"Find a cool place and wait for me there. I'm coming to get you!"

Wu Qiqiong put down the phone, rubbing his hands with a piece of cloth. He went inside the room for a change of clothes, in cloud nine.

"Is she here yet?" Wu Qiqiong's mother ran after him and asked.

With his rough hands tugging at his singlet, Wu Qiqiong looked over to his mother's side. His big sparkling eyes unable to hide his wide grin.

"Coming."

Today Wu Qiqiong's girlfriend was going to meet his parents for the first time.

The intense heat from the scotching sun above had mangled the cicada's voice in an attempt to sing. There was a huge garbage bin not a far distance away from Wu Qiqiong's house. As soon as it approached this period of the year, the strong stench would float to each and every household. Wu Qiqiong walked past the garbage bin and a piece of popsicle stick was stuck to the sole of his shoe. He took a hard step and rubbed against the ground, sending thousands of flies fleeing in all directions.

Yue Yue was standing at the entrance of the alley. Her face was full of anxiety and impatience.

On seeing Wu Qiqiong heading in her direction, Yue Yue couldn't help to feel a sense of disgust. She couldn't tell if it was due to the layer of fat hanging around his waist, or the two strands of hair sticking out from his head, or because she saw his dirty face that was sooted with kitchen fumes......

"Let's go. The food will be ready soon." said Wu Qiqiong as he took one of her hands.

Yue Yue yanked her hand away. Her face hidden by the shade. Her pair of amorous eyes was chilly.

"What? You're nervous?" Wu Qiqiong teased, smiling warmly. "Don't worry. My mother is from the countryside, she won't give you a hard time. She was very happy to know you will be coming. She's been anticipating since two days ago and even went to the market to get groceries early this morning."

"Why not...... let's break up!" said Yue Yue.

Wu Qiqiong thought he had misheard it, and stared at Yue Yue with eyes widely open. Unable to find his voice for a while.

Yue Yue continued, "It's getting really boring with us like this."

"How boring? I find it really exciting"

Yue Yue smiled bitterly, "That's only you."

Once said, she turn her head to leave. Wu Qiqiong immediately grabbed onto her.

"Yue Yue. We have been together for seven years now. We can't just break up like this? At least give me a reason for that."

Yue Yue shifted her eyes over to him. "Is 'seven-year itch' valid enough?"

"We can scratch if it itches!"

"Scratch my ***!" Yue Yue exploded. Her delicate lips were spitting venoms. "Let me tell you this. Cut out those cheeky talks. I don't have the time to joke with you. From now on, we have officially broken up. We are now friends."

"We've been good so far, how can we just break up like this?" Wu Qiqiong was still trying hard to fight for this love. "Tell me, is it something I have done? I can change."

Yue Yue rolled her eyes feeling annoyed. "Everything. Go and get reborn!"

Wu Qiqiong, refusing to give in easily, said. "I don't believe it."

"You still don't believe it? What reasons have you got to say that?" Due to the rage, two clouds of pink appeared onto Yue Yue's beautiful face. "I've saving your pride by not saying it. And you are still asking me? Since you have to cheek to ask, then we will have a talk about it."

Wu Qiqiong cocked his ears to listen closely, trying to appear to turn over a new leaf.

Yue Yue took a deep breath and pointed to Wu Qiqiong's chin. "Let's start. Since we have been together, how much weight have you gained? You were so skinny during our university days! So fit! And take a look at yourself now. Sinking deeper and deeper into the ground with each step you take. I feel like I'm taking a Tibetan Mastiff for a walk when I'm shopping with you."

Wu Qiqiong cry out in injustice. "Didn't you say skinny men don't make you feel secured?"

"Yes. I said that." Yue Yue threw her bag on the ground in rage. "But isn't this fucking too secured now? It's so secured that I can't help but cry. Did you know? I've been dreaming a lot lately that we have a third wheel between us. And I laugh myself awake each time round."

Yue Yue had a sharp tongue and Wu Qiqiong was already used to that. He decided not to argue with her. He crouched down and picked up her bag from the ground. With an apologetic smile hanging on his face, he passed the bag back to Yue Yue.

"If you don't like me in this state, I can lose weight, just for you."

"Stop wasting your saliva. It's not just a few kilograms we are talking about here. You can lose some weight, but your stinginess is hopeless! Everytime we go shopping, it has always been discounts and promotions. It's the same story with going to the supermarket. Even when we were to get a room, you will only choose those without internet and air-conditioner. My close girl friends are all driving their own car, yet I am still squeezing in subways!"

Wu Qiqiong, with his good nature, tried to console her. "Beijing have always been full of traffic conjestions. Furthermore the oil price is so high. It's really not worthwhile to drive on the road!"

Yue Yue was feeling infuriated with anger. "Right. Your monthly salary is merely just slightly over 2000 CNY. Things are so expensive in Beijing nowadays, isn't it a waste to get a girlfriend! So in order to help you to save money, let's just break up."

"Don't do this to me......" Wu Qiqiong swallowed his pride and pleaded, "I don't feel pain spending money on you."

"Right. There is a total of only a slight over 2000 CNY, what is there to feel pain about? Even if you muster all your courage and spend all, the most that you can get is a bowl of Dou Zhi* and two pieces of Jiao Quan*. What use does it have to graduate from a reputable school and end up working from nine-to-five. It's not much better than a college student. My best friend from childhood didn't even manage to graduate from high school, yet he is driving a BMW now. Even if you can't afford a BMW, at least get a Passat!"

Wu Qiqiong fished out a piece of tissue from his pocket and gently wiped off the sweat on Yue Yue with consideration.

"Don't worry. Don't worry. (We) will get one after few years.

"After a few years? With your damn pathetic salary? You're still thinking of getting a car? With that shabby house of yours, you still have the nerve to ask me to join you guys for a meal? Wu Qiqiong. Wu Jiqiong* (Super duper poor). How poor you are? Just looking at your name it bloody proves you can't prosper. That's it. You go back inside. Just tell your mother that it's over between us."

Yue Yue turned her head to leave and once again Wu Qiqiong grabbed onto her. The two of them start tugging at each other, which made the dog on the other side of the ally barked along.

"Is there really no possibility of turning back?" Wu Qiqiong's rheumy eyes look red.

To be frank, although Yue Yue could have a sharp tongue, she did not have a cold heart. If she had been so heartless, she would never have endured for such a long time before she decided to break up with him. Looking at Wu Qiqiong's pathetic state, Yue Yue felt wretched inside. She couldn't bare to do this, but there was simply no feeling left now. She had to break it to him sooner or later. When could this be over if she were to continue wavering like this?

"Wu Qiqiong, frankly speaking, I'm not rejecting you because you're poor. I just hate you for having no motivation. Ever since we were together, you have never done a single outrageous thing. Even if you were to fight with me or shout at me, at least refresh my life! To put it mildly, you are a modest person. To put it bluntly, you're a coward! Chu Wo Zi*!

There was a piece of brick lying beneath the utility pole behind where Yue Yue was standing. Wu Qiqiong stared at it blankly. He suddenly recalled reading from a novel called 'The Debris of Memory', whereby the protagonist, in an attempt to retrieve his love, smashed his head with bricks time and again. In the end waived a love story that touches deeply into every heart.

"I can die for you." Wu Qiqiong blurted out abruptly.

Yue Yue did not even blinked her eyelids on hearing that. She laughed it off as if it was a joke.

"You better don't die for me. Even if you were to slash you arm in front of me, I will call you the king!"

Wu Qiqiong edged over tepidly to the utility pole, slouched down and picked up the piece of brick that had a missing edge. His two hands were quivering like some rotten bamboo sticks tottering in wind. Finally, he managed to tighten his grip onto the brick and turned to face with Yue Yue, lips trembling vigorously.

"I'm......I'm going to smash it now. Don't you regret later."

Yue Yue threw him a side glance, not taking him seriously. She turned her head around and left.

Smash!

Yue Yue immediately stopped track and turned around. Her face was pale with horror.

Wu Qiqiong was lying on the ground. His body was jerking uncontrollably. His head was full of blood.

"Da Qiong*! Da Qiong! Please don't scare me! Somebody help! There's a suicide!"

Wu Qiqiong woke up and found himself lying in a clinic. There was a doctor standing beside him. He was sterilizing some clinical equipment - tweezers and scissors. Hearing noises coming from the bed, Jiang Xiaoshuai turned his head around and smiled warmly, revealing his set of sparkling white teeth.

"Awake?"

Wu Qiqiong noticed that the doctor was actually quite handsome.

"Who sent me here?"

"Your girlfriend asked two men for help and carried you here. She even instructed me to use the cheapest medicine, especially those that can be reimbursed." said Jiang Xiaoshuai while aligning the items in the room.

Wu Qiqiong had a huge grin on his face. "She still understands me the most."

Jiang Xiaoshuai paused for a while. He walked over to Wu Qiqiong with a latent smile and passed him a glass of water. "Take your medicine first."

After Wu Qiqiong had taken his medication, he immediately asked, "Where's my girlfriend?"

"Gone long ago. She left while I was treating your wound. About 3 to 4 hours ago. Hey! Say... how did you get that on your head?"

"Hit by a brick." Wu Qiqiong seemed pretty proud of it.

"You had a fight with someone?"

"No. My girlfriend wants to break up with me. I want to show her some colour."

This is the first time Jiang Xiaoshuai had heard of hitting own self with bricks in order to show some colour to others.

"Is that worth it?" He remarked sarcastically.

Wu Qiqiong did not answer back. Instead he picked up his phone and made a call to Yue Yue.

'Do you still want to break up with me?"

There was a long pause on the other side of the line. "Get well first. We will talk about it after you have recovered."

Wu Qiqiong put down his phone. There was a wide rewarding smile on his face. He waved the phone in his hand at Jiang Xiaoshuai.

"She told me she will not break up with me first. Do you think it's worth it? Of course it is!"

Jiang Xiaoshuai held back the sense of despise from his eyes and continued to maintain the friendly smile that was hanging on his face.

"Doctor, how long will I take to recover?"

"At least two months."

"Two months?" Wu Qiqiong exclaimed bitterly, "How much would that have costed me......"

It was getting dark outside. Wu Qiqiong and Jiang Xiaoshuai were the only ones remaining in the clinic. Wu Qiqiong had a drip on one of his hand and was playing Zuma on his phone with the other hand. Jiang Xiaoshuai stood next to him watching him playing randomly. He aimed all kinds of every coloured ball at the target. Before long the game was over. In the end, he played the game over and over again with sheer determination.

"Say......" Jiang Xiaoshuai coughed a little. "Why are you still playing game when your head is already in this state?"

"Grew too bored. I only have this game installed in my phone and I have never beaten it once."

A sense of mockery crept on Jiang Xiaoshuai's face. "If you keep playing randomly like this, it's impossible to beat this game."

"I didn't! I am playing according to the rules."

Jiang Xiaoshuai stood aside and continued to observe him. Suddenly, something crossed his mind and he asked uncontrollably. "Are you colour blind?

"No, I'm not. I can distinguish colours perfectly."

Jiang Xiaoshuai still thought something was not right. He asked Wu Qiqiong to pause the game and pointed at a red ball on the screen. "What colour is this?" He asked Wu Qiqiong.

"Yellow." Wu Qiqiong answered with a serious tone.

Jiang Xiaoshuai proceeded to point to a green ball next. "What colour is this?" He asked again.

"Also yellow."

"Then what about this one?" He pointed to a purple ball.

Wu Qiqiong was sure of his answer. "Blue."

Jiang Xiaoshuai patted Wu Qiqiong's shoulder helplessly.

"Buddy. You are colour blind. Save your mind. You can never defeat this game even if you die."

Wu Qiqiong was still holding onto the phone. He paid no heed to Jiang Xiaoshuai's words and remarked, "That's ok. I will just take this as a practice for my eyes."

Jiang Xiaoshuai became interested in Wu Qiqiong and can't help to continue chatting with him.

"Hey. Why did she break up with you?"

Wu Qiqiong dropped to a frown. "Ashamed of my weight."

With that, he tossed over his wallet to Jiang Xiaoshuai. There was a photo of the two of them lying inside. It was taken during the first year of their university days. He was lighter by almost 25 kilograms as compared to now.

After Jiang Xiaoshuai had seen it, he felt a little sympathetic for Wu Qiqiong.

"The situation you're in now is pretty bad! He does look thinner than you. In my opinion, they are more suited for each other. Buddy. Don't take it so hard. Be cool."

"Hey! Hey! Watch your mouth!" Wu Qiqiong was unwilling to listen more.

Jiang Xiaoshuai said with a straight face, "I am stating the fact."

"What fact do you know? That is me! Me!" Wu Qiqiong pointed to himself, and then pointed to the photo.

Jiang Xiaoshuai was astonished so he quickly grabbed over the photo and glanced at it closely. He compared it against Wu Qiqiong's current face, and looked at it again. Indeed they did look similar. Fat people sure had potential. Jiang Xiaoshuai immediately understood the reason why Wu Qiqiong's girlfriend wanted to break up with him. No one would have been able to accept this discrepancy!

"Buddy, you seriously need to lose weight now. Just take a look at yourself in that photo - thick brows and large eyes emitting a sense of wit. Then look at yourself now. Although the eyes are still pretty large, but it's so dumb!"

Wu Qiqiong turned his eyes and asked, "Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Jiang Xiaoshuai removed the needle from his hand. "Anyway during your stay here you have to watch your diet. Why not take this chance and start losing some weight?"

......

Two months had passed in a flash of the eye. Wu Qiqiong's wound had really healed well, no scars or anything, flat as ever. And just as what Jiang Xiaoshuai had instructed, Wu Qiqiong had been going vegetarian these days and lost more than 10 kilograms. It sure did look better than before; Even Wu Qiqiong himself, felt lighter walking around. So today, he had specially bought two straps of cigarettes to thank the doctor.

"After coming so frequently for prescription, I am feeling kind of reluctant to leave."

Jiang Xiaoshuai let out a hearty laugh. "LOL at what you've said. If you're really reluctant, hit your head again and we will see each other every day."

"Hahahaha......"

Wu Qiqiong waved good bye to Jiang Xiaoshuai and strode out of the door.