Nineteen

Dong Mei still didn't look convinced. She seemed about ready to spit the food directly into Cang Mang's hands.

"Hua'er do you like this?" Bai Yang Wei held up a beaded necklace for Li Hua to see.

Dong Mei and Cang Mang then realized that the main couple had already raised their feet to leave. They were looking through the goods of another vendor selling jewelry. Although it wasn't high quality, it had its own appeal.

Dong Mei reminded herself that she would only be wasting time if she tried to fight with Cang Mang. She quickly untangled herself from him as she chewed and went to Bai Yang Wei's side.

"Brother Bai," she moved close to him, "I should have read the mood better and known you didn't want to eat. So how about we do something else?," She quickly looked around.

"Sister, what have you been up to these days?" Li Hua asked.

A small distance away was a small set up of a painter though the painter, his paintbrushes and colors were missing.

Dong Mei turned to Bai Yang Wei with excitement, "Ah! Brother let's have a painting of us."

"If you want a picture of your self, you can keep the drawing I made of you," Cang Mang suggested to her as he reached the group. He referred to the ugly stickman he made of her.

Li Hua turned to Bai Yang Wei with a smile, "Yang Wei, it sounds like a good idea."

Bai Yang Wei said gently to Li Hua, "you'll get tired if you sit for too long. Wait till we get home, I'll paint you and you'll be able to have some refreshments."

He calmly cooed her as though she were a little bird that would fly away if he were too harsh. He seemed magnanimous and caring. Wasn't it that he just didn't want another man looking at his wife for too long?

"Brother Bai, paint me," Dong Mei stepped forward with a smile.

Bai Yang Wei turned his sights to Dong Mei. Her face started to look a bit better in his eyes. He stepped closer to her and reached out towards her concealed face.

Cang Mang pulled Dong Mei back and looked at her face before asking Bai Yang Wei, "what is it?"

"That," Bai Yang Wei pointed at the veil, "where is it from?"

Dong Mei blushed, "brother Bai, do you like it? Let's make an appointment, I'll take you to find th-."

"You can find them in any clothing store around," Cang Mang quickly interrupted.

Bai Yang Wei nodded then turned and looked at Li Hua's beautiful face. He really wanted to cover it up as soon as possible. Why hadn't he thought of making her veil whenever they moved out?

Unknowingly, Dong Mei had given Bai Yang Wei another method of showing his possessiveness.

"Brother Bai," Dong Mei took two steps closer, "I can show you exactly where I got this one, I-." she made to hold Bai Yang Wei's arm.

Bai Yang Wei immediately moved back.

Dong Mei grabbed thin air and ended up stumbling forward. As soon as there was a gap between them, she fell melodramatically.

Somehow, her hair pin fell out of her hair, freeing the obsidian strands from their only restraint. Somehow, the strands spread out, forming a beautiful bloom behind her. Somehow, the veil flapped upwards, exposing her small lips, split in shock. She looked at Bai Yang Wei, her shocked orbs asking for help and her hand reaching out to him.

Her brother Bai's unchanging cold glare watched her race towards the ground.

All those series of events happened before in the micro second within which she fell.

As soon as she hit the ground, there were small pitiful cries of pain. She would have sealed the deal by fainting but she knew from experience that her brother Bai would never pick her up.

She slowly raised herself up so that she was sitting on the ground. Her dress and veil were stained with dirt. She looked pitiful, helpless and wronged. She was the kind of girl that needed protecting. The kind that needed to be shielded from all storms. The kind that could easily stir heart strings.

She slowly looked up at her brother Bai and again, heavy tears threatened to pour out.

Bai Yang Wei's cold glare became fiercer in her direction as of to remind her of what wrong she had done.

At the edge of her eyes, one tear gave out and cascaded beautifully down her cheeks.

Li Hua had a worried expression on. She reached out her hand towards Dong Mei when a loud cackle broke through the otherwise melancholic atmosphere.

Everyone turned to Cang Mang who was laughing madly. He had a face that was so pleased that it burn the world with how bright it was.

He pointed at Dong Mei, "you fell so well. You made me so happy."

Bai Yang Wei held Li Hua's hand tighter, "let's go." With him guiding her, they moved on to the next sight to see though Li Hua seemed a bit reluctant.

The people around weren't really interested in what was going on. It was only Cang Mang's laughter that gathered their attention. When they found out what he was going on about, they lost any real interest in what was happening. A few laughed a little with him while others asked how she fell but that was about it.

A middle aged woman, who seemed to be a mother called out of concern, "young man, the little girl is on the ground. Will you continue to laugh or help her up? No matter what enmity you have, you can't just laugh. Help her up and show that you were brought up well."

Cang Mang's laughter ended and he raised his hands in surrender. He still had on an amused expression as he reached out towards her, "come."

Dong Mei thrashed Cang Mang's hand away with an unhappy face.