Hao Yan Che walked into his office the moment Yuan Gun Gun was about to touch the boxes on his desk.

  ‘You can’t touch them!’ Hao Yan Che said sternly.

  ‘Che……’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun was curious what was inside the boxes. Hao Yan Che rarely forbid her to touch any of his things.

  ‘Don’t you know how to read?’ Hao Yan Che asked. ‘They are addressed to me.’


  ‘I……’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Didn’t your parents teach you that you shouldn’t open another person’s gift?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun took a step back. Her eyes stung. She was married to Hao Yan Che for more than three years. But in his eyes she was only an outsider.

  ‘Where did you go before?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Big sister Feng invited me to eat sushi with her,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Go deliver the reports I put on your desk,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘Yes,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun picked up the reports from her desk, and quietly left Hao Yan Che’s office.

  Hao Yan Che silently looked at Yuan Gun Gun’s lonely back.

  Yi Tu and Jia Tu looked at each other confusedly. They didn’t understand what happened between Hao Yan Che and Yuan Gun Gun.

  Hao Yan Che opened the two wrapped boxes. Inside were two fresh bleeding heads. Their mouths were sewed together, their minced brains and blood were mixed together and their eyes were dangling from their eye sockets.

  Hao Yan Che read the letter attached to the boxes, ‘Mr Hao, I’ve sent you my sincere apologies. Here the two heads of the men who deserved to die. Believe me, I had no involvement with your wife’s kidnapping attempt. I wouldn’t dare oppose you by causing harm to your wife. Please forgive for my traitorous men’s actions.’


  ‘Are these the two men who kidnapped Gun Gun?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘Looks like it,’ Jia Tu said.

  Yi Tu felt nauseous. How could Daniel be that cruel to his own men?

  ‘Young master, were you stern with Gun Gun before because you could smell fresh blood from the boxes?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘Yi Tu, Jia Tu, go release Daniel’s son,’ Hao Yan Che ordered. ‘And give these boxes to Daniel’s son. Tell Daniel’s son to return these boxes to Daniel.’


  ‘Yes young master,’ Yi Tu and Jia Tu said.

  Yi Tu and Jia Tu bowed, they each carried a box and left Hao Yan Che’s office.

  In the women’s bathroom, Yuan Gun Gun sat in a toilet cubicle and cried. She knew it was wrong to touch Hao Yan Che’s things without his permission. But they were husband and wife. Why did he hide secrets from her? She didn’t know what was so important inside the boxes that he wouldn’t even let her see what was inside. Did he want freedom to keep secrets? But he didn’t let her withhold a secret from him. He made all her decisions. He was used to having control over her. But why did he have to scold her over boxes? She only wanted to see what was inside. Was she only someone who helped to guard his home? Did he marry her because someone forced him?

  ‘I heard someone delivered two wrapped gifts to CEO Hao’s office,’ the first woman said. ‘It must be from a woman.’


  ‘And I saw Yuan Gun Gun crying and running out of CEO Hao’s office,’ the second woman said. ‘Something must have happened.’


  Yuan Gun Gun often accidently overhead women gossiping in the women’s toilets. There were many women at Han Yan’s company who were secretly in love with Hao Yan Che.

  ‘What did I tell you?’ the third woman said. ‘Miracles don’t happen in real life. Only princesses gets to marry the prince.’


  ‘Yuan Gun Gun is a princess,’ the first woman said. ‘Yuan’s company can’t compare to Hao Yan’s company. But Yuan’s company is one of the top twenty richest companies in the world.’


  ‘Then I should say, only beautiful princesses gets to marry the prince,’ the third woman said.

  ‘What is wrong with you women?’ the fourth woman asked. ‘Don’t you women have anything better to do? Who do you women think you are? I think Yuan Gun Gun is a genuine and caring person. Even if CEO Hao wasn’t married to Yuan Gun Gun, you women have zero chance of attracting his attention.’


  ‘What are you implying?’ the first woman asked.

  ‘What do you mean we don’t have a chance?’ the second woman asked.

  ‘Are you saying we’re nosy people?’ the third woman asked. ‘Who do you think you are to look down on us?’


  While the three women were ganging up on the fourth woman, Yuan Gun Gun’s phone rang.

  ‘Did you go to Australia to deliver the reports?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I’ll come back now.’


  Hao Yan Che’s brows creased after hearing Yuan Gun Gun crying softly. He hung up the phone, and waited for her to return to his office.

  Yuan Gun Gun got off the toilet seat. She dusted her bottom, and walked outside the toilet cubicle. The beautiful women who were gossiping about her before were washing their hands at the sinks. She smiled at their ashamed faces, washed and dried her hands and walked outside the bathroom.

  Yuan Gun Gun didn’t want to fight with the women who gossiped about her, because it was troublesome and what they said about her was the truth.

  ***

  End of 144

  Yuan Gun Gun returned to Hao Yan Che’s office, and she stood at a distance from him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I was in the bathroom before.’


  ‘Come here,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Yuan Gun Gun walked to Hao Yan Che like nothing happened. He held her on his lap.

  ‘Did you cry?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun didn’t say anything.

  ‘Did I say something wrong?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘No,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘What you said was right. I’m sorry. In the future I won’t do it again.’


  ‘Then why did you go and hide to cry?’ Hao Yan Che asked. ‘Do you think I’m unreasonable?’


  Yuan Gun Gun bit her lips.

  ‘Talk,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘I…… in your heart, am I an outsider?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun took a deep breath, and looked at Hao Yan Che’s eyes.

  Hao Yan Che was unhappy to hear Yuan Gun Gun doubted him.

  Yuan Gun Gun bowed her head, and regretted the question she asked Hao Yan Che.

  ‘For three years your intelligence hasn’t improved,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘At least you know your place.’


  Yuan Gun Gun slid off Hao Yan Che’s lap.

  ‘I’ll go organise your schedule,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Hao Yan Che didn’t stop Yuan Gun Gun from going to her desk. He fisted his hands, looked at his laptop and ignored her.

  Yuan Gun Gun returned to her desk and quietly worked.

  Since that day, Hao Yan’s company’s employees lived on edge. They were scared to report to CEO Hao. Only CEO Hao’s wife worked unaffected. They heard a foolish employee dared to give CEO Hao’s wife a gift, and a love letter which made CEO Hao raged.

  At the Hao Mansion’s master bedroom at night.

  ‘Yuan Gun Gun let go!’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘This is mine,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Are you going to let go or not?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Didn’t you say it’s wrong to touch another person’s gift?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Don’t tell you want to keep your secret admirer’s gift as a love token,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘What about you?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked. ‘You kept two love tokens from two women.’


  Hao Yan Che snatched the gift from Yuan Gun Gun’s hands, and threw it on the floor. He laid on top of her, bit her face and left his teeth mark.

  ‘Ah,’ Yuan Gun Gun cried out.

  ‘You dare twist my words,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Hao Yan Che left teeth marks on Yuan Gun Gun’s lips and neck too. Then he pinched her bottom.

  ‘It hurts,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘You don’t know right from wrong.’


  Yuan Gun Gun pushed Hao Yan Che’s chest. He held her hands above her head, and bit each of her breasts hard.

  ‘You’re bullying me,’ Yuan Gun Gun said and cried.

  ‘What are you going to do if I bully you?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun could only let Hao Yan Che bully her.

  Hao Yan Che’s lips were about to kiss Yuan Gun Gun’s lips, but she turned her head to the side.

  ‘I don’t want you to kiss me,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘You dare say you don’t want to?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Hao Yan Che held Yuan Gun Gun’s chin. She looked at him like he was a kidnapper so he let go of her.

  ‘Yuan Gun Gun, what do you want?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun sat up on the edge of the bed.

  ‘I don’t want to do it with you,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘I can see,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘Tell me why.’


  Hao Yan Che crossed his arms, and glared at his wife. His wife dared to withhold his rights as her husband.

  ‘I don’t want to do it with you,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘Go find one of the women who gave you the gifts to do it with.’


  ‘What?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘I…… I……’ Yuan Gun Gun mumbled.

  Yuan Gun Gun saw Hao Yan Che’s violet eyes changed color. There was nowhere else she could retreat on the bed.

  Hao Yan Che captured Yuan Gun Gun’s arms.

  ‘Say it again,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ***