Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary

Manna and Lin attend a staff holiday dinner, although not together. Manna begins to drink heavily, which Lin admonishes her for, but she defies him and he feels humiliated.

Later, he goes outside and smokes a cigarette, still stinging from the rejection, but blaming himself and realizing he wants her most when it is impossible to have her.

Manna appears, embracing him and apologizing. He forgives her, and she reminds him she is a thirty-year-old virgin, asking him if he wants to make love to her. Manna accuses him of being a "fearful rabbit" and he agrees to take the blame for the situation, then helps her back to her living quarters, as she is very drunk. Lin is upset and embarrassed, but he decides to ask Shuyu for a divorce the next summer.

Part 1, Chapter 10 Analysis

Although Lin feels safer...