The 601st phone call

Author: Zou Jingzhi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: A film novel by the acclaimed screenwriter Zou Jingzhi, inspired by the literary version of the nationwide sensation "The 600 Celebrity Phone Numbers Exposure Incident." "This story focuses on the lonely and melancholic little people beneath the big events and the lonely souls within the spotlight. Yishu, Awen, and Tianyou—three individuals: one normal, one poetic, and one pathological. Life brings us vivid plots; we should make use of them. Don’t let last year’s big event go to waste." — Adapted from last year’s sensational "The 600 Celebrity Phone Numbers Exposure Incident," Yishu is an ordinary person struggling with life. She gets hit by cars while walking, can’t get what she likes, and，her phone number differs by only one digit from that of the exposed superstar Tianyou. Although Tianyou lives in flowers and applause, she actually faces pressures that ordinary people cannot understand. After the 600 celebrity phone numbers were exposed, Yishu’s number became the "601st Phone Number," and she suddenly received countless calls. Just as she was fed up and about to change her number, she received a call from a young boy, Awen. Awen is seriously ill but has always hoped that his beloved idol Tianyou would sing a song he wrote. Yishu thenher life and goes in search of Tianyou.
"The 601st Phone Number" is a film novel by the acclaimed screenwriter Zou Jingzhi, inspired by the literary version of the nationwide sensation "The 600 Celebrity Phone Numbers Exposure Incident." "This story focuses on the lonely and melancholic little people beneath the big events and the lonely souls within the spotlight. Yishu, Awen, and Tianyou—three individuals: one normal, one poetic, and one pathological. Life brings us vivid plots; we should make use of them. Don’t let last year’s big event go to waste." — Adapted from last year’s sensational "The 600 Celebrity Phone Numbers Exposure Incident," Yishu is an ordinary person struggling with life. She gets hit by cars while walking, can’t get what she likes, and，her phone number differs by only one digit from that of the exposed superstar Tianyou. Although Tianyou lives in flowers and applause, she actually faces pressures that ordinary people cannot understand. After the 600 celebrity phone numbers were exposed, Yishu’s number became the "601st Phone Number," and she suddenly received countless calls. Just as she was fed up and about to change her number, she received a call from a young boy, Awen. Awen is seriously ill but has always hoped that his beloved idol Tianyou would sing a song he wrote. Yishu thenher life and goes in search of Tianyou.
In the hospital ward corridor, Tianyou was exhausted and lying in the hospital. It was already late, very quiet, and few people were around. The light from the nurse’s station shone into the corridor. Awen quietly entered the corridor, slipped into the restroom, and when he came out, he changed into a patient’s gown. While the nurse turned back to prepare medicine, he crouched and walked past the nurse’s station, opening a room door and slipping inside. He lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep to the melody.
Outside the corridor, the nurse gently pushed open the door. Seeing Awen lying obediently on the bed, she sighed with affection, shook her head, and left again.
When morning came, the corridor outside the hospital gradually began to stir. Awen opened his eyes and saw the face of Nurse Xiao Fang. Smiling, she asked, "Where did you run off to yesterday? We all know what you’re up to! Keeping you hospitalized is for your own good, understand?" Awen scratched his head, and suddenly a strand of hair slipped through his fingers. Awen felt a bit down but still managed to smile, "Sister Fang, the hospital is so stuffy—good people get sick here, let alone sick ones! I have a whole band waiting for me outside to rehearse. Without me, the band can’t go on. Just turn a blind eye for me, okay?"
Nurse Fang looked at the black strand of hair on the white pillowcase and felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she still smiled and encouraged Awen, "You idiot, it’s fine on normal days, but today you’re getting chemotherapy. Are you ready? It’s really tiring! Promise me, after the chemotherapy, you’re not going anywhere. You have to rest quietly here. Otherwise, even if you run to the ends of the earth, I’ll have someone bring you back."
Awen sat up abruptly, "Alright, I won’t go anywhere. Don’t worry, I’ll get better!"
Nurse Fang smiled, "Lie down for a bit, don’t hurry. I’ll come get you soon."
Another round of chemotherapy was about to begin. Awen knew it was a futile treatment—each round of back-and-forth visits only accelerated his physical decline and changed nothing. He gave a bitter smile. Yes, what was left? When the body finally casts off the soul and departs, what is left behind? He was not afraid of death. The dependence of the body and soul on anyone was only temporary; separation was merely a matter of time. Awen was willing to undergo treatment, not to give comfort to those who cared about him but to leave them with some solace. He just had a lingering attachment—attachment to the things he hadn’t yet done, perhaps because there wasn’t enough time.
P60-61