Fragments

Tea Culture

She wondered if Ximen had experienced the same reluctance when he had visited this godforsaken place. All he had told her was that Master Li was a master of blending, who was working on something the tea world had never seen before; as a tea student, her curiosity had of course been piqued, and she had been incredibly flattered when Ximen had asked her to attend on his behalf. Her husband was a virtuoso of tea, so for him to trust her in this way was stupendous! However, she was regretting her trust bitterly as she stood in her underwear in a grimy, small room, rifling through an unfamiliar wardrobe of moth eaten garments for a cheongsam that looked suitable. This was he guy Ximen thought had impeccable taste? Please.... She scoffed internally as she shoved item after item aside. They were all hideous except for one; a sleek black number patterned with blue flowers.

She pulled it out, smoothing it down in reluctant delight. She was impressed despite herself, and the piece was exactly her size - how lucky! She slipped it over her head, luxuriating in the sensation of the expensive silk smoothing against her skin. There was also a pair of matching blue shoes nestled in the bottom of the wardrobe, once again exactly her size... This was getting weird, but she pushed it down again, ignoring her gut as she strapped them into place. Xiaoyou admired her reflection in the spotted mirror, satisfied that she now looked presentable for the Master. The cheongsam fit her well, flattering what little curves she had; in fact, it wasn't too dissimilar from something her husband would choose.... She imagined he would enjoy seeing her dressed like this, and her cheeks heated as she imagined Ximen's appreciative reaction. Hopefully now she was dressed properly, the Master would be knocked off his high horse and actually take her seriously. Xiaoyou straightened her spine, swallowing her unease as she strode towards the door.... It was time to go and seal the deal! She opened the door, feeling more confident; that was, until a rag was pressed over her nose, smelling overwhelmingly like chloroform as her vision faded....

Her head was pounding as she stirred awake, her vision blurred as she blinked in the stark light. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was changing her clothes... Everything after that was foggy. Xiaoyou attempted to stand on her feet, only to be yanked downwards; she hadn't realised she was chained down, and she whimpered as she yanked against the manacles, the metal biting into her skin. What on earth was going on? Adrenaline was fizzing through her veins as her eyes darted about the room. The entire room was tiled in nondescript white tiles, the only discernible features the flickering screen affixed on the wall and the low table she was shackled to. Xiaoyou shivered as she assessed the cold, clinical nature of the room; she had known there was something odd about this house, she should have trusted herself and scarpered when she had the chance! This was undoubtedly the weirdest meeting she had ever had, and she felt like things were only going to get worse....

However, Yan Xiaoyou was no coward; after all, hadn't she pursued Ximen fearlessly in her younger days, and won his heart as a result? Acting afraid now would be an insult to him, she owed it to him to get herself out of this situation and let her husband know was a despicable man he was planning to do business with! No doubt she was being victimised as the so called Master thought he could intimidate her; well, he had another thing coming! She drew in a deep breath and scanned the room again carefully, assessing, calculating any way in which she could escape this cell. Her eyes hardened as she scrutinised the table, the odd assortment of items confusing her. There were three teacups, neatly lined up with steaming contents and silver teaspoons placed jauntily on the saucers. The scents were all mingled, and although she usually had a refined palette, she couldn't for the life of her figure out what on earth the smells were. She suspected it was the tea that Ximen had told her about, the exotic blends that would take the tea world by storm. Xiaoyou's lip curled ruefully as she noticed the envelope placed squarely in front of the cups. She gulped as she noted her name scrawled across the front in vaguely familiar script; her heart was thundering as she picked up the envelope, the paper thick and expensive in her shaking hand. She tore the paper longways, her nervousness affecting her motor control, and pulled out a solitary piece of paper. Her eyes widened as she scanned the contents of the paper, the colour draining from her face as she yelped in disbelief.