The Popstar & Me

Chapter 18 - Nothing But The Truth

Chapter 18

Lana texts me over the weekend; she wants to know if I want to go out for tea sometime, anytime, before I go home to America. Reading over her text, I start to wonder if Auntie Ting had put her up to it. Our friendship is cordial at best; we both know it is a show for the sake of our parents, so why are we hanging out twice in the span of a week?

As much as I would love to be besties with her for the sake of our parents, the two of us didn't have much in common. My mother and her mother might have served together on a battlefield in Southeast Asia once, but the only thing she and I had in common was that at some point in our lives, we resided in the same apartment, and we both had a relationship with the boy downstairs.

Looking at Lana and Zhang is like looking through a portal at an alternate universe where I never went to America. Lana probably wants to hang out with me to be friendly, but the more I get to know her and Zhang, the more I feel like I'm glimpsing a version of myself that I was never meant to know.

"Zhang wants to join us. He says he'll behave better this time," she adds as I leave her on read. I finish watching Season Four of Arrested Development.

Dr. Su's advice about making the most of my trip nags at me. I'm here in Shanghai for a reason, and, as the universe would have it, it looks like it's not just to hook with Calvin Suzuki. I finally text back; "Sure. Didn't he mention a place he wanted to go to? Do you guys want to meet up at Yuyuan Garden?"

I chose that location because it's one I had taken the subway to before. At least this means I could hop back underground for a ride home immediately afterward instead of hailing a cab or calling on my uncle's driver.

Lana agrees, and we decide on Thursday afternoon. She first suggests Friday, but then I remember that I am supposed to meet Calvin and Andrew that day. What a relief it will be to see my old friends! Even if one of them has been ghosting me all week. I can't wait to tell them both about what a crazy week I've had.

~*~

Fang shows up on Thursday morning after missing an appointment on Wednesday. Dr. Su made Fang a standing appointment with Dr. Chen every day this week to show him that we are serious about treating his headaches. But I think Dr. Su did it to get Fang to leave his house and check in with us if he is contemplating doing something stupid.

I check him in at the front desk and immediately take him to a private room to wait for Dr. Chen. He complains the light is too bright, so I draw the shades and turn off half of the lights in the treatment room.

It's been more than seven days since he showed up in a broken state with Dr. Su, but he looks as sullen as he did back then. Except now he's back to smirking at me every so often like he's managed to turn his despair into sarcastic humor. 

He's still dashingly handsome, even in his current state. If anything, he's even more attractive now that he's wearing a crumpled white shirt with the collar unbuttoned, and his hair is full of messy curls that fall into his eyes. If only he would take his sunglasses off, I'm sure the picture of a ripped, macho James-Dean-in-Rebel-Without-a-Cause would be complete. 

He smells a little like aftershave mixed with whiskey. Even though I know I should ask him if he's still having suicidal thoughts, I have to admit this moody-devil-may-care attitude suits him. I don't think anyone could carry it off better. I guess that's why only people about a decade older than me are allowed to pretend to be real doctors. I'm supposed to be worried about his mental health, but my teenage hormones are saying, "His shirt collar is open! Check out those dreamy pecs!"

"You're a doctor, aren't you?" He asks me as I lay out the needles and alcohol wipes for Dr. Chen when she arrives. "Why is it that you have never asked me how I got into the accident that left me like this?"