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China Elevator Stories
Should You Stay with Your Girlfriend or Listen to Your Parents?
A property agent in Shenzhen asks me for advice.
20/03/2013
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
The other day, I get a message on QQ from the property agent who helped me find my flat in Shenzhen. I haven’t really been in touch with him lately, except for the occasional reply to the questions: “How are you?” and “How’s work?”.
This time is different. After asking me these usual questions, he says: “May I ask you a question?”
I reply: “Sure, go ahead.”
He continues: “Imagine you’re a guy who falls head over heels for a girl. She has had a tumor removed through surgery. But after dating her for a month, you find out that her cancer isn’t gone and is spreading. Her doctor says she only has a very short time left to live. You really care for this girl, but your parents and your whole family are against your relationship. They want you to leave her and go back to your hometown to go on a blind date with another woman. The girl you fell in love with tells you to go back and not worry about her. What do you do in this situation?”
I tell him: “I stay with the girl. She must be very lonely in this situation and needs someone to be with her.”
He replies: “That’s also what her mother says. Thanks for your advice.”
“You’re welcome.”
What advice would you give?
This is part of the series ‘Conversations with Locals in China,’ where I share conversations with Chinese people on my blog.