HONG KONG — Like love stories the world over, theirs began with a chance meeting.
Spotting someone she thought was a familiar figure on a motorcycle near her house in Hong Kong, Ying waved the person over for a chat. When the man took off his helmet, she realized it wasn't her friend. But the two started chatting, and an embarrassing mistake morphed into a delightful surprise.
Over the course of days and weeks, Ying learned that the man, Chung, was kind. She liked that he tried to warn older people in their village about potential scam artists. Chung, whose quiet intensity contrasts with Ying's effervescence, was drawn to her creativity.
Now, 10 years later, Ying and Chung share an apartment with Sum, their 9-year-old daughter, a gray parrot, a white cat and a palm-size hamster. But despite the memories, creatures and commitments binding them, their marriage is being torn apart by the same forces that are dividing Hong Kong.
Ying, 46, has had enough: She is determined to leave and take her family with her.
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