Part 3, Chapter 6 Summary

Lin is curious about a locked box Manna keeps, which she finally lets him see. She has two-dozen Chairman Mao buttons and some old love letters from her first boyfriend, Mai Dong. She allows Lin to read the letters. He finds he is eager to do so; he has never seen or written a love letter. Reading Mai Dong's desperate, tender words to Manna, Lin realizes he has never experienced intense feelings for any woman. He mentions Mai Dong's great love to Manna, but she says she hates her former boyfriend for jilting her. Lin wonders why she keeps the letters if she feels that way.

Three months into their marriage, at forty-four, Manna is pregnant. They begin to sleep separately, as Manna is worried sex will affect the pregnancy. Lin is concerned about her. She has an occasional heart arrhythmia...