46 Who is the martyr?

They walked over the mosaic cobblestone path, admired the beautiful ornate chairs in one of the halls. Jia Li couldn't believe that they were in Shanghai. She fell in love with the amazing dragon sculpture which rested on one of the walls. Through the entire walk, Tang never left her hand for a second. They spent a couple of peaceful hours exploring the length and breadth of the place without talking much. It was exactly as he had envisioned so many years ago. They were a normal couple out for a stroll.

"There are a lot of excellent eateries here though I have never actually eaten there. I used to come early on weekend mornings and go back way before it was afternoon," he explained as the garden's exit spilled into the busy, vibrant marketplace.

There was a pink glow to her face after the walk, which he contributed to their being together. For a change, there was no strain around her eyes. He was so busy soaking her radiance in that he heard only half of her reply.

"Maybe we should head home as well instead of staying back for lunch," she said.

He gave her a look which seemed to be calling her a hypocrite for saying something which she didn't want to do herself.

She lowered her gaze wordlessly and bit her lip, which she tended to do when worried or nervous.

"Do you know that your lip curses you every time you mistreat it like this?" he freed the trapped flesh from her teeth's captivity with his thumb.

A shiver ran through her and she took an involuntary step back, only to bump into a passer-by.Tang apologised to the man before pulling her to his side. He released her fingers and placed his arm around her shoulder.

"The Xiaolongbao served here are the best in Shanghai, unless you want to eat something else," he pointed to the overcrowded restaurant in front of them.

"I think I need to be picked up and carried from here", groaned Jia Li, after a scrumptious meal of crab dumplings, pork dumplings and much more.

They had placed their order while waiting in the queue for the food and by the time they sat, the dumplings came piping hot. Biting into the dumpling skin, the hot tasty soup simply oozed out.

Tang responded to her statement, "I can think of many effective ways to burn away the excess calories."

Jia Li blushed furiously, "err, I think I'll go look for a cab."

The journey back to the Xie Mansion was completed in near silence. Both were lost in their thoughts. Their hands lay entwined, savouring the final bits of this unexpected togetherness. As the house came into view, Jia Li visibly straightened up and tried to extract her hand from his grasp. But he simply refused to give it up even after her tugging hard.

"Uh, you know, we need to come back to the reality now and develop a complete amnesia about the past couple of hours," she said in a small voice.

He turned to look at her and spoke in hushed tones, "did you really think that was possible? I remember the minutest of things about you and I know that it was the same for you. So please spare me the lecture! All I can do is pretend, in fact I have become pretty adept at it now. Sometimes I myself can't seem to distinguish the true me from the fake me. I think it's a good sign, though. It means I will be able to fulfil my duties towards everyone without a hitch."

Jia Li got irked with his martyr tone and snapped, "really? Are you trying to tell me that your life has been an uphill task? Maybe you should come out of your castle once in a while to see the hardships of other people."

The taxi had come to a stop and she used the opportunity to get out and walk away. He paid quickly and reached her in long strides.