Chenxi and the Foreigner Read Online Free Page B

daughter?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Anna said, disappointed. ‘You must be the aiyi ?’
    The young woman looked very dressed up for a cleaning maid. Her hair was tied up at the back in a glittery, gauzy clasp and frizzed out at the front. She wore make-up, a shiny pink blouse and the strappy high heels that seemed to be so fashionable among the women in Shanghai.
    â€˜Yes, yes. Aiyi! ’ The Chinese woman giggled at Anna’s pronunciation. ‘Wang. My name Wang. Miss Wang.’
    â€˜Anna.’
    Miss Wang beamed. As if in a trance she walked up to Anna and fingered her long blond ringlets, cooing and nodding in approval. Anna stood still to allow the aiyi her curiosity even though she didn’t feel comfortable being fingered and prodded. Miss Wang stood back to inspect Anna from a distance. ‘Mmm… hen piaoliang! ’
    Anna shrugged.
    The aiyi giggled then rushed to Mr White’s bookshelf and pulled out a Chinese-English dictionary. She licked her thumb and flicked through the pages. When she found what she wanted, she grinned and brought the book over to Anna, prodding the word with her finger.
    â€˜Pretty,’ Anna said.
    The aiyi raised her eyebrows.
    â€˜Pre-tty,’ Anna repeated, more slowly.
    â€˜Plitty!’ The aiyi tried, and Anna smiled encouragingly.
    In return she tried out one of the Chinese words she already knew, ‘ Xie xie!’
    â€˜Sank you?’ Miss Wang twittered.
    â€˜Yes!’ Anna smiled, and then had an idea. ‘Here,’ she said, taking the book. She flicked through until she saw the word she was looking for.
    â€˜Oh, yes, yes. Taxi!’ the aiyi said, pleased to have known the word already.
    Anna fished her map of Shanghai out of her bag. She found the college in the top left corner and pointed to it. ‘Can you get me a taxi to go there? Shanghai College of Fine Arts?’
    â€˜Oh!’ The aiyi nodded, squinting at the map. ‘ Shanghai Mei Shu Xue Yuan! Oh! Taxi?’
    â€˜Yes!’ said Anna, excited with their communication. ‘Yes! Taxi to go there!’
    Ten minutes later, Anna was on her way to the college, grinning with pride in her own determination.

5
    Chenxi was at the bar. Everything was blurred and too bright. The man in the smart suit was jabbing him in the shoulder, harder and harder, pushing and shoving.
    The jabbing became more urgent. Lao Li’s voice murmured a warning in Chenxi’s ear. The pitch rose and rose until it was no longer Lao Li’s mellow voice, but the screeching of Mrs Zhu who lived in the apartment next door to Chenxi.
    â€˜Get up! Get up, you good for nothing. You’re in trouble again. The college has rung for you. Three times. Finally I had to go downstairs and speak to them. If they knew you were slumbering away up here like an old ox. If your mother knew! Out working all day to bring up a great big boy like you. You call yourself an artist? You’re a lazy good for nothing...’
    â€˜OK, OK, OK,’ Chenxi groaned. He tried to sit up, but a blinding light burst behind his eyes and he fell back on the pillow again. He rubbed the crusty swelling on his scalp and wondered if the ache in his head was from the rice wine or the fall.
    â€˜It’s all right, Mrs Zhu, I’ll ring the college. You can go now. Thanks for taking the message.’ Chenxi flashed a smile and his gruff neighbour was momentarily calmed by the young man’s beautiful face.
    Mrs Zhu continued to hover, suspicious. She had looked after her neighbour’s son since he was a child, while his mother tried to make a living, picking up factory work where she could. The poor woman, thought Mrs Zhu. She was lucky she could get any work after all the problems her husband had caused.
    Mrs Zhu liked to keep an eye out for them. And for all the other people in the building. She prided herself on having the most up-to-date information on the private life of every single person in