She was still in a daze trying to register her decisions while he drove her home after keying her address into his GPS. It was nearly half an hour's trip when they reached the narrow road up her place.
"You can leave me here. It is too narrow for you to drive any further." She said as she unbuckled the seat belt.
"Ting Ting, where is your house?" His eyes darted over the whole surrounding which looked shabby as she rolled her eyes at her nickname. At first, it got her really annoyed but then she eventually felt comfortable letting him in doing so. Probably because Qiu Wen always make it sound in a higher pitch like the rings of the bells that made her less agitated.
Xue Ting pointed to her left at the three-story house. "That building, on the third floor."
She stepped out of the car when Qui Wen finally noticed the area to be of low-cost housing and he knew life must be extremely difficult for her especially when she had to raise not one but two children all along. He was eager to jump right in to provide her with the most comfortable life she could ever ask for.
"Pack your stuff with the twins and move in tomorrow." He instantly instructed the moment he got out of the car.
She squinted her eyes in annoyance as she instantly regretted helping him.
"I am your wife by law, but I still need you to respect my privacy. Qiu Wen, I haven't even explained anything to my twins about our circumstances and it's the middle of the month, I still have a tenancy agreement to fulfill! It would be a waste to just leave mid-month since my rent was paid."
"I will cover all the expenses as compensation. As I said, our contract agreement clearly said you are needed and required on family occasions. I am required to go to my family's house tomorrow in Wai Tao City. The earlier you and the kids moved in the easier to cover up the lie. I understand your predicaments but please do understand mine as well… Besides, I do need to uplift my reputation. What would others think of me when my wife stays in a low-cost housing area?" Qiu Wen realised the expression on Xue Ting's face was changing to disbelief and he knew she was going to snap.
"Tang Qiu Wen! Who do you think you are?! Is this how you think of me to accommodate you after I rescued you from the crisis? And yet we need to go to Wai Tao leaving my children behind?! Do you understand how is it to be a parent? Oh, no you don't! I forgot you were freaking betroth from young! Why would you give a damn?!" Xue Ting was furious at his reckless comments that she nearly threw her heels at him but instead, she stormed off trying to keep herself under control as the thought of the excessive amount of money she had to compensate as a consequence crossed her mind. Qiu Wen knew his intention was misunderstood as he quickly chased after her.
"I'm sorry… Ting Ting… I was merely worried about your safety and the kids that I suggested to move out earlier…" He continued to go after her as she stormed furiously without trying to listen to his explanation. When they were close to the stairs leading up to her house, he heard someone calling out to her.
"Mummy!" A cheerful voice was heard as he turned around and saw two tall teenagers walking toward them while the girl who resembled mini Xue Ting was skipping exactly the way Xue Ting always did back then in high school.
"Qiu Qiu! Xin Xin! You're home!" Xue Ting called out cheerfully Qiu Xin's and Xin Qiu's nicknames absentmindedly forgetting Qiu Wen was still around as she smiled seeing her twins skipping while half jogging towards her.
"You're home early mummy!" Joy(Xin Qiu) said as she helped to tuck Xue Ting's loose fringe behind her ear. Qiu Wen was watching their every move as though he was watching the exact reflection of himself and Xue Ting in high school. For a moment, Qiu Wen felt like he had a complete family with Xue Ting which he had secretly always dreamt of back then.
"Mummy, who's that?" Matthew(Qiu Xin) being always observant noticed Qiu Wen standing watching them all the while.
Xue Ting sighed in realisation of her earlier situation which was wiped out by the joy of seeing her twins returning home safely as she walked back down towards them.
"Mummy needs to talk to the both of you." Her voice turned serious and stern which made the smiles on the twins disappear for a moment.
"This is Uncle Ryan. He… is your biological… father's best friend. Somehow he had a situation and mummy had to help him out… so…" Xue Ting decided to introduce him by his English name to keep things simple and she nearly stopped at biological father which was a fact she would never let him know.
Matthew greeted him with a tight smile feeling skeptical about him as he noticed the frustration on his mother's face.
Joy was oblivious to the tense situation as she instantly walked toward Qiu Wen and greeted him.
"Uncle Ryan, thank you for sending my mummy home." She smiled sweetly as given her nature, she was always the easy-going and sociable one. Her sweet self melted Qiu Wen's heart almost instantly.
Qiu Wen was star-struck once again as he stared long and hard at the twins who were taller than their mother and were around his height. "Hello…"
"Qiu Qiu… How can you be so easy going really?" Xue Ting complained as she covered her forehead with her right palm. She half blamed her own traits for being the easygoing one while Matthew took the traits of Qiu Wen being observant, and protective but shy at times.
"I haven't finished. We need to move out of the house and stay with Uncle Ryan…" Xue Ting added hoping the kids would rebel.
"What? Why?" Matthew panicked as expected.
Joy made an "O" with her open mouth as she smiled in surprise but loved the idea which made Xue Ting give her a stern look with a finger pointing at her this time.
"You! Behave yourself!" Xue Ting scolded her daughter as Joy raised her hand in surrender while she pouted.
"Mummy had to sign a marriage contract with Uncle Ryan, which would last for six months." Xue Ting continued to explain the situation to her twins calmly.
"Mummy, why?!" Matthew yelped in disbelief.
"Mummy, is there something wrong? Why did you do that? Mummy, are you sure about this?" Matthew was in disbelief as he stood towering in front of his mother questioning her worriedly, covering her from Qiu Wen and Joy.
Matthew's continuous questions made Qiu Wen realise he needed to step in and explain.
"I'm sorry to cause everyone trouble…" He started.
"Oh yes, you do! Trouble, hmph!" Xue Ting rolled her eyes as she scolded in her heart.
"My mother had put me into a situation where if I don't keep my marriage for a while, there is compensation to pay as a fine because of an annulled marriage. She will also send us both to jail. I was betrothed to someone out of the corporate marriage but your mother here has come to my rescue."
With that, both twins stood star-struck looking at both adults.
"I'm sorry, I know my family is very absurd but rest assured, I will ensure everyone's safety and stay abiding by the contract I have arranged with your mother. Don't worry much as my family is often in Wai Tao city and am here alone." Qiu Wen continued.
"So, as mentioned I do hope you all could move into my house here in Cravine soonest possible to keep all these arrangements discreet."
Xue Ting gave a heavy sigh at the awkward silence. "Matthew, Joy, enter the house first. I will send Uncle Ryan off."
They both obediently followed Xue Ting's instructions as they knew when their mother addressed them by their English name, something bad was always lurking. They nodded to Qiu Wen indicating they were greeting him goodbye as he nodded in return.
"They grew up well…" Qiu Wen complimented as he walked closer to Xue Ting.
"Thank you and thank you for helping out with the explanation. About moving over, yes, I agree you do make a point… I will try to make arrangements to accommodate your request. Due to the last-minute rush, we have a lot of stuff from staying here for so long. We might need to come here for a while to slowly move out."
"I understand. But at least please move in tomorrow with them first. Pack some necessities first. I'm just worried about the safety rather…" Qiu Wen agreed as Xue Ting nodded, finally realising his purpose all along. The neighborhood wasn't a very safe one with a few burglaries reported lately after all.
"Ting Ting…" Her gaze twinkled at him in a response to his gentle call out to her nickname.
"Whose surname are they using?" Qiu Wen asked as Xue Ting's eyes darted away from him.
"Mine." Xue Ting replied solemnly feeling a little uncomfortable at the question.
"Oh… and they have English names too?" He continued on with his questions as Xue Ting nodded.
"Yes, Matthew and Joy." Xue Ting was trying hard to avoid such questions. She knew he had thousands of questions about her sixteen years of life when she left but she clearly had been trying to block them with her invisible concrete walls.
"And their Chinese name?" She sighed silently as her shoulders slumped down in defeat at this question which she already expected it.
"Joy Liew… Xin Qiu and Matthew Liew… Qiu Xin." Qiu Wen was taken aback as he realised she named them after James' Chinese name which was Chen Xin Xin; "Xin" meant happy, and the second syllable "Xin" meant happiness.
Qiu Wen smiled. "That's a lovely name. "Qiu" as in begging?"
Xue Ting's eyes darted away as she nodded into the lie.
Satisfied, he decided to make a move. "Alright, I will see you tomorrow early in the morning. We will get us registered first thing in the morning" She nodded as he walked a little closer toward her and gave her a peck on her forehead before walking back to his car.
It took her a while before she walked home after recovering from his simple unexpected gesture.
"Qiu, as in autumn." She corrected in her heart.
"The same syllable as yours Qiu Wen which meant autumn. But I can't let you know, Wen Wen." She thought to herself as she walked back into the house feeling half grateful but also weary at the uncertain future with him.