{√}Missing Bride

"Shit. Shit! Fucking shit!"

Hao Xuan groaned, the sound tearing through the quiet of the evening. He glared at his phone as if the device itself were sentient and malicious, as if the screen were personally responsible for his failure. In truth, the fault lay nowhere but with him—with his own incompetence, with the life he was steadily wasting away on a glowing rectangle. He had missed his opponent's move again. He had lost.

Twenty-nine years old, and sitting under the sprawling branches of an ancient camphor tree, Hao Xuan let the cool evening breeze wash over him. Beyond the low stone wall that bordered the property, the small river that ran through their town murmured steadily—its voice a constant companion to the old neighborhood. Lanterns strung along the riverside walkway flickered on as dusk deepened, casting wavering reflections across the water. It was a beautiful night, the kind that demanded conversation or contemplation, but Hao Xuan was busy massacring his own time. He amused himself with the game, yet irritation prickled at his skin every time his character died. His countenance was a shifting mask of excitement and repulsion, lit by the artificial blue light of the screen.

He was deep in the throes of another match when a movement caught the corner of his eye. The camphor tree rustled its wide, glossy leaves, as if trying to warn him.

Xiao Zhan was approaching along the flagstone path that wound between clusters of bamboo. A light mist clung to the river behind him, softening the glow of the distant bridge. His fiancé was beautiful—fair-complexioned and elegant even in the dimming light—but the sight of him didn't bring Hao Xuan peace. It brought a heaviness to his chest, as though the humidity of the evening had seeped into his bones.

"Oh, not again," Hao Xuan muttered, his thumb pausing over the screen. "I want to enjoy this game in peace. I don't need someone pestering me with the same topic that disgusts me to the core."

He growled low in his throat, irritation spiking. He looked closer. Xiao Zhan wasn't wearing his usual bright smile. His shoulders were slumped, his expression clouded. Something was wrong. Hao Xuan's initial annoyance ebbed, replaced by a flicker of concern, but it was quickly drowned out by defensiveness.

Xiao Zhan reached the tree and stopped. He greeted Hao Xuan dryly. "Good evening, baby."

He rolled his eyes as he said it. The endearment sounded forced, as if someone had held a knife to his throat and commanded him to speak it. Still with his annoying phone, Xiao Zhan thought, the words burning in his mind.

"Evening, baby," Hao Xuan acknowledged absentmindedly, eyes never leaving the game. I won't let your presence ruin my fun, he told himself. He dared not say it out loud.

Xiao Zhan stared at him, unimpressed by the excitement Hao Xuan derived from pixels and code. Can this phone just fall? Xiao Zhan wondered, watching the light reflect in Hao Xuan's dark eyes. Can it shatter into pieces? How I hate this object. Sometimes I wish it never existed. It is the worst thing our country produces, and I want to kill the manufacturers for it. They are ruining my relationship.

Xiao Zhan murmured the curse under his breath. Hao Xuan heard him clearly but pretended otherwise, his focus rigid. Xiao Zhan watched him concentrate, felt the urge to strangle him rise in his throat, and finally hissed. He pouted, shifting his weight, trying to pull Hao Xuan's gaze away from the glass.

Luckily, he succeeded.

Hao Xuan finally looked up, pausing the game. "What is the matter, Zhan? You're looking sad. I hope all is well and I'm safe? I won't be pounced on, will I?" He asked, still keeping one eye on the paused screen.

Xiao Zhan was furious that even now, even in conversation, he was secondary to the device. "You had better stop that game," Xiao Zhan snarled, his heart racing with anger and disgust. "We have an important issue to discuss, not your phone!"

He couldn't stop cursing the manufacturers in his head. They had become an obstacle to his happiness, and he hated them for it.

Hao Xuan heard the sharp edge in his voice. He knew better than to push it further. He locked the phone and set it aside, giving Xiao Zhan his full attention. He offered a signature mischievous smirk and winked. Leaning forward, he pulled Xiao Zhan closer, circling his hands around the smaller man's waist. He leaned in to kiss the nape of Xiao Zhan's neck, seeking to diffuse the tension with intimacy.

But Xiao Zhan was not in the mood. He stiffened, pulling back slightly. He hadn't come here for this. Usually, this gesture would have made him melt, but tonight, he derived only hatred from it.

Hao Xuan frowned at the rejection, though he hadn't been particularly in the mood for intimacy himself. He withdrew his hands. "Yes, my dear, what is it? You came here looking all dejected. You didn't even bother to greet me affectionately. What is this important thing we have to discuss that makes you neglect your darling? Or..." He winked, the flirtatious smirk returning as he saw Xiao Zhan's irritated face. "Should we go inside? Let me feel you. It's been a while."

Xiao Zhan fired back immediately. "Hao Xuan, you gotta be kidding me? Go inside and do what? In the early evening?" He rolled his eyes, snorting in disgust. "Anyway, do I blame you? You're just lazy. If only you had something meaningful to do with your life, you would be thinking with your mind and not with your dick!"

Hao Xuan frowned at the vulgarity, but Xiao Zhan didn't stop.

"We have been in this relationship for more than five years now," Xiao Zhan said, his voice trembling slightly. "I am not getting any younger, and neither are you. It is time we took the next step. It is time we got married. This perennial courtship no longer suits me. Frankly speaking, I'm tired of it. I want more."

He took a breath, the words finally out in the open. "But any time I bring up this issue, you fail to give it the attention it deserves. I want us to get married..."

Xiao Zhan concluded and looked away, unable to bear the gloom that settled over Hao Xuan's face the moment the word marriage was spoken.

Hao Xuan, who had been circling his hands near Xiao Zhan's waist, let them drop. He slowly moved away, creating physical distance to match the emotional gap. His face grew serious.

"Zhan, just like I told you the first time, and the other times you raised this marriage issue, I'll repeat it: I'm not ready for marriage." Hao Xuan's voice was steady, cold. "I am still looking for a job. I do not want to take any reckless decision that will land me in abject poverty. Can't you understand me? I need to put myself in order, be established financially, before considering getting married."

"This is what you've always been saying to me." Xiao Zhan felt like crying, his heart wrenching in his chest. "It's the same old story. You can do better, you know. Let us get married first, and I believe God will provide for us. He will open His doors of blessing. I have a job. I know my parents will support us and help us out. Is it not said that he who finds a wife obtains favour from God?"

"Let me see the favour now," Hao Xuan quipped, his tone dry. "As for me, I will not go into marriage and then start suffering like several people I've seen in this community. I refuse to be dragged into that. I need a good job that can establish me first. Then, and only then, will I consider marriage."

Xiao Zhan rose in anger, his shadow stretching long across the grass in the dying light. A breeze swept off the river, carrying the faint scent of lotus blossoms from the pond further downstream, but it did nothing to cool his temper. He started clapping, slow and sarcastic. The sound echoed faintly against the tiled roof of the pavilion nearby—an incongruous applause to their unraveling.

"Good job! Good job!" he recited. "You have been talking about getting this so-called 'good job' for how long now? Wasn't it three years ago? Yet, I don't see any extra effort you're making to obtain one. You waste away your time playing games on your phone and other unproductive activities. You chat, you Facebook, Instagram, name them! That's where someone who is seeking a good extra pay job wastes his time, and yet he keeps looking for a job!"

Xiao Zhan's voice rose, intoning with a pain he could no longer hide. He seemed unable to stand Hao Xuan anymore, unable to take the excuses.

Hao Xuan rolled his eyes and snorted.

Xiao Zhan continued, his voice breaking. "I wonder how you plan to get this good job. Will it come to meet you at home? Hao Xuan, why are you doing all this to me? Haven't I been good and loving to you? Haven't I endured enough for you to come to my parents and do the right thing? What have I not done for you? Then, what did I do to deserve this treatment and irresponsibility of yours? Baby, I want to marry you. I want to be proud like others. Is that too hard to ask for? Don't I deserve that privilege?"

Xiao Zhan cried out, his bitterness undisguised. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at Hao Xuan, waiting for him to say something, anything. But the latter just shrugged nonchalantly and looked away.

"Am I barking all this while?" Xiao Zhan asked painfully. "Aren't you remorseful? Don't you have something to say?"

Hao Xuan ignored the tears. He spoke angrily, shielding himself with irritation. "You should have just told me you came here to insult me, Zhan. But let me make it clear: I need about three years to settle things monetarily. Then, we'll discuss this marriage thing."

Xiao Zhan's heart skipped a beat. His mouth went dramatically wide, then closed, trying to process the number. "T... Three years!"

He couldn't believe his ears. He counted the three years on his fingers, then countered it to the age he would be then, and cried out.

"I should give you an extra three years? You must be kidding me, Xuan! Do you know how old I am now? I am twenty-five years old, and you want me to wait for three more years? Most of my age mates married three years ago! Some are with kids, and you're telling me to wait for three fucking damn years! Hao Xuan, have a heart! Don't you love me at all? How could you say that to me?"

Xiao Zhan sat back down heavily, wailing pathetically while looking at the man he loved.

Then, the wailing turned into hollow laughter. "You should've just said that I should wait for eternity then. I can't wait. I have to get married. Several suitors have come to me, and I rejected them all for your sake, but it has become clear that you're not serious about us. I'm only good for you in bed, to ravish me and turn me around however you wish. But let me tell you something, Hao Xuan... whatever happens after this, don't blame me."

He raged, the words sharp as glass.

Hao Xuan eyed him suspiciously. "It looks like you have already made up your mind to leave me for another man, and you just came here to pick a fight so you can feel justified, right? In that case, do as you please. You are not the only man on Earth who is beautiful. I'm tired of your marriage talk. Are you the one marrying me, or is it not the other way around? I will not displease myself to please you. Go ahead and marry your numerous suitors. But remember, the devil you know is better than the angel you don't."

He retorted coldly. "Three years is a short time if one is patient."

Hao Xuan concluded and picked up his phone again, the screen lighting up his face like a mask.

Xiao Zhan was enraged by all Hao Xuan had said. He got up and looked down at him, his shadow falling over Hao Xuan. "You're such a fool and undependable! I will go and marry them, whether they're worse or not! At least I will be breaking away from an irresponsible and ungrateful fool like you! You disgust me! I promise you, you'll regret this! Bastard!"

With that, Xiao Zhan picked up the bag he came with, glared at him one more time, and left in anger, his footsteps crunching heavily on the flagstone path.

Hao Xuan ignored his exit and continued with his game. He muttered to the empty air, justifying the hollow feeling in his chest. "No one will send me into my early grave. I don't have money for marriage, and no one will force me into it! You want me to marry you so that you'll come in and start controlling me because you're the one providing for us. I will not let you succeed with your plans. I love my freedom, and you can't cage me all in the name of marriage."

He snorted and immersed himself back in the game, thumbs dancing across the screen. The river flowed on, its dark water lapping against the moss-covered stones of the bank. A single paper lantern, loose from its moorings, drifted past—its flame a dwindling point of gold before it disappeared into the shadows. Hao Xuan noticed nothing. He didn't see the lantern, and he didn't see the river waiting, patient as grief, to take what he had so carelessly discarded.