Family and Marriage in Chinese New Year

"Wait, Si Han… you know, I am an adopted child and my Chinese new year is different with your family Chinese new year… I am scared especially this time you take me straight away to your ancestral home," Lan Ying told to her husband. They are having coffee in the upper manhattan. Ye Si Han tries to catch up with his dear wife on his busy schedule. They manage to meet up in their favourite coffee shop near the central park as Lan Ying always carves and loves their freshly bakes cinnamon scroll.

"I never been home also but this year, my grandmother is asking me to go home… anyway, this is at the same time for your best friend marriage after the Chinese New Year… Please… It will be the same as celebrating our impending honeymoon…" Si Han begged to her with his sweet face.

"So, it means that we have to stay in China for almost a month for the new year period and wedding… Do you think my work and school will be allowing me to get day off as much as I can? No… I still refuse it… they even not coming into our wedding and now I have to enter their den of lion," she refuses the idea of her husband. She looks at his handsome face sitting opposite of her while holding of her hand. He is still using his business suits with his tired face due on his recent business trip to the east coast.

"honey, we have to face them sooner or later… I still have to add your name into our ancestral family book… come home to pay respect to my grandmother and my mother, please… I choose you for the rest of my life and I want to add you to our family book," Si Han is caressing her cheek with really loving gesture. The assistant called him politely to remind him about his next appointment with the mayor of New York regarding the development of Chinatown.

"Just go… I still have work to do tonight in the campus…" she feel unsatisfied with his busy schedule and make an excuse. Si Han kissed her passionately before he walked out the café into his Bentley car with his assistant and his bodyguard.

They met accidentally in Chinatown when she was finished dinner and some thief tries to snatch her wallet. Si Han was walking with his staff to plan for redeveloped the area in Chinatown which needed revamp. Si Han managed to catch the thief and out of nowhere, they kept bump to each other. In the end, out of crazy moment and spur of drunkenness, they flew with his private jets and went into wedding chapel to get married with the present of Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton.

Si Han refused to annulate their marriages and she keep getting married to Si Han. They manage to make it official with small wedding party to officiate their wedding with their close family present. Si Han tries to invite his parent, but they refuse as Yin Lang background did not match with their expectation. They thought her background as adopted Chinese child into America family is a big taboo. They see her is not pure anymore and refuse acknowledge her despite that she is from china originally.

She walked through Central Park with the cold breeze and light snow on the ground. The fresh air hit her nostril and it make her mind start to work. She is in her last semester for her medical school. Her adopted parent is a mixed family, her mother is a Chinese Indonesian who married into Military man. Her father is a loving man who loves their family. They adopted her from China when she was still six months old and decides to keep her Chinese name. She used her mother family name Gu Lan Ying and her adopted father name John Gibbs. He was a marine serving in and out of war until he has to retire due on the shoot on his leg. He is working as administration in Army.

Lan Ying has an English name Yolanda, but everyone called her with her Chinese name, if they are close enough with her. She still can't forget about the refusal from her husband family about her background and now, he begged her to come home with him. her mind suddenly getting disrupted with the phone call of her mother.

"Lan Ying, are you home for dinner? Is Si Han still on his business trip?" Santi called her daughter to make sure about her well being.

"No mom… He is back already but I think he will be having dinner with the mayor tonight… I will come home for dinner. What are you cooking?" Lan Ying is trying to hide her feeling.

"What happened, my darling? What are you thinking about?" Santi asked her daughter to know her well.

"Si Han wanted to take me to his ancestral home for Chinese New Year, mom… I am scared with his family," she said it honestly to her mother.

"Do not you always like Chinese New Year? Remember, we celebrate it in your Kung-Kung (paternal grandfather) house in Bandung?" Santi tries to talk to her daughter.

"I know… but this is different… I don't know them and the Indonesian Chinese is different from Chinese Chinese culture," Lan Ying tries to refute her mother word.

"What is the difference? Come home and WE will discuss it over sweet-sour pork and some chicken noodle," Santi told her daughter with a comforting tone.

"Are you serious making sweet-sour pork mom…? Can you make the braised pork also?" Lan Ying is getting excited to know her mother is cooking her favourite meal.

"Yes… Yes… Let's me get going to cook them," Santi told her daughter before ending their phone connection. She needs to explain to her daughter the concept of the in-law family in Asia which is a huge difference to Western culture.