Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Dianxia, you don’t have to,” John said in a low voice that felt like the most delicious caress.
Didn’t have to what?
His brain wasn’t working anymore. It was still locked on the idea of kissing fingers, then across his palm and down to find a warm spot on the soft interior of his wrist.
Someone cleared their throat and Jin jumped. Qin.
Thank goodness Qin had kick-started his brain again.
John jerked his hand away and lowered his head. “Forgive me, Dianxia. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
Jin stopped mentally cursing Qin and smiled at John. It was good that his brain was working. So terrible that John had released him. He didn’t want to be thought of as untouchable. At least, not by John.
“It’s okay. You’re keeping my secret. I’ll keep yours,” he whispered in a teasing tone that drew John’s eyes up to him.
Jin turned his gaze on the scarf and wrapped it around John’s throat with precise care, tucking the ends away.
“There. At least I’ll know you’re a bit warmer while we chat,” Jin said, giving John’s shoulder a final pat.
“This is just one of the many things I don’t understand about Gaoxing. How is it that everyone is so nice? Everyone I’ve met is so nice and helpful. They’ll give you whatever they can to help you. Is this even real?” As he spoke, his eyes were wide and his hand drifted up to caress the scarf Jin had just wrapped him in.
There was something trembling in his tone that made it seem like this question wasn’t coming from the reporter, but rather John West, the man. And the answer Jin gave would be the most important thing he told John all afternoon.
A muffled sound like a laugh came from behind Jin and he snapped.
“Qin!” The single word was a whip crack.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Qin drop into a low bow. “Forgive me, Dianxia.”
“I’m not the one you should apologize to,” he replied through clenched teeth. He would not tolerate rudeness among his people and never over something that meant so much to John.
Qin shifted his stance and bowed a second time toward John. “Forgive me, Mr. West, for my rude behavior.”
“It’s okay, Qin. There’s nothing to forgive. If I’d grown up here, I’d probably think it was an idiotic question too,” John said. He even graced Qin with a lazy grin that left Jin grinding his teeth. It wasn’t fair that Qin was insulting, and he still earned that smile. It should have been his lazy grin.
Shoving that frightening thought aside, Jin turned his full attention to John and sighed. “I think it’s a matter of cultural difference and roots. Americans are raised in a culture of bootstraps, and worship independence. You revere stories of men who had no education and no money but grew up to create these vast empires of money. Gaoxing is a country that was born from war. Clans from both the Japanese and the Chinese fought over this land for centuries long before the Europeans started sailing around the world. There isn’t a bit of land that hasn’t been watered with the blood of our ancestors.”
Jin reached up and tucked in the scarf’s edge again. “The story is that the god of the sea grew tired of our fighting and lashed our island with a typhoon that blackened the sky for two full days. Thousands of lives were lost. When the storm abated at last, the survivors discovered supplies were low and none of the boats escaped destruction. They had only one chance of survival.”
“To work together,” John murmured.
Jin smiled up at him and nodded. “Simple as that. It didn’t matter what clan they’d been born into. They were all stuck on the same island. If I help my neighbor and he helps me, we both survive, and the work is that much easier. Everyone on Gaoxing is raised with a single duty—help your neighbor.”
“But—”
Lifting one finger, he held it mere centimeters from John’s lips, close enough that he could feel him suck in a breath, but it stopped his words. “It is that simple. Help your neighbor. There is no one person who has ever lived who didn’t need help. No life that hasn’t been improved with a helping hand.” Jin dropped his hand into his pocket and smirked. “But yes, I know how the rest of the world sees Gaoxing. We are soft, weak, and even naïve. No one is perfect. We have our liars and our con artists. Even thieves. Yet overall, I’d say we are happier than much of the world.”
John grinned at him. “That Gaoxing has been rated one of the best places to live in the entire world several years in a row would argue that you’re doing something right.”
He couldn’t help a beam of pride for his people.