Chapter 2

Trails of the smoke gently drift through the opened door into the dark night.

Opium.

The chemical present in the smoke. Silently Mei Xiang puts down the one in her hand and settles for one that is more intricately designed and lights it.

The night is too still. Too quiet for her liking. The lack of breeze and motion makes her skin crawl. She tries to find distractions. Anything other than this silence.

She places the pipe in her mouth and takes a long drag.

Lead.

She holds the toxic smoke in her lungs for a few seconds before letting it out watching as they disappear into the still air.

Behind her someone stirs in the bed.

Su Nian

She doesn't need to look behind to know.

She had wondered if perhaps Su Nian had fallen asleep. It wouldn't be the first time he slept over after they had sex. It was also late at night.

Su Nian looks so different when he is sleeping. More soft...more comfortable....more everything.

Once again, Mei Xiang brings the pipe to her lips.

This was supposed to be a one time thing. Not that she cared. She met Su Nian six times in six different brothels so far. She doesn't know why. Maybe she knows. She doesn't want to think on the why. Some questions and doubts are best if left as it is. Unaswered. Or better yet unasked.

Why she had taken Su Nian with her the first time...she doesn't know. She choses not to know.

Maybe it was the rush of the smoke.....she had been high the first time she met with Su Nian. Had Su Nian found her in a different state they probably wouldn't have ended like this. However....in the world there is a form of inevitability that nobody can change.

"I have a wife," he had said.

"I don't care," is how she replied.

There was a minute flash of doubt but she was able to catch it. Still.....Su Nian nodded.

If you wish.

If you wish.

And that was that.

"I am not ruthless," Su Nian had said that

Also;"I have a wife."

And; "This doesn't mean anything."

Once again she replied, " I simply don't care."

And then Su Nian's hands were grabbing her, undresing her, his lips searching hers. Her skin was lit with every of his touches. Her veins felt like fire. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest.

She suddenly felt an itch, a dull throbing ache that made her body humm with need.

The memories of their first time had been hazy..fragmented as she she was thinking back. His hands had undone her, coaxing her lips and unravelled her thoughts. She had blindly stumbled into a quagmire of confusion, a completed mess.

It was over all too soon and she was disappointed.

It was supposed to be a first time thing. She had no need to see Su Nian again. He was a spectacular high but only temporary. Only once. Getting involved with men who had a title and married was always a mess.

Su Nian had been both.

This is the last time she would see him. She told herself.

Su Nian was awkward and new to this kind of thing. He had even tried to give her money. She had almost laughed. Maybe he thought she needed it. Was it her eyes.....maybe she looked high.

"If this what you do after sex.....you should realise why your wife would be angry," She had said.

Su Nian flushed and looked down, fidgeting with his fingers. Panicked and unsure.....he had never been in this type of situation.

"No....." Su Nian said, "I mean.....I.....I am sorry, I haven't done something like this before. I have a wife. I've....I am loyal."

"You don't say," Mei Xiang dead panned.

And that should have been the end of it. Mei Xiang should have walked away. She should have. She should have....

But Su Nian did something.

He laughed.

Nervous

Unsure

But honest and open.

It did things to Mei Xiang. She wasn't sure exactly what had triggered it. She gave him a way to contact her.

She didn't expect Su Nian to write to her.

Two weeks later, they had met by accident in the capital.

Mei Xiang had gone to him after they had accidentally bumped on to each other.

They don't speak much when they are together. Not that she complains. They just have sex. She knows that what Su Nian wants. That is all she is to Su Nian.

Something to take his mind off the world, off his official duties.

Mei Xiang can relate.

She thinks of the opium coursing through her veins now.

She has many vices herself, who is she to blame Su Nian.

Everytime Su Nian contacts her, she vows that it would be the last time...last time she takes him up on that offer. But all it takes is one unguarded second...that laugh and smile.....is all it takes. Mei Xiang knows she can't refute his words. She couldn't.

She could never say no to temptation, she should know. She is a drug addict.

Su Nian stirs. She can feel that he is definitely waking up. Mei Xiang leans on her elbow looking at the nearly full moon. The room is dimly lit. She knows thats how Su Nian likes it.

"You know smoking is bad," Su Nian says.

The pipe. Of course he is talking about the pipe. Only half smoked, but not only the first time he smoked this night. Waving her hand, she tries to get rid of the smoke.

"There are a lot of things that are bad for me," Mei Xiang replies.

Opium.

Getting involved with a married man.

She keeps her gaze fixed on Su Nian, hoping he would able to understand what she was trying to say but can't

Su Nian looks away before being able to find out.

The silence between is heavy and oppresive. Like a physical force and it sends shivers down her spine.

This is the end she thinks This should stop.

She can't get attached. Yes the sex is good. But that is all it is. If one gets attached it is inevitable that stupid questions will be asked. Questions that she won't answer. Questions...

"Do you have anyone to call family?"

There it was.

The question was entirely harmless, but if she gives in, it would only be a first to many more.

She answers in an evasive way, disguising it as a joke, " Do you want to get a threesome out of it?"

Su Nian flushes, his mouth opens and closses like a fish.

"Do not worry, those words were merely jokes," she tries to busy herself, the awkwardness that lingered in the air was suffocating. The silence between them seems insufferable.

"Have you followed people into brothels like this?" Su nian asks.

Mei Xiang inwardly flinches. The words sting.

Is that what Su Nian thinks of her?

Is that who he thinks she is? Why does he?

Then again, she didn't give him much reason to believe otherwise.

In the past she had taken men up for offers. Sold her body for the drugs

She doesn't do that anymore. Not anymore. Su Nian had no way of knowing what she does. What she used to do.

The smoking pipe tastes like the grimm. The inhaled smoke reluctant on leaving her body.

For a brief moment, she forgets how to breath and a flash of panic crosses her eyes.

"Out of the two of us, you are the one with the most experience," the smoking pipe doesn't taste of anything, bitter. Her lips almost form a sneer but in the next moment it's gone.

"I am sorry," Su Nian says.

Mei Xiang doesn't reply.

The silence between them is heavy and lingering. It pushes on her chest like a physical force. Outside, a horse neighs. It's like a warning sign. Telling her to stop whatever this is. Telling her to leave. Warning her that she is only setting herself for disappointments later on.

So what is the better option? Spare herself the grief when Su Nian discovers her line of work? And decided that she is nothing? She is afraid of being left alone. Or should she just selfishly enjoy these fleeting moments she has with him ignoring the telltale signs of an impending catastrophe.

She doesn't know. She looks at Su Nian, there is a look in his face. What is that look? She doesn't know what it means.

She wants to know what it is, she is desperate to know.

"I don't have a family," she hears herself say.

Su Nian looks speechless. He looks good with that expression.

Will he leave after knowing I have no family?

Her mind is racing, coming up with all the scenarios of how it's going to end so poorly for them. She takes a drag from her pipe. It tastes of nothing. Drained of the comforting toxins, there is nothing to calm her down.

"Don't smoke," Su Nian tells her.

Mei Xiang traps the smoke in her lungs before letting out a small puff. Soon there will be nothing left, soon she would be stripped bare. Su Nian will see. Su Nian will not like what he sees. Mei Xiang lifts up her eyes, "Then give me something else to do."

Things have been in motions, things that can't be undone. Nothing lasts forever. She is very good at ending things. Keeping things.....not so much. That's her destiny, the Rule of the Universe.

Su Nian traces the arch of her back, as Mei Xiang lays naked on his chest. Su Nian's fingers are warm and steady. Mei Xiang lets out a breathy moan, as Su Nian's fingers work inside her. Serving as am anchor to tether her. She moans loudly as Su Nian spreads her leg farther apart, his fingers hitting deep.

Su Nian is on top of her, inside of her. The weight is all too similar and comforting. All coherent thoughts cease, her mind grinding into a blissful halt all because of Su Nian's ministrations.

She moans again, but her voice sounds strange even to her own ears. Su Nian is moving faster now, it could be painful if only Mei Xiang wasn't enjoying that much. She needs Su Nian.

She needs all that he can give to her.

Her arms reach for his back as her own back arches to meet the forceful thrusts. She needs anchorage afraid that Su Nian would fly away into the night if she didn't clutch him. Her minds explodes in fireworks at every thrust.

Su Nian's lips...his kisses drives away the taste of death that had been left by the smoking pipe.

Su Nian's lips taste like honey.

He tastes like hope for a brighter future.

A tale, a fairytale she had choosen to believe.

Su Nian tastes like lies and broken promises. Never before has catastrophe tasted so good. As Su Nian climaxes and comes into her, Mei Xiang feels like none of them can pick up the pieces. Nothing good can come from this. Her involvement with a married man will only lead to her tragedy, but at the moment, she finds that she doesn't care at all.