Blood

Author: Fishfire
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Pine nuts, pineapple, pear, lychee, and there's still the apple not back—this is the entire crew of Room 201. I don't know how it is in other dorms, but the girls' names in Room 201 are all fruits, naturally, with homophonic twists. The neighbors, on the other hand, seem to be all place names—Liu Hainan, Zhou Huabei, and so on. Further down, there are star fans like Zhang Anyu and Deng Lijun. These coincidences initially had people thinking they were mysterious events beyond probability. Like the assassination of U.S. Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, or the connection between the sci-fi novel by Tates and the sinking of the Titanic—belonging to fate, until the counselor "Cizhu" (Cai Zhu) smirked maliciously, revealing it was all his deliberate arrangement. But Bai Li, "What's a pine nut a fruit? Besides, are pine nuts sweet?" Bai Li was even more annoyed by the pride of the pine nut, a native of western Hunan—not only did her name sound like a mountain dweller, but she looked like one too. Li was at a loss to understand where the pine nut got her confidence from; it was utterly baffling. Moreover, the pine nut always bought discounted clothes and wore fake designer brands. Her favorite brand was "Margaret"—a French prostitute who suffered hardships, hoping the pine nut wouldn't end up in Margaret's miserable fate.
When they first entered the school, the five girls of Room 201 had just gathered from all over the country. Each introduced her family background. "My dad is completely senile," Li said about her family. "When I was in middle school, the school required parents to sign every assignment to prevent students from cheating. Once I checked my notebook and was stunned—every single page had my dad's signature. The two words were: 'Agreed.'" The roommates laughed. "Then your dad must be an official," Pineapple said. She introduced her mom, "My mom is incredibly stingy. To save water for mopping the floor, she always waits until she's taking a bath to mop. She doesn't wear any clothes—just her bare butt—she mops while walking around, and I was so embarrassed just watching her. Our house has over 200 square meters, and I only see her white butt swaying." Pineapple's intention was to show how big her house was, and the pine nut instantly got the point.
The pine nut introduced her family with solemnity, "I only have one mother, but the love I receive is no less than anyone else's. My mother is just a middle school teacher, but I've never felt that my mother is worse than anyone else's." The pine nut's words had a fiery tone. "It's impossible to connect us at all—what nonsense." Apple was also the family introductions of Li and Pineapple, and in her anger, she cursed in Northeast dialect.