irritating indifference, not just with the clothes, but in general.Most of all, I was bothered by his failure to appreciate me. I began wondering whether I wanted to see him again.
I tried falling back to sleep after Lan Yu left but couldnât. When I finally got out of bed at nine, I went to the office, where I told Liu Zheng and my secretary that if Lan Yu called I wasnât in. Fortunately, I hadnât given him my cell phone number.
Days passed and we had no contact. I thought about calling him, especially when I was hornyâwhich was oftenâbut I always resisted.
In December I had to go to Czechoslovakia for business. I wasnât eager for the trip because I hated flyingâmy friends used to joke that I was an old man who needed to catch up with the timesâbut I ended up going through with it, in part because I was going stir-crazy in Beijing. Before leaving for the trip, I finally broke up with Hao Mei, whose big ass was getting to be like candy to a child: eat too much of it and you get sick. When I told her it was over she said little in response. She had never been the kind of girl who liked to argue. Ironically, her silence only made it that much more difficult to dump her.
I stayed in Czechoslovakia for six days, signing contracts, meeting with associates, and handling some goods that had been detained in customs. I had planned on staying a couple of extra days to see if I could meet some Czech guys, but I was terrified of diseases, which I knew were so common in Europe, and ended up getting cold feet at the last minute. Thatâs when I decided to do something bold. I saw my associates off when they returned to China, then flew to Hong Kong, where I spent a few weeks. I was more comfortable there than in Europe. In Hong Kong I was adept at navigating the cityâs pleasure-seeking underbelly.
In mid-January I flew back to Beijing. I hadnât forgotten about Lan Yu, but I didnât mention him to Liu Zheng or to anybody else.
The New Year came unusually late that year. By the end of January, my employees were getting antsy and counting the days before the weeklong holiday, which wasnât due to arrive for almost three more weeks. Business was slow, and I often sat at my window watching the festive atmosphere outside.
Beijing. A city of contrasts. Clean and orderly but always with a pervasive bustle of activity. Children bundled up in scarves and thick padded gloves stomped through the snow carrying hot, steaming rows of candied hawthorn fruit on wooden sticks. Grown-ups rushed headlong into the wind, clutching at their collars to cover their throats. Everywhere you looked, students and migrant workers bustled in the street, carrying little bags or struggling with big ones as they traveled here and there for Chinaâs most important holiday.
I shut my office door and returned to the window, where I looked outside and saw two tiny snowmen perched on the hood of a car. They were about as high as a ruler and had little eyes and mouths made out of twigs and rocks. A smashed up cigarette butt stuck out of one of their faces; the other had a little red ribbon tied around its neck. It was hard to tell if they were supposed to be two men or a man and a woman. I leaned back into my chair, absorbing the serene snowy scene outside and thinking: Lan Yu must be getting ready to go home right now.
Five
âI saw Lan Yu this morning,â Liu Zheng said matter-of-factly as he handed me a stack of paperwork. I had returned from Hong Kong just the day before. The announcement came out of nowhere.
âWhat? Where?â My heart jumped.
âYou know the company Fan Haiguo started up near Zhongguan Village? Heâs working over there.â Zhongguan Village was Beijingâs hi-tech district. Everyone called it Chinaâs Silicon Valley.
âThatâs strange,â I said. âWouldnât he have gone home to celebrate the New Year with his
I tried falling back to sleep after Lan Yu left but couldnât. When I finally got out of bed at nine, I went to the office, where I told Liu Zheng and my secretary that if Lan Yu called I wasnât in. Fortunately, I hadnât given him my cell phone number.
Days passed and we had no contact. I thought about calling him, especially when I was hornyâwhich was oftenâbut I always resisted.
In December I had to go to Czechoslovakia for business. I wasnât eager for the trip because I hated flyingâmy friends used to joke that I was an old man who needed to catch up with the timesâbut I ended up going through with it, in part because I was going stir-crazy in Beijing. Before leaving for the trip, I finally broke up with Hao Mei, whose big ass was getting to be like candy to a child: eat too much of it and you get sick. When I told her it was over she said little in response. She had never been the kind of girl who liked to argue. Ironically, her silence only made it that much more difficult to dump her.
I stayed in Czechoslovakia for six days, signing contracts, meeting with associates, and handling some goods that had been detained in customs. I had planned on staying a couple of extra days to see if I could meet some Czech guys, but I was terrified of diseases, which I knew were so common in Europe, and ended up getting cold feet at the last minute. Thatâs when I decided to do something bold. I saw my associates off when they returned to China, then flew to Hong Kong, where I spent a few weeks. I was more comfortable there than in Europe. In Hong Kong I was adept at navigating the cityâs pleasure-seeking underbelly.
In mid-January I flew back to Beijing. I hadnât forgotten about Lan Yu, but I didnât mention him to Liu Zheng or to anybody else.
The New Year came unusually late that year. By the end of January, my employees were getting antsy and counting the days before the weeklong holiday, which wasnât due to arrive for almost three more weeks. Business was slow, and I often sat at my window watching the festive atmosphere outside.
Beijing. A city of contrasts. Clean and orderly but always with a pervasive bustle of activity. Children bundled up in scarves and thick padded gloves stomped through the snow carrying hot, steaming rows of candied hawthorn fruit on wooden sticks. Grown-ups rushed headlong into the wind, clutching at their collars to cover their throats. Everywhere you looked, students and migrant workers bustled in the street, carrying little bags or struggling with big ones as they traveled here and there for Chinaâs most important holiday.
I shut my office door and returned to the window, where I looked outside and saw two tiny snowmen perched on the hood of a car. They were about as high as a ruler and had little eyes and mouths made out of twigs and rocks. A smashed up cigarette butt stuck out of one of their faces; the other had a little red ribbon tied around its neck. It was hard to tell if they were supposed to be two men or a man and a woman. I leaned back into my chair, absorbing the serene snowy scene outside and thinking: Lan Yu must be getting ready to go home right now.
Five
âI saw Lan Yu this morning,â Liu Zheng said matter-of-factly as he handed me a stack of paperwork. I had returned from Hong Kong just the day before. The announcement came out of nowhere.
âWhat? Where?â My heart jumped.
âYou know the company Fan Haiguo started up near Zhongguan Village? Heâs working over there.â Zhongguan Village was Beijingâs hi-tech district. Everyone called it Chinaâs Silicon Valley.
âThatâs strange,â I said. âWouldnât he have gone home to celebrate the New Year with his
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