In the dining room of the Hao Mansion, Qiu Li Luo happily watched Yuan Gun Gun eat. She felt nothing else in the world could make her happier.

‘Gun Gun, is the food delicious?’ Qiu Li Luo asked.

‘It’s delicious,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. She bit another chicken wing, and smiled at Qiu Li Luo. ‘Aunty Li why aren’t you eating?’

‘Because aunty loves watching Gun Gun eat adorably and aunty forgot to eat,’ Qiu Li Luo said.

Qiu Li Luo picked up a napkin, and she helped wipe grease off Yuan Gun Gun’s mouth and clothes.

Yuan Gun Gun put a chicken wing in Qiu Li Luo’s bowl.

‘Aunty Li needs to eat too,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘Mummy said a person needs to eat breakfast if they want to be beautiful. Look how beautiful aunty Li is. If aunty Li doesn’t eat breakfast then aunty Li won’t be beautiful anymore.’

Yuan Gun Gun’s innocence made Qiu Li Luo laughed. Qiu Li Luo ate the chicken wing Yuan Gun Gun put in her bowl.

Hao Yan Que strode into the dining room. He was angry at Qiu Li Luo. Everything he said to his wife last night, went through one ear and out the other.

‘Good morning uncle Que,’ Yuan Gun Gun greeted sweetly.

‘Good morning husband,’ Qiu Li Luo greeted. ‘Why... didn’t you sleep in?’

Hao Yan Que walked to Qiu Li Luo.

‘Xiao Luo, your heart didn’t hear what I said to you last night,’ Hao Yan Que said.

‘I... didn’t,’ Qiu Li Luo said softly.

‘Xiao Luo, last night I said you can’t leave the bed before me,’ Hao Yan Que. He stroked Qiu Li Luo’s long white hair. ‘If you do, you have to pay the price.’

‘Que!’ Qiu Li Luo called. ‘Gun Gun’s here.’

Qiu Li Luo didn’t want Hao Yan Que to corrupt Yuan Gun Gun’s innocent eyes.

‘Don’t worry,’ Hao Yan Que said. ‘Look at the hearty way Gun Gun is eating. She can’t hear us.’

Hao Yan Que was impressed with Yuan Gun Gun’s eating skills.

Qiu Li Luo watched Yuan Gun Gun’s chubby hands hold a bowl of vegetable soup, and Yuan Gun Gun’s white teeth fought to chew on the vegetables.

‘Luo Li Qiu!’ Hao Yan Que called.

‘That isn’t my name,’ Qiu Li Luo said.

‘Xiao Luo, stop avoiding the evitable,’ Hao Yan Que said. ‘What do you think your punishment is?’

‘Que, I promise I won’t leave the bed before you again,’ Qiu Li Luo said. ‘I left the bed early because I was worried Gun Gun was hungry.’

Hao Yan Que scoffed. Qiu Li Luo tugged his shirt sleeve.

‘Don’t be angry,’ Qiu Li Luo said. ‘Sit down and eat with me.’

Hao Yan Que sat next to Qiu Li Luo and he began eating breakfast.

Qiu Li Luo ate breakfast in between putting food into Yuan Gun Gun’s bowl and wiping Yuan Gun Gun’s mouth.

Yuan Gun Gun ate heartily, she didn’t know her parents were having nervous breakdowns because she was missing.

***

At the Yuan Mansion, there was tension between Feng Du Du and Yuan Ting Liu.

‘Where’s my Gun Gun?’ Feng Du Du asked.

Yuan Ting Liu silently rubbed his tensed temple.

‘I don’t care if you hate me and flaunt your women in my face,’ Feng Du Du said. ‘But you can’t hide Gun Gun from me. I can’t live without Gun Gun.’

Yuan Ting Liu didn’t know what to say to comfort Feng Du Du.

‘Where are you hiding Gun Gun?’ Feng Du Du asked. ‘If you hate me, why did you marry me and wanted to have children with me? I left to give back your freedom. If you hate me, why did you force me to come back?’

Feng Du Du closed her eyes and cried. She loved Yuan Ting Liu, but he treated her cruelly.

Yuan Ting Liu avoided looking at Feng Du Du’s face. He didn’t know what to say.

‘I’ve had enough,’ Feng Du Du said. ‘Gun Gun will stay with you. I know you’ll treat Gun Gun well. I’ll leave. This time don’t look for me. You can’t use Gun Gun to blackmail me.’

Feng Du Du wiped her tears, and she walked past Yuan Ting Liu.

Yuan Ting Liu captured Feng Du Du’s arm.

‘You’re not allowed to leave,’ Yuan Ting Liu said.

‘You can either let me go or kill me,’ Feng Du Du said.

Feng Du Du picked up the knife from the dining table to slit her wrist. Yuan Ting Liu immediately disarmed her.

‘Feng Du Du, are you crazy?’ Yuan Ting Liu asked.

‘Being played by you made me crazy,’ Feng Du Du said. ‘Are you happy? You can kill me. I don’t want to live like this. I’m tired of suffering. Why are you this cruel to me? Five years ago I loved you, but you pretended you couldn’t see. You’re always icy cold toward me. You’re a scar in my heart. For five years, Gun Gun and I lived a happy life together but you forced us to come back here. Then you brought another woman here to pour salt onto my scar. Why are you treating me this way? What have I done wrong except love you? What do you want? Do you want me to die?’

Feng Du Du pounded Yuan Ting Liu’s chest, and she cried all the tears she bottled up. She couldn’t live in Yuan Ting Liu’s cold home.

Yuan Ting Liu let Feng Du Du hit him as much as she wanted. He hugged her, he didn’t want to hurt her. He was naturally born a cold person. He didn’t know how to love another person.

Years ago, Yuan Ting Liu didn’t know what to do with Feng Du Du who used to always smile at him. Even if he was cold toward her, she used to smile at him and stayed with him. He didn’t know why, but slowly he could only see her. If he couldn’t see her, he would feel lost. He thought she knew he cared about her, and they would always be together.

Yuan Ting Liu thought Feng Du Du would always smile, cook and eat dinner with him. But five years ago Feng Du Du left him. When he found out, he fell into pieces. He didn’t understand why. The night before she left, they slept together but the next morning she secretly left him. She didn’t take anything he gave her. Then he slowly resented her. He fooled himself into thinking he didn’t need her, and he could live without her.

Yuan Ting Liu didn’t look for Feng Du Du for four years. He thought he could forget Feng Du Du by four years. He failed, he went to look for her after five years. He told himself he only wanted to bring her back and make her suffer for leaving him. But when he found her, she gave him a happy surprise. He found out they had a daughter together, Yuan Gun Gun. He was happy she gave birth to their daughter, and he brought her and their daughter home. He used their daughter to blackmail her to stay, and he did everything to make her suffer for leaving him and hiding their daughter from him.

If Yuan Ting Liu was honest with himself, he would see that he wanted to forgive Feng Du Du and wanted to learn how to treat her better. But she didn’t want to accept him in her life. She made him angry by putting distance between them. So he did something childish. He brought a woman home to make her jealous, and show her she still loved him like she did five years ago. But she wasn’t jealous. She calmly walked past the living room and upstairs to her bedroom. She didn’t know the moment he couldn’t see her, he pushed the woman off his lap onto the floor.

Two days ago, Yuan Ting Liu wanted to confess to Feng Du Du that he didn’t do anything to betray her. But he discovered Yuan Gun Gun was missing. He didn’t want her to worry so he let her misunderstand him that he was hiding Yuan Gun Gun from her.

When Yuan Ting Liu saw Feng Du Du picked up the knife to harm herself, he realised he loved her. He didn’t know what he did to make the woman he loved changed from a lively woman to a woman he didn’t recognise.

***

End of Chapters Four to Five