As Lan-Yee was talking, Ho-Ying let out a sad sigh. because Li-Nam has not understood her interest in him yet. Lan-Yee notices her pain and sadness so she stops talking about her friend she didn't get the name of and observes Ho-Ying. She'd like to help but has no idea how to.
Ho-Ying looks at Lan-Yee and tugs on her sleeve. "Help me learn how to seduce him. I really want to get him to know how I feel." Ho-Ying pouts. Lan-Yee laughes and teases her, "When you say you want him to know you really mean it!" she giggles.
Ho-Ying playfully pushes her. "Come on, you must have seen something somewhere! Teach me!" she wines.
"Hummm... let me see." Lan-Yee thinks of different things she has either seen or heard from the theater, the radio, news, and friends at school. Even though she has never seduced a man herself, she assumed there must have been some sort of pattern in doing it.
"Okay then how about this?" Lan Yee suggests. She showed Ho-Ying a technique which she saw an actress do in a 1950's film. The actress has walked very seductively swaying her hips back and forth while she blinked her eyes and asked the man if he was interested.
Ho-Ying let out a big laugh. She thought it was too funny to do. "I can't do that, I'll die laughing before I could do that!" she exclaimed. Lan-Yee put her hands to her hips. "Fine then, I have no other way. I don't know anything else." Lan-Yee exclaimed.
"Okay, Okay, I'll try." Ho-Ying laughed as she tried to do it. Both girls laughed and fumbled trying to do such a ridiculous swaying walk.
Meanwhile Chun-On just came back from Oxford finishing school and comes to greet them. Noticing their giggles, he pauses at the door and watches them for a moment. After seeing what they were doing, he chuckles loudly and the girls are surprised to see him standing there. Lan-Yee quickly changes her look to a mean glare. He tries to run off but they caught him and dragged him into the room.
"Why were you outside spying on us?" Lan-Yee demanded to know as she pushed Chun-On against the wall. Both Chun-On and Lan-Yee were enrolled in Kung-Fu classes when they were younger so both were skilled black belts. But since Chun-On was a gentleman he couldn't put up arms against a lady so she was easily able to throw him against the wall.
"Is this how you greet me when I come home?" he said teasingly. She smiled playfully. "Don't try to change the subject. Why were you spying?" Lan-Yee asked trying to give him a mean glare. He couldn't help chuckling at her glare. "I wasn't spying. I was just coming to say hi when I saw you two winking your silly eyebrows and swaying your silly hips." He replied chuckling.
"Well it's still spying, brother." Ho-Ying said with her hands on her hips. "Which isn't good and you should be punished." she added. Lan-Yee nodded, smiled, and threw Chun-On towards the bed and the two girls whacked him with pillows.
He immediately gave up. "Okay girls let me go. I give up." They laughed at their victory and backed off. "What where you doing anyways?" he asked as he straighten his clothing.
"Your sister wanted to learn how to seduce a guy." Lan-Yee said teasing. Ho-Ying pouted and playfully hit Lan-Yee's shoulders. "You're so mean, you weren't supposed to say." Ho-Ying said shyly/
Chun-On laughed loudly. "That's too funny. And where did you get this silly idea that you could seduce a guy with crazy looks and hip swaying like that?" he asked. The two girls looked at him with their arms crossed. He became more serious and said, "Okay if you want to attract the guy at least learn what he like or dislikes, interest and hobbies. These silly looks and movement won't do anything." he advised.
"Okay then, tell me what you like, brother?" Ho-Ying asked. Lan-Yee shook her head. "You actually need to find out what your Mr. Wonderful likes, right?" Lan-Yee said giving Chun-On a confident look.
He nodded, "That's right. As long as you find out what his interests are, the easier you can attract him." he informed his sister. Ho-Ying nodded her head enthusiastically and decided to take her brother's advice. Lan-Yee and Chun-On then left Ho-Ying in her room for her to contemplate on what Li-Nam liked.
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *
As they walked down the hall to Lan-Yee's room, they looked like complete strangers standing next to each other. There was an air of awkwardness as they walked side by side. Slowly Chun-On reached for Lan-Yee's hand and held it tightly. They reached Lan-Yee's room door and stood still for about two second. Then suddenly both of them rushed into her room and locked the door.
Nobody in the household knew it but Lan-Yee and Chun-On were in love. They hid it because Quay was very picky about who her kids married. She constantly reminded them that their future spouses needed to come from the higher social class. They believed since Lan-Yee was an orphan, it would be impossible for Quay to accept Lan-Yee as her daughter-in law. As for Suet, she was always so strict on Lan-Yee, so Lan-Yee believed Suet would chop her head off if she knew about her relationship with Chun-On.
"I've missed you so much." Lan-Yee said to Chun-On as soon as they were safely in her room. He nodded hugging her. "I've missed you also." Chun-On replied. He was at finishing school for the past year. The two started kissing passionately since they haven't seen each other in a while. Chun-On backed away and stroked her soft black hair. "So how have you been?" he asked.
"Good, and you?" she replied. He nodded breakig from the hug. "Very good, and how has school come along for you??" he asked gently holding her. She smiled lovingly. "I'll be done this year. Then I might be able to go to finishing school with you, that is if Aunt Suet or 'Mother' Quay allows it." she replied.
"Then we'll be like the dove, free to love and free to live." He said knowing exactly what she wanted to say. She smiled and nodded her head excitedly as she leaned into his chest. "I've long so much to be your wife, to love you and hold you and let everyone know how much you mean to me." she said.
"I'm sure when you've finished finishing School; my mother will open her heart to accept you. After all she already loves you so much." he insisted. She shook her head. "Yes but how about Aunt Suet, that wretched old lady doesn't understand what love is. She's always so strict and stubborn about rules, hierarchy, status, and so forth. It'll be hard to get her approval." she said worriedly.
"Don't worry about her as long as my mother approves we can have mother talk to her." He said holding her tightly in his arm. Lan-Yee was reluctant to believe it but she nodded. "I hope so." She said looking up into his eyes. He nodded his head, "If mother approves, she'll have to approve." He said as he leaned closer and her kissing her passionately.
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *
Suet is now 38 years old.Although older, her appearance remains flawless. There're no wrinkles on her face and her skin is still radiant as ever. However, now she wears long grey, black or beige qi-pao dress with high mandarin collars and long sleeves and her hair is always pulled back in a bun.
Suet is in the kitchen telling the servants what to cook for dinner. "Tonight, Master Chun-On has returned so you all need to cook his favorite dishes. Steamed fish, broiled chicken, fried Tofu with vegetables, and Fish Maw soup." She said as she checked to make sure the servants understood everything before she left the kitchen.
That was how she was. Always making sure everything was correct. She didn't want any more mistakes or problems. She walked into the living room and stepped onto a note. Picking it up to read she realized it was a love letter from Ho-Ying to Li-Nam. She sighed deeply as memories of her love for Phong flashed in her mind. She could never forget the feeling Phong gave her when she stood next to him, just like these feelings Ho-Ying describes in her letter to Li-Nam. The scene from the play, 'Shanghai Story' flashed in her mind as she stood there gazing into space.
Ho-Ying runs into the room with an alarmed expression because she has lost the letter. She notices it in Suet's hand and shyly asked for it back. "That letter is mine." Ho-Ying points at it. Suet smiled and handed it to her, "I won?t let your mommy know." she said sweetly.
"Thank you Auntie Suet!" she exclaimed as she ran off. At first Ho-Ying was afraid Suet would tell Quay then everything would be ruined but now she was reassured Suet let out a deep sigh then walked up the stairs to Lan-Yee's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Lan-Yee asked alarmed because Chun-On was still in her room.
"It is Aunt Suet." Suet said. Every time she said these words to Lan-Yee she wanted to cry and say 'No, it is your mother'. But it was impossible because Lan-Yee hated her.
Lan-Yee and Chn-On were quickly alarmed. "I'm changing, I'll be right there." Lan-Yee said as she hid Chun-On in her closet. When he was fully hidden away in the closet she opened the door for Suet.
Suet smiled. "I was going to let you know that Chun-On has come back from finishing school." she said. Lan-Yee turned away. "I know that already." She said coldly. "I saw him in Ho-Ying's room earlier." She stated. With this kind of treatment Suet stiffened up a little. "I just thought I'd inform you since you two are good friends." Suet said trying to be nice about it.
"Thank you." Lan-Yee said indifferently. She noticed Suet observing her then looked into her room, so she assumed Suet was spying on her and might locate Chun-On in her closet. Suet tried to smile. She wanted to say more to her daughter and ask her how her day was or how school was but Lan-Yee immediately tried to rush her out. "Are you finished? If you are you can leave." Lan-Yee said callously.
Suet's smile faded from her face and was replaced by a stern face. "Be downstairs in exactly 30 minutes. We don't want the Kwoks waiting for you." She said coldly as she left. Suet ran back to her room and fell to her bed crying as she wondered to herself, "Why does Lan-Yee treat me that way? Why is she so cold to me? Why can't she love me? I'm her mother, why can't I let her know that. It's probably because Phong never loved me so now, Lan-Yee; the creation of a night of passion has resulted in rage against me. Suet must have been born to hate me." All these thought flooded Suet's mind and she became even more miserable thinking about them.
Lan-Yee closed her door and Chun-On came out of the closet. "That's not very nice how you treated Auntie Suet." He said disapproving Lan-Yee's attitude earlier.
"What was I supposed to say? She was looking around the room. You know how she loves to spy on me? Imagine she found you. Then what? What would happen to us?" she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Ok, ok. It's alright now."He said as he pulled Lan-Yee closer to comfort her. He knew she was upset about the whole matter.
Every time she said hurtful things like that to Suet, she also wanted to cry for some odd reason. She never fully understood why. "I don't want to yell at her it's just that it comes so naturally. Ever since I saw what happened that day at the hospital, I am always expecting her to say something mean or do something terrible." she replied.
"It's not your fault. It could be what we saw in the past. I'll always remember that scene of Uncle Fuo's death and how father became too shock to say anything." Chun-On replied holding her in a warm embrace. "It'll be ok."
"Mother Quay is too kind to let Aunt Suet stay in this household. I don't think I could let such a harsh woman live with me if she has done all that to me." Lan-Yee said resting on Chun-On's shoulders.
Chun-On lifted Lan-Yee's face and held onto her shoulders. "You can't always think like that. We were too young then to know everything that happened. Father's death and Uncle Fuo's death cannot be entirely blamed on Auntie Suet. What the elder generation did shouldn't be judged by us. Who are we to judge what we don't know."
Lan-Yee looked captivated at Chun-On. "You always seem to surprise me with your philosophies. Thank you for everything." His reason was correct and Lan-Yee couldn?t help but get comfort from him.
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *
Ho-Ying meets up with Li-Nam at a restaurant. He comes in and smiles as he sits down next to her. "Hi sorry I'm late, I had to take my father to look for his sisters. He forgot where they lived" he said. She smiled politely. "It's okay, I haven't been waiting long." She replied.
"So what are we eating?" he asked enthusiastically. She shook her head. "I haven't ordered yet. I wanted to wait for you." she replied. He shook his head with a playful smile. "Oh you didn't have to do that." He said.
"I wanted to." She replied softly then became alarmed he would feel awkward. "It would be strange to call you out to eat and start eating myself without waiting for you."
"Sounds fair," He said with a grin on his face. "Let's order!" She nodded as he motioned the waiter over. The waiter gave him a menu and they ordered their food. As they were eating Ho-Ying asked many questions pertaining to his interest and hobbies. "So what do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked.
"I guess you can say I like photography. I usually like taking pictures of scenery and people only in natural poses." he replied taking a bit of his steak. She raise a brow in curiosity. "What do you mean natural poses?" she asked confused about the meaning to be nude photography.
"Natural meaning when people are just doing whatever they are doing and not really posing for a camera. I believe that brings out the best pictures. When you look at it you develop this kind of feeling and you can sense their emotion at the time." he replied.
She chuchled a little embarassed by her first thought. ""That's really interesting. Why don't you pursue a career as a newspaper photographer or something?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well that would be interesting but my father wants me to take over the family business so that's not a possibility. But I would still get to do it as a hobby so that's still good." He said smiling. Then he asked her, "So how about you?"
"What about me?" she asked unprepared for the question. He grinned. "What do you like or don't like?" he asked. She shoo her head. " don't know. I've never been asked that before." she replied. This time he raised a brow in curiosity. "So you don't have anything you do in your spare time?" he asked
She shook her head. "In my spare time I do everything my mommy tells me to like practicing piano, knitting, and sewing. Sometimes she tells me to observe the kitchen workers or servants. I've never been able to do anything else." she replied.
"Your mom is preparing you be a wealthy housewife isn't she!" he said jokingly. Ho-Ying looked down at the table a little embarrassed. Li-Nam noticed and said, "Okay I won't joke around anymore." Ho-Ying smiled and Li-Nam quickly had an idea. "How about we find out what your interest are?" he exclaimed.
"How do we do that?" she asked. He thoguht about it for a moment. "We go out and do a bunch of things until you find something you like!" he finally replied. Ho-Ying jumped excitedly in her chair, "Ok!" she said excitedly.
After dinner they left the restaurant and went to many places. He took her to the theater to watch a movie and then to a park where they took a carriage ride. Finally they went to the shanghai shore where they splashed water at each other on the beach and when they were all worn out they sat to look at the stars. They talk about the stars and astrology.
That night, Ho-Ying got a new hobby which was astrology. The stars were beautiful and enchanting. The stories that Li-Nam associated with them were very interesting so she decided to learn about them on her spare time. She went by herself or with Li-Nam to observe stars and learn about the solar system and was becoming more independent.
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *
