Read Online The Nine Fold Heaven by Mingmei Yip - Free Book Online

drowning in the Seine. When my little Jinjin, whom I’d never met, came into my dreams to comfort me. But now only three months later, they had vanished. Were they all hiding in this sleepless city—or were some already residing with the King of Hell?
    Remembering, I sang with such passion and depth that they even surprised me.
    When I finished, enthusiastic applause broke out, and for the first time in months I had the thrill of being the center of attention again. Bowing and scanning the audience, I saw Edward clapping especially loudly, looking like a teenage boy struck by the lightning called “love.” Now I had no doubt that he had fallen for me. A pretty orphan with a beautiful voice.
    At a corner, Emily and little Henry smiled happily as they clapped. I caught tidbits of conversation from the few in the front table.
    “Who is this Chinese girl?”
    “She’s so good; how come we’ve never heard of her?”
    “How did our new Consul General find her to bring her here?”
    But instead of enjoying the attention, I could only hope these rich and privileged foreigners would forget about me soon after the party.
    Edward spoke up. “Now some Chinese songs please, Miss Chen.”
    All the guest ganged up with him. “Yes, we want Chinese songs!”
    Someone shouted, “What about ‘A Wandering Songstress’?”
    I felt a wave of anxiety. Was it coincidence this man asked for my signature song, or had he seen through my disguise?
    I smiled coyly to the audience. “Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t think the orchestra plays anything Chinese.”
    But I was wrong.
    The young conductor piped up. “We can do a few, at least the ‘Wandering Songstress’ and ‘Nighttime Shanghai.’ ”
    Someone exclaimed, “Sing it!”
    Since I didn’t have a choice now, I again rooted my qi in my dantian and filled every word with a bittersweet melancholy.

    At the edge of the sky and farthest corner of the sea,
    I search and search . . .
    My love, I remember you played the fiddle as I sang.
    In the days when we were of one heart and one mind.
    Now I long for my homeland, in the far north.
    Tears streak down my hollow cheeks,
    Thinking of our happier days together. . . .

    Singing, I watched Edward’s mesmerized expression and the happy faces on the others. Then I segued into “Nighttime Shanghai” to bring my performance to a cheerful climax.
    As I was completely immersed in my singing, suddenly a light flashed from the audience, blinding my eyes. Distracted, I made a wrong note. Fortunately, most people turned to see where the flash came from and didn’t seem to notice my mistake.
    Finally, I finished. As I bowed, the audience shouted out for more.
    But Edward stood up and said, “Ladies and gentleman, let’s thank Miss Jasmine Chen for her wonderful performance and now let her rest so we can all eat?”
    A few still called out for an encore, but soon everyone was eating and absorbed in their chatter. Edward came up to me, took my arm, and steered me through the crowd, past a grand living room into another spacious room filled with books.
    “Jasmine, what can I say? Tonight you conquered everyone’s heart.”
    I smiled but said nothing.
    “Jasmine . . .” He paused, looking uneasy.
    “Yes?”
    “I would like to know you more.”
    I didn’t respond, and he went on. “I can tell from your singing that you’ve suffered immensely. And I hope you can trust me enough to open up your heart. Of course I don’t mean now since we’ve just gotten to know each other. But I hope we can be friends.”
    Again, I smiled but didn’t respond.
    He lifted my hand and pressed his lips against it. “I can tell you’re exhausted not by your singing, but by the emotions the songs brought back to you. You don’t need to go back to the orphanage tonight; you’re welcome to spend the night here. There are ten guest rooms and I can ask Abigail to prepare one for you. If not, I can take you home. But then you have to wait for a while