Chapter 366 - A Normal Mother

The wedding came a little after the papers had been done. It happened privately in the presence of their parents and the person administering that life-changing event.

Their first kiss happened in that very moment. Christina—or Hao Suyin—was not even that sad that it was not something more romantic. For them, it was about fulfilling their duties to each others. 

It was a light touch of their lips. A quick smack that they could even pretend that it did not happen. There was just a small celebration in their house.

If he was being honest, Qing Zihao liked that it was done in secret. It gave off some very drama feels to it. They were like star-crossed lovers—maybe they really were.

The rest of the day flew by like it was normal even though they were given their own house to stay in. Both of them fixed their belongings (mainly, it was just Hao Suyin helping Qing Zihao as she only had a few things she could call her possessions).

The following morning, they went shopping for her clothes and some of the things that they wanted in their house. Qing Zihao was more than surprised when Hao Suyin went to the art supplies part and got a tray of paint tubes.

"Do you paint?" he asked her, taking the items from her arms and into their cart.

"No, not really. I draw sometimes but I think this would be something good to try in."

Qing Zihao nodded. "Well, you could afford to try and fail in a lot of hobbies. Let this be the first one."

"I was kind of hoping it would be the last." She decided about this last night. She had to be able to divert away from her killing skills if she was going to be a homely mother—or at least pose as one. 

She needed to have a hobby or two, something that a normal mother would do. She thought about gardening first but she did not really like getting down on her knees and dig soil. She needed something that would happen inside the house. So painting it was.

After a long day outside, they both collapsed on the bed. "What are we supposed to do now?" she asked him, pulling an arm on top of her forehead.

"We are supposed to consummate our wedding last night. Are you up for that tonight?"

She knew that he was just kidding but it sparked excitement within her. "I don't think we should do that this early. I still have some people who are after me."

With the help of Enigma—the mafia—Hao Suyin's job went easier. Qing Zihao's father took the people on his revenge list first and they started hunting down the roster of The Order of the Red Hand.

It was like the other assassins got in touch with each other and shared warnings. They got better with their hiding and hunting them down took almost a whole year. 

There was just one man who remained, Checks. That was his codename. He was one of the younger ones, around the age group of Hao Suyin. It was said that he was the one who assumed the position of Jaws at the moment of their leader's death.

"It seems like he totally went off grid," said Qing Zihao as he hunched over the table. They set a specific room for the purpose of tracking all the other members of The Order. 

Checks was last seen up in the North then he was just gone. There were no cameras that captured him. Some of the people who were helping them thought that maybe Checks decided to just kill himself or spend the rest of his life hiding away from Enigma.

It was with promise that they were going to keep track of him and see if he would turn up some time in the future. It took Hao Suyin months before she finally convinced herself that Checks was not coming for her as she slept.

The good thing that came out with all this hunt was that she and Qing Zihao got the time to really develop their relationship. They were friends. Partners in crime (literally). She learned to love him.

One night, she said, "I think it's time."

Qing Zihao had come from the office and looked like he was about to fall asleep already when he got on the bed. "Time for what?" he murmured, his eyes already closed.

"A kid," she said. "A baby."

He turned to her with a confused look. "Are you sure? What made you change your mind?"

She shrugged. "It's about time, isn't it?" She was also tired about having to worry about her life. She made peace with herself that Checks was in hiding right now and she would not be able to kill him. It did not mean that her life should be on pause. She had to keep moving.

He blinked at her so she raised her hands in alarm.

She quickly followed, "But of course, if only you are ready too. I don't want to impose this on you."

Qing Zihao got up, "No, it's okay," he said. "I've been thinking about this a lot. My mother had a complicated pregnancy. It's better that we start trying now so if problems arose on the way we could immediately make solutions for it."

She nodded, appreciating that he was taking this as something that they could solve together. She didn't want to make things awkward between them.

That night, they slept together and Hao Suyin felt herself open up in ways she never thought she could. There was something kind of divine with the experience. It was pure bliss.

It was clear they did not have a problem conceiving as they were blessed with three beautiful healthy boys. Hao Suyin's life felt complete. This was a piece she didn't know she was missing. Everyday, she was filled with love. Even seeing her boys cry made her heart cry with it.

As kids, they were so sweet. So appreciative. So forgiving. It was like all the nice qualities in the world could be found in her sons. They were all mama's boys.

Until of course… the inevitable happened… they all wanted to be 'daddy's son'. It was when her sons were in the middle of trying to their best to be THE best son, that she found herself looking back at her old life seeing how much it resembled the path that her son's were heading on.

It was like they were learning a new weapon each month. It was like Hao Suyin's life was flashing before her eyes. On some nights, she let herself dive back into her memories. Until one day she decided to let it all go. Write down everything and hide it. But she left clues… for emergency purposes.

She was getting old. If Checks was going to take his revenge on her for killing and destroying The Order of the Red Hand, he was not going to take it up with her.

He was going to take it up her sons.