Overacting

Darnell pedaled his old-fashioned roadster, the chain clattering in the night breeze like someone chasing him while playing the castanets.

He was riding fast, so fast that the zipper of his down jacket was flapping against his neck, so fast that the cold wind blew tears right out of his eyes... of course, he would never admit they were tears.

"It's the wind."

If anyone asked, that's what he would say.

"March wind, you know? The kind that specifically drills into people's eyes."

The chain clattered again.

He looked down... it wasn't the bike's fault, it was the road's.

The surface of Jamaica Avenue was riddled with potholes; the March permafrost had only half-thawed, leaving cracks and puddles everywhere. He carefully swerved around a large pit and then accelerated.

As he neared the subway station, Darnell saw someone waving at him from the station exit not far away.

The subway exit was a square glass pavilion above ground, and the fluorescent tubes inside emitted a ghastly pale light, illuminating that small patch of concrete like a stage.

People coming and going from the subway walked in and out of the light, their shadows stretching and shrinking on the ground like a silent pantomime.

In such an environment, Darnell still managed to spot Lin An at a single glance.

By the time he pedaled his roadster closer and parked, Darnell realized that Lin An wasn't just waiting leisurely, but was also holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand.

"Holy shit, why do you have hot coffee!"

Darnell protested loudly.

"Get me one too, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, what will you do?"

Lin An asked with interest.

"Otherwise, I'll kneel down and hug your thighs to beg you!"

Darnell said righteously, which made Lin An roll his eyes. He extended his other free hand, flipped his palm, and a five-dollar bill appeared in it, which he then handed over.

"Here, go buy one at the convenience store next door yourself!"

"Oh, thanks bro."

Darnell parked his bike and took the bill with a grin, but instead of leaving, he stood in place and scanned the area.

"Bro, did you see my sister? A very pretty girl..."

"Are you talking about that one over there?"

Lin An pointed to the other side of the subway exit, where a brown-skinned girl with wavy hair was stomping her feet impatiently, while a young man with yellow skin was circling around her.

Darnell looked in the direction of Lin An's finger, and his expression underwent a visibly visible collapse.

"Oh, no."

He said.

"What's wrong?"

"That... that yellow-skinned kid!"

"You're yellow-skinned too."

Lin An said.

"In your self-perception, are you Black or Asian? That's a philosophical question."

"This isn't a philosophical question! This is... wait, what are you talking about?"

Darnell shook his head.

"Never mind, that kid's name is Jack Wang, and he's a damn problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"He's chasing my sister."

"Is there a problem with that?"

Lin An glanced at the young man circling around Meiling; he wasn't tall, wore a gray jacket that was clearly a size too big, his hair was slicked back, and the expression on his face... Lin An couldn't describe it, it just felt disgusting.

"He looks... uh, alright."

"Alright?"

Darnell's voice rose.

"You call this alright? He... he's an illegal immigrant!"

"You're also the descendant of illegal immigrants."

Lin An said.

"From a historical perspective..."

"Oh, that's different!"

Darnell lowered his voice and leaned toward Lin An, his expression as serious as if he were exchanging state secrets.

"He and his father are the kind who smuggled themselves in from South America, the kind who tore up their passports, you get me?"

Lin An's eyebrows arched slightly.

"Runners?"

[They existed back in 2009?]

[They've been around for a long time. Fujianese people arriving by boat, others trekking through South America—these have always been mainstream smuggling routes, very well-established. By 2000, there were already specialized South American Chinese and local gangs running these routes, and there was a certain level of security before the pandemic.]

[After the pandemic hit, due to economic issues, the snakeheads and gangs were short on cash, and with the rising demand from back home, the traffic on the South American route surged, while the safety levels plummeted. Many participants started treating it like a one-off gamble.]

"Bro, do me a favor."

Darnell rolled his eyes at Lin An, who was staring blankly while reading the comments.

"His dad knows my stepfather; they used to work together in a kitchen in Chinatown, so... so I can't beat him up right now. You understand?"

"Why?"

"Because my stepfather is already dead. If I beat up his friend's son, my mom will find out. If my mom finds out, she'll cry, and if my mom cries, I'll... I'll..."

He made a gesture of choking himself.

"You'll what?"

"I'll have to spend three hours in church! Three hours! Listening to the pastor talk about loving your neighbor and all that stuff. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

Lin An thought for a moment.

"I've never been to church."

"You... you..."

Darnell took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"OK, OK, genius, listen to me. Here's the situation: that Jack Wang, he's been chasing my sister, pestering her for three months. This kid isn't doing it because he likes her..."

"Then why?"

"Because of a Green Card!"

Darnell lowered his voice, but every word sounded like it was being squeezed through his teeth.

"He needs to marry an American citizen to stay here, you get it? He's set his sights on Meiling. Meiling is an American citizen, she's sixteen now, and that bastard... that bastard..."

His fists clenched, his knuckles popping with a faint crackling sound.

Lin An tilted his head to look at the comments on the side.

[Holy crap, 16? That's a real animal.]

[Wait, the girl is 16, the boy is 16 too. Both are minors, can they even get married?]

[Bro, don't project the situation in China onto the US. New York state law says that at 16, you only need parental consent to sign the marriage papers.]

[In some US states, you can get married at any age as long as your parents sign.]

Oh, so that's how it is.

"So the solution you came up with is to bring me here?"

"Right!"

"Because I'm better looking than you?"

Darnell opened his mouth, his expression like he'd just been fed a mouthful of lemon.

"You... you..."

"It's a fact."

Lin An said, his tone calm.

"In your plan, you bring a man who is better looking than you, and Jack Wang will automatically back off. Because his competitiveness isn't enough."

"I..."

"So you aren't refuting the part where I'm better looking than you."

"I don't give a damn... are you going to help me or not?"

"Help, of course I'll help."

Lin An's lips curled slightly. He tossed his still-steaming coffee into a trash can, cleared his throat, and straightened his clothes, smoothing out his already neat collar.

"Bro, what are you doing?"

Watching Lin An, Darnell had a bad premonition; things seemed to be spiraling beyond his expectations.

Lin An didn't answer. He slowly folded his cuffs up by half an inch, revealing his fair wrists. His movements were unhurried, like a pianist tidying up before taking the stage.

Then, like a suit-clad model in slow motion, he walked toward the other side with a specific, rhythmic gait. People emerging from the subway station subconsciously dodged out of his way as he approached.

[Holy crap, what is he doing?]

[That walk, I'm so familiar with it.]

[Does he think he looks cool?]

[I need to screenshot that look on Darnell's face.]

Over by Chen Meiling, Jack Wang was still rambling on.

"...Meiling, I just want to buy you a milk tea, just one, no sugar, you said you didn't like things too sweet..."

Chen Meiling stood with her arms crossed, tapping one foot on the ground, her gaze drifting past Jack Wang's shoulder as she searched for Darnell.

Then she saw Lin An, and her eyebrows arched... Chen Meiling recognized this person; she had seen him sleeping on her family's sofa that morning, his ragged clothes dirtying the cushions, and her own brother had even claimed he was his "good bro."

Jack Wang noticed Meiling's gaze and turned around.

Then he saw Lin An.

Lin An had already walked to within three steps; he stopped and stood there, looking down at Jack Wang from a position of perceived superiority.

In truth, Lin An wasn't tall—at 1.7 meters, he was considered petite in this Black neighborhood—but his "arrogant CEO" aura made Jack Wang, who was the same height, feel as though he were being looked down upon, forcing the latter to instinctively take half a step back.

Then, his gaze slid from Lin An's face to his shoulders, from his shoulders to his clothes, from his clothes to his shoes, and finally back to his face.

His smile turned somewhat stiff.

"Hey!"

Jack Wang grinned, showing eight teeth, and spoke in accented American English.

"Are you a friend of Meiling?"

Lin An did not answer, nor did he spare Jack Wang a single glance.

He walked up to Chen Meiling, tilted his head slightly, and let his gaze fall on her wavy hair, which had been tousled by the wind, before raising his hand to naturally tuck a strand behind her ear.

"How long have you been waiting?"

He asked, his voice not loud, yet clear enough for both of them to hear.

Chen Meiling was stunned for a moment.

She clearly hadn't expected this opening line; she opened her mouth, subconsciously glancing at Darnell, who was pushing his bicycle to the side, his mouth slightly agape like a black toad.

"Uh... not long?"

Chen Meiling said tentatively, her tone questioning... Lin An's character model was doing a lot of heavy lifting, preventing the mixed-race girl from slapping him across the face.

Lin An nodded slightly and raised his wrist to check his watch.

Darnell stood on his tiptoes to get a look... he didn't remember Lin An having a watch.

"I had my driver take a detour, he's running late because the Manhattan Bridge is as jammed as a parking lot in March."

Driver.

Darnell's eyebrows nearly flew up to his hairline.

He looked around frantically, trying to spot a car that might belong to "Lin An's driver."

There were a few beat-up Toyotas and Chevrolets parked along the street, a taxi was dropping off a passenger in the distance, and further away... the police car that had brought Lin An here hadn't gone far yet.

But Jack Wang didn't know that.

His gaze followed the direction where Lin An had checked his watch, then retracted, the expression on his face becoming even more complex.

Lin An finally turned around to face Jack Wang.

His gaze landed on Jack Wang and lingered for about two seconds, making the latter even more uncomfortable.

"And you are?"

He asked, his tone polite yet carrying a very obvious sense of distance.

"I... my name is Jack Wang."

Jack Wang said, his English suddenly becoming a bit stuttery.

"I am Meiling's... friend."

"Friend."

Lin An repeated the word, his lips curling up slightly at the perfect moment, and then he reached out to naturally take Meiling's hand.

"Meiling has many friends, but I haven't heard her mention you."

Jack Wang's ears turned red instantly; he subconsciously looked at Chen Meiling, seeking support, but Chen Meiling was looking down at the tips of her shoes, and even with her brown skin, one could see she was blushing.

"I... I know her brother."

Jack Wang said, his voice dropping lower.

"Our families are old friends."

"Old friends."

Lin An repeated it again, the sarcasm so thick that even Darnell standing nearby could hear it.

"So, you know her through her brother."

This was not a question.

Jack Wang did not answer.

Lin An tilted his head slightly, deliberately letting the light from the subway exit fall right across his brow bone, illuminating his already refined features to make them look even fairer, as if he were under a filter.

"Meiling, are you cold?"

Chen Meiling looked up, blinking as she stared at Lin An's face, her earlobes turning red.

"...I'm alright."

"Your lips are turning purple."

As Lin An said this, he began to unbutton his overcoat, his movements unhurried, as if he were performing an action he had done a thousand times before.

He draped the coat over Chen Meiling's shoulders.

Chen Meiling froze completely.

The coat was large, covering her like a cloak and wrapping her from her shoulders down to her knees, allowing her to catch the scent lingering on the fabric...

"I..."

"Keep it on."

Lin An said, his tone gentle yet beyond reproach.

He turned his head to look at Jack Wang once more.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"...Jack Wang."

"Jack."

Lin An said, using Chinese this time, his pronunciation surprisingly standard.

"Where are you from?"

Jack Wang's expression shifted.

The change was subtle... his eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his mouth dipped by a millimeter, and his shoulders instinctively pulled back a fraction.

Darnell could not read these details, but he could see Jack Wang's composure collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Fujian, Lianjiang."

"Lianjiang, I've been there. The seafood is good."

He paused, his gaze drifting to the side to glance at the live stream comments.

"The accommodations at Fali Hotel are quite nice... what do you do around here?"

"I... I work at a restaurant."

"Which one?"

"Fujian Restaurant on East Broadway."

"Fujian Restaurant..."

Lin An nodded again.

"Do you need me to introduce you to a job? I don't know how much their servers make, but..."

"No, thank you, that won't be necessary..."

Jack Wang answered almost frantically, his eyes reddening before he turned and walked toward the subway entrance with the hurried pace of someone fleeing.

[A bit cruel.]

[Not cruel, this is a good thing. If this kid had actually succeeded, he might have gotten his green card, but what would happen to Ni Ge's sister?]

[To have such schemes at only 16, his selfishness is overflowing. Anyone who marries him will suffer.]

Lin An watched Jack Wang's figure disappear, then turned to face Chen Meiling. Seeing her still looking down, her hands clutching the hem of his coat, he paused for a moment.

Damn it, I overacted.