Lin Hong hoped that one day Song Gang would suddenly appear in her doorway and walk in like those other suitors. She felt that he was not like the others. She imagined how he would stand, embarrassed, outside the door, and after coming in would stammer incoherently. She decided that she liked precisely this kind of man, and when she imagined Song Gangs embarrassed expression, she could feel herself blush.
One evening Sang Gang really did arrive and stand uncertainly in Lin Hongs doorway. With a quivering voice he asked Lin Hongs mother, "Auntie, is Lin Hong home?"
Lin Hong was in her room, and her mother came to tell her that the young fellow who was always hanging out with Baldy Li had come to see her. Suddenly flustered, Lin Hong was about to go out when she changed her mind. Instead she softly said to her mother, "Ask him to come in."
Lin Hongs mother chuckled to herself. She went back out and, in a friendly voice, told Song Gang that Lin Hong was in her room and wished for him to go in. Song Gang walked hesitantly into Lin Hongs room. He hadn't come on his own behalf: rather, Baldy Li had forced him to. Having followed the beating to a pulp stratagem for five months now without any success, Baldy Li had concluded that it was useless and therefore he should perhaps revert to the stratagem of penetrating behind enemy lines. Remembering the ugly-toad-and-cow-dung humiliation he had suffered at Lin Hongs home, however, Baldy Li felt that it was not advisable for him to return in person and instead entrusted his military advisor, Song Gang, to serve as his intermediary. Song Gang was not at all willing but, after Baldy Li threw a tantrum, had no choice but to tough it out and go.
When he entered Lin Hongs room, she was standing with her back to him, braiding her hair in front of the window. As she stood under the rays of the setting sun the shadow of her delicate figure flickered everywhere. The evening breeze blew in, gently lifting her white dress and wafting a mysterious fragrance past Song Gang, leaving him weak-kneed. At that moment he felt that Lin Hong was like an immortal atop a cloud. Half of her long hair was spread over her right shoulder; the other half lay across her left shoulder in a three-strand braid, trembling slightly in her hand. At that moment, the evening clouds were bathed in the red light of the sunset, and Lin Hongs slender, pale neck appeared to glow under Song Gangs gaze, making him stare as stupidly as had the infatuated idiot who worked for Baldy Li.
Lin Hong heard Song Gangs rapid breathing behind her but calmly continued to braid her hair. When she finished her left braid, she lightly shook her head and lifted her hand, causing the long hair on her right side to fall over her shoulder and land softly on her chest. She began making a second braid, at which point her slender, pale neck shimmered into view, and Song Gangs breathing sounded like it had been smothered. Lin Hong laughed softly and, with her back still toward Song Gang, said, "Say something, why don't you?"
Song Gang jumped in surprise, and only then did he finally remember his mission. He stammered, "I have come on behalf of Baldy Li."
Song Gang was so nervous that he forgot what he was supposed to say, but when Lin Hong heard that he had come on behalf of Baldy Li, her heart sank. She bit her lip and, after a moment s hesitation, decided to spell things out for him: "If you have come on behalf of Baldy Li, then you should leave now. If you have come on your own behalf, you may have a seat."
Lin Hong blushed at her own boldness. She heard Song Gang bump into a chair and thought that he was about to sit down, but then heard him stumble out. He had heard the first half of what she said but didn't catch the second half, and by the time she turned around he had already left.
After Song Gang departed that evening, Lin Hong cried in frustration and swore that she wouldn't give this idiot any more chances. But as she lay in bed that night, her heart softened. She thought of all those shameless suitors who had pursued her and then remembered Song Gang's graceful bearing. She was confident that he was someone she could rely on, and furthermore he was more handsome than all the other suitors put together.
Lin Hong continued to hope against hope that Song Gang would come and court her of his own accord. But after several months passed and she had not heard anything more from him, she found herself liking him more and more. Virtually every night she would long for him, remembering the image of him with his head lowered, his sorrowful eyes, and his occasional smile.
As time passed she felt that she couldn't continue to wait for Song Gang to come court her and instead needed to be more assertive. But every time she saw him, he always had that hooligan at his side. Twice she happened to run into him alone on the street, but when she shot him a longing glance, he scurried away with his head down, like a criminal fleeing the police. Lin Hong was heartbroken. She gritted her teeth at the mere thought of him while at the same time continuing to love him passionately. The third time she encountered him alone, Lin Hong realized that this was not an opportunity to be wasted. Therefore, she came to a full halt on the bridge and, blushing furiously, called out his name.
When Song Gang, who was just about to scurry away again, heard Lin Hongs voice, he shuddered from head to toe. He turned and looked about him in every direction, as if there might be someone else named Song Gang with him on the bridge. There were a few other people out walking, and they were all watching Lin Hong curiously after hearing her call out Song Gangs name. Although she was still blushing beet red, she asked him in front of everyone, "Come over here."
When Song Gang walked over, looking like a child about to be punished, Lin Hong said loudly, "Tell that Li fellow not to harass me anymore."
Song Gang heard this and nodded and was about to walk off when Lin Hong whispered, "Don't go."
Thinking that he must have misheard her, Song Gang stared at Lin Hong, not knowing what to do. At that point they happened to be alone on the bridge, and an unprecedented tenderness suddenly appeared on Lin Hongs face as she softly asked Song Gang, "Do you like me?"
Song Gang went pale with shock, and Lin Hong blushingly added, "I like you."
Song Gang stared at her blankly. Lin Hong saw that some people were walking onto the bridge and whispered her final line: "Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, wait for me in the little grove behind the movie theater."
This time Song Gang understood perfectly what Lin Hong was saying, and it left him in a delirium for the entire day. He sat in a corner of the workshop asking himself whether everything that had transpired on the bridge was real. He mentally reviewed again and again all the details of the encounter, which caused him all at once to blush and turn pale, feel distressed and grin idiotically, all at the same time. Song Gang's workmates giggled as they discussed him, but he didn't even notice. Only when they called out his name did he stare at them as if waking from a dream. His confused expression made his workmates laugh even harder, and they asked him, "Song Gang, what are you daydreaming about?"