Six Years Later:
Qian Meigui drove through the afternoon rush hour, once she had arrived at home, she ran up the steps of her front porch; her heels clicking on the concrete; her long-coat swayed with the wind.
She entered her house where music and entertainment engulfed her ears. It was a full house! Chatter filled the room, and there were people in every corner—against the pillars, sitting on their lavish couches, or they were speaking to each other in groups.
Qian Meigui then heard the tapping sound of someone"s feet, running. "Mommy!"
Song Meiling called out to Qian Meigui as she lifted her arms, jumping into her mother"s embrace. "Ah, Meiling, you have cake in your hair," scolded Qian Meigui. Her daughter puffed up her pink cheeks in embarra.s.sment; her wavy brown hair coated in icing.
"I"m sorry," she said sincerely.
Qian Meigui kissed both of her pink cheeks playfully, "Don"t be," she said.
Afterwards, Song Meiling wanted to be let down. Soon after, Song Ren approached the two of them. "Meiling, I was looking for you in the crowd," she scolded with her arms crossed. "Your father entrusted me to watch you!"
Song Meiling kept her head low, holding on to the hem of her skirt.
"Don"t play innocent," Song Ren told her niece.
Song Meiling then looked up at her aunt, smirking, then running away laughing. After she left, Song Ren said, "That little brat."
Qian Meigui chuckled, knowing that her daughter was mischievous and always giving everyone a hard time, and whenever Meiling get"s into trouble, she flashes her golden-brown doe eyes and stares into your soul. She then pouts her cheeks, compelling one to forgive her instantly, but it never worked on Song Ren.
Qian Meigui removed her coat, placing it on a coat hanger of the entrance closet. "Sorry, I"m late. There was endless traffic," she said to her sister-in-law.
Song Ren shook her head, "No worries, you"re not late," she winked.
Qian Meigui smiled, glancing around the room. "Where"s my husband?" she asked Song Ren. "With the twins in the dining hall," she responded.
Qian Meigui nodded before she stepped through the crowd of friends and family. They greeted her along the way, and she smiled and welcomed every guest that came.
When she stepped into the hall, she found Song Sheng wearing a black turtle neck sweater with black trousers. Even after many years of knowing each other, dating and marriage, he never felt to make her heart skip a beat. Song Sheng maintained his sculpted body and perfectly crafted face all these years. He had grown into the husband that she loved and admired, but importantly, he was the loving father of their children.
The twins were attached to him like sloths. In one of his arms, he carried their two-year-old son, Song Zhen, while he held the hand of their youngest daughter, Song Luli. Their older sister, Song Meiling, was running around them, free-spirited.
Qian Meigui smiled as she approached them. Song Sheng snapped his head to her, once he caught sight of his beautiful wife. He held the twins as he was trying to calm down their eldest daughter. The twins were toddlers, walking, but still young and attached to him.
Song Zhen reached out to his mother, encircling his stubby arms around her neck. He then rubbed his nose against hers, and she met his golden-brown eyes; his black locks tumbled over his brows.
Afterwards, Qian Meigui glanced down at her youngest, who stared up at her with furrowed eyes; she was jealous, no less. It made Qian Meigui chuckle. Out of all her children, her youngest daughter was already reserved and quiet, but she knew that she would eventually break her sh.e.l.l.
Song Luli, her youngest, had a head of black hair to her shoulders and her eyes were a deep-rich brown, like hers. All her children were beautiful, and she loved them equally.
Qian Meigui scooped up Song Luli, carrying both of the twins in her arms. Soon after, Song Meiling jumped onto her father"s back. Song Sheng approached Qian Meigui carefully, "Happy birthday," he said as he kissed her gently on the lips in front of everyone.
It was Qian Meigui"s thirtieth birthday, and she celebrated it around her loved ones—friends and family and all. Qian Meigui was late because she was caught up with a critical case at her law firm. When she started the business, she had a small staff of twenty people, but soon it grew bigger and busier.
Qian Meigui graduated school years ago and went back again for her post-graduate degree. She is now an attorney for the judicial court of Shanghai as well as a boss for paralegals and many aspiring lawyers.
Su Feng snapped photos of the married couple and their three children wrapped around them like sloths. Qian Meigui and Song Sheng were pressed together side-by-side smiling.
Su Feng"s son wrapped himself around his ankle when Song Ren approached them, kissing her husband before ruffling the hair of her child who was a bit older than Song Meiling. He was adopted since Song Ren experienced fertility issues years ago.
Song Ren and Su Feng used protection for years wanting to place work before children. Song Ren worked two positions: She was the CEO of Song Pharmaceuticals and Corporation, and she was a doctor at the Rui Inst.i.tute. Su Feng was a computer scientist and the CEO of Sun Group.
So when they settled everything, Song Ren was unable to conceive for a long time, despite trying hard. It nearly drove a wedge through their marriage because Song Ren was insecure; she blamed herself and was devastated. However, Su Feng a.s.sured her that he still loved her whether they had children or not.
Soon after, they adopted their baby boy who brought them joy. However, by chance, two years after the adoption, Song Ren got pregnant with a girl who had a head of golden-blond hair and golden-brown eyes. She was just as cute as Song Meiling, and the three eldest children were inseparable.
Song Ren took care of all the children. They loved their aunt, but most importantly, they loved torturing her. All five children attacked her mercilessly because annoying her entertained them.
Eventually, more guests arrived. Qian Meigui greeted Xue Guangli enthusiastically when she came in with her tall and handsome husband, and their child.
The night went on, cake, dancing, and all. Everyone had a good time, and Song Sheng never failed to make a toast to her name, or dance embarra.s.singly in front of those around them. But she would join him, too.
When everything calmed down, Song Ren was sleeping on the couch with five children curled up around her.
All of their guests had left the house soon after, and everything was quiet.
Song Sheng then scooped up the twins from Song"s Ren"s embrace, carrying them softly. Qian Meigui did the same with Song Meiling.
Su Feng told them he would put his wife and kids to sleep as well, as they would be staying in two of the guest rooms of their home.
Qian Meigui and Song Sheng tucked their kids to sleep. Meiling had her own room, separate from the twins. However, when Song Lai felt her father leave her arms, she woke up. She didn"t make any noise, knowing her twin would wake up too, but she felt restless. Song Sheng read her a story as Qian Meigui brewed some tea. Once she went back to the master bedroom, Song Sheng had slipped into their bedroom tirelessly, slumping onto the bed.
"I am satisfied to stop at three..." he said.
Qian Meigui smirked before she poured two cups of tea from the tray. She left the cups of tea to cool as she stripped from clothes, approaching the closet. She placed her clothes in the laundry basket, putting a robe over her bare body. When she turned around, Song Sheng was propped on an elbow, gazing at her intensely, smirking.
He looked so handsome, and it still amazes her that after six years of being married, Song Sheng would look at her with a deep, longing gaze, even when her body had worn out with stretch marks because of birthing twins.
When Song Sheng found out about her second pregnancy, it was when he had finally put Song Meiling to bed one night three years ago. He pulled a tub of ice cream from the freezer, giving it to Qian Meigui when he joined her at the bedroom. They shared it, eating it straight from the container. Then she told him abruptly while watching a movie.
"Eh? Twins?" He responded, holding a spoon, the ice cream slipping off from the metal.
Qian Meigui didn"t know she was pregnant again because her symptoms weren"t as severe as the first. She had found out recently because Yang Rei told her to go to the doctor"s since she birthed twins before, suspecting it.
But when she got into labour, Song Sheng stood by her side, holding her hand, wearing scrubs from head to toe. He patted the beads of sweat from her head, even though she felt immense pain. And afterwards, when it was over, her body coated with sweat, he presented her both babies, a girl and a boy with an expression of immense happiness. Even though her mind hazed, she saw his golden-brown stare at her preciously.
He told her he loved her, and that she did such a great job at birthing two new lives into this world.
Qian Meigui approached her husband. Her robes were falling over her shoulders, revealing her body slightly. He was thirty-six years old, but he was still handsome, young, and very much in his prime. His stamina had grown stronger, too, and she almost couldn"t keep up with it.
And despite her insecurities, Song Sheng would still wors.h.i.+p her body religiously, as if she was some G.o.ddess he needed to mould in and clash with.
He slipped off her robe.
Since they had children, and their jobs have been busy recently, they rarely had any time for intimacy, as expected of adults. But they always found their way back.
He kissed his way down, reminding her that they were together.
Qian Meigui would still wake up, unsure that Song Sheng was with her. She could still remember the restless nights while he was in the hospital, not waking.
And sometimes she could feel Song Sheng stir in the morning, making sure she was next to him.
He confessed one day that when she disappeared, he would wake up feeling pained that she wasn"t there, that Song Sheng didn"t know where she was, and he felt like he failed to protect her. So on most mornings, he had to wake up before her—to remind themselves, and each other, that yes, they"ve overcome those obstacles.
They won the battle against those who threatened her, to those who threatened their relations.h.i.+p.
They married, had three children, and sometimes they fought and bickered, like any other married couple. But they spoke to each other, confiding, not keeping any secrets. And they would listen because they were still healing, and they understood each other best.
No one understood Song Sheng better than her, and no one understood her better than Song Sheng.
"I love you, Mei," he said earnestly as they merged their bodies.
"I love you, too, Sheng," she reminded him, wholeheartedly.
[END]