Dialogue

Chapter 6

6 In turmoil, I mounted my bicycle and roamed the campus. People! They were like balloons released into the air, drifting hither and thither with the wind. The ultraviolet rays of the sun dazzled my eyes. I thought of a saying: “If you don’t want it known, best leave it undone.” If you lose your way, you sometimes do crazy things. One day, at a particularly close girlfriend Meng-meng’s place, I said in a totally blasé way: “Help me find a man.” She looked at me. “Have you gone man-crazy?” “It’s not that at all.” Meng-meng’s small room was very messy, just like my totally tangled state of mind. I stared out the window at the noonday sunlight whose warmth was creeping up on my body. “With so many boys chasing you, wouldn’t it work if you just chose one yourself?” Meng-meng jumped up from the bed and dropped me a cushion: “Catch.” “My mind is completely confused, do you have any wine?” She looked at me and shook her head: “You!” She took out a bottle of red wine from the cupboard, poured a glass and passed it to me. “If you fix your worries by drinking, you’re just making them worse. Xiao Xiao, you’re playing with your own feelings.” “Who’s playing with whom this year? I’m all confused.” I downed the glass of wine. “You’ve gone mad.” She snatched the glass from my hand. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. I happen to be going out with a boy in the Chinese Painting Department, would you like me to ask him to select one of his classmates for you?” “Let’s try it! Do you have a photograph of the boys in his class?” “Oh! I think I have a group photo of them. Wait a moment, I’ll get it out Dialogue 58 and show you.” She pulled out an album of photographs from a shelf behind her. Pointing to a photograph she said: “Look, there are eight boys in the class altogether. That’s the one I’m going out with. He’s from Fujian, and he’s called Liu Jie.” “Who’s the boy next to him?” I asked, pointing at a very tall and handsome fellow with sideburns. “He’s my boyfriend’s best buddy. I hear he hasn’t got a girlfriend yet. If he hasn’t, I’ll ask him for you.” “Done! Let’s try it that way. At the moment I feel absolutely nothing for men.” “So that’s why you’re looking for one.” Meng-meng dragged me off the bed and shook me vigorously. “Sober up, have you had too much to drink? Don’t be so muddle-headed.” “There’s nothing wrong with me.” She placed both hands on my shoulders and fixed a rather severe stare on me. “All right. Look at me, Xiao Xiao. I’ll help you this time, but you keep your eyes wide-open and see things clearly.” “Let’s have a meal together first and see how it feels. If it doesn’t work, we’ll discuss it again. I don’t want to decide the rest of my life at first glance.” “All right then, I’ll talk to Liu Jie and fix a time.” When we met, it was at Meng-meng’s place. This boy, Yu Jian, was mysteriously invited to come and have dinner — he had no idea why. Mengmeng bluntly told him on the spot: “Xiao Xiao noticed you on campus!” He was taken aback and just sat there saying nothing. To contribute something demonstrative, I went to the kitchen and stir-fried a vegetable dish. The kitchen was rather dark, and when I took the vegetables out of the frying pan, I couldn’t tell the salt from the sugar, so I grabbed a handful of each anyway. Possibly I added too much sugar, for when I carried in the dish, the taste was very sweet. As soon as I had a mouthful, I grimaced: “Sorry! This is my first time cooking vegetables, I’ve put too much sugar in!” “My God! I’ve never heard of anyone using sugar to cook vegetables!” Meng-meng’s boyfriend shouted boisterously. Yu Jian picked up a mouthful and placed it in his mouth: “I think it’s not too bad, maybe just a little bit sweet!” He silently ate the whole...