Wang Zijin was rubbing her bloated stomach after she was done consuming the lunch prepared by Qin Ze. She was usually listless and had a poor appetite when she had her period. Nothing could motivate her to eat. However, it was different with Qin Ze’s culinary skills. Instead of feeling depressed like how she normally did, Wang Zijin ate two big bowls of rice with Qin Ze’s cooking. It revitalized her.
She was complaining to herself about how delicious the food was but, at the same time, envious of Qin Baobao for having a personal chef.
After lunch, Wang Zijin and Qin Ze went for a stroll. He pointed at one of the many tandem bicycles around them and suggested, “Let’s get on a bicycle and move around.”
Wang Zijin bought his idea instantly. It’s been years since she had fun in Shanghai.
“How do we use this?”
“You scan the QR code with your cell phone to download the application. Once you’ve paid the deposit, you can start using the bicycle. The fee for each use is one dollar,” Qin Ze continued, “Tandem bicycles are in trend now; they are the favorite of many people from the working class who would use them to commute to the subway station. There are times when I also ride a bicycle to school.”
Wang Zijin bit on her lower lip and shook her head. “Let’s forget about it. I have no money.”
Qin Ze was speechless. “For real? Not even a hundred dollars?”
Wang Zijin nodded her head pitifully.
Qin Ze was doubtful. Nevertheless, he didn’t pursue the topic further. He had enough common sense not to do that.
“Allow me to give you a bonus,” he said.
Wang Zijin thought she could ride behind him. However, she glanced at the tandem bicycle and realized it was just a bicycle. There was no companion seat. She pursed her lips. “All right then. I will pay you back once I have money.”
Both of them rode aimlessly along the city, sightseeing. Qin Ze decided to ride at a slower speed because she was having her period. Thus, it took them over an hour to arrive at Pudong.
They were covered in sweat by the time they stopped by the roadside for a drink.
Shanghai was the country’s biggest financial center, and Pudong was located in the heart of it. The Oriental Pearl Radio & Television Tower was a must-see attraction at the tip of Lujiazui in Pudong. Qin Ze visited the tower when his school organized a spring outing when he was a young boy. In its heyday, it was the city’s landmark. However, that was in the past. After the completion of the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2008, it replaced the tower’s status in Shanghai. The Oriental Pearl Radio & Television Tower was mandatory for any foreigners who visited the city, but the locals didn’t care much about it.
Wang Zijin gestured towards the present tallest building in Shanghai with excitement and said, “What building is that? I’ve never seen it during my high school days in Shanghai. It even didn’t exist.”
“Shanghai Tower.” Qin Ze squinted his eyes as he looked up the unparalleled skyscraper. “Completed in 2016 when Qin Baobao was still working in China Development Bank Tower. I’ve been here a couple of times. It was the same every day. They built it quickly. Now, it is the tallest building in Shanghai and the world’s second tallest.”
Shanghai Tower, the tallest one, together with Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center formed a triangle giving a modern and stylish look as they stood in Lujiazui.
Wang Zijin nodded excitedly. “Shall we go in for a look?”
Qin Ze hesitated, “The tickets are expensive.”
Wang Zijin slanted her head and looked at him pleadingly with her dark eyes, unblinking.
Qin Ze smiled. “Fine. I’ve never been there, too. It’ll be an eye-opening experience to stand on the tallest sight-seeing platform in Shanghai.”
Last year, he had come along with Qin Baobao at her insistence after the completion of the Tower. They had tickets to attend its internal inspection which wasn’t open to the public. They came again at the end of last year, but it was packed with people. The queue was endless, and the wait diminished their enthusiasm. Alas, they canceled the visit.
The smile on Wang Zijin’s face was priceless.
Even though they came on a workday, the number of visitors at Shanghai Tower remained outrageous. Qin Ze waited in line for more than half an hour before he finally managed to buy the tickets.
The luxurious and spacious lift traveled at the speed of eighteen meters per hour. In less than a minute, Qin Ze and Wang Zijin arrived at the viewing gallery on the 121st floor at 561 meters high. Lots of ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ filled the gallery as the visitors exited the lift. “The staff’s English sucks,” Wang Zijin whispered in Qin Ze’s ears.
“Much better than mine.” Qin Ze laughed.
Both of them were in awe of the majestic view before their eyes. They had a panoramic view of the whole Pudong district below them. A steady stream of boats and ferries moved along the Huangpu River while it flowed silently. Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Oriental Pearl Radio & Television Tower were beneath their feet like paper towers when they had seemed so unapproachable earlier. The view stretched to the end of their sight.
Wang Zijin was excited. She took many pictures and even a selfie with Qin Ze. They leaned into each other, head against head, smiling brightly.
She brought Qin Ze to the glass wall at the side. It was the only thing that separated them and the emptiness while they stood at more than five hundred meters high. She noticed he wasn’t looking very well, and his legs were shaking. “Are you afraid of heights?” she asked.
Qin Ze nodded. His face was rigid.
Wang Zijin burst out laughing at his confirmation.
She laughed so hard until she cried. Without a care for his furious glare, she told him softly, “I want to hear you sing ‘Borrowing Five Hundred Years from the Lord Again’.”
Qin Ze was pissed. “Not in the mood.”
Wang Zijin smiled gently. “Take my hand.”
Qin Ze did exactly as she told. He took her small and soft hand as he walked closer to the glass wall trembling in fear.
“Now sing.”
Qin Ze finished singing ‘Borrowing Five Hundred Years from the Lord Again’ in a quivering voice.
Wang Zijin began to smile again.
Next, they headed to the Science and Technology Museum for a free VR (Virtual Reality) gaming experience. Most games were about the same but one—the High-Altitude Bridge where one got to experience the feeling of ‘one false step brings everlasting grief’ as one walked on a single wooden bridge suspended at several hundred meters high.
It was both thrilling and exciting. Qin Ze was adamant about trying the game because of his fear of height. On the other hand, Wang Zijin had never tried any VR games. She was delighted when she put on the gaming headset and walked on the wooden bridge with Qin Ze watching her from the side.
From a bystanders’ point of view, the bridge was actually an ordinary wooden plank. However, for the players, the 3D effect was all too real. They really felt like they were standing above several hundred meters.
Wang Zijin trembled with fear as she walked on the bridge. It was clearly a flat surface, but she was staggering as though she would fall any minute. She approached the center slowly, knelt down, and crawled along the bridge to advance. Qin Ze watched the display screen. Wang Zijin was already moving slowly to the other side of the plank which was several hundred meters high. It was clouded, and the streets were far away.
Qin Ze suddenly had a naughty thought. He shoved her from behind just when she crawled to the end of the plank. Wang Zijin tumbled off the plank and let out a blood-curdling scream. She curled her body into a ball terrified to move. The only thing she did was scream at the top of her lungs again and again.
From her point of view, she was free-falling fast from several hundred meters.
“Hahaha…”
Everyone around them started laughing.
Qin Ze was convulsing with laughter.
The staff came over and helped Wang Zijin to remove the VR headset. He smiled at her teasingly.
“Qin Ze, you’re so mean.” Wang Zijin—a dignified and magnanimous woman—chased and beat him from the 121st floor all the way to the 119th floor.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” Qin Ze stood at the spot and allowed her to pinch him with all her might while he begged for mercy.
“Baobao was totally right; you’re a bast**d.”
“I thought you had no fear for heights? Hahaha…”
“That doesn’t mean you can shove me down from way up there. I almost died of fright.” Wang Zijin still had lingering fears when she recalled the terrifying experience from earlier. Tears filled her eyes, and she pinched Qin Ze again until bruises started to appear on his elbow.
He marveled at her good temper even though bruises covered his arm. Had it been Qin Baobao, she would have cried while she tried to kill him.
It almost slipped his mind that Qin Baobao also had a fear for heights.
“Humph!” Wang Zijin glared at him. “Your punishment is to buy me a drink. I want coffee.”
There was a western restaurant on the 119th floor. They ordered coffee which cost thirty dollars, sat by the glass window, and sipped their drinks while admiring the vast and spectacular view.
“Do you feel like you’ve just escaped from calamity?” Qin Ze asked laughingly.
“Tell me about it.” Wang Zijin drank a mouthful of her coffee, still feeling indignant.
“This is a logical venting of frustration. It’s not beneficial for your health to bottle everything up. You might develop depression.”
“How do you know I was worrying about something?” Wang Zijin’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, you came penniless to Shanghai out of the blue and sought refuge from Qin Baobao. Sister Tissue, you are a woman with a story.”
Wang Zijin rubbed her forehead. “It’s Zijin, not tissue. Can’t you Shanghainese differentiate between alveolar and retroflex sound? Baobao nicknamed me ‘Tissue’ because she could.”
“Oh, you’re right.” Qin Ze nodded. “The accents are the same along the coastal areas, especially Zhejiang. There is no difference at all. However, we have grown used to it.”
“Let me tell you a secret.” Wang Zijin started acting mysteriously and said, “Actually, I left home.”
“If Qin Baobao told me that, I have no doubt. You, in my opinion, are highly unlikely.”
“My family is forcing me into marriage. On top of that, it’s that kind of maliciously arranged marriage. Naturally, I was against it. I packed my things and left after a big fight with my parents,” Wang Zijin continued sadly, “They canceled my credits and froze my bank account.”
“Wait a minute…” Qin Ze caressed his chin. “Your family has arranged a marriage for you against your wishes, and they cut you off financially. Sister Tissue, are you sure you’re not making things up from a novel?”
Wang Zijin replied gloomily, “I’m telling you the truth.”
“Quit joking. Arranged marriage? What generation are we in? It was bad enough that they arranged a marriage for you, but to cut you off like that… oh, your family owns the bank, and you said your family froze your account.” Qin Ze was horrified.
Wang Zijin said, “Mmm. My great-grandfather fought in WWII, and my grandfather fought in the War of Liberation. My father is a government official. All he needed to do is make a phone call, and my finances were kaput. He is using these despicable methods to force me into agreeing. Fat hope.”
Qin Ze gulped. “Is your family living in the courtyard house in Beijing?”
Wang Zijin nodded “I lived there when I was a little girl. Now, I am living…”
Qin Ze gulped again. “Zhongnanhai?”
“Huh?” Wang Zijin cast him a look laughingly. “My grandfather still lives in the courtyard house. It’s tough for the elderly to adapt to changes. My family moved out a long time ago.”
Qin Ze almost went onto his knees and said to her: ‘oh chivalrous lady, please allow me to pay my respect.’
“Sister Zijin, is it alright for me to address you like this? Am I disrespecting you? Does Qin Baobao know?”
Wang Zijin braced her chin. “She might have some idea. I came here to attend high school when my father was the mayor of Shanghai. She knew that but didn’t ask me for details. I didn’t say much, too.”
Qin Ze felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The woman before him was a direct descendant of Mao Zedong, the Red Second Generation.
Oh, gosh!
“Sister Tissue, aren’t there some famous four young men in the capital?”
Wang Zijin almost spat her mouthful of coffee into his face as she choked with laughter. “Qin Ze, have you been reading too many novels?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Yes… yes. We even have the four big beauties, the ten most prestigious families, and the three great martial art sects. At the moment, there is a young man who appeared out of nowhere with unknown background wreaking havoc in the capital. He beat up the famous four men and challenged the three great martial art sects.
“The ten prestigious families loathed him but some have been trying to rope him into their families. The man even took the four big beauties in his harem. They danced and partied every night. In short, the situation is chaotic, and the undercurrents are raging. A terrified little girl like me caught in the storm could only flee my home and seek refuge in Shanghai.”
Fear lingered in Qin Ze. “I didn’t know it could be so chaotic in the capital.”
Wang Zijin laughed until she fell off her chair.