3 THE REUNION DINNER

Waiting for her twin brother to return home, nervousness placed Xuan Tianmei on the rack.

With a sigh, she shook her head. As she couldn't come up with a better reason for his lateness, she presumed he was one of his sexcapades again.

Xuan Tianmei and her brother have had the reunion dinner together for twenty-three years. The dinner was a Chinese culture that had turned into a family tradition for them both, and it worried her Xuan Tianyi might toss aside this tradition for one, unimportant penis.

Xuan Tianmei sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table and flipped through a photo album to take her mind off Xuan Tianyi. The album contained various pictures of her previous jobs and true passion—transforming people's faces through the power of makeup. Looking through it when she was going through any emotional turmoil always lifted her spirits.

A knock on the door pulled Xuan Tianmei out of her reverie. Concluding it was Xuan Tianyi, she hurried to the door.

On opening the door, Xuan Tianmei stood transfixed to the spot she stood. Xuan Tianyi wasn't on the other end. Instead, a middle-aged woman who wore her glossy hair in a bun stood there.

Xuan Tianmei gave the woman the once-over. The woman's apparel, accessories, and pieces of jewelry all appeared expensive, immediately informing Xuan Tianmei the woman was an important figure.

As Xuan Tianmei stared into the woman's face which was an older, more mature version of hers, she understood who the woman was.

"Mother," she muttered.

The woman's brows hurried towards each other like she neither expected nor liked the word 'mother'. Relaxing her facial features, the woman gave the girl a small smile and said, "Hello."

Xuan Tianmei glared at the woman. Her eyes, a vicious medley of hatred, anger, and disgust.

The woman raised a brow as she analyzed the sensitivities vividly displayed on the girl's face. This wasn't how she had expected the night to go, but she wasn't discouraged. "Won't you invite me in?"

Xuan Tianmei would've rather not, but as the woman was elder to her, she couldn't bring herself to behave rudely. She stepped aside to let the woman into the house.

The woman stared at the green-washed painted wall with a condescending glare. Placing a handkerchief on the worn-out beige sofa, she took a seat.

Xuan Tianmei glared at the woman. Voice filled with acrimony, she asked, "What do you want?"

The woman gave her a small smile. "I've been looking for you and your brother for a while now." She held up her wrist and glanced at the time, "I would've been here a lot earlier, but I got lost trying to locate this apartment."

Standing akimbo, Xuan Tianmei furrowed her brows. "What do you want with us?"

"I really just wanted to meet you two. See if you were doing okay." She glanced at the living room as she spoke--taking in the sparse and old decorations. "Apparently, you're not."

"We were abandoned by both of our parents. Just how well were you expecting us to do?" Xuan Tianmei asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

The woman held back a smile. Xuan Tianmei's lack of knowledge about her identity amused her. Solely for the fun of it, the woman decided she wouldn't tell her the truth. Not yet, at least.

"Well, I'm here now and I'm ready to take responsibility for you two."

Xuan Tianmei snorted derisively. "Just like that? What were you thinking? That you would show up here and we would have the reunion dinner like a real family?"

The woman nodded. "Do you want me to go on my knees and beg you? What's been done has been done, hasn't it? No use crying over spilled milk."

Xuan Tianmei bit her lower lip to stop a tear that threatened to fall. She had always hoped that if any of their parents ever came back for them, they might have a good reason for abandoning them--a pardonable one. This woman wasn't even pretending repentance. Xuan Tianmei had never imagined anyone could be this cruel.

"Where's your brother?" the woman asked.

Xuan Tianmei frowned. This wave of anger, hatred, and disappointment she was experiencing--if she could save her brother from it, she would. Biting her tongue, she said, "My brother is dead."

"What?" the woman glanced at her in surprise. It was the only emotion Xuan Tianmei had seen on the woman's face that didn't make her want to gag. The surprise morphed into genuine sympathy, almost shocking Xuan Tianmei. She had met the woman for no more than five minutes but had concluded that the woman was incapable of any real emotion. "But... My sources told me the both of you were living together."

Xuan Tianmei smiled at her. "Your sources were wrong. Xuan Tianyi passed away a long time ago."

The woman released a sharp breath. That was all it took for the sympathy and agony in her voice to dissipate. She was back to the cold, emotionless person Xuan Tianmei had met minutes ago. Opening her bag, the woman pulled out her checkbook and pen.

Xuan Tianmei scrunched her brows. "What are you doing?"

"I'm writing you a check," the woman said.

"I don't want it."

The woman peered at her, "Are you sure?"

"I am sure." Xuan Tianmei said forcefully, then peeked at the wall clock. She didn't want Xuan Tianyi to return home to meet this woman here. "Please leave, I would like to go to bed now."

The woman gave her the once-over. "Are you sure you don't want the check? You look like you could really use it."

Trying to control her anger, Xuan Tianmei released a sharp breath. "I don't want it, thank you. And please, don't ever come back here."

The woman sighed, brought out her business card, and handed it over to Xuan Tianmei. "In that case, here is my business card. Call me if you need anything."

Reluctantly, Xuan Tianmei accepted it.

The woman started walking away, then paused and turned to face Xuan Tianmei. "I won't ever come back here since you asked me not to."

The words pierced Xuan Tianmei's heart.

"But please, do keep the business card. I'll be happy to assist you if you ever need help."

As the woman walked out of the house, Xuan Tianmei slammed the door behind her. Alone now, she glanced at the business card. It read, "Shen Rui, owner of Shenhua Corporations."

That hit Xuan Tianmei harder than Shen Rui's coldness itself. Shenhua Corporations was by far, the biggest entertainment company in China. It belonged to her mother, yet she and her twin lived miserly. Based in Beijing, it was less than a twenty minutes ride from Pingjing, yet, her mother hadn't bothered to find them until now.

God, Shen Rui was her mother!

As the thought of it all became a little too overwhelming, Xuan Tianmei broke into tears, disillusioned with the whole idea of the reunion dinner.

Several minutes later, another knock came from the door.

After wiping her tears carefully, Xuan Tianmei opened the door to find standing on the other end, a Xuan Tianyi whose demeanor was as distraught as her emotional state.

"Hey," he said without sparing her a glance.

"Hey," she replied.

Stepping into the apartment, he said, "I'm not that hungry. Can I take a rain check on dinner?"

Xuan Tianmei nodded, surprising Xuan Tianyi. His sister always made a big deal of the Reunion dinner. She wouldn't give it up unless something had happened to her.

Xuan Tianyi stared at Xuan Tianmei searchingly. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just tired."

He didn't believe her, but he was too agitated to listen to someone else's problem.

With a sigh, he walked past her to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Feeling dirty, he made a beeline for the bathroom. On his way back, like he always did, he stopped in front of the mirror that hung on the side of the wall closest to the bathroom door.

As he gazed into the mirror, his reflection didn't peek back at him. What he saw instead was the aggrieved face of the man he had been with less than an hour ago.

Suddenly, his mind wandered—to the man asking if he had satisfied him. Xuan Tianyi had never been with anyone more passionate in bed. And he had been with many people.

His mind wandered again. To the sex. As he remembered it, little Xuan Tianyi grew harder.

Closing his eyes, Xuan Tianyi stroked himself to those memories. The kisses, the caresses, the gentleness, the passion. It was enough to push him over the edge of a torrential release.

As he released and returned to his senses. He stared at the white, warm, gooey liquid in his hand, shook his head, and muttered to himself. "You're disgusting, Xuan Tianyi."

As he lifted his eyes to look into the mirror again, his eyes caught sight of a medium-sized teddy bear in the middle of his bed. He had named the teddy bear Pun Cho when he was a kid. Pun Cho's rigid eyes glared at him through the mirror.

"It was consensual. I didn't force him to do anything. It wasn't my fault he didn't realize it wasn't a one-night-stand until the very last minute." Xuan Tianyi said defensively.

The look in Pun Cho's eyes wasn't any less judgmental.

Xuan Tianyi sighed. "Fine, I admit it. It was obvious from the beginning he wasn't a one-night-stand kind of guy. But, I was horny and I wanted him. I had the best night of my life at his expense and I feel horrible about it. Please, don't make it any worse."

Pun Cho said nothing and continued staring at him.

Xuan Tianyi bit his lower lip. "I can't go ask forgiveness from him. What's going to happen then? Are we going to date? I'm broke, I can't take care of anyone. Plus, I've never been in a relationship before."

Pun Cho wasn't placated.

Xuan Tianyi sighed again. "Fine. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll go find him."

Xuan Tianyi gave Pun Cho another glance. This time, Pun Cho's rigid stare didn't seem as judgmental. With a small shake of his head, Xuan Tianyi returned to the bathroom. He could use another bath.

When Xuan Tianyi woke up the next day, it was almost noon. He always woke up late.

With a sigh, he got up from the bed, showered, and hurried to the hotel. Xuan Tianyi knew what he had to do. He would apologize. Sincerely. And he would give this stranger whatever he wanted in return for his forgiveness. Even if it were a relationship.

When he got to the reception, Xuan Tianyi realized for the first time that he didn't know the man's name. Luckily for him, the Pingjing Hotel was really the worse. No-one was at the reception. Not even the receptionist.

Xuan Tianyi made his way to the room he recalled Hua Zhendan was staying and knocked on the door. When no reply came, he pushed the door open and entered the room. To his surprise, no-one was in the room either. Sparklingly clean, the room held no evidence of the previous night's events. Except for the single, dull bulb under which Hua Zhendan had made love to him.

Xuan Tianyi scanned the room for a piece of evidence that would show the man was still occupying the room. He found nothing. No luggage, no shirt, no sock. The man had left.

Releasing a deep breath, Xuan Tianyi fell to the floor. "Fuck," he muttered. His voice shrouded in agony. The man had cut his holiday short because of the events of the previous night."Fuck. I'm sorry."

 ***

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