DUMPLINGS

[LONG LI JUN]

Li Jun takes a glimpse of the beautiful woman with a pair of clear glasses. The round frame makes the woman's almond-shaped eyes bigger behind them. The pinkish thin lips that he nibbled before are tightly closed but he remembers them well like soft cotton.

"Ehem…" Li Jun's throat suddenly feels dry recalling details of their kisses.

Li Jun recalls his time in jail.

One week of incarceration seems like a month without the woman and when Ms. Tang Hiu Ying advises him not to get close to anyone from the defense. It broke his heart. 

Honey explains why they need to be apart from each other. "They will use anything you say against you and Wang Xiu."

The simplest reason was the hardest and her mother agrees that they should give themselves time to think.

"Do you like this woman?" Mrs. Long asks her son sitting across the table. They are at the police station and Li Jun inquires if Ms. Bao Hwei Ru reached out to talk to them about him.

"Yes." Li Ju nodded his head with his eyes staring straight into her mother's glare.

He wants her mother to know that he is serious about the woman.

"He testified against you. I don't see why you still like her." Long Ming Zhu scowls, recalling what Honey explains to them. 

Ms. Bao Hwei Ru's testament is used to incarcerate Li Jun and the woman is defending the man who wants to put him in jail. Ming Zhu is thankful that her son is over his insane infatuation with his husband's daughter but with the kind of woman he fell in love with, she thinks his son is unfortunate with women.

"He didn't testify against me, she was telling the truth." Li Jun explains with his hands clasps together in front of him.

His mother is always against the woman he likes. He understands that his mother doesn't like Wang Xiu. In the eyes of everyone, they are cousins and her mother loathed scandals like this.

"First Wang Xiu and now this Hwei Ru???" Her mother brought both of the woman's names like they are the same wicked sisters who tried to seduce the protagonist, "Can you find a decent woman who doesn't put you in trouble?"

"The heart wants what the heart wants, Ma," Li Jun responds with a smile. He doesn't want to quote a song but it's what he feels inside.

Mrs. Long shrugs her head hearing his son retorts into the crazy millennial ridiculous idea of love. She remembers her time when love is nothing but an idea and responsibility to the family is the best love to show to your family. 

Young people are now selfish and mindless of their decisions. Often delivering justification that life without love is not worth living while they die of hunger for love. 

Ming Zhu married her husband because her family told her to and it might not be the best decision she has but it led her to have Li Jun in her life. Her son is enough.

Li Jun's goes back to the present.

"H-How are you?" The woman asks, breaking the silence between them.

"I'm okay. H-How about you?" Li Jun replies with his eyes staring at his hand clasps together in his lap.

He feels ashamed of himself for letting Hwei Ru see him and Wang Xiu kiss after he confesses liking the woman. Bending easily to his cousin's vulnerability is a mistake he often makes and that should change now that Hwei Ru is in his life.

Li Jun realizes, his cousin was overwhelmed by the security he made her feel and the woman was only showing her gratitude for defending her against the assault.

'Wang Xiu isn't in love with me,' Li Jun sinks the words in his mind.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for not visiting you in jail—." 

"You don't have to say sorry. I understand why you didn't." Li Jun leans forward to stop the woman from apologizing. "It's part of your job."

"Still…" Hwei Ru looks away. She feels worthless for not helping Li Jun at court. 

"When you walk out and you come back to recuse yourself… I was expecting you would do that." The man recalls the day that Hwei Ru chose to stand up for herself.

Li Jun understands how difficult it is for the woman to make that kind of decision. She went against her boss that cost them a chance to win the case. Ms. Bao's job as a lawyer in Yang's firm will be in peril because of it.

"What do you mean?" Ms. Bao raises her brow.

"You are a good woman. Whatever issues you and Wang Xiu have, didn't matter. You wanted to be true to your conviction," Li Jun explains. He realizes that Hwei Ru was angry which is why she pinned him down from her statement to the police.

Ms. Bao is furious at him and Wang Xiu and it's all obvious from the way the woman carries out to help the director.

"Thank you." Hwei Ru bows her head. She expresses her genuine appreciation by smiling sincerely at the man sitting opposite her.

The waiter walks in to give them their menu and accommodate their needs. They both stare at each other after examining the menu that the employee brought.

"Can I—"

"Could we—"

Hwei Ru giggles which made Li Jun crackles. They told the waiter to come back after they had decided what food to order.

"Ladies first." Li Jun moves her hand to point at Hwei Ru.

"Do you still like me?" The woman inquires, there is a pain in her voice knowing that Li Jun might have a change of heart after what she did to him.

"I like you." The man answers gazing straight into Hwei Ru's eyes.

There is no doubt that he likes the woman and he is not the kind of man who falls easily and gets bored after a month. He likes to be with a woman he can be comfortable with and Hwei Ru makes him feel at ease.

"Can we start over?" Li Jun proposes playing with his fingers and letting his heart settle again from nervousness. "I want to be a proper boyfriend for you."

"Proper boyfriend?" Hwei Ru lifts her brow. 

"I want to know you more, know your birthday? What is your favorite movie? What kind of music do you listen to?" The man starts fidgeting his hands on the table like a kid trying to subdue their impatience.

"Is that what you think a boyfriend does?" The woman asks, she hides the smile on her lips to not offend the man who inquires about being in a relationship.

"I guess… I don't know how to be a boyfriend," The man explains, staring at his fingers to hide his shame, "Can you teach me how to be a good one?"

"Okay." Hwei Ru replies with a sweet smile.

Li Jun is different from all the men she dated. Most of them are afraid to tell their feelings but Li Jun is not afraid to show his emotions to her. 

'I think I'm falling deeply in love with this man,' Hwei Ru feels.

"Thank you." Li Jun leans over and shows his teeth from his wide smile. "My father's birthday is next week. Will you be my date?"

"Yes." Hwei Ru nods her head and lets out a sweet smile on her face. "Do you want to order? They say dumplings are good here." 

Li Jun laughs when Hwei Ru mentions dumplings, like the first time they met. They both love to eat it.