‘Daddy,’ Zhen San Tian said.
Zhen San Tian’s round doll eyes lit up when he saw his daddy walked through the front door of their home.
‘San Tian is a good boy,’ Zhen Lang praised.
After Zhen San Tian welcomed his daddy home, he continued to piece together the puzzle on the coffee table.
Zhen San Tian looked like his daddy. He heard his mummy held him for three days after his birth, because she wanted to see if he inherited any of her features. His mummy turned him left and right for three days, but she didn’t see any of her features on him.
Most parents hoped their children were like Zhen San Tian. Zhen San Tian was a handsome and an obedient child.
Unlike most parents, Gu Jing hoped for a lively, strong and an energetic son. But she gave birth to a quiet and gentle son instead of a quiet and gentle daughter she desired. She didn’t expect she would give birth to a miniature Zhen Lang.
Zhen Lang looked at his beautiful wife who slept on the sofa. He saw the rosy complexion on her face and he knew his wife had a good dream. But the specks of ash on her cheeks and her messy hair made him suspicious.
Zhen Lang sat next to his son and he watched his son struggled to finish the puzzle. ‘What did mummy do today?’
‘Mummy said take away food is unhealthy so she wanted to cook me a loving lunch,’ Zhen San Tian said.
Zhen Lang glanced at the kitchen. The stove was burnt, water residue on the kitchen bench and there were dirty pots and pans in the kitchen sink.
Zhen Lang lifted his son onto his lap. ‘You can’t refuse your mum’s love.’
‘Mummy and I ate lunch at a restaurant,’ Zhen San Tian said.
Zhen San Tian held a puzzle piece in his hand, but he didn’t know where the right spot to put the puzzle piece was.
‘San Tian, there is no need to force yourself to think of a solution,’ Zhen Lang said. He took the puzzle piece from his son’s hand and he put it on the coffee table. ‘Let’s play something else together, ok?’
Zhen San Tian smiled at his daddy. ‘Today mummy didn’t train with me.’
Zhen Lang looked at his lovable wife who slept peacefully on the sofa for a while then he silently carried their son outside. He wanted to spend time with their son whilst she slept.
Outside on the lawn Zhen Lang waited for his son to attack him. His son punched him and he blocked the punch. Then his son kicked him and he stepped back to avoid the punch.
Zhen San Tian wasn’t satisfied he couldn’t hit his daddy. He punched and kicked faster, but his daddy was always faster.
Zhen Lang saw his son’s flushed face and sweat on his son’s forehead. His son breathed heavily, but he saw the tenacity in his son’s eyes and he smiled. Although his son had his eyes, but his son inherited his wife’s tenacity.
Zhen Lang thought it was a pity his wife only saw their son’s looks resembled him. If his wife looked closer then she would see their son’s personality resembled her.
Gu Jing slept on the sofa but she recognised the gentle sounds of her husband’s breathing the moment he walked through the front door. She didn’t allow herself to sleep deeply until her husband came home. No matter how tired she felt she wouldn’t leave their son unsupervised. But recently she felt increasingly tired and sleepy.
‘Mummy…’ Zhen San Tian called.
Zhen San Tian hugged his daddy’s leg and he waited for his mummy to wake up.
Gu Jing opened her eyes and she smiled at her loveable husband and son. Each time she saw how much her son looked like her husband she would reminisce about the past.
Since Gu Jing and Zhen Lang’s son was born, their son was loved and doted on by their son’s grandparents. Gu Jing remembered her dad and dad-in-law wracked their brains and looked through many baby name books to find a suitable name for their first grandson.
Gu Jing inadvertently thought of her son’s name when she first held her son in her arms. ‘This little boy is worth a lot of money.’
Gu Jing smiled brightly at her son who she named Zhen San Tian, because his name sounded like a lot of money.
Zhen San Tian was three years old, but many times he recognised the way his mummy smiled at him looked suspicious.
Gu Jing thought regardless of how much her husband and son looked like each other or how smart her son was, he was still her son. She couldn’t defeat her husband but she could tease her son.
Gu Jing thought if she and her husband had a second child perhaps she would name their second child Zhen Du Bian, which sounded like plenty of money. She smiled like a demoness. Of course if her second child was a sweet and an obedient girl then she would think of a different name for her daughter. She hoped her daughter would be beautiful and gentle.
Gu Jing’s son ran to her and he rubbed his sweaty head on her chest. ‘Mummy, hug me.’
Zhen Lang laughed at his son who tried to escape a bath. He lifted and carried his son toward the bathroom. ‘That part of your mummy’s body exclusively belongs to your daddy. That year your daddy said something special to your mummy to make her remember me for many years. If you want to land there then you need to find your own runway. Your daddy occupied your mummy’s runway many years ago.’
‘Zhen Lang!’ Gu Jing cried out like a lioness.
Gu Jing jumped off the sofa, her fist brushed past Zhen Lang’s face and dented a wall.
Zhen San Tian hugged his daddy tightly. ‘Daddy…’
Zhen Lang calmly carried his son to the bathroom. He took off his son’s clothes and he put his son into the bathtub of warm water. ‘It’s ok, coincidently the kitchen needs renovating.’
Zhen Lang turned his head around and he looked at his loveable wife. ‘Recently your mood swings are abnormal. Come with me to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up. If the result is nothing then you’re allowed to give your arms and legs a workout.’
Gu Jing looked at her husband’s calm face and she believed he was right. She retrieved her fist from the wall and she didn’t dare to move her arms and legs carelessly.
Zhen San Tian played with the bubbles in the bathtub. The sunlight reflected off the bubbles and the bubbles turned to the seven colours of the rainbow. The bubbles flew above his wet hair and he laughed happily.
Zhen Lang and Gu Jing remembered a summer afternoon many years ago. Zhen Lang held a paper aeroplane in front of Gu Jing and he teased her. ‘Gu Jing, can I borrow your chest to land my plane?’
End of Side Story Seven