I was proposed to by a Chinese millionaire

During Easter 2016 my family and I went to visit my brother – who was studying in China. We stayed 3 nights in Shanghai, 3 nights in Ningbo (2.5 hours south of Shanghai where the Nottingham University campus is) and then a further 3 nights back in Shanghai.

At this point in time, I had 2 mobile phones – An iPhone 6 and a Blackberry Passport, but my Blackberry was stolen on the third night in Ningbo, which made everything more difficult seeing as I only had internet access on my Blackberry.

On the following night we decided to go for a night out in Shanghai to an exclusive club called M2. In this style of tourist nightclub, there is a very distinct layout.

The closest part of the dance floor to the DJ is filled with foreigners, usually Europeans (Red Cross). The club provides free drinks for this group with specific promoters there to host. They just hand you the bottle and you can pour them yourself. The most expensive area for the Chinese that they can pay for is adjacent to the dance floor booths (White Cross). Minimum spend is £500 and often excess of £10,000 is spent.

It was about 1.30am, I was dancing in the middle (Green Cross) with my brother and his friend and suddenly out of nowhere 2 large security guards appeared next to me and put their hands on my shoulders. They start taking me towards the exit, my brother is following – concerned with what is going on and then when we are nearing the exit they suddenly stop outside one of the VIP booths and put me inside (White Cross).

I am then pointed towards a 28-year Mongolian businesswoman named Hui (pronounced ‘Way’), and realise that I had been selected from the dance floor by her.

In the booth there are around 8 people, all well to do decent looking well-to-do Chinese people covered in designer clothes and jewellery. Moments later 3 bottles of Hennessy and finger food that Hui ordered arrives – bearing in mind these bottles cost around £200 each and there were already at least 12 empty ones on the table. Hui owns multiple properties around China and also is the CEO of a large cosmetics/make-up business.

Her brother then instructs me that to keep her attention I must ‘play’ with her. This consists of acting slightly childish, spinning in a circle, lifting her up, playing peekaboo. Later, Hui says she would like to come back to my hotel. We all go outside as a group to get taxis and head to the Majesty Plaza in Shanghai, a 15-minute drive away where we were staying.

We get back to the hotel, her brother takes her bags and gives her a pile of cash with her 2 phones and 2 phone chargers. We go back up to the hotel room that I’m sharing with my brother.

At this point I realise that I left my iPhone in the cab. I now have no phone whatsoever. After spending the night together we agree to meet again tomorrow at 11pm.

The next night, Hui is waiting there with her driver and bodyguard. Bearing in mind that I do not have a phone and I am in a city I am not familiar with, they could be taking me anywhere. I get in the car.

After driving for twenty minutes we end up at a block of luxury apartments where Hui owns 5 properties – and then we head straight for another club, where we get queue jump and are joined by some of Hui’s friends.

After ordering more champagne at £150 a bottle, we sit and chat for the majority of our time there, as it is not part of the Chinese clubbing culture to dance.

Hui tells me she is old for Chinese culture to be unmarried and to not have had children yet, and then asks me to provide her with a family, which she said she would be able to raise by herself in Outer Mongolia. She also asks me to move to China and marry her and also says she is willing to wait the 2 years until I graduate.  I could be retired right now, touring China, living the high life with all expenses paid.

We take a taxi back to the Majesty Plaza where we now have the hotel room to ourselves and Hui and I retreat to my room to spend the night together.

Layout of the room I stayed in

We have coffee and then I see Hui off at the front of the hotel where her driver comes and collects her. I hand her a piece of paper with my name, e-mail address and mobile number.

Once returning to Newcastle and getting a new phone I had a bit of communication by email for a few weeks -where she asked me again to marry her, and asking if she wants her to “wait for me” to graduate, but after a while we lost touch.

In a parallel universe, I’m now retired with Hui – sipping whiskey at the top of a skyscraper….