At night, Hao Yan Che entered the master bedroom. Yuan Gun Gun quietly got out of bed.

  ‘Do you want to take a bath?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Yuan Gun Gun quietly followed Hao Yan Che to the bathroom. She turned on the tap, waited for the bathtub to be full, tested the water and quietly walked out of the bathroom.

  One hour later, Hao Yan Che walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. Yuan Gun Gun knelt behind him and blow dried his hair.

  Hao Yan Che felt the way Yuan Gun Gun touched his head was indifferent. Since their argument that day, she didn’t bicker with him, didn’t ask him for dessert, didn’t cry, and quietly performed her duties like there was nothing between them. She acted like a doll without a soul. He was frustrated he couldn’t vent, because she didn’t do anything wrong. There was a ticking bomb in his stomach.

  Five minutes later, Yuan Gun Gun put the dryer in a drawer, and laid in bed.

  ‘Do you want to sleep yet?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Not yet,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘Then can I watch TV?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  Hao Yan Che moved closer to Yuan Gun Gun on the bed.

  ‘Yes?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun moved to the edge of the bed to distance herself from Hao Yan Che, and turned on the TV.

  Hao Yan Che took a deep breath, and told himself to be patient. He got out of bed, got a pudding out of the fridge and put it in Yuan Gun Gun’s hands.

  ‘Thank you young master…… Che,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Hao Yan Che missed the way Yuan Gun Gun called his name sweetly. He fisted his hands, and laid close to her. He didn’t expect she would get out of bed and sit on a chair to eat the pudding.

  ‘I remember you said I’m not allowed to eat on the bed,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Hao Yan Che wanted to kill someone. How often did he feed Yuan Gun Gun in bed? Yet she suddenly wanted to abide by the rules. She broke all his rules. So he got rid of the rules. He wanted to go back to the period they were happy together.

  Yuan Gun Gun threw the rubbish in the bin, washed her hands in the bathroom and laid on the edge of the bed.

  ‘I’m going to sleep,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. She closed her eyes. ‘You can turn off the TV when you want to.’


  ‘Yuan Gun Gun!’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Yuan Gun Gun fell off the bed. Hao Yan Che got out of bed and carried her back to the bed.

  ‘What do you want?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun was unlucky. Hao Yan Che startled her, and made her fall off the bed. Her forehead hurt, but he was pain free yet he acted like she was in the wrong. She should be the one who asked what he wanted.

  ‘Tell me what you want,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘I…… I don’t want anything,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Then smile,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Hao Yan Che pushed Yuan Gun Gun’s mouth up. She didn’t know why he was acting odd, but she forced herself to smile.

  ‘Do you call this a smile?’ Hao Yan Che asked. ‘Who do you want to scare? It’s hard to look at.’


  Yuan Gun Gun smiled wider.

  ‘Not like this,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘Like how you usually smile.’


  Yuan Gun Gun had enough and cried.

  ‘You’re not allowed to cry,’ Hao Yan Che said and held Yuan Gun Gun’s face.

  Yuan Gun Gun pushed Hao Yan Che’s chest hard.

  ‘I don’t want to smile!’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I’ve done everything to appease you, but why are you picking fights with me? Does watching me suffer make you happy? If you don’t want to see me, you can pick up the phone and call my daddy. Tell my daddy that you hate me, and you want to send me back to the Yuan Mansion. There is no reason for you to treat me like this.’


  ***