CHAPTER 40

Every night the outdated fridge in the kitchen would produce a dull humming sound. Some part of it had become damaged, the compactor would activate at every ten minute interval. I informed the landlord about this many times, but he refused to send anyone to repair it. The reasons being, one, it activating all the time doesn’t mean that the fridge didn’t work. It was exactly the opposite, the fridge was was still cold. Two, the cost of fixing the fridge was too expensive, might as well buy a new one. But he wasn’t rich and didn’t intend to spend that money. Read more

CHAPTER 39

Early Saturday morning, Eason called me to confirm whether or not I would be going to the research institute’s formal dinner.

I was suppose to (English) move on anyway. Even though Eason was a resolute celibate, it’s not like I couldn’t use him as practice. Read more

CHAPTER 37

“There’s nothing to be done about that. Ever since Alex got sick, his whole family been very cautious. Actually, in contrast, Alex is quite independent. But once he gets home he can’t be. He has his grandfather and grandmother watching over him and a crowd of people surrounding him, afraid that some mishap will occur. Naturally, Alex would escape to China whenever he could…Was he independent in Beijing?” Read more

CHAPTER 36

As a broken hearted person, I had a problem that all broken hearted people had. It was to stand alone in a place with a lot of people. Wallow in sorrow in all that noise. No wonder, in African tribes, when someone is about to die, they will be surrounded by others and dance in a circle of fire. It must be better to die in the middle of a roar of voices than facing fear and grief alone. Read more

CHAPTER 34

When I walked Li Chuan to the door, light rain was falling. There were a few scratches on Li Chuan’s neck, traces I had left behind when I was angry. Li Chuan was anemic and his wounds were not easily healed. I felt a bit of regret and was conflicted inside. This might be the last time I could bully him, might as well be fierce. Read more

CHAPTER 32

“Did you know that:
1) To manufacture 1 calorie of beef protein, 78 calories of oil are used; Yet, to grow 1 calorie of soybean, only 1 calorie of oil is required to be used. If you persevere in being a vegetarian and not a carnivore, you will be contributing to the conservation of the world’s decreasing natural resources that cannot be regenerated.

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CHAPTER 30

My eyes were swollen like huge walnuts for an entire week. Whether others believed it or not, my official explanation was that my eyes had been stung by a poisonous insect. I never went to the dining room to eat in order not to become a laughing stock. If I had to go out, I would put on sunglasses and wrap myself with a scarf, bundling myself up tightly. If I had to speak, I would use my greatest efforts to appear cheerful, “Hi Xiao Ding. I just went and had a bowl of fish soup in the restaurant next door. Do you want to go together next time?”…Of course he would not go. Read more

CHAPTER 28

After saying this, I turned around and left.

I took off all my clothes in the room. I brought each item up to my nose to sniff, to see if it had a nicotine smell. Then, I took another thorough bath, washing with soap over and over again. After I finished washing up, I changed into a white embroidered shirt. It was new, I had never worn it before. I placed the clothes that I had just taken off into a plastic bag and brought it to the laundromat to get dry cleaned.

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CHAPTER 27

I huddled in the closet, listening indifferently to Roxette. After three times, I became sleepy. Through the crack, I saw Li Chuan sitting up on the bed with the computer and the two large monitors on. He concentrated on drawing while listening to the music.

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CHAPTER 26

I sat there for a whole two and a half hours in Li Chuan’s room explaining each poem of Xie Ling Yun’s to him. In the beginning, I thought it was needed for work. Then, gradually, I started suspecting that he was just using me as amusement. In the end, I was both tired and hungry, and yawned in front of him.

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