He smiled with confidence. “I don’t lie.”
Lin Xinyan felt relieved. “It’s so good to have you around.”
Zong Jinghao kissed her long hair. “So, aren’t you going to be a bit nicer to me?”
Lin Xinyan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’ll tell you what, I am going to take a shower.”
She was quick to ready herself for the shower.
Zong Jinghao stood beside the bed and laughed rather helplessly. He feared that he would have to postpone his wedding night.
Lin Ruixi woke up, just as Lin Xinyan was taking a shower. Having skipped dinner, she must have been hungry by now.
Zong Jinghao carried her downstairs and called Aunt Yu for help.
“Hey, Ruixi is awake.” Aunt Yu approached them to find that the chubby little girl had just woken up.
“She is hungry.” Zong Jinghao explained calmly.
Aunt Yu asked, “Ruixi, what would you like to eat?”
The little girl just woke up and she was still in a daze. She had felt hungry. “Anything that tastes good will do.”
“How about I prepare broth wontons for you?”
“Mm.” Still in a daze, the little girl answered affirmatively.
Zong Jinghao carried her to the washroom. He had wanted to wash her face to wake her up.
The little girl refused to come up and she insisted on clinging unto her father. Zong Jinghao kissed her face affectionately. “How I’d wish that your mommy is sticky like you.”
“Mommy?” The little girl scrutinized the surroundings and asked, “Where is my mommy?”
“Mommy has gone for a bath.” Zong Jinghao washed her face carefully. “Let’s eat our broth wontons.”
Aunt Yu had prepared broth wontons and fried eggs. She had even cooked a big prawn with tomato sauce to whet Lin Ruixi’s appetite.
The little girl’s sense of smell was truly wonderful. As she reached the sitting room, she was thrilled by the pervasive, saliva-inducing smell. “Wow, I can smell it. So nice!”
Zong Jinghao was stunned beyond speech. What a sharp nose!
The little girl seemed to behave well that day. Aunt Yu put a napkin in front of her while she started feeding herself with a spoon.
Zong Jinghao helped to peel the big prawn for her.
“Daddy, I want you to bathe me and cuddle me until I sleep tonight,” exclaimed the little girl while she was chewing food.
“Sure!” Zong Jinghao knew that she had needed loving care after what had happened earlier in the day.
In fact, he would accede to any request from Lin Ruixi.
“Here you go.” Zong Jinghao fed the prawn into the already wide-opened mouth of Lin Ruixi.
On the other hand, in contrast to the emotional ups and downs in the villa, Su Zhan and Qin Ya experienced a quieter life. They were just a handful of occupants there. The old lady had liked Qin Ya. They got along well.
The only thing was that they had gotten married in a rush. There was no time to ready a properly decorated wedding room.
Su Zhan did not like the old lady for being garrulous.
“We’ve got to get someone to renovate the house. And to buy some furniture too.” The old lady put a bank card in Qin Ya’s hand. “Buy whatever you’d like with this.”
Qin Ya refused to take the bank card. She did not want to use the old lady’s money. She preferred to rely on what little money she had saved. “Thanks, but I can buy whatever I like with my own money.”
“You two got married in quite a rush. No decorated bridal room, no betrothal gift; not even a proper wedding reception. You may not want these, but we have to give you what you deserve.” The old lady explained her stance on the matter. “Anyway, the money in my bank account represents the money given to me by Su Zhan all these years. I don’t get to use much of it. I keep saving for an occasion like this.”
The old lady drew closer and whispered. “My saving is quite impressive, you know. If you don’t like staying with an old lady like me, go buy and move into a new house, where you two can stay together. I don’t mind, really.”
“I don’t plan to move out.” Qin Ya felt like crying, as she was touched by the thoughtfulness of the old lady.
“I think that we are one family. We should stay together,” urged Qin Ya with sincerity.
“My fear is that young people don’t like me being so garrulous.”
“We don’t mind that, really.” Qin Ya quickly assured her, “Whatever you say is meant for our own good.” She turned around to look at Su Zhan who just put away the luggage. “Don’t you agree with me?”
“I beg your pardon?” Su Zhan came over.
“From now on, grandma will be staying with us.”
“Oh, of course.” Su Zhan was glad that the old lady would no longer pester him to get married. Furthermore, with the presence of Qin Ya, he would cease to be the focus of her attention. That was why he was not repulsed by the idea of letting the old lady stay with them.
“I am tired of travelling in the car. I must now retire to bed. You two go to bed early. Tomorrow we are going to the shopping mall.” The old lady did not want to interrupt too much of their time together.
She yawned and walked off, saying in a low tone, “When one gets old, it is easy to get tired.”
“Time for us to go to bed.” Su Zhan held the waist of Qin Ya as they entered the bedroom. It was a typical boy’s room. Gloomy style and cool, with many law books placed on the desk near the window.
“In the future, you’ll decide how we are going to decorate it,” pronounced Su Zhan.
Qin Ya nodded. “The color scheme of this room is cold. It should be warm so that we can feel that it’s our home.”
“Do you find the old lady a bit too clingy?” Su Zhan came close to her.
Qin Ya thought for a moment. She recalled how understanding the old lady had been all these days, but the latter had seemed to be concerned with her and Su Zhan more than anything else.
Since Su Zhan was her only grandson, Qin Ya readily understood the old lady’s behavior.
“You may not feel uncomfortable with her just yet. In the days ahead, you will find that you cannot enjoy freedom anymore.” Su Zhan wrapped his hands around her waist to pull her closer to himself.
Qin Ya pushed him back. “How dare you dislike grandma for this? I am going to report this to her!”
Su Zhan came close to her, purposely blowing down her cheeks. “How would you like to complain?”
Qin Ya withdrew from him. “It is understandable for her to be messing around with us.”
Su Zhan smiled contentedly. “You’re such a good wife.” Because you’re so loving of my grandma.
He got closer to her. “I have a way to shift her attention away from us.”
“What…What’s that?” Qin Ya started to babble. By now, Su Zhan had cornered her to the side of the bed.
He whispered into her ears, “Simple. We’ll have a baby to keep her busy all day.”
“I don’t want…no…”
Qin Ya did not push him away.
Their clothes were in disarray on the floor. After a session of intimacy, Su Zhan held her in his arms and spoke his mind, “I am serious. It’ll great if we can have a baby.”
Nestled in his arms, she felt tired. She squinted and responded feebly, “I don’t feel like having a baby.”
Now was not the time for that. She was sure that the old lady would like her to have a baby as soon as possible. But she felt that her relationship with Su Zhan was not steady enough. In conclusion, it was not suitable to have a baby yet.
Su Zhan switched on the bedside lamp and turned around to look at her. “Why?”
Qin Ya opened her eyes widely, thinking about the best way to respond. It would not be nice if she was too straightforward. But surely, I cannot say that, since we’d just gotten married. We’d have a baby later when our relationship has become more steady. That will undoubtedly sound very hypocritical.
She replied pointedly, “I am still young. I don’t feel like having a baby so soon.”
Su Zhan touched her youthful face. It felt so soft that he feared that he would force moisture out from it, had he pressed harder.
“Then we put it aside.” He switched off the lights and sneaked into bed.
“Su Zhan, I don’t feel like it.” Qin Ya pushed him away.
“But I want.”
“Ummm…”
The bedroom bore witness to their acts of intimacy.
Su Zhan had hired a maid to look after the old lady. When the newly-weds got up, it was already 10 o’clock in the morning. They had really a good time last night, celebrating their love for each other.
The old lady readily understood why they had woken up late. In fact, she was happy to see Su Zhan and Qin Ya being so affectionate with each other.
“Hurry up, we’ll go to the furniture shop after breakfast.”
“I need to go back to the station to take a look.” Su Zhan had been away for quite some time already. He needed to do just that.
Qin Ya also felt like visiting the shop. “Grandma…”
The old lady waved her hand in displeasure. “Today you mustn’t go anywhere else. You must go with me to the furniture shop. Qin Ya just got married and moved in here. We have to replace some old furniture with new ones, especially your room, as it must be refurbished. The new year is coming. You must at least buy some new furniture, to give off the impression of a bride’s room. Marriage is a one-off affair in a lifetime. Even if Qin Ya doesn’t mind, I must insist on doing what is right and proper for her.”
Su Zhan drank some fresh milk. “Yes, grandma. I’ll do as you say.”
He gave Qin Ya a wink, hinting to her that they had to bow to the dictates of the garrulous old lady with authority at home.
Qin Ya stared at him. “Finish your meal, please.”
Su Zhan smiled most lovingly. “Yes, yes. I’ve got you.”
After breakfast, Su Zhan drove Qin Ya and his grandma to the furniture shop located in the center of B City.
Su Zhan got down to open the car door for them.
“Su Zhan.”
When he heard a most familiar voice call his name, he pulled back the hand which had opened the car door. He had seen Liu Feifei standing behind him.
