I apologize for length in advance...
No one could have predicted how I found love in Shanghai. No one knows how or why it happened, but everyone say it forming and encouraged us along the way. I, for one, could not be any more overjoyed. This is my story.
June 21st, 2013. It was in Shanghai where Minghao (Michael S.) and I first met. I remember my very first day laying eyes upon him. Out of everyone there, he stood out to me. I never knew why but he did. But I always kept my distance, even after I realized a week later that I have developed a crush on him although we have never formally met or spoken to each other aside from the occasional "Nihao" to one another.
When we finally did formally meet each other, it was through a friend, Yvonne. From then on, we all began to hang out with each other, all six of us: Yvonne, Joseph, Christopher, Simon, Michael and I. We were out own little family. After we begun to hang out, my crush on Michael grew stronger. I thought that it would go away but it never did. I found myself doing small things to be near him at the beginning. I would pick the closest seat to him, I'd shoot him glances every so often, I paid special attention to him whenever he spoke and played guitar. I found his voice and manner of speaking to be very soothing. but I always kept my distance because I never thought, for even a second, that a guy like him would ever fall for me, someone incredibly short and petite, who likes to spend all day reading and studying, who loves animals and spending time outside doing various activities, and so on. I was always bullied as a child growing up and because I'm so unique, I have a hard time believing that anyone would ever want to be with me until now.
It was when I tried to ignore my extreme like for Michael that I began to notice a chance in his behavior. I always wrote it off as him just being a nice person. I began to catch him staring at me very often. I only thought 'perhaps there is something on my face' but nevertheless, whenever I caught him, I quickly looked away, completely embarrassed. My heart rate would speed up and my breathing would quicken. He also payed special attention to me, especially as everyone else were talking, he would lean over on the couch and engage with me in conversation. I was always very quiet and rarely spoke but he always spoke to me. He would always sit next to me on the couch or at any restaurant we all went to. As we walked around Shanghai, going to Wujiaochang, out to eat, or even for a walk, he always walked next to me. He even begun to volunteer himself accompanying me on my midnight stroll to Lianhua to buy orange juice. Again, I only thought he was being nice.
I remember my first night out in Shanghai with Yvonne, her roommate, Anqi and her two friends, visiting a club in Shanghai. As we were all dancing together, suddenly Joseph, Simon, Christopher and Michael all showed up! I thought 'perhaps I could dance with him' but I didn't think he would want to so I continued to dance alone as he danced with out other friends. For sure, I thought he liked someone else in the program. I never thought I stood a chance.
Later on in the evening, I well shortly after my previous thought, the dance floor started to become more crowded and I somehow found myself dancing next to Michael. I didn't even realize he was near me. Soon afterwards, however, someone pushed me back into Michael. I was horrified and completely embarrassed. As I started to turn around to apologize to him, I felt him gently place his hands on my wait. I was stunned. I looked up at him, as he is a good foot taller than my 4'8'' self, and he smiled down at me and began to dance the rest of the night away with me, only me. I couldn't have been any more happier than I was that night.
Eventually, Michael and the rest of the guys called it a night and soon afterwords, so did Yvonne, Anqi and myself. But the smile on my face was bigger than I every thought possible. I think it was that point where I found myself completely smitten by him.
Despite my observations and because of my naivety, I continued to believe that Michael held no feelings for me, none at all past friendship. But despite my belief, my friends apparently all saw how Michael was completely infatuated with me, just from their observance alone. One afternoon, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant of one of Michael's friends. As the guys all left, Michael, Jo, and Christopher to find an ATM, Yvonne and I were left alone. It was at that moment she questioned me about Michael. I believe her exact words were "Do you think Michael likes you? Because you know he does right?" I denied it immediately, telling her that he was only being nice and that I didn't think he liked me at all. She asked me, what would you do if he kissed you, and I said, I don't think that will ever happen, he's too nice. And then she said, "Well he does like you, he told me himself." Yvonne isn't one to lie, she's very open with her opinions so I had to believe her, I was just stunned. Michael actually did like me.
I suppose I should have picked up on the signs myself, especially when he would only ever dance wit me at clubs, how he protected me from perverts, and took special attention to see if I was alright. Yet, each and every day that passed, my feelings for him grew deeper and stronger. But I never hinted any of that to him.
When we all went to Qingdao for out study vacation, he chose to sit next to me on the bus, no matter where we went. He would even politely ask to wrap his arm around my body so that he could rest against me and I against him. At first I was scared, but eventually I was able to rest against him freely. He accompanied me everywhere, always walking by my side, always talking to me. I was overjoyed.
The day that Michael and I got separated from out group of friends at the Buddhist Temple's will forever be burned into my memory. I don't think he seemed to mind being left alone with me, in fact, we explored the temple of Kuan Yin together and I took many pictures. I even had him do a small prayer but that isn't the big event that took place. That happened later on when we climbed many, many stairs to the top of a temple at the top of a hill.
As we entered the temple, suddenly a monk came out of nowhere and led us in Buddhist Ritual together. I still think he thought I was Michael's girlfriend. Nevertheless, we both prayed, had a prayer blessed upon us, banged a bell 9 times, and a drum 9 times together, all for the entire sanctuary to hear. Afterwards, we told our friends of what took place and it was then, at that moment, that everyone started calling us Mr. and Mrs. South. They were convinced that we had just gotten married. I'm sure we didn't but secretly, every time they called me Mrs South or his wife, even as I was embarrassed, I was still completely happy and overjoyed on the inside. But Michael never hinted any discomfort towards it, he would just smile and went along with it, but he never hinted that he actually wanted to be with me.
A week later, after our Qingdao trip, Michael may have had a bit of liquid courage before we all went out to another club that night. As we were dancing together, I noticed that Michael's face was actually very close to my neck that night, more so than usual, but I shrugged it off, thought nothing of it and kept dancing. Then, I felt him gently move my hair aside and gently place small kisses along against my neck. Immediately I felt small butterfly;s in my stomach but it passed as I thought 'he's only feeling a bit of the effects of liquid courage' or 'perhaps he's doing it by accident.'
It was only when he took his hand and gently placed it against my cheek that I began to think otherwise. Soon afterwards, he gently led my face to the side, up to his, where he kissed me for the first time. Yes, it was in Shanghai where Michael and I shared our first kiss together. I remember exactly how I felt. My stomach was fluttering like never before, my heart was beating so very fast, I was completely embarrassed but as we pulled back for air, I could only smile and wish that he would do it, again and again. And to my desire, he did, the same method of leading my face to his, gently placing a kiss upon my lips. Eventually we decided to leave together but as I was waiting for him to return from the men's room, I started to become scared and have second doubts, what if he was only kissing me because of the liquid courage. I gathered my nerves and asked him before he and I left the club. He said no, that he he has been wanting to kiss me for a long time. And that he really likes me. I was overjoyed!
When we returned to his apartment, Michael and I went to his room so that we could talk. He kissed me again many times that night and we revealed to each other how much we liked each other. I ended up staying there all night into morning just stalking to him before I left to my own quarters and thought about him for the rest of the morning. That's when things really chanced for us. He began to hold my hand everywhere, placing a small kiss upon it. He always said "I want to kiss you right now" but was always under the scrutiny of our friends. He took me on lunch dates and dinner dates (late) often, always liked spending time with me. Eventually, everyone assumed we were together. But the truth is, I didn't know what we were were. We never labeled it. I never asked either. I was too afraid to honestly.
No one could have predicted how I found love in Shanghai. No one knows how or why it happened, but everyone say it forming and encouraged us along the way. I, for one, could not be any more overjoyed. This is my story.
June 21st, 2013. It was in Shanghai where Minghao (Michael S.) and I first met. I remember my very first day laying eyes upon him. Out of everyone there, he stood out to me. I never knew why but he did. But I always kept my distance, even after I realized a week later that I have developed a crush on him although we have never formally met or spoken to each other aside from the occasional "Nihao" to one another.
When we finally did formally meet each other, it was through a friend, Yvonne. From then on, we all began to hang out with each other, all six of us: Yvonne, Joseph, Christopher, Simon, Michael and I. We were out own little family. After we begun to hang out, my crush on Michael grew stronger. I thought that it would go away but it never did. I found myself doing small things to be near him at the beginning. I would pick the closest seat to him, I'd shoot him glances every so often, I paid special attention to him whenever he spoke and played guitar. I found his voice and manner of speaking to be very soothing. but I always kept my distance because I never thought, for even a second, that a guy like him would ever fall for me, someone incredibly short and petite, who likes to spend all day reading and studying, who loves animals and spending time outside doing various activities, and so on. I was always bullied as a child growing up and because I'm so unique, I have a hard time believing that anyone would ever want to be with me until now.
It was when I tried to ignore my extreme like for Michael that I began to notice a chance in his behavior. I always wrote it off as him just being a nice person. I began to catch him staring at me very often. I only thought 'perhaps there is something on my face' but nevertheless, whenever I caught him, I quickly looked away, completely embarrassed. My heart rate would speed up and my breathing would quicken. He also payed special attention to me, especially as everyone else were talking, he would lean over on the couch and engage with me in conversation. I was always very quiet and rarely spoke but he always spoke to me. He would always sit next to me on the couch or at any restaurant we all went to. As we walked around Shanghai, going to Wujiaochang, out to eat, or even for a walk, he always walked next to me. He even begun to volunteer himself accompanying me on my midnight stroll to Lianhua to buy orange juice. Again, I only thought he was being nice.
I remember my first night out in Shanghai with Yvonne, her roommate, Anqi and her two friends, visiting a club in Shanghai. As we were all dancing together, suddenly Joseph, Simon, Christopher and Michael all showed up! I thought 'perhaps I could dance with him' but I didn't think he would want to so I continued to dance alone as he danced with out other friends. For sure, I thought he liked someone else in the program. I never thought I stood a chance.
Later on in the evening, I well shortly after my previous thought, the dance floor started to become more crowded and I somehow found myself dancing next to Michael. I didn't even realize he was near me. Soon afterwards, however, someone pushed me back into Michael. I was horrified and completely embarrassed. As I started to turn around to apologize to him, I felt him gently place his hands on my wait. I was stunned. I looked up at him, as he is a good foot taller than my 4'8'' self, and he smiled down at me and began to dance the rest of the night away with me, only me. I couldn't have been any more happier than I was that night.
Eventually, Michael and the rest of the guys called it a night and soon afterwords, so did Yvonne, Anqi and myself. But the smile on my face was bigger than I every thought possible. I think it was that point where I found myself completely smitten by him.
Despite my observations and because of my naivety, I continued to believe that Michael held no feelings for me, none at all past friendship. But despite my belief, my friends apparently all saw how Michael was completely infatuated with me, just from their observance alone. One afternoon, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant of one of Michael's friends. As the guys all left, Michael, Jo, and Christopher to find an ATM, Yvonne and I were left alone. It was at that moment she questioned me about Michael. I believe her exact words were "Do you think Michael likes you? Because you know he does right?" I denied it immediately, telling her that he was only being nice and that I didn't think he liked me at all. She asked me, what would you do if he kissed you, and I said, I don't think that will ever happen, he's too nice. And then she said, "Well he does like you, he told me himself." Yvonne isn't one to lie, she's very open with her opinions so I had to believe her, I was just stunned. Michael actually did like me.
I suppose I should have picked up on the signs myself, especially when he would only ever dance wit me at clubs, how he protected me from perverts, and took special attention to see if I was alright. Yet, each and every day that passed, my feelings for him grew deeper and stronger. But I never hinted any of that to him.
When we all went to Qingdao for out study vacation, he chose to sit next to me on the bus, no matter where we went. He would even politely ask to wrap his arm around my body so that he could rest against me and I against him. At first I was scared, but eventually I was able to rest against him freely. He accompanied me everywhere, always walking by my side, always talking to me. I was overjoyed.
The day that Michael and I got separated from out group of friends at the Buddhist Temple's will forever be burned into my memory. I don't think he seemed to mind being left alone with me, in fact, we explored the temple of Kuan Yin together and I took many pictures. I even had him do a small prayer but that isn't the big event that took place. That happened later on when we climbed many, many stairs to the top of a temple at the top of a hill.
As we entered the temple, suddenly a monk came out of nowhere and led us in Buddhist Ritual together. I still think he thought I was Michael's girlfriend. Nevertheless, we both prayed, had a prayer blessed upon us, banged a bell 9 times, and a drum 9 times together, all for the entire sanctuary to hear. Afterwards, we told our friends of what took place and it was then, at that moment, that everyone started calling us Mr. and Mrs. South. They were convinced that we had just gotten married. I'm sure we didn't but secretly, every time they called me Mrs South or his wife, even as I was embarrassed, I was still completely happy and overjoyed on the inside. But Michael never hinted any discomfort towards it, he would just smile and went along with it, but he never hinted that he actually wanted to be with me.
A week later, after our Qingdao trip, Michael may have had a bit of liquid courage before we all went out to another club that night. As we were dancing together, I noticed that Michael's face was actually very close to my neck that night, more so than usual, but I shrugged it off, thought nothing of it and kept dancing. Then, I felt him gently move my hair aside and gently place small kisses along against my neck. Immediately I felt small butterfly;s in my stomach but it passed as I thought 'he's only feeling a bit of the effects of liquid courage' or 'perhaps he's doing it by accident.'
It was only when he took his hand and gently placed it against my cheek that I began to think otherwise. Soon afterwards, he gently led my face to the side, up to his, where he kissed me for the first time. Yes, it was in Shanghai where Michael and I shared our first kiss together. I remember exactly how I felt. My stomach was fluttering like never before, my heart was beating so very fast, I was completely embarrassed but as we pulled back for air, I could only smile and wish that he would do it, again and again. And to my desire, he did, the same method of leading my face to his, gently placing a kiss upon my lips. Eventually we decided to leave together but as I was waiting for him to return from the men's room, I started to become scared and have second doubts, what if he was only kissing me because of the liquid courage. I gathered my nerves and asked him before he and I left the club. He said no, that he he has been wanting to kiss me for a long time. And that he really likes me. I was overjoyed!
When we returned to his apartment, Michael and I went to his room so that we could talk. He kissed me again many times that night and we revealed to each other how much we liked each other. I ended up staying there all night into morning just stalking to him before I left to my own quarters and thought about him for the rest of the morning. That's when things really chanced for us. He began to hold my hand everywhere, placing a small kiss upon it. He always said "I want to kiss you right now" but was always under the scrutiny of our friends. He took me on lunch dates and dinner dates (late) often, always liked spending time with me. Eventually, everyone assumed we were together. But the truth is, I didn't know what we were were. We never labeled it. I never asked either. I was too afraid to honestly.
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