Emerald.
‘Tan Yuan, there’s nothing for you to worry about me,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I don’t want to use sickness for you to pity, believe and accept me. If you forgave me because of this, I don’t want us to fly home. I want to stay here to keep taking care of you and Xiao Bao until you truly accept me.’
‘Jiao Wu, I do believe you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I only needed time to work through my doubts. Even if I didn’t find out you’re sick, later on I would have forgiven you.’
‘Tan Yuan, thank you for believing me,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Now if I die, I won’t have any regrets.’
‘Jiao Wu, I’m begging you not say you’ll die,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘We’ll go to the hospital, and let the doctors examine you. You’re still young and strong. I don’t believe the heavens will take you away from me and Xiao Bao like this.’
‘Tan Yuan, you don’t need to worry about me,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I’m OK.’
‘Jiao Wu how can you be this nonchalant?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. ‘Can’t you listen to me? We’ll go to the hospital for your cancer treatments. You’ll recover, and live a long life with me and Xiao Bao…’
‘Tan Yuan, I’m not sick,’ Gu Jiao Wu said and let go of Qiao Tan Yuan. ‘Let’s go home.’
Xiao Bao looked curiously at Qiao Tan Yuan and the fir-tree. She didn’t know why they looked sad.
Gu Jiao Wu unbuckled Xiao Bao, picked up Xiao Bao and he carried Xiao Bao home.
Qiao Tan Yuan followed Gu Jiao Wu and Xiao Bao home in a daze.
At home, Gu Jiao Wu put Xiao Bao down in front of the coffee table and he gave Xiao Bao the teddy bear to play with. Then he opened his suitcase, he took out another medical report and he showed it to Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Jiao Wu, what is this?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Tan Yuan, my bad lifestyle habits gave me stomach ulcers,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But after I took medication for my stomach ulcers, I was still in pain. The doctor gave me a faecal occult blood test, and a referral to have a colonoscopy. The results you saw was my faecal occult blood test results. When the doctor told me I had bowel cancer, my first reaction was I needed to take you and Xiao Bao home. Lucky I went to get a colonoscopy. This is the results of my colonoscopy. Tan Yuan, I don’t have bowel cancer. The lab accidently mixed up my faecal occult blood test results with another patient.’
‘Jiao Wu, tell me you’re not joking,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Tell me you’re not sick.’
‘Tan Yuan, I’m not joking,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But I need to eat and sleep better.’
Qiao Tan Yuan hit Gu Jiao Wu’s chest lightly.
‘Jiao Wu, you’re too much,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Why didn’t you throw out the results you left in your jacket? Do you know how much you scared me? I thought you were sick… I thought you were dying… I…’
Qiao Tan Yuan cried joyful tears. When she thought Gu Jiao Wu was dying, her world collapsed.
‘Tan Yuan, don’t cry anymore,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I’m OK. You don’t know how scared I was when I thought I had to leave you and Xiao Bao. You and Xiao Bao are my world.’
‘Jiao Wu, you’re hateful,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Yes, I’m hateful,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘The truth is I thought about showing you the wrong results to get you to forgive me. But I didn’t want you to forgive me out of pity. I wanted you to forgive me because you love me.’
‘Jiao Wu, you’re hateful…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Yes, yes,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Will you forgive me, and accept my love?’
‘Do I have a choice to say no?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Yes,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘If you say no, I’ll stay here with you and Xiao Bao until you forgive me.’
‘What if I don’t forgive you?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Then I’ll stay here forever with you and Xiao Bao,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘As long as I’m with you and Xiao Bao, I’ll wait how long it takes for you to forgive me.’
‘You only know how to trick me,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Yes, yes,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But you’re the only person I want to trick.’
Gu Jiao Wu was a serious man by nature. In the past he rarely joked and bantered with Chu Da. Qiao Tan Yuan was the only exception. He joked and bantered with Qiao Tan Yuan often because he wanted to see her smile.
‘Really?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. She looked at Xiao Bao playing with the teddy bear. ‘What about Xiao Bao?’
‘Tan Yuan, are you jealous of our daughter?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked and smiled.
‘Why would I be jealous of our daughter?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. Her face turned pink. ‘In the future you can’t scare me and Xiao Bao.’
Gu Jiao Wu hugged Qiao Tan Yuan, and he kissed her embarrassed lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and she kissed him back. He pressed her closer to him, and she felt his erection against her stomach. They kissed each other until they ran out of breath.
‘Dada, mama,’ Xiao Bao called.
Qiao Tan Yuan squatted in front of Xiao Bao.
‘Xiao Bao, what’s wrong?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Dada, mama, kiss, kiss,’ Xiao Bao said.
Qiao Tan Yuan gave Gu Jiao Wu a look that told him to take care of the embarrassing situation.
Gu Jiao Wu smiled, he picked up Xiao Bao and he kissed Xiao Bao’s cheeks.
‘Xiao Bao, daddy kiss mummy because daddy loves mummy,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Daddy kiss Xiao Bao because daddy loves Xiao Bao too.’
‘Dada, love,’ Xiao Bao said.
Qiao Tan Yuan kissed Xiao Bao’s cheeks too.
‘Mummy loves Xiao Bao too,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Love, love,’ Xiao Bao said.
‘Tan Yuan, let’s go home together,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Um, let’s go home together,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu, Qiao Tan Yuan and Xiao Bao flew home to the Gu Mansion. The elders loved having Xiao Bao home, especially Wang Tu Ya who took Xiao Bao everywhere to show off Xiao Bao.
Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan were reassured Xiao Bao was well looked after at the Gu Mansion. Gu Jiao Wu helped Wang Tu Ya manage Wang’s company, and Qiao Tan Yuan returned to work at Qiao’s company. Occasionally Gu Jiao Wu would take Qiao Tan Yuan out to eat dinner with just the two of them.
A week later, Gu Jiao Wu reserved a restaurant for dinner. Qiao Tan Yuan wanted to take Xiao Bao out to eat dinner with them that night, but he was adamant Xiao Bao had to stay home with the elders that night.
At the restaurant Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan sat at their reserved table. He thought she looked beautiful in the green dress and emerald necklace.
‘Tan Yuan, you look beautiful today,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘What about other days?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Tan Yuan, you’re beautiful on other days too,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But you’re especially beautiful today.’
‘You’re becoming more of a sweet talker by the day,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan was happy to hear Gu Jiao Wu praised her, because in the past he didn’t praise her unless he praised her to mock her.
The waiter brought the dinner dishes Gu Jiao Wu ordered to the table.
Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan happily ate their dinner together in a comfortable silence.
The waiter cleared Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan’s table after dinner, and another waiter wheeled out a heart shaped birthday cake. An orchestra and a singer appeared on stage to play and sing a happy birthday song for Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Tan Yuan, happy birthday,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan was too moved to speak. She didn’t think Gu Jiao Wu remembered her birthday.
Gu Jiao Wu knelt in front of Qiao Tan Yuan, and he presented her a diamond ring.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan, will you marry me?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked. ‘I promise I’ll love you, cherish you and to make you happy for the rest of our lives.’
‘Jiao Wu…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. She was nervous to have everyone at the restaurant looking at her and Gu Jiao Wu. ‘I thought you forgot.’
‘Tan Yuan, I promise I won’t forget your birthday, Xiao Bao’s birthday and our wedding anniversary,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Miss Qiao Tan Yuan, can you give me another chance to be your husband and let me make you happy?’
‘Jiao Wu… I… yes…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
End of Chapter 147