Page 29 of He Is My Bride
“You could have afforded to stay at a hotel instead of couch surfing in other people’s homes.”
Ouch.Li Ying shrugged, smiling.
Qian Hong stirred his tea, the chink of silver against porcelain chiming in the silence.
Li Ying’s foster sister Amy turned to him, breaking the silence, “I hope you have fun in Shanghai, A-Yingii. Bring us souvenirs!”
Li Ying returned her smile. “I’ll get you something as late Christmas presents.”
“Don’t feel too pressured,” said Kai, Li Ying’s foster brother. “It’s the thought that counts.”
“Come on, of course I’ll get you something!”
After chatting with his family for a while, Li Ying had to be on his way: he had an appointment for waxing and getting his brows and nails done before the big day.
“Let us walk you to the subway.” Amy stood up and urged Kai to join them, and off they went.
Once the youths were gone, Qian Hong said to his wife:
“I don’t think Li Ying will be sleepingon a couch.”
“Still assuming his friend could be the Wu Pharma Wu Hanjun? I doubt it; imagine someone like him having aroommate, ridiculous. Or did you find out something?”
“Not really. I couldn’t reliably match Li Ying’s friend to any photos of Wu Hanjun online. But you have a good point.”
“I didn’t ask for your validation.”
Qian Hong finished his tea.
—
On the morning of the twenty-first of December, Li Ying dolled up for the journey to Shanghai.
They were picked up by a taxi, the driver having picked up Anne from her place in Brooklyn prior.
Anne had collected all the clothes and accessories from Li Ying’s and Hanjun’s place, saying she would take care of Li Ying’s entire wardrobe and packing.
“Let me help you with that,” Li Ying said to Hanjun and grabbed the handle of his large Rimowa luggage while opening the trunk. The driver hurried to the back, horrified that his customer should be handling their own luggage, but Li Ying was stuck staring at the contents of the trunk.
“Anne, have you hidden an entire dismembered body here or what?”
“What? The pink one is mine, and the rest are yours.”
Anne had hauled three pieces of luggage for Li Ying’s things alone.
“Well, holy shit.” Li Ying hadn’t failed to use his feminine voice, but his sense of humor was still the same.
Li Ying himself only had to pack his personal hygiene, makeup, and hair products, seeing as Anne had seen to the rest. Since all Li Ying’s personal things had fit into his keepall, he’d figured he could help Hanjun with his luggage. Instead of accepting help however, his boyfriend gently ushered him into the car, giving him a firm look.
Their charter departed from a private airport only half an hour’s drive away from the condo. No going through security, only getting their luggage checked with no lines, and then they were already being escorted across the runway to their private jet. He felt absurd walking up to the aircraft and having the three-man crew greet him as if he were supposed to be there:
“Welcome aboard, Mr. Wu, Miss Li, Miss Lü.”
No, wait: hewas.
Getting seated on the luxuriously spacious seats upholstered in cream leather, Li Ying and Anne looked at each other with stupid grins and tried not to act obnoxious, but it got harder the longer they looked at each other until they were giggling.
The corner of Hanjun’s mouth tugged as he opened the provided issue of China Daily. There were fresh flowers on the tables, and after takeoff, champagne was popped.
