Blurb
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Dear Raleigh, the sky is full of dangerous bullets.
The bugs in the trees, the leftovers in the trash can, the windows in the building across the street, they're all out to get me.
I can't cut vegetables with a knife anymore, because both the knife and the vegetables are crying out in pain.
Last night, when I was already asleep, my dad came into my room and told me that if I felt in danger,
I should jump out the window.
I thought he made a lot of sense.
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I'm not lying! Why won't you believe me?
Someone really is coming with a machine gun! They'll be in the village any minute! They're wearing white!
Help!
Xiao Huang, you're under the bed too.
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There are lots of kinds of beans in the world.
Red beans, green beans, soybeans, mung beans, black beans, golden beans.
And weird-flavored beans.
In the end, they'll all become Aurora Warriors.
When I turn eighteen, they'll come take me back to my home planet.
I'm eighteen again this year, and this time I'll finally get to see the Aurora Warriors. I was so excited, I pooped my pants.
Zhang Wen laughed at me. "What'd you eat, croton beans?"
Croton beans are beans too, so the Aurora Warriors must be poop.
I'm a genius.
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"Let's escape together. See that lake over there? Just swim across, and on the other side there are restaurants, arcades, and movie theaters!"
"Don't go, don't go! There's also school, the office, and the home where our parents live!"
"Aaaaaah, how terrifying!"
"You're all a bunch of cowardly lunatics. Have you forgotten there's also the ocean, puppies, and hot pot on the other side?"
"No, no! Compared to the ocean, puppies, and hot pot, we'd rather not see the head teacher, our bosses, or cockroaches!!"
"Exactly! Don't drag us into this!"
"What idiots... Have you all forgotten? There's freedom on the other side, too! We'll never be free here."
"Jia Xi, you're better now. You should get discharged. Stop putting on an act here, it's exhausting."
"I think I'm better too. On the shore over there, I can see trees covered in blossoms: magnolias, cherry blossoms, and apricot blossoms."
"Great poet, I just watched the news. It says it's winter now."
"Nonsense, it's spring."
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"Hello, this is Songshan Psychiatric Hospital. Are you a family member of Jia Xi...?"
"What's wrong?"
"Jia Xi escaped from the hospital last night with a male patient. Has he contacted you?"
"Who was the other person?"
"A gay man who's gone mad."
| A poor sailor from a small town, bottom x a doctor who studied abroad, top, from a conservative old family
| Naive x unhinged
| Neither is truly insane, but both have severe psychological disorders and were abandoned by their families in a psychiatric hospital
| Let's run away. This is the last time. Let's go see spring
| Happy ending
Theme: Live with all your might.
