When Joann and Xu Jing arrived at their home, Sylvia was already asleep and Mrs. Xu was still working in the home office.
Xu Jing went to greet his mother while Joann rejected the invitation to come along and wandered upstairs, citing how tired she was feeling after a long day.
After Joann got out of her dress and changed into a more comfortable pyjamas, Xu Jing knocked and pushed open the bedroom door.
The man had a deep frown between his eyes and Joann deduced that the conversation he just had with his mother, probably about the family business, did not go so well.
However, Xu Jing immediately turned his frown upside-down and smiled at his wife as he walked into the room.
The man never mixed his business life with his private life so Joann was spared the boring business talk that she would not have understood anyway.
This was a quality she appreciated in her husband. She did not like being roped into his business and she was thankful that Xu Jing had never once tried to dump his business problem on her.
Little did she know it was not that Xu Jing did not wish to share and discuss his company problem with his wife, but before they got married, Joann once shared her philosophy on the clear separation of working and private life. She expressed the opinion that a couple should not entangle themselves into each other's working life. Each party should be responsible for his or her business and the other should be wise to stay out of the other's professional life and not intervene.
Viewed from another perspective, this also meant that she frowned upon her partner oversharing his professional problems. To put it simply, Joann did not wish for her partner to meddle into her professional life nor did she want to get bogged down by his. She liked to be independent and appreciated independence in others.
Therefore, Xu Jing's reticence was another one of the man's accommodating ways towards his wife.
Joann was undoing her make-up at the make-up table and Xu Jing walked to stand behind her. He then bent down to hug his wife from behind.
"Xu Jing, what are you doing? You are going to ruin my make-up," complained Joann jokingly.
This only made Xu Jing hug her even tighter. The man snuggled his face into the nape of her neck, breathed in her scent and asked, "Isn't Xiu Ling's baby boy the cutest thing ever?"
"He is," answered Joann.
"Doesn't he make you want to…" Xu Jing paused before continuing cautiously, "Have another one of your own?"
Joann frowned immediately and sighed, "This again? Haven't we already discussed this at the start of the year?"
"Honey, I know we have talked about delaying the possibility of us having a second child but it has been years already. Don't you think it is about time?" Xu Jing said as he nuzzled at Joann's neck like a kitten.
Joann swatted at the top of his head, causing the man to fall back and grumble with an "ouch". He understood that was his wife's way of saying, 'not yet'.
Xu Jing sat on the bed and tried to plead his case, "Why not? Honey, we are not getting any younger and the biological clock is ticking." He even raised his finger to tap repeatedly on his imaginary wrist watch to signify time was running out.
The mention of age probably rubbed Joann the wrong way. She replied in a tone that was not too friendly, "I have already told you. It is still too soon. We are definitely not yet ready to bring another child into this world."
"But honey, I believe we are. Think about how much joy a new baby will bring, mother will be glad to have another grandchild and Sylvia will definitely be overjoyed to have a younger sister or brother!"
"You have spent your whole life thinking about them, but what about me? Do you know how much a pregnancy will affect my life?
"Do you know how many roles I will be forced to turn down if I am pregnant? Are you deliberately trying to sabotage my career?" Joann bombarded Xu Jing.
Xu Jing knew his wife had the tendency to go a bit overboard when agitated so he did not take her verbal jab to heart. He tried his best to placate her by saying, "Honey, of course not. I would not do something like that, but it is true that it is within our life plan to have another child…"
Joann cut him off by saying, "And I have already told you during our previous discussion that it will have to wait until I have established my career first. I need to build an identity for myself first before I am forced into the role of a mother. I do not want to end up as one of those miserable ladies who have nothing to orient their lives around other than their family and children."
"Of course, I understand that. I would not want you to feel caged inside a role…" Xu Jing began but before he could continue, Joann interrupted him again, "In any case, you will not be the one who carries the baby so you will never understand my problem and consideration.
"This body is mine and so naturally I make the decision. No baby for the near future and that is the end of this discussion," concluded Joann firmly.
She then turned back to the mirror to finish shedding the rest of her make-up and Xu Jing was left with her back to communicate to, which was in other words, the end of the one-sided discussion.
Xu Jing sighed silently to himself and got up to use the bathroom. As he brushed his teeth, a thought that he knew he should not entertain entered his mind, 'Sometimes, I find her more understanding than Joann. She would definitely be able to understand my concern…'