Page 10 of Two Thousand Promises

“Your soul might not belong to the huli jing, but it’s quite obvious your heart does. Have you ever told him you love him?”

Xiao Dan turned off the water, but didn’t move to face her. “Huli knows that I’m fond of him.”

Ming Yu snorted. “That wasn’t what I asked you.”

His eyes drifted to the sink as his fingers clenched the edge tight enough to make the veins on the back of his hands stand out. “No,” he muttered. “I’ve never been brave enough. Huli jing are free, unencumbered creatures that pursue the things that make them happy. Which confuses me all the more, because I’ve never been able to understand why he’s stuck close to me for so many years. I’ve never been an adventurous, free-spirited person. Not even when I was young. And Huli is so much younger than me. I’d already been a vampire for a thousand years that night I found him. I had the responsibility of the clan on my shoulders. What…what could he ever see in someone like me?”

“I think he sees the same thing we all see. You are someone who is thoughtful, caring, compassionate, and warm. You havealways been someone we could turn to after our adventures away from home and we wanted to return to a safe harbor. Huli adores you for exactly who you are. No, helovesyou.”

“Does he? I’m not so sure he understands what that word means. He’s not like us. Huli wasneverhuman. I don’t even know if a fox spirit is capable of love.”

And yet, that hadn’t stopped him from falling hopelessly in love with Huli. Seeing the fox spirit every evening, listening to his stories, and being the center of his world had become an addiction Xiao Dan was sure he had no hope of breaking. Even during the times Huli was being his most ridiculous or giving a rare glimpse at some of his more vicious impulses, Xiao Dan was still head over heels. His heart skipped to see the flash of those orange tails. Or as Huli shifted and Xiao Dan looked down to find those enormous eyes watching him with a greedy smile spreading across his mouth.

If he’d had to describe Huli’s feelings toward him, he’d be more inclined to describe them as an obsession. Not love.

“I doubt love is the same for any of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re human, vampire, dragon, or huli jing. Do you think Kai’s concept of love is the same as yours? The dragon has lived countless lifetimes longer than all of us, but not one of us would question his devotion to Xiang.”

“That is true.” Xiao Dan turned around to lean on the sink, his arms crossed loosely on his stomach while he watched Ming Yu steadily work her way through the dough, filling the small circles and forming them into perfect balls with gathered pleats at the top. Even though he’d largely given up food along with the rest of his clan mates years ago, the enthusiasm of Moon, Rei, and the others had won him back. He couldn’t deny that the scent of Ming Yu’s cooking would drag him to the kitchen to salivate over rich spices, fluffy buns, and delicious meat.

“Xiao Dan, you’ve known him for centuries,” Ming Yu said, her voice filling with new urgency. “Why have you waited so long? What has kept you from finally claiming him as your mate and being happy?”

“Fear.” He hated to say it out loud, but there was no other way to describe it. “I was afraid that he couldn’t actually love me. I was afraid that what Chen and Xiang were saying all these years was right and that he was just using me. What if I told him…and he laughed, proving that I’m just a stupid fool?”

“Idiots,” Ming Yu muttered as she dropped the spoon into her bowl, louder than before. “What could Huli have gotten from you? Food? Affection? Time? If Huli laughs at you for loving him all this time, he’s the fool, not you.” Her hands stopped moving, and she sighed. “Even if we have centuries ahead of us, time is still a precious thing. We never know how long we have with someone. Time should never be wasted.”

“The only thing I want to do is protect him. How am I supposed to do that? If he doesn’t tell me when he’s in trouble, I can’t keep him safe.”

“And if he doesn’t know that you love him, he’s going to be even more reluctant to share his troubles with you. Anyone with half a brain can see this clan keeps you occupied with worries. Do you think Huli wishes to add to your troubles?”

“No, of course not, but I…” Words failed him. He sighed. Why was it always so much easier to give advice to his fellow clan mates, but with his own love life, it was just a disaster?

“Talk to him. The moment he returns to the manor, tell him you love him. Before he even tries to explain anything about that other huli jing and the bargain he struck. Let him know he can lean on you for anything. Also, can you get me the second steamer out of the closet over there?” She waved her hand at the closet tucked into the other side of the kitchen near the double-door refrigerator. “I’ve learned to make a double batch. Leo can eat far more than his figure would have you believe.”

Xiao Dan pushed off from where he’d been leaning against the sink and crossed the kitchen, a scoffing noise escaping him. “I find it amazing that you’ve got such strong opinions about howIneed to tell Huli how I feel, but you’ve yet to share your own feelings for a certain someone.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ming Yu’s voice was slightly muffled as he stepped into the closet with shelves lining the three walls from floor to ceiling. There were numerous canisters for tea and other foodstuffs. They had a pantry for food, but this closet also served as a backup pantry to catch the overflow. Not to mention more cooking implements along with a strange array of small appliances that Ming Yu had gained to try out a few times and then declared that they weren’t better than her method.

His eyes skimmed the shelves for the familiar light-brown round bamboo steamer basket. “We can all see that you’ve been in love with Mei Lian for centuries, but you’ve only given the tiniest of hints. Like the special box of cookies for her you try to keep hidden from the rest of us. Or that you stare at her anytime she’s not looking your way. Or how you wear her favorite perfume. You’re happy to tell me to jump straight in, but you’re unwilling to take even the slightest risk. Content to waste so many years.”

He finally spotted the basket and snatched it off the shelf. He turned to ask Ming Yu if she also needed more liners, but he froze. Ming Yu’s eyes were wide and her lips trembled as she stared straight ahead. Not even her hands were moving, where they continued to cradle a half-formed bun.

Xiao Dan stepped out of the closet and looked to his left to see what had caught Ming Yu’s attention. His heart skipped a beat. Mei Lian stood in the doorway to the kitchen, fat tearsslipping from her luminous eyes. Dressed in a pair of soft flannel pajama pants covered in blue and white bunnies, while her T-shirt was of a smiling boy running from a horde of zombies.

“You love me?” Her soft voice trembled and cracked.

Oh. Shit.

He hadn’t even heard her approach when he’d stepped into the closet, but she had clearly overhead every word he’d spoken. He might have wanted to help bring Ming Yu and Mei Lian together, but definitely not like this. Xiao Dan stood frozen, seriously debating whether he could slink into the closet before anyone remembered he was there.

“I-I-” Ming Yu stammered.

“Tell the truth! You love me like you would for your little shimei,?2 and that’s all.”

“No.” Ming Yu lowered her head and swallowed hard. “I love you like I would a mate or a wife. I’ve loved you for so long…”

“But you’ve never said anything.” Mei Lian stomped her foot, jerking Xiao Dan’s and Ming Yu’s eyes up to her furious face. “I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. I’d just arrived, and you asked one of the other servants to show me to my quarters, but all I wanted to do was stay there with you. To you, I was some stupid girl sent to be married off to someone she’d never even met. I’ve always been some stupid child to you.”

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