He had argued with her quite forcibly when she said she wanted to walk, but she was even more insistent. Her desire to clear her head was now more intense than when she had first told Xu she needed to take a walk. His parting words had shaken her. In her mind, Uncle was forever calm and collected. Even when she confronted him in hospital and he confessed to the existence of cancer and his imminent death, he had done so in the most matter-of-fact manner. The thought of his being overcome by emotion was hard for her to grasp. But she didn’t doubt Xu. His words had triggered a memory of Sonny telling her how Uncle’s strength and composure had left him when he found out she had been kidnapped and would almost certainly die. She was glad she hadn’t seen him so vulnerable. She wanted to think of him as the wise, cool, and consoling man who had come to her in her dream the night before, the one who had nudged her to work with Xu. He had done that, hadn’t he?
