Page 33

June

I t was nice having Dannie wait for me at the building where the visa agency was located.

Applying for a visa—or any official documents, for that matter—could be incredibly stressful.

That had always been my experience. I would happily pay someone a small fee to handle the entire process on my behalf.

I hated the way the officers looked at people. Their judgmental eyes seemed to scan through your body, your brain, your bank account, your criminal record—leaving nothing hidden. I couldn’t help but feel completely exposed in places like that. Airports, embassies, banks—those were the worst.

By the time I woke up, Kai had already left.

This time, he had left a note on the pillow beside me.

In it, he said he would get in touch. It would have been nice to be woken up with a kiss—or something even more passionate.

But perhaps he hadn’t wanted to disturb me.

And truthfully, I could use the extra hour of sleep.

Dannie was dressed entirely in white today—smart white trousers, off-white leather trainers, and a relaxed-fit shirt with the top three buttons undone. The color suited him. Against the crisp, clean look of his outfit, his tan skin and tattoos stood out even more.

He didn’t say much apart from the usual polite greetings—asking how I was and whether I’d slept well. Though he wasn’t exactly grumpy, his energy wasn’t as lighthearted as usual. Something was on his mind, that much was clear. But I didn’t want to ask or get involved.

Mr. Huang, a friend of Dannie’s, met us in the lobby and scanned us through the security barrier into the elevator section. His assistant, Amanda, handed each of us a visitor’s card. I hung the blue lanyard around my neck.

Mr. Huang’s office was on the twelfth floor.

Apparently, his visa agency specialized in handling difficult cases—politicians, bloggers, journalists who had been denied entry for various reasons.

His agency found ways to get them into China, provided they agreed not to cause trouble during their visit.

The agency occupied two floors. The eleventh floor was where the applications were processed, while the twelfth was strictly for staff and housed Mr. Huang’s office.

After a quick tour, Mr. Huang excused himself, mentioning a meeting across town in Hong Kong. Normally, Amanda would accompany him, but today, she had been assigned to personally handle my case.

We thanked Mr. Huang, and Dannie mumbled something about treating him to a meal and gifting his wife an exclusive, limited-edition luxury item.

Then, when we were alone with Amanda, Dannie turned on his charm, promising to send her to Big-Her and let her pick out anything she fancied—his guy would handle the bill.

Amanda’s demeanor shifted instantly. Gone was the polite, professional mask of someone merely doing her job.

Suddenly, we were long-lost best friends.

She led us to the cafe area, a space reserved for senior staff and government VIPs and served us drinks alongside an impressive selection of confections.

“Have you ever been to China before?” Amanda asked, clicking away on her laptop.

“No.”

“Only Hong Kong?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Do you have anyone who can vouch for you?”

“What do you mean?” I frowned in confusion. Dannie’s hand rested lightly on mine.

He answered without hesitation. “I can.”

“Thanks, Dannie. But I still don’t understand the question. What exactly are you vouching for?”

“We need someone to confirm that you’re a good character,” Amanda explained. “A responsible citizen of…” She paused, glancing at my passport even though she had just filled out the nationality field. “The United States of America.”

“My friend Wendy could do that. Should I give her a call?”

“She’s American?”

“Yes.”

“No, we don’t—” Her gaze flicked between me and Dannie before settling back on me. “Your guarantor has to be a citizen of Hong Kong or the Republic of China and must have known you for at least five years.”

“It’s okay, June. I qualify.” Dannie reassured me, giving Amanda a confirming glance.

“Yes, Mr. Wu is a perfect candidate,” she affirmed.

“So, what does that mean? I still don’t get it.”

“Mrs. Wu?—”

“Dr. Bennet,” I corrected her before she could go any further.

“Oh… kay. Dr Bennet,” she said, adjusting. “You don’t intend to cause any trouble in China, do you?”

“What kind of trouble?” I asked warily. That wasn’t my intention, of course, but I wasn’t entirely sure what might be considered as “trouble” in some countries.

For example, while some categories of drugs were illegal in America, people weren’t afraid of the legal repercussions that could come with the use of those drugs. But in many South East countries, the consequences could be far more severe. The thought of the death penalty sent a shiver through me.

Amanda let out a quiet sigh, clearly growing frustrated with my questions.

“Look, it’s just a routine question we ask all our clients,” she said.

“Believe me, we pre-screen applicants before we even take them on. Your case is straightforward. You’re a highly regarded doctor in the States.

No debt. Not even a speeding ticket. Your application will go through without any issues.

Normally, we’d send you straight to the visa center, so you wouldn’t have to pay extra fees. But if it weren’t for?—”

Dannie cleared his throat. “I think June gets the idea now, right?” Then he turned to Amanda. “And I believe you have everything you need to process the application.”

Amanda stood up and straightened her gray pantsuit—a smart, tailored short with a vest that I found both interesting and a little odd. It wasn’t something I’d normally wear, but I could see myself trying something like that next summer.

Mr. Huang’s assistant excused herself, murmuring, “be right back,” before leaving us with our coffee.

The cafe had a steady flow of people coming and going, most of them in a hurry.

They’d grab a takeaway cup from the barista and practically jog out the door.

It couldn’t be cheap to have a private barista serving only a select few, but maybe it saved time.

Instead of employees running out to the city for their caffeine fix, the coffee came to them.

Then again, in this day and age, you could order anything with a few taps on your phone. Places like this didn’t seem particularly sustainable in the long run.

“Are you worried about your visa?” Dannie broke through the chit chat in my head.

“Not after hearing what Amanda said,” I admitted.

Everything she had told me was correct. There was no reason my application should be rejected.

And yet, a small part of me still worried they’d find something—some trivial excuse to deny me entry.

Maybe they’d dig up evidence of me watching porn online or something ridiculous like that.

“You don’t have to sit with me,” I told Dannie. “You must have a lot to do right?”

“Nothing important. It can wait.”

I hesitated. Dannie was like that—always thoughtful in ways I didn’t expect. “You didn’t have to come at all.”

“I had to be here anyway, as your guarantor.” He replied, reminding me of that two second answer he’d given.

“Oh, right. That.” I nodded, feeling bad that he was missing work, or whatever he did, because of me and that one silly question. “I didn’t know about that part of the application process.”

“I figured there might be something like that—kind of like when you apply for an American visa.” He said, the words sliding of his tongue as he shrugged.

“What? I didn’t know they had that requirement.” I had never really thought about it from the other side, how easy or difficult was it for people to get a visa to the U.S.

“Yeah, but once you know the rules, it’s fine. Just play along, give them what they want. At the end of the day, they’re just doing their job. They want to keep their country safe.” Dannie shrugged again, as if none of it really mattered.

“I suppose.” I answered. He made sense. Dannie wasn’t an unreasonable person.

Sometimes I forget what he does for a living.

TV and movies always painted people like him—mafias, triads, gangsters, whatever you wanted to call them—as violent, lawless men who took whatever they wanted.

Maybe those movies were wrong. Or maybe I was just lucky with Dannie.

“What’s your plan after this?” he asked.

“Get the first ticket to Shanghai.” I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Okay. Let me know if you need help.”

“I think I’ll be okay.”

We hadn’t said anything to suggest this was a farewell, yet it felt like goodbye.

“I know a few people in Shanghai,” Dannie continued. “Do you want me to arrange a place for you to stay?”

I hadn’t thought much about accommodation. I just assumed Wendy and I would stay with Kai. Worst case scenario, we could always book a hotel. That was part of travelling, after all—figuring things out as we went.

“No, really. I think we’ll be okay.”

“Of course. Mr. Li will look after you.” His voice carried a slight edge. Bitter.

I hesitated before asking, “By the way, why did you have the suite last night?”

I didn’t think he had booked it for me and Kai to use. If he had expected to spend the night with me, I needed to know. I needed to clarify where we stood so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

“It was reserved for me,” he said simply.

“Really?” He had mentioned that before, but it still didn’t make sense. “I can’t believe a hotel would keep a suite reserved for you year-round. It doesn’t seem very… economical.”

“So, you think I booked it for another reason?”

“Maybe.”

I took a sip of my latte for the first time. It was rich and bitter—real coffee. Not the weak, sugary kind I usually got from those green-logo chain stores.

Dannie leaned back in his chair. “You know I don’t allow anyone into my apartment.”

I did know that. He had told me before, but I hadn’t fully processed what it meant.