‘I never pegged you as a card player. What’s a lot? Once a week? Twice a week?’
‘Well, no, more like every other day.’
Mr Lee’s eyebrows push into his forehead. ‘I see. Do you talk much when you play?’
‘No. Well, maybe, a little. Mostly insults.’
‘How long are your games?’
‘They last all night. We normally start after dinner. Big Wang lets us play on his roof terrace. We usually stop just before the first ferries pull in. Lady Gi doesn’t like seeing them either.’
Mr Lee clears his throat. ‘So you and Lady Gi see each other every other day and play kanhoo while you trade verbal barbs for some ten hours. I hate to tell you, but I think you and Lady Gi are friends.’
‘What? No. She hates me. I hate her. She’s a flowery obnoxious show-off.’
‘Who you play cards with almost every day.’
‘Every other day! And besides, she’s the only person in all of Shanghai who has time and is willing to play kanhoo with me. Everyone else only loses to me. Gigi’s a good player. Sometimes she wins, sometimes I win. It’s more fun that way.’
Mr Lee nods with a peculiar expression on his face. Disbelief? Amusement?
‘What?’
He shakes his head as we pull up to the Cathay Hotel. He gets off and offers me his hand. His lips are pressed together, but his eyes betray him. They sparkle. His shoulders tremble from suppressed laughter. I swat away his hand and hop off on my own. Mr Lee follows after paying the coolie.
‘There’s a nice restaurant on the hotel terrace. We could have dinner there?’ He’s still trying not to laugh as we push through the revolving doors of the hotel. ‘Though, you’ve eaten a lot today. It’s okay if you’re full and want to skip it.’
I laugh. ‘Skip a meal? Never! Does this place have a view of the sunset?’
‘Sunset?’
‘I like to paint them... but I don’t really remember what they look like. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a real sun dip over the horizon.’
‘It’s unfair that you only remember the cruelty, and none of the beauty.’
I pause. ‘Yes.’
‘Was Lady Soo the one you set fire to?’
‘You heard the guards talking?’
He looks down at the lobby’s marble floor and nods. ‘My hearing is pretty good. And the guards weren’t trying to be quiet.’
‘She deserved it,’ I say, my voice flat.
When he looks at me, his gaze isn’t judging or doubting. There’s a warmth there. Understanding.
‘I bet she did.’ There’s a vehemence in his tone that surprises me and makes me feel protected. I’m reminded of those giggling women by the café, their obvious fondness for each other creating a safe space against the outside world.
I’m tempted to pry open those half-buried memories from childhood and share them with Mr Lee. All the times Soo hurt me, scared me, and then the shock, years later, when I thought I was free of them, for her to turn up at a Mahjong Council. The words are there, ready to trip off my tongue. But what if he only laughs at me, what if, like everyone else, he thinks I deserved it?
‘You’re scary for a scholar,’ I say instead, opting to keep things light. ‘Remind me never to get on your bad side.’
‘Scholars are overrated. Bad sides are more fun.’ He throws me a smile that’s all teeth, and I can’t help it, I burst into giggles.
Mr Lee’s expression settles into the more familiar gentleness. ‘There’s a Russian restaurant around the corner with a great sunset view. You’ll love it.’
Fifteen
