Chen Mu's parents were having their gardening routine when Chen Mu brought everyone else home. He whispered, "Shhhh, give them a surprise."
Chen Nan, Susu and Ariana nodded and followed closely from behind as they snuck to the garden area. They covered their eyes as they prepared their hearts for the fluffs that they were about to witness.
Except, it was much quieter than expected. Chen Mu was the first to uncover his eyes to see what was going on. When he did, he saw his mother staring intently at a Chinese chess board game while his father sipped his tea calmly.
Chen Ting laughed, "Your turn."
"I know that! Give me another minute! It wont make you lose a strand of hair by waiting!" She observed every chess piece that she had and then at his. Back and forth, her minute became another five minutes.
"You see, I wouldn't lose a strand of hair... I'll lose every strand of hair by the time you make a move at this rate." He teased and purposely supported his chin using his palm as he watched his wife think of which move to play.
"If you keep distracting me, then I guarantee you that I'll shave you bald." She responded jokingly. Very quickly, his hands reached for his hair and covered it, "spare my already slow growing hair."
"Wow! Uncle is very evil." Susu made silent "tsk" sounds and shook her head. Ariana squinted from where Susu was standing and instantly agreed after getting a clearer view of the game, "very scheming, indeed."
"Huh?" Chen Mu and Chen Nan looked at the girls with such confused faces. They didn't see anything wrong with the chess match.
"No matter what moves that Auntie makes, she will end up losing because he already trapped her." Susu explained.
"Yep. It's like fatal at every corner. Uncle must enjoy setting this trap..." Ariana continued watching the old couple to see how the game would end even though the results are predictable.
"Xin Ya, how about we-" Chen Ting was about to suggest restarting the whole game over, but she made a move. Her finger pressed roughly against one of her pieces and she grinned as she moved it sideways, "I win!"
"Pfffft, what do you think this is? The beach where crabs walk sideways? Since when do horses run sideways? This move doesn't count!" Chen Ting laughed heartily at his wife's way of cheating.
"Who says horses can't go sideways? Hm? Tell me!" Xin Ya has caught his sly trick since the first game, but managed to fall into his tricks all the time. Since he used his psychological strategies to win, she could make direct attacks too!
"Uhmm.. I.. Uh...." Chen Ting reached for his tea and coughed lightly when he couldn't find words to talk back to his wife.
"Exactly~ And, who makes the rules in this house?" She crossed her arms and smiled at him.
"You..."
"Good, good. So when I say horses could go sideways, is it possible?" She asked him once again.
"Of course! Not just sideways. Even if you say horses could fly and throw up birds and rainbows, it will all be possible!" He could only blame himself for being a doting wife slave. 'Who told me to vow to always dote on her and let her win?' he silently reviewed the words in his mind that slapped him across his face.
"So that makes it... me, 10 points and you 0 points~~" She cheerfully hummed as she drew a tally mark on the chalkboard on the side.
"Pffft, oh my! Auntie and uncle are sweet as always! So adorable!" Susu and Ariana giggled while exchanging their thoughts.
"Who is it?" Chen Ting heard their tiny giggles from behind and turned around. Chen Mu walked out first while holding Susu's hands. Chen Nan and Ariana followed.
"Mom, dad, look who I brought home~ Surprise~~" Chen Mu held Susu's shoulder and pushed her to his parents who already had their arms opened for a welcome hug.
"Oh my!! My beautiful, beautiful Susu!!! Auntie missed you sooo much. Let me take a look at you. Has this squirt been feeding you properly? You look like you've lost a few pounds since I've seen you. What a pleasant surprise! Chen Mu finally decided to share his girlfriend with us. Sheesh, the last time I tried to convince him to bring you over, he sounded as if I was pulling his wisdom tooth out or something."
Xin Ya touched Susu's cheeks, shoulders and hands as she welcomed her. Meanwhile, Chen Ting gave Susu a light hug and said, "it's good to visit these old bones. Uncle missed playing chess with you. We need to catch up and see if your skills got better."
Chen Mu cleared his throat, and moved aside, "Ahem! We have two extremely special guests today as well. See if you could recognize them."
Xin Ya's smile froze, and her eyes were instantly filled up with tears, "Oh..Oh my.." Her eyes swelled up and hot tears escaped her eyes. Ariana and Chen Nan quickly comforted her and patted her back, "We're back. We're home. We're safe."
Ariana teared up and couldn't help but let out her tears while embracing her. Chen Nan hugged Chen Ting and said, "We're back...finally back.."
"It's good. Very good. Welcome...Welcome back. Uncle and Auntie have missed you two so much. How have you guys been? We lost contact back then and even investigated about your whereabouts, but nothing came up." Chen Ting wiped the corner of his eyes and patted the well-built man in front of him. He noticed that Ariana had grown up healthily as well.
Susu couldn't help but cover half her face with her hands as she felt the heartwarming, affectionate reunion in front of her. Chen Mu rubbed her back, "Aiya, my family are all crybabies. Let's go in and talk. It's windy out here."
Everyone were filled with smiles and joy as they walked back into the house in pairs.
- Tian Residence -
Tian Yuo coughed his way back home and went straight to the living room where Shen Wen circled around nonstop. Her lips were dry and chapped from her continuous teeth biting lip habit. Finally, she heard footsteps coming from the entrance.
Seeing her son limp while hugging his stomach startled her greatly. She immediately dialed for their family doctor to come to the residence. On the other hand, she helped him sit on the couch and anxiously asked, "How are you feeling? Where does it hurt?"
"Ughhh, I got hit in the stomach a few times, but I'm alright. It's just bruises. Here, it's the pill that you wanted me to take from Susu." Tian Yuo took out the medicine container from his pocket and handed it to her.
She sighed in relief, "Thank you, son. You did a great job! You've helped mom and dad a lot."
"But mom, why did you want me to bring her pills to you? Those are just birth control pills that she took while we were married. She says that it is vitamins, but Karen already checked it and told me that those were birth control pills."
"Son, why would you still believe in Karen's words? If these were regular vitamins, why would anyone set an alarm to take it? These pills shouldn't be birth control pills either since she doesn't have any chances of cheating on you while you two were married. Obviously, you didn't touch her like I told you to either. So those two options are definitely not it."
"But then, why would you want to know about it? It's her privacy."
"Son, it's for her own good. What if she's on drugs? Be a good boy. Let mom take care of this. You wait for the family doctor, okay? I have to get this to the lab." She kissed Tian Yuo on the forehead and pretended to walk upstairs to grab her bag. Immediately upon entering her room, she shut the door and locked it.
She poured everything out of the medicine container and checked for any differences between the pills. "Nothing..it's impossible. There must be something related to her somewhere...I've observed her for this long now. No way that I can't find it. No way.."
She took a picture of the pill and put a few pills in a clean lock bag for the labs. "What could these pills be? I've never seen such weird colored designed pills.." Whether she used magnifying glasses, fire to melt the pills or candles to see if the pills had any hidden messages, she couldn't find what she was looking for. At the end, she gave up and made a call to her husband and the lab assistant.