"Mom, I am home!" Dianna screamed on top of her lungs. Despite staying at an apartment, the young doctor never bothered to tone down her voice. Coupled with a mother who is more of a general who shouts out her commands, the mother-daughter duo's shouting match and antics are a normal day to day occurrence for all the neighbors and they never pretty much bothered.
"Du Li, come here this instant!" Wang Yang Li, the mother, roared from her daughter's bedroom. Understanding where her mother was, Dianna ran to her room,
"Mom! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Du Li?", she screamed at her mother.
Facing the strict mother, the young woman crossed her arms and with her usual resting bitch face of an expression, waiting for an explanation. But her mother never backed down.
"I will call you however I want, you brat. But how dare you scream at me? Where is your filial piety? Have they escaped from you by not using them for long?"
"My filial piety right here, mom. Why does that have to do with standing in my room calling me in the name that grandpa put for me? Don't you know I hate that name?"
"Why? Because you are Chinese?", her mother bellowed.
"We, the Wangs, are an ancient Chinese family, descended from great kings and generals. You will carry that name with pride, Du Li."
Dianna, now with the only intention to rile up her short tempered mother, said, "If you wanted to carry forward your legacy that much, why did you marry a foreigner? You just had to get seduced by Dad, didn't you?"
"You!!!! How disrespectful of you. I didn't get seduced! 100 push-ups now, Wang Du Li," The matriarch roared, albeit a blush climbing her face, reminiscing the romance filled days when she met her husband and the dating period thereafter.
Dianna always held immense respect for her father. With his gentleness, her father, Arnold Matthews, had managed to tame her wild mother and smoothed her sharpen edges. Despite her not being a huge fan of love and romance, the young doctors always felt like her parent's love story was the stuff of the legends.
Wang Du Li (Dianna) and her twin brother, Wang Zi (Apollo) are the only children of Arnold Matthews, the British English Professor of Hong Kong University and Wang Yang Li, the Director General of Police, Hong Kong. Their English names are the courtesy of their father who is a die hard fan of the Greek Mythology, though their personalities turned out the opposite.
Unlike Wang Du Li, who is pretty much the carbon copy of her mother, personality wise, her brother is pretty much their father, mellow and gentle. But that doesn't mean he does not carry the blood of the Great Wangs. Wang Zi had proven his leadership capabilities by following his passion - graphic designing - and then being the head of his own company which, Dianna will never confess to her brother's face, is doing very well and gaining a steady climb in profits.
Back to Dianna, she hurries to finish her 100 push-ups to start packing for gym. Twice every week (Wednesday and Friday), the young doctor comes home very early for one of her hobbies, M.M.A (Mixed Martial Arts). Being the champion during her university days and memories of danger in one of it's close calls (because some people cannot just leave her alone and want to use her to bait her mother), Dianna never wants to lose its touch and the rush of adrenaline in her veins is a plus she never wants to abandon.
After completing her warm up/punishment, the young woman hurries to the wardrobe and haphazardly pulls out her clothes in search of her gym attire. Seeing this horrifying sight, Wang Yang Li almost blows off her fuse but reels back in immediately. Being her mother, she knew that her daughter will not hear anything when in a one track mind and Du Li is now in that state. With a sigh, she left the room.
Unexpectedly, her mother's sigh penetrates Dianna's concentration and she turns back to ask her why she is home only to find her gone.
"Mom, why are you home early? Did you catch all the criminals in Hong Kong?", Dianna asked mockingly. But her mother's voice never replied immediately. It was only a while later an answer,a subdued one, was granted to her,
"My aunt and her family are coming to visit us today night for dinner at 8 pm."
Hearing this answer, all sounds cease in the house and then in a sudden move, Dianna rampages to the living room like a rhinoceros to her mother.
"Why? What is the need for the old hag to come here ? I really don't have the patience to listen to her harp about her granddaughters finding good husbands while I rot away my youth."
Wang Yang Li glared but had no heat behind it. How can she fault her own daughter when she thought of the old woman's visit with the same concern and a sense of irritation? Despite the great legacy and bravery in her surname, Wang Yang Li didn't have it easy to be where she is now. In her youth, her family was the main obstacle. They believed in women tending to their husbands, family and their home and condone anyone who stands out. It was considered a disgrace for her family if one of their women joined the police. But not her father, though. That sweet man, burly yet soft, which slightly reminds her of her own husband, encouraged her to pursue her dream, saying that Wangs are leaders, we lead by example. She still carried that motto to this day and teaches this constantly to her children everyday.
In fact, she still remembers her aunt when she officially joined the force. That aunt came to her discreetly, sneaking around her brother, Yang Li's father (because, honestly, she was scared of her brother.) and not so subtly convinced her to give up in a not-so-pretty way at all. To quote her exact words,
"Yang Li! You are not going to get a good husband anyway with that boorish personality of yours. Now with this masculine job, which man would even want you?"
Ouch!!
28 years later, though, with a wonderful and handsome husband (truthfully a really great catch) and two wonderful children, Wang Yang Li really wants to rub it on that old hag's face with her successful life.
Now she is sure that old woman will target Dianna whom she had last met in the latter's later teenage years. Oooooohhhhh! She cant wait for her daughter to put that hag into her place.
Unfortunately, Dianna had other plans. Unaware of her mother's passive revenge plan, the young doctor already changed her attire, standing freshly bathed. While her mother is still in her past memories, the young doctor is all set to leave the house. Dianna smirked looking at her mother still in a daze and lovingly kissed her cheeks immediately making the older woman alert.
"Mom! You are a one woman army. And an old hag and her battalion of barbie of fragile barbie dolls cannot defeat the great Director General of Police."
Wang Yang Li, in her daughter's rare show of appreciation, almost reciprocated her affection when the door bell suddenly rang.....