Chapter 3

Su Nian isn't entirely sure how he even ended up at this party.

He didn't really want to come and he doesn't know anyone here besides Mei Lin and maybe Ren. The latter in a very vague and roundabout way. Meaning he's pretty sure Ren is short and is the cousin to Mei Lin but that's about it

Of course it was Mei Lin who finally got him to agree to come in the end.

Mei Lin is pretty good at getting him to do things he doesn't want, like going to parties.

Mei Lin has disappeared, she had walked away with some of her friends to make some small talk because apparently Su Nian was "boring". After waiting for her, he saw no signs of her coming back so he gave up looking for her.

In this scarce moments of peace, he likes being alone.

At least on his own he can drink in peace.

His mind is filled with a pleasant haze that drowns out the obnoxious, far too loud, laughter  that echoes through the room around him.

There are so many people here. He tries to see if he can recognize his wife amongst the sea of bodies surrounding then.

Then he sees her.

No not his wife

An all too familiar figure

Mei Xiang.

Mei Xiang wasn't supposed to be here. The parts of Su Nian's life that doesn't contain Mei Xiang should be kept separate at all times. They cannot merge. It will create.....chaos....confusion....devastation. He is already confused enough as it is where Mei Xiang is concerned.

Who is Mei Xiang?

Who is she to Su Nian?

Who is he to Mei Xiang?

Mei Xiang cannot be here.

For a moment his drunken brain fills in the blanks with all kinds of paranoid explanations:

Mei Xiang has followed him here.

She is going to tell Mei Lin about them.

Mei Xiang has already told Mei Lin about them.

Mei Xiang will tell everybody.....

Mei Xiang doesn't seem to have noticed him looking. She is standing in the corner wearing blue chiffon robes with a black scarf on her hands, with a rather bored face. Su Nian feels himself getting angry.

Why is Mei Xiang here?

And so he downs the rest of his drink and decides to take matters into his own hands.

*****************

"What are you doing here?!"

With the loud laughter around them hides their conversation, a yelled whisper through his clenched teeth.

To his surprise, Mei Xiang looked shocked as well but she quickly regains her composure.

Why does everything about her have to be elagant.....smooth....refined....dark.....tall and....Su Nian has to stop thinking, stops himself from finishing that thought.

"I am trying to enjoy the party," Mei Xiang whispers back at him, her scartchy voice tickling his ears. Su Nian glances around guiltily but no one seems to notice them

"You cannot be here."

Mei Xiang pretends not to here what he had said.

"You cannot be here!" Su Nian had said it a bit louder. This time a servant who was passing through looked at them before continuing on their way. Su Nian moves closer to Mei Xiang so that he won't need to shout. Mei Xiang gives him an odd smile.

That smile looks tantalizing and Su Nian's stomach lurch. The room seemed to be spinning and Mei Xiang being near was making it worse.

"I was invited,"

Standing this close, Su Nian can feel Mei Xiang's breath on his cheek and the skin of his neck and his body shivers.

"You need to leave," he grits out, "My wife is here."

"It sounds like a you problem," Mei Xiang drawls giving a bored look before fixing her gaze towards the dance floor.

Mei Xiang looks so relaxed. So effortlessly calm. So in control of herself.

Su Nian hates her.

Hates ever talking to her.

He hates ever taking her up on that offer.

Having called her again and again

All those brothel rooms,

All those beds.

All the...

His mind takes him back to the tangled sheets, sweat slicked skin, brown eyes drowned by blown out irises, the grunts, the moans....

The smell of sex.

He feels embarrassed about it but not sure what to be embarrassed about.

There are too many people

Too many sounds

Too many eyes

His mind is drowning

He needs a place to rest and recollected his thoughts.

He grabs Mei Xiang's arm and drags her out of the hall and into a pavilion found deep into the gardens. His face red with guilt.

There are too many involved emotions.

He briefly contemplates before shoving her into the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Su Nian asks again. His words are harsh and full of accusation and once again guilt rears its ugly head.

"I was invited", Mei Xiang says again.

"By who?"

"Gin."

Su Nian doesn't know a Gin. Thank God. He doesn't think he would be able to handle this if he found out that he and Mei Xiang have mutual friends.

Not that he is handling the whole situation particularly well at the moment anyway.

"My wife is here", Su Nian says, "she cannot see us here together."

"You're the one who approached me and dragged me in here."

Mei Xiang is still so cool and calm and.....just so 'her'.

Su Nian hates her. He really does. He....

"She cannot find out about us", he says.

"Once again: your problem, not mine."

"You're are bothersome."

"Am I really, Su Nian? I'm not the one cheating on my wife." Mei Xiang looks at him, her eyes are blank and her lips pulled in a mocking sneer

The words sting, like a slap to the face.

They hurt because they're true.

This is all his own doing.

If Su Nian weren't so.....

If Mei Lin just.....

If Mei Xiang.....

"I hate you", Su Nian says.

And for a brief moment, Mei Xiang's blank face breaks. An emotion flashes for a second in her eyes and her lips purses. She looks hurt but not surprised. It was a brief moment before she schools her face back into the blank face Su Nian is used to but that brief moment did not escape his eyes.

Su Nian sees it. It looks horrible. An awful like sadness.....desperation.

S

u Nian can relate.

Once again this isn't fair.

He feels a little more than guilty.

Mei Xiang moves away and leans into a beam. She heaves a sigh before moving across him, a pale scarred hand reaching out to the support beam, seeing herself out. "Well," she says giving him a tight lipped smile,"as exciting as this was, I think I will head home. I will leave you.....to enjoy the evening with your wife," she takes one more look at Su Nian and he feels uncomfortable under the scrutiny of those blank eyes, he feels bare.

However, before Mei Xiang can take one step foward, Su Nian stops her.

He's not sure what he's doing, why he's doing it.

He's acting on impulse.

Emotions.

The reasonings of a drunk man.

But he just knows he cannot and does not want Mei Xiang to leave right now.

His hand is on Mei Xiang's arm and once again that strange emotion flits across Mei Xiang's sharp features.

"Wait", Su Nian says, "don't leave."

Mei Xiang says nothing but she does move her hand back from the beam.

"I..." Su Nian tries to say. There are words he wants to say but they seem to disappear from his tongue. Somewhere from his brain to his mouth, the thoughts he wants to express disappear. Its confusing.

Everything is complicated.

He does not hate Mei Xiang.

He hates what Mei Xiang makes him feel.

This confused....strange....

Although that is not true as well.

He does not hate anything to do with Mei Xiang. The thought itself is terrifying. All new and exhilarating.

He wants to tell Mei Xiang about it.

He wants to tell her this.

But he can't.

The words form in his brain but skip past his tongue and fall out of his mouth uselessly as sentences and words he never meant to utter and he doesn't mean.

Like: I hate you

There is a fine line between love and hate. Both extremes on the same axis. Bend your reality just a bit and they will touch.

He doesn't know what he's thinking.

He doesn't know what he wants.

Mei Xiang confuses him.

He's never been this confused in his entire life.

He doesn't know what to say.

So he decides to just not speak at all.

He guides Mei Xiang to the floor.

Once again Mei Xiang goes willingly.

This time the strange twisting sensation isn't in Su Nian's gut but his chest, but he ignores it.

His hands grips tightly onto Mei Xiang's robes and his lips crash onto Mei Xiang's slightly parted ones.

Mei Xiang lets out a small gasp, one that Su Nian swallows hungrily.

Mei Xiang tastes like smoke and guilt.

'This isn't right,' he thinks.

It only makes him kiss Mei Xiang harder.

He harshly bites Mei Xiang's lips and the sharp taste of blood fills his mouth.

It's intoxicating.

Suddenly, Mei Xiang flips him and she is the one on top. She looks down at him with a smile. Her smile was seductive, confident and alluring. Su Nian swallows, his throat dry.

He wanted her. More than usual. Su Nian pulled her down and kissed her. He felt as if his skin was lit up on fire.

Their tongues danced together wildly as their hands felt each other. Mei Xiang started grinding herself on Su Nian's straining erection.

"Mei Xiang," Su Nian cried out. His voice pleaded with her, begged her to extinguish the fire in him. Begged her to give him release. His body and mind yearned for her.

"Mei Xiang, Mei Xiang," he repeated like a man on a prayer.

"Tell me what you want," Mei Xiang whispered as she harshly bit down his earlobe before blowing it and gently sucking it. Her hand made its way to his throat, a gentle pressure on his neck.

"Mei Xiang," he pleaded.

"Tell me what you want and I will give it to you."

"I want to be inside of you," Su Nian confessed.

Mei Xiang smiled and removed her sash and tied is hand together, placing his arms above his head. She began undressing him, fluttering touches on his naked chest. Su Nian groaned and tried freeing his hands. He felt Mei Xiang bite his nipple, "Don't touch yourself unless I give you permission." She was dominating him. Taking control of his all too willing body. And he was letting her. He laid writhing under her teasing touches. Her fingers were twisting his nipples, her hips grinding on to his with harsh circulatory moves.

"Aaaah..." Su Nian moaned out loud. Never had he felt this kind of pleasure. He felt his brain short circuiting stopping all thoughts in his mind. He stopped his thinking. He was seeing stars.

Suddenly, he felt her mouth on his member, and his eyes opened, widened. He looked down at Mei Xiang, her head bobbing up and down on his member. It grew large and pulsed under her hollowing cheeks.

"Yes," he cried out as her hand helped her mouth. Only Mei Xiang could do this. Give him this much pleasure. Su Nian cried out again as he felt his balls tighten and he let loose in Mei Xiang's mouth. He watched as she swallowed, licking her lips before she kissed him passionately. He groaned again, tasting himself in her mouth. It was lewd, he felt like a wanton woman.

She moved away and he whined at the loss of contact. He watched as she removed the first layer of robes, leaving her in a transparent under robe. She came and sat on his hips, rubbing her wet core. She sat up again, her hands on his throat, gently squeezing it before raising her hips high enough and impaled herself on his dick. Mei Xiang slowly sat down as they looked at each other, her hands gently choking him. She began moving on top of him, gentle long slow strokes, she teased him.

Su Nian cried, his desire completely shattering his ego and pride as a man.

"Mei Xiang," he pleaded but she ignored his pleas and continued with her slow torture. He could not hold her, could not touch her, he was under her rules and whims and he could only submit. He gave into to her, all that she asked and more. He raised his hips but she pushed him down with a warning pressure on his neck. He was sure his expression appeared dazed. She was driving him wild with her carefree slow rhythmic pace.

"Mei Xiang, Mei Xiang," Su Nian chanted over and over again. He could feel himself getting undone. She removed herself and started sucking him. Su Nian swore he saw stars. "Ahhh Mei Xiang," he grunted shooting his come into her mouth, her mouth continued sucking as if she was milking him.

Su Nian watched weakly as she yet again swallowed his essence before giving his soft member a long lick. She stood and arranged herself, before removing the sash around his wrists. Su Nian could not move, he was wasted. He was still recovering from that mind shattering experience, the world around him completely disappears. Its only him and Mei Xiang.

I don't hate you, Su Nian thinks, I don't hate you at all.

********************************************

When Su Nian regains his strength, he stands next to Mei Xiang.

None of them say anything.

Once again there are words but he just can't quite find them.

When they are both presentable again, Mei Xiang leaves first.

"I am sorry," Su Nian says. The words are not nearly sufficient for everything that he feels. They are not nearly enough. Not even close. They are not even what he means.

But he hopes that Mei Xiang will read between the lines and understand what he is so desperately trying to say anyway.

Mei Xiang softly smiles at him.

"It's fine," she says, "You know how to contact me."

And then she is gone.

Su Nian is alone in a strange pavillion.

The moon is bright, he hates the moon tonight.

His skin is sweaty, his wrists are bruised and neck is slightly sore.

"I don't hate you," he says.

To no one.