Chapter 3

A clearheaded Wang Xi could resist temptation. Never mind. He could not always be clearheaded.

Late one midsummer night, he was drinking with his colleagues, and I went to fetch him.

He had little tolerance for alcohol. They had plied him until he was dazed, his steps unsteady.

At the sight of me, a lovely flush spread over his cool, pale skin. The laughter in his eyes glittered like tiny stars, as though it might shine straight into my heart.

“Yaoyao,” he murmured. His tongue curled slightly around the name, giving it the sweet stickiness of malt candy.

I smiled at him, letting my shallow dimples show.

“Wang Xi, is this your sister?” One of his colleagues came over, his eyes never leaving me.

I smiled at him too. “Hello, Brother.”

I had practiced that enchanting smile countless times in private. It was more than enough to bewilder a man.

Wang Xi caught my wrist, pulled me back, and stepped between us.

The warmth in his eyes vanished in an instant.

The ever-courteous Wang Xi actually snapped at the man. “What business is that of yours?”

He pulled me into the carriage. Apparently sulking, he rested his head against its wall and closed his eyes without a word.

His hand, however, gripped mine tightly.

“Let go, Brother. You’re hurting me.”

He seemed not to hear. His grip tightened instead.

So he could feel. He could grow angry. That taut string of propriety had begun to quiver.

I moved closer, bent down, and sank my teeth hard into the back of his hand.

A muffled groan sounded in the cramped carriage.

He slowly opened his hazy, drunken eyes and looked at me.

Still not enough?

My skirts spread like a lotus lifted by the breeze. I straddled his lap and, just as his brow furrowed, kissed those thin, glistening lips that tasted of wine.

The summer breeze stirred trouble, lifting the carriage curtain for an uninvited peek.

We were crossing Longing Bridge. Beneath it, lush lotus blossoms were in full bloom.

I drew back. His broad hand held me still, and he leaned over me with the heady scent of wine and the cool fragrance of lotus.

My heart raced, like a young creature about to break free of its cage.

“Why did you smile at him?”

He kissed me as though he meant to devour me, bones and all.

Finished.

Wang Xi was finished.

That night felt like an outrageous dream.

The lotus gathered beneath the bridge was crushed, its juices scattering.

In the utter stillness, a soft gasp escaped his throat. “Yaoyao.”

I thought Wang Xi had fallen utterly. Who knew he would remain so clearheaded and rational?

He never let me interfere with important matters.

Even when a night of pleasure seemed all too short, he could refuse me beneath the brocade bed curtains, draw away in time, and arrive punctually for roll call at the government office.

When he traveled on official business, no amount of coaxing could make him take me along. He could abstain for a very long time.

Had I not tested him myself, I might have suspected some hidden ailment.

His life continued in its orderly course. My unexpected arrival had not knocked it off track at all.

And now, with marriage due, he was obeying his father and preparing to wed a dignified young lady from a noble family.

How could I allow that?

How could I watch him grow old with someone else, surrounded by children and grandchildren?

I had to end Wang Yun’s line. For that, I could only wrong my dear brother.