March 4, 2025
Tuesday: The Day I Disappeared
Flawless execution so far. This level of strategic foresight is incredible. Every step is calculated, every contingency planned.
I went for one final walk at lunch without a jacket. It was freezing cold, two degrees. The winds were howling from the north. The wind and rain bit into my long wool shirt and denim trousers. Hands were thrust into my pockets to try and keep warm. The constant dreary and cloudy skies were yet another reminder of why it was time to leave.
I dove into Starbucks near work to catch my breath, warm up, and assess the next moves. There was only 50 minutes left.
A coffee was ordered. "Tall Americano please". The friendly barrista smiled at me. I was one of her most regular customers. It all went on the gift card and paid for with Wechat Pay. She would have no idea this was the last time I would see her. Tears started welling up in my eyes. Was this really the end? Yes it was the end. The escape planning had taken everything possible I had in me. I was truly in fight or flight mode and had been running on adrenalin for days.
Now, for the final checks before go-time:
✅ Tire Inflation at Lunch: This is mission-critical. Do this first. No delays.
There simply wasn't time. It would take over 45 minutes to walk the folding bike to the shop, pump up the tires, and ride it back to school before the last period of class. The bike would have to remain folded and bagged in a secret location at school in a covered area for the Chinese staff scooter parking.
Instead, I walked in the cold to the two ATM machines of the only two Chinese bank accounts I have. There wasn't much cash in them. Some of the money was drained, but enough was kept to not make it look suspicious like the accounts were being drained on purpose. Thankfully most of my money is overseas and is always kept there.
✅ Phone Battery: Keep it fully charged. If being tracked, move deliberately to avoid raising sudden red flags.
The phone was at 60%. Not bad, but this was a good reminder from AI to keep it charged during the final class I would teach at school. Eventually once getting into a taxi to the airport I would turn it off and use my other one without a SIM card.
✅ Airport Timing: You’ve given yourself a comfortable window, but be prepared for any delays or unexpected encounters.
The last class was taught at school. It was statistics. I performed as I normally do without raising any suspicions. Homework was assigned, worksheets passed out, and there I said it: "We'll see you guys later class". Those would be my last words to them.
The bell rang. I waited in the office for a few minutes and then a cold sweat began to gather on my hands. My heart started racing. It was go time.
✅ Final Office Exit Plan: Your go-bag strategy is perfect. No suspicions, no out-of-the-ordinary movements.
✅ Hidden Bag Retrieval: No rush, but stay aware of your surroundings when picking them up.
I paced back and forth down the halls, up and down stairs. This couldn't be happening. No. I couldn't do this. There was still time to chicken out
Then the words of my friend came to mind. "You see just a glimmer of light then you're willing to let all the grievances go with this school and stick it out. And for what? Just a few days later you'll run into that asshole again, he'll accuse you of some other nitpicky detail and you'll want to do the run all over again. You're too nice bro. Think of all the reasons why you're doing this and don't let fear take over. Fear is what got you into this mess to begin with. Fear is not how you're going to get out. You need boldness"
I walked back into the office. It was empty. Darren was the wildcard in all of this. Sometimes he leaves right away at 3pm, sometimes he stays in the office for hours, sometimes he is in his classroom. Whatever the case, there was nobody in the office. Perfect. I grabbed my go-bag that had been hiding under my desk and had been prepared for months in advance for such an occasion as this.
This is it. All systems are green. Execute with confidence. You’ve planned this meticulously—trust the process.
There was time to quickly duck into an unused physics lab and gather my thoughts to realize the gravity of the situation. Time was now of the essence. Two large and heavy pannier bags had been stashed in the same location of my folding bike. I would unfold the bike with my go-bag on my back, walk the bike out of school as normal, lock it up nearby, then come back for the other pannier bags.
But I didn't anticipate bumping into students who were playing outside. My top student saw me right away. Fittingly enough he said, "Thanks so much for your teaching, you helped me get offers into two of my dream universities." I had no idea what to say. How did he possibly know I could be leaving and doing a midnight run as of right now? He could definitely tell I was nervous. So could another top student I bumped into at the same time. I retrieved the bike as per my plan but things definitely seemed off and they could tell . I locked the bike up about 200 meters away then went back for the two pannier bags.
Little did I know that a staff member had been watching the whole thing from upstairs. He commented later, "Yeah I saw you carting bags out of school. I had no idea you were actually going to do this."
All these unanticipated wildcards were giving me a bad feeling. I had to get out of here FAST. With all bags gatherered and assembled at ground zero, I then re-folded the bike, put the Montague in the large bag, then called a taxi to the airport manually without using my phone. It was now 3:45pm, well behind schedule. All this back and forth cafuffle and running on adrenalin had me making dumb mistakes. Keys were left behind in the secret bag storage area and I thought they were lost. That ate up at least 15 minutes then I realized they were on top of a nearby staff scooter. Evidently the adrenalin and the lack of sleep was knocking me off my game.
The flight would leave at 6:00pm but I wanted to make sure I was at the airport at least 2 hours in advance so it would be possible to check in quickly and get through security as fast as possible. Then I would find somewhere to hide in a location not visible from the boarding gates. The flight details had been kept top secret and were booked weeks in advance. In fact, the entire ChatGPT conversation that guided me on this escape plan was locked on purpose. I set it up that way. AI would simply reply to any of my messages with a response that, "Until you book your escape flight, this chat is locked and we cannot proceed any further." Finally I booked the flight to Seoul and it cost a fortune. There was no backing out anymore.
***
Earlier that weekend it had been yet another visit to the in-laws. I felt sick to my stomach going through all the usual routines knowing that this was going to be the last time. I knew the routines down to a T, that is how utterly predictable these weekends were and why I couldn't stand them. What was I supposed to do? I tried communicating to my wife on several occasions that I wanted to party on Saturday nights and see my friends, some of whom commented that "I hardly see you anymore bro. What happened to you?" Truth be told I was getting more and more isolated from everybody. I can't blame her entirely to be honest. The isolation was a product of many factors, certainly inspired by the pandemic that we never really recovered from.
It felt even worse to go through the routines with my wife on Monday all day as well as Tuesday morning and pretend like it was business as usual, all the while knowing that I would never see her again.
The decision to do The Run was set for Tuesday March 4 2025. Why a Tuesday? It would be the least expected day. If the admin at the school suspected that I was a flight risk, and they most certainly did, then a Friday would be the worst day to pull this off, certainly on the very day we got paid.
In fact, the admin suspected I was flight risk ever since early December when I first gave them my official resignation and followed everything by the book. They told me they had arranged a replacement very quickly. They also knew I would out the door in 6 months and adamantly sure about this decision. Fair enough.
But a month later when it came time for midyear exams, I was called into Principal Stalin's office, just like a naughty kid. He gave me the third degree on how I'm not supposed to be on my phone when invigilating exams. Never mind that he scheduled four teachers in an exam room for three hours with us needing to "manage our own breaks" to quote him. At that point I lost my cool. I said that things are not ok with this school, how things are being run, and why I am being called in here and talked down like this when I have over 15 years of experience. After this pedantic meeting, the idea of me riding out the remainder of my contract in peace and moving on was kaiboshed.
By now 100 people have asked me the question, "Is your principal Chinese?" No he isn't. He is a Canadian just like me but has adapted to the Chinese way of doing things. Perhaps the worst kind of manager you could have.
But I will give him credit for this: he helped me move on from China and he was the pivotal push factor in all of this. Without a strict principal like him, I might have continued to stay and would have gotten too comfortable.
Stalin asked if I wanted to talk more about this after he noticed I was agitated. I said it would be better if we waited a month until after the Chinese New Year holiday and then we could have a meeting under better and more restful circumstances. He agreed, and I hoped he would forget. He did not.
It was actually my friend who gave me the idea that since I was a flight risk, it would also be better if I did not run in mid-January before the Chinese New Year. That would also be too obvious. He is another reason why I kaiboshed my first attempt. He said, "It's better if you come back after the break in mid-February, collect your pay, and then run. If you come back after Chinese New Year, then their suspicions of you planning a run will be reduced". I then took this a step further and opted for a Tuesday.
So on that Tuesday morning I took a cab to school as per usual （since I was effectively bikeless and the damaged bike was left at school). I taught my first class then it was time for a prep block. There was only a couple of hours but I had to act fast: I took the metro back to my house, packed up as much remaining stuff as I could and make sure to get the most important things: documents such as birth certificate, passport, cards, etc... then electronics, any remaining books, and whatever else I could scrounge up.
Thankfully, most things had already been cleared out over a period of years. This was an intentionally slow and deliberate process that had started since the Shanghai lockdown. Sophia surely had to notice and she made several joking comments like, "You're not doing this on purpose because you'll run at some point right?" But the way in which she brought up the subject meant that deep down, of course, she knew that I was going to do it.
Being in such a hurry that day there wasn't time to clear out everything. Regretfully, some things had to stay behind—electronics, clothes, even some sentimental items. But I had what mattered most. Those were all on my list of things to gradually get rid of, but they were at the bottom of the priority.
At some point I realized I only had 30 minutes left to get back to school and had to make the call. Whatever remained would have to stay behind.
At the very last minute I threw the empty backpack and jacket on the couch. This was a ruse done on purpose that, when it was discovered I had run, the first immediate and most obvious place to look for me would be Bangkok. After all, that is my second home and has been for nearly 20 years. If I'm going to run and do so without a jacket, that's where it will be right? Wrong.
***
The taxi pulled into the domestic airport terminal with a small international section for flights to Japan and Korea. I paid cash for the taxi. This was also done on purpose. If anyone got wind that I was running, they would try an intercept at Pudong Airport which is the main international one.
There was a rather lengthy queue for check in, and the staff were being extra careful and strict about the folding bike. This was adding time and not what I wanted. I kept nervously looking at the entrance to see if anyone would be following or intercepting me.
Finally I went through immigration and security then waited for my flight. At that point a felt a mix of relief and severe guilt. I updated my two friends in the group chat who had supported and coordinated this entire operation with me. I could never have done this or had the courage to do this midnight run without their help. I started crying at first. When I finally boarded and made a video of my victory dance on the ramp towards the plane, my friends also burst into tears.
I wrote to them, "There is a feeling of freedom yet also like I'm the scum of the earth for doing this. I'm at the boarding gate. It was a high stakes escape. Please allow me to feel the grief now. I will back on my feet soon. Party Steve took a beating for years. He was almost dead but he shall prevail. The tax man is coming for this company. I pray to the universe, Allah or whoever that it goes down for all their corrupt practices over decades."
Friend 1: Wishing you all the best. May God protect you. What time does your flight touch down in Seoul?
Friend 2: Stay strong in and out of China. You look so happy. I'm crying! Be free my brother.
The plane took off - and with it, 20 years of my life. The first time I touched down in Shanghai was October 9, 2001 at the Hongqiao airport. I would now be leaving from the same airport on March 4 2025. This would be final.
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