Page 4 of He Is My Bride
A loud honk from the car behind him startled Hanjun. He grabbed the wheel of his white Bentley and hit the gas.
This is why you don’t break the rules!
—
“I’m home.”
Hanjun hung his coat in the closet and unlaced his polished oxfords. Everything the young man wore was tailored to him, his appearance top-notch, but now he was ready to unwind. He loosened his silk tie and popped the topmost button of his shirt. He could smell mapo tofu.
“Welcome home! Come give me a kiss!” Li Ying’s voice called from the kitchen.
Hanjun crossed the hall into the open-plan apartment. There he was greeted by the sight of Li Ying’s naked buttocks before the stove: the man was wearing nothing but an apron.
Not a bad sight to greet you after a long day of miserably important meetings, Hanjun thought, but the message from his cousin weighed heavily on his mind.
Hanjun walked behind his boyfriend, wrapped his arms around his waist, and planted a kiss under Li Ying’s ponytail.
“And what does your husband get?”
“What?” Li Ying chuckled. “His mouth fed!”
Li Ying didn’t mind his boyfriend getting flirty the first thing he came home, but he wouldn’t let him off the hook so easily:
“You know, it was your turn to cook today. And the day before. You’re lucky I’m such a good wife!” he jested.
“I’m sorry,” Hanjun murmured and pressed his nose into Li Ying’s hair. “There’s been a lot of work.”
“Is Junjunstressed?” Li Ying buried his hand in Hanjun’s hair. Hanjun wore his hair shorter than his, but there was enough for a good grip.
“I’mfine,” Hanjun heard himself say.
“Good. Go sit down.”
Li Ying finished cooking while Hanjun sat with his thoughts for a while. His work phone vibrated again, so he turned it off. He was done for today, he told himself, but it was hard to shake the feeling of guilt when he ignored work. Thankfully, Li Ying hadn’t heard the phone over the clattering of dishes.
Li Ying never said it, but Hanjun knew the man didn’t love it when he brought work home.
Hanjun kept staring at Cousin Hanrong’s message on his personal phone. He had not answered him yet, nor called Uncle Yiheng.
“Help me set the table?” Li Ying asked.
Hanjun put the phone down and went to help Li Ying.
“You know, I’m busy too,” Li Ying said as he sat down and dug in. “I try to play a good housewife, but this internship is really taking it out of me. I haven’t been able to go out with my friends for weeks.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I will try to help out more.”
“Did you have a meeting today?”
“Let’s eat first.”
“Hanjun,” Li Ying began carefully, “I wish we could talk more. We’re both so busy we hardly see each other for most of the day. I want to talk to you. I’ve been waiting to talk to you all day!”
Hanjun frowned. “Do you feel like I’m ignoring you?”
Hanjun knew he worked a lot, but it’s not like he was putting his work ahead of Li Ying, was it? He’d been trying to balance being a good worker and being a good boyfriend, but no matter what, Hanjun ended up feeling guilty when he ignored either work or Li Ying.
“No, that’s not what I said.” Li Ying grabbed Hanjun’s hand over the table. “I miss you!”
