Page 105 of He Is My Bride

“You’re lucky this qipao has a long collar, or I would whoop your ass, Wu Hanjun!” Li Ying swore the next day while checking that the collar indeed covered all of his love bites. Only if he turned his head like this, the one below his ear would show.

But it was not just here, but there too… If Li Ying’s hem hitched up at all—as it would do when he sat down—and someone happened to catch his inner thighs at an angle, there was an obvious bruise on each of them too. Li Ying loved it, loved to be marked with bruises like little plum fruits and flowers, but what if someone saw?

Keep your legs together,he told himself.

“You didn’t complain last night,” Hanjun said.

“Oho-ho, look who’s a saucy manx!” Li Ying playfully tossed Hanjun with a cotton pad from his makeup bag. “So, the Wangs are gonna be there too, huh?” Li Ying asked while turning back to the mirror to put on his earrings: large round faux pearls dangling on golden chains.

“Yes. They are part of the extended Wu family through marriage, so unfortunately it’s inevitable.”

“I hope your great-aunt”—that was Madam Wang—“doesn’t bring her crusty dogs.”Damn, there will be so many more madams to scrutinize me this time, but whatever.Their opinions would likely be less inconsequential to Wu Yiheng’s decision regarding his blessing, but Li Ying still didn’t want to make Hanjun lose face in front of the family.I hope they are all as sweet as old little Madam Wu.

“Don’t worry,” Hanjun said. “I will protect you.”

“…Promise?” Li Ying had been about to say he didn’t need protecting, but wasn’t it nice that someone finally offered, he thought.

“Promise. From the Wangs, and any other dog that barks at you.”

Li Ying couldn’t believe the sass of his man. He stopped to stare, feeling like swooning while watching Hanjun finish tying his bowtie. The man then patted Li Ying’s bottom on his way out of the bedroom. Hanjun was rocking a classic tuxedo. It took all of Li Ying’s self-control not to pounce and ruin his carefully groomed appearance.

“You would look good with a gun,” Li Ying said.

Hanjun looked at him with a confused frown. Li Ying formed a gun with his hands and pointed at Hanjun, taking a wider stance and tilting his hips, legs going on seemingly forever. His legs were made longer by the short hem of the qipao and the pump-heeled Louboutins, the ones with the red soles that matched the accented trim of the qipao.

“Bang!”

Hanjun rolled his eyes.

“My name is Hanjun, Wu Hanjun!”

Hanjun hid his smile and went to put on his signature chypre perfume. He had found one he liked years ago and always used it, day and night, as it was versatile and never offensive. There was a menthol-like, almost medicinal quality to its bergamot top note over the woody undertones, but on Hanjun it smelled clean and sophisticated. Seems Li Ying liked it too, because he was always smelling him up close when he put it on.

Li Ying himself hadn’t been big on perfumes, but now it was inevitably part of his wardrobe. For tonight, he put on some Plum Japonais by Tom Ford. When they had tried that one in the mall with Anne and Amy, they had deducted the bougie juice would be perfect for the Lunar New Year—it was around this time that the plum trees blossomed in China, and in the South the blooming was already beginning: trees in the various parks around Shanghai were opening their first blossoms, ranging from vivid red to pale pink in color. This fragrance made Li Ying think of a warm hearth in a traditional house in winter, drinking brandy and mulled wine by the fire while watching plum trees blossom outside in the snow, their fragrance joining the spice. It was a boozy and fruity, alluring yet unisex fragrance, and Li Ying found it fascinating. He could hardly stop smelling it on himself.

Li Ying’s other accessories included a pearl bracelet, and into his signature mid-height ponytail he tied a dark red ribbon.

Anne had made a manicure appointment for him for today, to get his gel tips redone and painted. ‘Ask for classic red,’ she had instructed, but Li Ying had seen pictures in the studio where the tips were a different color from the base, and without Anne there to supervise him, Li Ying had asked the nail lady to give him black tips to go with the red. It was pretty goth but not too much, and besides, Li Ying liked it. He had sent a picture to Anne.

the party pooper had responded.

Li Ying also did a more dramatic eye makeup for tonight with winged eyeliner, practicing until he nailed it, contoured his face, and blushed his cheeks to have a healthy ruddy color.

Against Anne’s suggestions for deep red matte lipstick, Li Ying went light with only some tinted lip balm. He didn’t want to worry about smearing it while he’d eat and drink. Also, he would need to put his lips upon a little surprise at the banquet tonight:

Once he was done making himself ready, Li Ying took a small black case, longer than it was wide, and brought it to the entrance hallalong with his red patent purse, so that he wouldn’t forget to take it with him.

While putting the case and his purse on the console table in the hall, Li Ying noticed something else on it: a dark purple envelope. It had already been opened, so Li Ying let his curiosity get the better of him and looked inside.

He found an invitation card, made of thick quality paper, printed with golden Art Deco-style embellishments and lettering: it was a New Year’s party invitation to Hanjun and his plus one, to be held on the second day of the new year. The invitation stated a roaring twenties theme. Li Ying would have to consult Anne on that one, assuming he and Hanjun would go. Of course they would go, right?

Li Ying turned to look at himself in the mirror to take a once-over of everything. Having made himself ready to go out and tackle his next challenge, Li Ying felt very sexy and classy.

I look like Wu Hanjun’s Bond girl.He kept posing with his finger gun in front of the mirror, and imagined Wang Guosheng and his son Wang Hao at the gunpoint.

“Pow.”

“Taxi is here.” Hanjun came to the hallway, putting on his silver cufflinks. It was time to leave for the Lunar New Year’s reunion dinner.