Chapter 1.3 (1/2)

Chapter One (Part 3 of 3)

Han Ting Ting walked carefully up the dark stairs that led to her home and she counted each step. She didn’t like Qing Song, like him, all she needed was someone decent to marry to ease their families’ worries.

Her grandpa was a soldier and for a period of ten years he was also a guard for Qin Song’s grandfather, Commander Zhang. When her family moved from the country to their new home, her grandpa hid from her dad that he called Commander Zhang for a favour.

Commander Zhang’s whole family were good and compa.s.sionate people. After her father settled into his new job through Commander Zhang’s connection, both families met up often like close friends that haven’t seen each other for a long time. At that time Qin Yun’s health was poor. The Qin and Zhang households prioritised Qin Song’s arranged marriage. Han Ting Ting was considered the best wife candidate for Qin Song.

Qin Song during that time was on the verge of losing his patience. During their first meeting they found out they were motivated to get married for the same reason and he decided that she was the one.

She and Qin Song agreed to be married for one year. After one year they were both free from the marriage to go their separate ways.

Qin Song added a special condition to their agreement that during their one year of marriage, she was not allowed to love him.

‘I think changing that condition to both sides can’t harbour any feelings for each other make more sense,’ she said.

Back then she wasn’t accustomed to Qin Song’s sharp way of speaking and made the suggestion purely out of fairness for both parties instead of to spite him.

Qin Song at that time he looked at her with distrust in his eyes, and was also the first time he looked at her carefully under a hostile atmosphere.

‘Don’t worry, you’re not my type!’ he said coldly.

She secretly cursed him. What a stinky brat! He didn’t having any manners at all!

After getting to know Qin Song better, the distance between them gradually lessen, she even felt that there was a part of him that was a little… naive like a child. It was plausible because inside each man was an inner child.

Kept in the dark shadow of her heart there was no sunlight, where no one could see, she carefully hid all her sorrows and didn’t allow herself to show her vulnerable side.

Close to the wedding day, what made Han Ting Ting happiest was her best friend Tu Tu’s visit. From trying out wedding contraptions, ordering clothes, going for bridal spa treatments… Tu Tu always went with her. It was like how it used to be back during their school days, they worked part time jobs together and did everything else as a pair and were joined at the hip.

Qin Song wasn’t pleased with their closeness, one of Han Ting Ting’s kind was enough, a clone of her was too much to bear.

The distinction between the two was that Tu Tu had a sharper wit and spoke more sarcastically than Han Ting Ting.

Qin Song and Tu Tu’s personalities clashed for that reason, fortunately Han Ting Ting was there to mediate their quarrels. Qin Song was also preoccupied with a mountain workload that needed to be done and that helped to lessen the spare time to exchange verbal blows with Tu Tu. Time flew by fast and in a blink of an eye Qin Song and Han Ting Ting’s wedding day arrived.

Qin Yun’s poor health meant he didn’t have spare energy to waste, instead of a grand wedding the wedding was simple. When picking up the bride, roads were closed for the wedding convoy of cars that drove b.u.mper to b.u.mper like a dragon moving through the curves of the roads.

Behind the groom were the other five famous Liang’s sworn brothers. Out of them Han Ting Ting had met Li Wei Ran the most times, because he was Zhang Yu’s nephew and Qin Song’s older cousin.

The Han’s family home was located in a non-flashy area a.s.signed by the employer of Han Ting Ting’s dad. The house was built years ago, her mum had cleaned it well but the house was still shabby in contrast to the six attractive sworn brothers.

Her dad was more of a practical than a sentimental person. When he saw it was time for the bride to leave he hurried his wife and daughter along who were clinging to each other delaying the inevitable.

‘Enough, let our daughter go!’ dad said.

Her dad’s words caused her mum let out a dam of tears.

She was reluctant to let her mum go and wiped her mum’s tears. ‘Mum, it’s time for me to go.’

‘Ting Bao, be good…’ mum said. ‘Be good!’

Her mum didn’t know what else to say and kept mumbling the same things.

She nodded and cried at the same time.

She turned in her dad’s direction. ‘Dad, give yourself plenty of rest too, you don’t need to take on investigations that put your life under threat!’

‘Kiddo! What are saying?’ dad said.

Her dad’s pa.s.sion for his line of work has not diminished over the decades. But in consideration for his daughter’s wedding day, he let go of her bagging his work ethics. ‘Ok, I’ll be more careful! Ting Ting, after you’re married to Qin Song, be a filial daughter-in-law for the Qin household.’

She listened to her dad’s advice and nodded.

Qin Song was suppressing his impatience whilst watching the separation scene of the Han household. It was his sworn brothers’ threatening looks aimed at him to break up the bride’s family that forced him to intervene.

‘Dad, mum, I’ll look after… Ting Ting. Dad, mum, rest a.s.sured that you can hand her over to me!’ Qin Song said and felt like there was a heavy cold sensation on his back.

Ting’s dad clutched his hand like a soldier. Qin Song thought Ting’s dad was going to threaten him if he bully the Han family’s little darling daughter then he’d have to answer to Ting’s dad. Unexpectedly Qin Song’s train of thought was off base.

‘Qin Song, in the future if Ting Ting does something wrong, go ahead and discipline her!’ Ting’s dad said.

Qin Song was overjoyed to hear Ting’s dad’s permission to discipline Ting, grinned widely and nodded in full agreement. ‘Yes, dad!’

Everyone in the room apart from Ting’s parents that saw Qin Song’s mood lifted from his exchange with his father-in-law, all turned their heads around and sighed.

Han Ting Ting knew that her wedding day was a pretense and only felt burdened, there was no sense of antic.i.p.ation and nervousness that a bride should have. When she was saying goodbye to her parents, her mum cried until her mum’s eyes were swollen and her dad who was usually hot blooded gave off a vibe that he was a little choked up.

Then she entered the wedding car and when the wheels spun to depart, from the rear window she saw her dad supporting her mum upright, she felt a sting in her nose and felt oppressed by an ache on her chest.

Her parents forced her arranged marriage but she still loved her parents. In the world, only her parents loved her unconditionally more than anyone else.

Dad, Mum, I’m sorry!

Qin Song exhaled and leaned into his seat in a more comfortable position then he noticed the ‘little country bun’ beside him was silently crying, tears rolled onto her lace gloves and wedding dress. Her vulnerable side startled him.

‘Ahem…’ Qin Song coughed.

Tu Tu who sat at the front pa.s.senger seat glared at him through the front mirror. He took out his handkerchief tucked in his vest and pa.s.sed it to Han Ting Ting.

The more Han Ting Ting thought about the past the more she was heartbroken, all the bottled injustices starting from a year ago were overflowing inside her heart. The sight of her parents leaning on each other made her regret her foolish desires in the past and felt her heart was cut apart by a knife.

Han Ting Ting’s tears wouldn’t stop flowing down, her layer of fake eyelashes was coming off and it made Qin Song panic.

‘Hey!’ Qin Song said. ‘Stop crying!’