Luke suddenly felt a little dumb. Why was he even worried that Yuffie might go back on her word?
He wanted to see her in white stockings. But was she really that unwilling to show him?
Didn't he forget? A skilled hunter often takes on the appearance of prey.
Women are naturally good at playing that push-and-pull game, that "yes, but no" dance. Luke couldn't help sighing again—no wonder so many men end up on the losing side when it comes to relationships.
Men already start from a lower bargaining position, and if they keep acting like desperate simps, then yeah… they're just letting fate write their story.
That's why love only feels meaningful when it's mutual.
"I'll take good care of it. With this, I'll feel like you're always by my side," Luke said as he slipped the wallet into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Yuffie raised her left wrist and gave her bracelet a little shake, letting him know she felt the same way.
"So, what book are you reading these days?" Luke changed the subject.
Ever since that night camping out at Big Bear Mountain Park, he realized how much he liked just chatting casually with Yuffie.
The real bond between them wasn't physical—it was the way their minds connected when they talked.
"Maugham's The Painted Veil. Have you heard of it?" Yuffie answered.
"Yeah, I've read it," Luke nodded.
That novel was written by the British author W. Somerset Maugham back in the 1920s. Honestly, his other works are way more famous, like Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence.
Luke knew The Painted Veil because, funny enough, it had a huge comeback in Wutai around 2020. It became a favorite among artsy young women, often called a must-read "love bible" for women.
The movie adaptation even pulled a solid 8.3 rating on Douban.
The most famous passage from the book—one that really hooked so many readers—was when the male lead said this to the female lead:
"I have no illusions about you. I know you're foolish, shallow, empty-headed—and yet I love you. I know your ambitions, your desires. You're vain, you're vulgar—and yet I love you. I know you're second-rate—but still, I love you. I don't love the perfect version you try to show. I love the messy truth of who you really are."
Now, that's… strong stuff.
It's the kind of raw, unconditional devotion that screams "dream guy" to so many women. Who wouldn't want to be loved unconditionally, even when they're at their worst?
But Luke? He thought the whole thing was pretentious nonsense.
Sure, he knew Maugham was being critical of the heroine's vanity before her transformation, but still—it didn't change his impression that this was a whining, bourgeois kind of love story.
"Do you like it?" he asked, already guessing that Yuffie probably wasn't a fan.
"No, not really. I only started flipping through it because all my classmates were reading it."
Of course. His fairy goddess wasn't into that stuff.
"Those overdone emotions, the self-pity, the forced sentimentality—I can't stand it," Yuffie added.
"But I know a lot of girls love it," Luke pushed, curious about her view on love.
"Yeah, because many people want to believe love should be unconditional. They crave the idea that no matter how awful they are, someone will still love them anyway.
That fits human selfishness perfectly. But I don't buy it," she said sharply.
Her honesty always impressed him. He nodded, signaling her to go on.
"If I were dumb, shallow, vain, vulgar, and second-rate, then no matter how pretty I was, I wouldn't deserve anyone's love.
Love isn't some magical cure-all. You can't just slap the label 'love' on something and suddenly excuse everything else."
Her outward appearance might look soft and delicate, but inside, she was strong, confident, and opinionated.
Luke grinned to himself. My goddess really has her head screwed on straight—her values are as flawless as her looks.
"There's something else about the book that bothered me, though it's not about love," she continued.
"What is it?" Luke asked.
"The way Maugham describes Wutai. The more he paints it as this idyllic, primitive countryside paradise, the more I sense the arrogance behind it. Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable.
I don't know if you understand what I mean," she said hesitantly.
But Luke understood perfectly.
The Painted Veil is set in old Wutai, and both the novel and its film adaptation leaned heavily into depicting customs and daily life.
Maugham clearly adored those "exotic" elements, writing about Wutai as if it were some untouched utopia.
And yeah, lots of foreigners are fascinated with "old Wutai"—the architecture, the costumes, the traditional rituals.
The older and more "authentic" something looked, the more they loved it.
On the surface, it might seem flattering. "Hey, foreigners like our culture!" But then why does it leave such a sour taste?
It all comes down to one thing: what exactly are they liking?
Luke, as a Asian American, didn't struggle with this perspective gap.
He knew foreigners weren't really appreciating the culture itself. They were romanticizing a fantasy version of the East.
They'd rather imagine you riding in a rickshaw than driving a car.
They'd rather see you washing clothes by hand down at the river than using a washing machine.
They'd rather you fan yourself with a handmade paper fan than turn on an AC in the summer.
They wanted Wutai to stay stuck in the past—because it fit their fairytale image.
Whether or not people themselves wanted modern comforts didn't matter to them. In fact, some even resisted the idea, saying modernization ruined the "purity" of the culture.
That's not respect. That's exotic curiosity—like the way some people are fascinated by African tribes still living primitively.
It's "liking" with an undertone of condescension.
Luke had already seen this firsthand when filming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The more "ancient" Wutai looked on screen, the more excited foreigners got.
But show them a thriving, modern, powerful Wutai? They'd lose interest—or worse, criticize it for "losing tradition," "destroying the environment," or "selling out."
That patronizing attitude from the West was everywhere.
The racism and exclusion he'd faced in Hollywood were just another side of the same coin.
What surprised him most was how clearly Yuffie had picked up on this at such a young age.
She was sharp, far more insightful than most girls her age.
"Of course I get what you mean," he said. "And trust me—one day, we'll be the ones looking at them like that."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. Believe me. That's why our foundation has to stay rooted here at home."
As a man who had lived twice, Luke knew better than anyone: by 2024, America would look straight-up surreal—like living inside a cyberpunk fever dream.