He knocked at room 131, and Mrs. Xu opened the door to let them in. "Come and some have tea with us. We have a sit­ting room." Then she rang the bell to call for refreshments.
Mr. Xu came out of the bedroom and said, "I telephoned my friend Mr. Zhu, and he insists on throwing a party tonight to welcome us. He's invited us to the Hong Kong Hotel." He turned to Liuyuan. "Of course you're included."
"My, you've got a lot of energy," said Mrs. Xu. "After all those days seasick on the boat, shouldn't we go to bed early? Let's not go out tonight."
"The Hong Kong Hotel has the most old-fashioned ballroom I've ever seen," said Liuyuan. "Everything about the place-building, lights, decor, orchestra—is very English and, forty or fifty years ago, was very up-to-date. But nowadays it's not much of a draw. There's nothing to see there, except maybe the funny little waiters. Even on a very hot day, they wear those northern-style trousers, gathered tight at the ankles."
"Why?" asked Liusu.
"Chinese flavor!"
Mr. Xu laughed. "Well, since we're here we might as well go and have a look. Sorry, but you'll just have to keep us company!"
"I'm not sure I'm going, so don't wait for me."
Liuyuan seemed quite uninterested in going, while Mr. Xu, who was not in the habit of frequenting ballrooms, was un­usually excited, as if he truly wanted to introduce her to his friends. Liusu felt quite unsure about what was going on.
But when they got to the Hong Kong Hotel that night, the group that had gathered to welcome them was largely composed of old married couples. The few single men were all youths in their early twenties. While Liusu was dancing, Fan Liuyuan suddenly appeared and cut in on her partner. In the lychee-red light of the ballroom, she couldn't see his dark­ened face clearly, but she could tell that he was unusually with­drawn.
"Why so quiet?" she teased.
"Everything that can be said to a person's face, I've already said."
Liusu chuckled. "And just what is it that you sneak around and say behind a person's back?"
"There are some kinds of foolishness that you don't want other people to hear, don't even want yourself to hear. Even hearing yourself say it makes you feel embarrassed. For in­stance, I love you, I will love you for the rest of my life."
Liusu turned away and chided him softly. "Such nonsense!"
"If I don't say anything, you complain because I'm too quiet, but if I talk, you complain that I talk too much."
"Tell me," said Liusu, "why is it that you don't want me out on the dance floor?"
"Most men like to lead a woman astray, then make appeals to the bad woman's bad conscience, and reform her till she's good. I don't go around making so much work for myself. I think the important thing, for a good woman, is steady hon­esty."
Liusu gave him a sideways glance. "You think you're differ­ent from them? It seems to me you're just as selfish."
"Selfish? How?"
To herself, she thought: "Your idea of the perfect woman is someone who is pure and high-minded but still ready to flirt. The pure high-mindedness is for others, but the flirting is for you. If I were an entirely good woman, you would never have noticed me in the first place!"
She leaned her head to one side and said, "You want me to be good in front of others, but bad when I'm with you." Liuyuan thought for a moment. "I don't understand." Liusu explained again. "You want me to be bad to others,
but good only to you."
"Now you've turned it around again! You're just making me more confused."
He was silent for a while, then said, "What you're saying isn't so."
Liusu laughed. "Ah, so now you understand."
"I don't care if you're good or bad. I don't want you to change. It's not easy to find a real Chinese girl like you."
Liusu sighed softly. "I'm old-fashioned, that's all."
"Real Chinese women are the world's most beautiful women. They're never out of fashion."
"But for a modern man like you-"
"You say 'modern,' but what you probably mean is Western. It's true I am not a real Chinese. It's just that in the past few years I've become a little more like a Chinese. But you know, a foreigner who's become Chinese also becomes reactionary, more reactionary even than an old-fashioned scholar from the dynastic era."
Liusu laughed. "You're old-fashioned, and I'm old-fashioned. And you've already said that the Hong Kong Hotel is the most old-fashioned ballroom ever..."
They both laughed, and just then the music ended. Liuyuan led her back to her seat. He told the others that Miss Bai had a headache, and that he would see her home.
This was entirely unexpected. Liusu had no time to think, though she knew that she didn't want to cross him. They didn't know each other well enough to argue openly. So she let him help her with her coat, made her apologies all around, and went out with him.
Directly in their path a group of Western gentlemen stood clustered around a woman, like stars around the moon. Liusu first noticed the woman's long black hair; it had been done up in two long braids and then coiled on top of her head. She was Indian, and even in Western apparel, her aura was intensely Oriental. She was wearing a dark, sheer cape over a long, close-fitting gown, goldfish-red, that covered even her hands, leaving only her pearly fingernails exposed. The plunging neckline of her dress formed a narrow "V" all the way to her waist; it was the latest fashion from Paris, called ligne du ciel. Her complex­ion was rich and tawny, like a gold-plated Buddha, but a devil lurked in her dark eyes. Her nose was classically straight, though a bit too sharp and thin. Her mouth was small, with lips so pink and full they looked swollen.
Liuyuan stopped and made a slight bow in her direction. Liusu looked at the woman, and the hauteur with which the woman returned her gaze put a thousand miles between them.
Liuyuan introduced them. "This is Miss Bai. This is Princess Saheiyini."
Liusu couldn't help but be impressed. Saheiyini reached out and touched Liusu's hand with her fingertips. "Is Miss Bai from Shanghai?" she asked Liuyuan, who nodded. "She doesn't seem like someone from Shanghai," she said, with a smile.
"Then what does she seem like?" Liuyuan asked.
Saheiyini placed a finger on one cheek and thought for a moment. Then she brought her hands together, fingers point­ing upward, as if she had something to say but words simply failed her. She laughed, shrugging her shoulders, and walked into the ballroom. Liuyuan headed toward the door again, tak­ing Liusu with him. Liusu couldn't understand much English, but she had followed their expressions. Now she said, with a smile, "I am a country bumpkin."
"As I said, you are a real Chinese. That of course is different from her notion of a Shanghainese."
They got in a taxi, and Liuyuan said, "Don't be bothered by the airs she puts on. She struts around saying that she's the daughter of Prince Krishna Karumpa, but that her mother lost the prince's favor and was told to commit suicide, and she too had to flee. Now she wanders in exile, unable to return. And in fact, it is true that she can't go back to her native land-but nothing else in her story has been proven."
"Has she been to Shanghai?"
"She's very well-known in Shanghai. She came to Hong Kong with an Englishman. Did you see that old man standing behind her? He's the one who's keeping her these days."
"You men are always like this. When you're talking to her, you can't think of enough polite things to say, but behind her back you say she's worthless. I can just imagine what you say to others about me, the daughter of a poor old Qing official, even lower ranking than she is!"
Liuyuan laughed. "Who would dare speak of you two in the same breath?"
Pursing her lips, Liusu said, "Maybe that's because her name is too long. Can't get it all out in one breath."
"You needn't worry. I promise to treat you the way you should be treated."
Liusu smoothed her face and murmured a half-persuaded "Really?" to herself, as she leaned against the car window. His tone did not seem sarcastic, and she had noticed that when the two of them were alone together, he was a perfect gentleman. For reasons that she failed to fathom, he was a model of self-restraint when no one else was around to see, but when people were watching, he liked to take liberties. Was this just a peculi­arity of his? Or was he up to something? She couldn't quite figure it out.