Imperfect Desires

"I don't need practice to raise my son!" Xiu shot back.

Ying spurted out the water in her mouth and stared at Xiu, "Are you that sure it's a boy?"

"I am!" was Xiu's reply.

"So, now you're a fortune-teller?" 

Xiu eyed Ying before saying, "It's called mother's instinct."

"Who is gonna tell her that she'd way ahead of herself?" asked Ying to everyone around her but received no reply. "Looks like no one is gonna say it."

Han Bohai placed his hand on her knee under the table and when Ying turned her head to look at him, he said in a low voice, "Focus on eating. If she's happy thinking it's a boy, let her be."

Although Ying looked reluctant, she still listened to him and continued to eat in silence. 

To be honest, at first, Xiu herself didn't know why she wanted to eat with everyone. But now that they all sat in her room playing their own antics, Xiu realized that she was actually missing it all. In the last few days, she felt like she lost these smiles but tonight, she was happy to find those smiles again. 

Seeing all these people around made her feel calm once again. The turbulence she had been feeling since she woke up was finally easing up because of everyone's presence. 

And now that they all filled the room with their voices, she didn't feel the need to speak. She didn't speak a word even after she was done eating. However, almost everyone in the room noticed this change. After all, no one here was used to a silent Xiu. 

Oh, there was one... Han Bohai. He was very familiar with this silent Xiu, unlike the others. Also, he was the only one here who knew that when she was silent it didn't mean something was on her mind, it rather meant, she was feeling at peace. There were only two times, she'd be talking non-stop. Either she had something on her mind or she didn't want the conversation to end. 

"Xiu, you're okay?" asked Zhao Huan.

Xiu had her eyes closed, her head leaned back languidly when she heard this question, and replied in the same position, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Are you tired?" asked Xin Zemin.

"Nope," she replied.

"Then are you sleepy?" asked Jing Ge.

"Nope," she gave the same answer again.

"They are asking because you're so silent," said Clara. "I don't think anyone is used to your silence."

Xiu's eyes opened immediately, "But I am a very silent person."

Francesca chuckled at Xiu's reply and said, "Trust me, Sweetie, you're not a silent person." Xiu pouted at her and she went on, "But we love you anyway."

"Regan, they don't trust me," Xiu complained to her husband.

Darren gave her a soft smile, "I believe you. Isn't that enough?"

Xiu continued to stare at his face and cursed under her breath as she closed her eyes again. The more she looked at him, the more she wanted to run over and hug him. But sadly, she neither could run over at the moment on her own nor could she hug him however she liked. This was really a test of her patience and she didn't like it at all!

As she said earlier, this was pure torture for her!

However, she couldn't help answering him either. "That's enough. That's more than enough."

"Wow! You both are really something else," said Ying. "You really don't get embarrassed."

Xiu's expressions shifted almost instantly as she said, "If love is a crime, then I'll gladly become a criminal. If our love is real, is there really a need to conceal it? This love makes me squeal because I know how my feelings are raw and deep."

Nora burst out laughing as she said, "I haven't seen a performance from you in a long while. This one truly is refreshing. It's making me believe that you will never change."

Xiu's expressions changed again as she smiled at Nora saying, "Don't I deserve the Best Actress Award?"

"Yes, you do!"

"Yes, you do!"

Two voices rang out at the same time. The first one belonged to Nora who was originally asked this question and the second one belonged to Han Bohai who just agreed very honestly. The way her expressions and tone shifted almost instantly earlier once again reminded him why Chen Xiu was known as a gem. She never had to try hard. This was very natural to her.

Xiu blinked at Han Bohai who said, "I mean you really did it very well. It looked great." 

"That has to be the highest compliment for me tonight," replied Xiu. "The best actor of his generation just complimented me. How surreal!"

"This is indeed a high praise," Xiao Li also agreed. He looked at Han Bohai and went on, "You've worked as an assistant for Chen Xiu, right?" Han Bohai nodded in reply. "Then it must be pretty difficult to impress you. I heard someone say that the actors like her are rare gems; very hard to come by."

Han Bohai smiled at Xiao Li and didn't hesitate to agree with him, "Indeed. There had been no one who can still challenge her. She didn't act, she lived every character she was offered. But she paid a heavy price for getting so attached to those characters as well."

"You just praised Xiu... Oh, what a surprise, both share the same name," said Xiao Li as if it suddenly occurred to him. But as soon as he said that, a crash was heard and he looked over at Ah-Si who had dropped his glass of water and fell on his clothes, drenching him.

"Sorry, let me take care of this," said Ah-Si and rushed out of the room in a hurry.

Xiao Li didn't think much about his brother's odd behavior, he just looked back at Han Bohai and continued, "So, since both of them share the same name. Do you think our Xiu is better or she was?"

Han Bohai looked over at Xiu who was staring back at him blankly and he answered, "There is no comparison between the two."