The People’s Republic of Desire

69 Cross-Cultural Romance

People don't seem to get tired of talking about women like Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana. There is something powerful about being the woman who is able to tie down a powerful, wealthy man for herself.

Being in the right place at the right time and using beauty as a lure certainly enhances one's chance of landing a prominent man.

Little Fang befriended CC, Lulu, Beibei, and me while she tutored CC's English boyfriend, Nick, in Chinese.

She admired Lulu's beauty and glamour, CC's Western education, and Beibei's well-connected family. She once said that compared to them, she felt plain and unremarkable. "I grew up in a humble family and graduated from an unknown college. But you guys have everything." She tried hard to adopt Lulu's fashion style, and she mimicked CC's accent and Beibei's "in" expressions.

But after she stole Nick, who held a degree from Oxford, Little Fang was no longer modest. She appeared on television talk shows to discuss interracial dating or promote her book How to Date an Englishman.

She became a role model for many young Chinese women who dreamed of a cross-cultural romance.

Then, Little Fang disappeared from view for a while.

So when she resurfaced, we were all excited.

CC knocks on my door, rushes in, and before even taking off her coat flashes the invitation from Little Fang.

"Did you get one?" CC asks with her eyes wide open.

I immediately check a stack of unopened mail on my desk and find an invitation. As I open the envelope, a picture falls to the floor.

In the picture, Little Fang, wearing a beautiful bridal gown, stands in front of a majestic, ivy-covered Welsh castle. Beside her stands the groom, a tuxedo-clad Westerner – but it isn't Nick.

I glance at CC. It's clear she is upset. I read the invitation quickly. It says Little Fang and Sir William York have just held a church wedding in Wales. Now the newlywed couple is going to have a Chinese wedding at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai and the groom will pay for the invited guests' hotel accommodations and plane tickets.

"I guess Nick is too poor for this woman," CC says.

"Are you going?" I ask.

"Absolutely not! She just wants to show off," CC cries, remembering her betrayal.

As they are talking, Lulu calls. "Have you received an invitation for Little Fang's wedding?" Lulu asks me.

"Yes," I reply.

"Heavenly Grandpa!" Lulu exclaims. "The expenses of every guest will be paid for. The man must be stinking rich. Did you see that he has a title? Sir William York. He's old money!"

"I wonder how she met him," I muse.

"I got all the details from Nick," Lulu says.

"You met Nick?" CC grabs the phone from me and screams into the receiver.

"Yes. His heart is broken," Lulu tells her.

"He broke my heart first," CC shouts into the phone.

"In any event, come over to our place," I say to Lulu and hang up the phone.

Soon, Lulu joins CC and me at my house. Lulu relates what Nick had told her. "When Nick proposed to Little Fang and asked her to go back to England with him, Little Fang said no. She did n't want to leave for England through marriage. She said she had been influenced by the classic book Jane Eyre. Like Jane Eyre, she wouldn't marry Nick until she felt she was his equal."

"How was she supposed to become his equal?" I ask.

"She wanted to study at Oxford," Lulu says.

"With her low command of English?" CC screams.

"Nick might have helped her polish her essays," I say with a shrug. "You never know. I remember when I was in the States, I helped a Chinese friend write an English essay about herself. She managed to get into Stanford."

"So Little Fang was granted admission into Oxford?" CC asks, looking stunned.

"Yes" – Lulu nods – "but we don't know if it was a regular program or some short program that anybody with money can get into. Anyway, she studied there for only one semester. She quit after falling in love with someone she met on campus."

"Sir William?" CC asks, still in disbelief. She can't believe that Little Fang was able to go to the same school as she did, even if it was just some short training program. Even worse, she quit Oxford!

"Yes," Lulu says. "But he was married at that time. Later, he divorced his wife after Little Fang's repeated and persistent requests."

"I guess the real purpose for Little Fang to get into Oxford was to nail down a rich man," I say.

"But I am still impressed by her wedding. The roses, the gown, and the castle. I wish I had her luck," Lulu says.

"Luck?" CC sneers. "Come on. When she was in China, Nick was the best man she could imagine having. After moving to England, she knew there were better men out there. Women like Little Fang spend all their time trying to get the best man in sight. Doesn't matter if he is available or not. She's a home-wrecker!"