The Popstar & Me

Chapter 24 - Fool's 8 Treasures

Chapter 24

I wish I hadn't told Fang about my smelly, leftover lo mein. Now he must think I'm a poor street urchin who has never had a good meal. The driver takes us to Ren He Guan on Zhaojiabang Road, and I'm practically cowering into my leather seat. I'm reasonably sure you can start an international incident by wearing jeans to a Michelin Star restaurant.

"I come here all the time. My brother likes it. He doesn't have fancy taste," Fang explains like he's embarrassed he isn't taking me somewhere better. What was I supposed to be expecting? Ultraviolet? Da Vittorio? I ate my dinner last night standing by a street stall ripping squid tentacles off a stick with my teeth. Stepping inside this Michelin-starred establishment, I am relieved that I see other customers dressed casually.

Fang's brother, Qing, is already there, along with his wife. They are waiting by a partially open side door while Qing is smoking a cigarette. He puts it out when he sees us.

"You finally made time for us!" Qing exclaims and hugs his younger brother. Looking at the two of them, I see the resemblance. Qing also has that incredible facial structure and strong jaw, though Fang has deviously playful eyes. Whereas Qing looks like the kind of guy who is always mouth agape and filled with wide-eyed wonder at the world, Fang looks like he has a secret that he can't wait to tell you, if only you could get close enough for him to whisper it to you.

Fang's eyes are the features that have captivated a nation and earned him five billion views on his last hit alone. Heck, that's more people than in this entire country. "And who is this měi rén?" Qing asks as he nudges his wife at the sight of me. 

Měi rén means beautiful woman, and I blush more than I should at the compliment. No one has ever called me that before. Although now that I think about it, I'm sure that compliment rolls off a native Shanghainese guy's tongue at the sight of a younger woman the way "Auntie" does when he encounters an older woman.

He couldn't possibly think that I'm beautiful compared to the usual rotation of beautiful women that Fang brings around his family. Could he?

"This is Sara," Fang says and wraps his arm around my shoulders. Thanks, Fang; now there are even more hints that we are dating. The paparazzi will probably have a field day. Then again, as I look around, I don't see any sign of flashing cell phone cameras. Could it be? We finally escaped the sidewalk paparazzi?

Why was he still acting lovey-dovey with me if not to make his ex-girlfriend jealous when these pictures hit the morning papers?

"Sara is one of the doctors in training at the hospital."

"I can tell already that I'm going to like her better than all the other girls you've dated."

"Already? You haven't even spoken to the poor thing," Qing's wife interjects with a laugh. She has kind eyes with just a hint of wrinkles. She's much shorter than me. I feel the need to slouch when standing next to her so that I can inhabit the role of the younger, more helpless friend. "Come with me, Sara. Tell us everything about yourself. How did you meet my brother-in-law? Where are you staying? Do you have any family here in Shanghai?"

"I'm from New York," I offer in my best Shanghainese mixed with just a touch of reflexive Mandarin. Although I speak Shanghainese more fluently than Mandarin, whenever I am in a situation where I feel like I should sound formal, I immediately reach for the Mandarin instead. It's like my brain is incapable of getting used to the fact that I can speak Shanghainese to strangers. Either way, her questions baffle me. I struggle to think of how to answer the rest of her questions without coming across like a six-year-old.