Page 176 of He Is My Bride

Hanjun hung up first.

After a moment’s silence, Li Ying spoke, “I’m sosorry—”

“No need.” Hanjun smiled at him with wistful eyes. He gently gripped Li Ying’s chin and pulled him into a kiss. “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s better this way.”

“Am I wrong to assume you didn’t make that decision on a whim on this boat right now?” Li Ying asked. He put down his glass and climbed on Hanjun’s lap to straddle him, arms around his neck.

Hanjun shook his head. It was hard for him to speak, the finality of Wu Yiheng’s tone having shaken him. He couldn’t believe what he’d said, either: that he had stood up to his uncle, his whole family legacy. Yet in his heart Hanjun knew he had finally made the right choice.

“So…” Li Ying caressed his cheek. “What’s this about eloping and marrying me? Again? Do I need a new dress?”

“You can wear whatever you want.”

“Yeah?” Li Ying grinned. “But when did you decide we would elope?”

Hanjun turned his gaze back up to Li Ying. “I promised Anne something at the door when I came to fetch you: I couldn’t have my bride if I didn’t promise his bridesmaid that I would make him as happy as he can be in this life.”

“Junjun…”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to—”

“Shh,” Li Ying hushed gently, brushing his finger across Hanjun’s lips. “‘No need to be sorry,’ right?”

Hanjun loved that smile. It shone warmer and more beautiful than the setting sun over the Pacific.

“No, Li Ying, I do owe you an apology. I had long since realized you wouldn’t be happy in Shanghai, pretending you were something you are not, and I’m not talking about being a woman. You wouldn’t have been happy there, yet you were ready to make all the sacrifices for us by uprooting your whole life. I’m ashamed that it took me so long to decide what was truly important to me, but I had finally made that decision before you joined me on the altar: that no matter what Iwould have to give up, I would move with you to the States after the wedding, so that we could make our lives our own. So that you, weboth, could be truly happy, without pretending, without lies. I’m sorry I have been so selfish, that it took me so long to finally put you first.”

“No, Hanjun, you weren’t being selfish—”

Hanjun silenced him with a kiss that made Li Ying heady.

This is really happening?Li Ying still couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, I was,” Hanjun said when he parted their lips. “But no more: from here on, I promise thatyouwill be my priority, not the company. I want to leave a different legacy—with you.”

“But what was your plan? And why let the wedding proceed, if you had already decided to elope with me?”

“I thought we could have let Shanghai enjoy the theater and continue to be legally married in China, in order to give legitimacy to our child. Meanwhile, we would have moved to live openly in the States. I might not have been able to act as the next chairman while working from abroad, but I could have supported Cousin Hanrong while keeping our relationship secret from the Shanghai circles. We would have run the risk of being found out, but as much was always true, and your happiness would have been worth the chance. It doesn’t matter now, either way. Hopefully I can still do something for Wu Pharma, but at least now you can be open about us with your family, and be yourself.Allof yourself.”

“So we…”This is really happening!“We’ll move to the States and marry openly as a gay couple? And I can invite the Qians?”

Hanjun nodded. “And we can raise our children to know who their fatherloves.”

“Hanjun…” Li Ying had to blink back tears. “I’m so happy!”

Hanjun smiled. That’s all that mattered now. He pulled Li Ying into another kiss.

“For now, let’s enjoy this early honeymoon. We’ll figure out everything else after.”

“Yes, yes, Hanjun…!” Li Ying kissed Hanjun and felt his arms around him, holding, bringing him close, and let Hanjun’s hands wander down his body.

Soon the lovers found themselves lying on the deck, bathed in the last rays of the sun as they embraced each other—and a future that truly lookedlike their own.

Epilogue: A New Life

Four bedrooms, three full bathrooms with acreage in a peaceful, green town in Westchester, New York. Big yard for Hanjun to do qi gong in the mornings and a patio.

The house was larger than what Li Ying had envisioned for a ‘simple country home’, but considering he and Hanjun were already planning their second child and dreamed of a third, the space would get small fast.