Friday afternoon.
Gu Jiao Wu was working in his office when w.a.n.g Tu Ya called his phone. w.a.n.g Tu Ya rarely called him at work unless it was important.
‘Mum, is something wrong?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Jiao Wu, did you know Tan Yuan is going to Denmark?’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya asked.
‘What?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked. ‘Mum, who told you the news?’
‘I b.u.mped into Mr Wen,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘He mentioned Tan Yuan asked him what doc.u.ments she needed to provide to go to Denmark.’
Gu Jiao Wu frowned. He remembered how happy Qiao Tan Yuan looked holding her wedding dress. Denmark? Did she plan go to Denmark with Shen Cheng?
‘Is Shen Cheng going with her?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Mr Wen said he only received copies of Qiao Tan Yuan’s doc.u.mentation,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya sad.
w.a.n.g Tu Ya didn’t know why Qiao Tan Yuan wanted to go to Denmark if Qiao Tan Yuan was marrying Shen Cheng.
‘I understand,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Mum, is there anything else?’
w.a.n.g Tu Ya couldn’t believe how calm Gu Jiao Wu sounded.
‘Jiao Wu, Tan Yuan wouldn’t go to Denmark by herself,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘She would take Xiao Bao too. Xiao Bao is your daughter, my granddaughter.’
Gu Jiao Wu gripped the phone and spoke calmly. ‘Mum, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.’
w.a.n.g Tu Ya was scared about how Gu Jiao Wu would take care of the situation.
‘I don’t care about what happened between you and Tan Yuan,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘But now you and Tan Yuan have Xiao Bao. Tan Yuan loves you yet you don’t care about her. What happens when she takes Xiao Bao to Denmark and marry Shen Cheng? For Xiao Bao’s sake, can’t you get back together with Tan Yuan? I want you to bring Tan Yuan and Xiao Bao home.’
‘Mum…’ Gu Jiao Wu said. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. ‘Don’t worry. I promise I’ll take care of everything.’
‘If you don’t want me to worry then hurry up and bring Xiao Bao to me,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘I don’t care if you hate Tan Yuan, Xiao Bao is still your daughter. Whether you and Tan Yuan get back together is between you two. But I want my granddaughter home with me.’
w.a.n.g Tu Ya missed Xiao Bao. The last time she saw Xiao Bao was at Xiao Bao’s one month celebration. Xiao Bao was growing bigger and more adorable by the day. It wasn’t fair Chen Ting Du would get to watch two grandchildren grow up. What about her? She wanted to see Xiao Bao grow up too.
‘Mum, I promise I’ll bring Xiao Bao home,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Um, I’ll be waiting for you to bring Xiao Bao home,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said.
Gu Jiao Wu hung up the phone. He looked at the photo of Xiao Bao on the phone for a while. Why did Qiao Tan Yuan want to go to Denmark? Did she want to avoid him?
After work Gu Jiao Wu drove to the Qiao Mansion.
Gu Jiao Wu entered the Qiao Mansion, but he didn’t expect to see Mr Qiao and Qiao Jie sitting on the sofa in the living room.
‘Uncle,’ Gu Jiao Wu greeted.
‘Jiao Wu, come sit next to me,’ Mr Qiao said.
‘Yes, uncle,’ Gu Jiao Wu said and sat next to Mr Qiao. ‘Uncle, have you been well?’
‘I’ve been alright,’ Mr Qiao said.
‘Uncle, I’m here to see Tan Yuan,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Jie scoffed. ‘See my big sister? Liar. You’re only here to see Xiao Bao.’
‘Qiao Jie!’ Mr Qiao said. He gave Qiao Jie a warning look and turned to face Gu Jiao Wu. ‘It’s normal for you to want to see Xiao Bao. But Jiao Wu, if I’m not mistaken, you and Tan Yuan are divorced.’
‘Uncle…’ Gu Jiao Wu said. He knew Mr Qiao was angry at him. ‘In the past I was wrong. I promise in the future I’ll treat Tan Yuan well.’
‘Jiao Wu, you should save those words for Tan Yuan,’ Mr Qiao said. ‘I admit I’ve spoiled her rotten. I won’t stop you seeing her or seeing Xiao Bao. But Jiao Wu, that year no one forced you to marry Tan Yuan. If you married her then you’re her husband and need to treat her well. But you only made her miserable. I should give you a beating.’
‘Uncle…’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Gu Jiao Wu was remorseful. He didn’t think he bullied Tan Yuan, but he was a bad husband to Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘I can let go the past,’ Mr Qiao said. ‘But I’m warning you, if you think you can step all over my daughter again, I’ll make you pay.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t open his mouth to defend himself. If Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t give birth to Xiao Bao then he wouldn’t need to sit through Mr Qiao’s lecture.
‘Forget it,’ Mr Qiao said. ‘Tan Yuan’s upstairs.’
‘Thank you uncle,’ Gu Jiao Wu said and sighed in relief.
‘One more thing,’ Mr Qiao said. ‘You can call me uncle today, but in the future I hope you’ll be calling me dad.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t want to discuss marrying Qiao Tan Yuan again with Mr Qiao. He stood and walked upstairs.
Qiao Jie glared at Gu Jiao Wu’s back.
‘Dad, why did you let him go upstairs?’ Qiao Jie asked. ‘Didn’t he bully big sister enough?’
‘What would you know?’ Mr Qiao asked. ‘Don’t you know how stubborn your big sister is? Look at Shen Cheng, he loves her deeply but she rejected him. If she doesn’t love Gu Jiao Wu then she wouldn’t give birth to Xiao Bao. There’s nothing I can do to change her heart.’
Mr Qiao sighed. How many men were there in the world? Why did Qiao Tan Yuan need to tie herself around a cold tree like Gu Jiao Wu? As a father, he felt helpless to protect Qiao Tan Yuan’s heart.
Qiao Jie thought about Xiao Bao. Mr Qiao was right, Qiao Tan Yuan wouldn’t give birth to Xiao Bao unless she still loved Gu Jiao Wu.
Upstairs, Gu Jiao Wu entered the nursery to see Xiao Bao first. Xiao Bao was lying on the bed, and her big round eyes were looking at her surroundings. Mrs Chu was waving a toy bell above Xiao Bao’s head.
‘Xiao Bao, look up here,’ Mrs Chu said.
Xiao Bao looked up, she tried grabbing the bell, but Mrs Chu held it higher. Gu Jiao Wu frowned. He grabbed the bell out of Mrs Chu’s hands, and gave the bell to Xiao Bao. He didn’t expect Xiao Bao’s hands were too small, and she couldn’t hold onto the bell. The bell fell onto Xiao Bao’s forehead.
‘Waah, waah…’ Xiao Bao cried.
Gu Jiao Wu’s heart couldn’t stand to hear Xiao Bao cry. He picked her up and patted her back.
‘Waah, waah, waah…’ Xiao Bao cried.
Mrs Chu took Xiao Bao from Gu Jiao Wu’s arms, and patted Xiao Bao’s back.
‘Xiao Bao, don’t cry,’ Mrs Chu coaxed. She glared at Gu Jiao Wu. ‘Xiao Bao’s hands are too small. She can’t hold anything yet.’
Gu Jiao Wu was embarra.s.sed. He thought Mrs Chu was bullying Xiao Bao.
Xiao Bao’s big round eyes were watery. She blinked her eyes, and tears fell out. She heard Mrs Chu’s soothing voice, and stopped crying. She pouted her small lips adorably. Gu Jiao Wu wanted to hold Xiao Bao, but he didn’t want her to cry again and decided to go see Qiao Tan Yuan.
Gu Jiao Wu walked to Qiao Tan Yuan’s bedroom. He was surprised the door was locked. He tampered with the lock, and unlocked the door. When he walked inside, he heard sounds of running water in the bathroom. Was Qiao Tan Yuan taking a shower?
Gu Jiao Wu walked to the sofa and saw doc.u.ments on the coffee table. He picked up the doc.u.ments. There were copies of visa applications and Denmark childcare brochures. Did Qiao Tan Yuan want to move to Denmark permanently? He tossed the doc.u.ments on the coffee table. He wasn’t going to let Qiao Tan Yuan take Xiao Bao to Denmark.
The bathroom door opened. Gu Jiao Wu turned around and saw Qiao Tan Yuan drying her hair, and only a towel wrapped around her body.
Qiao Tan Yuan walked to the bedside table to get the hair dryer. She turned around and was shocked to see Gu Jiao Wu in front of the sofa. She dropped the towel in her hand, and glanced at the door. After she breastfed Xiao Bao, she told Mrs Chu that she would lock the door while she was showering. If the door was locked then how did Gu Jiao Wu come into her bedroom?
Gu Jiao Wu stared at Qiao Tan Yuan’s sensual body. There were water beads on her body from her shower. The water beads dripped down neck to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were bigger after she gave birth to Xiao Bao. Even with a towel wrapped around her body, he could see her chest move in sync with her breathing. Under the towel, he saw her long bare legs. Then his eyes looked hungrily up and down Qiao Tan Yuan’s body again.
Qiao Tan Yuan was uncomfortable Gu Jiao Wu was looking at her like she was naked. She picked up the fallen towel on the floor, and covered her chest.
‘You… how did you get in here?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. ‘Get out.’
End of Chapter Thirty-Nine