The Most Devoted Mistress
Ben is Chinese. He named himself Ben following the examples of his Chinese friends he met in America. All of his Chinese friends have English names. Ben had a master degree in biology and now is working in a pharmaceutical company in upstate New York. He has a brother in China. Ben often calls the brother. One day when he called him, his brother sounded sick, and his voice was low. When Ben asked him, his brother told him that he was sick, and had to lie on bed. Ben got worried, because his brother had divorced and nobody took care of him. After hanging up the phone, Ben decided to go to China to take care of him. The next day when he went to work, he asked his boss for a three-month leave. His boss granted him because he rarely asked for leave and if he did so, he must have a good reason. One week later, Ben was on the plane to China.
When he arrived at his hometown, which is in the south, to his surprise, his brother recovered. He didn’t expect him recovered so soon. So instead of taking care of him, Ben spent time with his old friends and classmates. He had not seen them for more than eight years. The city looks different. There are high skyscrapers here and there and the streets are wider and new many streets cut through. Ben’s friends took him to different places to eat and there was a party everyday. He drank, smoked and danced, and usually stayed late. Sometimes he stayed in hotel and sometimes stayed in public bath.
One day when Ben was drinking, his best friend, Gudai, came to see him. Gudai used to be Ben’s neighbor when Ben was a child. They grew up together, and more importantly, did a lot of things together, including bad things. Because Gudai was five years older than Ben, he was the mastermind, usually leading Ben to do things, including bad things. To Ben, Gudai was very smart and always had ideas. In doing those things they became friends, very good friends. They would call each other the best friend they have in the world. Ben had not seen Gudai after he returned to China, because Gudai didn’t live in the city any more. He became rich, owning an advertising company in the provincial capital, which is 100 miles away. Gudai learned that Ben had come back and he made a special trip back to meet him. He caught Ben while Ben was drinking in a big restaurant with his college classmates. When Ben saw Gudai, he was overjoyed. The two friends hugged each other.
Gudai became full-bodied, his face looked round and his shoulders became thicker. He was about fifty, but looked very energetic and his face was ruddy. Doubtlessly he maintained himself well.
After Ben’s classmates went home, Gudai took Ben to a coffee-house and they had coffee. Gudai asked Ben, “why don’t you go to the provincial capital with me and stay with me there a week or two?”
“Why not?” Said Ben, recalling the orders from Gudai when he was a child.
They stayed in a very good hotel in the center of the city. The next day after they had breakfast, they started out. When Ben saw that Gudai was driving a BMW, he exclaimed, “wow, a BMW!”
“What kind of car do you have in America?” Gudai asked him.
“A Toyota,” Ben answered.
“Very ordinary.” Gudai said with emphasis.
“In America, even doctors and lawyers drive Toyota,” said Ben, feeling a little humiliating.
“Doctors and lawyers are very ordinary in China,” announced Gudai.
“Maybe the system is different,” said Ben.
“Maybe the Chinese system is better,” said Gudai.
Three hours later they arrived at the capital. Since the morning Gudai’s cell phone had been keeping ringing. It is obviously that he was busy. He made orders over the phone. When they arrived at the capital, he needed to see a customer, so he left Ben in a hotel. He said to Ben, “last night we went to bed very late, have some sleep and we will talk later.”
Ben was wondering why Gudai didn’t let him stay in his apartment. He had an apartment and a house. He lives in the apartment and goes to the house sometimes. The apartment is in a good area and has four bedrooms. Ben knew Gudai’s wife, and felt that Gudai should let him meet his wife. Ben noticed a change in the Chinese, which is they seldom invite people to their home, unlike the time when Ben was in China.
Gudai didn’t come until 9 o’clock in the evening. He said to Ben, “I am sorry, I have been busy.”
He drove Ben to a big restaurant. After they sat down, Ben said: “God, I cannot believe this. The city looks like a metropolis. The lights, the neon signs and the traffic make it very much like New York City.”
“China is changing,” said Gudai, “it is becoming richer and richer. At Mao’s time, the government kept announcing that the country advanced at a tremendous pace. It is not true. Actually the country went backward at a tremendous pace at that time, not forward. Now it turns the direction, and is advancing day by day.”
“Even The New York Times says that,” said Ben.
“China will become a super power,” said Gudai, as if he was announcing something important, “there is no doubt about that. It will become one of the richest countries in the world. We will see that.”
Ben felt a sense of upstart in Gudai’s tone. Ben had been feeling the sense since he had returned to China. It seemed that the Chinese, contrary to before, didn’t feel inferior any more and they suddenly became proud. Ben clearly remembers the inferiority Chinese felt when he was in China, which was 15 years ago.
“The world is watching,” continued Gudai, “watching us advancing, becoming more and more wealthy and stronger and stronger, with admiration.”
Ben, for some unknown reason, felt obligated to calm Gudai down. He said: “but China doesn’t have democracy. There is no election and free speech. The media is controlled.”
Gudai seemed annoyed. He asked: “why do we need democracy, simply because America has it? We don’t need to follow other people’s example. We have our own culture and our culture is one of the richest. We have a long history of almost five thousand years. America has only two hundreds years of history. An old man doesn’t need to learn from a young man. An old man is more experienced than a young man.”
The Chinese still like to talk about politics, Ben had observed. Some of them are opinioned. Of course not everyone hold Gudai’s belief and he obviously is an extremist.
Ben didn’t want to start an argument so he changed the subject by asking: “how is your wife?”
“She is fine.” Said Gudai. “She doesn’t work any more. Let me call her so you can talk to her.”
“Good idea,” said Ben.
Gudai made a call with his cellular phone, and said to the phone: “somebody here wants to talk to you.” Then he handed the phone to Ben. When Ben had the phone, a woman’s voice kept saying, “hello, hello. Who is this…” Ben answered: “hi, this is Tong-Peng.” Tong-Peng is Ben’s Chinese name. The voice said, “who? Are you Tong-Peng? But you are in America. Are you in China now? Have you come back for a visit? What a surprise. When Gudai told me somebody wanted to talk me, I cannot figure out whom it was. I didn’t expect it is you. I have not seen you for a long time. It is so good to hear from you. Are you in the capital now? We will meet... “
After Ben finished, Gudai took the phone and said to his wife: “I won’t come home tonight because I have something to do.”
When the dinner was almost finished, Gudai said to Ben: “I am sorry I cannot keep you accompany tonight. I need to go to someplace.”
“Have you got yourself a lover,” Ben laughed.
“Yes, a lover,” said Gudai.
“Are you serious?” Ben looked at him and asked.
“Seriously,” said Gudai.
“Do you mean you will go to her tonight?”
“Yes.”
Ben, after thinking a while, said: “I understand.”
After they finished the dinner, Gudai drove Ben to the hotel, and then he went away. When Ben walked into his room, which was on the 20th floor, he didn’t feel good. There might be a reason for Gudai’s asking him to come with him to the capital. He might use Ben as a cover for his seeing his lover, because he wanted to hide it from his wife.
The next morning, after Ben woke up, he got a call from Gudai’s wife.
“We can have lunch together,” said Gudai’s wife warmly.
“Yes,” said Ben.
“I guess Gudai is busy and he doesn’t have time to keep you accompany. I feel obligated to take you out.”
“Thanks.”
Gudai’s wife drove an Audi to the hotel. She took Ben to a restaurant. She is no more a girl but a middle-aged woman. There are wrinkles on her face and she became heavier. She ordered a lot of dishes, and asked Ben: “how is life in America?”
“Pretty good,” answered Ben.
“Do you still work in the same pharmaceutical company?”
“Yes.”
“Gudai talks a lot about you.”
“We are very good friends.”
“Did he stay in the hotel with you last night?”
“Yes,” Ben raised his voice.
In the middle of the lunch, Gudai came to join them. He wore a new blue jacket that made him look younger.
“Mei,” Gudai said to his wife, “don’t you think that Ben changed very little? He looks almost the same as we saw him last time.”
“Yes,” said his wife, “he looks just like I saw him last time, which was eight years ago. I have been wondering how he can maintain himself so well in America.”
“Do you have any secrets?” Gudai looked at Ben and asked.
“No secrets,” laughed Ben, “we don’t smoke and we don’t drink a lot.”
“See?” said Gudai’s wife, “people in America lead a very healthy life, not like here. People here eat a lot and often get drunk.”
“No doubt about it,” said Gudai.
Before they finished the lunch, Gudai said to Ben: “after lunch you can go with me to my office and take a look.”
“Good idea,” said Ben.
After the lunch Gudai’s wife parted with them and went home. On their way to Gudai’s office, Gudai asked Ben: “did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes,” answered Ben.
“Did you support the poor?”
“Support the poor?” Ben asked, “what do you mean?”
“Don’t you know what it means?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Supporting the poor means calling a girl to serve you.”
“Calling a girl to serve me?” Ben seemed more confused, “what do you mean by that?”
“You can call a girl to your room to serve you, or sleep with you.”
“Sleep with me. But, but…where is the girl?”
“In the hotel.”
“They have girls in the hotel to offer service?”
“Yes. In every hotel.”
“I didn’t know that. But how can you call it supporting the poor.”
“Simply. The girls are poor. They live in the country and come to the cities to make money. Because they are not skillful and have little education, they turn to be prostitutes.”
“Supporting is a funny word.” Ben said.
“Yes, you suddenly become a philanthropist.”
“Indeed.” Ben laughed bitterly.
“So you didn’t do it.”
“Not. I didn’t know there were girls.”
“They are everywhere, almost in every hotel.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You just need to know.”
Gudai’s office was on the fifth floor of a big building. The building was located on a busy street. The office was spacious and decorated very well. After Ben sat down, a beautiful girl brought in tea. Before long, a customer came to Gudai. Gudai called a young man to drive Ben around the town. After the young man drove Ben a while, Ben felt tired and asked him to take him to the hotel where he stayed. The young man did what he said.
After Ben got in his room and lied down, he asked himself: “Is Gudai left me by myself here last night to give me a chance to call a girl?”
Ben got up and looked at service guide, and found the phone number for massage.
“It is for real,” he said to himself.
At five o’clock Gudai called Ben and told him that he could not have dinner with him because he was busy, but he would come to the hotel at about 8 o’clock. He told Ben to have dinner at the cafeteria in the hotel, which was on the second floor.
Gudai came at 8:30. He asked Ben if he had dinner. After Ben answered him yes, he asked Ben: “do you want to call a girl to serve you?”
“Call a girl to this room?” Ben asked, looking at Gudai.
“Yes,” Gudai answered. “Don’t worry. If you don’t want my presence, I can go to another room.”
While Ben was thinking, he said again: “if you don’t care, I can call a girl to serve me too.”
“To this room?” Ben asked.
“Yes,” answered Gudai.
“I prefer talking to you. “Ben said, after thinking awhile, “we have not been seeing each other for a long time.”
“Okay, if you prefer that.”
“I have something to tell you,” said Ben, “at lunch, before you came, Mei asked me if you stayed with me last night.”
“Well?”
“I said yes.”
“Why did you say that?” asked Gudai.
“I think that is what you want me to say.”
“Not necessarily.” Gudai shook his head.
Ben was confused. He asked: “Do you mean you don’t care if she knows if you stayed with me?”
“Not at all.”
Ben asked: “do you mean you don’t care if she knows you have a lover?”
“I don’t care, because she already knew.”
“She knew?” Ben got surprised.
“Of course she knew. What do you think? A lot of time I stay out and so many girls keep calling me. “
“Doesn’t she care?”
“At beginning yes, but no more. You don’t need to cover for me, otherwise she might think you are not honest. “
“I didn’t know that”
“To have mistress is not a problem these days. It is popular and even becomes the fashion, and part of the culture.”
“China has really changed.”
“I have several mistresses before. Now I keep only one, probably the best one. She is from the country and used to be working for me. She talked little but working hard. The first time when I asked her out, to my surprise, she refused me.”
“She must be very pretty.”
“No doubt about that, she has dazzling beauty.
“I can guess. You must treat her very well.”
“Yes. I bought an apartment for her and every month give her 8 thousand Yuan as allowance. She works no more.”
“8 thousand Yuan, that is a lot. A lot of people are just make five hundred Yuan a month.”
“Yes. And even most college graduates are just make fifteen hundred or twenty hundred Yuan a month these days.”
“Quite true.”
“She has been my mistress for four years. Now she is twenty-two. I never feel tired of her. She is always fresh to me.”
“I can imagine that.”
“She wants to marry me. I didn’t marry her before because I didn’t want to hurt my daughter. But now since my daughter has already finished college and started working, I think I can do it. Not because I want to hurt Mei but because it is not fair to the mistress. The mistress has spent all these years with me. I will make her formally my wife. She would enjoy the title.”
“Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes. I am sorry to tell you this because Mei is also your friend. My life will be changed. You don’t know how much I like the mistress, and how much she has done for me.”
“She must be very devoted.”
“That is for sure. In the bottom of my heart I call her the most devoted woman in the world.” Gudai said with emphases.
“Can I have the chance meeting her?”
“Of course, I will arrange it.”
The next evening, when Gudai and Ben sat down in a restaurant, Gudai”s got a call. He looked at the number and said simply, “just come in.” Soon a girl came to join them. She looked about eighteen years old and was very pretty, tall and slim, with delicate skin and big eyes, very elegant.
Gudai said to Ben: “this is my girl-friend Ling.” Gudai turned Ling and said to her, “This is my friend Ben from America.”
Ben was shocked when he knew the girl was Gudai’s girl-friend. She was gorgeous.
“From America?” Ling said with surprise, “what a surprise. How long have you been in America?”
Ben answered her gently: “twelve years.”
“That is a long time,” said Ling, “how do you like America?”
“I like it very much.”
“I would like to go to America for a visit someday,” said Ling. “I have been dreaming about it for a long time. I told Gudai about it.”
She smiled to Gudai.
Gudai laughed and said, “a piece of cake.”
“I have never been abroad,” said Ling.
“What country do you want to go the most?” Ben asked her.
“France probably, America the second.” She answered.
“France is a great country,” said Ben.
Ling seemed easy-going. When Gudai asked her what she wanted to order, she let Gudai decide for her. When food was served, she ate very little. It seemed that she was on a diet.
After dinner Gudai drove Ben to the hotel and went away with Ling. Ben started to admire Gudai. Ling was just too pretty to ignore. Ben started to understand life in China. People not only have money but also have women, beautiful women.
The next night when Gudai came to Ben, Ben told him: “Ling is just gorgeous.”
“Now you know,” Gudai said.
“I begin admiring you.”
“You don’t need to admire me. You can easily find a girl-friend for yourself.”
“A girl-friend for me?”
“Yes. You will stop admiring and start enjoying.”
Ben laughed and said, “I will go to America pretty soon, no time for a girl-friend.”
“I can help you.”
Ben thought awhile and then said, “Next time.”
“You don’t want to support the poor, and you don’t want a girl friend either. What is the problem with you? You don’t want to spend money? It seems that the American are getting poorer and poorer.”
Ben laughed and said: “maybe you are right. I am working class in America and every penny I made is by hard working, not easy-money.”
“You make Americans look bad.”
Two days later, Gudai took Ben to a nightclub, which was crowded. When two of them sat at a table, Ben noticed a young girl walking out of the club with a man, and the girl dressed well and looked familiar. When Ben looked at her attentively, she seemed more familiar. She walked out of the club and got into a Benz outside of the club. Before the Benz moved away, Ben laughed to himself, “it is impossible for me to know any young girl in China. I left China too long to know any of them.”
Presently a young man at next table said to him: “you don’t need to look at her, because it is no use.”
The young man was short. He was drinking. There were several empty beer bottles on his table and his eyes looked murky.
“Whom are you talking about?” Gudai asked him.
The young man pointed at the young girl and said: “the pretty girl.”
Before Gudai got the chance to see the girl, the Benz went away. Gudai asked: “who is she? “
“Never mind who she is,” said the young man, “the problem is that she’s not available.”
“We are too late.” Said Gudai, laughing.
“Do you know her?” Ben asked.
“Not directly but indirectly,” answered the young man.
As Ben was trying to find out if the young man was making stories, the young man continued: “her lover is my best friend.”
“Really?” said Ben.
“She is a generous girl,” the young man kept going, “every month she gives four thousand Yuan to my friend as allowance.”
“She is indeed generous,” said Ben.
“Where does she get the money?” said Gudai, “that is a lot.”
“That is exactly the point,” said the young man, “where does she get the money? She is not working, she is from a other place and she is not rich.”
“So where dose she get it?” Gudai asked again.
“She gets it from another man,” said the young man, “a rich man. The rich man is even more generous, because he gives her about ten thousand Yuan as monthly allowance.
“So she has two lovers?”
“Yes.”
“So the rich man is a fool,” laughed Gudai.
Ben asked the young man: “she has two lovers at the same time?”
“Yes,” answered the young man, “The rich man keeps her and she keeps a younger man with the rich man’s money.”
“That is interesting,” said Gudai.
“But how can she handle two men at the same time,” asked Ben, “since the rich man might call at her at any time?”
“That is critical,” answered the young man, “she rents an apartment for my friend in the same block where the rich man keeps her, only a different building, about five minuets walking. She can easily and quickly return to the rich man.”
“She is really smart,” exclaimed Gudai, “closer seems more dangerous, but it is safer, because no one will be suspicious.”
“She is indeed smart,” said Ben, “but it seems unfair to the rich man.”
“That is the way it is,” said the young man, “girls are like this nowadays. Besides, just think, the rich man is busy, he has a wife and other lovers, and he always travels. A girl well-kept like her cannot stay lonely long. The funny thing is that she pretends to be devoted to him, saying that she would marry him. The rich man, as a fool, is deluded and keeps giving her money and even promised her to marry her.”
“Who’s the girl?” Gudai seemed became more curious, and he asked, “what’s her name?”
“Soon,” said the young man, “the love chain will be broken, because she is going to fly to Paris tomorrow. A richer man, who was just walking out with her, will take her there for a visit. She promised him that she would cut all the relations with other men and loves him only . The rich man who keeps her for all these years is a multimillionaire, but the one who is going to take her to Paris is a billionaire.”
“It seems she loves only money,” said Ben.
“Of course,” said the young man, “what do you think? My poor friend knows that she is going away, he feels very lonely, even crying at home at this very moment.”
“Who is the girl?” Gudai asked again.
“Why do you so interested in her?”
“I am just curious,” said Gudai in some hurry, “can you please tell me her name?”
“Her name is Ling,” answered the young man.
