After splashing around in Erhai Lake, Chen Jin swam back to shore. He grabbed the edge of a rock with one hand, wiped the water off his face with the other, and then laughed as he said to me, "Do you know how I feel right now?... Before I went into the water, I was like a grassland burned down by a wildfire... Now, after a spring rain, I've sprouted again and been reborn... This feeling is just too good... Haha!"

"You should thank the King of Hell for showing mercy."

"When I get back, I'll kneel and kowtow three times and thank God and the King of Hell!"

"Stop arguing, hurry up and get up here, put your clothes on."

As I spoke, I glanced back again. Ye Zhi was no longer in the car. She must have felt it was inappropriate to stay there. After all, there was a difference between her and Chen Jin, who were men and women. Chen Jin had become so carried away that he didn't even care about his clothes. She was such a self-disciplined woman that she wouldn't take advantage of Chen Jin.

Me too. At this moment, Chen Jin is just an empty shell in my eyes, sometimes dead, sometimes alive.

...

Chen Jin swam around Erhai Lake again before coming ashore. He only put on his underwear, leaving the rest of his clothes in a mess on the rocks... He then pulled out a cigarette from his pack, lit it, and stared intently into the distance, his eyes gleaming with an inexplicable light, gazing towards the eastern shore of the lake...

I felt inexplicably relaxed and subconsciously lay down on the rocks. Then I took out my phone and played "Goodbye, Twentieth Century," a song that held special significance for me. I don't know why I thought of this song at this moment.

Perhaps in my heart, it is the sound of a bugle, which always sounds tragically when I am about to leave.

I have another worry gone. I don't want Chen Jin to live in the shadow of AIDS and suffer every day after I'm gone!

He was saved, and the horn of my departure blew even louder...

...

I also took a cigarette out of the pack, but just put it in my mouth without lighting it; I've gotten used to this kind of waste.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jin exhaled heavily from his mouth and then asked me, "You seem to really like this song. Is there any special meaning behind it?"

I smiled and replied, "The whole song feels incredibly hopeless... But as Forrest Gump said, life is like a box of chocolates... Sometimes I listen to this song just for that one line... Just like when we face life, as long as we have the determination to break through and build something anew, we can always grasp a glimmer of light in the endless darkness..."

After a brief pause, I continued, "...Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. I can't even remember which night it was, but Wang Lei and I were drinking at a bar... She was sitting across from me, wearing black stockings, a tight skirt, and heavy makeup—the kind of outfit you'd wear to a nightclub... But can you believe it? The first image of Dali that formed in my mind came from her smoking... When she talked about Dali, she suddenly became incredibly pure and romantic... more like a caged bird, desperately trying to break free of its confinement... As she spoke, the band was playing this song nearby... Honestly, I've almost forgotten all the details of our time together; only this song and this scene remain as my last memories of her... I'll never forget this memory... She completely changed my life!"

"Is this the time after you resigned and came to Dali?"

"Otherwise what!... In your eyes, am I really the kind of person who has the courage to start all over again?"

Chen Jin shook his head and replied, "You weren't, at least not in Shanghai."

"I've decided to leave Dali again... These past few days, I've kept thinking about how I felt when I left Shanghai... It's like a story; every story has a beginning and an end, and the characters in it will reflect and come to a conclusion... I have a strong feeling that my story is about to end... But I don't know which city I'll ultimately belong to... Shanghai, Chengdu, Phuket, or Dali?"

Chewing on the cigarette in my mouth, I chuckled again: "Actually, whether you know it or not isn't that important... It's like a car speeding down the highway. As long as the people inside can enjoy the convenience the car brings, that's enough. Trying to figure out how it works is just competing with yourself... So, I've already let go of many things. I'll live life however life wants me to be... Really, even if I'm crippled for the rest of my life, that's a kind of arrangement... I can accept it calmly!"

Why do I get the feeling that you've resigned yourself to your fate?

"You're wrong... This isn't resignation; it's a way of living. Only truly intelligent people live this way... The essence of life is a row of barbs. If you don't want to get pricked and hurt, you have to go with it..."

It was a bit windy, and Chen Jin finally put on his trousers and coat. Then he suddenly said to me, "I can't understand profound truths... but after this incident, I really should change my way of life... Romantic things, though sweet, can be too cloying if they're too sweet!"

...

At the hotel owned by Binjiang Group, Chen Jin booked a room to shower, while Ye Zhi and I sat in the restaurant waiting for him... During the process, we didn't talk much, but my inner thoughts never stopped.

After Chen Jin, I should meet with Tie Nan, whom I haven't seen in a long time... If he can let go of the grudges from many years ago, then I will have all my worries resolved and can go to Thailand in peace.

But will these two years in prison really completely change his extreme personality?

I feel uneasy because of this unknown.

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