Chapter 203: Surprise, Meow Meow.
Jingzhe insisted on driving Mei Mei home after they left the civil affairs office. Given his determination, she was expecting to see a surprise party. However, to her surprise, there was no surprise party waiting for her. All the guests were gone, as were the servants. The house was empty--even the pets had been taken away.
It was very quiet, unnaturally so that Mei Mei felt as if something was missing. Jingzhe led her to the backyard and she gasped. There was a surprise indeed but it looked like a private surprise.
Fairy lights had been hung on the trees and the fence. A table for two sat under a tree and one of grandma Jun’s tea pots was sitting on it along with two cups and two crystal glasses.
All around the table, candles had been placed around to form the shape of a heart.
"Is this a date?" Mei Mei asked him.
Jingzhe nodded. "I wanted to do something special for you to celebrate your divorce. I searched my brain for ideas, wondering what I could do and I realized that I could give you a moment of peace. A moment to process your emotions, to unload you burdens, to laugh or cry without worrying about anyone else bothering you."
He wanted to give her an evening that was theirs. No Mingzhu, no Meow Meow, no frogs, spiders, nosy relatives, giggling maids and all the other chaos of their daily lives.
He stretched his hand out, "Smart devices, smart watch and everything that you use to communicate, hand it over. Unless the world is on fire, you are on a break from everything."
She obediently turned in all those things.
Jingzhe gave them to the robot butler and they sat down. He poured two glasses of jasmine sparkling tea into the crystal glasses--one for himself and one for her.
Mei Mei thought they would be drinking wine. The tea threw her off balance for a second. But, she did not question it and she just soaked in the gentle heat emitted by the evening sound, closed her eyes, upturned her face and smiled.