Chapter 11 - The House

It was as if Qing Zihao couldn't wait to have a grandchild by the way he had shooed Qing Chen and Feng Xuan out of the restaurant room.

Honestly, Feng Xuan felt like she could breathe better now that she was out of that space of their parents. But in doing so, it meant that she was alone with her new husband.

"Shall we?" she heard Qing Chen say after he said his farewells inside.

Feng Xuan pulled a smile to her face. "We shall."

They reached the elevator without uttering a single word. Feng Xuan felt like she should say something, anything just to clear this awkwardness between them. "Since when did you know?"

"About the wedding?" Qing Chen replied as the elevator started to go down. "Around three weeks ago."

Feng Xuan nodded. "I learned about it about two weeks ago."

"I heard you hadn't been back in Chengshi for seven years," Qing Chen said, "A lot of things changed around here."

"Yeah. There are a lot new places I want to visit."

"Let me know. Maybe I'll give you a tour."

Feng Xuan turned her face to Qing Chen. "Really?"

"Sure. If I'm not busy."

"I take it that your office is inside this hotel?"

"Yes, it is."

"Does that mean I'll always find you here?"

"I'm here most of the time."

The elevator stopped and they both stepped out. Feng Xuan was about to say something but then she suddenly felt pain on her feet. Her ankles were getting skinned by her shoes and she hissed under her breath.

Qing Chen immediately stopped walking. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. These are new shoes. They hurt," she whispered. "Do you mind if I take them off before my ankles bleed?"

"I don't," he said and lend his hand out.

Feng Xuan held onto Qing Chen's hand as she reached for both her shoes and held them by the heels. The lobby floor was more than just cold and by the time she straightened her back, Qing Chen had thrown a pair of slippers on the floor.

Feng Xuan laughed. "Do you carry hotel slippers with you?"

"I wish I did. A bellhop handed them to me."

"Oh wow, great customer care then." She slipped the comfortable, surprisingly soft and and thick hotel slippers on her feet.

Qing Chen noticed that Feng Xuan paid no attention to the people looking at her as she shamelessly pulled her shoes off and was about to walk on the lobby barefooted. That was one more thing he would like to add to the list "Things I Know About My Wife".

"Is that better?" he asked.

"So much better, thank you."

He let go of her hand and they both exited the hotel. A limousine was already waiting for them and they immediately hopped in.

It was not Feng Xuan's father's limousine. Oh no, they were going to their honeymoon, right?! "Where are we going?"

"To our house." The word 'our' sounded strange even from Qing Chen's own lips. He better get used to it because from now on it was 'our/s' and 'theirs'.

"Right," Feng Xuan said, looking out the window. A house and not in some strange mystical island then. This was the first time she was leaving the hotel's premises, apart from the time she went to school for enrollment. She wanted to see more of the city but her father insisted she got married first before she wandered off. Feng Xuan thought her father was just scared she might disappear into thin air.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Feng Xuan turned her face a little, feeling thankful that Qing Chen was initiating a conversation. "Yeah?"

"I heard that you didn't want to know whom you were getting married to. But why did I see my picture on your phone earlier?"

Oh, shoot. Feng Xuan closed her eyes and clamped her lips. It felt like ages ago when that happened. She was entirely convinced that that embarrassing moment only happened in her head. Apparently, it did not.

"I really didn't want to know because for me, it did not really matter. I have to marry who my father chose. So what was the point? However, while I was getting ready earlier, my cousin's tongue slipped and mentioned Qing. I only looked you up when I was out of my room."

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Feng Xuan was not also sure why. "I was tempted, I think. I didn't know that name before so I couldn't look it up but when it came to me…"

"Deep inside you really wanted to know, then."

"Of course!" she finally admitted even to herself. "I am honestly surprised you're taking this easy."

"Easy?" he laughed. "I am not. That was why I was quiet all the time because I didn't want to do anything stupid."

"Like I did," Feng Xuan added.

Qing Chen rode along. "Like you did."

Feng Xuan smiled. So he was not that serious after all. Maybe he was just feeling the pressure of their parents earlier. He seemed to smile and laugh a lot. He just had this brooding face.

"Have you been to… our house?" she asked. The word 'our' almost didn't leave her lips, like her tongue wanted to roll backwards. But it was their house, wasn't it? Their first property together.

"No," he answered. He was also looking out of the window. He had been going to this place everyday that he could probably draw the entire neighborhood with his eyes closed. "But I've seen the blueprints. It's actually close to the hotel, just about the other side by the sea, up a hill."

Qing Chen grabbed the black canister from the seat in front and handed it to Feng Xuan. "Here, this is your father's wedding present."

Feng Xuan popped the lid open and turned it upside down. A set of keys came from the opening as well as rolled wide papers. "He gave us a house?!"

"Your father is in construction, it's only seems natural for him to do so."

Feng Xuan ignored the keys and pulled out the rolls of paper. Qing Chen turned on the lights and watched as Feng Xuan closely examined each roll. There was a blueprint for every room of the house.

"This is a big house," she said, almost breathless.

"It is."

"There's a pool!" she said, almost not believing. "There are three outdoor living rooms?!"

Qing Chen couldn't help but smile at his wife's exclamations.

"What am I supposed to do with six bedrooms?!"

"You can turn them into an office for now, or perhaps a walk-in closet. You'll have a space of your own."

Feng Xuan lightly bit on her lip. She would get her own space and that meant Qing Chen would also have his space. It brought an unsettling feeling in her stomach. They haven't even reached the house and it seemed like they were already putting a line on what belonged to her and what belonged to him.

Questions popped in her mind: What if he would spent all his time in his home office? How were they supposed to get close then?

Feng Xuan swallowed all the questions and tabbed them under "Saved For Later" in her mind.

"We're here," Qing Chen told her.

A metal gate opened and their car went up on a short slope. Feng Xuan turned to the last page of the rolls. "Wait," she said, looking at the colored picture. "I know this house."

"You've been here?"

"No." It felt like something was stuck on her throat and tears threatened to fall. But she was not going to cry the first night she was with her husband. "It's my mom's house."

Finally, the huge mansion came into view. The house itself looked like it was welcoming them with all of its lights on, showing off its grandeur and beauty. The car slowed to a stop and Feng Xuan heard Qing Chen getting off the car, but she couldn't take her eyes off the property.

She cleared her throat to rid of her tears when Qing Chen opened her door.

"What do you mean this is your mom's house?" he asked her.

"Oh, I didn't mean that this is her house 'house'. I just meant that, this is one of her designs." She arched her neck to take in the moderness of the building and the orange lights that seemed to soften the harsh angles. "My mom was an architect and an interior designer on the side. I was just not expecting that my father would build one of her designs."

They reached the front door, it was huge, shiny, and made of wood. Feng Xuan was sure a giant could fit. An envelope was taped, addressed to the both of them in a fine handwriting.

Qing Chen took it and read aloud. "To the married couple, may this house be witness to this new chapter of your lives as husband and wife." He handed the envelope to Feng Xuan. "There's another paper inside. I think it's yours."

Qing Chen pushed the door open and they both stepped in, both looking around of the big house. "I better turn some of the lights off."

Feng Xuan nodded and waited until Qing Chen was out of sight before pulling her letter and she almost cried again when she saw her mom's handwriting. It looked so much like hers, she realized now. How long had it been since she found something that was her mother's?

The letter read:

**

To my little rosebud, if you are reading this it only means that time had not been kind to us. Because if it had been, I would've told you these words myself.

You probably had been married off to a man you do not really know. I want you to know that it's going to be okay. Your father is a wise man and I am sure he will find you a suitable groom. Arranged marriages work because two people decide to make it work. I had planned to break away from the tradition of it but I hadn't been able to. In result, the years I have spent as your father's wife had been the best years of my life.

Do not be frightened because you're a fighter from the start.

I may not be there now, but know that I am always with you.

I hope a house that somehow resembles ours would make you feel more at home.

I love you, my little rosebud. May you raise beautiful children in this house.

Mom.

**

It felt like Feng Xuan's heart had been squeezed to a pulp. She heard Qing Chen's footsteps and immediately wiped her tears away. But she wasn't able to hide it.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with pure concern but a smile was present on his face.

Feng Xuan chuckled and sniffed. "It was just a really heartfelt letter."

Qing Chen nodded. "Should we head upstairs?"

They started on the stairs and and Feng Xuan couldn't help but notice. "Oh wow, you're really tall."

"Yes, 188cm. You're pretty tall yourself."

"I'm only 170cm. I look taller because I am slim."

They reached the landing. "The master's bedroom is here."

Feng Xuan's sadness suddenly turned to nervousness. Oh, shoot. Shoot. Shoot, she thought.

"I was told there's a baggage of clothes here. The rest of your clothes will be sent here tomorrow."

Feng Xuan found herself taking smaller steps, her knees touching, and she clutched her little bag to her stomach. "Alright."

They reached the end of the hallway to a dark wooden door. She saw how Qing Chen's fingers closed on the knob.

Then he pushed it open.