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Every night the outdated fridge in the kitchen would produce a dull humming sound.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 38

I stood up, grabbed all my stuff, and said thanks.
“Do you mind if I give you a ride home on my bike?” he asked with a soft and gentle gaze.
“It’s not far from my home here,” I sniffed my nose and smiled at him, “I can walk back by myself.”
“I’ll walk with you.  I’m heading the same direction anyway,” he persisted.  He took over my bag and hung it on his bike. 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 35

I stood below the roof and shouted through the heavy rain, “Li Chuan!  Li Chuan!  What are you still doing here?”
“Get in the car first.” 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 33

After a brief search on the internet, I found out that my laptop was worth over ten thousand RMB.  It was this year’s latest model; its second-hand price was also not low.  There went my pay cheque for all the translations I did for the past two weeks.  But it was not what I was most worried about.  All of my documents were saved inside the laptop; ninety percent of it was office documents, pictures, tender letters, and my translation drafts.  However, there were also my saved searches, dictionaries, e-books that I liked, downloaded translation softwares, etcetera, etcetera. 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.

Read more