Indifference

The Adventure Starts

Lawyer's office that same week

Today Dylan and Yue meet for the first time since they agreed to get married.

When the office door opens, the Wangs are already inside and the Shens come in.

The parents are polite to one another, even glad to meet under these new circumstances, while before they had only seen each other at Company events.

On the other hand, Dylan and Yue do not even glimpse at each other; they simply nod, staring at the floor. They are not sad or angry. They are... indifferent. They do not care at all about what the other looks like, and they do not care what the other thinks or feels. Why would they?

Both are uninterested in the absolute sense of the word, and they are not afraid to show it to everyone in the room. They see this as a simple business transaction. To them, this is actually similar to buying an item during nightly infomercials: you do not want or need the thing that is in front of you, supposedly, but you end up with it anyway for some reason. It will be like one of those objects you forget in a closet, a thing you do not even remember getting.

What both certainly want is to get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. Their parents hoped for a more mature arrangement, but they are not budging. This seems to be one thing the couple agrees on. 

They will get married legally one week from today in Taiwan because Dylan is not old enough to get married in China. After that, they wish to go their own ways. Although...

"You have to live together," states the lawyer firmly.

"What?!" both exclaim in unison, exchanging a quick and uncomfortable glance when they hear their synchronicity.

"Mr. Li specified that on the will. Same residence or the deal is not valid. In fact, he chose the residence for you. It is the Moon Villa."

"He is giving us grandma's favorite house?"

"Yes, he wanted you to... be happy there... have a... ahem... family."

"Tsk..." Yue rolls her eyes. Family? Are they pulling my leg? I would never! I will divorce this Romeo as soon as possible...

A family? How could grandpa think I am going to have a family with a total stranger? This is too fishy for my taste.

After the agreements are made, everyone leaves. Dylan and Yue will not see one another until the wedding day.

However, their mothers meet later that day to discuss the issue...

"Simone, do you think your daughter could eventually fall in love with my son?"

"I don't know, Kathy... She never had a boyfriend or anything. She thinks men are obstacles..."

"Obstacles?"

"Yes, obstacles to women's dreams and fulfillments... I don't know where she gets that, honestly. We were too weak with her, probably - the woman mentions almost ashamed. – I thought I gave her a good example as a mother, wife and woman. I work, I am not useless. Being a wife does not make you insignificant, right?"

"No! Being a wife and a mother are the toughest jobs in the world! Heck! We become cooks, psychologists, teachers, nurses, nannies, and I won't even mention what else, all while trying to stay positive, support everyone and look attractive! It's rough! Maybe your daughter saw how hard it is and prefers not to face all that..."

"Maybe. But now she will get married. How will they manage if they haven't even talked?"

"We need to give them a hand... They think they can get divorced soon... Perhaps we should have told them the truth so they can work on their marriage..."