ticket yet. What did you sign me up for?’ Gu Jing said.
Zhen Lang ignored his wife’s protests and he dragged her to the service desk. He took out money from her wallet and he gave the money and document to an airport clerk. The airport clerk gave him two plane tickets.
‘You knew I wanted to run away so in the morning you called a travel agency and reserved two plane tickets to the city, right?’ Gu Jing asked.
Zhen Lang smiled and he led his wife to one of the restaurants at the airport. ‘What do you want to eat?’
Gu Jing shook her head and she gripped Zhen Lang’s hand. ‘Confess, did you plan everything?’
‘Plan everything? Since you were a child if you did something wrong you’ll panic and worry someone else will find out. Then you’ll run away. Yesterday gave you a scare, of course today you’ll run away,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing scrunched her face. ‘I’m not running away. I’m going back to work.’
Zhen Lang pulled his wife closer to him. ‘Then what do you want to eat? My loving wife hasn’t eaten dinner yet, do you want to eat something light at the airport?’
Gu Jing glared at Zhen Lang. ‘I don’t want to! The food at the airport isn’t appetizing.’
Zhen Lang caressed his wife’s lips with his free thumb. ‘Then how about later we’ll eat a spicy dinner together at a restaurant in the city?’
Gu Jing’s eyes lit up and she nodded her head. There was no room left in her head to think about how she would return to the city with a new status as Zhen Lang’s wife or about her promise to fulfil her wifely duties.
On the plan Gu Jing slept on Zhen Lang’s shoulder and she dreamt about spicy meat and seafood.
Zhen Lang caressed the calluses on his wife’s fingers from years of training, but he knew his wife didn’t care about owning feminine fingers.
Zhen Lang lifted Gu Jing’s hand to his lips and he kissed her hand. She felt a strange itch and she stirred in her sleep.
‘Will it be inconvenient for you to wear a ring?’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘Don’t even think about it. You’re not allowed to put anything on my fingers. Wearing a ring will be uncomfortable to death. How can I go to training classes wearing a ring?’ Gu Jing mumbled.
Zhen Lang wrapped an arm around his wife and his free hand held her hand. She moved her head to a more comfortable spot on his shoulder and she slept.
Zhen Lang silently watched his wife sleep for two hours.
After the plane landed at the city airport Zhen Lang pinched his wife’s cheeks to wake her up. He poked her nose to shape her nose like a pig. ‘Hurry up and wake up. If you’re hungry then let’s go eat a spicy dinner.’
‘Um,’ Gu Jing said. In her half awake and half asleep state she sneezed. ‘Mr Vet, can we go home and shower first? I stink.’
Zhen Lang swept a finger down the bridge of his wife’s nose. ‘You’re not hungry?’
Gu Jing blinked her eyes several times to wake up and she pouted her lips. ‘I rather be hungry to death than stink to death.’
‘Ok, I’ll listen to everything you say,’ Zhen Lang said.
Zhen Lang took Gu Jing home in a taxi. When she arrived home she rushed to the bathroom and showered away her exhaustion and sleepiness.
Zhen Lang unpacked the suitcases in the living room. He sorted out his clothes and his wife’s clothes then he hung their clothes in a cupboard in their bedroom.
Zhen Lang unpacked the pink box last. He opened the pink box and he saw a red marriage certificate, a form and photo. In the photo his wife sat next to him, she looked like a lost little fool. He stroked her foolish face in the photo and he smiled.
‘Little fool, apart from you who else would I marry?’ Zhen Lang mumbled softly to himself.
Zhen Lang held the photo, he sat on the sofa and he sighed.
‘Ah!’ Gu Jing cried out from the bathroom.
Zhen Lang jumped off the sofa. ‘What’s wrong?’
Gu Jing remembered she put her dirty clothes into the washing machine and there were no towels in the bathroom. ‘Mr Vet, I forgot to put a clean outfit in the bathroom.’
Gu Jing heard Zhen Lang laughed softly. She opened the bathroom door from the inside and she saw an outfit hung on the coat hanger on the bathroom door handle outside. ‘Mr Vet, why did you give me this outfit?’
Gu Jing realised whenever Zhen Lang gave her an outfit it was always a dress. She wanted to ask him if he knew how uncomfortable it was to walk in a dress and heels. She preferred to wear pants and comfortable sneakers.
‘Then come outside and get the outfit you want to wear,’ Zhen Lang said.
Gu Jing reluctantly wore the dress. After Zhen Lang showered they walked to a nearby restaurant for a spicy dinner. Her body felt weak from hunger so she didn’t make a fuss about his arm wrapped around her waist.
‘Can I order spicy beef and seafood?’ Gu Jing asked.
‘Um,’ Zhen Lang said.
‘Can I order spicy tofu?’ Gu Jing asked.
‘Um,’ Zhen Lang asked.
‘Mr Vet, I’m really hungry,’ Gu Jing said.
‘Hungry enough that you don’t want to move? Then I’ll piggyback you,’ Zhen Lang said.
Suddenly Zhen Lang stopped walking. Gu Jing turned her head a