The Difficult You

"Wife..."

"Hm?"

"You said you made a lot of people question life. Have you ever questioned life?"

Raelle took a bite of the steak and chewed languidly before taking a sip of the drink to wash it down. "Life isn't the question. In fact, life is the real answer." She looked up at him, "The real question is, how are you planning on living this life?"

Shui Xian's lips raised and he nodded his head. "But to me, life is actually the question and answer both. Life is the one giving us questions and in life, we have to find the answers. So, I believe every answer is found in just a single moment." Raelle's eyes showed her confusion and he elaborated, "We all spend years just to find that one moment that makes this life worthwhile. That explains everything about life."

"Did you find it then?" she asked in return. "That moment of yours."

"I thought I did," he answered with a sadness palpable in his eyes. "But I turned out to be wrong. It doesn't matter though. I'll still keep looking for that moment."

Raelle gave him a nod, "I appreciate that attitude. Indeed, no answer is wrong. It's just that you haven't found the right answer meant for you." Giving him a thumbs-up, she went on, "Hubby, I'm rooting for you! Make sure to find your moment!"

"I will," he replied as his eyes squinted at her. "By the way, what are you looking for in life?"

"Nothing," answered Raelle.

"You don't have a dream?"

"Even the dreams you see at night give you a restless sleep, how can daydreams be any better?" she retorted. "I don't like troublesome things. Dreams... Chasing those dreams... All are just troublesome to me."

"Then why are you working so hard?"

"Because it makes me feel good," she answered. "I'm not trying to achieve anything. I'm just trying to see how far I can go."

Shui Xian placed his fork and knife down before exhaling a long breath through his mouth. After that, he didn't speak until she was done eating. When the lights turned on, he noticed how she had pulled her sleeves up but suddenly frowned. Extending his hand, he held her wrist and looked at the spot that seemed to be bruised.

"You said you didn't get hurt," his voice was especially low when he said those words.

Raelle also looked at her wrist and then looked at him, "I didn't know I was hurt."

"How can you not know?" he retorted. "Isn't it hurting?"

"Hurting?" she repeated uncertainly. "Maybe."

Shui Xian closed his head and ran his hands through his hair before pulling her up to their bedroom. He made her sit on the edge of the bed and went to bring the medicine box. Looking at that reddish-blue spot on her wrist, Raelle didn't even blink.

Shui Xian put some ointment on it while asking, "Did you get hurt anywhere else? And please don't lie to me this time."

"Didn't I say it before that I don't lie?" she retorted. "I really didn't know I got hurt. I think this is the only one."

"You sure you didn't get hurt anywhere else?" She nodded her head. "I can't seem to believe it."

"Do you want me to strip? Then you can check yourself," she suggested.

"I'll just believe your words for now," he replied. "You should go to sleep now. You must be tired."

Raelle didn't argue with him and silently laid down under the duvet.

Shui Xian fixed the duvet for her as he said, "Your Yanyan was right, you really need someone to take care of you."

Raelle could only agree with that.

*Ding!*

She took out her phone from the trouser's pocket and clicked open the message she received.

Hyson: Today, I had a really bad day. So, I took out your picture and looked at it for five minutes. Everything became easier.

While Raelle was thinking about why looking at her picture would solve anything, another message came.

Hyson: After all, if I can survive being with you for about 15 years now. I think I can do anything.

Hyson: Nothing can be more difficult than you! So, thank you for being in my life. Thank you for being so difficult. Because it makes life seems so easy now.

Raelle continued to read these messages again and again. But instead of calling him almost immediately after reading the messages like she usually did, she called out, "Hubby!"

"What?"

"Come here," she beckoned him close.

When he came to stand beside her, she showed him the messages asking, "He is insulting me, right?" She took a pause briefly, "That doesn't sound like a compliment to me."

Shui Xian curiously read the messages and put his fist before his mouth to cough which was obviously to hide his laughter. "I think it's both."

Raelle nodded her head before pressing on the voice record button and saying, "Scram!" before sending it to Hyson. After that, she put her phone on silent and said, "Good night, Hubby! Don't spend your night working again."

"Good night," replied Shui Xian and watched her getting back to the same posture she slept in last night. Exactly after a few minutes, he called out, "Wife... Are you awake?" No response. "Elle!" He tried again but still no response. She was indeed sleeping. Just in a matter of minutes, she went to sleep. Now he was really envious of her. Why wasn't it that easy to sleep for him?

He went over to his suitcase and took out his binder. Sitting down beside her on the bed, with the opened binder, he continued to look at her face. After a moment, he started writing...

~She asks a lot of questions.

~She never gives up.

~She doesn't get flustered.

~She doesn't even frown after getting hurt.

~And she said, she likes everything. But it can also mean, she doesn't like anything.

~But somehow she finds beautiful things pleasing. You can see it clearly in her eyes when she likes something.

He turned his eyes to her sleeping face again and whispered, "You're like a surprise package."