The Goddess of Yantai

by Ian Hamilton

  Fai shook her head. “I can’t answer those questions. In fact, I can hardly keep up with them.”

  “We’re going to have to talk to Xia. Where does he work?”

  “Beijing. His office is a stone’s throw from the Syndicate’s offices.”

  “That’s convenient.”

  “It’s practical. The Syndicate generates about sixty or seventy per cent of his agency’s income, one way or another. Why not be as close as you can to them. Chen’s office is in a building only a few hundred metres farther away from the Syndicate’s.”

  “Well, we need to talk to Mr. Xia.”

  “That won’t be easy to arrange. His schedule is likely to be booked solid.”

  “You’ll have to make the call. You need to get him to agree to meet with us today. We’re running out of time and I don’t want to wait until a more professional group of thugs pays us a home visit or we have to start collecting ten million renminbi,” Ava said. “We finally have a solid lead. We can’t afford to sit on it.”

  “What if he won’t take my call?”

  “I can’t imagine any agent would reject a call from the country’s biggest movie star.”

  “What if we do talk but he won’t give us a meeting as fast as you want?”

  “Then we’ll go to his office or we’ll go to his home or we’ll crash whatever party or dinner he’s at tonight,” Ava said. “But getting an appointment is our best option by far.”

  “What can I use as an excuse for a meeting?”

  “Tell him you’re tired of working with Chen. Tell him you’re prepared to switch agencies.”

  “Ava, he’s plugged in at the Syndicate. He may have heard that I have issues with them. He might not think I’m that attractive an acquisition right now.”

  Ava sighed. “Tell him whatever you think he might want to hear most.”

  “I could say that I’ve got some big offers from the U.S. I’ll tell him I’m finally ready to make that jump but I want new management to negotiate and close the deal. I’ll say I’ve lost confidence in Chen’s ability to take on something that important.”

  “I like the way that sounds,” Ava said.

  “Okay, that’s what I’ll dangle.”

  “Do you have his number?”

  “No, but it’s easy enough to get.”

  “Do you want to call him from here or outside in the hallway?”

  “I’ll go outside,” Fai said, looking at Lau Lau, who seemed to have mentally wandered off again.

  Ava waited until Fai had left the room before she grabbed Lau Lau’s knee and dug her fingers into nerves along the sides. He jumped, pain registering across his face. She didn’t let go but eased up on the pressure. “I want you to look at me. I want to be sure that you’re hearing me and that you understand what I’m saying.”

  “I hear you.”

  “Good. I’m going to leave this twenty thousand with you. Tomorrow, if your story checks out, I’ll have the other thirty thousand and our copy of the DVD delivered to you here.”

  “You didn’t set any conditions for the other thirty thousand,” he protested.

  “Be serious,” she said. “You can’t expect me to give you the money if you lied to me, can you?”

  “No, I guess not.”

  She smiled encouragingly at him. He seemed to be having a moment of lucidity, which made her more confident that he hadn’t lied to her. “But let me change the subject. I watched The Air We Breathe with Fai last night. It’s a fantastic movie, on so many levels. Do you have any ideas for another film that isn’t kung-fu crap?”

  “I think about films all the time. I see them in my head and I make them there. I’ve got three or four of them shot. All I need is a camera and a crew and I could shoot any of them in less than a month.”

  “Would those films in your head ever be shown in China?”

  He smiled. “Not this China. They’d be banned for sure, and that’s why I’ll never get the chance to make them.”

  “What if someone gave you the money and said they didn’t care about the Chinese market? What if they told you to go ahead and make the film you want and they’d worry about the marketing and distribution? Could you still make a film that would break hearts, make people cry, make them think?”

  “Don’t mess with me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “I couldn’t make a film to suit Western tastes. I’m Chinese to my soul. The films I dream about making are about the people I know and this insane fucking system they’re forced to live in. I hate the system, but I understand it and I can’t bring myself to escape it.”

  “What if someone made it possible for you to make the kind of films you want to make? No restrictions. Are you still capable of doing that? Could you actually finish?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, staring at her as if seeing her for the first time. “I have problems. Everyone knows what they are.”

  “What if we could find someone to help you with those problems?”

  “You are messing with me.”

  The door to the room opened and a smiling Fai stood there. “We have an appointment with Xia at five o’clock — in two hours,” she said.

  “Great work,” Ava said, and turned back to Lau Lau. “We have a deal. Don’t break it, please. No phone calls, no texts. Stay here nice and quiet, and with any luck, by this time tomorrow you’ll have another thirty thousand and the DVD.”

  “I’m not stupid,” he said.

  Ava stood and walked to the door. She looked at her training paints and her ripped jacket. “Do I have time to change? I don’t want to meet Xia dressed like this.”

  “We have time, as long as traffic isn’t a nightmare,” Fai said, and then gestured in the direction of Lau Lau. “What were you two discussing so intently?”

  “We were talking about resurrecting his career.”

  “Is that a joke?”

  “No.”

  ( 45 )

  Traffic was bad but not a nightmare, and they managed to get back to the house, change, and arrive in front of the building that housed Xia’s agency at ten minutes to five. The building was like most of those that crowded the Chaoyang central business district — about forty storeys of glass and steel without any real character or any attempt at architectural originality.

  Ava and Fai had been chatting constantly from the time they left Lau Lau until the taxi pulled up at Xia’s office tower. Fai did most of the actual talking as Ava asked question after question about Xia Jun, his relationship with Chen, and the structure of their business.

  Several things surprised Ava about the conversation. First, the two men seemed to be polar opposites. Chen, as Ava knew from meeting him and Fai’s various comments about him, was a bit of a dandy, slippery in the way he operated, and a man who talked a lot about trust but rarely extended it — and didn’t warrant getting it. Fai’s description of Xia couldn’t have been more different. He was, as Lau Lau had said, very conservative, in both dress and manner. In a business filled with ego and narcissism, he was low-key and understated, and in people used to hyperbole, this attitude generated a level of trust that was hard to justify rationally.

  “Justify rationally?” Ava said when Fai made that remark. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Just because he doesn’t blow smoke up people’s asses and doesn’t exaggerate and under-promises, that doesn’t make him a saint,” Fai said. “He’s been in this business his whole adult life, and he worked for Chen for more than ten years. He has survived — no, make that thrived — in a business that is cutthroat, and you don’t accomplish that by being Mr. Nice Guy all the time.”

  Fai was making that remark as they exited the taxi, and then she pointed to the right. “Chen’s office is over there, a ten-minute walk away. The Syndicate is a five-minute walk. Everyone is close — nice and cozy.”<
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  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Ava said, Fai’s words reminding her that she was an interloper trying to operate in someone else’s world. There were unspoken rules and unwritten codes that she wasn’t privy to, and she was certain there were also understandings and alliances that were tightly held.

  “You look very professional,” Fai said as they walked to the entrance. “It’s a look that should appeal to Xia.”

  “Why, thank you. And I have to say that you look absolutely glamorous.”

  “It’s amazing what a little makeup, some jewellery, high heels, and a tight dress can do,” Fai said. “It’s all part of the show, you know. You can’t disappoint your public.”

  The building lobby was busy and they had to circumvent a throng of people, all of them in a hurry, to reach the security desk. Just before they got there, a voice said, “Ms. Pang,” and an elegantly dressed young woman came towards them.

  “My name is Zeng Chun. Mr. Xia asked me to escort you to his office,” she said in a deferential voice, her head lowered.

  “That’s very kind of you,” Fai said.

  “It’s a tremendous honour,” Zeng said, and turned and motioned towards a bank of elevators.

  Ava and Fai followed her and then stood and waited for an elevator to arrive. It was a strange experience for Ava. She had grown accustomed to being with a casually dressed Fai in places like the hutong, where no one made a fuss. Now, as they waited for the elevator, it seemed that everyone recognized her. No one spoke to or approached Fai, but Ava could feel that every eye was on them, and she could see people whispering and pointing.

  When an elevator arrived, Fai got in first and pressed into a back corner. Ava stood to one side and a bit in front of her. Zeng took the other side. They rode to the eighth floor, and when the elevator stopped and Zeng said, “Excuse us, but we need to get off here,” the crowd evacuated almost completely so that Fai could leave without being troubled or jostled.

  Zeng led them down a carpeted hallway to a set of wooden doors. The name xia was on one door in gold metal, and on the other was a carved metal depiction of a red monkey. Ava assumed that the monkey was Xia’s zodiac sign, and tried to remember the sign’s characteristics. Until Ava was in her late teens, her mother Jennie had bought the massively detailed annual zodiac guides that were published for Chinese New Year, and she would read aloud from them at breakfast. The monkey, Ava recalled, was smart, wily, and vigilant. Its sign was the start of the metal cycle, which might explain Xia’s name being painted gold. Gold was supposed to accrue to the red monkey, but it was also attached to water, which implied wisdom.

  When they got to the double doors, Zeng turned right and walked about ten metres to an unmarked single door. She knocked, the door opened, and another elegant young woman stood before them. She bowed to Fai. “It is such a privilege to meet you,” she said. “Mr. Xia is waiting.”

  The door led into a small outer office that contained a desk, two padded chairs, and several credenzas, all in rosewood. The wooden floor was covered by a thick pale blue carpet. The walls were decorated with paintings, prints, and lithographs that depicted the red monkey in various forms. The woman led them to yet another door, knocked, and stepped back to let them enter first.

  From Fai’s description, Ava had a picture of Xia in her mind. The man who stood in front of her fitted it quite well. He was close to six feet and slim, with a full head of black hair that was combed straight back and fell slightly over the top of his ears. He was immaculately dressed in a grey suit, white shirt, and dark blue Ferragamo tie. The suit was light wool and looked tailored. She glanced at his feet and saw black Oxfords that could have been handmade.

  “It has been far too long, Fai,” he said. When he leaned forward to offer her a cleanly shaven cheek, Ava caught a whiff of cologne.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Jun,” Fai said.

  “And who is this young woman?” he said, looking at Ava.

  “Her name is Ava Lee. As I told you on the phone, she’s a friend who’s doubling as a personal assistant.”

  “Great to meet you, Ms. Lee,” Xia said.

  Ava knew he was somewhere in his late thirties or early forties — not that much older than her — so she wasn’t sure how to take his comment about being pleased to meet “this young woman.” She gave him the benefit of the doubt. “The pleasure is all mine,” she said.

  “Come in, come in,” he said, standing to one side. “Take a seat.”

  The office was three or four times larger than the outer one, but more spartan. There was nothing on the walls, the wooden floor wasn’t carpeted, and all the furniture was plainer. Ava looked at the round glass boardroom table surrounded by six leather director’s chairs, and at a black leather sofa and two matching seats. “Where do you want us to sit?” she said.

  “The sofa,” he said. “And before we settle down, can we get you something to drink? We have just about everything imaginable.”

  “I’m fine,” Fai said.

  “Me too,” said Ava.

  Xia nodded and then said to his assistant, “No phone calls.”

  Ava and Fai sat side by side on the sofa. Xia sat directly across from them, separated by a bare glass coffee table. The sofa was firm and quite high. When Ava sat back in it, her feet didn’t touch the ground. She leaned forward until they did.

  “Thanks for seeing us at such short notice,” Fai said.

  “I was understandably surprised to hear from you, but pleased, definitely pleased,” he said. “And it is gratifying to hear about the foreign opportunities. It’s about time that the markets outside China and Asia began to give you the recognition you deserve.”

  Fai turned away from Xia to glance at Ava, and then stared at him. “This is awkward,” she said.

  “I naturally assume that Chen doesn’t know you’ve contacted me,” he said. “But does he know about the foreign offers?”

  “No.”

  “And what is your contractual status with him?”

  “I haven’t looked at my contract in years.”

  “Fai, that has to be clarified. We don’t want to create a situation that could see either of us involved in a lawsuit with Chen.”

  “The situation we’re involved in goes well beyond the potential for a lawsuit,” Ava interrupted.

  “Pardon?” Xia said.

  “I’m sorry to butt in, and I apologize on behalf of Fai and myself for having asked for this meeting under false pretenses.”

  Xia looked at Fai and then at Ava. All she could see on his face was confusion. He has nothing to do with this, she thought.

  “Fai, what’s going on?” he asked.

  “I’m being blackmailed,” she said.

  He sat back in the seat, his hands pressed together in front of his face, his fingers covering his eyes. “Why? How?”

  “There’s a video of me in bed . . . with another woman.”

  His eyes closed and he shook his head. “Oh.”

  “Oh what?” Ava said.

  “I had almost completely forgotten about that.”

  “Well, someone hasn’t, because they have a copy of it and they’re asking for ten million renminbi to make it disappear,” Ava said. “However, I don’t believe there’s any amount of money that will make that happen.”

  “You don’t sound much like a personal assistant,” Xia said, looking at Ava.

  “I have some experience with this kind of extortion and the people who perpetrate it. Fai asked me to help out.”

  “Now it’s my turn to say this is awkward, and by that I don’t mean your involvement.”

  “I imagine the video’s existence is enough to make things awkward for everyone, but we still have to talk about it.”

  “Have you discussed it with Chen?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Why not?”


  “Things haven’t been very good between us,” Fai said. “We thought we’d be better off trying to handle this ourselves.”

  “But why come and see me?”

  “Because you have a role in this, and if we’re going to end it, we need your help,” Ava said.

  “How can I possibly help?”

  “You were the one who bought the video.”

  “Yes, I did,” he said without hesitation, and then stared at Fai. “I bought it to protect you. I was told there was only one copy, and I was assured that it had been destroyed.”

  “You bought it from Lau Lau?”

  “How do you know that?”

  “He told us.”

  “You and he are friends again?” Xia said to Fai.

  “Friendly enough.”

  “Yes, I bought it from him,” he said after a slight hesitation.

  “Then what did you do with it?” Ava said.

  “I gave it to Chen.”

  Fai gasped. It was the answer Ava had anticipated, and she realized she should have forewarned Fai. “And who assured you that it had been destroyed?”

  “Chen.”

  “Fuck,” said Fai.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Could Chen have given it to anyone else or made copies?” Ava asked.

  “Why on earth would he do that? Fai was — and is — his most valuable asset. He’d never put her at risk, and that video, as we all know, would have done more than that.”

  “But he could have kept it, not destroyed it?”

  “Of course he could have, but even if he did, what makes you believe he might be involved, directly or indirectly, in anything like this? It doesn’t make any sense. And I’m saying that as someone who detests Chen and would love to see him crash and burn,” Xia said to Ava. “Look, I’m still sitting here talking to you because I adore Fai. If I didn’t, I would have asked you to leave the second you mentioned blackmail. She’s the best film actress I’ve ever seen, in any language. She’s also one of the nicest people I’ve met in this business. I don’t want to see any harm come to her. But as much as I hate Chen, I still have trouble believing that he’d be involved in blackmailing his own client.”