Page 47 of He Is My Bride

“Scared? Of course not.” Li Ying decided he was going to be unprovokable today. “And thank you.”

Wang Hao blinked in confusion. “For what?”

“Why, the compliment! Toughness is a very good quality to have, after all.”

“That’s just what people were saying.”

“‘People?’ ‘Saying?’”

Wang Hao smirked. “Among other things.”

Li Ying chuckled charmingly, covering his mouth and playing coy. “Wang Hao is too modest! Surely he’s not just repeating the words of others. After all, it’s unbecoming of a man to listen to idle rumors.”

Wang Hao’s smirk dropped and looked like he had accidentally bit into the suckling’s gallbladder .

“Haohao is a good boy!” declared Madam Wang from the other table. “He’s certainly not listening to any rumors.”

Wang Hao was visibly embarrassed, and Wang Jian closed his eyes like he hated to suffer his little brother’s existence right then.

“Do you like animals, Li Ying? Have any pets?” Yiyi’s and Hanrong’s mother intercepted, seeking to steer the conversation to safer waters.

“Of course, I like many kinds of animals. Chicken, ducks…” Li Ying reached to pick up another piece of duck from the serving tray.

“Pigs, and all kinds of animals that are good to eat!” He earned a couple of sensible chuckles from the second-line Wu men, and the boys cackled, and the discussion turned safely to food.

Hanjun glanced his uncle’s way, catching him staring at Li Ying, stroking his chin. Wu Yiheng noticed his son’s gaze, only regarding him briefly before looking ahead again, lowering his hand to the foot of his glass. See, Hanjun wanted to tell his uncle: everyone else likes Li Ying, why can’t you?

The banquet proceeded to desserts, and petit fours-style assortments of glutinous rice and taro balls, almond cookies and egg tarts were served with baijiu and some cognac, which seemed to be a Wang thing as Wang Guosheng asked to see the bottle first and appraised it before giving his approval.

The waiter then poured drinks for everyone.

“Would you like some cognac as well, Missy Li?” Wang Guosheng offered.

“Yes, please.” Li Ying wouldn’t say no to booze. He was more of a whiskey kind of guy, but the stuff Wang Guosheng fancied was probably top-shelf stuff, and where else would Li Ying ever try it?

“Pour for the young man as well,” Wang Guosheng told the waiter as he passed Xinyu. “It’s time you learn to drink like a man, Xinyu.”

Xinyu looked nervous but also excited. Yiyi looked on jealously as his friend’s glass was filled. Yiyi even looked pleadingly at his father over his glass of lower-proof baijiu, but before he could even ask, the man had shaken his head firmly.

Wang Guosheng signalled for her and the waitress left the bottle.

“A toast then, for prosperity,” Wu Yiheng proposed, and the Wus raised their cups of baijiu and the Wangs and Li Ying raised their cognacs.

“Ganbei!”

The cognac was smooth like liquid velvet in the mouth, with a deep taste, and it warmed Li Ying all the way down to his belly as he emptied his glass.

Pretty nice, he thought.

“Ugh!” Xinyu scrunched up his face, looking like he had just forced himself to swallow poison. His father and his uncle chuckled at him, as did Li Ying. Yiyi hadn’t done much better with his low-proof baijiu, grimacing as the drink burned his inexperienced throat.

A member of the staff returned, carrying something surprising: a music stand. The man assembled it before the two tables. When his job was done, Hanjun nodded at him in thanks, and the man returned the gesture and left, leaving everyone wondering what this was about.

“Everyone,” Hanjun spoke, standing up, “Li Ying has something she would like to perform for our pleasure. Please lend her your attention for a moment.”

“Oh, did you bring it?” Grandmother Linming asked Li Ying.

Li Ying smiled at her as he stood up, smoothed down his dress, and took out the small black case he had brought with him. He placed the case on his seat and opened it. Inside there was his old concert flute, albeit still in three parts before being assembled.

“Yes, auntie,” Li Ying said, “I brought my flute so that I could play for you, as I promised.”

“How lovely,” Grandmother Linming rejoiced, “I’m looking forward to it. ”

“Yes, I remember Big Sister Linming mentioning that you are musically inclined?” said little Madam Wu. “The Wus have always appreciated music and the arts too.” She smiled.

“Well, isn’t she ticking all the boxes, this Little Sister Li,” said Madam Wang while reaching again for the cognac bottle, but her son picked it up and poured another glass for her. “Thank you, Guosheng.”

“Just remember your reflux, mother.”

“I know, I know, don’t you lecture me!” Madam Wang waved dismissively at her son who had already returned his attention to Li Ying.

Li Ying had finished assembling his flute and took his position behind the music stand, setting his sheet music on it. There he stood with his back towards the windows, the city’s illuminated skyline as his backdrop.

Huh, I’m a little nervous. Li Ying noticed, but that had never kept him from putting himself out there.

“I will play ‘Three Variations on Plum Blossoms,’ adapted for the concert flute.” He lifted the flute to his lips, the instrument polished and glimmering silver in the light of the grand raindrop chandelier above.

He slid his legs wider apart to assume a more supportive stance.

I should have skipped fewer lessons. Oh well, here goes.

Li Ying began playing a calm tone with gently lingering notes, undulating high and low, lulling the room of sated revelers into a feeling of ease.

Li Ying hadn’t played in years and had been very out of practice, but it had all come back to him once he had dusted off the old flute. Still, he’d only had a month and a half to practice a whole new song, so he slipped a few times, but he calmly picked up from the next note.

Li Ying let the last lingering note vibrate for a while.

He closed his eyes there and just enjoyed the music.

He had always thought the music lessons had been boring, and he would rather have played outside or hung out at the mall with his friends, but now he was thankful that Uncle Qian had insisted he go each week.

Our children shall play music, too. Li Ying decided.

He opened his eyes with a smile and lowered the flute while receiving his applause.

His eyes met Hanjun’s: the man was looking at him, enchanted, with such a soft gleam in his eyes like he had fallen in love all over again. Li Ying smiled back at him.

“That was very nice, Li Ying, thank you,” Grandmother Linming said, and many joined the sentiment.

“I’m a bit out of practice, but thank you, everyone!” Li Ying curtsied. He took the music sheets and handed them to Hanjun while he began to disassemble and put away his flute.

“Everyone,” Wu Yiheng addressed the guests, “we have the cabinet to ourselves for half an hour more, after which you may proceed to the lounge to enjoy the view and stay to celebrate the New Year. As for my mother and myself, we wish you all once more a happy New Year, but we must be on our way shortly, as she needs rest. First, however: Yiyi, Xinyu, come here.”

The boys knew what was coming and got up, walking to the elders’ table to receive their red envelopes, containing lucky money.

The unmarried youth got these as gifts from all the married couples, but the Wu cousins and Wang Hao were deemed too old to be receiving such gifts despite their unmarried status.

As Hanjun and Li Ying were not yet married, neither was it proper for them to give them, so they just observed, taking in the boys’ happy faces as they received their envelopes with bows and thank yous.

After the envelopes had been handed out, the ladies and gentlemen began taking turns excusing themselves ahead of going home.

Li Ying would have preferred to avoid using public restrooms when he could, but now he didn’t want to wait until they would be home: he had been drinking liberally and was getting uncomfortable, so he slipped out to go to the toilet .

The corridor was moodily lit, quiet, only distant conversations and traditional Chinese music could be heard from the restaurant’s direction. The clip of Li Ying’s heels was muted against the plush red carpet.

He saw the men’s room door opening: Wang Guosheng.

Li Ying saw his eyes flash, his calculatedly polite smile. He noticed Wang Guosheng’s eyes flick down the empty corridor whence Li Ying came, then back at him. Li Ying ignored his instinct to sidestep and dodge as they walked past each other, instead meeting his gaze boldly.

I won’t yield to someone like you.

Wang Guosheng didn’t remove his eyes from Li Ying’s, the corner of his mouth twitching. He passed Li Ying with only a brush of their shoulders. Li Ying held back his sigh of relief. He wouldn’t let the man hear it. Finally Li Ying let the pressure off his chest.

Li Ying’s released breath came back out in a gasp when he felt his arms seized and painfully forced behind his back, and next thing he knew he was facing the wall, pressed against it.

Wang Guosheng’s body was against his back and his breath was on his neck.

Li Ying froze, his heart beating fast, but he forced himself to breathe calmly, his thoughts crystal clear, almost as if none of this were real:

Let’s see what you think to do next, Wang Guosheng. Surely the Wang patriarch could read Li Ying’s cold defiance in his eyes, his own gleaming dangerously as he looked at him.

“I have you figured out,” Wang Guosheng spoke in a low voice and smelled Li Ying’s neck.

Li Ying couldn’t help himself from shivering, which garnered a deep rumble of a chuckle from Wang Guosheng.

“Oh, yes.” His face was not even an inch away from Li Ying’s, and Li Ying involuntarily turned his face away in revulsion and squirmed.