The outside of the monastery became eerie silent at that moment and the sound of the dried leaves being stepped on were creating a loud noise.
Secretary Yang Bo is waiting at the foot of the long stairs. He stares at his two masters who seem to be in the middle of a very serious conversation.
He"s puzzled what they were talking about since the young master has that desperate look on his face while the young madam has an inquiring and serious expression. Most likely they look like they are arguing.
He wanted to walk towards them but his mobile phone suddenly rings. He quickly pulls out his phone and to his surprise, the old master Xing is calling him again.
"Yes, master?"
"I"ve seen the photos and articles. Very nice, Yang Bo. Tell me, where are the love birds now?" the old Xing asked delightedly.
"Master, we are currently in a monastery for a fortune reading. I think they just finished their session." Yang Bo said as he looks back at the couple again, still discoursing something serious.
"Fortune reading? I didn"t know my son is interested in stuff like this. Anyway, let my good son and daughter-in-law know I gifted them a villa at Village"s East. The villa is guarded and protected. Also, the feng shui expert is ready to receive their inquiry in case they want to revamp the interior. No one knows that they are living in that mansion, for sure it"ll be hard for that harlot to find them." the old Xing bluntly said.
Village East is known for being a celebrity and billionaire"s homes. Vast land for each villa that has incredible architecture, an elite community, and wide range of owned property. Due to the mansions" incredible designs, most houses are known for being used or rented for music videos, dramas, and movies.
Usually, a celebrity who owns a land there are celebrities who have been in the industry for a very very long time now. Since a piece of land is worth millions, the majority of the people who live there are businessmen.
"I will report this to the young master." Yang Bo dutifully vowed. He quickly imagines what the villa looks like since it resides in the Village East. He"s not sure if the young master will abide since he also has his own property there.
Back to the couple, the tension between them made the other monks to not approach them. Since it"s not in their vocabulary to eavesdrop on other people"s affairs, they went back to meditating or cleaning the monastery.
"Whwhat do you mean by feeling secure. I… I don"t know." truthfully, she doesn"t know either. Her sisters" failed marriages were imprinted in her head. She thinks that love in modern times is too tragic and it might be the same for her.
"Wait -- don"t change the topic. If you don"t think about her anymore, why do you keep mentioning her name during your sleep? You even cry!" Xiulan made sure they will not leave this topic until she"s satisfied with his answer. He"s really good at diverting the topic to something else, she noticed it whenever she tries to interrogate him. She may look like a jealous lover right now, but she wants to make this relations.h.i.+p work, even though she"s still in denial of her feelings.
Hongqi"s thick eyebrows furrowed, "Ah..." he became speechless. He doesn"t know either why he mentions that d.a.m.n woman"s name. He might be having a nightmare during those times.
"My love, just because I"m mentioning another woman"s name during my sleep doesn"t mean that I"m having a nice dream. It could be a nightmare, you know." he insists. He made a quick search in his memory if he can remember a dream where he dreamt of something good regarding that woman. But he can"t remember anything, in his memory, only the good stuff with the wife is playing.
Xiulan frowned at his answer. He really has a point but the multiple mentions of that woman"s name were quite disturbing for her. "Nightmare, huh? Nightmare my a.s.s." she almost whispered her last sentence.
It"s been a long time since Hongqi had a lover"s quarrel. His ex flings would always act submissive and never initiated an argument. Since the wife is more courageous these days, her honest questions and inquiries sometimes lead to misunderstandings and cause an argument between them. This is actually a nice development.
"Love, I am being honest here. I don"t have any wet dreams for that d.a.m.n woman." Hongqi"s slightly frustrated. How can he save himself when he"s sleeping and having a nightmare at that time? He can"t even pull out a piece of good evidence that"s he"s innocent.
Xiulan stares at him with such intensity but she eventually laughs due to his frustrated face. "Okay, I believe you. But, my feelings for you still remains."
"That"s fine. I can make you fall in love with me." he murmurs his answers.
Xiulan quickly reacted to his murmuring, "Arrogant a.s.s, what makes you think I will fall easily?"
"Huh? I didn"t say you will fall fast, eh? I said I can make you fall in love with me. It may take another year or might be a century. But that"s okay since I got all the time to do that as long as we are married and together." Hongqi quickly explains his answer. Now, this is the type of female characteristic he is familiar with. Women tend to have a different context in each word a man says.
"Hongqi, what"s the difference anyway? We are married." Xiulan really doesn"t get his frustrations about familial love. Isn"t that better?
Hongqi sighed, "Alright. Let"s not talk about it. I am sure once you love me a little, answers might come to you." He smiled at her and patted her head. "Let"s go? Yang Bo"s waiting for us."
Xiulan looked at Yang Bo"s petrified expression. "It must be the first time he saw us argue in his trip." she nodded and held his hands. They started walking back to the car as nothing happened. But for Xiulan, it feels surreal that Hongqi really confessed his feelings for her and his answer about Zhao Lingyu.
"Hongqi, I do love you but not romantically. Is this important?" Xiulan mentioned it again while they walk back to the car. He might not like to hear this but she just wants to mention it. What"s wrong with this kind of love?
Hongqi loudly grunted. "My love, hearing that makes me depressed. I grew up in a family in which familial love is so-so, nothing great but it does make me feel the importance and outmost care because I"m the only child. But the type of love you received from your family, I never had that. That"s why my definition of romantic is far more superior than familial."
So, the definition of familial love was different for him. She expected that the familial love she knows might be the same for him. Now she understands why he"s vehement to be romantically involved with her.
"I see," Xiulan mumbles and lowered her eyes. Maybe, if she can let him see that familial love or what they call unconditional love he currently has for him, then maybe he will understand. But how can she do it? She"s been doing it ever since but he never noticed.
Because for Xiulan, romantic love is just a natural and s.e.x.u.a.l attraction to another person. There are a lot of expectations and possessiveness. While a family"s love for her gives support to any major problems and will always be there until the end. The definition of love is really different for everyone else.
"Since I finally said that I love you, we might need to change some plans. Are you okay about going to Italy?" Hongqi suddenly asked, his eyes were gleaming with love. He might need to contact the jeweler in France and buy it in Venice instead.
"What are we going to do in Italy?" Xiulan questioned. She never visited Italy yet and she"s not sure what to do there either. She remembers how beautiful Rome was from the magazines but it never enticed her to go there.
"I"ll let you experience a magical trip. I have tons of plans for our Italian trip. By the way, just a funny story. I was supposed to confess during a dinner date with good ambiance and all the amour that Paris can offer that I planned a long time ago. But since the monk urged me to express my true feelings in a very random moment, I realized that the place is not important for a confession as long as I really want to convey my feelings." Hongqi shared his failed plans with his dear wife. He laughed at his own circ.u.mstance.
Xiulan blushes from her husband"s story. She secretly mumbles, "How can he say such things like this and laugh at it?"
"Hha… you planned a lot, I see. It looks like you have a lot of arrangements waiting for me. Honestly, you are making me nervous." Xiulan expressed. This sweet husband is making her nervous due to his amorous ways and a shy woman like her can"t keep her emotions at bay with all these surprises.
Hongqi smirked at his wife"s honesty. "Oh, this is just one of the surprises. We still have a lifetime, my love."
He lowered his head and quickly pecked her sweet lips. He never thought that after confessing his feelings to his wife, kissing her gave him a different kind of enlightenment.