Me: "How do you tell a girl she's beautiful, other than saying "piao liang"?

{Silence}

{Confusion}

{Heated discussion with friend}

Brian: "We don't."

Me: "Um. So, you would just say "piao liang"? You don't have any other words?"

Brian: "No, I mean we just don't. We wouldn't actually tell our girlfriends to the face that she was beautiful. Chinese girls are shy. If we did, she would just get mad, thinking we were lying."