With a tiny jab of remorse, Li heard an echo of himself in this, how he felt about his uncle, the passion with which he’d defended him to Yongli just an hour earlier. He heard the same passion in Lotus, and couldn’t doubt the sincerity in her eyes. He nodded and said, “I don’t want to see him hurt either.”

“Fresh orange juice and ice, is that all right?” Yongli put the glass on the table in front of her and sat down. “Sorry it took so long.”

Lotus smiled at him. “Fresh orange is fine,” she said. She took a long draught, then put it down again, half finished. “But I’m sorry, lover, I’ve got to go get ready.”

“Hey, that’s okay.” He leaned over to brush her lips with his. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” She stood up and smiled at Li. “See you later?”

Li shrugged. “Maybe not. I’ve got an early start.”

“Next time, then.” She touched Yongli’s face lightly with her fingers and moved away, gliding elegantly between the tables towards the stair. Yongli watched her go, doe-eyed and smitten, before becoming suddenly self-conscious and turning back to Li.

“So what were you two talking about?” There was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

“You.”

“Pretty boring topic of conversation.”

“That’s what we decided, so we stopped.”

Yongli grinned. “You’re not really going to bail out early, are you?”

Li smiled and nodded. “I really am.”

Yongli shook his head. “You know, what you really need is to get yourself laid.”

“You already told me.”

“No, but really. I mean, what about this ‘young,’ ‘attractive’ American pathologist of yours? Sounds to me like she could get your juices flowing.”

Li laughed. “Gimme a break! She’s a yangguizi.”

“So what?” Yongli punched him mock-playfully on the arm. “You could turn on the charm if you wanted to. And she’d fall in a dead faint at your feet.”

III

Margaret cursed Li roundly. He was an arrogant, charmless, chauvinistic bastard! The doors of the elevator slid shut and she pressed the button for the ground floor. She saw herself reflected in the polished brass and realised she hadn’t even bothered putting on any make-up. She had simply changed into her jeans and a tee-shirt, a pair of open-toed sandals, grabbed her keycard and headed for the elevator. A couple of young attendants sitting playing cards cast curious glances at her through the open door of a utility room as she stalked past. She had noticed before that there always seemed to be cleaners or attendants around on her floor when she came and went. Always nodding and smiling and saying, “Ni hao.” If she had thought about it at all, she might have been faintly surprised that they were still there at midnight. But her brain was otherwise engaged, and she needed a drink.