A Game of Hypocrisy

Somehow, I became a hypocrite. Society pounded me into shape until I lost my spirit and became someone I hated. I became utilitarian, obsessed with profit, cold and heartless. I lost my sense of justice, grew afraid to stand out, and learned to hide behind others, putting on a mask and playing along with whatever the situation demanded. That was until I met him. It was at a university job fair. He was handsome and striking, and when he smiled, his youthful energy shone like a dazzling rainbow. I seemed to see my younger self in him. Against my will, I began to fall for him. I started luring him in, leading him step by step to see the rotten person I was. I wanted to take him to hell, never imagining he would take me to heaven. He was an idealist. He believed in justice, in the law, in the innate goodness of human nature, in the Foolish Old Man who moved mountains, in Jingwei filling the sea, in humanity's ability to triumph over nature, and in my love for him. Truthfully, I only wanted to sleep with him and make him question his whole life, just like me, so I could put an end to the jealousy in my heart. Then one day, I heard him on the phone in the bathroom, speaking in a tone I didn't recognize. "I know he's deceiving me. I'm deceiving him, too. I'm even more of a hypocrite than he is." A game of love. Whoever falls first loses. A big shot meets someone even more formidable. A story about an older man who gets fooled by an eighteen-year-old college boy. Every little thing that seemed to fall perfectly into place was the result of countless rehearsals and long-laid plans. You once stood up for me. Now I'll take you into the world. When I was eighteen, I worked on a case and offended the powerful. From then on, my life went down a path of ruin. For years, I achieved nothing, living in hiding and constantly on the run. I regretted countless times having dared to stand up for what was right, until I saw the boy I'd risked everything to protect, safe and sound, full of youthful spirit, calling me "big brother." "You know, once a man turns twenty-five, he stops believing in love." "That's okay. I stopped believing when I was eighteen." Thesis: Believe in the law. Believe in justice.