Here's another chapter, and the plot, as they say, thickens. Enjoy and leave a review if you want to say hi.


Chapter 2

Huaze Lei took a last look around the small hotel suite where he and Shancai had stayed for the past four days. She refused to leave after Asi all but threw her off his property, saying that perhaps he would come for her after finding some way to reconcile matters. Maybe he just needed some time. He was, after all, Dao Ming Si, brilliant and tenacious. How then could he deny their love unless he was forced to go against his will? That was Shancai's argument that kept them in London longer than he wanted to stay.

"Don't you believe in Asi, Lei?" she had said later that terrible day. "Don't you believe that he'll come for me? I don't believe what he said. I won't believe it. He'll find a way."

He wanted to agree, but he was no longer sure. If Asi wanted to come or could come, he would have by now. Asi would know that Shancai could not stay in London indefinitely.

Lei felt the need to leave this foreign place. Of course, it was not as though he had never been to London, but he needed to get Shancai home. After she saw Asi, she threw up her lunch and did not eat for the rest of the day. He heard her weeping that night, and she threw up again the next morning. She looked pale and lost, although she tried to keep up a hopeful façade, but he could no longer watch her heart break apart hour by hour while she sat and waited and paced and waited. It was cool outside but not frigid, yet Shancai shivered continually. Lei encouraged her to take long, hot baths, and he bought her warm socks and a heavier sweater. Wrapping her in quilts, he turned the heat up to an absurd temperature and made sure that her feet were warm.

The third night he insisted that he stay and watch over her in the night. They held hands, and he warmed her cold fingers. Slowly, she moved toward him until her head lay in the crook of his neck. His fingertips stroked her hair and face, and he gently wiped away her tears that flowed throughout the night while she slept and whispered her love for Asi and fear of leaving him forever. Last night she settled immediately into Lei's embrace, and he held her close, both pleased and relieved that she was able to sleep in peace for at least a few hours. His worries returned though when she was unable to hold down her breakfast. He stroked her back while she vomited and had a warm, wet cloth and mouthwash waiting for her on the bathroom sink.

"The luggage is loaded, Shancai," he said. "The taxi is waiting. It's time to leave. I'm sorry." Shancai's eyes filled with tears, but she nodded and took the hand he held out to her. "Asi knows how to reach us," he said with a game smile, one that he put on for her. "It's not over yet."

"Asi and Xaozi's wedding is supposed to be in two weeks," Shancai said dully. She sniffed back her tears and attempted to match his smile. "He has my number." Lei nodded and ushered her outside. A breeze lifted her hair, and she stopped suddenly in the street. She was almost sure that she heard her name, and her pale face flushed. "Asi?" She turned and stared down the street toward a quaint and thickly wooded park.

"Lei, I heard my name. Do you think …?" She strained to listen above the wind, and Lei joined her and scanned through the trees. Her face suffused with joy. "Lei! I'm sure I'm hearing my name. It's Asi!" She took off running toward the park with Lei behind her, but once they got there, they saw nothing except a white van rounding the far corner. She turned to him in despair.

"I think I'm going mad." He caught her up in his arms and held her head against his heart.

"No, no, don't think that, Shancai. Don't think that. You've been through so much. It's natural to hear what you want to hear, but it's not healthy for you to stay here any longer. Let's go. You'll feel better once you get home.

The flight home was quiet. Too quiet. Shancai slept most of the time on Lei's shoulder. Every so often others—mostly young girls and their mothers—commented on how handsome he was and what a cute couple they made. Lei waved away food for himself but took some crackers and ginger ale for Shancai when she woke up. He dared not move when she snuggled closer. He raised the chair arm, and she took the opportunity to put one arm around his waist.

Throughout the long flight, Lei thought about what drove Asi to break up with Shancai and in such a callous way. His mother must have been listening, Lei reasoned, and Dao Ming Group must be on the verge of collapse. He shook his head. He knew his friend better than that. Asi had told him that he would give up everything for Shancai, and he meant it. Lei's brow furrowed. Perhaps Dao Ming Feng threatened to harm Shancai, or maybe she used the memory of Asi's father? Probably both. It must have been a terrible fight. Lei wondered how much of Asi's London home was still intact.

Still, he could not be concerned for his friend now. He looked down at the small, wan girl in his arms, and a surge of protectiveness had him tightening his embrace and supporting her weight. An older woman across the aisle smiled at his determined expression.

"Forgive me for saying," she began, "but it's lovely to see such a devoted young man. She's a lucky young lady." Lei nodded.

"Thank you. She's very special."

"I can see you think so, young man. Good luck to you both."

"Thank you."

Lei took a cleansing breath and thought through the next few weeks. How could he support Shancai? What did she need from her friends? Her illness worried him. She had always been so healthy. Of course, the strain she was under could account for it, but so could something else, a possibility he barely contemplated without terrible foreboding. The hours passed slowly, but his mind was racing, and he devised plans to account for every variable. He would wait another week, he decided, but if she did not get better, he knew what he needed to do.


Anyone want to guess what he'll do?