Zhao Yunlan meets Mrs. Shen three or four times before he meets her husband.
The first time as they’re all moving in — What are the chances, both apartments being rented at the same time? asks the landlady next door. And them both moving in on the same day, what a ruckus! That’s Lao Li, who’d let himself be haggled down a hundred dollars a month from the starting price just from A’Hong’s snakelike tenacity. She’s pretty — long dark hair and a cheongsam patterned in orchids.
Zhao Yunlan is used to being spoken to first — only. In restaurants, the server turns to him first to order. On the train, the stationmaster asks him instead of A’Hong for their tickets, even though she’s the one who always keeps them in her purse for the both of them. He’s standing next to A’Hong, close enough in the cramped hallway that their shoulders are brushing. Close enough he can smell her perfume.
It’s still far enough away that he can see, undoubtedly, the way Mrs. Shen is speaking to A’Hong and A’Hong alone when she says, “I’m glad it’s another young couple moving in next door to us. My husband is away frequently for work, so. I hope we can become — very good friends.”
me? alive? and writing? me????? i'm more surprised than you are, believe me. anyway! this is from the new in the mood for love au i'm picking at and trying to get done for ficwip5k this year -- this snippet is an early attempt by me trying ... desperately ... to figure out the right tone for this thing. the balance of gender roles, atmosphere, character information ...... man. sometimes a movie is so beautiful it's kind of impossible to write fanfiction for it.
