I didn't have the heart to turn down a friend's visit, but I couldn't welcome her with open arms. Then the phone rang; it was my youngest sister and her husband.
"We're coming over again next Friday. Aren't you glad?"
".... !" I was lost for words.
They would arrive just after the editor had left. So basically I'd be having guests almost to the day I'd be leaving Shanghai on October 31. "What's so attractive about Shanghai that everyone wants to visit? Don't they know how important solitude is for me?" But I had already begun making the most of each day. Then on October 11, my editor friend sent a text message:
"Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for Literature! We signed to publish his 'Thirteen Steps.' Overtime for me from today. Have to postpone Shanghai. Sorry :("
"Oh, thank you Dear Mo Yan!" I exulted.
Two months flew by like two days. When I meet someone for the first time, I look for similarities between us, not differences. That way I can establish a good relationship. The same goes for cities. I thought of the common denominators between Shanghai and myself. In addition, I reflected on Shanghai's qualities. My conclusion is that Shanghai possesses a unique beauty and originality. What's more it has a drive for the future, and finally, it has the people of Shanghai.
Whenever my phone beeps, I'm afraid it's another uninvited guest. I messaged back to my editor friend, "Go slow on Mo Yan's book. I look forward to reading it."
In the evening, I often stop at the music played by a street vendor selling CDs. One some days, it's "Besame Mucho." Today, it's Leonard Cohen's song. I hum the lyrics as I walk down Yan'an Road.
"There is a crack in everything; That's how the light gets in."
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