Every Facet of Her World Had Seemed to Change

Wang could see her mind working at her acceptance of his Uncle's submissives and her Aunts obvious acceptance of them. He purposely hadn't explained the situation to her, wanting her to reason it out within her own acquiescence of his family's belief in a type of caste system. As Patrician, he and his family could court and even marry Plebeians, but there would always be a slave class who would serve the elders of their community in the ways they wanted and needed. Though a few of the younger men and women of the family network had strayed from this way of life, for Wang, what he wanted most was an equal. He wanted someone to share his world and enrich it by sharing his goals and interests.

"They seemed happy to be there," Changying said tentatively, her mind working around the social taboo's that came with the idea of slavery and sexual submission.

"No one is forced into a life they do not wish. Indeed a lot of the girls who have become part of the family landscape seek it out voluntarily. They are always paid, however, room, board, food and an agreed upon amount into their bank accounts each week for their service as a maid or whatever they were hired for, in addition to their other duties." He hadn't meant to say so much, but he reassured himself that she needed all of the pieces to the puzzle.

The trip home was punctuated by small generic questions about his family and the book, gently touching on the lifestyle they led in between. As they talked, she thought about what she had learned about him today.

"Come stay with me tonight? We can drop by your place and pick up what you need for work tomorrow," Wang said quietly, but the tone in his voice was commanding even though he posed the statement as a type of question.

"Sure," Changying smiled not wanting to end their intimate weekend yet either.

They drove in comfortable silence. Wang's hand often rested on her thigh as he drove with her hand over his. She was happy, the life she had been living, in the constant shadow of other brighter, smarter, more beautiful people seemed to be a distant memory. She considered how, since Wang had come into her life on that fateful day in the research office, every facet of her world had seemed to change for the better: her job, her mother, and best of all she was in love with someone who loved her in return. She even felt better about her looks and considered if all the extra-curricular activity she had lately had perhaps helped her to shift a little of the weight from her curvy figure.

It didn't matter really, she felt happy, and she found herself actually looking forward to checking on Chunhua as they pulled up beside the small home she and Chunhua shared. They walked in to find her sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by books and catalogues and what appeared to be small mountains of paperwork.

"Oh baby, your home already!" Chunhua appeared to notice the time and looked horrified. "I totally lost track of the time. Do you want something to eat? Was it a long drive? Give me a minute and I will clean this off."

"No need to clean it off, I only came home to pick up some stuff for work tomorrow," Changying walked over and hugged her mother who appeared to relax. "What's all this?" Changying waved her hand at the paperwork on the table.

"Well, that personal shopper idea that you gave me on Friday when I was talking with that bitch Chen," Chunhua paused and quickly looked up at Wang and the look of distress that appeared on Changying's face. "I'm sorry Wang, but your PA is a bitch. Anyway the guy I've been seeing thought it was a terrific idea and said he would back me if I wanted to cut down work to part-time and trial it for a few months to see if I could make it work. The catch is I have to come up with a business plan on my own." Chunhua looked at the clutter on the table. "I know it looks like a mess, but it makes sense to me."

Changying had pretty much already told Wang about Chen's remarks yesterday without naming her specifically, so she wasn't as concerned as she might otherwise have been and Chunhua seemed so eager about her project that Changying couldn't help but be caught up in her enthusiasm.

"Tell me about your plan so far," Wang said, stepping forward, interested in what she was saying, "What sort of shopping would you offer?"

"It would be mostly fashion tips and the like. Matching body types with styles and colouring, maybe branch into make-up eventually," Chunhua continued to talk Wang through what she was thinking and how she might go about marketing herself and getting a few high-end clients.

"I have an idea where you could make some real money and contacts with high -nd clients," Wang said thoughtfully.