Skadi, My Wife

Ch'en said gloomily, "Aunt Wen Yue has gone crazy, and now you're going crazy too? It's not like you don't know Chen An has Skadi. If I agreed to go on a blind date with him and Skadi found out, how would I ever face anyone again? Chen An is obviously just an ordinary civilian, yet Aunt Wen Yue somehow knows about him. This is ridiculous."

"He can marry both of you. Yan Nation isn't—uh, why are you looking at me like that?"

She'd been about to continue teasing Ch'en and gossip about what she was thinking, but Hoshiguma suddenly noticed the particularly unfriendly look in her eyes. Her heart tightened, and she shut up.

Ch'en said bluntly, "Shut up. Aren't we talking about your problem? Talk about your own issue properly. If you keep making fun of me, believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

Hoshiguma looked sheepish and gave a dry laugh. "Since Old Chen doesn't want to hear it, I won't say anything."

She lifted her glass and clinked it against Ch'en's, sighed, then returned to her earlier dejected expression.

"What does it feel like to like someone?"

"Why not ask around at the department?"

Ch'en answered readily, "Plenty of people at the department have dated before. Some are even married with children. Ask them, and they'll give you an answer."

"Like I haven't asked already."

Hoshiguma looked even more depressed. "The second I opened my mouth, they looked at me like they'd seen a monster. If I hadn't quickly said it was a friend asking, she'd probably have dragged me to the hospital to have a doctor check whether something was wrong with my head."

Ch'en: "..."

She tried hard to hold back her laughter.

Hoshiguma glanced at her and snorted. "If you want to laugh, then laugh. Why hold it in? Aren't you afraid you'll hurt yourself?"

Ch'en said nothing and burst into laughter. As she laughed, she even gave Hoshiguma a thumbs-up, as though saying, Just what I'd expect from you.

Having known Ch'en for so long, Hoshiguma naturally understood what she meant. She gloomily drained two large glasses of beer, looking even more depressed.

Ch'en was reliable in the end. After laughing, she gave her advice. "Since asking others scares them, ask someone who won't be scared."

"Oh?"

"Chen An."

Ch'en said, "He's very close with Skadi. If he were here, at most he'd react like I did, but he wouldn't make fun of you over it. Why not call him over and ask? Even if you don't get an answer, drinking together would be nice. It feels like it's been a while since we drank together."

"Chen An..."

Hoshiguma raised her glass and sipped her drink. Seemingly thinking of something, her expression turned subtle.

Half an hour later, Chen An arrived with Skadi, as well as Exusiai and Texas, after receiving Ch'en's invitation. Since the two had been beside him when he answered the call, he'd asked whether he could bring two more people. Once he'd been told it was fine, he brought them along too.

"What does it feel like to like someone?"

The moment he arrived, he heard that question and was greatly surprised. "Why are you asking something like that, Huil? Are you in love?"

"I told you to call me Ch'en sir."

Ch'en glared at Chen An, but since everyone present knew one another, she didn't make too much of a fuss this time.

Of course, the main reason was that she couldn't do anything about Chen An. She couldn't scare him, and she couldn't out-argue him. There really was nothing she could do.

She jerked her chin toward Hoshiguma. "Besides, Hoshiguma was the one asking. I have too much to deal with to waste time thinking about things like this."

"Hoshiguma?"

Chen An looked at Hoshiguma. Seeing that the usually forthright and confident woman was actually acting a little awkward, he couldn't help laughing. "I never expected it to be you, Hoshiguma. See? I told you, you're a good girl. Sooner or later, someone would recognize your worth. Who is it? A colleague from the Lungmen Guard Department?"

Hoshiguma's gaze flickered as she put on a calm front. "There's no one I like. I just suddenly wanted to know the answer, so I can prepare for the future."

Something was up!

Love expert Miss Exusiai's halo flashed sharply as she narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning fierce.

Her instincts told her that this tomboyish policewoman named Hoshiguma was suspicious!

Texas felt the same way. One of her ears twitched almost imperceptibly as she calmly lifted her drink and took a sip.

Then the two exchanged a look, silently signaling each other to wait and see.

Chen An didn't think there was anything particularly wrong, but he could tell Hoshiguma wasn't speaking from the heart.

What preparation for the future? She clearly already had someone she liked. She probably just wasn't sure whether it truly was love yet.

He glanced at Ch'en, wanting to learn from her who Hoshiguma liked. Ch'en understood his look, but merely shrugged, indicating that she knew nothing.

Chen An frowned, feeling that things had become complicated.

Ch'en was Hoshiguma's close friend. Yet Hoshiguma liked someone and Ch'en didn't even know? Was she really keeping it that secret?

He was curious about who Hoshiguma liked, but Chen An didn't ask. He merely nodded and pretended to believe her.

It wasn't easy for Hoshiguma to realize her feelings, nor was it easy for her to meet someone she liked. If he asked too much and caused trouble for a potential relationship, that would be a sin.

Then he became curious about something else. "Why do you all think I can answer questions about romance? Do I have a love guru label in your eyes?"

A love guru, my ass!

Exusiai viciously complained in her heart. His emotional intelligence was clearly fine, but his sensitivity toward romance was zero. He thought that if he considered someone a friend, they had to consider him a friend too. If an idiot like you who can't catch a hint could be a love guru, Terra would be finished, because nobody would know how to fall in love anymore, okay!?

Texas didn't voice her thoughts, but internally gave Exusiai a thumbs-up.

Thanks to the tacit understanding built through years of being teammates, she could practically hear Exusiai's indignant rant.

Ch'en said, "Your relationship with Skadi is so good. Isn't it only natural to ask you about something like this?"

Because of Skadi?

Chen An paused, then instinctively looked toward Skadi.

Skadi held her cup in both hands, taking small sips of juice. Chen An wouldn't let her drink too much alcohol. Noticing him looking at her, she set down her cup, her eyes curving as she gave him a bright smile.

A smile of love.jpg

Chen An fell silent for two seconds and didn't deny what Ch'en had said.

"...Liking someone probably means that no matter what you're doing, you often think of them. Even when what you're doing has absolutely nothing to do with that person."

He said, "That's what books say, and it's what others have told me. But I don't think feelings are necessarily reliable. Just because someone reminds you of another person doesn't mean you like them. If you really want to know whether you like someone, just ask other people. Feelings can deceive yourself, but your behavior can't deceive others."

That seemed to make sense.

Hoshiguma nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly had an idea. "Chen An, I think Old Chen likes you. Do you think she likes you?"

Chen An answered succinctly, "I don't know whether she likes me, but I do know she definitely wants to chop you to death right now."

Hoshiguma: "..."

Looking at Ch'en, whose face had turned red as she glared at her furiously, Hoshiguma scratched her head and didn't dare say anything else.

Wen Yue: Little Ch'en, Hurry Up and Get Married

They didn't talk about romance again. They simply chatted about amusing things that had happened in their lives recently. By the time they had finished talking to their hearts' content, it was already very late.

With their food and drinks finished and the hour growing late, the gathering came to an end.

Hoshiguma rode away on her motorcycle. Skadi left while looking back three times for every step she took. Exusiai and Texas drove back to the apartment to collect their luggage, then went to pick up Swire. Chen An remembered Exusiai mentioning that she wanted a large room dedicated to gaming. There were plenty of spare rooms in the villa, and although they would only be staying temporarily, they could still fulfill Exusiai's dream a little. Besides, he felt that such a large villa was too lonely for only two people.

Of course, because the villa belonged to Swire, Chen An called her before inviting Exusiai and Texas. He asked whether they could stay at the villa for a while. Only after Swire didn't object did he invite them.

There was one more thing. Upon learning that Exusiai and Texas would be moving into the villa, Swire cursed, "Chen An, you heartless bastard! Living in my villa while still thinking about other women!" At the same time, she changed her mind and decided to move into the villa as well, using the excuse that she had to keep an eye on him and prevent him from having the chance to betray Skadi.

So although only Exusiai and Texas had been invited, the villa actually gained three more residents.

Then again, was it just his imagination?

Chen An seemed to have heard that line about keeping an eye on him and preventing him from betraying Skadi quite a few times recently.

Chen An didn't return to the apartment with Skadi and the others to pick up Swire, because there were some things he wanted to say to Ch'en.

Ch'en lived nearby, so they didn't drive.

The two walked together down the road. It was already late, and there were few pedestrians, but the chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs accompanied them all the way, so it didn't feel lonely.

Ch'en hadn't spent much time alone with Chen An, and this was the first time it had happened so late at night.

Remembering Chen An's solemn tone when he'd said he had something to tell her, along with how he'd barely spoken during the entire walk as if he were holding back some big move, Ch'en inexplicably felt a little uncomfortable.

She finally couldn't bear the silence anymore. "Hey, didn't you say you had something to tell me? Why haven't you said anything?"

Chen An organized his thoughts. "I remember you seem to like wuxia novels, right? A friend of mine has collected a lot of them. I can borrow some for you."

Ch'en: "..."

Her steps stiffened, and she said with forced composure, "You remembered wrong. I don't have that hobby. I'm a police officer, not some naive, gullible child. You remembered wrong."

She must have been flustered, because she said "you remembered wrong" twice in one sentence.

"Isn't it normal for adults to retain some childlike interests?"

Looking at Ch'en, who acted serious while her tail waved about anxiously like a little girl lying, Chen An found it amusing. "Stop pretending. Your aunt, Madam Wei, told me that you like wuxia novels. She also said that besides liking wuxia novels, you dreamed of becoming a great hero who upheld justice. The reason you like swords is because you were influenced by wuxia novels. I might remember wrong, but she couldn't possibly remember wrong, could she?"

Ch'en: "..."

She stopped walking, clenching her fists. Her tail was tense like a fist too, and her voice was filled with embarrassed anger. "Why would Aunt Wen Yue tell you things like that... No, when did Aunt Wen Yue even meet you? Why don't I know about this at all?!"

"About two months ago. I was playing chess with Boss Lin when Old Wei brought her over. It seemed like they already knew I knew you, because she started talking about you right away... Oh, and once Hoshiguma took me street racing, we ran into them too. But Hoshiguma didn't seem to recognize them."

After explaining at an unhurried pace, Chen An smiled again. "Besides telling me lots of things about you, she once wanted me to go on a blind date with you. But I told her we were friends and refused. She didn't bring it up again afterward."

No wonder Aunt Wen Yue kept encouraging me to go on blind dates with you. So that was why!

Ch'en suddenly understood, but felt even more ashamed and angry. "So this is what you wanted to tell me? Were you trying to humiliate me?!"

"Not really. You hadn't said anything the whole way, and I thought you looked a little gloomy. It wasn't very cute, so I said something to cheer you up."

How was that supposed to cheer anyone up?!

Ch'en wanted to angrily snap that at Chen An, but he didn't give her the chance.

"This is advice from a friend. It's fine to live seriously and have a sense of ceremony, but don't force yourself to live that way. That's exhausting. Work and such should be set aside when necessary. Living happily and comfortably is what matters most."

Ch'en was a little displeased. "Don't lecture me like some old man. Aunt Wen Yue doesn't even talk to me like that."

Chen An smiled. "It's not a lecture. Just advice."

Ch'en snorted and turned her face away.

Chen An continued, "What I actually wanted to tell you isn't this. It's about some things involving your aunt, your uncle, and Boss Lin. They all know, but you don't."

"My uncle? Wei Yenwu?"

Ch'en frowned and sneered. "You said you had something to tell me. Don't tell me you want to speak up for that cold-blooded man? If that's the case, don't bother. There's nothing to talk about."

"Not that."

Chen An shrugged, indicating that he was helpless too. "Although Madam Wei and Boss Lin both have that idea, neither Old Wei nor I do... Come to think of it, Boss Lin is one thing, but Madam Wei is clearly your aunt. Why does she think I'm more suited than her to persuade you?"

"Who knows? Maybe she thinks you're better at talking."

Ch'en's tone was mocking. "Like those punks and residents in the Lower District. Everything I say as a police officer goes in one ear and out the other, but the moment you open your mouth, they all turn over a new leaf."

She snorted again, clearly unhappy. "It's like I'd harm them or something. They don't know what's good for them."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Chen An stretched lazily and casually accepted Ch'en's mockery.

"Madam Wei said Old Wei actually loves you very much. He sees you as his own child, and even plans to hand Lungmen over to you when the time is right in the future... Don't glare at me. I already said I don't intend to persuade you to reconcile with him."

"Those who haven't suffered another's pain shouldn't urge them to be kind. I know what happened between you in the past, but the experience was yours, and so were the feelings. Naturally, the choice you make is yours too. I won't force you under the banner of doing what's best for you."

Chen An said with a smile, "I'm simply acting as a messenger, telling you things they wanted to say but couldn't tell you. After hearing them, whatever you think or do, I won't say anything."

Ch'en pressed her lips together, turned her face aside, and muttered, "Whatever. Hurry up and say it. I want to go home and sleep."

"Madam Wei told me many things about you. Things about you now, things from your past, how you started reading wuxia novels as a child, how you used branches as swords and excitedly challenged people to fights, only to get beaten until you cried."

"!!!"

Her pretty face immediately flushed pink. Ch'en stomped her foot hard and shouted, "How could she do this? Why would she tell you even those things?!"

"Maybe because she sees you as a daughter. She said Old Wei treated you as his own child, but wasn't she the same?"

Chen An said gently, "I remember clearly that when she talked about those things, even the look in Madam Wei's eyes as she recalled them was gentle. She really loves you. Isn't it normal for a mother to share amusing stories about her child with her child's friend?"

Ch'en opened her mouth, but remained speechless for a long while.