I?" Liu Yi reached for the teapot, pouring himself some and then Wen Yu.
Wen Yu picked up his bowl and sipped carefully. The tea was a beautiful pink color like plum blossoms. Even though most of the tea Wen Yu had drunk was sweetened with a little plum juice, this tea was sweeter and fruitier than he was used to.
"Do you like it?" Liu Yi was watching him over the rim of his own bowl.
"It's sweet." Wen Yu took another sip. "But good."
"I like sweet things; it's a weakness of mine." Liu Yi was smiling now.
"Are you feeling better?" Wen Yu took another sip of tea.
"I am. My periods of illness come on suddenly but don't last long." Liu Yi lifted his little tea bowl.
"So," Wen Yu watched him from across the table. "Was your invitation for me to meet you here business or pleasure?"
Liu Yi cocked his head to the side. "I thought it would be nice to simply buy tea with you." He looked down at the bowl in his hands with its delicately pink liquid. "I enjoyed when we were playing liubo, and I wanted to see you again."
A little bit of tightness in Wen Yu's chest, that he hadn't realized he'd been carrying, loosened at Liu Yi's words. "I enjoyed our game of liubo too, and I welcome the chance to spend more time with you."
An older man in scholar's robe and a young, pretty man dressed like a courtier stepped off the street and into the pavilion arm in arm. Wen Yu watched how they leaned in to each other, touched each other with ease and familiarity. He watched the way the young man smiled over the top of his tea bowl.
When he looked back, Liu Yi was watching him, something Wen Yu had never seen in his expression. It made heat creep up Wen Yu's neck and onto his face, made his breathing catch.
What would it feel like to kiss Liu Yi?
Wen Yu wanted to look away, stop himself from wanting to reach out for Liu Yi, but Liu Yi held his gaze, dark eyes intense. Swallowing dryly, Wen Yu finally dragged his gaze away.
"I …" He swallowed again, trying to get some moisture back in his throat. "I'm impressed that you play the liuqin. It's not an easy instrument from what I've been told. Not that I can play anything myself; music is one of the areas I could never master."
"It seems strange," Liu Yi said. "You seem to be able to do everything else, from what I can tell."
Wen Yu looked back up at him, wondering if he was being made fun of, only to see Liu Yi smiling gently instead.
"I don't do everything well." Wen Yu felt himself flush again and rubbed the back of his neck. "Music, I'm no good at, I can't really paint, although I've tried. I am not very good at riding and most sports. I've never been able to hunt." Wen Yu looked up again to find Liu Yi's smile had changed to a teasing grin.
"Good thing you're not called on to do much of that as a scholar bureaucrat."
"It doesn't make me very well-rounded, though, if I can't do art." Wen Yu took a sip of tea.
"You said you wrote poetry. Is not that art?"
"Of course it is." Wen Yu looked out across the still water of the canal. "It's hard." He shook his head. "I don't think of myself as an artist. A true scholar should be able to paint, write poetry, play an instrument, yes, but it is your work with the Classics, your knowledge of numbers and military strategy, that allows you to pass the examinations and gain your position. To think of myself as merely a poet—" He shook his head again, lost for words.
"If you could, would you?" Liu Yi asked. "Just write poetry and nothing else?"
"I love languages, I love the change of learning a new one, I enjoy calligraphy and painting, although I'm not good at it. If I didn't do these things I would miss them, but yes. I could do without the rest of it." He took a sip of tea.
Liu Yi didn't say anything. Did not tell him he was wrong or that he was being irrespirable by not thinking of his family's position and good name.
It made Wen Yu feel bold enough to admit something he never admitted aloud. "Sometimes I think about being a low-level
Wen Yu picked up his bowl and sipped carefully. The tea was a beautiful pink color like plum blossoms. Even though most of the tea Wen Yu had drunk was sweetened with a little plum juice, this tea was sweeter and fruitier than he was used to.
"Do you like it?" Liu Yi was watching him over the rim of his own bowl.
"It's sweet." Wen Yu took another sip. "But good."
"I like sweet things; it's a weakness of mine." Liu Yi was smiling now.
"Are you feeling better?" Wen Yu took another sip of tea.
"I am. My periods of illness come on suddenly but don't last long." Liu Yi lifted his little tea bowl.
"So," Wen Yu watched him from across the table. "Was your invitation for me to meet you here business or pleasure?"
Liu Yi cocked his head to the side. "I thought it would be nice to simply buy tea with you." He looked down at the bowl in his hands with its delicately pink liquid. "I enjoyed when we were playing liubo, and I wanted to see you again."
A little bit of tightness in Wen Yu's chest, that he hadn't realized he'd been carrying, loosened at Liu Yi's words. "I enjoyed our game of liubo too, and I welcome the chance to spend more time with you."
An older man in scholar's robe and a young, pretty man dressed like a courtier stepped off the street and into the pavilion arm in arm. Wen Yu watched how they leaned in to each other, touched each other with ease and familiarity. He watched the way the young man smiled over the top of his tea bowl.
When he looked back, Liu Yi was watching him, something Wen Yu had never seen in his expression. It made heat creep up Wen Yu's neck and onto his face, made his breathing catch.
What would it feel like to kiss Liu Yi?
Wen Yu wanted to look away, stop himself from wanting to reach out for Liu Yi, but Liu Yi held his gaze, dark eyes intense. Swallowing dryly, Wen Yu finally dragged his gaze away.
"I …" He swallowed again, trying to get some moisture back in his throat. "I'm impressed that you play the liuqin. It's not an easy instrument from what I've been told. Not that I can play anything myself; music is one of the areas I could never master."
"It seems strange," Liu Yi said. "You seem to be able to do everything else, from what I can tell."
Wen Yu looked back up at him, wondering if he was being made fun of, only to see Liu Yi smiling gently instead.
"I don't do everything well." Wen Yu felt himself flush again and rubbed the back of his neck. "Music, I'm no good at, I can't really paint, although I've tried. I am not very good at riding and most sports. I've never been able to hunt." Wen Yu looked up again to find Liu Yi's smile had changed to a teasing grin.
"Good thing you're not called on to do much of that as a scholar bureaucrat."
"It doesn't make me very well-rounded, though, if I can't do art." Wen Yu took a sip of tea.
"You said you wrote poetry. Is not that art?"
"Of course it is." Wen Yu looked out across the still water of the canal. "It's hard." He shook his head. "I don't think of myself as an artist. A true scholar should be able to paint, write poetry, play an instrument, yes, but it is your work with the Classics, your knowledge of numbers and military strategy, that allows you to pass the examinations and gain your position. To think of myself as merely a poet—" He shook his head again, lost for words.
"If you could, would you?" Liu Yi asked. "Just write poetry and nothing else?"
"I love languages, I love the change of learning a new one, I enjoy calligraphy and painting, although I'm not good at it. If I didn't do these things I would miss them, but yes. I could do without the rest of it." He took a sip of tea.
Liu Yi didn't say anything. Did not tell him he was wrong or that he was being irrespirable by not thinking of his family's position and good name.
It made Wen Yu feel bold enough to admit something he never admitted aloud. "Sometimes I think about being a low-level
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