"You've just listened to" "Beethoven's piano concerto no. 3" "With piano performance by our very own" "Miss Tan Wei-Ching, who's been studying abroad in Europe." "As you may also know," "Miss Tan will be playing tomorrow night, at the Center for the Performing Arts." "She's just returned home today." "We are grateful to have her on the air, despite her extremely busy schedule, to chat with our classical music lovers" "Hello." "Extension 2681 please." "[Radio] Hello." "And hello to everyone, too." "[Telephone] Eng Dept, may I speak to Miss Jiang?" "Lai-ching, this is Jia-li." "I'm trying to find someone's whereabouts." "it's a pianist just returning home." "Tan Wei-Ching" "[Radio] After tomorrow night's concert I will leave for Tokyo the morning after" "How many years since you left the country?" " 13 years" " Wow, 13 years" " This is the first time returning?" " Yes, it is" "It's been so many years, you must be very busy?" "Um, I've been in school, practicing full time." "Then I competed around Europe." "Every year there are competitions," "One after another." "I continued to gain experience." "Later my performances were also non-stop." "[dialogue fading]" "Can you work on this for me?" "The touch is a little loose" "Of course." "But it'll take time" "Can't you make it if you start now?" "Certainly." "I'll start right away" "That thing about the room is settled" "They found the luggage." "It's in your room now" "This was at the reception, it's for you." " What happened?" " Nothing, nothing at all." "My sister's bringing me clean clothes How come she's not here yet?" " She's in Taipei?" " Just moved up" "That's right." "High school starts a week earlier than we do" "Look at that dummy!" "Jia-Li, over here..." "This is Ching-ching, Tan Wei-ching" "Hello" "Cat got your tongue?" "Introduce yourself!" "Jia ..." "My name is Lin Jia-li" "Is something wrong?" "Just a little tired." "I think I'll go back to my room" "The press conference is at three." "The limouse will be at the hotel at five-thirty." "Then to dinner and the concert hall by seven" "There's a cocktail party in your honor after the performance" "We must leave no later than nine in the morning....." "Cathay Pacific Flight 450 leaves for Tokyo at 10.15" "Don't forget, the press conference at 3pm." "Birgit, could you come here a moment?" " Auntie." " You are home?" " Father." " Hmm... good." "How's the weather in Taipei?" "It seems so much hotter than usual this year" "That's at a competition when I was a kid." " Is that you?" " Yup." "And that's Jia-Sen, he was the champion!" "And this?" "I ... don't remember." " Jia-sen looks like mother" " Yup" "Everyone says I look more like my dad." "I think so too." "I didn't do badly in pathology and chemistry" "But when it comes to dissection" "I always feel so tentative." "Don't worry, I'll give you a little practice during the vacation" "But you must force yourself to watch during surgery" "Once you are used to it, you'll do just fine." "Understand?" "Yes" "How do you like it?" "What'd you say?" "Our home." "What do you think of it?" "It's fine." "Just smells a little like a hospital" "Yes?" "Can we cancel this afternoon's press conference?" "I'll see what I can do" "But why?" "There's someone I want to go and see" "It's that hotel message, isn't it?" "I don't know if I should go or not" "I think you should" "But remember," "There's nothing more disappointing than a pianist whose performance lacks concentration" "To put your mind at ease I'll take care of the press conference" "How did you find me?" "Through a journalist friend" "Hot coffee" "How long has it been?" "Thirteen years" "You left in such a hurry." "I'm not even sure what day you left" "The French scholarship was a surprise" "School was starting, I had to leave right away" "I guess a lot of water has passed under the bridge" "But there are one or two things, I think you ought to know" "I tried more than once to get in touch with you" "I really wanted to tell you" "Is Ching-ching home, Mrs. Tan?" "No, she's not in" " When will she be back?" " I'm not sure" "She's been getting in very late lately" "It was only later I heard you'd gone to Europe" "Remember the summer before my college freshman year?" "Come on." "Pick one." "Call it my graduation gift." "Go ahead, dummy!" "My paycheck can take it" "It's from Ching-ching" "What now, don't want to go home?" "Or can't bear leaving Ching-Ching?" "Dr. Chen is inviting us to a dinner." "Still trying to set you up with his daughter?" "Dr. Chen and dad were at medical school together in Japan" "They grew up together." "Chen's practice is as well-known as Dad's" " Does school start in July, Mori (Jia-sen)?" " [shakes head]" "So it's settled" "You'll exchange rings with Wan-jen in early July and we'll set the wedding for the Mid-Autum Festival" "Or should we wait another month until Confucius' Birthday?" "When everyone has a day or two off?" "How does that sound to you?" "No?" "Very well." "And Tetso can attend his sister's wedding before he goes overseas" "At this rate, you'll have your Ph.D. in four years, Tetso" "Jia-li will also be out of school," "I'll be out of another wedding gift!" "I hardly even know Wan-jen" "And no one gives a second thought for Ching-ching" "It's just not fair" "What's going to happen?" "As you always know." "Mori (Jia-sen) has always been a very sensible kid" "Jia-sen" "He sure knows his ways to release his anger" "No, I shouldn't have said that" "Even at our age, we still can't get away from honor and face" "It's all so superficial" "Sometimes my hypocrisy scares me" "We put up a facade whenever we need to protect ourselves" "Like a chameleon" "To tell the truth, I had no desire to go to Austria" "All I ever wanted was to make a little money teaching piano and wait for your brother to graduate" "But we broke up." "Everything changed" "All that was left was the music" "I just wanted to leave" "I know you came looking for me but what's the point of seeing you?" "We could not have changed a thing" " Is Ching-ching home, Mrs. Tan?" " No, she's not in" "Will she be back soon?" "I'm not sure." "She has been getting in very late" "Please pass this letter on to her" " Certainly" " Thank you" "Good bye" "This is for you" "I hadn't the courage to see you to this very day" "Married?" "Your parents' arranged?" "What're you having?" "It's Ah-tsai." "Ah-tsai!" "Over here!" "Sit here!" "I'm Ah-tsai." "This is Cheng De-wei." "And you are?" "She's Lin Jia-li, Western languages." "What's up?" "Oh, not much" "Sure, ok!" "And then?" "This dump is mine, now." "Everything you see is mine" "So noisy!" "My old man picked up the mortgage when a friend of his lost everything" "Now the old man's passing it on to me" "No power?" "Nor water." "Fucker couldn't pay." "They cut it off eons ago." "So when do you move in?" "Who knows" "My old man might have to mortgage it himself next week!" "Creep!" "He's a bit of a child, this De-wei" "But he's a simple guy and that has its advantages" "At least he won't leave you." "Unless you break up first" "Take a chance" "You can always find someone else" "If you're not satisfied" "And he'll always be around if you can't find anything better" "De-wei'll be training all summer What about you?" "Going home?" "Let's get together before you go" " Bye" " Bye" "Are you all done with your finals?" "One more to go" "Ah-tsai stole his Dad's money to play the market" "His old man caught him, now he's afraid to go home" "I'm leaving for the army tomorrow" "I know" "Your family never interfered?" "Father was a little more tactful with me" "He just rented out the Taipei house as soon as I graduated" "I had no choice but to move back home" "It was only with De-wei gone off to the army that I missed his presence" "The whole time, I was in a daze" "I couldn't believe four years of college were over just like that" "So like everyone else," "I applied for grad schools overseas, really just for the heck of it" "De-wei wrote me often during his service" "He expressed himself poorly in his letters but his letters gave me a sense of contentment" "Finally, I waited until he's discharged and he often asked me to meet him in Taipei" "Come on out a minute, Jia-li" "In just four and half years in the US, Tetso got his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering" "That is truly impressive" "Your father has always hoped that you would marry such a man" "You should keep that in mind and think a little of your future" "It's hard to imagine a more satisfying day in my whole life" "Dr. Chen and I have agreed on a mid-August engagement" "They can then leave together, just in time for Jia-li's grad school" "My son, my daughter," "Both of their future settled!" "That's a great weight off my mind" "Since I left school" "My idoelogy has changed a lot" "People say I've matured" "I think it's more a question of the way we'd idealize things then and the extent of our ambition." "And now?" "I try not to think about the future" "I also try not to expect too much" "What I look for now really is the simple pleasures in life" "Like letters from my old teammates or a piece of good music" "Really, what rights do I have to tell you what to do?" "What can I possibly tell you?" "I just wanted to know:" "Are you happy?" "Tell me first though:" "What is happiness?" "With all that education you should know what happiness is" "Please sit" "Will you and De-wei come to my conert tonight?" "I'll leave two VIP tickets for you" "No, I can't make it tonight [deep sigh]" "I..." "let me put it this way" "Something happened three years ago" "I remember clearly," "The morning seemed so full of promise" "I walked in the fresh air" "For the first time in my life I felt a simple contentment" "I could almost smell the greenness of the leaves" "I walked all the way home," "I hadn't felt this good in ages" "But the moment I got home" "The maid told me that," "the police had called" "That..." "They found De-wei on some beach" "Drowned" "The patrol officer went to the coast guard" "They are searching for your husband's body" "It will be a while before he returns" "How did it happen?" "I'm not sure what to tell you" "But this is what we know..." "Yesterday around sunset" "I'd packed up my net to head home" "I saw this tall, skinny city guy, very clearly, sitting there and frowning" "I saw him too." "It was completely dark then" "So I thought it was strange" "Wanting to go swimming at this hour" "So I kept turning and looking at him." "Later, after dinner, must've been after eight" "When the tide was high..." "We were down on the beach at dawn today when we found your husband's belongings" "This medicine bottle I found had your husband's name on it" "It was..." "Cheng..." "De-wei, right?" "The patrol officer looked forever to find clinic's phone number" "The clinic's called..." "Something Luo's Clinic, right?" "But I don't remember my husband going to this clinic" "Do you think it might be some other Cheng De-wei?" "That..." "I'm not really sure" "I don't know." "You should ask the officer" "Wait here." "He's coming now." " Take care of this, will you?" " Okay" "I took a look at your translation, Lin Jia-li" "Not quite what I expected from a foreign language major like you" "I don't want to tell you how to do your job" "You'll be translating all these stacks here and those there" "If you can't even do this piece, what am I going to do with you?" "De-wei" "You see?" "Let's go!" "Hello?" "What is it?" "About De-wei?" "Where are you now?" "Slow down." "What the hell's happened?" "Ah-tsai announced his marriage around this time" "The eternal playboy, Ah-tsai with four or five girls forever in tow, marrying!" "It all made sense later, when we found out that he'd married the eldest daughter of some major financier" "It came as no surprise soon then" "He became the chairman of an investment firm owned by his father-in-law" "Right away he strengthened his position by gathering a loyal group of old buddies around him" "To expand the business" "De-wei and Ah-tsai had grown up together" "And were close in class and as teammates" "They understand each other without uttering a word" "They were even stationed in the same army service unit" "So it was only natural that De-wei became Ah-tsai's general manager" "Rise and shine, Mr. GM." "Aren't you the one who's always saying late managers get late workers?" "Just another five minutes" "My head's killing me" "Look who's complaining" "It's not all dinner and dancing, you know" "There's so much you can't even imagine" "Every day's the same" "I seem to arrive at the office, take off my coat, and the day's already done" "So I come home with this strange anxiety that I've left so much undone" "Do you think staying home or working in office is better?" "I don't have my feet up all day either, you know" "Even with a maid, there's a lot I take care of myself" "Shopping, cleaning, pressing your clothes" "In the office you work for others" "I much prefer working for ourselves" "I've been thinking of taking a class in flower arranging" "This is so, so unfair" "I have to get up so early every morning, while you sleep in" "Next time you entertain clients, at least give me a call" "Pay attention, now" "Fix the stem about one-third of the way in, like so" "Then at two-thirds point" "With the chrysanthemums at an angle of forty-five degrees" "Be careful." "Now go ahead!" "Hsin-hsin!" "Jia-li!" "How old is your child?" "Come on over." "I live nearby" "Not today." "De-wei will be off any minute now" "So you did marry De-wei!" "He's hardly ever home for dinner he's working very hard" "So I want to be there for him tonight" "Promise to come and see me in a day or two" "There's so much I want to tell you!" "You're kidding!" "They are auditioning!" "Oh." "The wife's back..." "That's too heavy." "Let me help you" "We'll have to move fast" "De-wei'll be home any minute" "First, get a vase for the flowers" "Then put the fruit in the fridge" "Have her wait a moment" "Hello." "Yes speaking." "Yes." "Okay." "The Hong Wei account is ours!" "We did it!" "We really did it!" "A new account!" "Let's go out!" "Tonight we paint the town red." "Come on..." "Still here?" "I'll look at your account tomorrow" "Right now, join our celebration!" "De-wei!" "Let's go" "It didn't even cross your mind." "Tonight is our third anniversary" "The apartment's my mother's" "After working all these years" "I can't even afford to own a place!" "Hush, too hot to sleep?" "Shhh..." "Grandma will fan you" "The only thing I own now is that fatherless kid" "Remember that visiting professor?" "I wasted two whole years with that bastard waiting for him to take me along to the States" "before I found out he'd already married" "Next it was a businessman..." "Ah-tsai might even know the guy" "He was big till he dropped a bundle on the stock exchange" "Ran out on us all--including that" "Don't know what possessed me to keep the little bastard" "How does De-wei treat you?" "De-wei's always been a naive guy" "Remember back in college" "How I'd always be telling you this and showing you that" "I wish there was someone who could teach me a thing or two" "That's beautiful." "You're really making progress!" "You have such lively color and line" "I hope you will do even more beautiful work at home" "Thank you!" " Hello?" " It's me." "I can't come home tonight" "I have to go to Taichung first thing in the morning to look at some property" "I'll drive down there tonight." "Don't wait up" "All right" "Ah-De, your wife!" "Go home man, your wife's waiting!" "[giggle]" "De-wei!" "De-wei!" "Do you hear me?" "I'm talking to you!" "What is that supposed to mean?" "Are you trying to punish me?" "Do you think I want to snoop on you like this?" "It's been two years of business trips and entertaining" "And not once have I questioned you, or doubted what you've done because I know you wouldn't tolerate it" "But you're gone from morning till late at night without even a phone call sometimes" "How should I know where you are?" "Or who you're with?" "I wouldn't even know if something'd happened to you" "All I can do is sit at home nursing my fears" "Maybe that's all you'll ever nurse!" "How often have I told you to stop worrying and stay out of my workspace" "What did you want at the site?" "To make a fool of me?" "Well, you did!" "I work all day, then I work all night" "Where am I?" "How, for Christ's sake, don't you know?" "I'm at work!" "For us." "I'm working for us" "What do you know anyway, except how to wait for me?" "What can you do?" "Flower arranging!" "Do you think I enjoy all this entertaining?" "Do you know what happens when I drink?" "I throw up!" "All the next day, my head aches!" "I always have to measure up to your standards" "Now I see just how selfish you are!" "Selfish!" "?" "If I came home every night for dinner, would it make you happy?" "Would I be less selfish?" "What about you!" "With your demands to come home to keep you company" "You don't call that selfish?" "De-wei, is there no chance to get back what we were?" "Don't you have even a little time to share with me to bring a little warmth back to our home?" "With all that I've given you" "I just don't know what more you want" "Yes" "Still tied-up?" "Will you be off soon?" "Still angry with me?" "No, not really" "What's going on?" "The old woman's spot-checking?" "Keep her in line, man!" "Catch you tonight, the usual place!" "Don't come over..." "I'll pick you up" "Where are you?" "Got it" "Can I help you?" "Nothing, just wanted to let you know I moved" "Here's my new number" "I'll be getting my own place uptown as soon as this deal comes through" "Call me!" "Have you been getting enough sleep?" "Where have you been eating?" "Been anywhere in particular?" "What are you trying to prove?" "I'm just showing a little concern!" "You wouldn't be afraid if you trusted me" "Jia-li!" "Jia-li!" "Should we eat, Mrs. Cheng?" "Mr. Cheng came home but went out again" "I'm surprised you are here already," "You're just in time to identify these" "Then sign your name here" "Is there anything else?" "You mean they're not your husband's?" "I'm not sure." "I can't be certain" "You should at least recognize this." "It has his name on it" "We found all these along with the rest on the beach" "Who else's could it be?" "I spoke with this clinic on the label about your husband's condition" "How else do you think I got your home number?" "His doctor gave it to me" "But I really don't recall my husband seeing this doctor" "I suppose he was keeping something from you" "Based on all the evidence so far nothing suggests murder." "Since he was already receiving this kind of treatment" "Do you think he might have suicidal tendencies?" "You'd know better than anyone else" "When you saw him yesterday" "Was there anything unusual?" "I don't know, I haven't seen him for days" "She still doesn't know!" "Maybe he didn't kill himself" "Maybe the medicine made him drowsy, he lied down and he got carried off with the tide." "It's possible, don't you think?" "Or maybe he swam way out and couldn't make it back." "Maybe" "Actually, a lot of things had changed by now." "I knew it" "But I had no idea what to do about it" "I can't help but feel" "Jia-li and I are drifting further and further apart" "You know better than anyone what I..." "What we've been through is so different from anything she knows" "The only advice I can give you" "Speaking for myself and the boys... is not to let anything unrelated to your work get to you" "You and I are basically different" "I've lived this way all my life" "So I can handle this kind of thing with one eye closed and one hand tied behind my back" "It's tough out there" "For every minute you waste on your personal life" "Someone else gains just that one more minute on your professional career" "I'll be straight with you" "Don't think I'll protect you if you allow personal affairs to affect company interests" "just because you're one of my right-hand men" "Remember that I am responsible for you." "What do you mean happiness in our future?" "Are we even happy now?" "Why do you keep messing with me?" "Why do you always..." "Trust me a little, won't you?" "Let me make a go of it." "Just let me try!" "De-wei, everything you say is just one more excuse" "Come off it, Jia-li" "I know you're dissatisfied at the moment" "Can't you think of tomorrow for a change?" "Just be patient and" "I promise things will be better" "I don't know anymore." "You sound like you're preaching" "Praise the lord, and all your sins will be forgiven" "What the hell am I talking about?" "What are you talking about?" "De-wei, maybe it's all just too trivial to worry about" "Just relax, for God's sake, relax." "But all I've ever prayed for is today" "Let's stop all this fighting now, please" "I only want to lean on you." "Just rest for a while." "I'm so tired, so tired..." "You'll feel a lot better" "If you get away for a while" "Believe me" "I'm going to put you in charge of all our Asian business." "I think it'll be good for you" "What do you think?" "Hi!" "No trouble finding the place?" "Are you in a hurry?" "No." "De-wei went abroad" "I'll just finish up in here and we can get out for a breath of air" "When did you move in?" "A week or two ago." "He's seven years younger than me" "I only knew him for a couple of weeks when he asked me to move in" "Who could have guessed at my age?" "The child?" "With my mother" "Go wait in the other room, I'll be with you in a minute" "Ping-ping" "This is Jia-li and he's Ping-ping -- my new guy's best friend" "Get to know each other" "Hello?" "Alright" "New hair?" "Just an impulse" "I liked it better before" "I guess it was curiosity" "Ping-ping was so different" "He said he'd come home to write though I have no idea what he really did" "He'd travelled a lot -- been everywhere" "I suppose that's why... he talked often of his travels" "Europe, South America, the Middle East, India, Nepal..." "It's true I get around, but I haven't a penny to my name" "There's no way I could ever settle down like you" "But maybe marriage isn't just a question of money..." "I guess I've always been this way" "That's what I like about writing with one book I can make enough.." "if I sell.. to go back on the road then I travel and collect more ideas for my book" "I have this journal with me all the time" "Like my watch" "So I can keep a record of whatever comes into my head" "Like some safe-deposit box of all those precious moments of life." "Don't you think?" "I guess I've never really thought of things that way" "Perhaps not" "But do you think you'll always want things to be so simple?" "Why don't you come back with me tonight?" "Wait here." "I'll get the car." "Father, what's the trouble?" "I'm not sure." "That's why I came up to Taipei for a checkup" "And?" "The lab report is not in yet" "How are things at home?" "It's difficult to keep the practice going" "Younger doctors aren't interested in private clinics" "They're not big enough, and the equipment's too old" "Then there's the long hours" "We can't hold a candle to a big hospital" "Thank God Jia-sen is about ready to take over" "But it's going to be tough on him" "Excuse me, Mrs. Cheng?" "Could I have a word or two with you?" "I'm a colleague of De-wei's" "Come in" "Thank you" "My name is Liu." "They call me Hsiao-Hui" "What I came to say might startle you a little but I hope you'll understand that I bear you no malice" "I'm here merely to straighten the record." "I believe this letter is for you" "This is De-wei's writing." "It's addressed to you" "But the letter inside is for you" "I believe you should've received his letter that's meant for me" "No need to check" "You can rest assured that the letter inside is mine" "He mixed up the envelopes" "With all the married men I've been with in the past" "I took great pains not to intrude on their family lives" "But this time, my hand is forced" "I felt obliged to speak to you frankly, and in person" "I sympathesize your predicament." "After all, I am a woman" "In fact, I think I can even help you" "I'd advise you to soon take care of yourself, think more for yourself" "You must realize as well as I do, that De-wei isn't all that confident" "There's so much he's unsure of and he has a habit of avoiding issues" "I bet this mistake with the letters was intentional" "It's how he deals with problems" "On the one hand, he wants you to know his dilemma right now" "On the other hand, he wants me to forgive his inability to explain things to you" "He intentionally mixes up the letters so by the time he returns" "He can decide more easily, based on our reactions to the letters" "From the beginning, I knew that De-wei was the most naive in the group" "Winning him over was my only hope of gaining access to that tight group of theirs" "Perhaps others will say I used him" "But I've stood by him and helped him through many difficulties" "Perhaps that's just one more reason he can't seem to do without me" "I should go now" "I want to re-iterate that you no longer need to worry about De-wei and me" "We're through" "This whole thing has brought me too much trouble already" "And I hate trouble" "Just one question." "Do you love him?" "I can see how you grew up in a very peaceful, story-book world" "How romantic" "How I grew up has taught me that it's a world without love" "Perhaps you'll find a moment or two of passion -- but there's no love" "So we've read all the books and take test after test," "still nobody's taught us how to handle huge messes like this" "In every book, and every movie" "It's always the same" "They all marry and live happily ever after" "But after that?" "Nobody told us." "And there's no practice run or on-the-job training" "I haven't slept in days." "I can't" "I lie down and my mind is full of questions" "De-wei will be back in a few days" "But I don't know how to face him" "These might help" "Get a good night's rest." "At least it'll help you forget" "Do you think you'll divorce De-wei?" "It'd be such a waste to give up just like that" "Where is Jia-li?" "Where am I?" "I need to get home." "De-wei wil be home soon." "I need to go." "Please lie down, you are still weak." "You must rest." "The doctor was just here." "He left explicit instructions, that that you must rest" "[to nurse] Hsin-hsin, please don't leave me" "I won't" "You're the only one left" "It's like we're back in school again" "Done?" "You barely touched it" "I don't have any appetite" "De-wei's here" "I didn't know you were coming" "I would've done something about the way I look--I'm a mess" "We haven't really talked for ages" "Remember how we used to spend the whole night talking" "I often wonder perhaps we know each other so well now" "that there's no more need for words" "Or is this what marriage does to people?" "Leaving us with nothing to say?" "I know." "You spend your days dealing with problems needing taken care of" "Problems you try to forget" "And I know the last thing you want when you come home is to go through all that hassle again" "But, I try..." "I've tried so hard to find something else we could discuss" "It's hard, harder than any classes or exams I went through" "Our whole society seems designed to tear husband and wife apart" "Men have their male places to go and women have a world of their own" "Sunday is the only time left to be together" "But Sunday is your basketball day, you say" "So... what day does that leave us?" "I know people who say our problem's no kids" "But if we can't convince even ourselves that life means happiness and contentment" "How can we ever bring a child into the world?" ""Come with me into this world, I'll bring you happiness"" "That would be irresponsible, don't you agree?" "These days I've been sleeping heavily and while I was sleeping" "I couldn't stop seeing these years as a dream" "Our marriage was yesterday..." "just before I slept..." "The rest was just a dream, We forget dreams." "Don't we?" "Can't we?" "Mrs. Cheng..." "De-wei must be busy lately" "Jia-li, c'mere!" "Come over here!" "Mother, don't you feel like scolding me for my mistakes when you see me this way?" "Mother, have you ever been afraid?" "Afraid that father would walk out someday?" "That there'd be no one to take care of you?" "He's always been just a child." "What is there to be afraid of?" "It was I who took care of him!" "For once it was me who left him instead of waiting to be walked out on" "Hsiao-jiang's too young" "There's so much yet for him to do" "I guess I knew all along" "nothing much would come of it" "Thank God we were reasonably calm when we broke up" "No violence or bloodshed!" "De-wei's work pretty much hasn't changed" "Even a little busier than before, and home even less" "But I have this... this kind of premonition" "that he's going through something" "Just last week he took me out for a walk" "Who knows where he's gotten himself off to the last couple of days" "I'm slowly beginning to appreciate just how much pressure he's under" "I could almost feel it in my bones, this time just before he left again" "I guess I'm getting used to it the way he comes and goes" "If we can look at it with an open mind and trust each other enough, I think we'll pull through" "We've found new hope and a new beginning... after all these years" "My precious!" "Awake?" "Don't wanna sleep?" "Look!" "What's that..." "What's that..." "It's a birdie..." "Say 'morning to baby, little birdie" "When did you last see your husband, Mrs. Cheng?" "Can you describe what he was wearing?" "Do you know if he was in some kind of trouble?" "Do you know who he spent the last few days with?" "I really have no idea" "Is there a single thing you can say that we can work on?" "It's ok, it's ok!" "Let's find the body first!" "We can talk later" "What can I do, she's not helping!" "How can I investigate!" "Is it really her husband..." "How can a wife not know anything?" "What are they up to now?" "I didn't think you'd come all the way here." "It's off the beaten track, isn't it?" "I wanted to talk things over with you" "I can't reach you over the phone here" "I'd much rather tell you in person anyway" "As you know, De-wei and I grew up together" "We've played basketball all our lives" "Which makes it all the more difficult" "I checked the company books just before I came out here that the $50 million dollars under De-wei's account" "have disappeared" "I also heard rumours that he's got a huge pile of debt" "I'm guessing your house, your cars, other properties, have all been repossessed" "But!" "It's just a speculation" "It's going to take a few days to sort it out" "Given my sixth sense, though..." "But he's already..." "Let me finish." "The most important thing is that he left the country a few days ago" "You mean--that's not De-wei out there?" "With no evidence so far we can't jump to hasty conclusions" "Wait a minute, who told you all this?" "I checked up with a close friend of De-wei after you called this morning" "That "friend" Hsiao-hui?" "!" "Everything went numb the moment you hung up" "That's not something that happens to me often" "Hello?" "May I speak to your GM?" "That beach?" "I've been there." "Once or twice with De-wei" "In fact, we went there last week just before he left for Japan" "What, he went to Japan?" "You didn't know?" "I thought it was you who'd sent him" "What's he doing in Japan?" "No wonder I haven't seen him around" "He must be back by now" "Have they found his body yet?" "Not yet" "They did find a medicine bottle on the beach, belonging to De-wei" "Jia-li said it was a psychiatrist's prescription" "That's also how the police were able to call up Jia-li" "You know, this could easily be the same bottle that De-wei dropped on the beach last week" "Medicine bottle..." "too much of a coincidence..." "If that's really his game..." "What kind of medicine was it?" "That doctor prescribed it-- an anti-depressant" "You know how De-wei is lately" "He's been under a lot of pressure from work and the way things are at home" "Come." "Come with me to the beach" "We have to let them know about this" "You go ahead" "I'm not going to be dragged back into this mess!" "How can you refuse to become involved" "when a friend is in this kind of trouble?" "You've known this about De-wei all along, haven't you?" "But you're not letting on..." "In fact, only you know all the things that's going on between you and De-wei." "Right?" "Work at the office isn't so burdensome to the point that he needs to see a psychiatrist, take anti-depressants" "What other pies have you two gotten your fingers into?" "What concern is it of mine if his investment on the side went bust?" "I'm just helping him out." "Is that a crime?" "Helping him out, ha!" "You first use De-wei, then through his ties to me, gain our contracts!" "Now you want out, think it'll be so easy?" "There's no need to shout [phone] Hsiao-Lin" "I always thought you were the sharpest, coolest of them all" "You say De-wei went to Japan" "What's he doing in Japan?" "He's not there on any business of mine." "I'm sure of it" "I can find out myself." "I'm going back to the office now" "But I warn you don't ever cross my path again" "Listen sonny, I was cruising my own turf when you were a toddler" "Go on, run along to Mommy now." "It wasn't until I got back to the office that I learnt about the money." "The truth is, I feel very close to De-wei" "Decades of years of friendship and trust isn't something that returning $50M will be able to fix" "Maybe it all went too smoothly in the beginning with business doing so well" "Somehow De-wei got it into his head that making money was a piece of cake" "Perhaps it was my fault" "I've got to go" "On my way down here" "I came to some theories" "One, it's really he who's drowned" "Two, they've got it all wrong" "That bottle they found..." "It could be the one De-wei tossed away last week" "And who knows, De-wei's probably back in Taipei, just chilling out" "My sixth sense tells me that both theories are unlikely" "But going off to Japan like that with all that cash in his pocket," "He'd been planning that for some time now" "Without any of us knowing" "He might even have gotten himself a South American passport" "So you think he's not coming back?" "Let me put it this way" "If it was me, I wouldn't come back" "You get what I mean?" "I could be wrong" "There could be any number of possible explanations" "Think it over." "I have to go" "Think of it this way, regardless what really happened" "The end result is pretty much the same to you" "Isn't that right?" "The power of Time is so overwhelming." "It's frightening" "Father died." "And the clinic's dying too" "The world's left us all behind" "Remember the night you ran away?" "We were talking here, just like now, quietly for so long" "Do you remember?" "I heard things aren't going too well with you and De-wei" "If I had known this is what we'd become" "I would never have come so naively to talk with you that night" "With one thing and another, look at the state of things now" "And yet, at last I know now how to set things right between De-wei and me" "What do you have in mind?" "I must give him my complete trust" "Do you really trust De-wei?" "The best lesson I've learnt in life is that you must depend only on yourself" "Once, I blindly followed someone else..." "You should never do that" "Jia-li, once I believed too much in Father" "Look at me now." "Following him" "Following all this that the time has left behind" "But if you had come to me now like you did that night you left" "I don't think I'd be able to tell you anything different" "I know it was partly my words that gave you the courage to leave home." "But my real hope" "was that you'd learn to be self-reliant and be able to make decisions on your own" "I'm guessing that you're facing the same kind of problem now" "We were both silent, deep in thoughts, for a very long time" "Jia-li's eyes were fixed, looking out the window and beyond" "She seemed to be quietly surveying all those distant memories" "Or perhaps she just didn't want to look too directly at me for fear I'd see how moved she was" "Whatever the reason," "I felt it would be simply cruel to press her for the rest of the story of that day on the beach" "Or what the investigations found" "There was an emergency company meeting that Jia-li had to attend" "So, she had to leave" "Only when we were saying goodbye that I realized I still hadn't asked about Jia-sen" "After all, that was my main reason for meeting with her" "It was only then that I learned" "Jia-sen had liver cancer two years ago and passed away last winter" "The Lin clinic became an apartment building" "Jia-li told me, during his final days," "Jia-sen woke up from unconsciousness one day" "This ... this must be a 2pm sunlight" "Its warmth does not feel like winter" "Rather, it feels like a sunny day in spring" "I think I hear birds chirping" "I feel like I'm part of this world again" "I yearn to feel everything surrounding me" "What a great irony" "It's cold everywhere" "Yet my heart beats in such vibrant rhythm, so full of life" "I wonder what invisible force pushes us forward" "in this cruel, cold world" "But..." "I feel blessed" "No?" "My miniscule life that lasted decades" "That's a miracle worth treasuring" "To this day, I still have no idea whether it was De-wei who drowned" "But that's not important anymore" "What really matters is that the little girl I once knew has grown into a perfect woman" "I truly believe that her transformation began that day, on the beach"