Page 31 of He Is My Bride

The next day was Li Ying’s and Anne’s final in Shanghai before they would fly back for the solar New Year.

Li Ying was feeling down for the entire morning, lamenting their departure and his inevitable separation from Hanjun. At least Hanjun didn’t have to go to the office today, so he could stay and cuddle Li Ying to make him feel better.

“Why don’t you come back for the Lunar New Year in February?” Hanjun suggested, brushing his fingers through Li Ying’s hair while he clung to him.

“It’s still one and a half months away,” Li Ying mumbled, eating Hanjun’s hair.

“Stop that.”

“No.” Li Ying kept softly munching on Hanjun’s locks.

“Focus on your studies and it will go by swiftly.”

“I can’t even sleep without you, how am I supposed to be without you for a month, a week, even a day?”

“Our separation is temporary,” Hanjun said and took Li Ying’s right hand, touching his thumb upon the diamond on his ring. “But this is a promise that is forever. Just… hold on. ”

Li Ying’s eyes welled up, and he buried his face into Hanjun’s neck. Every moment Hanjun’s warmth surrounded him, every moment he could smell the clean cypress scent off his skin was more precious now that they were slipping through their fingers. Once he was calm again, Li Ying said:

“But when will that promise be fulfilled, Hanjun?”

“I think we should wait until you graduate and can move here, but we can start looking for auspicious dates already. If we want to book a good venue for a good date, we must act soon.”

“Do we really have to wait for over a year? And what if your uncle won’t give us his blessing? He still hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. Don’t worry, Li Ying,” Hanjun said calmly. He remembered his grandmother’s reassuring words after the family dinner, and trusted that Wu Yiheng would come around.

Li Ying pouted. “Hanjun! I want to marry you next summer! Isn’t next year just as auspicious as the one that follows? Why don’t we have a June wedding during my summer recess and then start planning a delayed honeymoon when I graduate? What are the auspicious dates for next June?”

“Next… June? It would be very difficult to find a venue so soon.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want a big wedding, no one from my side will come anyway…” Li Ying bit his lip to keep it from trembling as he felt like crying again.

“Li Ying.” Hanjun knew he had to be firm when his boyfriend continued to be so impatient, stay calm when he got over-emotional.

“There will be no small wedding for a Wu. It will be a society event of the decade.” Hanjun caressed Li Ying’s hair to comfort him as he went on, “I don’t care about all that, but my family and the Shanghai society do, and I…

” Hanjun paused, falling into thoughtful silence before continuing, “I want to do this right, by everyone. By Uncle Yiheng and the Wu family, by all good custom and tradition, and by you. You, too, deserve a proper wedding, because,” Hanjun took Li Ying’s head gently between his hands and lifted his face to meet his gaze, “you are not just a mistress. You are my wife… Husband.”

“Hanjun…” Li Ying’s voice was no more than a whisper.

Hanjun kissed him softly. “I ask you to be patient until we can have a proper wedding on the most auspicious of days, when all of Shanghai can witness how Li Ying becomes mine before heaven and earth. Alright?”

Hanjun pulled Li Ying into another kiss, deeper this time, and they lingered in it until they had joined fully, and Hanjun loved Li Ying in a way he hoped the man could cherish in memory until next they met.

—

Towards the evening, Li Ying got his mojo back.

It would suck to wait and he knew there would be many evenings when he would cry himself to sleep, missing Hanjun from his side, but he trusted his fiancé: they would get married properly, at a proper time, and then nothing could separate them again.

Li Ying still worried about Wu Yiheng, but Hanjun seemed trusting.

Anne came over, as they had agreed, to help Li Ying put together a look for the night. Li Ying had been messaging with her yesterday and told her what he’d been thinking:

You know that leather dress you packed for me? Wouldn’t it be so cool with the AMQ shoes?

You want to go all punk rock?

Hell yeah!

I can’t think of a better opportunity, really, so go for it.—You got the McQueen purse too, the black leather one with a handle that’s styled like a golden knuckle duster, with the finger loops with skulls and stuff?

I almost forgot we bought that too, yes!

If you take that, you need to accessorize with gold jewelry so that it matches the purse. The purse doubles as rings when you carry it, so go easy on the rest.

Now I regret we didn’t buy any of the matching jewelry, there were ones that would have gone so well with the skull motifs… Damn, I didn’t think I’d have a favorite fashion designer!

Is that ‘please, Anne, go get them for me?’

Li Ying fidgeted and looked at Hanjun. He knew Hanjun had topped his credit card for him just earlier this week, even if Li Ying hadn’t actually asked for most of the things they had bought.

Hanjun had just pushed him to shop for some reason.

It had been stupid of him to go along with it, as now, when Li Ying could think of something he really wanted, he felt bad asking for it.

Any other jewelry would surely do? Li Ying thought back to the badass golden skulls and how well they would go with his outfit.

No, he had a vision, and it demanded fulfillment.

He would wear them forever and never ask for anything else again.

Hanjun had noticed Li Ying looking his way, but ignored him until the man could open his mouth and come out with it:

“Hanjun,” Li Ying crooned, “can Anne go buy me some more accessories for tomorrow?”

Hanjun was quiet, looking at Li Ying with an unreadable face.

“Or, never mind,” Li Ying hurried to say.

“There’s no real need to. I mean, I got so many things from you already.

I will find something suitable from what I have, I just…

Well, there were a few things that would have gone so well together with my purse, but I was overwhelmed by choice when we were shopping, and I don’t know why I didn’t get them instead of… ” Li Ying rambled on.

Hanjun saw Li Ying was panicking, perhaps fearing Hanjun thought him frivolous.

Li Ying was many things, but frivolous was not one of them.

He was more virtuous than any man or woman Hanjun had met.

He would have given the clothes off his back even if they were his last ones.

Hanjun thought he deserved everything, and more.

“Okay,” Hanjun said, smiling gently, and turned back to his laptop .

“And—Huh? ‘Okay?’”

“Mm.”

“I could return some things we bought before?”

“No need.”

“…Alright. Thank you, Hanjun.” Li Ying kissed his cheek, then messaged Anne:

Please, Anne, go get them for me!

Now Li Ying got the leather mini dress and matching accessories: the shoes with the buckled ankle strap and metal tip, and the bag that effectively doubled as knuckle dusters slash rings, so Li Ying felt armed and ready to slay.

Anne had also gotten him a pair of dangling earrings with onyx and pearls in a gold setting, as well as a bracelet with pearls and golden skull charms. On his neck Li Ying opted to wear a black leather choker with a rhinestone buckle, looking like a bougie collar.

His makeup was more dramatic tonight as well, Anne helping him wing his eyeliner, but for his lips, they just went with some shaded lip gloss to keep the look from getting too heavy.

For perfume Li Ying wore a deliciously sweet and dark creation with a raspberry note that led to gourmand vanilla-caramel with a powdery muskiness to it—a paradoxically innocent yet sultry kind of scent that was like sweet, sweet poison.

“Anne,” Li Ying asked, posing before a mirror and loving it all, but wondering, “do I look unapproachable?”

“I can’t see you like that, but that’s because I know how goofy you are.

You do look cool and sexy, but I think it’s the signal we want to send: you are not one to be pushed around.

Because Li Ying,” Anne took his hands to hers, “there will be women your age, women who are part of the elite, women who think they would be a better match for someone like Sir Hanjun, and you are entering their territory. You have to rise above any petty slights, but still hold your ground.”

Li Ying smirked. “Hanjun is mine. I don’t have competition.”

“That’s right! You just have to let them know that too, preferably in a way that saves you face. ”

Li Ying smiled confidently. “Bring them on, I guess. I just want to meet Hanjun’s friends and have some fun tonight.”

“Speaking of fun, I brought some booze! Do you want to drink a few cocktails with me before we leave? You really shouldn’t be seen hanging out with your assistant, so I’ll be on standby at a lounge near the club if you need me, but I wanted to party with you just a little, if you want?”

“You bet!”

They mixed Moscow Mules with generous pours of vodka and blasted some hits while dancing in the kitchen.

“You always danced better than the chicks at clubs, I don’t have to teach you any moves for tonight, do I?” Anne said while swinging her hips with a glass in hand.

“‘Teach,’ me? Hah! How about I teach you something?” Li Ying laughed, sipped his drink, and only bemoaned his heels and tight dress for how they limited his repertoire.

Then again, being more grounded would ensure he didn’t bust into any freestyling, which wouldn’t be very ladylike.

So he swung his hips all the more for it, to let loose his wild energy.

Twirling around, Li Ying saw Hanjun watching them from the hallway, leaning against the doorway. He was all dressed up and fixing a nice watch around his wrist. Li Ying’s belly dropped, excited to see his man so handsome.