If You Could See the Sun (83)

“Right,” Henry says. “And if that doesn’t fully convince the school, your article will.”

I hope so, I think to myself. Writing the article was weirdly cathartic; I’d poured everything I had—everything I’ve experienced in the past five years, every great injustice and minor disappointment, all my loud fears and quiet hopes, all my time spent both on the inside and outside of Airington’s elite circle—into those words. Now I just want to make them count.

“So.” Henry’s finger hovers over the send button on the screen. “Shall we?”

I gnaw on the inside of my cheek and try to act like I don’t feel nauseated at the very thought of emailing the school board. “We shall.”

Before I have time to regret this whole plan, the email leaves my inbox with a loud whooshing sound.

No going back now.

In the silence that follows, I hear loud footsteps, mixed with Baba and Xiaoyi’s voices; something about taking their shoes off. They must’ve just gotten here.

Henry hears them too. He quickly combs his hair with both hands, as if it doesn’t already look perfect, adjusts his shirt collar, and springs to his feet. Then he catches me staring. “What?”

“Where—where exactly do you think you’re going?” I splutter.

“To introduce myself to your father, of course,” he says, now heading for the door. “It’s the polite thing to do—”

I grab his shirt and yank him back toward me. “No. No, no, no, no. You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m barely on speaking terms with my dad right now,” I hiss, refusing to release my grip on his sleeve. “If he sees me coming out of the room with you, he’s going to think—he’ll think—”

“Yes?” Henry arches one brow, testing. Teasing. “What will he think?”

God help me. “You know,” I snap. My whole face burns. “Point is, it’s a very bad idea.”

But instead of being discouraged, he just offers me one of those smug, terribly attractive smiles that used to get under my skin so much. It still kind of does—just in a way that makes me focus far too long on his lips. “Don’t worry. All parents love me; I’ll be sure to make a good impression.”

As I consider the potential risks of hiding Henry under the bed versus introducing him to my family, Xiaoyi’s voice travels through the door. “...Yan Yan inside?”

“She’s with someone right now,” comes Mama’s reply.

Well, I guess my decision’s been made for me.

With a quick warning glare at Henry, I let go of his shirt and enter the living room.

Xiaoyi, Mama, and Baba are all sitting on the couch, a plate of skinned and diced apple set out before them, complete with a set of toothpicks on the side.

“Yan Yan!” Xiaoyi greets me brightly, standing up and shuffling over in her slippers. “I hear you’re a criminal now!”

Both Baba and Mama make a series of deeply disapproving noises.

“Please don’t encourage her,” Mama mutters in Chinese.

But Xiaoyi’s already turned her attention to Henry beside me. I’m not exaggerating when I say that her eyes literally light up, her jaw dropping all the way to her feet. You’d think she’s never seen me with a tall, good-looking, well-dressed boy my age before.

Okay, fine. She hasn’t.

Still, she doesn’t have to look that surprised.

“Oh!” she exclaims, looking Henry up and down at least five times. “Oh! Who’s this?”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Henry says before I can reply, slipping smoothly into Mandarin to address both Baba and Xiaoyi. His smile is bright and earnest, his head bent at a respectful angle. “I’m Henry Li—I go to the same school as Alice. I just wanted to see how she was doing.”

Xiaoyi positively melts.

Baba looks less enthusiastic about Henry’s presence. His brows furrow. “You came all the way from school just to see our Alice?”

Henry nods. “Yes, shushu.”

It’s the polite, appropriate term to use, but Baba’s frown only deepens. He gets up and walks closer so that he and Henry are standing face-to-face and asks, very slowly, “Are you...dating my daughter?”

Oh. God. I definitely should’ve made Henry hide under the bed.

“No, no, of course not,” I hurry to tell Baba, the same time Henry says, “Yes.”

I whip my head around so fast I hear my neck crack, my heart flying into a frenzy. No way. Henry meets my disbelieving gaze with a grin, and I don’t know if I want to strangle him or throw my arms around him.

This is all very confusing.

“Not officially though,” Henry adds, turning back to Baba. “Since we’re still high school students, we obviously need to focus on our studies first. But I’m happy to wait, and I hope that in the future—”

“Alice’s future is very uncertain right now,” Baba cuts him off, his expression stern. “It’s not something to joke about.”

Henry doesn’t falter. Doesn’t even blink. “I know, and I’m being one hundred percent serious. Whatever happens, she’s more than smart enough to get through it, and I’ll be there to support her.”