And she's continued to do that, by the way. She told the Chinese media about the book and she talks to people about it and she traveled with me on my book tour for a few days. She contacts members of the Chinese media wherever we go because she wants the Chinese community to know about it. The whole thing has turned out to be tremendously enriching for both of us in learning about each other and forming an alliance. In the book you mention instances where you felt things happen to going quite well only to discover that Zhongmei took great pains to ensure the success of the day.
China is a very socially conservative society.
It was awkward to be a Chinese woman and to be travelling with an American passport and then to be travelling with an American man and knowing, even though the other people didn't know, that I was a journalist. She also knew that I had no ambition that would be harmful to China's reputation. There are things that I describe along the way in the book such as the Chinese reaction to the bombing of the Belgrade embassy and their touchiness and suspiciousness. The noodle shop experience where Zhongmei had to be on my side. And she was.