Gu Jing dreamt of a banquet table. She drooled in her sleep, her stomach rumbled and her eyes stalked a giant roast duck on the banquet table.
Gu Jing cackled and she pounced on the duck. But the duck flapped its giant wings and it escaped her hands. The duck laughed like Zhen Lang.
‘Little girl, are you hungry? Do you want to eat?’ the duck asked.
Gu Jing didn’t know ducks could talk. But she wanted to eat the delicious duck. She felt the duck’s hateful laughter sounded like Zhen Lang’s laughter and its breath tickled her face.
The duck flew away from Gu Jing.
‘Don’t fly away!’ Gu Jing said.
Gu Jing’s hand captured the duck’s giant leg and she hugged the duck against her chest. She wanted to satisfy her hunger.
The duck groaned. Gu Jing cackled and she bit the duck’s delicious chest.
Gu Jing gripped the duck’s giant leg and the duck groaned louder. ‘Mine!’
‘It’s yours. Twenty-five years ago it belonged to you, and twenty-five years later it still belongs to you. But if you don’t let it go, in the future even if you want it, it’ll be gone,’ the duck said.
The duck sighed and the duck stopped flapping its giant wings.
Gu Jing didn’t understand what the duck meant by twenty-five years ago. Her legs wrapped around the duck’s body. The duck’s body felt hard and soft, and she didn’t want to let the duck go. Her whole body pinned the duck on the banquet table.
The duck’s warm giant wing caressed Gu Jing’s forehead. ‘Your fever muddled your head. Little girl, wake up and take your medicine.’
Gu Jing felt the duck’s voice sounded familiar like Zhen Lang the jinx.
Gu Jing opened her eyes, but the bright light hurt her eyes and she blinked several times. Her blurry vision cleared and she saw the duck’s face turned into Zhen Lang’s face!
Gu Jing’s sleepiness disappeared. ‘Why are you in my bed?’
Zhen Lang’s face winced. He glanced down his body and he coughed. ‘You’re in my room, you’re in my bed and you slept together with me.’
Gu Jing glanced down the bed, it didn’t look like her bed.
Gu Jing’s hazy memories flashed through her mind. Last night she knocked on Zhen Lang’s door and she laid on his bed but she couldn’t remember what happened after.
Gu Jing tried to move away from Zhen Lang, but she realised her legs were wrapped around Zhen Lang’s legs. She laughed awkwardly and she pulled up the bedsheet to cover her embarra.s.sed body.
‘Little girl, your hand,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing lifted her left hand, and she didn’t feel anything. She wanted to lift her right hand, but she realised her right hand gripped something hard. Although she was familiar with Zhen Lang’s body, she didn’t know what was in her right hand.
Gu Jing’s head hurt and her stomach rumbled louder. She felt her reactions were slower than usual. Her right hand gripped the hard object and she tried to pull the hard object away from Zhen Lang’s body.
Zhen Lang gripped Gu Jing’s right wrist. ‘Little girl, don’t pull.’
Gu Jing’s left hand patted Zhen Lang’s body around her right hand, and she realised the hard object her right hand gripped was between Zhen Lang’s legs.
Gu Jing took a deep breath and her hands let go of Zhen Lang’s body. She wrapped herself around the bedsheet and she jumped off the bed.
Gu Jing forgot her dragon and phoenix strength temporarily separated from her body. In her weak body, she jumped off the bed and she fell on the floor. Luckily the bedsheet cushioned her fall.
Zhen Lang pulled Gu Jing back onto the bed. He laid on his side and he caressed her face. ‘You still have a fever, why are you jumping around?’
‘I…’ Gu Jing said and she looked everywhere except at Zhen Lang’s face.
Zhen Lang retrieved his hand and he got off the bed. ‘Don’t jump around. I’ll get your medicine and water for you.’
Gu Jing silently watched Zhen Lang got off the bed. She didn’t want to admit his hand soothed her face and she didn’t want him to leave the bed.
Gu Jing’s eyes followed Zhen Lang’s body movements. She saw him walked into the bathroom, she heard the sound of water running and she wished she could see through walls.
Gu Jing laid on the bed for a long time and she realised she was sick. For more than twenty-five years she didn’t know what taking medicine meant. She thought perhaps she fell into the lake yesterday and it caused her cold. Her head flushed hot and cold like she had a forty degree Celsius fever.
Zhen Lang walked out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. He sat on the bed and he gently lifted Gu Jing’s weak upper body. She sniffed his fresh body.
‘Take your medicine and drink water,’ Zhen Lang said.
Zhen Lang held the gla.s.s of water for Gu Jing. She swallowed the tablets and she drank water slowly. She felt like a cat that lost its claws and she had no choice but to be obedient.
Gu Jing saw Zhen Lang’s loose bathrobe exposed his beautiful chest, but the familiar teeth marks on his chest startled her. She remembered in her dream she bit a giant roast duck’s chest and it tasted delicious. She also remembered the duck’s leg felt good in her right hand.
Zhen Lang saw Gu Jing stared at his chest. He pulled the collar of his bathrobe close together and he smiled. ‘Did it taste delicious?’
Gu Jing nodded her head then she shook her head and her head spun.
‘Little girl, are you hungry?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘Do you want to eat something?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘I’ll go buy salty duck egg and minced pork congee for you, ok?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘I’m giving you good service, will you marry me and let me give you good service for the rest of your life?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head and she felt there was something strange about Zhen Lang’s question.
Gu Jing sat upright on the bed too quickly and her head spun fast.
‘Ah!’ Gu Jing cried out.
Gu Jing looked at Zhen Lang’s shiny eyes and she felt like she was in a dream.
Gu Jing recited Zhen Lang’s questions in her head – ‘He asked me if I’m hungry. He asked if I want to eat something. He asked if I want to eat salty duck eggs and minced pork congee. What did he ask me afterward? Did he ask me if I want to marry him?’
Gu Jing felt choked. She stretched out her weak hand and she pinched Zhen Lang’s cheek. His cheek felt warm, and she realised it wasn’t a dream.
‘Mr Vet, am I hallucinating because I’m sick? Or are you deliriously sick?’ Gu Jing asked.
Zhen Lang pressed a cold wet towel on Gu Jing’s forehead. ‘You’re not hallucinating and I’m not deliriously sick. I’ll ask you the same questions again. Are you hungry?’
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘Do you want to eat salty duck egg and minced pork congee?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘Do you want me to buy it for you?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head.
‘Do you want me to buy it for you for the rest of your life?’ Zhen Lang asked.
Gu Jing nodded her head and she realised Zhen Lang’s question felt strange again.
Zhen Lang kissed Gu Jing’s lips. ‘You promised to marry me so we’re engaged. After you recover we’ll go shopping together to buy you an engagement ring.’
The word ‘engaged’ echoed loudly in Gu Jing’s head. ‘Jinx, I can understand if you want to torture me to death to end our twenty-five year war. But we don’t need to be engaged for you to torture me.’
Gu Jing didn’t expect to be sick with a cold and fever for a whole day. She worried within ten days her soul would fly away from her body and her soul would be playing chess with Dizang.
‘I’m going out to buy you congee. After you finish eating your congee, you need to take your medicine and rest,’ Zhen Lang said.
Zhen Lang stroked Gu Jing’s hair for a while. He sneakily kissed her lips again. He got off the bed, changed his clothes and he went out to buy her congee.
Gu Jing didn’t see the triumphant smile disappear from Zhen Lang’s face. She felt certain in the future he wanted to torture her to death, and he was happy because he caught her.
Gu Jing took out her phone and she dialled a lifeline. ‘Cheng Cheng, save me!’
‘What is it?’ Peng Cheng Gui asked.
‘Zhen Lang… he… he wants to marry me,’ Gu Jing said pitifully.
Gu Jing heard dead silence.
‘Zhen Lang wants to marry you? Then you need to remember to say to him that he has to transfer all his a.s.sets to you including shares before you’ll marry him. I’ll help you value his a.s.sets,’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
‘Cheng Cheng! If I marry him I’ll die,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Of course you’ll die! You’ll die rich!’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
‘Cheng Cheng!’ Gu Jing said.
‘Remember, if he doesn’t transfer his a.s.sets to you then you can’t marry him. At least ninety percent of his a.s.sets but eight percent is acceptable-’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
‘But… I think I promised to marry him already,’ Gu Jing said.
‘What? He didn’t transfer any of his a.s.sets to you and you promised to marry him already?’ Peng Cheng Gui asked.
‘Um,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Then you don’t need to live anymore. Even if you return to the studio alive, I’ll choke you myself,’ Peng Cheng Gui said.
End of Chapter Twenty-Eight