* * *
Baozhen had just arrived at the park when he saw the yellow-pink flash of Lian’s summer robe through the green. She was at the far end, strolling along beside her cousin. Within moments she caught his eye but quickly looked away, pretending to be absorbed with something Ming-ha was saying.
“I thought we were going to the tea house,” Jinhai said from behind him.
Usually he found Liu Jinhai to be an agreeable companion. They had similar interests and he was good-humored and unpretentious. Today, Baozhen found him unbearable.
“In a while. There’s something we must do first,” Baozhen said, resigned.
The two ladies glided along the pebbled walkway, making an unerring path toward them.
Conveniently, it was Ming-ha who called out. “Why, it’s Baozhen!”
Lian came up beside her, her robe catching the breeze just enough to tease them with a glimpse of the rounded curves beneath the delicate material.
Baozhen stepped out in front of them. “What a surprise. This pleasant morning has become more enjoyable.”
“Ah, now I see...” Jinhai’s murmur came low and amused from behind him.
Baozhen suppressed a scowl and positioned himself squarely at the lead, to greet Lian and her cousin. Ming-ha was the taller of the two. Her features were slender and elongated and he had been thoroughly fascinated with her once for half a summer, in the way of a boy just beyond childhood.
It was Lian who had his complete attention now. She was softer in the face, with eyes that were keen like a cat’s. After such a long time away, he had decided he did find Lian pretty. This morning had confirmed it. Why else would he have been so compelled to kiss her? Now, every time he saw her, he couldn’t look away. His senses demanded to be constantly fed with this new discovery.
“It’s been too long, Miss Lian,” he said with an overflow of meaning.
“Nonsense, Baozhen. We live next to each other. We see each other too often, one might say.”
Lian had drawn a red tint over her lips since they’d parted. The little fox. She also had a fan in her hands, which she wasn’t using at all to her advantage. It was supposed to be an excuse to bring attention to shapely hands and bared wrists, but instead she was waving it in short, impatient movements while trying to glance around him.
“Your friend, here, is another matter,” she said pointedly. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”
Her directness was refreshing—except that it was directed at the wrong man. Baozhen could sense Jinhai similarly trying to weave around him to make an introduction. Any man would, the way Lian was dressed and painted like a newly ripened peach, ready to be plucked.
“Liu Jinhai’s father is a textile merchant in the East Market,” Baozhen offered rather magnanimously. “And this is Miss Chen Lian.”
“Miss Lian.” Jinhai executed a rather courtly-looking bow.
Baozhen noted with displeasure how Jinhai immediately adopted the more intimate form of address. He also had nothing good to say about the way Lian’s eyes fluttered downward. She echoed Jinhai’s name between her lips with a sweet murmur that set Baozhen’s pulse into a dangerous fervor.
“Miss Lian’s family lives in the courtyard beside ours. We’re very close,” he added.
“Our families are very close,” Lian corrected, flashing him the eye.
Jinhai had managed to maneuver around him to stand beside her. He granted her a smile that was full of even white teeth. “You must have interesting stories to tell about this fool.”
“I do...but only if one wants to hear about Guo Baozhen. Do you?”
“On second thought, I don’t. Not really.”
They shared a laugh. How charming.
Baozhen was preparing to insert himself back into the conversation when dear Ming-ha chimed in. “Let’s go see the fish pond.”
She took his arm and held on tight before he could slip away.
“Let’s all go together,” he said, loud enough to interrupt Lian and Jinhai. Ming-ha’s nails dug lightly into his forearm.
Jinhai gallantly took Lian’s side as they circled the pond, remaining a respectful arm’s length away—which was still too close in Baozhen’s opinion.
“Our fathers often do business with each other,” Jinhai was saying. “Mister Chen is a tough businessman, but always fair.”
“My father speaks very highly of yours, as well,” Lian replied. “Funny how our families know each other but we two have never met.”
“I’m grateful that fate brought me to the park this morning, Miss Lian.”
“I was having the same thought.”
Baozhen snorted, causing both of them to turn to look at him. Lian lashed him with a glare. He replied with a smirk.
The two of them turned back to their conversation. Jinhai was being a gentleman, the dog. He was commenting on the beauty of nature and even stole a few verses from the poet Li Bai. Lian was nodding politely, offering a few meek words here and there.
Baozhen couldn’t believe how bland the conversation was. It was nothing like the spirited exchanges he and Lian shared.
One turn around the carp pond later and Lian took her leave of Jinhai with a proper bow. Baozhen needn’t have worried. Jinhai must have thoroughly bored her for Lian to give up so easily. He knew her temperament. She had no tolerance for coy little games.
He was beaming in triumph when she came to him to say farewell. He wouldn’t tease her too much about this, he resolved.
She leaned in to take him into her confidence. “Thank you,” she whispered softly.
The look she gave him was full of joy. Her smile brightened and the warmth of it radiated throughout her. Baozhen’s own smile quickly faded.
Lian looked happy. Happier than he could remember ever seeing her. All for a few lines of stolen poetry from some peacock who barely knew her.
Lian placed the pebble into the leather sling and took careful aim. She was perched on top of the gardener’s ladder, which raised her high enough over the courtyard wall to see into the alleyway. She also had clear sight of the side entrance to the Guo residence. As soon as Baozhen appeared, she let the pebble fly. It flew past his ear and struck against the gate.
“Hey—”
She sighed. “I must be out of practice.”
Baozhen brushed a hand over the front of his tunic to regain his composure.
He glanced up at her from the alleyway, showing off the strong cut of his jaw and that playful mouth. “Miss Lian, I see that you’re in a bloodthirsty mood today.”
Some of the successful merchants in the ward wore bright embroidered fabrics, as a show of their wealth, but Baozhen and his family favored muted, darker colors. He didn’t need a bright banner to draw attention to himself.
“Have you heard?” she asked.
Baozhen responded with a raised eyebrow—a look that he thought made him endearing. Most of the neighborhood girls agreed.
“Liu Jinhai sent my family a gift of tea and lychees yesterday,” she said smugly.
“Hmm...lychees. You must have really made an impression.”
So