Hence, for the moment, there was a greater stirring than before, with a lot more confusion and anger than usual. Only her dedication to her children killed her self as her timidity killed her courage. On the phone, her tone was not warm or sweet but low, soft and obedient, not as though she was as docile as a well-trained dolphin in a zoo, but as though she couldn’t fi nd her voice or a way out of her shell. Once in a while, she fantasized that Bing would make a good change, though it had never happened. On the other end of the line, Bing’s sleepy voice sounded annoyed. He never woke up before noon, not even if the sky was falling. Mei told Bing to meet her but forgot to mention where. Bing, of course, was as always in the lead, telling her to meet at Guangji Bridge. To Mei’s disappointment, Bing sounded as if he had no excitement at getting the money, but the excitement of ducking a whore. Nothing was unusual.