Every day, I woke up, I thought about you. When I ate, I thought about you. When I did interviews and photo shoots, I thought about you.” His lips were on yours between each sentence.

You grinned against his lips. “I love you, Han Geng,” you said.

“I love you, too, ___________,” he said. He kissed you deeply. “Now, how about I show you how much I missed you?” He slipped his arm in the crook of your knees and swept you up into his arms.

You giggled. “I’d like that a lot,” you said, arms around his neck. You kissed his neck as you made your way to the bedroom. You sighed, leaning against his chest. You were so happy Han Geng was home.