Side Story One
Mrs Zhen cleaned a cupboard in her bedroom. But she pulled a jammed drawer and her family birth record accidently fell on top of her head.
Mr Zhen walked into his bedroom and he saw his wife sat dazed on the bed. ‘What are you doing?’
Mrs Zhen lifted her head and she pa.s.sed her husband their family birth record.
Mr Zhen read their family birth record and he became dazed as his wife. There was an unexpected new addition to their family – ‘Gu Jing, daughter-in-law.’
Mr Zhen quickly regained his senses. He patted his wife’s shoulder and he smiled. ‘I think you should ask-’
Mrs Zhen got off the bed and she grabbed her family birth record from her husband. ‘Ok, I’m going downstairs to ask little sister.’
Mrs Zhen ran downstairs and she rang the doorbell. ‘Little sister, open the door. Big news, big bad news…’
Upstairs Mr Zhen shook his head helplessly. He picked up the fallen doc.u.ments on the floor and he put it back on top of the cupboard. He mumbled to himself. ‘If you ask our son then you can confirm the news faster.’
Mrs Gu kneaded dough in the kitchen. She heard the doorbell and she ran to open the front door. ‘What big bad news?’
Mrs Zhen waved her family birth record in front of Mrs Gu. ‘It’s big news, good news but also a little bad news.’
Mrs Gu didn’t know what happened from head to tail and she panicked. ‘What happened that’s good and bad?’
‘Little sister, did you check your family birth record after Lang Lang updated it for you?’ Mrs Zhen asked.
Mrs Gu shook her head. ‘Lang Lang is always responsible, I don’t need to check it.’
Mrs Zhen didn’t know what to say. She opened her family birth record and she gave it to Mrs Gu. ‘Take a look.’
Mrs Gu stared at the word daughter-in-law. She took a deep breath, lifted her head and her eyes silently asked Mrs Zhen if she saw daughter-in-law correctly. Mrs Zhen nodded her head and they contemplated silently for a while.
‘I’m going to kill the rabbit!’ Mrs Gu said.
Mrs Gu ran into the kitchen. She grabbed a rolling pin and she ran to the front door. ‘Don’t worry I won’t kill your little boy. I’ll roll my little girl into minced meat.’
‘Then my Lang Lang will be a widower. The little girl is my daughter-in-law. Little sister, you’re not allowed to hit my daughter-in-law,’ Mrs Zhen said.
Mrs Gu felt frustrated her daughter became someone’s daughter-in-law without her permission and Mrs Zhen didn’t let her hit her daughter.
Mr Gu ran to the front door and he grabbed the rolling pin from his wife’s hands. ‘Shouldn’t we ask them to explain this situation properly to us? Last time they stayed here for three days then they ran away. I knew they were up to something, it turns out they were hiding this.’
‘Ok, I’m going to ask them on the phone,’ Mrs Gu said.
Mr Zhen ran downstairs and he stopped Mrs Gu from calling his son and daughter-in-law. ‘Wait.’
‘What are we waiting for? The last time the two of them came here was three months ago. That means the two of them have been secretly married for three months. If we don’t expose their secret marriage now then they’ll hide their marriage from us for years,’ Mrs Zhen said.
‘Last time they ran away. If we call them now, what if they run away again?’ Mr Zhen said.
Mr Gu nodded his head. ‘I think it’s better to interrogate them in person than over the phone too.’
Mr and Mrs Zhen and Mr and Mrs Gu looked at each other and they nodded their heads at the same time.
At the newlyweds’ home, two bodies slept on a bed.
Zhen Lang opened his eyes and he looked at his wife who laid on his arm. ‘Little girl, are you awake?’
‘Um,’ Gu Jing mumbled.
Gu Jing hated the bright morning sunlight. She rolled over. She found a comfortable spot on Zhen Lang’s chest and she went back to sleep.
Zhen Lang pinched his wife’s nose. ‘In the past didn’t you always train in the morning? You’re getting lazier by the day.’
Gu Jing didn’t want to open her eyes and she spoke softly. ‘Today’s a weekend.’
‘If the old man knows you’re too lazy to train then the old man will be heartbroken,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing grabbed Zhen Lang’s hand that pinched her nose and she wrapped a leg around his waist. ‘If you keep making a racket, I’ll kick you out of bed.’
Zhen Lang looked at his wife’s rosy sleepy face and her pink lips that pouted. He wrapped an arm around her waist. He kissed her forehead and cheeks.
Gu Jing rubbed her head against Zhen Lang’s chest. ‘Let me sleep.’
‘You slept for a long time. Last night we went to bed at eight,’ Zhen Lang said.
‘But you didn’t let me sleep until the middle of the night,’ Gu Jing said.
Gu Jing opened her eyes and she saw Zhen Lang’s kiss marks on her skin under her wrinkled shirt.
‘Wake up and train. Last time the old man visited us, the old man wasn’t impressed by your laziness,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing’s whole body ached and she only wanted to sleep. She couldn’t hold back and she kicked Zhen Lang, but he caught her ankle. ‘You little demon! Before when I competed in tournaments it wasn’t as tiring as last night.’
Sunlight reflected off the anklet on Gu Jing’s ankle.
Zhen Lang kissed his wife’s ankle. ‘I have a way for you to listen to the old man and train in morning, but you’ll still get to lay in bed.’
Gu Jing realised since Zhen Lang found out her ticklish spot on her ankle, he would kiss her ankle until she surrendered.
‘I don’t want to! Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking, little demon!’ Gu Jing said.
Gu Jing never seen anyone like Zhen Lang who could battle all night and still wake up refreshed the next day for work. She didn’t get a peaceful night’s sleep in bed with Zhen Lang. She suspected Zhen Lang owned a secret ancient martial arts endurance power.
‘You can rest,’ Zhen Lang said. He slid his hand down his wife’s pants. ‘I’ll come to you.’
‘Wait,’ Gu Jing said.
Zhen Lang valued a master and pupil’s relationship. Of course he would listen to his master and train every day.
Gu Jing heard her heavy breaths, she wrapped her arms around Zhen Lang’s neck and she felt his forcefulness. ‘I-hate-you!’
Zhen Lang kissed his wife’s lips and he swallowed her resentment. ‘But I love you.’
Zhen Lang knew his wife for more than twenty years and he thought they were compatible in many ways like their personalities, their habits and their compatibility in bed.
Unbeknownst to the newlyweds in bed, the newlywed’s parents took the first flight to the city to interrogate them.
Mrs Gu gently opened her daughter and son-in-law’s bedroom door.
‘Rab-’ Mrs Gu said.
Mr Gu covered his wife’s mouth and he closed their daughter and son-in-law’s bedroom door.
Mrs Zhen pressed her ear against her son and daughter-in-law’s bedroom door for two seconds and her husband pulled her away from the bedroom door.
The newlyweds’ parents waited in the living room.
Mr Zhen and Mr Gu shook hands and they congratulated each other.
‘Congratulations,’ Mr Zhen said.
‘Congratulations to you too,’ Mr Gu said.
Half an hour later Mr Zhen and Mr Gu shook hands again.
‘You raised a good daughter,’ Mr Zhen said.
‘You raised an impressive son,’ Mr Gu said.
One hour later Mr Zhen and Mr Gu shook hands again.
‘I’m sorry I raised a ghastly son,’ Mr Zhen said.
‘I’m sorry I raised a scary daughter,’ Mr Gu said.
Another hour later Mrs Gu stopped her husband and Mr Zhen from shaking hands. ‘Let’s go to the supermarkets together. We need to buy nutritious herbal soup tonics to replenish their energy.’
The newlyweds’ parents glanced at the closed bedroom door and they nodded their heads. Then the newlyweds’ parents disappeared in an elevator.
End of Side Story One