Chapter 2

  Níbā had a crush on Zuǒ Xiǎolóng since they were in school. She could tell the difference between the sound of his motorcycle and others, even if they were riding the same model. To Níbā, the engine sounds were alluring. In school, Níbā loved to gaze out from the fifth-floor balcony, where she could see an ice-skating rink in front of her. Zuǒ Xiǎolóng liked ice-skating at that time, probably because he thought it was faster than running, and thus a display of masculinity. However, Níbā still preferred his white motorcycle. At the time, everyone else's motorcycles were either red or black, but Zuǒ Xiǎolóng's was white.

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng spends his days smoking a cigarette, wearing a hat, and riding a motorcycle with nothing to do. This is a kind of real idleness, so idle that outsiders looking at him seem to be plotting something big.

  Niba had expressed her feelings to Zuo Xiaolong a year ago. Niba drew a picture for Zuo Xiaolong, the only change in the picture of Zuo Xiaolong was that the cigarette became a cigar. Niba handed the drawing to Zuo Xiaolong. Zuo Xiaolong was pumping air into his white motorcycle and took it, looked at it and said, "Hmm, not bad, just the cigarette is a bit thicker." How much?

  Mud said: "No need for money."

  Xiaolong extinguished his cigarette and said: "Hmmm, I'm poor lately. No money, but I have a plan."

  Ni Ba lowered his head deeply, but in his heart he thought, this is the kind of man I like.

  It's just because Niuba likes this man, so whatever he says can't be a factor that makes him dislike him. If by chance what he says is right on target, then he'll like him even more. At this point, even if Zuo Xiaolong were to say something like "I want to screw your dad", it still wouldn't affect Niuba's liking for him. This is brand loyalty.

  "Are you learning to paint?"

  The clay nodded.

  "Left Little Dragon asked: 'Why did you draw me? Is it because I'm easy to draw? Do I look simple?'"

  Mud shook his head.

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng carefully folded the painting that the girl had painstakingly mounted into a size similar to a cigarette box, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks."

  Then he started the motorcycle and said to the mud: "What's your name?"

  Ní bā said: "My surname is Ní..."

  Xiao Long took off his helmet from the handlebars and said, "The surname Ni? This surname is really weird, I've never seen anyone with this surname before. Is it fake? Did you get a fake name from reading too many novels by Qiong Yao? Does anyone in this world have the surname Ni... Oh, Ni Ping. Alright, you can be surnamed Ni then, haha, mud."

  From then on, she allowed her friends to call her "Mud".

  Niuba and Zuo Xiaolong's second encounter was still in the same place, which is now a year later. After Zuo Xiaolong's motorcycle stopped steadily, Niuba gave him a book called "Che Guevara", with large letters CHE below it.

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng picked up the book and examined it from left to right, reciting: " Qiē..."

  Xiaolong asked Nibba: "Is there a surname 'Qie'? This surname is really strange..."

  "Car...?"

  Ní bā shuō: "Wǒ jué de tā xiàng nǐ."

  Translation:

  Mud said: "I think he looks like you."

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng used the left rearview mirror to take a glance at his own face, then adjusted the right rearview mirror with his hand and looked at Che Guevara's picture in the book. He furrowed his brow, didn't express an opinion, and pointed at the red star on Che Guevara's hat in the book, saying: "Is he Chinese? Oh no, not that either, he's a foreigner, is he Soviet? Not that either, then who is this Che Guevara?"

  "You'll know once you've seen it."

  Bruce Lee said: "I don't read books, I don't have time to read books. Is he a friend or an enemy?"

  Mao said: "He is a friend of the Chinese people. He is an international communist fighter."

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng thought for a moment and said: "Oh, that's Bai Qiu'en's friend."

  Mud couldn't get a word in edgewise for the time being. Bruce Lee tossed his helmet to Mud and said, "Put it on, I'll take you out for a spin."

  Niba took over the helmet and put it on his head, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fasten the buckle under his chin.

  "Left Little Dragon said: 'You cultural people, read so many books, don't even know how to use the things that can save your life. I'll do it.'"

  She helped Niuba fasten her belt. Left Xiaolong drove his motorcycle with her on it. It was spring at the time. It was mid-spring, a season of its own. The sun shone brightly, clouds drifted through other clouds, and the wind in the air was like the flow of a skirt being lifted. Left Xiaolong silently took Niuba to a garbage dump. He put Niuba down from the motorcycle, removed his helmet, then took off Niuba's helmet, and asked: "Have you been reading too many romance novels?"

  Ní bā replied: "I've never seen it before."

  Then there was a temporary silence.

  Then Niuba lifted her head just about to speak, Zuo Xiaolong directly pressed down on the back of her head and gave her a long kiss. After the kiss, Zuo Xiaolong pointed at the surrounding trash and said: "I hate it when women pursue romance, I specifically brought you to this place, which is smelly and dirty. I'm telling you, it's not what you imagined, reality is cruel. How about it? Having our first kiss in a place like this, is it romantic or not?"

  Mud in his heart thought, damn romantic ah. Reality is cool.

  Zuo Xiaolong continued to drive the motorcycle aimlessly, with Niba leaning against his back without fear. The two didn't say another word, and the clouds grew thicker, with the sunlight softening to give everything a golden edge. The motorcycle's fuel tank held eight liters, and it consumed three liters per hundred kilometers. When Zuo Xiaolong saw that the low-fuel warning light had come on in front of Niba, indicating that only one liter was left, but as they continued driving, the motorcycle started to sputter, meaning they had driven over twenty kilometers and were now far from their original location. At this moment, the sky had just turned dark.

  Two people ate a meal in silence, Niuba kept staring at Zuo Xiaolong, and Zuo Xiaolong kept looking at the food. After finishing the meal, Zuo Xiaolong drove the motorcycle to the gas station to fill up with gasoline, turned on the headlights, and asked: "Are you cold?"

  "Mud replied: 'Cold.'"

  "Okay, go warm up."

  Zuo Xiaolong parked his motorcycle in front of a hotel and thought to himself that the price here wouldn't exceed 100 yuan per night. Although he didn't have much money left, it was still cheaper than getting a prostitute. When he arrived at the front desk, Zuo Xiaolong asked: "How much? A single room."

  The old-fashioned and solemn front desk and the old-fashioned and solemn front desk lady make the environment very solemn. The hotel's walls are hung with clocks, implying that the hotel often entertains guests from all over the world. Among these clocks, except for Beijing time being accurate, other times are casual. This symbolizes that Beijing is always correct, and other countries in the world are chaotic. In the center of the clock, there is a painting, which depicts green pines and flowing water, eagles and tigers.

  The front desk calculated a price on the computer and said 220. The deposit is 300.

  Zuǒ Xiǎo Lóng took a look at his wallet, only to find 220 yuan. He suddenly suspected that the hotel's revolving door was an X-ray machine for security checks, and the customer's private messages had been sent directly to the front desk. In a somewhat urgent situation, Ní Bā said: "I'm here..."

  Xiao Long waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say anything. He took out all 220 yuan and put the helmet on the counter, saying: "This helmet is pawned to you, it's very valuable."