Part V (Revised)
Sally wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. At last, she was done! And it was only ten minus fifteen. Maybe she would have the time to take a bath and get changed. Giving the salon a satisfied look, she pushed the door and started to walk toward the hall. She met Yin who was going to the dinning room. She looked confused.
"What is wrong, Yin?" Asked Sally.
"Your guest is a particular man. After refusing to be washed by my maids, he just refused to eat breakfast!" She declared as if it was the end of the world.
"He is, indeed, a particular man." She stated with a smile.
Yin bowed at her and went on, so did Sally. When she reached the staircase she looked up to see Wufei going down. When he saw Sally, he stopped, in the middle of the stairway.
Sally just could not believe her eyes. Wufei was dressed in a long white satin robe going down to his ankles. Starting from his collar down to his shoulder was a deep blue piece of satin cut into points. Sober ornamentation was holding it in place. A blue dragon, finely embroidered, was climbing the white satin up to Wufei's chest. On the sides, starting from his waist, the robe was open, showing his deep blue satin pants. His sword was hanging on his left side. He was wearing simple Chinese white shoes. Wufei looked as if he was a rich knight at the imperial court. But what was hypnotising Sally was Wufei's head. His face was golden under the dim light of the candles, his black eyes were shinning and his wet hair was hanging freely around his face giving him a sexy look. He was handsome… Far more than handsome. No words could describe his beauty.
While Sally was in total swoon over Wufei's beauty, he was also looking at her, in another way. She looked so tired. Her face was pale as the moon, except from her nose which was still red. The bump on her forehead was darker, as the shadows under her eyes. She was hunching her back under the pain and the fatigue. Her hands were all irritated. That grey outfit she was wearing was not advantaging her at all. It made her look even more pale and sick. Even with that smile on her face and her shinning blue eyes, Wufei could see that she was not doing well. He felt all strange inside. Though he could not identify this feeling of uneasiness, he knew that it was not too far from sadness. It truly hurt him to see her in such a state. The day before, it was funny, but without knowing why, now it did not seem funny at all.
Wufei finally started to go down again, making Sally snap out of her admiration. When they met, they looked at each other a moment without saying a word. Then, Sally looked down at her hand. Wufei sighed and started to play with his hair.
"You refused to have breakfast?" Asked Sally, breaking the silence.
"This Mother of yours keeps on planning things for me. No women order me around. I think you already know it, Woman." He said on is usual superior tone.
"I DO know that. No need to start over with the "baka onna" theories." Replied Sally in an annoyed voice.
"Glad to see you start to realise your place in society."
"I didn't say I was accepting your stupid ideals. I have mine, and it would look more like "baka otoko" theories." She said with a sly smile.
"Woman, you don't impress me at all."
"That wasn't the point."
Sally sighed. This was not going anywhere, and it was not going the way she wanted to, at all. Wufei finally tied his hair with a white ribbon. A little strand too short to be tied fell on the side of his face. Sally smiled softly, this was making him cute. Wufei replaced and looked at Sally.
"What's with the stupid smile?" He asked.
Sally's smile vanished as fast as it had come.
"Nothing more than with your stupid face." She replied starting to climb the stairs, angry. "Why do I even bother!" She thought.
"Woman!" Flung Wufei. "That maid told me you wanted to see me."
Sally stopped her ascension but did not turn around.
"I did. I wanted to make you visit the house, but you'll probably think of it as an order so never mind."
"I'd be delighted to visit your house." Protested Wufei in a weird soft voice that did not suit him.
Sally turned around to look down on Wufei.
"Delighted? Delighted isn't in your vocabulary, Wufei."
"Woman, I'm trying to be kind here." He said returning to his usual tone.
"Well stop it, it's not like you. Now, do you really want to visit it?"
"Why not? We'll be staying here a week."
"Okay, then." Said Sally coming down.
Wufei noticed she was having difficulties with her knees.
"Are you sure you can make the whole tour?" He asked in a concerned voice.
Sally glared at him, suspicious. Was he trying to be nice again, or was he really caring?
"I mean, you look as if a train has passed over you… Twice…"
Sally did not react as he expected. She looked down and sighed.
"I know. Now come on." She replied, starting to walk and show him around.
Wufei regretted what he had said, but it was too late. He had hurt her. Wufei could not help it. He had the bad habit of being mean to Sally when he wanted to say the opposite. He really wanted to know if she felt alright. Wufei sighed; he would have to catch up later.
Sally and Wufei were sitting on an old stone bench in the garden, under a blooming cherry tree. Sally was holding a branch and drawing something one the ground while Wufei watched attentively.
"As you can see, the house was built to be equilibrated. First, there is the main part, the older one." She said drawing a square. "This part contains the salon, Mother's boudoir and bathroom, on each side of the stairway. Then, under the stairs is the kitchen, here." She said pointing out. "I remember when my mother was alive, she would always make supper. It was her meal, and she was very good at it. On the left is the dinning room, and on the other is Mother's bedroom. To connect them there is a passage that you saw, which opens on the interior court. On the second floor, there are four rooms."
Sally began to cough. Wufei picked up the branch in her hand and drew another large square, next to Sally's one.
"There is a corridor in the middle, on each side, two doors. The two rooms in the front are longer, they're your bedroom and your sister's. The other two rooms are a bathroom and a library."
Sally smiled to Wufei who grinned also. She took back the branch to continue her drawing.
"Next to the old part, is the new one, though it's pretty old too. My father told me once that it was there long before his own grandfather was born. So the new part starts at the door opening on the interior garden. It is a bit larger than the old part. On the first floor, it is nothing more than a covered passage with walls on the exterior side. On the left and the right, a round door pierces the wall. That's a bit hard to draw, though." She said, laughing "Large red wooden columns support the second floor on the interior side. At the end, the corridors meet to close the square. There is the open tea room with a ceiling higher than the rest supported by huge red wooden columns. Strangely, rain never comes in this room. When I was young, my mother and I would sit there all afternoon on rainy day. The room wasn't like this though. Mother changed it when she arrived. Before, long golden veils were hanging of the ceiling, and on the side, my father had tied up red satin curtains to the huge columns. The floor was covered up by a huge Indian carpet. It was very soft. There were cushions everywhere. They were of every sizes and colours. In the middle, mother had put a small table, a lot like the Japanese tables. She called it our Indian paradise. Since she was sick, she wasn't working so we would spend all our time there. She loved to tell me stories about her numerous trips around the world. Before every one of them, she was lighting an incense stick. My favourite perfume was cinnamon. Cinnamon was for special stories, like how she had met my father, or how I was born. I thought that the incense was essential for my mother to tell a story, but I discovered, after she died, that she was burning it to cover the cigarette smell. My mother was smoking a lot, that's what killed her too. She died of a lung cancer. She could have lived longer, but she refused to go to the hospital. There were nurses coming at home, but they couldn't do much. My father loved her a lot and couldn't understand her decision. But my mother would always say: Everybody dies one day or another. I want to live my live fully with you, Shen and with Sally too. I love you both too much to leave you already. Those were her words; she didn't speak a word of Chinese. My mother died on September first 183 AC, I was seven years old, but I remember it like yesterday. We were in the Indian paradise. My mother was telling me the story of my birth, cinnamon incense was filling the room with its perfume. Suddenly, she stopped and told me she was tired. Even though I was a little girl, I was aware of my mother's sickness. So I told here that we could take a little nap and continue after. She agreed but asked me to sleep in her arms. I agreed, more than happy. So we fell asleep. When I woke up, she was dead. There was a peaceful smile on her face. With her curled blonde hair she looked like an angel. The rest isn't really clear. I remember shaking her, but she wouldn't wake up. I think I remained by her side till my father came back from work. I was crying silently, not too sure of what was happening. The thing that traumatised me the most was to see my father cry, holding the dead body of my mother in his arms as the sun was setting, illuminating the Indian paradise with its red light. The rest is very confused. Then, Mother appeared and destroyed our Indian paradise saying that it would be better for my sanity. Maybe she was right, but I never forgave her for it, and I think I never will…"
Sally looked up at Wufei. He was staring at her with huge eyes.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She said on the verge of tears, realising what she had done. "I didn't mean to… I mean… I have to go." Then she stood up. As she started to walk, she felt Wufei's hand holding her wrist. She turned her head to see him look deeply in her eyes.
"The house." He said pointing the drawings. "We're not done." Gently, he pulled her to make her sit. Sally was surprised. No "Crying again, Woman." No "Woman are so emotional." No "Woman are so weak." Wufei had to be in a really good mood to listen to her silly memories and want more. Wufei took the branch again.
"Before we go on, I'll have to fix your mess." He explains, beginning to redraw the part she had step on. "While I do, you'll answer some of my questions." This was more an order than a suggestion. "First, what was your mother's name?"
Sally looked at him.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Just answer. I want to know." He explained in a soft voice Sally didn't knew he was honestly capable of.
"Elise. Elise Smith, then Elise Po."
"That's a great name." He said in the same gentle voice. "Where was she from?"
"America."
Wufei raised an eyebrow.
"Was she as loud as Maxwell?"
Sally laughed a little, trying not to cough.
"No, Duo is kinda hard to compete with."
Wufei turned his face to her and smile gently.
"I know. Now, was it your mother who chose your name?" He asked returning to his drawings.
"Yes." She answered not too sure of what Wufei was up to.
"Then why does everyone here call you Mei?"
Sally smiled. So that was where he was heading to.
"Mother hates everything about Americans. When she moved in with Wu Feng, she obligated everyone to call me Mei. Even father did. After my mother's death, he became strange. He was like an empty shell. The only thing that would make him happy was to practice martial arts. But since he was working like a fool to pay Mother's rich expenses, he didn't get to practice much. Anyway, these days were sad ones. I don't think that he was noticing me at all. He was in a deep lethargy. I wonder if he even noticed it when I left…" She said with a sad voice.
"We can go on." Declared Wufei. Then he drew another square, next to his first one. "The second floor of the new part follows the construction of the first floor, except that instead of two long passages, there are four rooms, two on each side. Every room has its own balcony with a view of the bamboo forest on this side, and a view of the river and the bamboo forest, on the other side. My room is here." He said pointing out the last room on the "bamboo forest view" side. "At the end, the two parts unite over the tea salon. On each side, a door opens on a stairway leading to a small balcony built in the tea salon's roof." Wufei gave Sally the branch.
"On each sides of the house there is another building. On the left side, there is the dojo with its large patio made of stone for outside combat. On the other side, it's the servant's house. All this is surrounded by a large wall. In the front is the main entry with the monumental gate and in the back is the round door we see over there, leading to the outer garden in which we are now. There, our tour is complete." She said throwing the branch away. Then, she crossed her arms, shivering. Suddenly, she felt Wufei's warm hand on her forehead.
"You have a fever." He said plainly, looking in front of him.
Sally touched her forehead. It's was hot.
"Maybe we should get back inside." She proposed.
"Yes." He answered, getting up. His tone of voice was cold, as if it had cooled with the breeze.
Sally got up too. Immediately, she felt dizzy and her headache came back, rushing. But she was not going to worry Wufei with it. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the pain to make it go away. He had been kind enough to listen to her, but now he seemed strange, she would probably annoy him with her sickness. Anyway, he was already ahead so he did not see her. Slowly, the pain diminished enough for her to bare it. She opened her eyes. Wufei was still in front of her, looking at the forest. He did not seem to have notice her sudden weakness. Sally matched up with him.
"Shall we go?" She asked.
Wufei snapped out of his thoughts. He looked at her as if she had said something in a strange language. Sally was about to ask him if there was anything wrong when a little girl came running toward them and jumped on Sally. Sally took her in her arms even though she was a bit too heavy now for those kinds of things. Wufei looked at them.
"I'm so glad I found you! I thought you were lost!" She said with an over dramatic tone, hugging Sally tighter.
Sally laughed/coughed.
"Well, it's a chance you came because we were lost!"
At the word "we", Meilan turned her head to Wufei.
"Are you a prince?" She asked in a shy voice.
Wufei smiled very sweetly.
"Maybe, what do you think?"
"I think you are because you have a sword and your are very handsome like in the books."
Sally smiled; putting Meilan down, her back was killing her. Wufei squatted to be on the little girl eyes level. She looked down. Wufei took her little chin in his hand and lift it up to make her look in his eyes. Meilan blushed.
"Why are you blushing, Xiaolong?"
"Why do you call me little dragon?" She asked, answering with another question.
"Because you have the eyes of a dragon. You have the spirit of the dragon."
"Really?" She asked with shinning eyes.
"Yes, but now answer me. Why are you blushing?"
"Well… I shouldn't look in a prince's eyes."
Wufei smiled.
"You can look in my eyes, Xiaolong, because I'm not a prince. Princes don't need to carry a sword, but the ones protecting him need to. I'm not a prince, I'm a knight." He explained.
Meilan started to giggle. Sally could not believe it. She did not know that Wufei was so good with kids. To tell the truth, she thought that he could not stand them.
"You're not a knight! You can't be!" She protested.
"Why is that?" Asked Wufei, pretending to be offended.
"You can't be! That would make Aunt Sally your princess, and I know that she isn't a princess!"
Wufei looked up at Sally. She blushed and looked away.
"You're right, I'm not a prince or a knight. You are pretty smart, Xiaolong. Now tell me your name."
"My name is Meilan !" She said holding out her hand to Wufei.
Wufei's eyes softened at the name. He took her hand and they shook hands.
"You have a beautiful name, Xiaolong, and I'm sure that you honour it."
Meilan did not seem to understand what Wufei meant.
"Now you have to tell me your name too." She declared.
"My name is Wufei Chang." He said with a bow. Meilan bowed at him.
"Are you Aunt Sally's boyfriend?" She asked suddenly.
Sally looked at Wufei and held her breath, waiting for his answer. Wufei smiled.
"No, we only work together."
Sally sighed, not really relieved though. Meilan ran to her and held her by the waist, looking up at Wufei who was now standing straight.
"Well you should be, because Aunt Sally is marvellous. She is beautiful and smart. Also, she always brings me nice things." Explained the little girl.
"Now that's enough, Meilan. You're making Wufei feel uncomfortable." She gave as a pretext, feeling uncomfortable herself.
"I'm sorry." She said, hiding her face in Sally shirt.
"It's okay, don't be sad." Sally replied, stroking the little girl's hair.
Sally kept on looking at her niece, unable to look at Wufei. She was really feeling uncomfortable. Now Wufei was probably thinking that she had told Meilan to say those things. She yawned, wishing for a bed. Suddenly, Meilan let go of Sally and look at her wrist.
"Oh! It's already seven!" She exclaimed looking at a fictive watch. "I have to go; the emperor is waiting for me." Then, she bowed at both Sally and Wufei and started running toward the house, on her way; she met a Chinese young woman and pulled her tongue at her. The woman rolled her eyes and went on.
"I'm sorry for the embarrassment." Apologised Sally without looking up.
"Don't be, she is only a kid. She probably says everything that's on her mind." He said coming back to his soft tone of voice.
Sally finally found the courage to look at him. He was smiling, gently. Sally grinned too, but started to cough.
"There you are!" Said a sharp voice.
Sally and Wufei both turned to the door to see a Chinese young woman in a white dress. She walked toward Sally.
"You should be in the kitchen now; you know that, little tramp?"
Wufei turned at Sally, waiting for an explosive answer. Instead of it, she looked at her watch. It was already eleven and ten.
"Oh God! Wufei, I have to go, I'll meet you at dinner." She said, starting running toward the house. "Mother is going to kill me." She thought.
Wufei looked at Sally running away. He was about to follow her when the young woman stopped him.
"You must be Wufei." She said looking at him in the eyes.
"Yes, that would be me. Wufei Chang." He replied a bit annoyed by her lack of manners.
"You are?"
"Yuen. Yuen Long." She replied still looking at him in the eyes, as if she was defying him.
"You are Sally's sister?"
"Half-sister. Unfortunately." She added with a sigh. "And you, what are you to Mei?"
"To Mei, nothing, but I do work with Sally." He replied. "How sarcastic that I insist on Sally's name now when I usually don't…" He thought.
"So you call her Sally too. That name is so… I can't find the word to describe it, but the only thing I can say is that Sally is the perfect name for that tramp."
Wufei's jaws clenched. He closed his eyes and expired slowly to calm himself. He opened his eyes. Yuen was still looking into them.
"How old are you?" He asked.
"Seventeen." She answered, taken aback.
"Well, young lady, you are very impolite. First toward Sally and second toward me. Don't you know that you shouldn't be looking into a man's eyes?" He lectured.
Yuen crossed her arms on her chest and took a superior look still staring at Wufei in the eyes.
"Sally does look into your eyes, doesn't she?" She said as if she had found the crack in Wufei's perfect façade.
"Sally is older than I am, and also I have the obligation to consider her as my equal since we work together and have the same military grade."
"Well, now explain why this stupid kid that goes by the awful name of Meilan can look into your eyes."
Yuen never saw it coming. Wufei's strong slap took her by surprise.
"Chikuso ! She's just a kid! But I believe that she is more mature than you'll ever be."
Yuen held her cheek in her hands.
"You slapped me!" She exclaimed with watery eyes.
"Yes I did, and I hope it put some sense into you, Woman!"
On these words, Wufei started to walk back home. He was furious and did not know why. Of course, hearing the name Meilan being insulted did not help, but he felt it was something bigger. He snarled. "The hell with these women!" He thought as he felt a little drop of cold water on his face. He looked up. Dark clouds were covering the sun, and soon, with the wind, the sky would be totally grey. It suited perfectly Wufei's mind.