When Wang He Di leaves the small village he grew up in, to find work in the streets of glamourous and dangerous Shanghai, the first thing that catches his eye is the beautiful Shen Yue, a young woman also trying to make her fortunes in the "Paris of...
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"Where have you been spending your nights Yue?"
Yue chokes on the bao bun she is eating. She takes a sip of water.
"Huh?"
"Well since you got here four days ago, aside from the night of your father's overnight vigil, you don't seem to be sleeping in your own bed?" Says Yue's Mother, Shen Chuntao.
Yue glares at Chao Xing who she is currently sharing a room with, feeling betrayed. Shen Chuntao a highly astute woman, catches this and says rather matter of factly,
"Your sister hasn't told on you. I've been checking up on you girls in the middle of the night, as was my routine when you both lived here. You just never seem to be there and it can't always be a coincidence? So I will repeat myself, where have you been spending your nights Yue?"
The three of them are eating breakfast in the kitchen, the last of the relatives having left early this morning. Yue is quiet and unsure of what to say.
"Speak up girl, I didn't raise you to be mute or to be rude." Snaps Shen Chuntao, losing patience.
Yue looks down and says,
"There is something I have to tell you."
Chao Xing's eyes widen, is she really going to spill about the poor boy? Yue takes a deep breath and says,
"There...there is someone that I'm seeing, and his name is Wang He Di. He came with me from Shanghai and he is staying at a tavern."
Shen Chuntao scrutinizes Yue closely for what seems like an age, before saying.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Why does anything have to be wrong with him?" Yue responds defensively.
"Why hasn't he shown his face here?"
"We didn't think it was the appropriate time, considering the circumstances."
"What do his family do?"
"His...his parents died in a fire when he was a little boy."
"Okay what about the rest of his family? Who raised him?"
"He only had his parents, so...so he was raised by the monks."
"He's an orphan?"
"Yes."
Shen Chuntao looks livid as she regards Yue. Chao Xing is silent, which is unusual of her. She is often quick with the jibes, but she has secrets of her own when it comes to her current lover, and so does not envy Yue at this moment.
"And what became of this orphan boy when he grew up? How old is he and what does he do for a living?"
Yue is hesitant as she answers. She knows that this will be upsetting news for her mother.
