Dr. Ji was abroad at a seminar.

Though it had been less than a month since their wedding, the dean of the hospital had only granted Dr. Ji seven days of leave to celebrate his marriage. As his new wife, Ye Zhen Zhen would have liked to hold up a protest sign outside the hospital.

In the absence of Dr. Ji, Ye Zhen Zhen’s daily life was monotonous, broken up only by eating, sleeping, and good meat.

Perhaps she could go back to <TOMATO> a little earlier? There might be a few pretty eye candy boys loitering around the building.

Having thought that far, Ye Zhen Zhen was eager to give it a go. Pulling out her phone, she pulled up the editor's phone number and was about to surprise them with a call when she herself received a surprise call instead.

It was her great uncle. "There will be a dance hosted by the company this evening, with representatives from many important customers. I urge you, as a major company shareholder, to attend." Though her uncle generally looked very gentle and amiable, his face when discussing business was even more serious than Dr. Ji.

Having heard his uncompromising tone of command, Ye Zhen Zhen could only compress her lips and agree. "I'll be there." Having received so much in dividends from the company every year, it was her duty to occasionally participate in this sort of public function.

"The driver knows where it'll be held. He'll take you there." Having said his piece, her great uncle hung up efficiently. Holding the phone in one hand, Ye Zhen Zhen sat on the sofa for a while, then ran into the bedroom to throw open her closet and pick out a gown for the ball.

After marrying Dr. Ji, the two still lived together in his original apartment, but Ye Zhen Zhen had moved from the guest bedroom to his spacious master bedroom and enjoyed sleeping with him every night.

Uncle Wu picked her up straight from the salon. Though she did not often get an appointment there, she knew enough about these functions to know that she would have to doll up a little extra.

Though she should have brought a date to this sort of function, with Dr. Ji abroad she had no other suitable candidates. So she simply went alone. Anyway, she was mostly there for the food.

However, it was quite impossible for great uncle Ye Kang Sheng to let her eat alone at the venue. Her smile stiff from being pulled around and shown off to every major customer, Ye Zhen Zhen finally escaped from her uncle's claws and was preparing to eat when a small host of screams erupted from the dancers on the floor - sounding like they were mostly from women.

Ye Zhen Zhen turned to see a handsome blond man walking gracefully down from the second floor. His hair was un-dyed, the colour of his eyes from no contact lens; every hair on his head was a beautiful, natural blond.

Surprised, Ye Zhen Zhen blurted out, "Is he a customer too?" Had their company gone international?

Ye Kang Sheng followed her line of sight to the stairs. The handsome young man had already reached the dance floor and was at the moment asking a lady to dance. "That would be Charles de Gaulle. He's here today in place of his father."

De Gaulle? Ye Zhen Zhen cocked her head to the side. "The airport?" Though he cut a fine figure, she rather thought he wasn't flat enough to be a runway.

......

"You think too much." Ye Kang Sheng sipped his red wine and put an end to the topic. Once the song ended, he was about to take Ye Zhen Zhen over to introduce her to De Gaulle when the other came over on his own.

It had to be said that foreigners had some racial advantages. Even putting aside the blond hair and pale skin, they were also very tall. From far away, Ye Zhen Zhen caught sight of a handsome man with defined features and a high nose bridge moving her way. ¹Actually he had "deep eye sockets", but this doesn't sound terribly handsome to me so you'll just have to live with my taste in men, haha.

As Charles de Gaulle moved through the venue, women's eyes trailed after him, and their dates' faces darkened one after another.

Even Ye Zhen Zhen’s English was mediocre, let alone her French. Unable to follow what Ye Kang Sheng and De Gaulle were saying, she could only stand by and smile politely. With a light laugh, Charles de Gaulle suddenly turned to her. "Lovely lady, might I have this dance?"

His Chinese was effortless and fluid, with only the lightest hint of a foreign accent.

Ye Zhen Zhen was touched. So she would still have a chance to dance! As they entered the dance floor together, Charles de Gaulle saw the wedding ring on her left hand and commented with some regret, "What a shame that a lady so gorgeous is already someone else's wife! Your husband is a lucky man."

Feeling flattered by his gallantry, Ye Zhen Zhen was in a good mood, and even her spins were a little rounder than usual.

 

When Ji Zhe Yan walked out of the seminar room, a handsome, golden-haired man followed close on his heels. "Ji, dude, I never would've thought you'd get married! It's.. how should I say it... Amazing! Wonderful! Unbelievable!"

This particular handsome blond guy was quite a different one from the one who had met Ye Zhen Zhen, since as far as blood went he was Chinese through-and-through. His hair, was, naturally, a bleached bottle blond and had already begun growing black out at the roots. Ji Zhe Yan had long ago become used to his rather eccentrically mixed Chinese-English style of speech. "Thank you."

Blondie choked awkwardly, God thus proving that the words he had just spoken were just an expression of surprise.

"OK, anyway, congratulations." Blondie smiled and tried to hook his arm over Ji Zhe Yan's shoulder, but was dodged. He withdrew his arm, embarrassed, but still stuck close. "Ji, man, don't forget to introduce me to your wife once you get home."

"First practice your Chinese." Ji Zhe Yan turned a corner and stopped in front of the elevator. Dissatisfied with his criticism, Blondie remarked, "My Chinese teacher's pretty pleased with me! I even studied ancient poetry recently!" Upon saying that, he launched into a recital of <At The Garden Gate>.

"Whaddya think?" Having painstakingly recited the entire poem, Blondie looked rather smug. Ji Zhe Yan gave him a glance and replied, "<A Night of Quiet Thoughts> is probably better for a beginner. That one was too difficult for you."

"Non! I have full comprehension of the artistic concept of this poem. If you keep being such a grumpypants, your 'red apricot tree is gonna lean over the garden wall'!" ²<At The Garden Gate> has a line that says "the red apricot tree leans over the garden wall", and it's used as an idiom about a wife having an illicit lover.

Ji Zhe Yan: "..."

"You should probably find a new Chinese teacher ASAP." Ji Zhe Yan walked into the elevator and quickly jabbed the elevator button. Caught off guard, Blondie didn't make it in, and incidentally entered Ji Zhe Yan's blacklist... together with his Chinese teacher.

Upon returning to his temporary apartment, Ji Zhe Yan as usual opened up his laptop to check his email. Ye Zhen Zhen had actually sent him an email on time for once, but the content for the day wasn't great.

What did she mean, 'a dance with a blond prince'?! And here were one, two, three, four... seven different idioms to describe the prince's looks and gentle manner!

Ah, a picture was attached. The man really was blond, but Ji Zhe Yan refused to admit that he was a prince.

Was being blond all it took to be called a prince?! The one hovering around him was a one hundred percent local dog!

Ji Zhe Yan slammed his laptop shut.

Pulling out his phone, he was about to make an overseas call to Ye Zhen Zhen, but when he glanced at the clock and realized that it was still night in China, he resisted the urge.

Unexpectedly, Ye Zhen Zhen sent him a "The Blond Prince And I" sequel the next day.

A seaside restaurant? A candlelight dinner? Red wine and roses?

Ye Zhen Zhen, do you think I'm dead?!

No longer caring about the time difference, Ji Zhe Yan indignantly dialed her phone number.

No one answered.

Ji Zhe Yan gnawed on his lower lip and let the phone ring, vowing to wake her up. After a dozen rings, he was hung up on.

Brow furrowing more and more, he hit the call button again.

"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not available..."

Excellently done, Ye Zhen Zhen. When I come home, you're dead meat.

Classmate Ye Zhen Zhen, who at that very moment was hanging out with the Sandman, shuddered involuntarily, then snuggled a little deeper into her quilt to continue her sleep.

 

On the third day, right on time, Ye Zhen Zhen sent "Shopping With The Blond Prince".

In her report, she introduced to Ji Zhe Yan the earrings the blond prince had gifted her, and attached photos of them. Then in a very brief and succinct manner, she explained why she had not picked up her phone last night.

Ji Zhe Yan read the email all the way through with a smile on his face, then deleted it permanently.

A couple of days afterward, Blondie finally noticed something not right about him. "Ji, you've been black as thunder the last few days, like... like..." He thought for a moment and finally found a suitable description, "Like you have a red apricot tree leaning over the garden wall!"

Ji Zhe Yan gave him a long, steady look. "I'm handing tomorrow's report over to you. I've got something important happening at home and will be heading out early."

"No--! Ji, you can't do this to me..." As Blondie was still talking, Ji Zhe Yan had already left.

That evening, Ye Zhen Zhen sent an email in which the main protagonist was once again the blond prince.

In her e-mail, she discarded her previous joy and put on a heavy tone - the blonde prince was leaving China. Tomorrow was his farewell party, and she was fretting about what to wear.

His face cold, Ji Zhe Yan responded to an email about the Blond Prince Incident for the first time. "Since you're so upset about it, why don't you go back with him?"

Though he had waited for a response ever since sending the email, up until the moment he boarded the plane he still had not received a reply from Ye Zhen Zhen.

Surely she wouldn't really plan to return to France with that man?

A ha ha.

The young college student sitting beside him shivered silently and dismissed the idea of striking up a conversation with her handsome seat neighbour.

 

De Gaulle’s farewell party was in full swing. During his short half-month in A City, he had captured the hearts of many of the city's luminaries. Now, upon seeing his departure, everyone gathered up their strength to paint the town red with him.

Charles de Gaulle had asked Ye Zhen Zhen for the first dance of the evening, and enjoying the envious and hateful glances thrown at her, she allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor.

As the first notes of music rang out and those on the dance floor were about to begin, the door to the venue slammed open. A little fuss was made at the door, but not enough to attract the attention of the men and women on the dance floor. Only Ye Zhen Zhen looked back.

Ji Zhe Yan, dressed in a black suit, walked toward her from the doorway, provoking the glances of many a lady along the way. Alas, his icy expression deterred anyone from trying to strike up a conversation. Though he was clearly alone, he made Ye Zhen Zhen feel as though he had ridden in at the head of a thousand men.

He walked straight up to Ye Zhen Zhen. Instinctively stepping protectively in front of her, De Gaulle asked, "Who are you? I don't seem to recall having invited you here today."

Ji Zhe Yan glanced at him and replied, "I am her husband."

De Gaulle blinked. After a pause, he nodded in acknowledgment and then stepped aside in a friendly manner. The music was still playing, and Ji Zhe Yan took Ye Zhen Zhen’s hand and began leading her without a word.

Ye Zhen Zhen had been watching him with a smile, and Ji Zhe Yan’s cold expression finally eased a little by the end of the song. However, by then, Ye Zhen Zhen had turned pale.

Though Ji Zhe Yan had originally been about to broach the topic of her misdemeanors, he noticed that her colour was off and that she was clutching at his chest while looking nauseous. A frown on his face, he took her into his arms and forgot about admonishing her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, maybe we did too many spins just now. I feel a little dizzy." There were a few tears in her eyes. "It's been happening a lot recently."

Upon hearing her say his, Ji Zhe Yan's expression suddenly became serious. "Ye Zhen Zhen, have you gone to the hospital to be looked at?"

"Huh? Is there a need to go to the hospital for something so small?"

Ji Zhe Yan observed her a little while, nibbling on a lip. "Come to the hospital with me tomorrow for an examination."

Though Ye Zhen Zhen thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill, she nodded and agreed.

Upon hearing the results of the examination, Ye Zhen Zhen was in shock. The doctor had actually said that she was pregnant, and very likely with twins!

Though she had some bad memories regarding twins, by the time Ji Zhe Yan brought her home she had come to accept it happily. Crooking an arm around his neck, her eyes bent in happiness, she told him, "Dr. Ji, I'm going to be a mother! You're going to be a dad!"

Ji Zhe Yan held her as if she was glass, unable to help but kiss her. "Mmm..."

His kiss was soft, but strong. Though Ye Zhen Zhen was reluctant to let go, after a little he made a slight distance between them. "Ye Zhen Zhen, did you send those emails to me on purpose?"

Ye Zhen Zhen slanted him a self-congratulatory smirk. "I was rather thinking that Dr. Ji might come back a little earlier." Her tone was ever so slightly smug. Leaning forward, she kissed Ji Zhe Yan on the corner of his mouth. “Well, if the good doctor hadn't come back, maybe I'd really have taken your advice and gone to France with Charles.”

Ha ha.

Ji Zhe Yan looked at the woman in his arms and smiled a very small smile. Now that she was pregnant, he couldn't be too angry with her. But once the child has been born... we're not finished with this.