"You still haven't asked about my past."
Betty covered her bare back and lay in Wang Yan's arms, her gaze fixed on the bright view outside the window.
One hand rested on her ample breast while the fingertips of the other wound through Betty's silky hair. Wang Yan said, "I figured you didn't want to bring it up. When you left back then, maybe you weren't exactly aiming to work for capitalists, but you definitely weren't planning to become a waitress at the Peninsula Hotel either. They say no job is higher or lower than another, but back on the mainland, workers used to be masters of the country. Now, they no longer speak with quite as much confidence.
"You worked as a waitress at the Peninsula Hotel. You knew the country had been developing well in recent years, yet you still didn't want to go back. You must have left rather decisively back then. And now you don't want to return and be looked down on. After all, your friends and family there don't know how you're really doing. They all think you're doing great. Over here, you don't have anyone you know well, so living alone is fairly comfortable.
"It was your past that made you who you are now. There's no need to cling to it too stubbornly. This is an era of great upheaval. What matters more is looking ahead."
"You're right. But I want to tell you that in Shanghai, my name is Xuezhi." Betty let out a long breath. Before Wang Yan could say anything, she asked, "So how are we supposed to look ahead?"
"I think we should start by getting up and eating, then moving my luggage over to your place. The room here is pretty expensive, after all."
Betty said nothing.