Page 65 of He Is My Bride
Attached was a picture of them, Li Ying, Hanjun, and in the background Anne and the interns, walking through a mall with all their bags. The photo looked like someone had just snapped it on their phone. You really were not safe anywhere when you were a person of interest, Li Ying thought. And now his face was in full view.
“It’s just the same crap,” Li Ying said, but he couldn’t deny feeling vulnerable seeing his face revealed to all of Shanghai.
“Yep. And you are wearing sneakers.”
“You said it’s fine!”
“I didn’t imply it wasn’t, just saying. You never know who’s looking.”
“I can’t believe you’re wedging a sneaker between our friendship.” Li Ying held his hand over his heart dramatically.
Anne sighed.
—
Li Ying didn’t deem it necessary to mention the article to Hanjun, thinking it was such a stupid, inconsequential thing.
Li Ying returned home to find his fiancé waiting for him. Hanjun had made dinner and looked wonderfully domestic in a navy cardigan, chinos, and an apron.
“…Welcome home,” Hanjun said after noticing Li Ying was stuck staring at him from the hallway.
“Hey, wife,” Li Ying said and hugged Hanjun from behind. Hanjun’s waist looked good in the cinched apron, and Li Ying brushed his hands along its curve.
“Almost ready,” Hanjun said, “go sit down.”
From behind him, Li Ying saw Hanjun’s cheeks turning pink. The man truly had a thin face when it came to Li Ying teasing him.
They sat down to eat.
“This pork was so sweet, it’s like eating candy!” Li Ying praised. “You’re spoiling your wife, I’m proud of you.”
Hanjun smiled. “I can make it again. By the way, Grandmother Linming called. She asked if you would be available on Friday. She has invited my great-aunts, me, and cousins Hanrong and Yiyi to eat at her and Uncle Yiheng’s place, and wants you to go early to help her cook.”
Li Ying was taken aback, but of course, “Yes! Can I call her and let her know?”
Hanjun handed Li Ying his personal phone.
“This is good,” Li Ying enthused while selecting Hanjun’s grandmother’s number, “I can impress your family with my cooking. Surely even Uncle Yiheng will—Oh, hello Auntie Wang! It’s Li Ying!”
Li Ying chatted with Hanjun’s grandmother for a while, and they agreed he would go to her place on Friday afternoon to cook dinner with her.
So, Li Ying would meet even more family: the great aunts, matriarchs of the other Wu- and the Wang -lines, the great-grandmothers of Wu Yiyi and Xinyu. Li Ying should be on his best behavior. Better bring the hemline down, Li Ying thought.
“Hanjun, will we tell your family about our engagement?”
Hanjun looked at Li Ying calmly. “If you feel ready.”
Li Ying smiled. He was ready.
Chapter 14: The Sister Court
Anne hadn’t been idle, and when she heard of Grandmother Linming’s dinner, she had made a plan for Li Ying’s outfit.
“What happened to all the ‘sexy?’” Li Ying wondered aloud before the mirror after Anne had dressed him. “I look like, I don’t know, a fifties housewife meets a Victorian child?”
“Do you want to be ‘sexy’ for the aunties?” Anne said. “Besides, the dress is Miu Miu, and it’s cute.”
It was a knee-length, straight-hem dress with a pink-brown checkered pattern and short sleeves, and a white, flat collar with a small black bow. For shoes, Li Ying wore black bunny ballerinas by Minna Parikka, which he absolutely adored with their little rabbit ears on the front. They were comfortable, too—no heels. Underneath, he wore thin, sheer stockings, just for that extra bit of modesty.
