After that, I bid farewell to all the nuns and took a taxi back to the city.A few hours later, I arrived at the Chengdu Golden Cow hotel. Although the pillars and moldings were all painted gold to match its title, the hotel was an eyesore. Loud and cigarette-dangling-from-lips men were talking with violent hand gestures. Exhausted mothers were yelling to their kids to behave. Shabbily uniformed staff walked around slack-mouthed, grunting…As I was hauling my luggage toward the counter, to my utter shock, I saw a familiar face appearing and disappearing among milling people.Michael? I couldn’t believe my eyes. Could it be Michael right here in Chengdu, in China, in front of my eyes? Or was it a hallucination?Then Michael’s tired face and gaunt body were quickly approaching me.“Meng Ning!” he screamed. A few people threw him curious glances.“Michael, is that you?!” It was now my turn to scream back.Suddenly Michael was standing in front of me. A long silence. Then he said, trying very hard to suppress his voice and seemingly rising anger, “Meng Ning, why did you just shut me out like this?
