10: COUSINS (PART 1)

"I thought you will be on the welcoming committee, Wang Xiu," the man asks after getting out of the car from the airport.

Long Li Jun, the only son of CEO Long Li Wei of Long Construction and Development Corporation arrives from the US where the man took a four years course in Business Management and a two years course for MBA.

Zhang Wang Xiu approaches the man and gives him a welcoming embrace. She remembers how comforting it is to be with the only person who defends her from the scrutiny of his family but now the man's presence is a threat to her plans. She can't be a CEO if his cousin is here doing everything to make his family proud.

"How are you?" Li Jun asks her cousin, the crease on his forehead shows he worries about her.

"I'm good. I'm the executive director of the marketing department. A good place to start selling my face. And you?" Wang Xiu smiles, detailing her position in the company while walking side by side with his cousin as they go inside the Long Mansion.

"Having doubts being here. I feel like I shouldn't have left America and stayed there taking a chance of my acting." Li Jun explains, plopping his hands inside the pocket of his white pants that he matches with a white coat and blue shirt with a V-neck line.

"Maybe you could have one here." The woman replies with a wide gleam on her lips and squinting eyes.

"If I have one here, not only did Yeye curse me to death, Papa will too." The man answers with a chuckle. His small eyes almost closed laughing from the idea that the woman mentioned.

They stroll along the pathway going to the double doors of the mansion and now stand at the round hall where the staircase encircles the wall like a long dragon crawling back to heaven.

"Like you care about what they say." The woman giggles at the man who is known for his stubbornness since he was young now feels scared of his father and grandfather. 

"I don't, but you do." Li Jun teases the woman who follows his father and grandfather strictly. Their every word is like the law to her cousin, never rebelling and always pleasing the two patriarchal power.

"I do because I'm thankful to Uncle and Auntie for taking me in." Wang Xiu reacts with a stern gaze at the man. The Long family took care of her since she was a baby when both of her parents died of a car crash.

"How about finding a husband to make them proud?" The man inquires lifting his brow and smiling mischievously, wanting to investigate the woman's love life.

"Really???" The woman crosses her arms in front of her chest. She never likes having a conversation about her relationship with anyone and yet it's always what his cousin wants to talk about.

"C'mon, how old are you now? TWENTY-EIGHT!!! Two years more and I'll be calling you Xiu Sheng-nu." Li Jun exclaims teasing her cousin. Sheng-nu means old lady and it's doesn't mean good being called one.

"I bet you broke an American girl's heart coming back here in this country." Wang Xiu counters with her joke to the man.

"You know I don't like foreigners, I feel like a tourist guide pointing out every cultural difference we have. It's tiring." The man scowls lifting his head high and looking at the ceiling of the room where a chandelier hangs to give elegance to the house.

"You mean you're lazy." The woman rolls her eyes at his cousin's reason.

"That too." Li Jun laughs loudly with his baritone voice echoing throughout the mansion. "I want someone who will love me, because of who I am. Not because I'm the son of a CEO or that I look like a perfectly gorgeous man." He added, brushing his hair up with his right hand.

"Wow! You are looking at a non-existent girl." Wang Xiu scoffs stepping out of the hall and continues to walk towards the direction of the lawn.

"Not really, I know she's out there. She just needs to see me." The man replies following the woman who purses her lips at the thought of him finding the girl of his dreams. Li Jun finds himself amused, thinking Wang Xiu is jealous.

"Wang Xiu! Li Jun!" A voice from inside the house calls them both, making them turn their heads at the man standing in the hall where they were standing a few minutes ago.

"Li Jun, I want you to report at the office on Monday." Long Li Wei says, with a deep stern voice.

"Pa, its Friday, can you at least give me a week to rest and get my place done. I don't even have a couch in my apartment." Li Jun pleads with the man he calls father, trying to reason out his request to get out of the job the man wants him to take over.

"You have a year to get things done here, you won't waste another day not being at the office." Li Jun's father's voice went high and deep. There is anger in his tone to make the young man follow his order.

"Uncle, Li Jun has to a lot of things—"

"—dont patronize him, Wang Xiu."

"You have a week to teach everything he has to know at the office and on my birthday next month, I will announce him the new chief executive of Long Construction." CEO Long declares and turns to march back to the house.

"But Pa—"

"—no buts…get your act together and accept your responsibility."

The man left them both stunned by the man's words. Li Jun suddenly sends the heavy burden of being the next CEO while Wang Xiu suffers from the surprise to hasten her plan on getting his cousin out of the company she wants.

π - π - π

[ LONG LI JUN'S WELCOME PARTY]

The garden at the Long Mansion is brightened up by lamps and lanterns. A live band and singer entertains the crowd with a soft mellow song from a small stage that the audio and lights crew build for the party.

A long table with red linen covers is filled with chafing pans and trays. The buffet servers are full of delicious traditional dishes from different regions in the country. The sweet and sour pork which Mrs. Long specially cooked for the evening is at the center of the table decorated with flowers made of carrots and other vegetables. There's roasted pork belly, crisp to perfection and chopped evenly, and a steamed Peking duck in honey and lemon juice. King prawns and scallops are also served with garlic and butter sauce. Beef chow fun with scallions and fried rice are all on one table.

The other table carries the dessert and snacks including different kinds of dumplings like Bahn bot loc from Vietnam, it is shrimp and pork belly wrapped in tapioca then served with sweet chili fish sauce. Gyoza dumplings are a pan-fried potsticker type from Japan, filled with pork or seafood and dipped in soy sauce. Mandu dumplings paired with spicy sauce from Korea comes with ground pork or beef fillings with kimchi on the side. There's also Guo Tie dumplings or American potstickers made with ground meat and vegetables and Li Jun's favorite, the soup-filled pork Xiao Long Bao and wonton dumplings.

Li Jun scans the party and can't see anyone he recognizes except Wang Xiu who wears a white sparkling dress with matching while heels and a gem-filled white flower pin on the side of her head above the left ear.

The woman is like an innocent maiden in the middle of the crowd, accommodating the guest of his father with a wide smile on her face. Li Jun stares at his cousin who gave him a wink when their eyes met from a distance. He replies with a grin and the woman begins to step in his direction.

"Bored?" Wang Xiu asks as she sees the man let out a deep sigh.

"This isn't my crowd. I dont even know who these people are." Li Jun replies, drinking the champagne on the stem glass.

"They will be your future friends and when I mean future, I mean a month from now." The woman let out a sarcastic smile.

"They are not friends, they will kiss my hand because I'm the CEO but other than that, I'm a stranger to them." The man counters with a scowl on his face.

"Okay, lesson number one." Wang Xiu giggles lifting her index finger to indicate a number.

"Lesson?" Li Jun wonders with his brows crumpled.

"Uncle said I have to teach you and you have to learn within a week." The woman explains keeping the smile on her lips.

"Okay, what is lesson number one?" The man asks, humoring the woman with her childish act.

'Have fun at your party." Wang Xiu proudly says.

"What???" Li Jun understands what the woman wants to imply but he wants to hear an explanation to do her bidding.

"Let's dance." The woman reaches for the man's hands, pulling Li Jun in the middle of the crowd dancing to dull music to relax the crowd

Li Jun sets his hand on Wang Xiu's back and the other on the woman's hand while dancing to the music from the band.

"When are you going to tell me why you broke up with Mr. Milkman?"

Wang Xiu laughs as Li Jun begins the conversation to ask about his ex-fiance.

"He's not a milkman. Susu Ming Qu's family owns a factory that makes milk."

"Same thing."

"I fell out of love. How about you?"

"A few girls but my heart was not really on it."

"We both have no one to annoy."

"Any plans tomorrow? It's my last weekend as a free man."

"I'm sorry, I have a date tomorrow with Director Ang Lim."

"Director Ang Lim? The fat guy who got nominated at Cannes Film Festival?"

"Yes."

"You are way better than his league."

"He's going to make the company's advertisement film. I need to be nice to him."

"You can be nice to him without saying yes to a date."

"He seems harmless to me."

"No man is harmless when a woman is around."

"Really?" Wang Xiu asks, raising her brow at the man whose hands are now around her waist, dancing with her in the middle of the lawn in front of the stage.

Malicious eyes are glaring at them and a set belongs to Mrs. Long Ming Zhu. Her clenched jaws and furrowed forehead indicates disapproval of Wang Xiu and Li Jun's closeness.

"We should stop dancing."

"Why?"

"I'm thirsty. I'll go and get a drink."

"Okay."