Jump joyfully into another world. Dive blissfully into a different story.
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.
CHAPTER 31
I was from the South, so I had trouble getting used to the dry and cold weather of the North. I grew to like Beijing because of Li Chuan. I was given the opportunity to go to Shanghai after I graduated — Shanghai was actually my real ancestral home — but I didn’t.
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 29
It was December 28, 29, and 30th, which was exactly the end of the year. Other than CGP, the whole city had begun its holiday celebration. All the streets were announcing “clearances” and “super sales.” The store windows were brightly lit with colorful decorations. The people walked leisurely on the streets while wearing pretty clothes.
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.