Summary

The narrator recounts what she calls her “eruptive phase” (182), when she sexually experimented with men, including Meng Sheng, as an attempt to “transform (herself) into a real girl” (182). Although he cared for the narrator, he brushed their romantic behavior off “like (they) both knew it was a charade” (183). For her birthday, Meng Sheng and the narrator had sex.

The narrator then flashes to the pain following her second breakup with Shui Ling and her friendship with Tun Tun as a saving grace. Tun Tun and the narrator bantered about Tun Tun’s upcoming leave of absence due to her insomnia, Tun Tun’s male lovers, and their shared attraction to women. The narrator expressed pride for Tun Tun’s wit, referring to her as “little sister” (189). They pined over the women they love, reminding Tun Tun of her and Zhi Rou’s affection for...