Page 78 of He Is My Bride

“But there you are, filling the cup with them! Where do you think the tea will fit?” Anne gave back. It was clear there was much love between the friends.

Meanwhile outside: a third car, a very nice car, drove up the yard.

“That must be Wu Hanrong.” Huang Xiang pondered aloud, and everyone turned to look, eager to see the other billionaire Wu cousin.

Out of the car stepped Wu Hanrong, but then, from the passenger’s seat, appeared Wu Yiheng as well.

Huang Xiang gasped behind his hand.

“Who is he?” Amy whispered to Huang Xiang .

“That’s Wu Yiheng, chairman of Wu Pharma and Wu Hanjun’s uncle.” Huang Xiang told Amy.

Hanrong smiled as he walked over and went to greet Mr. and Mrs. Qian and Grandmother first, “Hello! You must be the Qian family. I’m Wu Hanrong, Hanjun’s cousin, and this is his uncle Wu Yiheng.”

“Good day.” Wu Yiheng shook the surprised Qians’ hands.

“I’ll fetch one more plate,” Amy said. She had been looking after her little nephew and now brought him over to Wu Yiheng. “Look after him for me for a second, please!” Amy gave Wu Yiheng the baby and, caught off guard, he took it.

Wu Yiheng held his great-nephew, and he and the baby stared at each other. After careful consideration, the child reached out and grabbed Wu Yiheng’s mustache, pulled, and laughed. This sure was Li Ying’s child, Wu Yiheng thought.

But he looks like Hanjun. Wu Yiheng brought the youngest member of the Wu clan into a hug. What had happened to him in this old age, he wondered as he felt his heart moved.

“Aww!” Li Ying called from the porch after he had recovered from his shock. Wu Yiheng had been invited but he had already refused, so they hadn’t expected him. “Look at Uncle Yiheng with the baby! So cute!”

Wu Yiheng glared at Li Ying, who was leaning against the railing, holding his head in his hands and grinning down at him.

So, this was the real Li Ying. No less of a nuisance even if he wore pants, Wu Yiheng thought.

Then he saw Hanjun, coming to stand next to his husband.

Wu Yiheng had half the mind to turn heel, get in the car, and drive away from that sight, which he struggled to understand.

But there was a warm, soft little Wu in his arms that compelled him to try.

“Hello, Hanjun,” Wu Yiheng greeted.

“Uncle,” Hanjun responded coolly.

This was the first time they had seen each other in over a year.

Calls had been brief and business-like. Wu Yiheng hadn’t asked how they were doing whatsoever, only since Hanjun had told him they had found a suitable surrogate for their child had he begun asking how ‘your baby’ was doing.

‘ Our baby,’ Hanjun had corrected him every time.

Could the child be a Wu heir, they all wondered.

The boy was from a married union, though the marriage would only be recognized in the States, and biologically Hanjun’s; it would be possible, if controversial.

Yet Hanjun had decided, and Li Ying had agreed, that their child would get to choose whatever he wanted to be when he grew up.

The future of Wu Pharma remained uncertain, but the company didn’t matter as much as family to Li Ying and Hanjun.

“Tea will be ready soon.” Li Ying said and beckoned for Uncle Qian and Grandma—Mrs. Qian had already told him she would not partake in the ceremonial parts. “Come! Sorry, Uncle Yiheng, but I believe you were served tea already.”

Qian Hong and Grandma went in, and together Li Ying and Hanjun asked them to drink the tea they had prepared, and the elders who had raised Li Ying wished them many happy years together.

“And may you have many more children,” Qian Hong added. He smiled at Li Ying in particular, “Perhaps the next one will look like Li Ying?”

Li Ying blushed while Hanjun smiled.

After the tea ceremony, they found Wu Yiheng waiting on the porch. The child was now playing with Amy.

“May I come in? I wish to talk with Hanjun, alone,” Wu Yiheng said.

“Of course, come on in!” Li Ying showed him into their home.

It was a recently renovated wooden colonial house, and while everything was new and Hanjun liked things orderly and clean, it looked very much lived in; a baby and a Li Ying lived here, after all.

Wu Yiheng was left wondering if it was more than Hanjun’s impeccable knowledge of feng shui that created such a feeling of harmony.

It was not, however, the barn house sign in the hall that said :

In This House, We Are Real, We Make Mistakes, We Say I’m Sorry, We Give Second Chances, We Have Fun, We Give Hugs, We Always Forgive, We Do Loud, We Are Grateful, We Love.

Terrible, Wu Yiheng thought. It must have been Li Ying’s idea to hang up such a gaudy thing.

“You stay and talk with your uncle,” Li Ying said, caressing Hanjun’s arm. “I’ll go ahead and help Kai with the barbecue. We’ll start once you are ready.” Li Ying went out with Uncle Qian and Grandma.

“There is still some water in the kettle, I could make tea?” Hanjun offered, and Wu Yiheng accepted:

“I accept. But I just wanted to have a quick word with you.”

Hanjun led his uncle into the living room and brought out the tea set, filled a pot with water and placed the cups and other tools in their proper places on the tray, as well as two tea pets: a round, cute little rooster for himself and a tiny Buddha for his uncle.

He steeped some oolong while Wu Yiheng waited.

Wu Yiheng got his cup, tapped his two fingers on the table as a traditional thank you for the pourer, and took a sip. Only then did the man speak:

“I thought you might want to know that your and Li Ying’s marriage has officially been nullified, and you are charged with fines.”

“I see.” Hanjun poured tea for himself next. He was relieved that making tea still felt familiar between him and his uncle. It was the one thing they both understood the same, at least.

“I will pay off both of your fines.” Wu Yiheng put down the cup. “You could come back.”

“And Li Ying?” Hanjun poured tea on the clay rooster.

“No. He won’t be in trouble with the law, but I won’t allow him to be anywhere near the Wus.”

“Mm. We are staying here. This is my life now. ”

Wu Yiheng stared into his tea. “I knew what your answer would be.” He drank. “At least come and visit? Your grandmother wants to see the child, but she’s too frail to travel already.”

“And Li Ying?” Hanjun asked again, calmly, and his eyes were focused on the tea rooster as he held the cup to his lips. It was so cute, with its beak open and eyes closed as if to drink the tea offered, or to give a kiss.

“No.”

“Then I won’t come, and neither will our child.”

“Hanjun!”

“Will you tell me that I’m being cruel?” Hanjun stared his uncle in the eyes, unwavering.

Wu Yiheng didn’t know what to say. But Hanjun poured him more tea, and he drank.

“Is Wang Yan alright?” Hanjun asked.

“She and her… girlfriend are okay. I have paid her fines, and she can reapply for her medical license in a few years.”

Hanjun nodded. Good.

“Wang Guosheng got considerably larger fines, and two years’ imprisonment.”

“Wang Guosheng is in prison?”

Wu Yiheng scoffed. “Public surveillance. He’s as good as free.

The Wangs have suffered a great publicity loss, but they are not defeated.

Some even think Wang Guosheng did the right thing in seeking to expose Li Ying and your scam to marry illegally as a male couple.

However, the majority of people believe the story we have rigidly enforced: that you are heterosexual who unknowingly fell for a man dressing up as a woman, but agreed to marry him since he had told you he would change his sex, but that the process hadn’t been started yet before you sought to get your marriage certificate. ”

“Has this story helped the company?”

“It has. You understand why Li Ying couldn’t show his face publicly in Shanghai: he’s the scapegoat, he has to be. While you are not entirely innocent yourself, you are ultimately seen as the victim.”

Hanjun noticed he had closed his hand into a tight fist on his lap, but forced himself to take a deep breath and let it go. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought of them anymore. “Good.” Hanjun poured them more tea. “Have you thought about the future of Wu Pharma?”

“So, you do concern yourself with the fate of the company after all?”

“Of course I do.” Hanjun tried very hard not to be provoked by his uncle’s sassing.

Wu Yiheng sipped tea before saying, “I’m making Hanrong the company heir, and I’m looking to invest in A-Yi as well.

He has expressed interest in working for the company once he has graduated from college.

He could be a potential future vice president when Hanrong is made the CEO, and the CEO after Hanrong if he proves fit of the chairman’s position. ”

“I approve. A-Yi has much to learn, and his personality is loud and straightforward. However, he’s emotionally intelligent, and once he grows in confidence and finesse, he will be very persuasive.

I hope you would see that charisma, such as cousins Hanrong and A-Yi possess, can sometimes be stronger than other forms of authority. ”

Wu Yiheng stroked his chin. He had to admit his younger nephew was perceptive and understanding of human nature. Indispensable skills for a leader. What a waste, he thought.

“I appreciate your insight,” Wu Yiheng said. “Once he has been employed, I will send him here to work with our affiliate for a while, same as you, to help his professional growth. Look after him, make sure he learns our way of doing business.”

“I will gladly instruct A-Yi if you send him here.”

“Wang Xinyu has also shown interest in working for Wu Pharma. The two of them interned with us together a couple of years ago, but him I won’t employ. He would simply act as the hand of his grandfather.”

“I disagree,” Hanjun said immediately.

“Explain,” Wu Yiheng demanded, still stroking his chin.