Page 32 of He Is My Bride
A few hours into the flight, they were served lunch, or early dinner.
After eating, Li Ying and Anne watched a movie while Hanjun got some work done.
“Hanjun,” Li Ying called from the TV room, “come join us.”
“I can’t now. Please close the door.”
Li Ying stood up from the couch and leaned against the doorway. He’d already slipped on his pink silken pajama shorts and shirt, as theyintended to nap to arrive well-rested. Landing was at noon Shanghai time, less than twelve hours now, so they would lose a night’s sleep.
“Hanjun,” Li Ying spoke gently, “it’s almost Christmas, must you work so hard?”
“I’m advising the new senior manager who is assuming my position at Measumed. I’m having a video call with her soon, please close the door.”
“Do you still get paid to do that? Hasn’t your contract with the firm ended?”
“No, and has, but she got hired at the last moment, and I didn’t have enough time to orientate her properly. I don’t want to leave her in trouble.”
“That’s nice of you, but you should get paid for, like, consultation or something. It’s not your fault the company failed to fill the position in time. They had months to find a person for the job. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of!”
Though maybe it was absurd to assume someone like Wu Hanjun could be taken advantage of.
“It’s my fault.” Hanjun turned to look at Li Ying. “I took responsibility for finding my own replacement.”
“Oh. But it’s not like you to leave things last minute.”
“No one else was qualified enough.”
“So strict, I shudder just thinking about having to be interviewed by you.”
“The door. Please.” There was an incoming video call request on Hanjun’s laptop.
“Yes, yes.” Li Ying blew Hanjun a kiss before sliding the partition closed.
Li Ying stayed up after Hanjun and Anne were already gone to sleep.
While Hanjun retreated to the stateroom and Anne set to sleep on one of the fully reclining chairs, Li Ying strolled bare-footed to thekitchen in the front. He wanted to make himself a cup of hot cocoa. He insisted to the stewardess that he could do it himself, but accepted her help in the end.
He chatted with her about her job, where she studied, and how she became a stewardess for a private chartering company, what it was like.
The nature of his questions, his working-class Brooklyn accent, and general laid-backness let her guess he was not one ofthem,meaningthe actual upper class, but rather someone like herself.
Eventually Li Ying admitted it was actually his first time in a jet and that the whole shebang was new to him.
As he’d hoped, she let her guard down, and Li Ying asked what were some of the craziest things customers had requested of her during flights, what the rich were like when they were alone, whether they were nice to the crew.
Li Ying was trying to gain tips on how to behave himself in front of staff as if he’d always had someone to cater to his whims.
The stewardess said nothing that would have compromised her position as an employee, but she seemed honest when she told Li Ying that most clients were courteous, yet always aware of their difference in status, keeping a certain distance.
Content with what he’d learned, Li Ying then asked about the uniform. The stewardess avoided directly refusingto let him use it, but the sentiment was clear: no.
Back in the privacy of the stateroom, Li Ying took off his bra and the tape. The mulberry silk of his pajamas felt heavenly against his skin, which had been constrained all day.
Li Ying looked at Hanjun, who had tucked himself under the covers and was already asleep, breathing peacefully. Li Ying wished they could have done more fun things on the plane, but Hanjun had been working hard, and Li Ying didn’t want him to be all jetlagged when he got home. He should let him rest.
Li Ying washed his face and his teeth in the en suite bathroom before slipping next to Hanjun to cuddle up to sleep.
Upon waking up, they were both groggy as their internal clocks had begun to adjust. They took turns using the shower, and Li Ying took his time redoing his whole makeup, cleavage, and putting everything else in place.
