Pooh Bear.
‘Xiao Bao, mummy’s not angry,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Go play first, and mummy will come play with you soon.’
Xiao Bao looked at Gu Jiao Wu smiling at her then she pressed the teddy bear’s hand again.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, I don’t want to see you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said calmly. ‘Go somewhere else tonight.’
Qiao Tan Yuan’s phone rang. It was her Danish chef she hired who knew how to cook European and Asian meals. She didn’t think Gu Jiao Wu knew how to speak Danish so she answered the phone. Her chef apologised, and was too sick to come to her house to cook dinner.
Qiao Tan Yuan looked at Gu Jiao Wu who took off his coat, and he sat next to Xiao Bao. He gave Xiao Bao a new children’s book, and he showed Xiao Bao what b.u.t.tons to press to make the book tell her a story. Xiao Bao clapped her hands, and she listened attentively to the story. Qiao Tan Yuan turned her head to look at the kitchen. Xiao Bao didn’t like eating at restaurants, and she wondered what she should cook for Xiao Bao to eat for dinner.
Xiao Bao laughed when Gu Jiao Wu turned another page, and she pressed one of the book b.u.t.tons. It made Qiao Tan Yuan remembered the times Gu Jiao Wu failed to win Xiao Bao over when Xiao Bao didn’t know how to walk and talk. She suppressed the pain in her heart, and she didn’t ask Gu Jiao Wu to leave. Since Xiao Bao accepted Gu Jiao Wu, she was willing to wait until after Xiao Bao’s birthday to kick Gu Jiao Wu out.
Qiao Tan Yuan walked into the kitchen, she opened the cupboards to see if there was anything edible, and easy for her to cook. There were the instant noodles she bought for emergencies. She couldn’t let Xiao Bao eat instant noodles so she called a restaurant to deliver congee for Xiao Bao.
Gu Jiao Wu walked into the kitchen, Qiao Tan Yuan was holding a packet of instant noodles while waiting on the phone.
‘You feed Xiao Bao instant noodles?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan glared at Gu Jiao Wu, and she waited for the restaurant owner to answer her phone call.
‘The instant noodles are for me to eat,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Xiao Bao is eating congee, and I’ll make her a bottle of formula milk after dinner.’
Gu Jiao Wu grabbed Qiao Tan Yuan’s phone, he ended the phone call and put the phone into her pocket. He looked around the kitchen for cooking equipment, and cooking ingredients in the fridge. The kitchen was clean and organised. It was obvious to him Qiao Tan Yuan hired a chef to cook for her and Xiao Bao, by the way Qiao Tan Yuan searched for pots and pans.
‘Tan Yuan, where are the kitchen knives?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Mmm… if it’s not in that drawer then it’s in another drawer,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu knew it would be quicker if he looked for all the cooking equipment himself. First he made enough congee for the three of them to eat. Then he washed vegetables, and marinated the fish he found in the fridge.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t want to watch Gu Jiao Wu cook like he was familiar with her kitchen. It brought back too many memories she wanted to forget. She put back the packet of noodles, walked out of the kitchen, and she sat next to Xiao Bao in the living room.
‘Mama,’ Xiao Bao called. She pointed at the picture of Pooh Bear in the book. ‘Sing, sing.’
‘Xiao Bao, do you want mummy to listen to Pooh Bear sing with you?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan put Xiao Bao on her lap, and Xiao Bao pressed one of the b.u.t.tons on the book.
Xiao Bao clapped her hands, and she sang along with Pooh Bear and his friends.
Gu Jiao Wu set dinner on the dining table, and he walked to the living room.
‘Let’s eat dinner,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to eat dinner with Gu Jiao Wu, but she didn’t want to fight with him in front of Xiao Bao.
‘Tan Yuan, even if you don’t want to eat, do you want to starve Xiao Bao too?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan looked at Xiao Bao playing happily, and she knew Xiao Bao would be hungry after they came back from their stroll around Odense.
‘Xiao Bao, let’s eat dinner,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘We’ll play after we eat dinner.’
‘Bear,’ Xiao Bao said. She pointed at the teddy bear and the book. ‘Sing, sing.’
Gu Jiao Wu picked up Xiao Bao, and he carried her to the baby high chair at the dining table. After Xiao Bao sat in the baby chair, he scooped congee for Xiao Bao to eat into Xiao Bao’s baby bowl.
‘Bear,’ Xiao Bao said and pointed at the bear in the living room.
‘Xiao Bao,’ Gu Jiao Wu called. He put the baby bowl of congee in front of Xiao Bao, and he put a baby spoon in her small hand. ‘Bear is hungry and wants to eat dinner. Xiao Bao should eat dinner too. After dinner, bear will sing for Xiao Bao.’
Xiao Bao pouted her lips, and she looked pitifully at Qiao Tan Yuan.
Qiao Tan Yuan held Xiao Bao’s hand.
‘Xiao Bao, be good and eat dinner,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Mummy will ask Bear to sing for you after you eat dinner.’
Xiao Bao looked at the teddy bear and the book then she cried. Qiao Tan Yuan wanted to pick up Xiao Bao from the baby chair, and comfort Xiao Bao, but Gu Jiao Wu shook his head.
‘We need to set good habits for Xiao Bao,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘If Xiao Bao wants to cry, we should let her cry and eat our dinner.’
‘Gu Jiao Wu, how can we do nothing and let Xiao Bao cry?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Tan Yuan, I know you’re thinking I’m being cruel,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But if we let Xiao Bao have her way all the time, it’s harming her development.’
Qiao Tan Yuan thought about the last three months she lived with Xiao Bao in Denmark. She wanted Xiao Bao to be happy so she let Xiao Bao eat when Xiao Bao was hungry, and she played with Xiao Bao when Xiao Bao wanted to play.
Gu Jiao Wu scooped a bowl of congee, and a plate of fish and vegetables for Qiao Tan Yuan. It reminded her of the times Gu Jiao Wu cooked for her.
‘Tan Yuan, the food on the table belongs to you,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Do you want to waste your food?’
Qiao Tan Yuan tried to calm her chaotic heart. She didn’t want to acknowledge the last three months she consciously put in effort to forget Gu Jiao Wu was wasted. She still loved Gu Jiao Wu, and seeing him intensified her heart break.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, I don’t want to see you or eat the dishes you cooked,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I want you to leave.’
End of Chapter 138