Back at the clinic, Wu Suowei started mapping out plans for the new year. Spending all day there, he soon noticed one particular “patient” who showed up daily—the guy he called the one “with crud in his eyes,” Guo Chengyu.
Guo never seemed in any hurry to be treated; he always took the very last number, giving up his slot to every other patient.
Then he’d sit off to the side, leisurely smoking, watching that elegant white lab coat flit around the room.
Once, while Wu Suowei was washing his hands in the restroom, he overheard Jiang Xiaoshuai say to Guo Chengyu:
“If I don’t make the first move on you, don’t waste your time—there’s no chance!”
After Guo left, Wu asked Jiang, “Just what illness does he have? He shows up here every single day…”
“Brain damage,” Jiang replied.
Wu was silent for a moment, then asked, “Xiaoshuai, how old are you this year?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Still no girlfriend?” Wu probed.
“Never had one.”
“No way!” Wu blurted out. “With everything you’ve got going for you, you don’t have a girlfriend? Then where did all your relationship experience come from—just self-taught?”
Jiang gave him a composed glance. “I’m into men.”
It felt like a thunderclap exploded over Wu Suowei’s head, leaving even his diamond-hard skull buzzing.
