Summary

On her days off, Polly looks for Leon’s family to no avail. One day, Leon comes to visit her in the nail salon. For five days, they sleep together and do not leave the apartment other than to retrieve takeout meals. Leon tells Polly about Deming’s adoption, news that devastates her. Polly declines Leon’s offer to stay together, and, to his relief, they both go their separate ways.

She takes a class in business Mandarin and gets a job working at an English school. One of her students, Yong, begins taking her out to eat. In Yong she finds a partner and a path towards urban hukou, a permanent city residency permit. Six months later, they get married. When Polly tries to defend herself to her son, Daniel tells her that it was Vivian, not Leon, who paid off her...