companions of his youth or a stranger he’d just met in a remote teahouse. He never thought he’d have to deal in deception
either or hide so completely from their family’s respectable associates.
‘Not just for this,’ Fei Long said. ‘For the work you’ve done with Yan Ling as well.’
Bai Shen raised an eyebrow. ‘Done with?’
‘Whatever you’re teaching her, it must be working. The other day we were discussing a poem—or I was explaining a poem to her—and it was almost as though she understood its deeper meaning. At first she asked so many questions. Incessant really. Enough to make one’s head hurt.’
‘So she seemed intelligent enough,’ Bai Shen mused.
Fei Long couldn’t quite decipher that tone. ‘Well, poems are simple—’
‘Deceptively simple.’
‘What I’m trying to say is, if I hadn’t known where she had come from, I might have believed that she was an educated lady. She sounded like she had a true interest in the discussion. Of course I know she’s only pretending.’
‘Pretending to have some wit and intuition.’
‘That’s what you’ve been teaching her to do, isn’t it? Acting lessons.’
Bai Shen made a snorting sound that raised Fei Long’s ire considerably. The actor’s eyes were gleaming as if there was some joke here that only he understood.
‘So during all these pleasant conversations you’ve been enjoying with the young lady, she’s been only acting.’
‘I didn’t say I was enjoying—’ He hadn’t said anything like that, had he?
‘Playing a role,’ Bai Shen continued relentless. ‘And you were playing a role, too, of course. That’s the only way to explain how you could pretend to have a conversation of equals with your little tea girl.’
‘That’s insulting.’
‘To you or to Yan Ling?’
His pulse was rising. The conversation had got out of hand. ‘She’s not a “little tea girl” and it’s insulting to refer to her as mine—’
Fei Long stopped himself. Bai Shen was baiting him for his own amusement and he should have known better than to react. The situation was black and white in his head and no amount of taunting could change that.
He took a deep, steadying breath. Yan Ling didn’t belong to him. She was here to fulfil a role, as they had agreed upon. And of course any intimacy between them was only for the purposes of her training. They were co-conspirators in a grand scheme.
Bai Shen laughed and the sound clanged in Fei Long’s skull like a dissonant chime. ‘Look at you! Ready to give me a thrashing over the slightest insult. It’s not as if she’s really your sister.’
‘No,’ Fei Long said after a pause. ‘No, she’s not.’ He was confused and he did want to hit Bai Shen, now that the rascal mentioned it.
His friend grew serious. ‘You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?’
‘We have to. If we don’t, my family name will be dishonoured. We’ll be left with nothing.’ It wasn’t only him. Yan Ling, his steward, Dao—the entire household was involved. They had served his father and now him in good faith. ‘They’re all looking to me to do something, Bai Shen. I need to make this right.’
‘Then maybe you should take credit for Yan Ling’s transformation. You’re the puppet master, after all.’ There was no hint of amusement or teasing in his friend’s remark. ‘Though you’re right. I have noticed a significant change in her.’
‘I don’t know what we would do if I hadn’t found her.’
Bai Shen regarded him with an oddly contemplative look. It was the sort of look he might take on at the end of a late night, after several rounds of wine had made him melancholy and reflective.
‘Be careful, Fei Long,’ he said sombrely.
‘I’m being very careful. Tong is as sharp as an eagle and he seems out to destroy our reputation. I’m taking every precaution when dealing with him.’
With a sigh, Bai Shen turned around to continue surveying the perimeter. ‘You fool,’ he
either or hide so completely from their family’s respectable associates.
‘Not just for this,’ Fei Long said. ‘For the work you’ve done with Yan Ling as well.’
Bai Shen raised an eyebrow. ‘Done with?’
‘Whatever you’re teaching her, it must be working. The other day we were discussing a poem—or I was explaining a poem to her—and it was almost as though she understood its deeper meaning. At first she asked so many questions. Incessant really. Enough to make one’s head hurt.’
‘So she seemed intelligent enough,’ Bai Shen mused.
Fei Long couldn’t quite decipher that tone. ‘Well, poems are simple—’
‘Deceptively simple.’
‘What I’m trying to say is, if I hadn’t known where she had come from, I might have believed that she was an educated lady. She sounded like she had a true interest in the discussion. Of course I know she’s only pretending.’
‘Pretending to have some wit and intuition.’
‘That’s what you’ve been teaching her to do, isn’t it? Acting lessons.’
Bai Shen made a snorting sound that raised Fei Long’s ire considerably. The actor’s eyes were gleaming as if there was some joke here that only he understood.
‘So during all these pleasant conversations you’ve been enjoying with the young lady, she’s been only acting.’
‘I didn’t say I was enjoying—’ He hadn’t said anything like that, had he?
‘Playing a role,’ Bai Shen continued relentless. ‘And you were playing a role, too, of course. That’s the only way to explain how you could pretend to have a conversation of equals with your little tea girl.’
‘That’s insulting.’
‘To you or to Yan Ling?’
His pulse was rising. The conversation had got out of hand. ‘She’s not a “little tea girl” and it’s insulting to refer to her as mine—’
Fei Long stopped himself. Bai Shen was baiting him for his own amusement and he should have known better than to react. The situation was black and white in his head and no amount of taunting could change that.
He took a deep, steadying breath. Yan Ling didn’t belong to him. She was here to fulfil a role, as they had agreed upon. And of course any intimacy between them was only for the purposes of her training. They were co-conspirators in a grand scheme.
Bai Shen laughed and the sound clanged in Fei Long’s skull like a dissonant chime. ‘Look at you! Ready to give me a thrashing over the slightest insult. It’s not as if she’s really your sister.’
‘No,’ Fei Long said after a pause. ‘No, she’s not.’ He was confused and he did want to hit Bai Shen, now that the rascal mentioned it.
His friend grew serious. ‘You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?’
‘We have to. If we don’t, my family name will be dishonoured. We’ll be left with nothing.’ It wasn’t only him. Yan Ling, his steward, Dao—the entire household was involved. They had served his father and now him in good faith. ‘They’re all looking to me to do something, Bai Shen. I need to make this right.’
‘Then maybe you should take credit for Yan Ling’s transformation. You’re the puppet master, after all.’ There was no hint of amusement or teasing in his friend’s remark. ‘Though you’re right. I have noticed a significant change in her.’
‘I don’t know what we would do if I hadn’t found her.’
Bai Shen regarded him with an oddly contemplative look. It was the sort of look he might take on at the end of a late night, after several rounds of wine had made him melancholy and reflective.
‘Be careful, Fei Long,’ he said sombrely.
‘I’m being very careful. Tong is as sharp as an eagle and he seems out to destroy our reputation. I’m taking every precaution when dealing with him.’
With a sigh, Bai Shen turned around to continue surveying the perimeter. ‘You fool,’ he
Similar Books
