Late night walk in Jing An area
I went for a late night walk through the Jing An area tonight. I was looking for the BBS once reported at Wuding Lu and Xikang Lu, but alas, it seemed to be gone, or closed tonight, anyway. So I wandered several streets in the area to see if any other BBS had magically appeared, but no luck. Saw a few dodgy looking massage parlors; I'm sure I could get a happy ending at those.
Headed down Shaanxi Lu to Nanyang Lu, and down the street in front of Big Bamboo, Manhattans, etc. This is where the walk got more interesting. I'm not used to seeing agressive street walkers in Shanghai, but after 2, they are there. As I walked down Nanyang, I was approached by a mix of really pretty and really ugly girls, making pretty reasonable offers. I'd say late at night, they are looking for the last, or only customer for the night, and prices drop.
I turned down Tongren Lu, and one (nan kan) girl came across,"I want to suck your, only 300, Chinese Money". I politely declined. As I got to Nanjing Road, one really pretty girl in a white dress stopped me. We had a pretty funny chat; her practicing her English on me and me practicing my Chinese on her. I'm sure we could have come to agreement if I'd been in the mood at that point.
I continued down toward Huashan and Changshu Road. I stay on the Hilton side of Huashan there, because the girls at the talking bars are sooo aggressive. It is sad, really. And at the intersection of Changshu with Julu road, this plump, aging womon ran across the street to me and insisted she should take me off in a dark corner for some action. I smiled and moved on. Tired, sweaty, and hot, I headed for home unlaid.
I thought I might be getting scammed, but.
China experts. Please tell me what you think was going on here.
I was walking down Nanjing road east on a weekday, around 2PM, and was approached by a woman.about 25, slim figure, cute but not a knockout. Dressed average. Just like one of the professional women in our office. No brand stuff, no flash, just looked normal. She was walking around with a girl about 16, carrying bags like they had been clothes shopping. She approached me and started chatting in very good English "Very hot today, ahh. First time come Shanghai? My name Ting. You like football? Real Madrid coming to China next week". She said she was an English teacher, and that the kid was her student. The kid had rich parents in the countryside send their daughter to the city during summer to learn english. The story seemed plausable. The kid was well dressed, good manners, not too giggly, and actually did speak some English."Today hot. My name Ivy. I am 16." I knew something wasn't right, but I wanted to see where this was going.
We walked around Gap, Uniqulo, other stores looking at clothes for a couple hours. I was quite enjoying the company and the conversation. I figured she was probably for sale, which I was open for, but not ready to talk business yet, and the kid was there. After a couple hours, I was hungry and wanted to eat something. She pointed to a coffee shop (UCC coffee). Well known chain in Japan. Normal coffee shop. Legit storefront, wide open, big windows so you can see in and out. Lots of normal people drinking coffee and chatting. I was not 100% comfortable, on the lookout for what could go wrong. We got a booth, and the young girl started to sit next to me in the booth. I told both of them to sit opposite me in the booth, so that I don't get accused of anything inappropriate with a young girl. We ordered about Y70 worth of food / ice cream, about $13. It seemed like legitimate restaurant, food was OK. I didn't feel threatened at all, but certainly still had my guard up and still interested in the 25 Year old.
She had been telling me about life in Hunan. Sad stuff, mother had cancer, etc. Just setting up a sales pitch, I figured. I was interested. The two of them get up to go the bathroom, and when they come back 25YO sits down in booth next to me, kid on opposite side. Then it gets weird. She started rubbing my Johnson under the table, whispering in my ear "I want to go with you". Don't touch me here, I said, just wait, you need to get rid of the kid. No problem, she says, the kid will go home in a couple minutes.
Then a waiter shows up with 6 shots of whiskey and a fruit plate. Red Flag. I said in a loud voice "I'm not paying for any alcohol", please bring the bill now. Bill was Y2300 ($400+). I shout again "I did not order alcohol, I will not pay this". Waiter shows me the back page of the menu. Whisky shots Y300 ($45) , fruit plate Y400 ($60). Everything else on the menu is normally priced. Beer Y15, ice cream Y18, etc. I was calm but loudly accusing them of a scam. I said I will call police he says go ahead, its right here on the menu (which it is). Waiter says "you pay me Y470 I collect the rest from the girl.
25YO starts crying hysterically and saying "why you do this to me". She is crying, real tears streaming down face, really looking she is really in trouble, not like she simply lost a trick."Why you do this to me, just split Y2200 with me. L am a poor teacher. Only do this sometimes. Coffee shop is cheating you, not me". I paid Y470 to cover the original Y70 plus the rip-off fruit plate. I Figured I deserved the Y400 fine for being so stupid, the waiter let me walk out the door with no problem. When I left 25YO girl was still crying, the kid sitting there glumly not knowing what was going on.
I really do believe this story of 25YO'S sad life was true, and I thought she had a nice personality. I would have given her Y800. Y1000 for a night of fun. I felt bad for her when I was leaving the coffee shop because she was really was crying, and it didn't look like she was acting.
What do you guys think. Could it be she was getting scammed by the coffee shop, too? Anybody ever hear of this / experience anything similar in Shanghai?