104 Save Water & Time

He just called her smile ugly.

Raelle's face instantly lost the 'ugly' smile as her expressionless face stared at him.

"This is the first time someone has given me a very honest compliment," said Raelle surprising Shui Xian. "I also think my smile is ugly. At least, it looks ugly before yours." With her hand holding the front of his white uniform, she said, "But I spent three years trying to practice this ugly smile before the mirror. I should at least get the credit for my effort."

Seeing how she was trying to twist her way out of his lock, he grabbed her wrists to break her posture and moved her hands from his body to the mat in a swift movement. He did it so nimbly that Raelle lost the momentum and her upper body jerked ahead.

Her face was close to his neck now as he isolated her hand before she could attack back and whispered, "You're a realist person. It's a shame that you're trying to fake a smile to fit in." He moved up to post onto his elbow for elevation. Next, with his free hand, he reached over her shoulder and looped under her arm where he latched onto the wrist of his other hand.

Right when he fell on his back at an angle to complete the Kimura submission, her boneless body squirmed out of his lock in a way that even he couldn't see it. Before he could react, she held him against the ground, face front. She sat on his back as she had twisted his arm behind his back.

"Who said I practiced that smile to fit in?" she responded. "It was to make my Opa feel reassured. I don't have a habit of trying to please people. And the only person whom I actually try to please is my grandfather."

She could see him gritting his teeth because of how she twisted his arm but he was still not submitting. It had to be painful. Hyson would always give up because of pain at this point. Then why wasn't he doing the same?

"You're not gonna give up?" she asked.

"And accept that I lost?" he retorted. "Not happening!"

"But there is no way, you'd be able to escape this," she reminded him.

"There is always a way," his words had just fallen when his free hand held her bent knee and tugged with full force, cracking her posture before he rolled on his back. Both of them were currently in such a tangled position that Raelle's body fell on him.

As Raelle nose hit the side of his face, she said, "I didn't know you're stubborn."

"I usually am not stubborn," replied Shui Xian as he held her chin. "But when I want someone, I intend to become unyielding."

Raelle nodded her head as her lips brushed past his cheek towards his lips. With her lips against his, she went on, "How interesting... So do I."

"Elle! Xian! Let's have dinn-! Cough! Cough!" Shui Koshing ended up choking on his words when he was met with the scene of his son and his wife making out in that posture on the ground.

Both Raelle and Shui Xian turned their heads to look at him while Shui Koshing had turned his eyes towards the ceiling as he said, "I have night blindness. I didn't see a thing. Please, continue!" Saying that he turned around to leave with excitement palpable on his face.

"Bà!" Shui Xian called out to him. "Why do you look so happy if you didn't see anything?"

"I am a happy person, to begin with," replied Shui Koshing. "Unlike my son who is always blue."

Raelle sat up as she asked, "Bà, did you just come back?"

Shui Koshing still didn't turn around but he nodded his head, "Yeah. I was with Uncle Yu who asked me to call you both over for dinner. He is alone at home tonight."

"Opa is alone at home?" asked Raelle. "Where is Yanyan?"

"Mu Chenyan called to say that she'll spend the night at a friend's place," answered Shui Koshing as much as he knew. He didn't know further details so he couldn't tell her anything else from this.

Raelle thought about it. She knew Mu Chenyan went to see Mama Yue, but she didn't come back home for the night? That was a little unexpected because Mu Chenyan had never spent a night out.

However, if one asked the same thing from Elder Xiang, he'd like to disagree. Because the Mu Chenyan he knew had a long history of not coming home at night. In fact, he had seen her sneaking back home at the break of dawn way too many times. Just because she hadn't done it in the past two decades, he really didn't believe that she changed. Someone like her would never be able to lose her old habits so easily.

"You can leave first," said Shui Xian. "We'll join you after washing up."

"Alright," replied Shui Koshing. "But don't forget. One should always save water and save time."

Shui Xian gaped at his father, "Bà! What are you even saying?"

"I didn't say anything," retorted Shui Koshing.

"Do you really think I didn't get your meaning?" asked Shui Xian.

"If you did, then follow it as well," saying that Shui Koshing didn't stick around and left.

Raelle tugged at Shui Xian's sleeve and as he looked at her face, she asked, "I didn't understand his meaning."

Shui Xian placed his hand on her head and said, "There is no need to understand his meaning. It isn't important."

Raelle stared at him, "But he asked us to save water and save time. I don't think there is anything wrong with that advice."

"Wife, we are not doing it!" was Shui Xian's firm response.

"We are not doing what?" she inquired as she stared at him with blank innocence.