When he arrives, the table has already been set--two places and tea enough for the both of them. Blue sips thoughtfully from one of the cups, gaze shifting from the aforementioned lazy blimps to meet his look of curious greeting. Any other day, she might have smugly observed the ease at which he allowed himself to be summoned--but today she offers only a wan smile.

"Kind of you to join me."

She means it, genuinely. He could have decided it wasn't worth his time, and she wouldn't have pressed; but she would have been worse off for it. He must have at least an inkling of what this discussion might entail--of what it might mean to her, to have him seated across from her with the willingness to listen. And perhaps to understand that even this much is difficult, for her.

Or maybe he already knows what she's about to say. Maybe Li Lianhua has already prepped him with the specifics of what she confessed to him, and he's only here to corroborate the details. It is a pretty fantastical thing to believe, invites a healthy degree of skepticism. And Li Lianhua is a known liar, after all.

She closes her eyes against the thoughts crowding her head, more densely packed than the market streets below them. It won't make this any easier on her, to speculate about the man sitting across the table from her, already present and waiting. With resignation, she opens her eyes again and sets the cup of tea down on the table.

"If there's anything you'd like with your tea, tell me now and I'll have it ordered. If not, then I have a story for you."