What Are They Doing? Chapter 2

(1) Black Glasses

Under the scorching sun, a man sat on a rock in the depths of the boundless desert in Qaidam and looked into the distance with a smile on his face.

There was nothing but yellow sand and rocks for hundreds of miles all around him, but he didn’t seem to care at all. It was as if this world had nothing to do with him.

Later, he brushed the dust off his clothes, shook the bottom of the canteen, put on his sunglasses, and walked east.

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(2) Wang Meng

The weather in Hangzhou was hot and humid after the beginning of autumn.

In a small antique shop near West Lake, a man was extremely bored. The owner of the shop had disappeared for a long time.

The turnover these past two months was six hundred yuan, so he took the initiative to give himself all the money for his salary. He was a little worried and anxious about his behavior, but when he thought about it, he felt that it wasn’t a big deal if he got fired from this kind of job.

Feeling at ease now, he continued playing Spider Solitaire.

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(3) Lao Yang

Augusta, Maine.

At night, a Chinese man was washing dishes in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant named “Giant Lights”.

His mother was settling the accounts outside. She looked very peaceful and quiet under the dim lamp.

He silently watched her as he put down the last dish and then walked to the window in the back. The Kennebec River was outside, the river breeze making his hexagonal bell earrings move. He took a deep breath and prayed that this tranquility would last.

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(4) Lao Yang

“Your passport is missing a stamp. Where did you depart from?” The customs officer looked at the man in front of him.

“Really?” The man took the passport. “The stamp is right here. Did you read it wrong?”

The customs officer looked at the passport again and couldn’t help frowning. He remembered that the stamp hadn’t been there before. He took a closer look and then returned the passport. “My apologies. Welcome to Guangzhou.”

The man nodded and smiled before looking at his watch. The day had finally come.

“Do you have any cigarettes, sir? Can you give me one?” A girl with short hair stopped him at the airport gate.

The man looked at her, “What brand do you usually smoke?”

“Zhongnanhai, 5 mg. But it’s fine, I can take whatever you have on you.”

The man pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and gave it to her.

“Do you have a lighter?” she asked.

“Isn’t it already lit?” The man coughed and the girl found that the cigarette in her hand really was lit.

“Wow, that’s amazing! Are you a magician?” The girl smiled.

The man looked around and said to her, “Hey, can you take me to a place? It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. My memory isn’t very good.”

“You can take a taxi.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the man said. “This place is very special.”

<What Are They Doing? Chapter 1.2><Table of Contents><What Are They Doing? Chapter 3>

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Translated by: Tiffany X
Edited by: merebear226