Wooing my Bodyguard Wife

“Mommy – Mom !” Jingwei had whined, hastily remembering to call his mother Mom instead of Mummy, because he was eight years old, not a baby.

One of the kids laughed at him when he heard Jingwei call for his mom, insisting that Jingwei was a baby and he should go back to kindergarten. Jingwei socked him in the face, and his father was not pleased when he received the news that his son had punched Councillor Bai’s son in the face. Jingwei was forced to apologise, never mind that Bai Shi Ting was the one that called him names to begin with!

“Yes baby?” His mother asked, giving him a quick look as she was momentarily distracted from the kitchen stove. She was stirring a pot of soup for the guests that were visiting later. Even with a bevy of servants at her beck and call, she still preferred to cook her meals. Her favourite was fishball noodle soup.

“Why are people coming over to our house again? I hate it! I don’t want people to come over to our house,” Jingwei complained, stomping his feet. They made soft little thumps on the tiles, because he didn’t have the leg strength yet.

“They are always mean to me and call me names, and Father is never on my side.”

Other children would have loved having visitors to their home, especially if their home was as grand as the mansion Jingwei lived in. The bragging rights would have been incredible!

However, whatever enthusiasm Jingwei initially had about having guests gradually eroded as the kids that he was supposed to befriend for his father’s sake turned out to be mean bullies that seemed to love picking on Jingwei when no one was watching.

And when Jingwei retaliated, he was the one that got scolded by his father instead! Apparently, Jingwei was supposed to behave with all the dignity of a Sun family member, which meant not punching kids that wanted to make him cry.

Even when they were at fault, his father always placed the blame on him! He was always called too loud, too childish, too weak, too lousy… There was no end of scoldings given by his father, and he always compared Jingwei to his brother and whatever new guest that visited.

As such, Jingwei hated it whenever his father’s friends visited with their kids. It never led to anything good.

He hated the thought of visitors so much that he would rather be forced to clear the litter of all the puppies in the kennel. The puppies were sweet and cute, and paid attention to him and never made him feel stupid when he gave the wrong answers to questions.

So he was complaining to his mother, hoping that she could stop his father from inviting people!

His mother laughed at how adorable her son was when he whined.

“Oh my poor boy,” she smiled indulgently. “I know it’s hard now, but just bear with it for a while. Once your father becomes successful enough, you won’t need to bother with them anymore.”

“When will that be?” Jingwei asked. “We already live in a mansion and have a lot of cars. We also have a lot of puppies. Why does Father want more?”

His mother paused, trying to find a way to explain how her husband was a tangled mess of ambition, drive, and pride, wrapped with a crippling fear that he would never amount to anything worthwhile. How could she give her young son such an honest answer?

Now Jingwei was still young enough to think the world of his father, and wanted his approval. When he grew older, eventually he would be disillusioned by his father’s actions.

But she didn’t want that day to come so soon. So she had to reassure him.

“Your father loves us a lot, and the way he shows his love is through giving us the best life, with a big house, a lot of cars, and a lot of money. We never have to worry about things many other people do,” his mother said, patting his hair.

“Really? Like what?” Jingwei asked in confusion. Everyone around him in school was also wealthy, and they seemed to be already worrying about things like where they should travel to for vacation.

“Like… having three full meals a day, a solid roof over their heads, a warm bed to sleep in at night. We never need to worry about falling sick, because your father can afford the best doctors to treat us. And all this is possible, because your father works hard for us. His efforts make our lives easy and comfortable. He loves all of us Jingwei, he’s just… not the best at showing it.”

Jingwei frowned, considering his mother’s words. His father loved him? He doubted that. He never hugged Jingwei or his brother, the way his Mom did. His life didn’t feel easy and comfortable. Father never stopped comparing him to others, making him feel small inside.

“Are you sure?” Jingwei asked, frowning. “I think Father likes scolding me more.”

His mother laughed loudly, patting his head. “Don’t fret, my dear son. Your father scolds you because he expects a lot from you. You’re his son, so of course he wants you to do well.”

“So I don’t embarrass him,” Jingwei said glumly, voicing the unsaid words, before he realised something. “Then is Gege not his son? Why does Father scold me and not me!”

Her mother froze, before the smile slid off her face. She gave Jingwei a serious look, and Jingwei stilled.

“Don’t say that! Remember that no matter what, your brother is always your brother. Whether it’s now or the future, the both of you must support each other to help your father, regardless of anyone’s words. Your brother works very hard to make your father proud as his first son.” His mother said.

Jingwei’s face fell. From his mother’s words, she clearly loved Tianwei more than him! Tianwei was the son that was making his father proud. Jingwei was just Tianwei’s annoying younger brother. Some kids in school even had begun calling him ‘the spare’, seeing that Tianwei was obviously ‘the heir’.

Well, it’s not like they were wrong, Jingwei thought morosely to himself. Tianwei was better than him in every category that he could think of, and Tianwei could probably think of more categories than him too.

“Okay Mom,” Jingwei said, staring at the floor as he tried not to cry. He was already eight, he shouldn’t be crying. No one liked a crybaby. Tianwei didn’t cry, he was cool and composed and could argue a man twice his age to tears. “I’ll try to become more like Ge. I’ll make friends with those kids and stop punching them.”

“There’s no need to force friendship, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” his mother said warmly. “And you can just be you – this cute, kind hearted, funny son of mine is already good enough for me. If you want to punch mean kids, make sure to not get caught!”

Jingwei pulled a face. Cute, kind hearted and funny? Was he a clown or a pet? All those descriptions were so uncool! Then his mouth fell open at his mother’s words. He’d never considered it from that point of view before.

“Okay!” Jingwei nodded eagerly, feeling better now that he talked to his Mom and had gotten ‘permission’ to punch the visiting family’s child if he turned out rude like all the others. He wasn’t going to be pushed around any longer!

“Sun Haowei,” a tall imposing man greeted his father warmly, “How have you been?”

“Better now that you are here,” Sun Haowei greeted him in return. Jingwei had to school his face to stop the look of confusion from taking over. His father was talking to this man as though he was a good friend – which weirded him out. In his mind, his father was someone who was harsh to everyone. No one would be crazy enough to be friends with his father!

Maybe there was something wrong with this man too.

“Let me introduce our son. This is Shang Jing,” Mrs Wu said in a melodious voice as she wrapped an arm around her son’s shoulders, pushing him slightly forward. She looked a lot younger than Jingwei’s mom, and she had an hourglass figure along with soft doe eyes and a heart shaped face.

Jingwei blinked in surprise – this woman didn’t look like a mom at all! In fact, he thought she seemed more like his very pretty homeroom teacher.

Meanwhile Mrs Sun raised an eyebrow internally as she quickly scanned the woman from top to toe, even as she pasted a gentle, welcoming smile on her face. She didn’t expect the new Mrs Wu to be so…young. Poor girl.

Clearly Mr Wu loved marrying younger women – he replaced his wives every time they hit 25 years of age! Everyone who attended his wedding back then knew the wedding had an expiry date, except for his young hopeful wives who believed they could change him, only to be disappointed when they were handed a divorce letter after they celebrated their 25th birthday!

Mr Wu Lei Zhe was truly an odious man. For all of Sun Haowei’s flaws, at least Bi Yu knew he valued his family and tradition. Her opinions might be disregarded at times, but she wouldn’t be replaced. She had given Sun Haowei an heir after all.

“I’m not your son,” Wu Shang Jing barked out irritably, and he all but flung the arm Mrs Wu had around his shoulders. “Don’t pretend to be my mom.”