Page 93 of He Is My Bride

Kai came to pick up Li Ying in his car, a BMW 4 Series.

“‘Sup.” Li Ying climbed into the passenger’s seat after throwing his bags of presents and souvenirs in the back. “New car?”

“Yeah, it’s not your friend’s Bentley but it drives. How was Shanghai?”

“Good, but to be honest, Chinese Christmas was lame. I’m going back for Lunar New Year’s, that’s probably gonna be better.”

“What?” Kai glanced at Li Ying before looking left and right upon turning back to the road. “Not spending it with your family?”

“Aww, is my baby brother upset?” Li Ying teased.

“You got a taste of the high life and forget about us?” Kai’s tone was such that it was hard to say if he was serious or jesting, but Li Ying knew his foster brother: there was always a hidden meaning in his jabs. Whether it was because he actually loved Li Ying like a real brother and it was part of the deal, or whether he was just being mean, it was hard to say.

Li Ying thought he and Kai had been close growing up, but lately they felt more and more distant, like they had ceased to understand each other somewhere along the way. Li Ying wondered which one of them had changed.

“Kai, this is the high life, and this is a damn nice car. But since Hanjun offered to host me again, I’d like to go back and see what the New Year is like in the mainland.”

“Hmm, right.”

“I mean, I get that Uncle Qian and Grandma and Amy will probably be upset that I’m not home for, yeah, for the most important family celebration of the year. Okay, Itotallyget it, but you know, it’s not like… I mean, I’m kinda just ambivalently part of the family, right? So what if I miss it once?”

Kai said nothing at first, but Li Ying could see he was not happy. All he finally said was, “Right.”

Li Ying was quiet in turn until asking carefully, “Would youwantme to be there?”

“Do as you want,” Kai said bluntly. “Just consider that Wu Hanjun may have offered to host you again out of politeness. Don’t make yourself a burden to him just because you want fancier parties.”

“Hey!” That hurt. “When have you known me to prefer a posh party to a night at the club?”

Kai shrugged. After a while he asked, “So,howfancy are the Wus? Driving a car like that, I’d say Wu Hanjun’s family is pretty well off, and that apartment you’re still hanging in isn’t cheap either.”

“They’re… comfortable. But you know, so are the Qians. And it’s not like I hang out with Hanjun because of his money.” Li Ying quirked a brow at Kai.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Hmm, no, you didn’t.”But you thought about it.Li Ying didn’t want to argue with Kai though, it usually just led to them fighting, and he was too tired to do that now.

Was his brother just jealous of his ‘friend’s’ money and swag? Kai’s mother placed huge expectations on her biological son’s studies and future success, so maybe he felt the pressure to be more like someone like Wu Hanjun? Li Ying really didn’t understand what Kai’s issue with his relationship with the man was.

They arrived at the Qians’ townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. Amy must have been waiting by the kitchen window, looking out to the street, because when Li Ying got in the hall she was already there, running to hug him.

“Welcome home, A-Ying!”

There it is,that feeling: home. Despite having always been made to feel like an outsider in the family, this was still the home Li Ying had had for most of his life. Li Ying felt like he could have cried again but he was too dehydrated for that.

“It’s good to be back!” Li Ying hugged Amy back. “I got you all some souvenirs slash late Christmas presents, wanna open them now?”

“Let’s get you settled down first. Do you want tea, soda?” Amy took Li Ying’s jacket from him and put it on a hanger.

“Amy,” called Mrs. Qian as she was passing the corridor on her way to the living room, “come here, the boys can help themselves, it’s not like they are strangers. Hi, Li Ying.”

“Hi, Mrs. Qian!” Li Ying smiled at her, but she said no more and went on her way. Absolutely nothing had changed, but why would it have?

Li Ying, Amy, and Kai joined Qian Hong, Mrs. Qia,n and grandmother in the living room.

“Hi, everyone!”

“Welcome home, Li Ying,” said Grandma. “You look so tired! It must have been an exhausting flight?”