It had been at least a year since Ken had visited Amsterdam and he had never passed the alleys Yingying guided him through. The facades were painted a dark green and looked a little like those of English pubs, were it not for the 'shop windows'. The displays were roughly the size of a phone booth and they were framed with red curtains. Their insides were illuminated with reddish lamps or fluorescent black light.

The women weren't more naked than the average visitor of a seaside resort, but it was the lack of shame they displayed that made him feel uncomfortable. They leant against the glass and looked at the passers by while they showed them their half naked bodies.

Yingying looked at him and chuckled.

" What's so funny?"

" Your face. You've never been at the Wallen before, have you?"

" Never in those alleys no."

" They won't bite you."

" It's not that. It's just so strange."

He looked at the girls in their underwear and shook his head. Many of them were younger than himself, probably Yingying's age or maybe even Pearl's. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty at most.

An old man studied one of the girls carefully and a middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway. She was dressed too sexy for her shape and beckoned him.

" Want to come in?"

Her voice was calm, friendly and casual, as if she was selling cookies.

" I hardly notice them anymore", Yingying said, " Do you think they are pretty?"

He saw how the old man entered and wondered if the girls could hear her. Then he shook his head. He had expected to be either excited or disgusted, but he was mainly surprised and a little saddened. It was all so strange. On the one hand it was typically Amsterdam, but on the other hand he wondered why these girls had to earn their money in such a way or, for that matter, why men would pay to sleep with them.

They rounded a corner and suddenly entered yet another world. Here there were no bordellos or sex shops. Instead of half naked women, the windows showed roasted ducks and all sorts of kitschy artifacts. The signs were all in Chinese and he could smell the spices.Yingying walked straight to one of the many restaurants and pushed open the door.

They were greeted by a smartly dressed waiter and after a short conversation in Chinese -Ken guessed it was Cantonese- he showed them a small table with two seats and put down a notebook and a cheap ball-point.

Before he could take her coat, Yingying had hung it over her chair and gestured him to sit down.

He looked at the menu and saw that again everything was in Chinese.

" What do you like to order?", she asked him, and she looked at him.

He shrugged.

" I don't know. You choose, OK?"

" Alright."

The waiter brought them their tea and Yingying ordered some dishes. As he walked away again, she took the pot and poured the tea in their cups.

" So how is your Singaporean sister?", she asked, " Is she still at your place?"

He nodded.

" I can't sent her to our parents' home now can I? She's too emotional and she would be all alone."

" When are your parents going to come back from holiday?"

" Next week."

" And all this time you are going to sleep on the couch? How old is she? Fifteen, sixteen?"

" Seventeen, almost eighteen."

" Really? And this is the first time a guy stood her up?"

" Her father is very protective. She is the only person he had until he met my mom. I think it was the first time she even had a crush on someone."

" Poor girl. They always pick the wrong ones, don't they?"

" You're talking from experience?"

She looked away and smirked. Then, after a short pause, she nodded.

" Yes... I think I am not so different from your sister... But let's talk about a happier subject. Do you know when the Golden Avenger film is going to be released? Maybe we can go there once it's out."

She looked at him and he felt a strange sensation inside his belly, which had nothing to do with the scent of the dish the waiter was bringing.