Loving With My Mind

That night, after dinner, they laid beside each other, eyes still wide awake.

"Xiao Xin..." Zhao Mingzhe called out to his wife, but he kept staring at the ceiling.

"Hmmn?" Han Yixin looked at him.

"I think you're right. We should visit my parents."

"Great!" She had a wide smile on her face.

"But we should visit yours first." he added.

Her smile faded into a frown.

"Xiao Xin..." he looked towards her.

"Don't...you don't know anything." She moved to lie on her side, her back towards him.

Zhao Mingzhe also moved the same way, but he slithered his hand to wrap an arm around her waist, then pulled her towards him.

"I might still be unaware of many of your matters, but...they are my parents now too. You wouldn't want them to think I'm keeping you from them, would you?"

She was pouting. "Aren't you?"

He chuckled as he tightened his embrace.

"Even though I'd like to keep you to myself, I need to share you at some point...for instance, I'm generous enough to share you with Oxford."

She finally laughed. "Hey, I'm sharing Oxford with you!" She suddenly turned around and tapped on his c.h.e.s.t.

"Yeah, yeah...so, we'll go visit tomorrow, alright?"

Han Yixin lowered her head, but she gave a gentle nod. Then she moved closer to hug him.

Zhao Mingzhe was a bit surprised by her initiative, but he hugged his wife back.

His little 'daughter' is starting to act like his wife, instead of throwing a tantrum.

.

The following day, they drove to her parents' house after having breakfast, just as planned.

"Mom..." Han Yixin bowed as greeting.

"Xiao Xin!" Li Qiaolian was delighted to see her eldest. She had not seen her for almost two months since the wedding, but instead of feeling bad about it, she is actually excited to hear some good news.

She gave her daughter a warm embrace.

"Mom..." Zhao Mingzhe also greeted.

"Mingzhe! You look well! Come, both of you...come inside! We prepared lunch for you!" Li Qiaolian happily took their gifts before handing them to the servants.

"Xiao Xin, I cooked your favorite sweet n'sour pork ribs. What else do you like? Are you craving for anything? Mom will get it for you."

Han Yixin was oblivious of what her mother was trying to imply and looked over the dishes. "These are all my favorites, Mom. Thanks!"

However, Zhao Mingzhe knew what his mother-in-law was trying to guess.

He slightly shook his head in disbelief. Even if they will be expecting, it would be too soon to tell.

Li Qiaolian stared at her daughter as they ate. The silence made the clashing of utensils with porcelain apparent as the only sounds made by humans.

After lunch, Zhao Mingzhe urged his mother-in-law to open some of the gifts they brought.

Han Mufeng was currently out of the country for some business. Li Qiaolian was delighted to have company.

"Mom, where's Lingxi?" Han Yixin, though may seem indifferent to the family, is very fond of her little sister. When the little girl did not join them for lunch, she thought she was sleeping. However, hours had passed and her sister was still nowhere to be seen.

"Oh...she's having her piano lessons. Her teacher has a son she could play with, so she even eats lunch at their house."

"Oh..." Han Yixin was a bit disappointed, but she never dwells on such trivial things.

"It's fine. We'll visit again next time." Zhao Mingzhe butted in.

"Ah, yes...yes! I'll make sure she does not have lessons that day." Li Qiaolian helped her son-in-law salvage the situation.

Han Yixin smiled to appease them. Then she looked at her mother.

"Mom, are the fodders still in the shed?"

"Uh...you wanna play now?" Li Qiaolian seemed to hesitate as she glanced at her son-in-law. Then again, maybe her daughter just wanted to show this other side of her.

The matriarch of the house called out people to set the range in the wide backyard.

Han Yixin excitedly came out to the backyard, her husband in tow.

Zhao Mingzhe was puzzled, then surprised as he saw what she was excited about.

Set up in the backyard are three fodders dr.a.p.ed with a target. Few meters away, Three sets of bow and arrow are prepared.

"You..." Zhao Mingzhe did not know what to say as he looked at his wife. She never fails to amaze him.

"Mingzhe, do you know how to play?" Li Qiaolian asked him.

"I never did." he replied with a smile, then he looked back on his wife and whispered to her, "Will you teach me?"

Han Yixin blushed as his warm breath tickled her ear. She nodded, ever so timidly.

Zhao Mingzhe chuckled. He stared as she picked up a large bow. He walked towards where she was.

The timid girl was gone as she handed him the bow with a look of determination.

Han Yixin positioned his hand to grasp the bow properly, then she took an arrow from the pile.

Though she is a lot shorter than he is, she successfully looked the part of an instructor.

"Can you see the bull's eye?" she asked him as he pulled the maximum he can for the bow.

"Yeah..." he nodded.

"Release." she ordered him.

The arrow went to hit the fodder, but it only landed left of the bull's eye.

"Hey!" Zhao Mingzhe was proud of this first-timer achievement.

However, his teacher had furrowed brows and pouting lips.

"Hey..." he tried to comfort her as if she was the one who failed to hit the target.

"You hesitated." she murmured.

Zhao Mingzhe looked guilty. It seemed that his arrow diverted from the target because he lost focus. He was not confident, since he was not familiar with the sport.

"Mom is a lot better than you." she glared at him.

"Did you call for me?" Li Qiaolian flashed a smile as she stood in a stance few meters away from her assigned target. She wielded a much smaller and lighter bow.

Zhao Mingzhe was stunned as his mother-in-law hit the borders of the bull's eye. She was mocking him.

Great, his only ally seemed to have switched sides in this game!

"Teach me again!" he ordered his wife.

Han Yixin snickered and instructed him again.

This time, he successfully landed on the center of the target.

"Yes!" he had his fist in the air as he held the bow with his other hand.

As he turned around, Han Yixin was smiling at him.

"You need to practice more." she whispered as she walked past him and to her station.

He was puzzled as her stance looked awesome, but it seemed different.

In the next moment, she landed three arrows straight into the bull's eye.

When she moved from her stance, he finally realized. She was in a left-handed stance.