Part VII (Revised)

Everyone had gathered in the salon. There were about twenty guest, including the kids. They were all Chinese and wearing white. A drink in the hand, the adults were discussing joyfully, happy to see each other. Sally did not know any of them. If the closed wooden coffin with her father's picture on the top and the black mortuary stone had not been there against the wall, and if the scent of incense had not filled the air with its macabre perfume, anyone would have thought that this was a casual party. The guests did not know the dead, so after paying their respects to Sally who was sitting on a chair next to the coffin, they were not paying attention anymore.

Wufei entered the room. He was wearing a simple white Chinese shirt with assorted white pants. He did not wear his sword. Sure, it was not as spectacular as his other outfit, but looking at the indifferent people in the room he felt like it would not have made a difference anyway. He quickly scanned the room, looking for Sally. She was sitting next to her father's coffin, wearing a beautiful white Chinese dress with round golden embroidered mandala. Her hair was curling loose down her shoulders. Her face was closed, not showing any emotions. She was pale. If she had not moved, once in a while, one could have thought that she was also dead. Next to her, was a pregnant woman he hand not seen before, crying softly, her face buried in her hands and next to that woman was Wu Feng, holding Meilan in his arms. She was also crying. Slowly, Wufei walked to the coffin and kneeled down to pray. He lighted incense sticks and closed his eyes. Sally had been acting pretty strange today. It was like her to change moods more than once in a day and it was surely like her to yell at him, but not the way she did. Sally was never really mean in what she was saying, but then, after punching him, he felt that she strongly believed in what she said. If she really did not care about him, why did she invite him here? He felt weird inside, it was a feeling he had long ago, when he had made Meilan cry in front of their friends. It was the bitter feeling of shame and the awful one of being unwanted But Sally was not crying. He had not seen her cry those past two days. It was not like her. She was emotional, like women usually are. She was probably holding back her tears. Wufei opened his eyes and observed Sally. She was standing straight even with all the fatigue, staring at nothing in particular, like an antic marble statue. She did not even look at him.

Sally was holding back her tears. Usually, she was pretty bad at it, but since Mother was there looking at her with all her dumb guests, she would not give them the pleasure of seeing the little American girl cry. Still, it was hard to keep this stone like face. But now, with Wufei at her side, it was easier and harder at the same time. She knew that he was secretly looking at her. She could feel his eyes on her. But she would not give him the pleasure of seeing her cry, no way. She never had, so she was not going to begin today. In the other hand, she felt awfully bad about what she shouted at Wufei back in the room. Sure, blinded by the rage, she believed in everything she said, but now, she knew it was all lies. She was so confused with what Yuen said that she had to let it out, one way or another. Wufei happened to be passing by… She gave him a little look. His eyes were closed in meditation. Even though he was trying hard to hide it, Sally could see that he was stressed only by looking at his frowned eyebrows. She felt sorry. Suddenly, Wufei got up. Sally returned fast to her statue role. She waited for him to make a move, but he just stood there, looking at the picture on Sally's father's coffin.

Wufei closed his eyes, trying to stop this feeling of déjà vu from overcoming his mind. He was focussing hard when a loud cry made him jump. He turned around to see Yuen rushing in the room, her hair in disorder and tears running uncontrollably on her cheeks. Quickly, she ran to her father's coffin, pushing Wufei aside and started to cry harder.

"Father!" She screamed. "Father, please don't go away!"

The guest began to murmur compassion words for the "poor" child. Sally looked at her step-sister with disgust. She was acting her role perfectly, crying and hugging the coffin. No one would have believed that she was calling the man a jerk a few hours before. Sally could not bear it. That was too much. That brat was not going to get away with this one. Furiously, she stood up, making her chair fall down. Everyone turned to her, even though Yuen was still crying loudly. She was shaking from head to toes. She swallowed her unshed tears, trying to give herself the courage to speak. She turned her head to Wufei. He was looking at her with interrogating eyes. This would be for him. She turned to the crowd.

"Can't you people see that she is pretending?" She asked furious.

The guest looked at her with uncertain eyes. So it was not enough. She would do more. She walked the few steps separating her from Yuen and took her by her loose hair. She pulled it hard to force Yuen to show her wet face. Yuen cried. Sally pulled harder.

"See that little bitch? She called my father a jerk! She's just acting!" She shouted at the guest's faces. Murmurs of disapproval were heard. Mother was getting angry.

"Mei ! Stop that immediately. It's not because you're stone hearted that everyone is!"

Sally's jaws clenched. Yuen got up and released herself from Sally's grip. Her cheeks were still wet, but she was not crying anymore. A defying fire was burning in her eyes. She made a smile only her step-sister saw. Sally, unable to hold herself back, punched Yuen in the face really hard. She fell on the floor crying. Sally turned to the guests.

"I'm no cold hearted. You people are the ones who are cold. I can cry too if I want!"

Everyone looked at Sally, waiting for her to cry. She was ready to do it; she was ready to let it flow. She let herself go. People waited. Nothing was coming out of her eyes. What was the problem with her! She was about to burst in tears a few minutes before and now there was nothing.

"I can cry, but not in front of this hypocrite!" She declared, looking down at her step-sister. Still, she had the triumphal smile on her lips. Sally, furious, started kicking Yuen with her high heels. As soon as she began, the guests jumped on her to make her stop, but no one was able to hold her back. "I'll kill you, bitch!" She yelled. Yuen was trying to run away from Sally in vain, not smiling anymore. Sally was about to kick her come more when she felt strong arms pulling her back. She started to scream, trying to free herself from the strong grip, in vain. Suddenly, she started to cough violently, unable to scream, she resigned herself. She turned her head to see… Wufei !

He looked at her as if she had gone insane. What was with her, all of a sudden? She would have killed that girl for sure if he had not stop her. At least, while she was coughing, she could not scream or insult anyone. Suddenly, Sally stopped coughing and started screaming and raging again, kicking Wufei to make him let go.

"Mister Chang?" Asked a soft voice behind him. He turned around, Sally in his arms, to look at a pregnant woman, the one he had seen cry a bit earlier. He jumped with surprised. He knew that woman. He had seen her before, somewhere. But where? He knew those sweet eyes too much and that gentle mouth too. Who was she? He had to figure. She was also looking at him, not surprised a bit. Maybe he was mistaken, but he could have sworn that he knew her from somewhere. He looked at her a moment, searching his mind for an answer, not hearing what she was saying to him. He came back to reality when Sally gave him a big hit on the head with her head. The lady in front of him asked if he was alright.

"Hn. I am"

"Would you please take Sally outside? She is going to break everything and…" She looked at her daughter on the verge of tears. "I beg you… I don't want Meilan to see more of this…"

Wufei jumped twice as he heard the name Sally and Meilan. He nodded. Meilan. That woman had something to do with his dead wife, for sure. But he had no time to think of that right now, since Yuen had jump on Sally to punch her back. Sally kicked her away and she landed on the floor again. Sally was coughing and trying to insult Yuen at the same time. Wufei walked fast toward the door and exited the room. As soon as they were out, he heard the guest commenting Sally's behaviour. Sally was still coughing violently, kicking Wufei who was taking her to the inner garden.

Rain was pouring. The ground was covered with mud. It was cold. As soon as they got outside, Wufei freed Sally. Surprised, she fell on her knees in the mud. She was still coughing uncontrollably a hand in front of her mouth. Suddenly, she hunched her back and threw up all over herself. When she was done, she started shaking. Wufei walked to meet her and squatted next to her. He held out his hands to help her stand. She kept on looking in front of her, shaking. Her hair was sticking to her face and her make up was running on her cheeks wet by the rain. Slowly, he reached out Sally's cheek to wipe it. She did not react.

"Sally?" He said softly.

She did not move. He had to snap her out of her trance. He removed his hand from Sally's cheek to slap her. She jumped and turned to him with angry eyes. Wufei took his annoyed look and snorted.

"I just can believe that you did what you just did! Such a shame for your family, Woman!" He declared, getting up. That was enough to ignite Sally's rage. Fast, she got up, furious. She tried to punch him. Her fist connected with Wufei palm. She tried with her other fist, but it connected again with Wufei's hand. She let out a battle cry. She pushed him away. Then she rushed back at him. The same circus began over and over. After a moment, she got tired. Her punches were getting weaker and weaker. Her cries were more like moans. She finally ended against Wufei's chest, giving him very weak punches. Wufei passed his arms around her, pressing her against his chest, not minding the vomit that still covered her and now covered him. She let herself go to his kind embrace. With his hand, he gentle pressed her head against his shoulder. She nestled her face in the space where his neck and shoulder connected. The rain was still falling noisily. Still, it was cold. Sally was shivering, but he knew without any doubts that she was not crying. He gently stroked her hair. This was feeling so right and so wrong. Wufei just did not know what to think. Sally had now stretched her arms to wrap them around his waist. He was feeling her warmth all over his body and her breath on his neck. It just felt good to be standing in the rain, held by someone this tight. But this someone was Sally, and it felt… Not bad, but surely weird. Sally moaned.

"Daddy… I'm so cold…"

Daddy? Suddenly, Sally started to cry gently, like a little girl.

"Daddy… I'm cold… I don't want to go to school… I wanna see Mommy…"

Wufei was confused. He touched Sally's forehead. She had a fever.

"It's okay Sally, we'll get you to bed…" He whispered to her hear. Sally began to resist, weakly as Wufei started to walk toward the house.

"I don't wanna go in… He's there…"

"Who's there?" He asked, ignoring Sally's resistance.

"He hates me…" She answered, still crying softly.

"Who does?" He asked, climbing the stone stairs.

"He says I'm weak, and he's right…"

"Who says you're weak?" He asked as he pushed the door. Even though he already knew the answer, he wanted to hear it. Sally did not answer, but moaned with pleasure as she felt the warmth of the house enveloping her. Then, he felt her muscles soothing as she slowly slipped against him. Wufei, held her tighter. She was unconscious. Gently, Wufei passed one arm under her knees and picked her up to carry her upstairs to their room.

"I don't hate you…" He whispered more to himself than to Sally.

As he passed by the salon's opened door, Li-han saw him. Politely, she excused herself and got out of the room to follow Wufei.

Wufei was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wooden wall. The pregnant woman was with Sally in the room, changing her to put her to bed. He was feeling depressed. Depressed about all the things Sally had said to him today, depressed about him, feeling like a jerk, and depressed about that pregnant woman which he could not recognise. He sighed. This day had start so well… And was now ending weirdly. He gave himself a quick look. This was the second outfit he had screwed today… Adding to that, he was stinking. He sighed, tired. Then, he heard the quiet sound of the door opening. He turned his head to see the pregnant woman.

"You may come in…" She whispered.

Wufei followed her inside. Sally was wearing a white silk pyjama lying on an occidental baldaquin bed with pink veil. She was shivering, tossing and turning. From time to time, she would let out a little moan or cry.

"Did she regain consciousness?" Wufei asked.

"Yes, she's sleeping."

"Shouldn't we put her under the covers?"

"No. She has a fever. To make it go down, she must be exposed to a fresh temperature." Explained the pregnant woman. "I'll go make something for her to eat when she wakes up. While I do, I would appreciate it if you would stay by her side, in case she wakes up. She will probably panic if she's alone. When I'll come back, I'll take your place, so that you can take a bath. After that, you'll have to take care of her since I'm required downstairs." She explained, with a sigh. "There is a bowl with fresh water on the night stand. There are also some clean compresses. You may try to put some on her forehead if she calms down." She ended pointing a white wooden night stand. "If you'll excuse me…" Then she bowed at him and went downstairs.

Wufei sighed. Then he gave a look around the room. It really was a little girl's room. Beside the pink bed, there were also the silky pink curtains, the huge collection of stuffed animals, the collection of porcelain dolls, the soft pink carpet and the white wooden furniture. He took a small chair in front of a cute dressing table and put it beside the bed. He sat and sighed. He looked at Sally. She was still tossing and turning nervously, mumbling incoherent words in a desperate voice. Her hand was clutched tight on her pyjama's top. Wufei held out his hand to grab Sally's one. She held on it tightly. Her fingers were moist and cold. She was shaking but stopped moving. Wufei left his chair and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Mommy…" Moaned Sally.

Wufei sighed. He was getting more and more depressed. He did not know what to do. All things were mixed up inside of him. What was the right thing to do? Without noticing it, Wufei let go of Sally's hand.

"Don't leave me!" She cried, holding out nervously her hand. Finding nothing, she started panicking. "Don't go! Don't!" She started to cry. Instantly, Wufei took back her hand in his. But it was not enough; Sally was still panicking and crying. She was pulling hard on Wufei's hand.

"Shhhh… Everything is alright. I'm here… You're not alone." Saying that, he began to wipe the tears of her face. At this contact, Sally regained her calm. Wufei sighed, again. The rain was still falling noisily against the windows.

"Il pleut sur mon cœur, comme il pleut sur la ville…" Whispered Wufei, remembering the words of a poet. This was going far away from his expectation. Never would he have imagined that this simple trip with is partner would have turned this way… And it was only the first day! He sighed. He still did not have the time to ask Sally the question he wanted to ask her. More, other questions were now forming in his mind.

"Why did you ask me to come with you? " He said, absentmindedly caressing Sally's soft forehead. "If you think that I hate you, why inviting me?"

"Because you are very precious to her." Answered a voice behind him.

Wufei jumped and quickly left Sally's bed, freeing her hand. The pregnant woman was standing near the door, a wooden tray in her hand. Silently she walked to the night stand, and put the tray on it. Then, she turned to Wufei who had not moved an inch.

"I brought two bowls of rice and some fried vegetables for you. There is also some tea. You may go refresh yourself." Saying that, she sat on the chair and took Sally's hand in hers. This woman was mystifying Wufei. Who was she?

"What did you say about Sally?" He asked, trying to look uninterested by taking his pyjama from his suitcase.

The pregnant woman sighed.

"Wufei, what I said should already be known by your heart. I won't repeat myself. You should already be aware of this. Search your heart, and if you are true to yourself, you'll see that you already knew."

Wufei looked at her. What was she talking about? She called him Wufei, but they had never talk. Still, the sound of his name in that woman's mouth sounded familiar. More than ever, he was sure that he had known her before. He was about to ask her about it, but it was like she read his mind.

"I shall answer your questions later. Now isn't the proper time and place. Now go."

Wufei obeyed and left the room without saying a word, his white pyjama in hand. The pregnant woman smiled softly.

Wufei was walking silently in the dark hall. He gave a look at his watch. Only five thirty. It was a bit soon to go to bed, but he did not feel like going spend the evening with all these people downstairs he did not know. With care, he pushed the door. As soon as he got inside, a little girl jumped on him, asking to be carried. Wufei deposed his dirty clothes on the little dressing table and picked up Meilan. Sally's niece began to play with his wet hair, braiding some strand of it. She quickly got tired of it, since Wufei's hair would not stay braided more than a couple of seconds. She simply passed her arms around his neck and held on to him.

"I was looking for you!" Declared the little one. "Papa told me you were upstairs with mama so I came, but you were taking your bath!"

"Hn…" Answered Wufei, looking at Meilan's mother. "Did she…?"

"No, she's still asleep…" Answered the pregnant woman. She got up and walked toward Wufei. "Now Meilan, you saw Mister Chang, so you're going back downstairs to papa." Wufei put the little girl down.

"But mama, I want to stay here…" She pouted.

"Meilan, don't make me repeat myself. Mister Chang and Aunt Mei will be here all week; you'll have plenty of time to spend with them. Now go, I'll join you in a few moments." Saying that, she gently guided her daughter to the door. Meilan sighed, and then she blew Wufei a kiss and went away humming a Chinese song. The pregnant woman turned to Wufei. "I'll be going to, please take well care of Sally." Saying that, she reopened the door.

"Wait! I'm sorry to ask you that but, who are you? I mean I know who you are to Sally, but…"

"But you want to know just who I am to you." She turned to Wufei. She had a melancholic smile on her lips. "You don't remember me at all, don't you?"

Wufei nodded.

The pregnant woman sighed and looked down a moment. Then, she returned to Wufei.

"It was a long time ago. The last time you saw me, you were six. I used to take care of you, on the colony. My name is Li-han Long, or Li-han Ron if you prefer. But to you, it was Lili. Your wife, Meilan, was my little sister."