Chapter 28: No love.
In the comfort of her bedroom that night, Mei Mei thought about the events of the last two days, from when she set out to the airport to welcome back her husband to when she finally punched him. She thought about the money in her hands now, the system and Jingzhe’s chest.
She shook her head and slapped her cheek lightly. "I am crazy, what am I thinking about? Jun Meilin, you cannot go there, brother-in-law, he is your brother-in-law. No matter how much you dislike your husband and haven’t been intimate with him in..." She stopped mumbling and recalled the time Mo Liang had showed any attraction towards her. It had been close to seven years.
After she gave birth to Mingzhu, he never came close to her, they even slept in separate bedrooms. She raised her left hand and count the number of times they had been intimate, it was four. It was not even enough for a high five.
"It turns out that I am the one that has been living like a widow all these years." she whispered to herself. "Why in the world was I still married to him all this while?"
"Why did you marry him in the first place?" C4 asked her. "Was it really love?"
On the system’s virtual screen a questionnaire appeared, it was titled self reflective questions to help you explore your feelings.
"I will read the questions and you will answer with a yes or no." C4 informed her. "Question one, does his smile light up your world?"
"Hell no." Mei Mei answered strongly. "It makes me want to pick up a razor and turn it into a clown smile permanently."
A big X appeared beside the question and C4 moved to the next one. "Do you think about him frequently?"
Mei Mei took a moment to answer that question, in the past she did. When he was in space, initially she did think about him often but later, as his communication became lacking and all the burdens on her grew, her thoughts were occupied by other things. "Not as much as I thought I did." She admitted loudly.
"Question three, do you share your vulnerabilities, and quirks with him without fear of judgement?"
"No." That answer was quick to run out of her mouth. In the beginning, he used to be understanding but after marriage, he changed. He told her her stern attitude was too aggressive, her energy too masculine, her spoiled nature was annoying. When she could hardly do any chores by hand, he called her lazy.
The first time she cried because his mother hurled insults at her when she had just given birth to Mingzhu he had called her a foolish and embarrassing. Then, he told her to grow some thick skin because his mother had been raised in the countryside and she could not adjust to a spoiled princess. After that, no matter what ugly thing his mother said, she never responded or complained.
Mei Mei shook her head, "Definitely no."
"Do you appreciate him wholly and accept his imperfections?"
"No." That was a quick one too. If she accepted his imperfections, she would have welcomed Mo Hao home and embraced Tang Yue. She would still be in the old house, trying to please those blood sucking demons.
"Do you feel the need to prioritize his needs and happiness, even when you must compromise?"
"Not anymore."
"Does your heart skip a beat at the thought of him?
She thought about it and shook her head. "Not in six years at least. It could be seven because after I left my family things changed quickly. I guess I just didn’t want to admit that I had made the wrong choice so I refused to see the writing on the wall."
"Do you see a future with him?"
"No, Hell no, Goodness no, absolutely not. I would rather die than have a future with him. No...I would rather kill him. Why should I be the one to die?"
"Last question?" C4 said and the page turned on the screen. "Do you respect or admire him?"
Mei Mei snorted in response.
"Message received." T4 said. "Conclusion from this test is that you do not have any romantic feelings for Mo Liang. "In my opinion, he saved your life so you felt guilty towards him. He latched onto you and morally kidnapped you and in the end you were hoodwinked into a marriage.
Maybe once upon a time when you were young you thought you were in love. Perhaps you were actually in love then, it is not impossible but now, currently, you have no positive feelings towards him whatsoever. Maybe it is time for you to reassess what it was that you truly sought in a partner back then. If Mo Liang had not been in the picture, what was your ideal man?
Take your time finding the answers, there is no rush. For now the system has a mission.
[New Mission: You promised Mo Jingzhe a job as your assistant. Where is the job? You have five hours to come up with a business and draft a business plan that the system finds passable.
Failure: A new allergy for Mingzhu.
Reward: Start up capital or tools for the business.]
"Ah!" a small sound of astonishment came from Mei Mei. "System, I did not consent to my daughter being pulled into this madness."
The system screen went dark and only the words ’I am on a break’ were left behind.
"Come out." she yelled.
She yelled three more times but the system did not make an appearance, someone else did. There was a knock on the door, worried that it was Mingzhu who had escaped the clutches of her new grandmother Mei Mei hurried to open the door.
It was not Mingzhu on the other side but Mo Jingzhe. He was fully dressed in sweat pants an white vest. His chest was covered up but his biceps were not.
"Sister, I heard yelling so I was worried. Are you okay?" He looked at her feet and gasped. "Sister, why are you walking around barefoot? What if you catch a cold, what will Mingzhu and I do?"
Before Mei Mei could respond, she was suddenly swept off her feet and carried to bed.