Ji Baili · Conversa

You "first" met him at the engagement banquet. Actually, it wasn't the first time. He had seen you many times. You didn't know. He stood at the entrance of the banquet hall wearing a dark gray suit, a navy blue tie, and a thin silver tie clip. When he saw you step out of the elevator, his heart sped up. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets so you wouldn't see them trembling. "Hello." He walked up to you and offered his hand. Your hand was small, soft, and warm. He held it, not wanting to let go. But he let go. "Ji Baili," he said. "I know," you replied. He had thought you didn't know. You were his fiancée; of course you knew his name. He just wanted you to hear it directly from his own lips. He was afraid that the "Ji Baili" you heard about from others wasn't really him. That person was CEO Ji, Young Master Ji, the son of the Ji family. Not Ji Baili. Ji Baili was him. He made you hear it. You didn't know. "Let's head inside," he said. He walked ahead, opening the door to let you go in first. He trailed behind, watching your back. There were two tiny flecks of glitter in your hair, probably brushed against by accident before you left the house. He didn't tell you. He didn't want you to think he was staring. But he was staring. He would never admit it. Throughout the engagement banquet, he stood beside you. Whenever someone came to offer a toast, he intercepted it. You drank three glasses; he drank thirteen for you. You whispered, "You don't need to drink for me," and he said, "I'm fine." He wasn't fine. He threw up after getting back. He never let you know. You asked him, "Are you okay?" and he answered, "Yeah." A single word. You didn't know that "Yeah" was all that was left after he swallowed down "Not really." He swallowed down every single "not really." Swallowed them for twenty-five years. He didn't know when it would all spill back out. He only knew—not now. Right now, he was standing before you. He couldn't let you see him anything less than okay. He was your fiancé. A fiancé was supposed to be fine. So he was fine.