Chapter 186: Traveling

"Is it necessary for you to see how wild animals hunt?" 

At night, Raelle was sitting comfortably in the lounge with the wild animal chase being shown on the huge tv screen. Shui Xian had just come upstairs with a glass of milk in his warm milk in his hand. 

He couldn't help questioning Raelle why she was interested in the animal hunt. He sat down beside her and placed a hand on her waist pulling her in his embrace while he gave her the glass of milk.

Raelle silently took the milk from his hand and gulped it down in one go before passing him the glass. Shui Xian placed the glass aside and used the other hand to hug her even tighter. 

"We live in a world where only law of jungle works," she spoke after a long time. "If you have to survive in this jungle, you need to know how the things work in the real jungle."

Shui Xian nuzzled her neck saying, "There is still some humanity left in this concrete jungle. It's just that people have learned to build high walls around their hearts. Because they are scared of getting hurt."

"Is it safe for me to come up?!"

Shui Xian's lips twitched when he heard his father's voice from the stairs. 

"Bà! It's your house, when did you need permission to enter?"

Shui Koshing had his hands covering his eyes when he came up. It looked amusing how he had a psychological shadow of running into his son and daughter-in-law at the most awkward moments. So, this time he chose to make sure the coast was clear before he came.

Raelle hurriedly turned off the tv and beckoned Shui Koshing, "Bà, come already and have a seat. It's the first time you came to this floor since I've come here."

Shui Koshing sat beside them as he said, "It's not because of you, daughter. I rarely come to this floor. It's my son's personal space, I don't like intruding."

Shui Xian looked at his father, "Bà, what brought you here?"

"I have something to talk to you both."

"Then you should have just called us downstairs. Why did you bother to come here?"

"It's me who wants to talk to you both, why should I order you to come to me? I should be the one to come," said Shui Koshing. "Besides, I'm not that old. I can definitely ascend this many stairs."

"What is it about?" inquired Raelle as she gave her sole attention to Shui Koshing.

"I have a flight at 3 in the morning, so I thought I should see you both now instead of bothering you at that time."

"You're going somewhere?" This question came from Shui Xian who was frowning slightly in confusion. His father rarely went out of the house since he stopped working. So, he couldn't think of where he'd want to go now.

"Hmm..." hummed Shui Koshing in response. "I'm going to TaiLeng.[1]"

Shui Xian frowned at that and looked displeased, "Why?"

"Second Uncle is sent to the hospital. I just received the news. It doesn't look good if I don't go during this time."

"How about I go with you?" suggested Shui Xian.

"No," Shui Koshing hurriedly shook his head. "You stay here with my daughter."

Shui Xian looked at Raelle and then turned to his father, "But I don't want you to go there alone."

Shui Koshing patted his shoulder, "And I don't want to bring you there with me."

"Bà!"

"No more discussion over this," said Shui Koshing in a slightly stern tone. 

This was the first time Raelle heard Shui Koshing speaking in this tone. Usually, he'd always listen to his son. But this time, he was clearly against it. He didn't want to give in to his son. 

Although she didn't know what they were talking about, she didn't question it either.

Shui Koshing's face softened as he went on, "Going to see Second Uncle is my responsibility. You're not obliged to go there. It's better if you just stay here and keep my daughter company."

It took a while for Shui Xian to compromise over this, "You promise me, you'll let me know if something is wrong. Okay?"

Shui Koshing gave him a reassuring smile and nodded his head. 

"Elle, I'm gonna miss you a lot," said Shui Koshing and raised his hand as if to touch her head. But he stopped himself before he could touch her. Raelle noticed this and moved over to place her head underneath his hand. Shui Koshing was taken aback by her act and stiffened a little. Then she flashed him a smile and he relaxed. 

In fact, he rubbed her head gently and lovingly. Or more like in a spoiling manner. 

"Aiyoh! You're making it difficult for me to leave. How am I gonna leave my sweet daughter? This is so difficult."

Shui Xian was being amused seeing his father acting like this while his wife even went along with it. These two really... He had no words right now.

"Bà, take care of yourself there," said Raelle. "And don't forget to take someone with you. Someone has to be there to take care of your meals and to remind you to take your medicines on time. You can't get sick there. That's not allowed."

"Okay," Shui Koshing listened attentively and even continued to nod. "I'll listen to my daughter. Anything else?"

"Well, come back soon," she didn't forget to add. "I'll wait for you."

Shui Koshing was so touched that he kissed her head, "Why are you so adorable? Now, I really don't want to leave."

Shui Xian continued to laugh to himself as he watched these two acting like he wasn't even there. But he had to say, this scene was really warm and touching. 

"It seems everyone is traveling these days," said Raelle.

"Who else is traveling?" asked Shui Koshing.

"Hyson is going to travel with his shooting crew. Yanyan is taking Yue somewhere and even you're going now. Did you all plan it together?"

Shui Koshing chuckled at her, "How could that be? It seems quite suspicious but it's really just a coincidence."

Raelle nodded her head in understanding. "Did you pack your things?"

"Yes, I've already packed everything needed. You don't have to worry about it. And I'll call you daily, so if this son of mine doesn't take care of you, just let me know. I'll pull his ear for you."

"You won't be able to do it from so far away," said Shui Xian.

"I'm coming back here, son," told Shui Koshing. "I'm not gonna stay there for long."

Raelle found her phone and gave it to him, "I don't have your number."

"Oh my! You don't have Bà's number?" asked Shui Xian in an exaggerated tone.

Raelle shook her head honestly, "I never needed it before. I'd see him in the morning and even met him first in the evening. So, I didn't think I needed it. Besides, I never saw him using his phone so I thought he didn't have one."

"You're not wrong," said Shui Koshing. "My phone stays with the steward. I don't usually need it anyway." He took her phone and dialed the number. Then he passed it back to her.

Raelle saved his number and held the phone up saying, "Bà, smile!"

Shui Koshing instinctively smiled and Raelle clicked a photo. Then she set it up as his contact picture.

"Wifey, you didn't even set up my photo as the contact picture."

"Jealous," muttered Shui Koshing. "You're old enough now. Stop being jealous of your father. Besides, don't you know? There is a difference between a father-daughter relationship and a husband-wife relationship."

"I wasn't being jealous," retorted Shui Xian.

Raelle leaned back towards him and gave him the phone, "You can check what I have here."

Shui Xian took the phone and when he saw the picture of their hands used as the contact picture for his number, he couldn't help tilting his lips upward. It seems he really couldn't win from his wife. So what she didn't use his photo, this picture was more meaningful. After all, it was one of those rare pictures they clicked the day they got married.

Shui Koshing watched them with a satisfied smile and stood up, "I think I should stop disturbing you both now." He stared at Shui Xian, "As I said, you better take care of her. I'll keep a watch on you. I have spies everywhere."

Shui Xian smiled at him, "Bà, how about opening a detective agency? It might suit you a lot."

"You can stop teasing your father now," said Shui Koshing. "I'm leaving now. Both of you, don't stay awake till late. It's good to go to sleep on time. And if possible, have your meals with Uncle Yi. Since Yanyan is also going somewhere, he'd be alone as well."

"Yes, Bà." Shui Xian reassured his father. "You take care of yourself. We'll manage everything here. I promise."

[1] "TaiLeng": It's an imaginary place I named. However, Tai means 'extremely' and Leng means 'cold'. So I guess you can get an idea what kind of a place it is by that name.