Sort of counter/sequel/other-side-of-the-coin to Qiuyue Knows (http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/723489/11)

Summary - Yifan is smart. Or so he likes to believe. When it comes to his wife, he simply has no clue most of the times. Except at some moments where clarity strikes

1.

“How was Prague?” Qiuyue asked, folding her legs and hugging a pillow. She watched Yifan unpack lazily, not really wanting to put any effort into it. “It was good. The buildings were pretty amazing with all the historical stuff going on” he said, with a weary sigh. “Tired?” she asked. “Yeah. I couldn’t really sleep on the plane. Now my whole body is stiff” he complained. She frowned and almost got up to help him by massaging it off, but he waved it off. “I’ll just sleep early when I get back from the meeting tonight” he decided. “A meeting? But you just got back” Qiuyue pointed out. “Yeah. It’s kind of important though. This might be the one where we sign the deal for the next consignment. Do that and we would have hit our yearly target in the third quarter itself” he said proudly. “That should leave you guys considerably relaxed for the fourth quarter then. Speaking of which, how many days do you have off for Christmas?” she asked.

“24^th to 1^st I think” Yifan said thoughtfully. “So seven days?” Qiuyue counted. “Eight and yeah” Yifan said. “Could you take a few days off?” she asked. “I don’t think it’s possible. I’ll probably be working during that time as well. Why?” he asked, putting the last of his shirts away. “But it would be Christmas!” Qiuyue exclaimed before schooling her features again. “I know. But we will have a new client coming in. Hopefully. All of it again depends on tonight’s deal. Plus closing of a financial quarter. We might even be called in on 27^th and 28^th if needed” he explained.

Qiuyue stayed silent, toying with a photo frame she had picked up from the side. “Have you seen the dark blue suit?” he asked, rummaging through his closet. “I gave that for dry cleaning yesterday. The deep gray with pinstripes is right in front of you. Wear that” she replied. “Ok. Uh... have you seen my yellow tie?” he asked turning around. He saw her put the photo frame away before coming over to help him. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out the tie he was looking for. “It’s right there Yifan” she said, rolling her eyes. “Sorry” he said sheepishly. He reached for his wallet in the back pocket but didn’t find it there. “You left it on the bedside table” Qiuyue said without even looking up.

Yifan hurried over to the bedside table. His watch and his wallet were kept there. He picked them up, nearly knocking over the photo frame in the process. He frowned and put it back in his proper place. It was a family photo from their Christmas vacation last year. Yifan bit his lip. Wasn’t this the one Qiuyue had been looking at earlier?

“Baobei, you’ll be late” Qiuyue reminded him. “Yeah. Right. I should go” Yifan spoke up. He grabbed his keys from the key holder on the door. “I’ll be late tonight” he told her. Her face fell, but she didn’t say anything. “Will you be eating outside?” she asked. “Maybe. Not sure” he told her. “Okay” she said simply. She would cook something. If not dinner, it would be tomorrow’s lunch. He kissed her on her forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it” he promised. “Yeah..” she replied with a smile. Yifan hurried out of the door, before calling up his secretary.

“Hey, Ai? I need you to book tickets for me. Yeah, Christmas holidays. I’ll need around nine tickets I think. Family vacation.”

“No don’t tell Qiuyue. It’s a surprise for her”

2.

Qiuyue sniffled. Yifan raised an eyebrow. “Are you cold?” he asked her. “No” she replied. “Do you have a cold?” he asked narrowing his eyes. “No I don’t. I just have a chill in my arms that’s all” she replied, rubbing her arms. “That means you are cold” Yifan deadpanned. “No. Good lord Yifan!” Qiuyue protested. Yifan threw his hands up in defeat and let it go.

He saw her shift uncomfortably. Her cheeks were pink and she unconsciously kept tugging her sweater closer. She definitely had a fever. Yifan waited for five minutes, observing her move around in the kitchen from the dining table he was sitting on. His laptop had long gone into sleep mode but he didn’t mind. He wasn’t editing anything anyways. He watched Qiuyue blow into her fingers and rub them together.

“Yifan! The stew will burn!” Qiuyue protested when Yifan dragged her away from the stove. He put a hand on his forehead before putting it on Qiuyue’s. He had been right. Her forehead was warmer than normal. “You have a fever” he said sternly. “I know” Qiuyue said in a small voice, shuffling her feet. “Explain yourself” he commanded. He didn’t like it when Qiuyue fell sick. She kept herself in good health but when she fell ill, she did so violently. He had seen her sick in the first year of their marriage, when she had a hacking cough that lasted for two weeks. She hadn’t been able to sleep for five nights in a row, constantly woken up by coughing which had nearly caused her to choke once.

Qiuyue opened to say something but shut it and decided to turn off the stew. It could cook in its own heat for a while. She took up the knife and pretended to cut some more vegetables, hoping Yifan would let the matter go. Yifan knew better and he swiftly took the knife away from her. She looked at him, wondering if she should tell him or not. Knowing he would be mad either way, she decided to tell him.

“I’ve had it since last night. I took medicines” she said, hoping he wouldn’t be mad. Yifan would always be angry if she felt ill. Especially since that terrible cough she had once upon a time. “Did you really?” he asked her. She nodded. “It was ok in the morning. I don’t know why it acted up now” she said honestly. “Do you want to go to a doctor?” he asked worriedly. She shook her head. “Did you not tell me about the fever because you thought I would take you to a doctor?” he asked, hazarding a guess. When Qiuyue looked away, he realized that he had hit the nail right on its head.

“Qiuyue, if you aren’t well then you’ll need a doctor. I know you don’t like doctors but still!” he chastised her. She shivered and his resolve wavered. “After lunch, you are going to take the next dose of medicines and go to sleep. If you don’t feel better by the evening then we will go to a doctor, ok?” he compromised. Qiuyue nodded in agreement.

“Still cold?” he asked her gently. “Yeah...” she replied slowly. Yifan hugged her. “Better?” he asked. She nodded into his chest. He rubbed her arms gently. He really didn’t like it when she wasn’t well. She was better when she was happy and healthy. He hoped this was nothing serious and she would get better soon.