Chapter Fifteen (Part 1)
Qin Song and Ting Ting didn’t employ servants at their house. His work commitments meant he’d work overtime many nights. He worried about leaving her home alone whilst she was pregnant. After discussing with each other what they should do, they both agreed they would live at his parents’ house until the birth of their child.
Zhang Yu saw her son and her favourite daughter-in-law arrived in her home and rushed to her daughter-in-law’s side. ‘Ting Bao, finally we can live together again.’
Qin Yun from the living room laughed at his wife’s favouritism of their daughter-in-law over their son. ‘Zhang Yu stop hogging Ting Ting, can’t you see our son’s long face?’
Zhang Yu glanced at her son and saw his reluctance to share Ting Ting with her. She wasn’t pleased with her son’s possessiveness and glared at him then pulled Ting Ting into the living room.
It was a full house at Qin Yun and Zhang Yu’s home. Commander Zhang came to visit his son-in-law Qin Yun. Commander Zhang saw his daughter Zhang Yu competing with his grandson Qin Song over his loveable granddaughter-in-law Ting Ting and wanted to tease his daughter. ‘Zhang Yu, Ting’s mum’s been busy all morning in the kitchen but I haven’t seen you stepped foot in the kitchen. Now that Ting Ting’s here you’re more excited than Ting’s mum. Why do you get to have the best of both worlds?’
‘Dad, why didn’t I see you helping in the kitchen either?’ Zhang Yu asked her dad who liked to pick on her. She gave both her dad and son the cold shoulder. She went to pour a warm cup of tea for Ting Ting. ‘Ting Bao drink a little tea, our little Qin bun in your tummy is probably thirsty.’
Mrs Zhang senior laughed at her daughter Zhang Yu’s one track mind. ‘Hasn’t our little Qin bun been given a name?’
‘Ting’s mum picked a nickname for our little Qin bun already, Shun Shun (obedient),’ Qin Song said and proudly rubbed Ting Ting’s baby b.u.mp.
Han Ting Ting smiled at Song Song’s obvious boasting. ‘Dad, Song Song and I want you to give Shun Shun a proper name.’
Everyone unanimously nodded their heads in agreement.
Qin Yun pulled his wife to sit down to stop her from crowding Ting Ting. ‘I’ve thought of a name for Shun Shun. Let’s call our Shun Shun, Qin Han. It’s both easy on the ear and meaningful. Qin Han is suitable for a boy or a girl.’ He turned to face Ting’s parents. ‘Unless Ting’s parents would like to name Shun Shun, Han Qin I wouldn’t object.’
The living room was filled with laughter, because they knew Qin Song would object based on the stunned look on Qin Song’s face.
Qin Song leaned his head on Ting Ting’s shoulder. He wanted time to stop at that happy moment with everyone in the same room teasing one another and laughing together.
The days gradually became warmer and by June Han Ting Ting’s baby b.u.mp was hard to hide. The doctors informed her and Song Song that their baby was a boy. Whenever she went for check-ups and ultrasounds, the doctors complimented their baby boy. When their baby boy was three months the doctors said that their baby boy was growing faster and healthier than a four month fetus. That meant by the time she gave birth they said he’d be a healthy and energetic boy.
The days Qin Yun was unconscious was becoming longer than the days he was awake. When he woke up from his recent deep sleep, he was overjoyed to hear that his grandson was healthy and active. ‘No one understands me but my grandson. Shun Shun knows how frail my body is so he cheers me up by growing into a healthy baby and that gives me strength when I’m awake.’
Zhang Yu who was beside her husband felt immense sadness but forced herself to smile in front of him. ‘Is that so? Then you keep up your strength. It’s only right that you hand deliver a birthday gift to our healthy and active grandson Shun Shun.’
Qin Yun understood his wife well and knew she was doing her best to stay strong for him. He pinched her cheek that was sore from forcing herself to smile. She lovingly lightly hit his hand. Suddenly they both heard a splash noise.
Han Ting Ting caught a fish but didn’t know how the fish escaped. The escaped fish was swimming comfortably in the fish pond. She was upset her caught fish dared to swim away and threw her fishing rod on the ground.
Qin Yun and Zhang Yu were resting and holding hands nearby. They laughed loudly when they saw their daughter-in-law’s sudden outburst, it reminded them of their son.
Qin Song arrived at the fish pond and his eyes were treated to a gentle warm setting that moved hearts. The sunset lit streaks of red and orange across the summer sky, the cool breeze fluttered the leaning willow trees and their shadows in the water looked like graceful ripples. Under a willow tree, his dad sat back on a chair and his mum leaned on the back of the chair and hugged his dad. His parents were laughing happily. But his Ting Bao with her big baby b.u.mp stood holding her back and looked like she was in a bad mood.
‘What fish had the guts to upset my Ting Bao?’ Qin Song asked. He walked toward Ting Ting. ‘Tonight we’ll cook its flesh.’
Qin Yun turned to face his son and there was a hint of pink on his pale cheeks. ‘That’s going to be hard. We’ve been here the whole afternoon and only one fish took the bait but escaped.’
The fish pond was a man-made pond in his parents’ garden. There weren’t many fish in the pond to catch.
Qin Song reached Ting Ting and kissed her pouted lips. Then he took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his pants hems. He jumped into the fish pond and a butler pa.s.sed him a landing net handle. He hopped around in the pond like a brave monkey and he used the landing net handle to scoop up a fish for Ting Ting.
‘To your left!’ Zhang Yu cried out.
‘Song Song, quickly look below your feet!’ Han Ting Ting advised.
Qin Song was drenched but he didn’t give up. His persistence paid off and he scooped a fish the size of his hand into the net at the end of the landing net handle. He returned to land like a heroic fisherman that caught the best catch of the day.
Qin Song hooked the fish to the end of Ting Ting’s fishing rod that was thrown on the ground. ‘Honey, you caught a fish.’
Han Ting Ting’s good mood returned, held up her fishing rod and pleased to see it was the fish that escaped.
Qin Yun and Zhang Yu applauded their son’s sacrifice to make their daughter-in-law happy and in turn made their Shun Shun happy too.
On the dinner menu that night included the fish that dared to put the pregnant Mrs Qin junior in a bad mood. Zhang Yu picked the fish eye to put into Qin Yun’s bowl but Qin Yun gave it back to Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu didn’t bother to pretend to be polite and swallowed the fish eye.
Han Ting Ting didn’t dare to eat fish eye. Song Song took out all the fish bones and fed the fish meat to her. She felt it was the most delicious fish she tasted.
Qin Song stepped out of the bathroom and saw Ting Ting sat on their bed. She gave him an intense gaze. He looked down at his body for anything unusual. ‘Is there something stuck on me?’
Han Ting Ting was in a trance remembering how Song Song looked when he came out of the fish pond, he looked too handsome that she drooled. ‘Song Song, when you were fishing you looked handsome!’
Qin Song’s heart was overflowed with sweetness. He sat on the bed and gave Ting Ting a towel. She knelt beside him and dried his hair.
‘After I give birth, will you still catch fish for me?’ Han Ting Ting asked. ‘My mum said that while I’m pregnant I need to ask you for rain and wind, because men only listen to women while they’re pregnant. Do you agree?’
Qin Song nearly choked on his own laughter. ‘What do you think?’
‘I don’t think it’s true. Dad dotes on mum unconditionally,’ Han Ting Ting said.
‘Um,’ Qin Song said.
Qin Song was distracted by Ting Ting’s body position as she dried his hair. She had to lean over him to reach the top of his head. It meant that he was face to face with her soft snow white b.r.e.a.s.t.s that were fuller by the day. Her night shirt was thin and her soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s grazed his lips in sync with her drying hand movements. It was like his lips were teased by two hot crossed buns. He decided to savour them for dessert and lifted his head to kiss her throat.
Han Ting Ting’s throat felt ticklish. She lifted the towel from Song Song’s head and saw his eyes turned into a wolf’s pair of eyes. ‘Ah!’ She moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
Qin Song grabbed Ting Ting’s hip and pulled her back to him. ‘You haven’t finished drying my hair. Where are you going?’
Han Ting Ting knew that Song Song fasted for three months and he wasn’t going to let her escape tonight. The antic.i.p.ation before he made his moves made her body tingled. She covered her face with the towel and could smell his natural masculine scent mixed with the shampoo fragrance, it made her face hotter. She decided to go against her conscience. ‘Your hair’s already dried. I’m sleepy.’
Ting Ting’s shyness was appealing to Qin Song’s middle name ‘play,’ he wasn’t just renowned for his snowman building skills. He grabbed her hand. ‘You haven’t dried here.’
Song Song pressed Han Ting Ting’s hand against one big package that was hot. She pulled back her hand and hit his shoulder. He got rid of her thin night shirt before she could jump off the bed. His hard body pressed her soft body onto the bed…
Since that summer night the fish pond owned by the Qin household was replenish with more fish each summer.
Summer went by fast and the cooler autumn knocked on the door. It was hard to avoid the cold autumn breeze at night. A black car spiralled through an empty quiet road and the wheels flattened the fallen autumn leaves scattered on the road. The car windows were down and the wind rustled through the car windows pa.s.sed Qin Song’s half closed dark eyes.
Qin Song arrived home past ten at night. He followed the stair rail to stagger upstairs.
Han Ting Ting was asleep but heard the bedroom door creak opened and forced herself to sit up on the bed. ‘Song Song?’
‘Um,’ Qin Song said. He crawled onto the bed and laid down. ‘Honey, I’m sorry. I drank again tonight. Shun Shun, daddy’s home.’
Han Ting Ting turned on the lights and took off Song Song’s tie. He reached for Putt Putt and used Putt Putt’s stomach as a pillow. He closed his eyes to rest. She wrung a wet towel dry and wiped his face. Then she brought water for him to drink but she couldn’t get him to sit up to drink.
Qin Song pointed to Ting Ting’s lips then pointed at his lips. He gave her a sly smile. ‘Honey, I want to drink from your lips.’
‘You don’t want to drink water? Ok, I’ll take it away,’ Han Ting Ting threatened.
Qin Song pouted. ‘Go ahead and take it away.’ He rubbed his face on Putt Putt’s legs. He rolled on the bed and felt thirsty. ‘Water… water…’
Han Ting Ting sighed. She sipped water and transferred the water to Song Song’s mouth. He got to drink water but became greedy, he licked the remaining drops of water off her tongue. He gripped her left hand and when she felt a cold sensation on her ring finger he let her go. She bent down, looked at her left hand and found a new ring on her ring finger. She didn’t know the price of the ring. It was shaped as a heart and the light reflected off the diamonds and realised it wasn’t cheap.
‘My Ting Bao is good,’ Qin Song said. He licked his lips and could still taste Ting Ting from their recent kiss. ‘Do you remember what day it is?’
The new ring kept Han Ting Ting in a trance and her tongue wasn’t careful with words as she was before she received the new ring. ‘Today is the day we agreed to divorce.’
In the morning Han Ting Ting went for a checkup and on her file she saw the date and realised it was hers and Song Song’s one year anniversary and also their original agreed date to divorce. She smiled at the thought that fate was indeed magical. Three hundred and sixty-five days ago she felt she couldn’t love Song Song. But three hundred and sixty-five days later her heart was flooded with happiness because she was carrying his child.
Qin Song’s spring mood was dampened to a dreary winter mood. He shamelessly rubbed Ting Ting’s ballooned baby b.u.mp. ‘Look at how big the evidence that our agreement was cancelled. Do you really think I was going to fulfil our original agreement terms?’
Ting Ting put two protective hands over her baby b.u.mp. Qin Song laughed and pulled her closer to kiss her. ‘Today is our one year wedding anniversary. I married a dummy for a full year.’
Han Ting Ting in that moment cried happy tears. Their planned divorce date started from their wedding day. She only remembered it was their anniversary in the morning. She fiddled her new ring that she loved because it was given to her by Song Song… it also made her feel guilty. ‘I didn’t prepare a gift for you.’
‘Isn’t this a gift?’ Qin Song asked. He put Ting Ting’s hand over her baby b.u.mp. ‘Shun Shun is the best gift you can give me, nothing else can compare. Ting Bao, tonight I entertained the guests with Rong Yan. That former player praised me.’ He rubbed her belly and smiled proudly. ‘If judged by the speed and accuracy of attacks. .h.i.tting the target than none of my sworn brothers can surpa.s.s me.’
Song Song lifted his chin as though he conquered the world. Han Ting Ting laughed at his boastful nature. She leaned closer to him and kissed him. ‘Let’s have another baby before our second anniversary. Song Song, I want to give you many children that are good natured.’
Ting Ting rarely initiated kisses and declared her inner feelings. Tonight she did both and when she said she wanted to give Qin Song many children with such a serious tone it made his nose sting. He remembered his mum told him that his dad couldn’t bear seeing his mum go through the pain of giving birth to another child after he was born. What was the point of having many children? He was an exemplary example. What have he done but provoked his dad and made his dad worry about him for decades? He couldn’t even be as strong as his mum and make tough decisions like to give his dad what he needed most, his mum was prepared to sacrifice losing her fated love for his dad to not suffer anymore.
‘Ting Bao, I don’t need too many children. I just need you to be with me the rest of my life,’ Qin Song said. He brushed through Ting Ting’s hair. ‘I’ll devote the rest of my life to you. If I’m lucky to go before you, when that day comes you can’t resent me for leaving you behind on your own.’
‘Um. Work on treating me well first, everything else when the time comes we’ll discuss it then,’ Han Ting Ting said.
Qin Song pinched Ting Ting’s pink cheeks. ‘Why are you always smart when I want to extract promises from you?’
End of Chapter Fifteen (Part 1)