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manufacture, actually. He owns a whole series of factories. I think he’s up to nine now. Used to be headquartered out of Colorado Springs, but then he discovered Hong Kong outsourcing, and he never looked back.” He tried a sip of his tea and grimaced. “Because, you know, you can pay people so much less here, obviously.”
    It was a good thing the entrées hadn’t arrived yet, or she would have dumped his into his lap. “You are just a stellar ambassador for your country,” she growled.
    He just shrugged. Was he actually smiling? Was he enjoying this?
    “Wait,” Lian said, the facts clicking into place. “Harrison, as in . . .” She drew the stylized H logo in the air with three quick slashes of her chopstick. “Harrison Sportswear? Harrison Casual?”
    “And just wait until you see Harrison Denim,” he said, taking on the rich baritone of a runway announcer. “An upscale collection featuring classic designs with a contemporary twist. In stores this fall.”
    “So you’re
that
Harrison.” Lian was familiar with the Harrison Outfitters store at Fashion Walk—Mingmei had pulled her along to the grand opening, gushing over the styles and piling up armloads of clothing that even she could barely afford.
    “No,” he corrected her as the pig throat arrived. “My dad is ‘
that
Harrison.’ I’m just the kid who got dragged halfway around the world with him.”
    “It’s not all bad, though, is it?” Lian asked, raising an eyebrow as she nabbed a bit of crispy fat in her chopsticks. “You’re getting to experience amazing cuisine like this.”
    “And talk to charming young women like you,” he said. To his credit, he held the chopsticks as she had shown him and captured several grains of rice. He even got a few of them into his mouth.
    “Hey, look at that!” she said. “You can be taught.”
    “I’m a C-plus student, at best,” he said, smiling. “What about you? You a straight-A kind of girl?”
    She shrugged. “I’ve made the honors list at Island South every year.”
    “And I’m guessing Island South is bigger than my living room.”
    “It’s a private high school,” she said. “So maybe not too much bigger.”
    He grinned. “Private school, huh?”
    She felt her face flushing. He was smiling as if he’d caught her admitting something embarrassing . . . and the truth was, she felt like he had. It was just another reminder of the privilege Lian enjoyed while others did without. She sank in her seat and tried to gain some conversational high ground.
    “Still,” she said, looking for a casual deflection of the topic, “home schooling must get pretty lonely. You take away the social aspect of high school, and it’s just learning. I’ll bet you miss all your friends back in America.”
    “Um,” he mumbled, attempting another bite of rice. “Not really. I mean, we stay in touch, you know? I Skype with them all the time.” He looked up, as if making sure he had her attention. “Especially with my girlfriend. Like, every night. Morning, for her, I guess.”
    She nodded placidly and took another bite of pork. Was it supposed to bother her that Matt had a girlfriend? Was he fishing for a reaction? Boys, she already knew, were impossible. Apparently, American boys were doubly so.
    Delicate rosettes of medium beef arrived next, with the waitress pointedly informing Matt what the meat was. Lian couldn’t help but smile at the simple gratitude on his face. Before she could say anything, he picked up one of the flower-shaped pieces in his chopsticks and tossed the whole thing into his mouth.
    His eyes watered instantly, and she felt a pang of pity.
    “That green stuff in the centers,” she said, indicating on her own plate, “is called ‘wasabi.’ It can be a little spicy.”
    “No kidding,” he gasped, managing to swallow his bite and then grabbing for his tea like it was the best drink he’d ever tasted. “I don’t know how you guys haven’t set yourselves on fire with this