"The Art of Cooking Green Tea!" Mo Jingzhe exclaimed, horrified before he could even take a look at the content of the book.
The cover of the green book was as ridiculous as the book itself. A woman was cooking green tea supposedly in a clay pot over a fire that was burning with wood. The smile on the woman's face was rather mischievous.
"It was part of research for a movie but we never shot the movie. I kept the book in case it came in handy someday, I had no idea that I would need it to help my daughter regain herself and find her true love." Chi Lian sighed. "What do you say Jingzhe, are you ready to cook some tea?"
The door was pushed open before he could respond. Jun Muyang walked in with an impatient look on his face.
"I am tired of waiting outside Chi-Chi....." his eyes saw the book in Mo Jingzhe's hands and the words on his lips died for a moment. He had to blink twice to confirm that he was seeing the abominable book out in public. Looking at his wife, he said, "I thought you burned that ridiculous book."
"Nope." She answered, emphasizing the 'p' a little too much.
Muyang turned to Mo Jingzhe, scowling at the young man intensely. As much as he loathed Mo Liang, he did not approve of Mo Jingzhe either. In his opinion, Mei-Mei and Mingzhu should have been asked away to their home and locked in like Rapunzel in that tower for their own safety.
He had told Mei-Mei many times that men were bad, she didn't listen and look where she was now! His sweet girl had been ruined by one ugly pig and here came another one, a younger one that was better looking than the first one.
"You, what's your name?"
Mo Jingzhe stood at attention like a soldier, almost saluting. The tone Jun Muyang used to talk to him was that of a teacher that did not tolerate nonsense.
"I am Mo Jingzhe Sir."
"Hmph!" Muyang responded. "How old are you?"
"Twenty four years old Sir." Jingzhe answered.
Muyang winced and turned to his wife, "Twenty four!! he is five years younger than her. Mei-Mei is already raising Mingzhu, she doesn't need another child."
"I am an adult man Sir." Jingzhe said strongly. "I can prove it." His hand moved downwards.
Muyang's eyes followed the movement, trailing down to Jingzhe's crotch and then he rushed to cover his wife's eyes. "Don't you dare open the zipper of your trouser to prove anything here or I will make you an eunuch."
Chi Lian was slapping at her husband's hand. "Don't cover my eyes..." she complained.
Mo Jingzhe meanwhile shook his head frenziedly and said, "Err..I was not going to open my zip, I was just going to get my phone and show you a copy of my birth certificate and other documents which prove that I am an adult."
Of them all, he was the one most terrified at the thought of exposing that part of himself befor them, after all, they were Mei-Mei's parents.
"I am not a pervert Sir." Jingzhe felt the need to clarify.
Chi Lian successfully got rid of Muyang's hand and gently shoved him aside so that she could wrap up her business with Mo Jingzhe. The chip was ready to go and T4 was itching to get started. The system had not had a mission in a very long time. It was ready to jump back into the days of being useful and helpful.
Jun Muyang still had a few words for Mo Jingzhe. "Son, I don't know what you have talked about with my wife but I am going to give you a warning. Mei-Mei is my daughter, when she was young, I would cry if I saw so much as a bruise on her body. Today I cried because her once soft smooth hands have become rough with calluses.
Her feet are dry and flaky, they have cracks on the heels. Her hair strands are thinner than half of a sewing thread. All this is proof of how much she has suffered at the hands of the Mo family. I have wanted to bring her back home for six years but every time I tried, she just closed off even more. Eventually I stopped trying to convince her to come home and decided to watch from a far.
My wife thinks Mei-Mei will be unhappier if I just drag her away and keep her in our house. She wants our daughter to walk away from Mo Liang with dignity and have a happily ever after waiting at the end of the rainbow."
He approached Mo Jingzhe and put a hand on his shoulders. Looking into his eyes while squeezing Jingzhe's shoulder slightly he added, "She is under the impression that you are that happily ever after because you have loved Mei-Mei for years. I am going to warn you right now that I will hunt you down if you do to her what Mo Liang has done. If you are not sure that you can be Mei-Mei's pillar of strength, walk away now."
Mo Jingzhe clenched his fists, the questions that Chi Lian had asked him rattled around in his mind. One stuck with him the most, 'aren't you tired of hiding in the shadows?'
The answer to that was yes, he was tired of hiding. Mo Liang did not deserve Mei-Mei, the opportunity had come for him to do what he had always wanted to do, steal her from him.
Her parents were in support of this, all he had to do was win her heart and get Mingzhu to accept him as her real father as well. They would be a happy family of three, maybe add one or two kids in future.
Jingzhe took a deep breath and firmly said while looking at Chi Lian and Jun Muyang, "Mother-in-law, father-in-law, your son-in-law Mo Jingzhe will undertake the mission. I will be the best green tea man in the world and I will steal Mei-Mei's attention from Mo Liang. I will help her regain all that she has lost and I promise to make Mei-Mei and Mingzhu happy."
Jun Muyang stepped back and hissed, "Oh, what a shameless young young man you are. Who is your father-in-law? My Mei-Mei has not accepted you yet."
Mo Jingzhe pointed to the back of the book. "Father-in-law, it says here that a green tea should have no shame."
Jun Muyang hissed and Mo Jingzhe again. "I am not your father-in-law."
Jingzhe's lips curved downwards and he put on a fake sad face. "Mother-in-law, am I wrong?" he asked in a weak voice as if he had been intimidated. "I just want to be close with my father-in-law. Does he not like me?"
Mo Jingzhe actually looked like he had been bullied and Jun Muyang's mouth fell open in disbelief. He looked at his wife and spread his hands out, feeling the need to explain himself.
His wife Chi Lian just laughed at him, he deserved it for doubting her plan. She approved of Jingzhe one hundred percent. He was already starting to cook green tea and he would make a good cook.