‘Wow! Did you find money on a footpath today? Usually you don’t even buy me toast. Why did you take away so many desserts for me?’ Peng Cheng Gui asked.
‘Zhen Lang bought it for me,’ Gu Jing said.
Peng Chen Gui choked on a macaron. ‘Zhen Lang? Does he have a death wish?’ She shook her head. ‘Mmm… that isn’t Zhen Lang’s style. If he bought it for you, he’ll want to personally witness you eat all the desserts. He wouldn’t let you take away desserts he bought for you to give it to me.’
Gu Jing sat on the sofa and she laughed uncontrollably. ‘Because I threw up the fruit tart he fed me onto him. While he washed up in the bathroom, I packed up the desserts and ran to the studio.’
‘You’re evil,’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
‘Can you blame me? That year if it wasn’t for him, would I have ate cake icing and be hospitalised for a week? Have you ever had white diarrhea for a week that stunk like expired milk?’ Gu Jing said asked.
Peng Cheng Gui lost her appet.i.te for eating desserts and she glared at Gu Jing.
Gu Jing rubbed her stomach. ‘Throwing up the fruit tart, now my stomach is hungry. I’m going to order fried rice.’
Gu Jing reminisced about her childhood whilst she waited for her fried rice. When she was twelve years old she was on the rise to be a young Taekwondo national champion. A week before her trial to be on the national Taekwondo team, it was her twelfth birthday. Her mum ordered a customised ten tier birthday cake. Zhen Lang commented he liked the pink flowers on top of her birthday cake. When no one was paying attention to her, she licked off the pink flower icing on top of her birthday cake and as a result she was hospitalised for a week and she missed out on the chance to represent her country as a Taekwondo athlete at the Olympics.
The second time Gu Jing wanted to try out for the national team, Zhen Lang dissuaded her parents. ‘Gu Jing will receive many injuries. She’ll be forced to take supplements, which will affect her body. What happens if in the future her body is neither male nor female? Then no one will want to marry her.’
Gu Jing’s parents banned her from trying out for the national team because they believed Zhen Lang’s fear tactic.
Since then Gu Jing vowed her source of happiness was ruining Zhen Lang’s happiness and defaming him was an achievement.
In Gu Jing’s final year of high school she took the exams to become a photographer at a prestigious city college. She was happy she pa.s.sed the exams. Her happiness was brief because Zhen Lang got accepted as an undergraduate medical student at the same college.
Gu Jing’s fried rice arrived and she refuelled her empty stomach.
‘Gu Jing, I don’t think it was Zhen Lang’s fault. You were the one who ate excessive cake icing and ended up in hospital,’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
Gu Jing sighed because Peng Cheng Gui didn’t understand Zhen Lang’s nature the way Gu Jing did.
The following day Zhen Lang escorted Gu Jing to Mr w.a.n.g’s banquet. Gu Jing wore a shirt and pants. Although she was always mistaken as a young boy because of her tall and slim frame in a shirt and pants, she didn’t like wearing dresses and she didn’t feel comfortable wearing heels.
Zhen Lang was dragged by w.a.n.g Shao Huang to socialise with Mr w.a.n.g’s acquaintances.
Gu Jing didn’t mind because she preoccupied herself with the platters of delicious gourmet food, vintage wine and exotic c.o.c.ktails.
Mr w.a.n.g was the head of the w.a.n.g household and who was also rich and influential. That was why Gu Jing was happy to mingle with Mr w.a.n.g’s female guests who were also rich and they requested Gu Jing to take professional photos of them at her studio. She gave them her business cards and instructed them to drop by the studio tomorrow because Peng Cheng Gui was available to help them with appointment bookings and price inquiries.
Immediately after Gu Jing gave out all her business cards she brought to the banquet, she hid in the bathroom and she called Peng Cheng Gui. ‘Tomorrow rich ladies are dropping by the studio. Remember to recommend the most expensive photo packages.’
‘Gu Jing, I’ve made an executive decision. Starting from tomorrow all photo package pricings from three years ago will be raised by fifty percent,’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
Gu Jing laughed excitedly. ‘Peng Cheng Gui, when it comes to business we think alike.’
Later that night Gu Jing learnt eating and drinking free fancy food and drinks wasn’t always a good thing…
Zhen Lang drove Gu Jing back to his home and they both went to their own bedroom.
In the middle of the night Zhen Lang woke up because he heard running water in the bathroom.
Zhen Lang heard correctly. Gu Jing’s whole body was itchy, it kept her awake and finally she couldn’t stand the itchiness and she took a shower.
Gu Jing showered and wore clean clothes but her body was still itchy. She kicked opened Zhen Lang’s bedroom door. ‘Mr Vet, do you have medication? My body’s itchy.’
Zhen Lang waved his hand. ‘Come here and I’ll take a look.’
Gu Jing’s body was itchier than her desire to oppose Zhen Lang. She crawled onto his bed, rolled up her shirt sleeves and she unb.u.t.toned enough b.u.t.tons to show him her neck.
Zhen Lang saw a few small pink spots on Gu Jing’s neck and arms. He touched a small pink spot on her arm and it didn’t enlarge the small pink spot. ‘Gu Jing, what did you eat?’
Gu Jing scratched her arms and more small pink spots appeared on her arms. ‘I don’t know. I ate and drank everything at Mr w.a.n.g’s banquet.’
‘Perhaps you had an allergic reaction to something in a c.o.c.ktail or an allergic reaction from one of the seafood,’ Zhen Lang said. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table. ‘Wait for me to make a call then I’ll take you to the hospital to find out the cause of your allergic reaction.’
‘Mr Vet, do you have any medication I can take? I’m itchy to death,’ Gu Jing said.
Zhen Lang opened a drawer and he took out a tube of lotion. ‘This will relieve the itchiness, but use it sparingly.’
‘Um,’ Gu Jing said.
Gu Jing ran to the bathroom and Zhen Lang’s advice was like wind pa.s.sing through her ears. She rubbed a thick layer of it over her body whilst Zhen Lang called the hospital to explain about her symptoms.
Gu Jing returned to Zhen Lang’s room. ‘Mr Vet, I can’t rub it on my back. Help me.’
Zhen Lang rubbed a thin layer of the lotion on Gu Jing’s back and she exhaled loudly.
Zhen Lang and Gu Jing didn’t pay attention to the sounds of someone who was attempting to open the front door.
‘Hey, I want more,’ Gu Jing said.
‘No, too much isn’t good for your body,’ Zhen Lang said.
‘I don’t care. If you’re not going to give it to me then I’ll take it myself,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Can you not be this aggressive?’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘I’m always this aggressive. Are you going to give it to me or not?’ Gu Jing said.
Mrs Gu dropped her suitcase and she ran into Zhen Lang’s room. She saw her daughter in bed with Zhen Lang and her daughter was sitting on top of Zhen Lang. Her daughter pulled Zhen Lang’s shirt collar and her daughter’s clothes were wrinkled, throat had small pink spots and fingernail scratches. Zhen Lang laid on the bed and he struggled to get out of her daughter’s grip.
Mrs Gu smacked her daughter’s head and Mrs Gu spoke loudly. ‘You rotten girl! You dare force yourself on Zhen Lang!’
End of Chapter Seven