A Love Letter from Lhasa 21

Chapter 20: Huaimin’s Further Studies and Internship

01
At the English Language Center teaching building, students from all over the world gathered. Classes were arranged according to native language. Huaimin’s classroom was “Chinese 1A.” Each class had two instructors, one of whom was a native speaker.

The students in this class came from China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, including some mixed-race students. Huaimin’s appearance also made classmates think he was mixed-race.

Another student from southern Taiwan, Chen Zhilong, spoke with him in the southern Taiwan accent of Mandarin.
“Hey, bro, I’ve been to your tribe’s war festival! It was in Tefuye.”
“I’ve performed at your Kenting White Sand Bay music festival!”
“Really?” Zhilong asked.
“Of course! Our Zou tribe youth are always good at singing and dancing.”
“What school and department are you in?”
“National Taiwan Normal University, Fine Arts Department.”
“I’m at Tsinghua University, Information Management. I plan to work in Silicon Valley.”

The two young men quickly became familiar with each other.

02
Huaimin’s SUV drove into Burbank and arrived at Disney headquarters. He showed his employee ID, and under the guard’s guidance, parked in the animation department’s staff parking area.

Dressed sharply in a suit and carrying a briefcase, Huaimin walked to the office building. Following staff into the elevator, he arrived on the fifth floor and entered the animation department. Director Johnson waved at him: “Huaimin, come here.”

Walking over, Huaimin was introduced to his team. Johnson led him to a cubicle: “This is the Character Illustration Department.”

A young Chinese woman with a ponytail and delicate features approached and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Su Limin.”
Johnson said, “Su is the head of this department. She will arrange your examiners and training courses. Su, take care of Huaimin! He was personally recruited by Mr. Hall and is very fast and accurate with character illustrations.”

Curious, Su immediately took an interest in Huaimin.
“No problem! I’ll take care of him,” Su said. “Huaimin, follow me.”

She led him to the “Character Design Area” and pointed to an empty seat. “Sit here, open your computer, fill out your employee profile, and hit send. Then someone will come guide you through the rest of your internship.”
“Thank you, Director Su,” Huaimin said.

Su asked, “You don’t look very Chinese.”
“I’m mixed Tibetan and Taiwanese indigenous.”
“Oh? Which tribe?”
“Zou tribe from Alishan.”

Su thought: What a coincidence—Zou tribe from Alishan, and his surname is Tang… Could he be the childhood fiancé mentioned in Mengying’s email?
She decided to stay calm, reviewed Huaimin’s profile, and then planned to verify through Mengying’s email. Switching to Taiwanese-accented Mandarin, she said: “I’m from Tainan, immigrated to Silicon Valley early. I went to elementary school there for three years. Can you speak Taiwanese?”
Huaimin scratched his head, smiling sheepishly: “A little, not very fluent.”
“Okay! We’ll just speak Taiwanese Mandarin from now on,” Su said with a smile.

03
Huaimin’s SUV returned home. Annie heard the car, came out from the study, and took his briefcase.
“Dinner’s cold. You rest first, I’ll reheat it.” She put the briefcase on the coffee table and took two dishes into the kitchen.

“In the future, if I come home late, you just eat without waiting for me,” Huaimin said, loosening his tie, taking off his suit and shoes, and sitting on the sofa by the coffee table with a glass of aiyu lemon drink.
“Of course, I’ll wait for you to eat together!” Annie said, putting the steamed fish in the microwave and heating the braised beef on the stove.
“Today at work, I learned a lot. But it really is exhausting there,” Huaimin remarked.
“You’ll get used to it quickly. What matters is learning,” Annie replied, bringing a pot of soup into the living room.

Huaimin mused: “America dominates in entertainment because of creative and efficient companies.”
“That’s American business! Everyone relies on their own skills, no favoritism,” Annie said, rinsing spinach in the sink.

Watching the news, Huaimin muttered: “Why are there shootings every day? Guns are too widespread!” He switched to the Disney channel to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.
About ten minutes later, Annie called, “Dinner’s ready!” Huaimin turned off the TV and went to the dining table.

04
The next morning at the office, Su Limin opened Huaimin’s employee profile and noticed his wife, Cangyang Annie, and the marriage registration date.
She murmured: “Just married? Cangyang Annie? Cangyang… that must be Tibetan. There’s a Cangyang Gyatso in Tibet.”

Using a search engine, she confirmed several records: “Yes, Cangyang is a Tibetan name. Huaimin’s wife must be Tibetan.”

Su immediately drafted an email, attaching Huaimin’s profile with the modified filename, and secretly sent it to Tang Mengying.

Soon, Su received a reply:
Limin Sister:
I was heartbroken receiving your email!
That man is indeed my childhood fiancé. Last year, he went to Tibet, met a new girlfriend, and after more than six months of dating, secretly registered marriage without telling me. In his previous letter, he didn’t even reveal his whereabouts. I wrote to him asking him to return to Taiwan before my birthday, and I’m still waiting for his reply.

Thank you for letting me know. Though my mood is frozen, I’m not giving up. Please keep an eye on him at work.

—Mengying, by the Seine, Paris

Su muttered angrily to herself: “You dare play with my sister’s feelings? I’ll deal with you!” Then she calmed down, thinking: By becoming his examiner, I can control him.

Su reported to Director Smith and then approached Huaimin:
“Huaimin, I’ve reviewed your profile. You were personally recruited by Mr. Hall. I volunteer to be your examiner during your internship and will arrange your training courses.”

Huaimin, astonished, stood and bowed deeply: “Thank you, Director Su. I will work hard and learn from you.”

Su, smoothing her waterfall-like hair, said softly: “I naturally take care of my people first!”

Huaimin hesitated: “Director, in a few days I need to accompany my wife to Taiwan. Could I…”

Su immediately frowned: “You just started, and already want leave? This may leave a bad impression!”

Embarrassed, Huaimin explained: “It’s a fixed schedule, important family matters. I must go… Please understand.”

Su smiled generously, secretly amused: “Alright! Leave for Taiwan is approved.” She thought: He’s going to see Mengying; I’ll email her in advance.