I was mesmerized by the mysterious you

And stared at you

And had my soul stolen

                The wooden gate closed quietly. Liu Yang kept the hong bao close to her chest. Their ancestors have chosen, or has her son been behind the selection as well? It is not the custom but fate has already chosen a bride (in this case a groom) for her son.

                Would this help quicken his recovery? Or would her son forever be lost? These questions plagued her. She needs this to be over immediately. She wants her son back and soon. Looking at the red envelope in her hand, peeking through the contents she was surprised to see it full. Taking out the bank notes, it’s the same amount that she had put in it when she left it on the street. Atleast this proves the integrity of the young man.

                She needs to relay the news to the elders. There would be questions and raised eyebrows of course, but who dare go against someone’s ancestors? Or a higher being that would want this union?

                Liu Yang wandered around the women’s private quarters but found no one. She decided to visit the East Wing instead to give the news to her son first and see if this helps in his son’s recovery.

                The East Wing is filled with moonlight streaming through the plum trees that his son adores. This particular part of the Estate is her son’s private quarters, no one except immediate family and a select number of servants are allowed here. Her son treasures his privacy though sometimes she’d see he longs for company. Unfortunately, she and her husband weren’t able to provide him with a sibling.

                She passed by the library where almost a quarter of the books are gone. As was her son’s wish for all of his favourite books to be sent to the second-hand bookshop near the seamstress they frequent. His son has always been fascinated by old books and the smell of the shop. He would always linger outside but was never brave enough to enter.

                She always knew that her son’s fondness for books stem from watching his father in his study, reading, always reading. Sometimes father and son would read to each other ancient journals of past emperors. The son wanted to be like the father, but what kind of father abandons his son at his weakest? The overseas trip that was assumed to be only for a few months became years and scarce correspondence, save for the money in the bank account and the books that’s sent to the neglected son.

                Shaking the bad thoughts away, she proceeded to her son’s bedchamber. A nurse was there checking on his vital signs but what surprised Liu Yang was the presence of her mother-in-law. She seldom visits this part of the estate saying that evil spirits that surround the sick tend to prey on the weak ones. Liu Yang doubts the weakness of her mother-in-law’s qi. She’s stronger than an ox and would most likely outlive everyone in the household. What Liu Yang doesn’t doubt though is her fondness towards her grandson.

                “How is he?” Liu Yang asks the nurse, though she knows it’s going to be the same answer from before, she still feels the need to ask.

                “It’s stable, Madame. A servant said she saw the young master move a finger, this might be a far better improvement from what we expected, if it is true then he might wake up soon…” The nurse did a few more checks before taking leave.

                “I see you have it with you…” her mother-in-law said without sparing her a glance.

                “Yes…” Liu Yang looked at her son’s pale face. Wishing for any signs of movement, when she saw none, she heaved a long sigh and clasped her son’s hand on hers. “We found you a mate, Lu Han…”

~o~

                The next day, Kim Min Seok dropped by the second-hand bookshop before he went to university. Primarily because he wants to check if the new shipment has arrived and secondly to tell Yi Xing what happened to him yesterday evening. He didn’t intend to tell anyone, but the ominous feeling still lingers and at the back of his mind he knew there was something off about yesterday evening’s events.

                He got to the bookshop a little after nine, which means he still have a lot of time to spare before his 3PM lecture. He saw the owner of the shop, Kim Joon Myeon, a fellow Korean, who like him migrated to China. But unlike him, Joon Myeon’s family settled in Beijing when he was only 2 years of age.

                “Good Morning, Joon Myeon!”

Joon Myeon stopped stacking medium-sized boxes on a trolley and greeted Min Seok with a winsome smile. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be working today…” Joon Myeon teased.

“But I’m the only one who knows where the order slip is for the shipment that’s coming today.

“Oh, I’m sure Yi Xing would be able to find it… He’s good at finding things…”

                “Well, yeah but still…” He paused and looked around and there weren’t any signs of Yi Xing in the bookshop. “Where is Yi Xing? He has work today, right?”

                “He’s in the backroom, he said there are still a few more books that need to be sorted…”

                Min Seok bid Joon Myeon goodbye before going into the storage. He heard Yi Xing arguing with someone. If it was the old man again, Min Seok would gladly loan every book they have just so it’ll stop pestering Yi Xing and Min Seok could stop worrying about his friend’s sanity.

                “Is it the old man again?” He inquired, alerting Yi Xing of his presence.

                Yi Xing looked startled, this is the first time since they have known each other that he felt unwelcome.

                “Is there something wrong?” is the old man still pestering you?” Min Seok looked around curiously though he knows he won’t see anything.

                “No, he did borrow another book though… He seems to be enamored with earthly novels…” Yi Xing’s face is still stiff and he seems distracted.

                “You don’t appear to be yourself today…” Min Seok asked a second time.

                “It’s nothing… There’s just a lot of them today…” He sighed, looking tired.

                “Oh…” Min Seok pondered if he should tell his friend his tale or just save it for tomorrow.

                “Wait, you’re not supposed to be here today… If it’s regarding the shipment, I already know where you kept the receipt…” Yi Xing sits down, but not before kicking the space beside it, as if trying to kick someone in the process of sitting down. This is not new to Min Seok. Yi Xing’s probably getting rid of someone occupying that chair.

                “Well that and I wanted to tell you something…”

                “You could’ve waited until tomorrow to tell me that…” This time irritation was evident on his tone.

                “Fine, I’ll leave then…”

                “You’re here already… I’m sorry. It’s just that this particular one is kind of burdensome…”

                “You usually just ignore them…”

                “Well, this one doesn’t like being ignored. And if he keeps behaving the way he is now and not stop saying I’m a liar… He could forget about asking for my help…”

                Min Seok raised an eyebrow at that. Yi Xing normally doesn’t have a temper. Whoever it is that’s bugging him looks as if it had stopped for Yi Xing has a triumphant look on his face.

                “Anyway, ge… What is it that you want to tell me?”

                Min Seok began to enumerate yesterday’s events feeling increasingly stupid as he continuous on with his story. Thinking about it now it sort of feels like he was bragging, though it really wasn’t his intention. By the end of the story, Yi Xing has remained still. Face void of emotion. He wasn’t expecting a big reaction, a pat on the back maybe for being a good person, but what came out of Yi Xing’s mouth wasn’t something he had thought of either.

                “Ge… Min Seok-ge… you just accepted a proposal to marry the dead…”