Gu Jing’s dad went to work and her mum took Dou Dou on an outing.
Gu Jing quickly put some of her belongings into her suitcase and she fled.
Gu Jing’s life motto was flea first and explain later. After she returned to the city she would think of a good excuse to tell her parents why she suddenly left their home.
Outside Gu Jing’s parents’ home the sun shone brightly. Her phone alerted her that she received a text message. She took out her phone from her pants pocket. She read the text, narrowed her eyes and she gripped her phone – ‘Wife, where are you? From your loving husband.’
Gu Jing fumed because Zhen Lang dared to customize her phone and changed his caller ID to a despicable name!
Gu Jing gritted her teeth and she tucked her phone inside her pants pocket. She pretended she never received that text message. She reasoned it was Zhen Lang’s fault she had no one to lean on for support, why she worried her parents would find out too soon that she fled their home and why she worried she couldn’t survive another dangerous day.
After her mum nearly caught her in bed with Zhen Lang, she feared she would eventually be caught each time she closed her eyes. Then she would be forced to live with Zhen Lang for the rest of her life. Zhen Lang would imprison her, bully her and force her to do housework like an ox and mule combined until death. It was her worst fear, which made her stay awake last night with a cold sweat.
Gu Jing dismissed Zhen Lang’s text message because she wanted to run far away as possible from him. She checked that her surroundings were clear then she ran to the front gate of her parents’ home.
The moment Gu Jing stepped outside of the front gate she heard a familiar laugh.
‘Wife, it’s almost time to eat dinner. Where are you going?’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing saw a neighbour walked pa.s.sed them and she covered Zhen Lang’s mouth with her free hand as fast as lightning. ‘I told you that you can’t call me by that name!’
Zhen Lang wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist and he kissed her hand. Her hand let go of his mouth and she shook her hand like couldn’t bear his touch.
Zhen Lang looked at the suitcase his wife carried. ‘My love, where do you want to go?’
Gu Jing panicked. ‘I… I’m going for a stroll.’
Zhen Lang smiled. ‘Isn’t it tiring to go for a stroll carrying a suitcase? Do you want me to carry your suitcase for you?’
Gu Jing hugged her suitcase and she frantically looked for an escape route. ‘You don’t need to.’
‘Since you’re going for a stroll and I need to buy a few items, why don’t we take a stroll together?’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘I don’t want to!’ Gu Jing said.
Gu Jing only wanted to return to her life of freedom. She didn’t want to stay anxiously at her parents’ home and most of all she didn’t want any a.s.sociation with Zhen Lang.
Zhen Lang held his wife’s hand and she tried to pull her hand out of his hold.
‘I’m not going with you. I have something I need to do,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Do you want to dawdle here until my mum and my mum-in-law return home? Before my mum and my mum-in-law left they said they’ll be home at five in the afternoon. In another five minutes it’ll be five. Are you coming with me or not?’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing feared her mum and aunty Zhen would see her and they would detain her.
Gu Jing smiled sweetly. ‘Where are we going? Master Zhen, what do you want to buy? How can your maid serve you?’
Zhen Lang smiled helplessly and he led his wife to the taxi. ‘Let’s hurry up and go.’
On the way to the taxi Gu Jing realised he carried a suitcase in his free hand. She wanted to ask him why he carried a suitcase too, but he dragged her into the taxi and put their suitcases in the taxi’s boot.
Inside the taxi Zhen Lang sat next to his wife and he calmly instructed the taxi driver. ‘Airport.’
Zhen Lang saw the surprise look in his wife’s eyes and he stroked her short hair. ‘Little girl, is it because you can’t stand it anymore and you want to run away?’
‘Why would I run away? I’m going back to the city to work because the studio needs me,’ Gu Jing denied.
‘Oh? Then it’s good you need to go back to the city too. In the morning I received a phone call from the hospital. The hospital asked me to come back for a new scheduled surgery,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing didn’t believe Zhen Lang’s excuse. She looked out the window and on the inside she cursed Zhen Lang.
The taxi driver parked the car in front of the airport. Gu Jing grabbed her suitcase and she ran toward the service desk. She wanted to ask an airport clerk if there was an available plane ticket to the city, but Zhen Lang wrapped an arm around her neck.
‘What are you doing?’ Gu Jing asked.
Gu Jing wanted to give Zhen Lang a beating, but her loud voice attracted suspicious stares from the airport security guards.
‘Let’s go over there…’ Zhen Lang said. He waved a doc.u.ment in front of his wife. ‘And give this a try.’
‘Hey! I didn’t buy a ticket yet. What did you sign me up for?’ Gu Jing said.
Zhen Lang ignored his wife’s protests and he dragged her to the service desk. He took out money from her wallet and he gave the money and doc.u.ment to an airport clerk. The airport clerk gave him two plane tickets.
‘You knew I wanted to run away so in the morning you called a travel agency and reserved two plane tickets to the city, right?’ Gu Jing asked.
Zhen Lang smiled and he led his wife to one of the restaurants at the airport. ‘What do you want to eat?’
Gu Jing shook her head and she gripped Zhen Lang’s hand. ‘Confess, did you plan everything?’
‘Plan everything? Since you were a child if you did something wrong you’ll panic and worry someone else will find out. Then you’ll run away. Yesterday gave you a scare, of course today you’ll run away,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing scrunched her face. ‘I’m not running away. I’m going back to work.’
Zhen Lang pulled his wife closer to him. ‘Then what do you want to eat? My loving wife hasn’t eaten dinner yet, do you want to eat something light at the airport?’
Gu Jing glared at Zhen Lang. ‘I don’t want to! The food at the airport isn’t appetizing.’
Zhen Lang caressed his wife’s lips with his free thumb. ‘Then how about later we’ll eat a spicy dinner together at a restaurant in the city?’
Gu Jing’s eyes lit up and she nodded her head. There was no room left in her head to think about how she would return to the city with a new status as Zhen Lang’s wife or about her promise to fulfil her wifely duties.
On the plan Gu Jing slept on Zhen Lang’s shoulder and she dreamt about spicy meat and seafood.
Zhen Lang caressed the calluses on his wife’s fingers from years of training, but he knew his wife didn’t care about owning feminine fingers.
Zhen Lang lifted Gu Jing’s hand to his lips and he kissed her hand. She felt a strange itch and she stirred in her sleep.
‘Will it be inconvenient for you to wear a ring?’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘Don’t even think about it. You’re not allowed to put anything on my fingers. Wearing a ring will be uncomfortable to death. How can I go to training cla.s.ses wearing a ring?’ Gu Jing mumbled.
Zhen Lang wrapped an arm around his wife and his free hand held her hand. She moved her head to a more comfortable spot on his shoulder and she slept.
Zhen Lang silently watched his wife sleep for two hours.
After the plane landed at the city airport Zhen Lang pinched his wife’s cheeks to wake her up. He poked her nose to shape her nose like a pig. ‘Hurry up and wake up. If you’re hungry then let’s go eat a spicy dinner.’
‘Um,’ Gu Jing said. In her half awake and half asleep state she sneezed. ‘Mr Vet, can we go home and shower first? I stink.’
Zhen Lang swept a finger down the bridge of his wife’s nose. ‘You’re not hungry?’
Gu Jing blinked her eyes several times to wake up and she pouted her lips. ‘I rather be hungry to death than stink to death.’
‘Ok, I’ll listen to everything you say,’ Zhen Lang said.
Zhen Lang took Gu Jing home in a taxi. When she arrived home she rushed to the bathroom and showered away her exhaustion and sleepiness.
Zhen Lang unpacked the suitcases in the living room. He sorted out his clothes and his wife’s clothes then he hung their clothes in a cupboard in their bedroom.
Zhen Lang unpacked the pink box last. He opened the pink box and he saw a red marriage certificate, a form and photo. In the photo his wife sat next to him, she looked like a lost little fool. He stroked her foolish face in the photo and he smiled.
‘Little fool, apart from you who else would I marry?’ Zhen Lang mumbled softly to himself.
Zhen Lang held the photo, he sat on the sofa and he sighed.
‘Ah!’ Gu Jing cried out from the bathroom.
Zhen Lang jumped off the sofa. ‘What’s wrong?’
Gu Jing remembered she put her dirty clothes into the washing machine and there were no towels in the bathroom. ‘Mr Vet, I forgot to put a clean outfit in the bathroom.’
Gu Jing heard Zhen Lang laughed softly. She opened the bathroom door from the inside and she saw an outfit hung on the coat hanger on the bathroom door handle outside. ‘Mr Vet, why did you give me this outfit?’
Gu Jing realised whenever Zhen Lang gave her an outfit it was always a dress. She wanted to ask him if he knew how uncomfortable it was to walk in a dress and heels. She preferred to wear pants and comfortable sneakers.
‘Then come outside and get the outfit you want to wear,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing reluctantly wore the dress. After Zhen Lang showered they walked to a nearby restaurant for a spicy dinner. Her body felt weak from hunger so she didn’t make a fuss about his arm wrapped around her waist.
‘Can I order spicy beef and seafood?’ Gu Jing asked.
‘Um,’ Zhen Lang said.
‘Can I order spicy tofu?’ Gu Jing asked.
‘Um,’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘Mr Vet, I’m really hungry,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Hungry enough that you don’t want to move? Then I’ll piggyback you,’ Zhen Lang said.
Suddenly Zhen Lang stopped walking. Gu Jing turned her head around to look behind them and she frowned. She didn’t know when a group of men started to follow behind her and Zhen Lang. The group of men moved out of the shadows and they surrounded her and Zhen Lang.
End of Chapter Forty-Two