When madam Feng woke up to prepare Mingzhu’s school lunch box, she was shocked to find that it was prepared. She had opened her eyes at six, in the morning, thinking she was the earliest to wake up in the house. Who had woken up earlier than her to steal the credit and kisses she was planning to get from her grand baby? Did nobody respect the special grandma-grandchild bond or code anymore?
Her questions were answered answered ca two culprits entered the house, sweat dripping from their foreheads, breathing heavily and dressed in work out clothes.
"Good morning madam Feng." i i shouted a greeting out while accepting a warm damp towel from a maid that she used to wipe her face.
"I told you to call mother, mom, cool mom....." Feng Qi did not like the way i i called her madam Feng, it drew lines and made their relationship similar to that of strangers.
"Good morning cool mom." Jingzhe greeted cheekily with an amused glint in his eyes. "Are you going to exercise as well?"
Jingzhe asked because his mother liked to keep fit. She took walks, did yoga, pilates,and qigong. Not all at the sa ti but each day had its own exercise routine. If she was awake early in the morning, it was either exercise or work.
Jingzhe scratched that in his mind and added a third option to his list; Mingzhu.
Feng Qi replied, "I was going to prepare Mingzhu’s lunch box but it seems you both beat to it. I will prepare breakfast, you two go and take a bath and then wake Mingzhu up. I have seen how much she hates Mondays and I do not want to be the one that wakes her up and reminds her that it is Monday."
i i was the one that would be falling on that sword, she was used to her daughter’s "life sucks" Monday morning look. Mingzhu was like the grumpiest of all grumpy old n every Monday morning.
She would have to be woken up forcefully, and what followed would be dramatic. Mingzhu would trudge into the bathroom like a disgruntled zombie, her hair was usually chaotic, having gone through so kind of battle in the night. She would give her mother accusing glares of betrayal through half-lidded eyes, blaming her for waking her up.
Sotis, she would doze with a toothbrush in her mouth or cry when water touched her body. Dressing up would be as slow battle, if left on her own, she was often found on the bed sleeping again with one sock on or an unbuttoned shirt. Her appearance could be comparable to that of a little drunk that had tried to dress up or undress and simply given up halfway through. Breakfast would be another battle to fight.
She would clutch her spoon or chopsticks like a warrior gripping a sword and stare at the breakfast with the intensity of soone contemplating life’s deepest injustices. The words "I hate Monday." would be muttered from her mouth once or twice as she was eating, slowly, deliberately as if fueled by pure exhaustion. Her responses to every question would be grunts and sighs, the universal language of the sleep deprived.
Whenever i i told her to smile or spoke to her cheerfully, she would glare back with the force of a thousand Mondays, willing her to disappear.
As i i run up the stairs to take her bath, she could not help wondering how Monday had personally wronged her daughter. It was not as if she was an office worker coming out of a long weekend!! The irony was, i i herself used to be the sa way until she noticed Mingzhu’s Monday morning crabbiness.
When she went to wake Mingzhu up, she had to pause by the door and take a deep breath.
"I hate Mondays." she muttered as she pushed the door open and entered.
What happened next was the equivalent of a christmas miracle. i i almost fell down when she noticed that her daughter was already out of bed. Not only was she awake but she was brushing her teeth in front of the mirror with Lian and Jingzhe.
She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, hoping to clear them because she believed that she was hallucinating.
Once again, she pushed the door open and discovered that Mingzhu was indeed awake. All three people had finished brushing their teeth.
"Bath ti is yours." Jingzhe told her.
He left the bedroom, closing the door behind them. i i looked at her daughter with uncertainty as Mingzhu willingly stepped into the bathtub which was already holding warm water.
"Good morning aunt." Lian greeted as she joined Mingzhu in the tub.
i i returned the greeting. Then, Mingzhu also greeted her and i i smiled.
"Mingzhu...are you my daughter Mingzhu?"
Mingzhu looked confused. "Mommy, Mingzhu is Mingzhu."
She had many questions but i i knew better than to question the miracle. Going with the flow, she helped Mingzhu and Lian with their bath and dressed them in their uniforms. When she delivered them to the dining table for breakfast, it pleased her to see that Feng Qi, the cook Chen mama and two maids were equally stunned.
They had all heard so much about Monday hating Mingzhu and witnessed it for themselves once. They were ready for grumpy Mingzhu, cheerful Mingzhu was a shock to witness.
"What happened?" Feng Qi whispered to i i.
"Ask your son. I do not know what magic he used but....dad of the year."
"Hmph! of what use is it to ask. That boy will not share his secrets so that he can be Mingzhu’s favorite person in the house." She huffed, unhappy.
"How do you think he did it?" i i asked Feng Qi.
Rose joined them and three won watched Jingzhe feeding the two girls. When Rose’s husband ca downstairs, he found then huddled to the side, standing close to a wall.
"What are we watching?" he whispered.
"Monday morning Mingzhu." Rose whispered back.
He nodded, "Aaaah, I have heard about that."
Just because i i had been gone all these years did not an they were not keeping tabs on her. Mingzhu’s most famous antics, they were familiar with.
"Does everyone know about this?" i i asked Rose.
Mingzhu giggled, and asked for a second stead pumpkin muffin.
"That is not my daughter, that is an alien." i i declared.
At the table, Jingzhe delivered the muffin playfully, moving his hand around as if it was an airplane, making a "whoosh sound."
He pinched his nose and said, "Ladies and gentlen, this is your captain speaking. The pumpkin muffin is ready for take off from the island of fairytopia. Destination: General Mingzhu’s breakfast plate. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for a smooth landing."
The two little girls were excited and they even clapped.
"Again dad, do another one." Mingzhu urged him.
" too, too!!" Lian squealed.
"She is going to love him more than ." Feng Qi touched her chest and whined like a sick dog.
"I think I am in the sa boat." i i scoffed in shock.
"We don’t even stand a chance and he is going to steal Lian’s affections as well." Rose said in disbelief. "Hubby, we should take our daughter and go back to our ho before she decides to live here permanently."
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