The World of Susu Huang

Author: Susu Huang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Susu Huang's column is often called China's version of Sex and the City by many readers. However, Beijing and New York are vastly different. As far as we know, we only have a glimpse of Susu Huang's blog. Its rhythm and rhyme seem to break free from invisible confinement, a bit of stylish flair, hip-hop mischief, and salvaging survivors. Beijing, with a population of 14 million, excluding the frequent influx of people from other places and foreigners. Here, unmarried young people, divorced or separated individuals from all over the world gather, with a gender ratio of 1.2:1. Yet, when two women—Susu Huang and Shanshan—both find their ideal partners, they are still taken aback.
Late August to early September marks Beijing's so-called social season. Exhibitions, forums, performances, and club events are held in every corner, some even extending to Yunnan and coastal cities. These activities are roughly divided into two types: free and paid; high-end and mainstream; crowded and sparse; with gifts and without; with food and without. Susu Huang thinks this must be the highbrow and lowbrow divide of Beijing's social scene. Susu Huang and Shanshan haven't seen each other for two weeks, constantly attending social engagements and finding themselves stretched thin. Occasionally, they call each other, complaining about how stingy the buffet at one restaurant is or how talkative and clueless the host at another event is. The most common complaints are like this—Shanshan: "The journalist sitting next to me last night talked about Dostoevsky all night." Susu Huang: "An 80s literary youth?" Shanshan: "She's only 22." Susu Huang: "Oh. Yesterday at the buffet, a successful 50-year-old man told me he likes to commute to work on roller skates." Shanshan: "Isn't that interesting?" Susu Huang: "But I noticed he visits the bathroom every ten minutes." Older people pretend to be younger, younger people pretend to be older—where can you find normal people? Susu Huang holds hope for highbrow events, believing that those with stable social status tend to have healthier minds; Shanshan feels closer to lowbrow events, thinking that people with less social pressure are closer to a natural state.
On the third weekend they missed each other, Susu Huang attended a club's anniversary party, while Shanshan went to a rave at an artificial beach. At the club, Susu Huang stood tall in her black backless evening gown, feeling like a piece of rubber. Suddenly, a shout went up: "Susu Huang!" She turned around and saw Qi, a former colleague from an internet company. He had bought stocks heavily when they plummeted on a portal website and later sold them when they rebounded, becoming a millionaire. Standing beside him was a tall man dressed modestly. Susu Huang met his gaze and felt a sudden spark. Meanwhile, Shanshan got separated from her colleagues at the artificial beach and was shouting in the crowd when suddenly a shower of beer rained down on her, nearly choking her. She turned around and saw a sturdy young man with two rows of neatly white teeth smiling at her.
At the club, Susu Huang shook hands with Qi's friends, who gripped her hand firmly, holding it two seconds longer than a typical handshake. On the beach, Shanshan snatched the young man's beer bottle and threw it to the ground. The young man reached out and said, "I have another one. Let's go drinking." Late at night, Susu Huang and the tall man (whose name was Zhuo Hui, an architect) talked until the world around them faded away, unaware that the internet stock millionaire Qi had quietly vanished. The world shrank to just the two of them: a shy teenager who once sold T-shirts on Harvard Square and a high school girl who once fainted from anger at Tiananmen Square, wearing a red armband. Zhuo Hui reached out and stroked Susu Huang's long hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her closer: "Come to my place. I have ten kinds of wine, five kinds of coffee, a terrace, and one French letter." Susu Huang had never heard such an elaborate invitation, though it seemed a bit too smooth for someone shy, but she decided not to be too critical. Zhuo Hui shared a duplex apartment with others. The moment they sat down on the terrace facing the park, they faintly heard whispers and giggles from outside the door. Susu Huang jumped up in alarm, but Zhuo Hui held her back: "It's nothing, my roommate from upstairs." They stayed there until near dawn, only entering when the birds began to chirp.
At noon, Susu Huang finished getting ready and felt very happy, deciding to go shopping with Shanshan that day. Zhuo Hui sent her out of the bedroom and into the hall when the stairs creaked. Susu Huang looked up and nearly fainted—Shanshan was running down the stairs, bouncing with energy.
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