Chapter 3

No matter how fancy a hotel room was, it never felt like home. The soulless black sofa was only comfortable for five minutes and the wall of windows made me feel on display even if none of the surrounding buildings were as high up as mine.

The only saving grace was the delightful cup of jasmine tea that had been expertly steeped and brought to me by room service. The grassy notes and bitter taste were a perfect way to enjoy my morning and calm down from the long hours I had at the studio yesterday. Bo had a funny definition of me having time off.

I set the cup back on the tray and reached for my phone, eager to see if there were any more messages waiting for me. It was rare to feel excited about chatting with someone but Chiguo was a surprisingly good conversationalist for a guy who thought putting shirtless pictures on his profile was a good idea. In his defence, they were great pictures and he was the perfect kind of toned.

Unsurprisingly, a message was waiting from him. lt;If you could be any type of dragon, what would you be?gt;

I chuckled at his newest conversation starter. lt;Bold of you to assume Im not already a dragon shifter.gt;

lt;Are you?gt;

lt;Thats for me to know and for you to find out.gt; I found myself smiling at the effortless exchange. He was easy to talk to and it felt good to be Mei for a change, not Mimi. lt;What kind of dragon would you be?gt;

His answer came quickly. lt;Something like the Qiuniu.gt;

I stared at his response, surprised by his choice. On the few occasions that dragons had been the topic, nobody had ever shared my love for the music dragon Qiuniu. I suddenly felt a little paranoid that he knew who I was and picked a dragon based on that to impress me.

lt;Im surprised. Why that one?gt; I typed back cautiously.

Chiguos reply appeared in the chat. lt;I dont know, Ive always felt a pull to it. Maybe because his scales are yellow and thats my favourite colour. Want to hear a fact about yellow?gt;

I hesitated before replying curtly. lt;Go ahead.gt;

lt;The leaves of the ginkgo tree turn a golden yellow in autumn.gt;

lt;Thats technically a fact about the ginkgo tree.gt; I sent the message, trying not to worry about the dragon thing. Either he was a fan who was playing me or we had more in common than Id expect from a stranger on a dating app. I didnt know which was more worrying.

I put my phone away for a moment and poured myself some more tea. The rising steam filled the room with floral notes and I lifted the cup to my lips. It was a near-perfect cup of tea. No matter how wonderful it was, I couldnt fill a whole day just sitting here.

Still sceptical, I returned to the chat where another message was waiting for me. lt;You never said what kind of dragon youd be.gt;

lt;Also the Qiuniu.gt; I hovered my thumb over the send button. I almost deleted my answer but decided against it, sending it into the chat with a decisive tap. It was probably just a coincidence that we had the same favourite dragon. I shouldnt overthink this too much or get ahead of myself. I wasnt that famous.

lt;Really? Are you just saying that cause its my favourite?gt; His sceptical answer instantly made me feel more relaxed. If his gut reaction was the same as mine, then it was probably true.

lt;Really! I have a Qiuniu carved into one of my guitars.gt;

lt;One of them? Youre a musician then?gt;

I grimaced. I hadnt meant to reveal that. I was trying to keep my profession quiet, and for all the chatting that wed done, wed somehow avoided talking about our jobs. While it was perhaps wiser to lie, I didnt feel like hiding myself. Even if I liked having a break from being Mimi, there was nothing I loved more in the world than making music.

lt;I guess so.gt; I felt a little bad about deliberately giving him a wishy-washy answer. There were plenty of musicians in the world, it wouldnt mean anything if I told him.

lt;Same here.gt; This was getting a bit freaky. Either Jinx had some overpowered amazing matching algorithms or he was messing with me.

I was almost certain that was it. The most sensible thing would be to shut the chat and find someone else to talk but a small part of me wanted to believe that Id found someone worth talking to.

lt;What instrument do you play?gt; I asked.

lt;I play several, but this is my all-time favourite instrument.gt; As if to prove his point, a picture of an ancient and extraordinarily beautiful guqin appeared in the chat. The dark wood was weathered but well-cared for and the strings looked new, meaning he actually played it. It was just a vibe, but it did look like a beloved instrument.

It was certainly an odd choice, which made me believe it was true.

lt;I love the guqin, it has such an ethereal sound.gt; I typed out, hoping he would be impressed that I knew exactly what the seven-stringed instrument was.

His reply came instantly. lt;Im surprised, a lot of people dont know what it is.gt;

lt;Why is it your favourite?gt;

lt;Its the first instrument I ever played so the sound is nostalgic and makes stale memories vibrant again.gt; His passion shone through the words despite the screen between us, which left no doubt in my mind that he was really a music lover, not someone pretending for my sake.

I spied my guitar sitting on its stand and got to my feet, heading over so I could take a photo of my pride and joy. I opened the camera app and positioned it so the intricately carved dragon that decorated the wooden body was in full display. Maybe it was ill-advised to share something so personal but it was only fair. I hit send before I could overthink it.

A knock sounded on the door before I could check his reply. Room service!

I already forgot I ordered food.

My back protested when I got up from the couch and crossed to the door. A woman in a crisp uniform rolled a trolley inside my room. Heres your food, Miss Mimi. Would you like me to set it up for you at the table?

Yes, please. Thank you so much. I stood back while she did her thing. The fragrance of ginger and garlic filled the room when she lifted the cloche and my stomach growled in response. Not very dignified but the woman was gracious enough to pretend she didnt hear it.

Once she left, I settled at the table and inhaled the savoury smell of the momos. The dumplings looked to be perfectly steamed and there was a nice variety of side dishes and sauces to enjoy. They were still too hot to eat so I checked my phone again to see if Chiguo had replied to my earlier picture.

lt;Thats a beautiful instrument. Looks like excellent craftsmanship.gt;

Pride filled me at the compliment. I knew my guitar was beautiful, it was made by the finest fae craftsmen, but it was always nice when someone else recognised that as true. Especially someone who seemed to love music too.

I reached for a dumpling with my chopsticks and brought it to my mouth, touching it gently against my lips to feel the temperature. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally burn my tongue when I had another performance coming up, and one at the Meru Palace, no less.

Plenty of steam escaped when I bit into the momo but it wasnt too hot. The mushroom filling had a really bouncy texture and it was delightfully savoury and salty. It was a shame there were only five of them but I always had to watch my weight.

Another message from Chiguo popped up in our chat, distracting me from the food. lt;Do you play often?gt;

That was a dangerous question to answer, but I found myself typing out a response all the same. lt;Yes. I live for music.gt;

lt;Me too. Im not too keen on modern music, though. I prefer the older stuff. Folk songs are my favourite.gt;

That was the best thing I read all day. If he wasnt interested in modern music, there was a good chance he had no clue who I was. Or wouldnt care if he did.

lt;I love folk songs.gt; Not that I got many chances to play any of them.

lt;Then you might like my other instrument. Ive got a really beautiful flute, if you want to see it.gt; The winky smile suggested he might be talking about something entirely else now.

If I was talking to anyone else, I would be shutting down the conversation but I was kind of intrigued. From his pictures, I could tell he was a good-looking guy and he liked music. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was just being cheeky and not a pervert. lt;Show me.gt;

I held my breath as I waited for his response to pop up. An image appeared of a bamboo flute with lovely carvings on the shaft and I laughed at how suggestive it was. I put my chopsticks down to reply. lt;Thats a lovely flute.gt;

lt;You like my dongxiao?gt;

lt;Yes, very much. Id love to blow it.gt; He wasnt the only one who knew how to use double entendres.

It wasnt a surprise that he replied quickly. lt;Have you blown many dongxioas before?gt;

lt;I can play, but I prefer using my mouth in other ways.gt; It was the perfect response, even if I was awarding the accolade myself. I didnt usually let conversations get this far but chatting with Chiguo was surprisingly easy. Something about him was comfortable, even if he was just the vague idea of a person on the other end of the screen.

lt;Ah, a woman of many talents. Any chance I get to experience those first-hand?gt;

lt;Are we still talking about music or are you suggesting something else?gt; I typed back.

lt;Maybe a little of both. You said youre only in the city for a few days? There are a lot of nice bars around, Id be happy to be your guide.gt;

I hovered my fingers over the keyboard as I thought about his offer. It was foolish to meet up with a stranger but I didnt fancy sitting in my hotel room all night. It was dreadfully boring and the only reason it was bearable was chatting with Chiguo.

I chewed on my bottom lip while I typed my response. lt;Drinks sound good.gt;

This could backfire badly but something about him made me want to take a risk.