The Great Wall

by Z. Allora

  A bitter laugh barked out of both of them.

  “So your parents are pushing you into a marriage with someone you don’t love because they want you to have old age insurance.”

  “Well, there is a little bit more than that, but yeah.”

  “But that’s the gist of it. It comes down to money,” Indigo reiterated.

  Styx shrugged. “Doesn’t everything?”

  “And Jin is off the hook since he doesn’t have any living parents and his grandparents aren’t in the picture.”

  “Yeah, and, well, Uncle Bao-zhi isn’t going to force him to marry.”

  “And you and Jin have lived with this motherfucking expiration date that ends in your marriage to the girl next door.”

  Styx closed his eyes and hit his head back onto the headrest. The truth laid out like that nearly ripped him apart, making him not want to answer out loud, but he did. “We expired today.”

  “But you’re in love with Jin.” Indigo said it like a romantic fool, arguing as if Styx wasn’t dying with every kilometer that took him farther away from the love of his life.

  Styx opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to meet Indigo’s stare. “Do you love Li?”

  “Of course, but this isn’t about me.” Indigo shifted uncomfortably.

  It was none of his business, but Styx had to ask. “Why do you cheat on him?”

  “I don’t cheat on him!” Indigo seemed surprised and angry at the assumption.

  “But all those other men… tricks, you called them. Why do you do things with them?” He couldn’t imagine touching someone other than Jin. “On the train, you went hunting for another man.”

  Indigo appeared annoyed, or maybe upset, but he kept his eyes on the road. “I’ve never been with anyone else without Li being there. It isn’t cheating. It’s just how our open relationship works.”

  Styx thought about it for a moment. The whole concept of their relationship made no sense, and it didn’t seem to work. Though when he started to open his mouth to ask a question, Indigo put a palm out, shutting him down before another word was out of his mouth.

  They drove in silence for a while. Styx watched the names on the road signs. They grew more familiar the closer they got to his hometown.

  Indigo cleared his throat. “You never answered. Do you love Jin?”

  “Yes, with everything I am,” Styx admitted softly, as if that would somehow protect his dream from being torn into pieces. Why did confessing hurt?

  Even with his second chance at life, he had never been brave enough to say the words to Jin. And now it didn’t matter.

  Chapter 17

  JUN TAI Wong was home.

  “Indigo, thanks for the ride.” He had no clue what else he should say.

  Indigo got out of the car, opened the trunk, and took out an overnight bag that Styx didn’t remember him putting in.

  “Oh. You’re staying?” He didn’t mean to sound surprised. It should have occurred to him Indigo wouldn’t want to make the long trip back tonight. But he imagined Indigo would dump him off at the door and run.

  Indigo shrugged and shifted uncomfortably. “Well, yeah, if that’s all right.” He slammed the trunk, and then he opened the back door to grab one of Styx’s bags. “Though I can hit the road if you’d rather.”

  This unexpected turn made Styx realize he wasn’t alone yet in his life. “No. No. Of course, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be rude. I thought you’d want to get back.”

  “Incoming.” Indigo gestured toward the house.

  Styx’s family came rushing out of the house like water when floodgates were opened wide. “Jun Tai! Jun Tai!” There were happy shouts, hugs, and handshakes, as the final vestiges of Styx were completely walled away by Jun Tai.

  His younger sister jumped into his arms. “Hello, big brother.”

  Indigo’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “Jun Tai, huh?” Styx had purposefully never told the band his name, and Jin had kept his secret. The name Jun Tai meant very truthful, and everyone in the band would have known his name was furthest from reality, especially now he’d returned to his life of lies.

  The eldest member of his family made his way on a cane through everyone circling Jun Tai.

  “Hello. Hello. How are you feeling, Ye Ye?”

  “Well, Jun Tai. I’m well.” His grandfather grabbed him in a quick hug. He was astonished by the older man’s strength and glad he was still in good health.

  “Who’s this?” his father asked, surveying Indigo as if he were a devil in all his black leather and silver buckles.

  “This is Indigo Young. He’s my friend. He drove me.”

  “In that?” His father pointed to the car, where one of Styx’s cousins fondled the hood.

  He nodded, and his father’s eyes widened. Positive no one in this province had ever seen a Lamborghini before, he didn’t even care about the boost in his status that his rich friend driving him home gave him.

  Bi Yu frowned at his arrival, but stood quietly with her family off to the side.

  Restraining his grimace, he approached her family. “Hello.” Reaching for something to say, he gestured to Indigo. “This is one of my bandmates, Indigo Young.”

  Indigo set down the bags to shake various hands.

  “Well, it’s good you’re back and you’ve finally put the music nonsense to rest,” Bi Yu’s father said, eyeing the car. “How much does that car cost?”

  Indigo smirked at the audience’s attention and shrugged. “I haven’t priced them here yet. I’m test-driving this one. In the States, they run close to four hundred thousand US dollars.”

  “That’s about two point five million yuan.” Styx did a rough calculation and clarified when he recognized the confusion on his family and soon-to-be in-laws’ faces.

  His father stalked over to Indigo. “You mean you’re going to buy one?”

  Indigo shrugged as if it wasn’t even a question. “Of course.”

  The two fathers laughed. “With what money?”

  “From the profits from Made in China’s first record.”

  Everyone laughed loudly, as if it was a great joke.

  Indigo minimized their doubts. “Or I can always sell my vintage Corvette.”

  With that comment, his cousins swallowed Indigo whole with their excitement.

  Styx’s father shared a wide-eyed stare with Bi Yu’s father. They must have figured out Indigo’s nonchalant attitude came from wealth. He was so rich he didn’t even flaunt it. Money was simply paper to him.

  EVERYONE GATHERED in the courtyard between the two families’ houses. Bi Yu’s grandmother had broken out her vintage rice wine made by her family in Tapan. It was light but extremely strong. How ironic to celebrate his homecoming in the place causing all the contention.

  Styx’s grandfather told him to enjoy himself, and he decided that was a fine idea. He sat at one of the wooden tables in a rather rickety chair watching his family celebrate the demise of his happiness.

  He downed his second cup of rice wine without even a toast, welcoming the numbness the alcohol promised and reaching for it with both hands. Thankfully, he had a low tolerance so he was well on his way to drunkenness. He silently toasted Jin with the third cup before polishing it off too.

  Bi Yu smiled. “You are the ‘Indigo’?” After Indigo’s quick nod, she continued, “What’s America like?”

  “Wonderful.”

  “Jun Tai said you are from Los Angeles.” Bi Yu lowered her eyes and coyly peered through her lashes before sipping at her second cup of rice wine.

  Styx had never seen her act this way. She appeared to be flirting, as any self-respecting Chinese woman would when encountering someone as rich as Indigo appeared to be. She wanted to be seen as a potential mate. If she only knew!

  “Yeah, I am.” Indigo raised his glass to her and toasted, “Gan bei!” He tossed back all the wine and waited for her to do the same.

  Styx poured them both another glass. His fiancée’s eyes were getting
a bit glassy. “Gan bei!” She raised her glass to him, and he was forced to polish off the strong liquid. Was Indigo trying to get her drunk?

  She giggled as if she hadn’t a thought in her head. “So you’re rich?”

  Indigo shrugged. “I composed some songs for a couple of the artists my father works with, and there are royalties.”

  Bi Yu purred.

  After a few more minutes of polite conversation, Indigo asked, “Honey, tell me. What’s your deal?”

  “My deal?” she asked with a silly smile on her face.

  “Yeah. You want to get married to Styx?”

  She studied Indigo like he was a piece of meat to see if he were making a better offer. Bi Yu shrugged. “Our parents believe it’s a terrific idea.” Her carefully chosen words were becoming a little slurred.

  “What do you think?” Indigo ran a hand casually through his anime-styled hair as he asked.

  She peered around the courtyard to make sure no one watched her before she grabbed the bottle and tried to pour glasses for Indigo and Styx but spilled most of it onto the table. Again she crinkled her nose at Styx before barking out an unladylike laugh. “He’ll make a decent husband, and our families will be happy.”

  “Will you be happy?”

  Her cheeks colored pink, making her appear very young and attractive. She sighed, then tried to cover it with a polite smile. “My family will be happy. Jun Tai’s family will be happy. Therefore we will be happy.”

  “You don’t want to marry my drummer, do you?”

  Styx wasn’t clear on where this pointless conversation was going, but he wanted it to stop.

  She tossed back the drink and put the glass on the table a little too hard. “Your drummer doesn’t want to marry me.”

  He knew he should say something to deny it or to shut Indigo up, but all he could do was sit there.

  Bi Yu glanced over at Styx with a sad smile on her face before giggling. She leaned forward as if trying to push her flat chest out as much as possible. “He never even asked me.”

  “Is there someone you would rather marry?” Indigo asked, as if it actually mattered.

  Bi Yu carelessly gestured to Styx. “He certainly doesn’t love me.”

  Did she think she needed to justify her feelings, or lack thereof, to him? He slammed another drink to get to that nice numb place.

  Indigo grinned as if he had gotten to the bottom of a mystery. “But you love someone, don’t you, sweetheart?”

  She leaned closer to Indigo to confide in him her secret. “I love the farmer’s son, Cong Chan.” She sighed like Styx felt. “But it doesn’t matter.”

  Maybe he should be mad, but her confession didn’t even bother him. It made him pity the both of them their ill-fated marriage. The two of them were giving up their dreams of happiness and love so their parents could be grandparents and have access to this stupid courtyard.

  He glared at his parents and couldn’t help but wonder if they would appreciate what he sacrificed to be a good son. Not that it should matter.

  Indigo poured them all more rice wine before asking, “Why don’t you marry the farm boy?”

  Before she answered, Indigo toasted her, “Gan bei!” and she drank the whole cup down.

  “Why don’t you marry Cong Chan? You’re adorable; he must love you.”

  She blinked in confusion at the flattery. Or maybe she had difficulty understanding his words. She sighed. “He does love me, but I cannot.” She shook her head. “He doesn’t make enough money. My family won’t let me. It’s just like a movie. A sad, sweet movie.” She giggled, ignoring the tears forming in her eyes.

  “Hmmm.” Indigo scrunched his face as he turned toward Styx and then smiled as he swiveled back to her. “So you’re saying if he had more money, your family would let you marry this wonderful man.”

  “Yes,” she quickly confessed. Realizing what she’d said, she giggled over at Styx with big eyes and apologized. “Sorry. But he is handsome, strong, and he loves me so.” She giggled hysterically.

  Styx’s patience had run out with Indigo and the freaking meaningless questions. He drank another cup of his rice wine. He was going to tell Indigo exactly that, but the guy was on his damned cell phone. Indigo paced back and forth a few meters away. When did Indigo go over there?

  The rice wine was having its way with him.

  Indigo hurried back to the table and put his hand over the phone to ask, “Would you consider living in Shanghai?”

  She squealed, “What? Yes. Of course.” Bi Yu giggled so hard that she almost fell out of her chair. “Your friend is silly.”

  He watched as she realized her mother and aunts were glaring at her. She sobered a bit until she glanced over at him with a very serious face; then she cracked back up.

  Indigo came back and asked, “Does Cong speak any English?”

  She appeared like she wanted to lie but shook her head no.

  Indigo talked a little bit more before he asked, “Would he learn English?”

  “Oh, yes. He’s very smart,” Bi Yu said with a dreamy smile.

  Styx closed his eyes and allowed the rice wine to relieve him of the sting of his broken heart. The ache was still there, but distant. He didn’t feel like he was going to perish from heartbreak. Under the cover of alcohol, he could deal with his private pain. All he needed to do was spend the next sixty years or so sloshed.

  Indigo sat back down at their table with a bang of his hands, forcing Styx to open his eyes. “Your farmer boy has a job in Shanghai if he wants it.”

  Bi Yu’s hand flew to her mouth. “What? How?”

  “There is an organic farm in Shanghai. My father is friends with the owner, and they want a local Chinese farmer to be the manager. They’ll give him training; a single family home on the property is included with a rather generous stipend.” He gestured with his thumb in Styx’s direction. “More than what this guy makes, so your parents shouldn’t have a problem.”

  “What?” Styx heard his voice rise. What the hell was Indigo doing?

  “Give me all of his contact information.”

  Bi Yu stared warily at Indigo. She acted as if she wasn’t sure he should be trusted but eventually took the pen and paper he offered her. Quickly she scribbled Cong’s details and handed the paper over to Indigo.

  “Jun Tai, what is your friend doing?” Bi Yu asked.

  He didn’t answer because he didn’t have a clue.

  “Is this for real?” she asked uncertainly.

  They both watched Indigo pace back and forth until he came back to the table with a big smile on his face.

  Bi Yu’s phone rang. She grinned at her cell. “It’s him.” Jumping out of her chair, she almost tripped in her hurry to answer in some privacy.

  Styx stared at Indigo. “In-dig-go?”

  “Styx?” Indigo laughed happily, but he didn’t seem impeded by the alcohol at all.

  “What did you do?” Styx demanded, but he wasn’t sure all his words came out in the right order.

  “Simply fixed a few things. Now it’s time for bed.” Indigo waved as he turned and headed to his assigned bedroom.

  THE FOLLOWING morning, Bi Yu’s father interrupted their breakfast, making his apologies. He asked for Jun Tai’s father to take a stroll with him.

  Twenty minutes later, Styx’s father came back a little bewildered.

  “What is the matter?” Grandfather asked.

  Sitting down hard on the bench chair at the table, his father frowned at Styx. He patted his hand briefly. “Jun Tai, I am very sorry. Apparently, Bi Yu doesn’t want to marry you.”

  Through the haze of a hangover, he must not have heard correctly. Styx sat staring at his father, trying to figure out if he was still asleep and having the best dream of his life or if Indigo had accomplished the impossible.

  His mother stepped in from the kitchen. Clearly she’d heard the gossip through the grapevine prior to his father’s discussion and waited for the drama to play out. “Not to worry, I
know a nice girl whose family recently moved into the area. I’m friendly with her mother. The daughter is a little older.”

  The joy got buried before it surfaced to break free. The wall separating Styx from himself hadn’t even had one brick loosen. Of course it didn’t matter if Bi Yu didn’t want him; they would find someone else who did. The mortar was slapped on thicker.

  She dropped her voice and whispered, “She’s twenty-six. But I’ve seen her, and I promise you wouldn’t guess she was old if I didn’t tell you.”

  His father cleared his throat, stopping his wife and the entire clan. “Well, actually, I spoke with Indigo earlier this morning, and we have come to an agreement.”

  “What agreement?” Why was everyone else in charge of his life but him?

  “He says the success of their band is dependent on Jun Tai playing drums to make a deal. Seems as our son must be part of the agreement they’re putting together.” He stated it proudly, as if he had always been supportive of his son being a musician.

  What? Styx glanced over at Indigo, who shrugged as if it were out of his hands. “The band was offered a deal to cut a record, but only with the original members. I gave your father the first payment cut.”

  His father held out the bank draft with a tidy sum. Grinning over at his wife, he said, “The courtyard is ours. Besides, Bi Yu’s parents plan to move to Shanghai. We’ll buy their house so Jing will have a place near us.” His father stared at the far wall as if he was doing the financial calculations.

  “But Jun Tai needs a wife!” his mother fairly shouted.

  His grandmother went off in a string of creative curses ending with “I want a great grandbaby!”

  His mother rested a hand on Grandmother’s shoulders to calm her.

  “Jing will happily give you grandkids and you great grandchildren.” His father laughed. “With this portion of Jun Tai’s royalties, we can easily pay for the extra mouths.” His father tilted his head to him. “Isn’t that right, Jun Tai?”

  Bewildered, he didn’t know what to say. Indigo kicked him under the table. “Um, yeah. Of course.”

  Indigo grinned and nodded. “Your father understands you can’t marry and be in the music business.”