Page 36 of He Is My Bride
“Yes?”
“Mister Wu? This is the concierge. Your luggage is here.”
“Send them up.”
After dinner, Li Ying had a call with Anne. They agreed she would come tomorrow to arrange Li Ying’s wardrobe and help him prepare for tea.
Hanjun sat and watched Li Ying pace before the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the Shanghai skyline and playing with his nails while chatting with Anne.
“No, no, you go ahead,” Li Ying said when Anne asked if Li Ying would like to come browse the nearby shops with her, “I’m not leaving anywhere today.” He winked at Hanjun.
Hanjun smiled. Now it felt like home—Li Ying had broughthome with him.
Chapter 8: Meet The Wus
Li Ying woke up in panic. Hanjun was gone.
It was still dark outside: no light seeped in through the gap in the curtains. Li Ying checked his phone for the clock: past six in the morning. Hanjun was probably out in the park doing his daily qi gong routine at this hour, Li Ying realized.
He calmed down when he got his bearings. He must have woken up early because of the time difference. He couldn’t think of going back to sleep though, either because his brain was telling him it was early evening, or because of the lingering sense of unease. If Li Ying had had a nightmare, he couldn’t remember it, but something had left him anxious. He hadn’t had nightmares in a long time. They had gotten less frequent as he’d grown up, but stress usually brought them back.
Li Ying really wanted a smoke right now, and maybe he would have caved in if he didn’t need to do his whole makeup routine before he could even pop into a corner store.
Li Ying kicked off the blanket and got up. Wandering the empty, dark home could have made him feel lonely, but it was Hanjun’s home. Li Ying felt his presence all around him, comforting him even when the man wasn’t there.
He went to the bathroom and ran a hot bath. The tub was next to a window overlooking the city, and from up there, Li Ying felt like he was safe up in a warm nest, looking down at the world below.
Li Ying was still nervous about today. He considered Cousin Hanrong’s approval in the bag already, seeing as they had gotten along so well, but it was Hanjun’s uncle, Wu Yiheng, that Li Ying was truly worried about. Hanjun hadn’t spoken of his uncle all that much, but from what he’d told him, Li Ying had the impression that the man was very traditional, ambitious for the family company and his nephew, and very, very strict. Based on Hanjun’s stories, on the other hand, his grandmother sounded like a nice one, and Li Ying hoped she would be easygoing like Uncle Qian’s mother.
Li Ying’s honorary grandmother could also say the snippiest things though, like when she’d noted Amy had gained weight, or how Kai wasn’t the brightest of the lot. Or how Li Ying would never find a wife if he didn’t grow any taller. Well, she’d been right about that one, but for the wrong reasons: Li Ying had had a growth spurt that very summer, but also figured out he liked men. The irony. If Hanjun’s grandmother was as sharp with her tongue, Li Ying better watch out.
Li Ying heard the door, then steps outside the bathroom. A knock.
“Li Ying?” It was Hanjun.
Li Ying spread out seductively in the bath. “Come on in.”
Hanjun entered, and was pleased with the sight greeting him.
“Did you sleep well?” Hanjun asked.
“Time difference is messing with me, but whatever. Join me?” Li Ying invited, and Hanjun began removing his clothes.
Hanjun joined Li Ying in the bath, and as they took their time, Li Ying’s ghosts left him alone.
—
Anne came over around noon and unpacked Li Ying’s clothes for him—she firmly refused his help—hung them in Hanjun’s walk-in wardrobe, and ironed and steamed everything.
She helped Li Ying into his getup and did his hair and makeup, ever mindful of the time, with both of them peering nervously at the clock.
When everything else was ready, Anne presented the outfit Li Ying was supposed to wear for the afternoon tea.
“So, the idea was to give a ‘girl next door’ vibe.” Anne talked Li Ying through the look. “Something innocent to please the in-laws, but still chic, because everybody else is going to see you too, andtheyhave to think that you’re fashionable.”
She presented Li Ying with an over-the-knee, pleated plaid skirt in brown wool, Yves Saint Laurent vintage, paired with a simple white blouse. He was to wear this with heeled black loafers and pearl stud earrings. His hair was done in the usual way, with a mid-height ponytail and bangs to frame his face. He had simple eye makeup with cherry red lip tint. A small black leather purse for an accessory. Li Ying looked at himself in the mirror, turned his hips and watched the skirt swirl about his knees.
“Is it just me, or is it rather giving ‘school girl?’” Li Ying thought it didn’t give as much ‘innocence’ as Anne had probably hoped.
