Shanghai Story

by Alexa Kang

  That wasn’t true, Clark thought. His current job wasn’t a diversion to pass the time until he felt ready to take on his responsibilities at home. What he was doing for the Foreign Affairs Bureau and the KMT had an impact. And if he were in a family where the siblings were hooking hearts and butting horns like Cao’s, he would definitely leave it all behind and venture out to build his own career. He’d be too proud to have his brothers step all over him. He wouldn’t wait around hoping to receive a hand-out of scraps. Anyhow, he wouldn’t want to harm the peace among siblings over money and property.

  “The way Jun-Jie’s been treated isn’t fair.” Kai-Lin spread her elbows out on the armrests. “He’s entitled to his equal share.”

  Clark decided to keep quiet. No point in him giving his opinion on this matter. He didn’t know these people well enough. All he knew was, he already didn’t like this girl Kai-Lin. And why didn’t this Cao show some backbone and say something?

  “Don’t gripe,” Shen Yi said to Kai-Lin. “At least you know he has deep feelings for you. Guo-hui, you should’ve seen how hard Jun-Jie went after Kai-Lin. She didn’t accept him at first, but he never gave up. He sent her flowers every day for a whole year. Every week he’d write a new poem for her. When she said she wanted a puppy, he got her a poodle. On her last birthday, he sent her twelve dozen red roses and a tiered birthday cake.”

  A satisfied smile came to Kai-Lin’s face. “Jun-Jie does know how to be romantic. Eh, Jun-Jie. Why don’t you teach Yuan Guo-Hui a few tricks and make Shen Yi happy?”

  Clark tried to keep his expression cordial, although talk of him and Shen Yi was making him incredibly uneasy.

  Luckily, Jun-Jie didn’t take it further. “Yuan Da Ge doesn’t need me. Shen Yi’s already wholeheartedly committed to him.”

  Clark reached out for the cognac and poured himself a large glass. He needed it to get through the afternoon.

  “On a more serious matter,” Shen Yi said, “Guo-Hui, your mother told me to chide you. It’s time to quit your job outside. Being a diplomat—”

  “I’m not a diplomat, I’m a foreign affairs agent.”

  Shen Yi paused and wrinkled her forehead, but then waved her hand. “I don’t know the difference. It’s not important anyhow. As I was saying, your job outside is prestigious, but your parents want you to come back and work for the family. You need to respect their wishes. You’ve had your chance to try working outside to see what it’s like. It’s enough. Now it’s time to take up what you should be doing.” She finished her tea and put the empty cup on the saucer.

  Clark squared his shoulders. To say he felt irritated was an understatement. Chide him? They weren’t even close to being officially married. How could Shen Yi think she could talk to him this way and take that kind of tone with him? Publicly too. And since when did she have the right to tell him what he should or should not do? Besides, what did she know about whether it was enough? He’d only been on the job for a few months.

  The loud vroom of a car engine rumbled in the courtyard. A light blue, tank-shaped race car zoomed up the driveway and stopped in front of the mansion. Even Clark had to give the machine a second look. This was no ordinary motor vehicle.

  “It’s Ce-Xi,” Shen Yi said. “Do you remember my cousin, Luo Ce-Xi?” she asked Clark.

  Honestly, Clark couldn’t remember. If they had met, it must have been a long time ago.

  “What girl did he bring this time?” Shen Yi squinted in their direction. “I’ve never seen her before.”

  The young man, Ce-Xi, pushed his way inside as the maidservant opened the door. He almost slammed it into the poor woman. Without apologizing, he barged in, holding the hand of a girl who was wearing heavy make-up and a qipao with see-through fabric on the shoulders. She looked about the same age as Mei Mei.

  “How’s everyone?” Ce-Xi asked. “Come take a look at my new car. It’s a Bugatti 57G,” he said with a wide grin while the girl behind him gazed wide-eyed at the decor and furniture of the terrace and interior of the house.

  “Seriously? You really bought it?” asked Cao Jun-Jie.

  “Of course! You thought I was kidding?”

  “Come on, let’s take a look.” Jun-Jie tossed his head at the front door. Kai-Lin and Shen Yi exchanged a glance and followed him out. Noticing that no one had acknowledged the girl Luo Ce-Xi had brought with him, Clark politely nodded at her. Immediately, Shen Yi glared at the girl. “Guo-Hui,” she called out to Clark. “Come with me.”

  Clark’s irritation returned as he followed them out. When they got to the car, Ce-Xi slapped the hood. “It’s the one and only in Shanghai.”

  What could a person do with this car in this city? Clark thought to himself. He didn’t keep up with the latest car models like some other men did, but the 57G was a true race car. The kind that competed at the ACF Grand Prix. In a city with congested traffic like Shanghai, this car was a waste. Unfortunately, Shanghai didn’t have good freeways outside of the city like those in Europe or America that would suit the use of a car like this. And where would one take it if the car needed parts replacement and servicing? Were there even mechanics here who could fix it if something broke down?

  “Very impressive.” Jun-Jie circled around the car. “Can I take it for a ride?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Ce-Xi hesitated, then threw him the key. “Don’t go too far. Stay within the block.”

  Jun-Jie caught the key. “Understood.” He shouted to his girlfriend. “Kai-Lin, want to try?”

  Kai-Lin strutted into the car and the two of them drove off. While Ce-Xi and his companion watched Jun-Jie drive away, Shen Yi tugged Clark’s sleeve. “Do you like that car?”

  “It’s very nice. Unique. A treasure, I’m sure,” he said to be polite. They were within earshot of Ce-Xi.

  “Let’s buy one,” she said.

  “What?”

  “We’ll buy a car like that and we can have something unique too. You can drive me around the city and everyone will be jealous.”

  Clark couldn’t even entertain the idea of it. Instead of replying, he held out his hand to her cousin. “Ce-Xi, no one has introduced us yet. I’m Yuan Guo-Hui.”

  “Ah, yes!” Ce-Xi shook his hand. “How are you? Oh, I almost forgot.” He glanced sideways at his companion. “This is Ye Ting. She’s Lianhua Studio’s newest rising star.”

  “Rising star?” Shen Yi gave the girl a once over. “I’ve never heard of you.”

  “You will soon!” said Ce-Xi. “I’m financing her next movie. I’m going to make her a star.” He bent his head and said to Ye Ting, “Hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  “There’s food on the terrace. I can see it. Go help yourself to whatever you want.”

  Ye Ting eagerly nodded and zipped to the terrace. After she left, Shen Yi glared at Ce-Xi. “Why did you bring her here?”

  “Why not?” Ce-Xi shrugged. “You said to bring whoever I want.”

  “I didn’t say you could bring an actress.” She wrinkled her nose. “Look at her. Where did she come from? The countryside? Kai-Lin and I are refined daughters of big reputable families. You can’t expect us to mingle with her kind.”

  “So what? It’s one afternoon. There’s no one else here anyway. We’re with our own people.”

  “Where did you get the idea of funding her next film? You don’t know anything about movie production.”

  “Then I’ll learn. Like they say, the sea of learning has no border.” Ce-Xi grinned. “Besides, movie is art, right? I’ll be patronizing art creation.”

  Shen Yi crossed her arms and sneered. Clark looked at Ye Ting. The starlet was picking up pieces of cake and cookies with her fingers, taking one bite of each and discarding the rest onto the plates the other had used. He put his hands in his pants pockets and decided to stay out of it.

  The Bugatti pulled back up the drive. Its engine roared. Jun-Jie and Kai-Lin got out of the car, and Jun-Jie gave the keys back to Ce-Xi.

  “How was it?” Ce-Xi ask
ed. “What do you think?”

  “Incredible.” Jun-Jie gave it a thumbs-up. “What did you do with your old Mercedes?”

  Ce-Xi made a face, turning down the corners of his lips. “Got bored with it. You can’t keep something like a race car for too long. The technology and style get old. This new one drives exactly the way I like.”

  Shen Yi had lost interest in the car talk. She glared at her cousin and rolled her eyes at Ye Ting on the terrace. “Kai-Lin, come with me. I want to show you the new Chanel dresses I bought.”

  Kai-Lin peeked at Ye Ting and smirked. “Very well. We’ll go take a look.” Arm-in-arm, the two of them left the front of the house.

  Ce-Xi threw up his hand. “Let them go. They won’t care about this later when we’re gone.” He looked over at Ye Ting. “What do you two think?” he asked with a lascivious smile. “Pretty?”

  Clark didn’t feel it was appropriate to comment. Jun-Jie, however, answered, “She’s passable. A little thin for my taste.”

  “Her skills in bed are excellent,” Ce-Xi whispered. “A girl like her is so easy. A few dinners at grand restaurants. A ride in a sports car she’s never seen. They don’t know real money so to them these are already a lot. Add a few pieces of jewelry, and dozens of them would gift themselves to you at the door.”

  “Are you seriously planning to finance her next movie?” Jun-Jie asked.

  “Of course. I never back out on my word. She can indeed sing well and act. If she becomes famous, I’d have already had her before anyone else.” He walked toward the terrace. “Ye Ting. Want to see the rest of the house? There’s a garden outside. Take some of that bread. There’s a small pond. You can feed the fish.”

  “Really?” The little actress smiled, exposing the half-chewed food in her mouth. “I want to see.”

  “Come on then.”

  She wiped her lips and joined Ce-Xi. They walked to the back of the house with his hand slipping down her hip. Clark frowned and looked away. He made a mental note to avoid Ce-Xi in the future.

  “Want another drink?” Jun-Jie asked.

  “Yes,” Clark said. Another cognac might help him stomach this whole scene.

  Back on the terrace, Jun-Jie poured them each a glass of the spirit. “I hope you’ll excuse Kai-Lin airing all those embarrassing things about my family earlier.”

  “No problem,” Clark muttered and shook his head to affirm it didn’t matter to him.

  Jun-Jie took a swig of his drink. “The truth is, there’s no point in me wrestling power from my brothers. My father has a will. When he dies, I’ll get a share. Right now, at my family’s company, I’m passing time until I marry her. Why would she want me to work anywhere else anyway? Her family has one of the biggest weaving and fabric manufacturing businesses here. They only have one daughter and that’s her. They’ll be needing someone to take over the business.”

  What bold assumptions, Clark thought. He and Kai-Lin weren’t even engaged yet. “Are you planning to propose to her?”

  “That is certain.” Jun-Jie lit another cigarette.

  Clark gave him an amiable smile. Who was he to judge Jun-Jie? At least he had true feelings for his girlfriend. Shen Yi said Jun-Jie had gone hard after Kai-Lin. Even if he was greedy and presumptuous, at least he would have a marriage based on real feelings between the two of them.

  Sadly, this wasn’t the case at all.

  “I’m not giving up marrying her after chasing her for three years,” Jun-Jie said. “All that work. She’s so hard to please. If she didn’t have her family behind her, tell me who would put up with her air and temper? Dozens of guys tried and they all gave up. I’ve put up with it for this long, it’s my reward to reap.”

  “And you’re willing to be with her for life? What if after a few years, you’re not happy and she’s not happy.”

  Jun-Jie gave it a dismissive wave. “She’ll never be happy anyway. We’ll get married, have a couple of legitimate kids. If I’m not happy, I’ll take up a second wife and even a third wife. For a man, three wives and four concubines are very common. I’ll be managing her family’s business for her, making sure she lives a good, wealthy life. She’ll thank me in the end.”

  Clark clasped his hands. This way of thinking baffled him.

  “Anyway, watch how jealous my brothers will get when they see me marry the daughter of Su Yao-Qun. My father will be impressed. Watch him leave me another fifty, sixty thousand dollars for bringing home a daughter-in-law he can boast about. Here, cheers.” Jun-Jie held his glass up for a toast.

  “Cheers,” Clark mumbled. The entire conversation depressed him. Cao Jun-Jie, Luo Ce-Xi, Su Kai-Lin. These were the people everyone expected to be his peers? If he married Shen Yi, would it mean he’d be surrounded by people like them for the rest of his life? He felt like he was watching his entire life ahead unfold before him.

  Ye Ting’s laughter passed through in the living room. Ce-Xi had shown her one wing of the house and was now taking her to the other side. Jun-Jie looked at them and sneered. “She’s just a so-so piece of goods. Ce-Xi’s taste is awful.” He leaned closer to Clark and lowered his voice. “If you want to know where the real beauties are, I’ll take you to the Ruby Nightclub. It’s a fine place. They have the best sing-song girls there.”

  It took a moment for Jun-Jie’s suggestion to sink in. At the same time, Clark wasn’t surprised. His proposal was so shocking and yet so predictable. “Aren’t you worried Kai-Lin might find out?”

  Jun-Jie patted him on the arm with the back of his hand. “We’re men. How else could things be? Anyway, you don’t tell, I don’t tell, then there’ll be no problem. Women. Buy them another piece of jewelry and a dozen roses, romance them a little and don’t let them lose face. They’ll gladly leave one eye open and one eye closed.”

  “Is that right?” Clark raised the cognac to his mouth. A wave of disgust rolled in his gut. Maybe the alcohol could cleanse the vile decrepitude of souls he had to witness today. He finished his cognac and checked his watch. “I have to find Shen Yi and say goodbye. I’ve got somewhere else to be this afternoon.”

  Jun-Jie didn’t try to convince him to stay. “It’s good to meet you. We’ll see each other next time. And I’m serious about the Ruby Nightclub. Come find me if you’re interested.”

  Clark nodded and got up. He couldn’t say the same. It had not been good meeting Jun-Jie or any one of them. If this was the society of people he’d have to take up with if he married Shen Yi, he’d rather not marry. Ever.

  Following the sound of the women’s voices, Clark came to the sitting room where Shen Yi and her friend Kai-Lin had retreated to exclude the starlet Shen Yi’s cousin had brought. He put his hand in his suit jacket pocket and felt the jewelry box containing the jade and gold bracelet his mother had directed him to bring. Duty. He had to give this to Shen Yi out of duty.

  He knocked lightly on the door. “Shen Yi.”

  “Guo-Hui?” Shen Yi looked up with a bright smile. “Have you come to join us? Good. I didn’t want to ask you to leave the men and be with us women, but good thing you could see we can’t mix with a worker actress. Come. Sit with us. We were just talking about the new amusement park Ce-Xi’s father is building. I heard it’ll be as good as the one the foreigners built for themselves at the racetrack. We’ll be able to enjoy all the same things the foreigners have when it opens.”

  “Er, actually, I need to take my leave. I came to say goodbye,” Clark said, remaining at the door.

  “Already? You haven’t been here that long. We haven’t even served the mango pudding yet. Our cook makes the best, silkiest mango pudding. Don’t you want to try it?”

  “Thank you, but I can’t,” Clark said. His hand still in his pocket, he wrapped it around the jewelry box. His mother’s voice echoed in his ear.

  Tell her this is a gift from you.

  His chest constricted and his stomach tightened. He didn’t want to tell that to Shen Yi. He couldn’t.

  “Where do you have to g
o?” Shen Yi asked.

  “I have to meet Tang Wei.” He gave her the first excuse that came to his head. “He called me earlier today. He said we have something important to discuss.” He squeezed his hand around the jewelry box.

  Shen Yi’s face fell. “In that case, will you come see me again soon?”

  “I’ll try.” It was all he could promise without lying. “I’ll definitely try.” He swallowed. “Also, my mother has a present she told me to bring along for you,” he said. The words just came out. He couldn’t bring himself to say what his mother told him to say.

  “What is it?” Shen Yi got up from her seat. Clark took the jewelry box out and gave it to her. Shen Yi accepted. She smiled at Kai-Lin and opened the box. “Wah! So expensive and elegant.” She held up the bracelet. “Look,” she said to Kai-Lin.

  “Let me see.” Kai-Lin came and took the bracelet from Shen Yi and examined it. “It’s very beautiful. Older folks really do give a lot of heart and thought when they pick out gifts.”

  “Thank you,” Shen Yi said to Clark. “Please help me thank Auntie Yuan then. Tell her I really like it.”

  “I will.” Clark nodded. “I should go,” he muttered.

  “See you next time,” the girls said in a chorus.

  “See you again,” Clark said and hurried out of the house. Trouble was brewing ahead. He failed to do what his mother had asked. His mother would surely hear about this later when Shen Yi called her to thank her in person, and she would be upset when she found out.

  The crisp autumn air struck his face when he stepped outside, clearing away some of the oppression he was feeling all afternoon. He let out a deep breath and followed the breeze, wanting to grasp its trail of freedom and wishing for it to last. Inside, he knew this could not continue. This charade of an engagement was bad enough. If he let it go on, he’d be bound to a life that would become a charade of a marriage too. Maybe men like Jun-Jie could live this way. In China, there were thousands and thousands of Jun-Jies for whom marriage would only bind them by form. It would not bind their person, and they could freely do what they wanted behind the facade. He couldn’t. His heart was crying out for a rescue. His soul was screaming to be freed.