A Kiss Before Dinner

"Where is my brother and mother?" shun asked as soon as Mrs. Lin stepped into his study.

"Young Master Li will be staying at the Penthouse again tonight and Madam Li is out dress shopping with Madam Yang and Miss Yang for your engagement", she replied.

Shun cringed inside when he heard this. His mother was moving way too fast for his liking. "You need heirs", she had persistently pestered him since his divorce. "And Yang Fan will be the perfect daughter-in-law to give them to you".

Shun had dismissed the idea for a long time, but a recent birthday party of an old friend's two-year-old daughter had tugged at his heart strings and his thoughts, to his annoyance, had sped back to Mei. "You will arrange a date for me with Miss Yang", he had told his mother, when he came home that day. It had been only a month since then, and Miss Yang and he had only met once on that date, so it annoyed Shun that his mother was already making engagement preparations.

"The woman staying in the west guestroom is the former Mrs. Li", he explained to Mrs. Lin. "I would like you to make sure that she has everything she needs. And I would also like you make to make sure that she is eating well".

"Yes sir", Mrs. Lin bobbed her head.

"You will also inform me about her whereabouts and the people she meets", he added before dismissing her.

Shun tried to hard to concentrate on the work he had piled on his desk for the rest of the day, but by dinner time he accepted that he was making little or no progress. And it was all because of Mei. Her presence somewhere in the Li mansion taunted him. He didn't want to go looking for her, but without thinking he closed his laptop and walked towards the west wing and to the guestroom.

There, he found Mei dozing soundly on the velvet settee by the large windows of the room. The light of the setting sun reflecting luminously off her almost alabaster skin. And as Shun took a seat on the settee next to her and looked down at her, his heart skipped a beat. Without thinking he lowered his head and gently brought his lips to hers, kissing her lightly. The turmoil of emotions he had felt since stepping back into Mei's life suddenly made sense to him. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, protect her and make love to her. But most of all he just wanted her, because he had missed her.

Mei roused to the sensation of Shun's lips on hers and for a split second her mind went completely blank and her heart raced like a wild horse. Was this a dream? She asked herself inside. But if it was than it would not have smelt so nice. It wouldn't have smelt like Shun.

Not wanting to break the contact, she kept her eyes closed and pretended to still be asleep. But that was hard when her entire body was buzzing. A sensation that only Shun could provoke in her. But to her disappointment, Shun's lips left hers too quickly and she felt him move away and leave the room.

Mei instantly sat up looking around in confusion. Did what just happen really happen? She questioned herself, trying to make sure that it wasn't a dream. Why would Shun kiss her? Didn't he hate her?

"Madam Ren", a gentle knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Dinner is ready in the dining room", Mrs. Lin informed her.

"I'll be right down", Mei said to her and stood up to get ready.

Dinner at the Li mansion was always an unnecessarily formal affair. Something Mei hated. But now that she was no longer Mrs. Li, she decided against dressing up to please her former mother-in-law and opted for a comfortable pair of beige pants with a soft bat-winged fuchsia coloured sweater she had picked up in a boutique in Paris. And then dabbing on just enough matching tint on her lips she made her way to the dining room.

She braced herself as she walked in and sure enough, Madam Li was sitting at one end of the long table, a cup of green tea in her hand as she glanced down at a catalogue. Mei stood in the doorway for a moment observing the woman who had bullied her during her marriage. The past four years hadn't changed her much, except a white streak in her smoothly coiffed hair and the fine lines that were more pronounced around her face as she changed expressions or sipped her tea. She was an image of perfection a living homage to her patrician upbringing, wearing a simple, but elegant designer black dress with pearls, as if ready to attend a cocktail party.

Even Mei's family had never been so formal at dinner despite being direct descendants of remnants of Qing era aristocrats. Her grandfather had always preferred informality amongst relatives because it brought everyone closer.

Almost everyone.

It occurred to Mei that Madam Li ran the Li household like a corporation. Always weighing up the pros and cons of daily tasks as if it were a significant deal worth millions of dollars. She chose her friends and associations that way too, who were all of a similar mind-set. And her days were filled with little else than to gossip amongst these individuals and make sure the household ran smoothly. An unfulfilling existence if Mei had ever seen one.

That's why madam Li had hated her. Shun marrying Mei had brought no pros to Madam Li, other than the ability to boast that Mei's blood was bluer than everyone she knew. A matter which very few cared about anymore.

This was no longer her problem, Mei thought to herself as she walked into the room and took a seat at the other end of the table. With a forced smile she tried to appear good natured, hoping to let bygones remain in the past. "Good evening Madam Li" she greeted her politely. "It's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?"

Madam Li glanced up from her catalogue and observed Mei for a moment, taking in her outfit with distaste. "Ah, the adulteress daughter-in-law returns", she barbed. "I can't say I am happy to see you again. But I suppose we must always be polite to outsiders".

Mei held her breath and forced her anger inside. She was proud that she hadn't cowered away or started shaking at Madam Li's words like she used to all those years ago. What little appetite she had left to begin with when she had come down to dinner had deserted her when she saw this evil woman again, but despite that Mei let out a slow controlled breath and smiled sweetly across the table. "I was very distraught when I heard about grandma Li", she said, feeling the pang of genuine concern she harboured in her heart for the older woman. "I'm so glad that Shun came to get me".

"You stay away from her!" Madam Li commanded standing up with fury. "I can't believe my son actually brought you here at her request. Understand this, you are not welcome in this family!"

"Mother!" Shun's voice boomed loudly across the room from the doorway.

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