Page 96 of He Is My Bride
“Why? Can’t I see it again? I think you looked very nice.”
Li Ying stood quiet.
“Do you like that sort of thing?” Amy asked neutrally.
“Um, yeah. I like dressing up as a girl sometimes. For fun. I know it’s weird.”
“Hmm, is it? There are a lot of men who do that, I think.”
“I guess.”
“Can you show me? You don’t have to, but there’s nothing wrong with it, you know.”
Li Ying tentatively sat next to her on the bed and took out his phone. He let Amy see the picture again.
“You’re very good at doing makeup! Did you teach yourself?”
“Anne helped.”
“What did the boys think, the cousins?”
“Uh, they were cool about it? After all, they didn’t know me, I was just some weird American, right?”
“Did Wu Hanjun know you weredoing this?”
Li Ying’s heart was pounding. “Yeah, he knows I’m weird.”
“Stop saying that it’s weird,” Amy rebuked gently and handed Li Ying his phone back. “Do you do it often?”
“Just in Shanghai. That’s why there aren’t many pictures of me, you know, I was taking the opportunity to dress up where no one knew me, no chance of running into people from uni or such.” All the lies Li Ying had to tell twisted his stomach.
“I understand,” Amy said. “Is that why you’re going back? You shouldn’t have to fly across the Pacific just to express yourself, you know this is New York, right? Who cares?”
“I know. That’s not all there is to it. I just really want to go again.”
Li Ying and Amy sat together in silence for a while. Finally Li Ying looked at her with pleading eyes.
“Amy, please don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t. I think Kai recognized you from the picture, but I’ll make him swear not to say anything.”
“Thanks, Amy.” Li Ying took his sister into a hug.
She hugged him back, petting his hair. “If you want to, we could do it together sometimes? I would lend you my clothes, but you’re too tall for them, I’m afraid.”
Li Ying chuckled. “Yeah, but could I borrow your jewelry, maybe?”
“Of course! And we could go shopping for clothes together. But I guess you’re going with Anne?” Amy had thought she might have wanted a sister she could have done such things with, but why not with a brother? She was excited about the possibility and hoped Li Ying would let her be part of this aspect of his life.
“Yeah, but I’d love for you to join us!” Li Ying held her hands. “It would be fun, to go with my bestie and my sister!”
Amy smiled, joining Li Ying as he began bouncing on the bed, still holding hands.
They fell back to lie on the bed and talk some more, about makeup and the perils of heeled shoes. Li Ying let Amy browsethrough the rest of the pictures on his phone and made sure she stopped to admire his French manicure properly.
“Li Ying,” Amy asked as there was a lull in the conversation, “do you have someone you like?”
“…Yeah.”
