Translation of Chiung Yao's 'Girlfriend', Chapter One

The sun was shining brightly across the campus.

　　Gao Ling Fung was trotting in the direction of his lecture room. On both sides of the pavement were clumps of banyan trees with sprawls of dripping boughs.  Their advanced age reminded him of an ancient, wise scholar. He gazed at the trees and leapt up to pluck a newly sprung bud. In a flash he caught sight of the bright sunlight over the branches, which penetrated the thick foliage like golden lances.  He jumped up for a second time and grabbed a ‘fistful’ of the lances, as though securing some sunlight in his hand.   Happiness spread through his limbs and he hummed the tunes of any songs that came randomly to his mind---- the likes of ‘To Sir With Love’, ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ and ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’.

　　That was Gao Ling Fung for you, so excessively lively and cheerful, just like his best friend Xu Kewei had described：

　　“There is spring under Gao Ling Fung’s feet.  He can’t walk; he skips and jumps all the way---.  there are also chorded keyboards in his throat. When triggered, he will sing as loudly as he can!”

         What’s wrong with that?  He shrugged and continued to hum and scamper along the way.  Two girls passed him by and gossiped about him on the sly. With an air of nonchalance, he acted as if he heard nothing.  He held his head higher and stood with his back straighter, frequently leaping up to pluck more leaves.

There was a spacious field at the end of the pavement; not a single tree was in sight.  He looked up at the borderless blue sky and attractive white clouds.  He had a sudden urge to fly up and pull the fluffy mass into his arms. Who the heck was Li Bai? He was a renowned scholar of the Tang Dynasty. Why on earth did he have the thoughts and sentiments of a modern man? 

He remembered a line from one of his famous poems:  “With a cup of wine in my hand my spirit soars, I want to fly in the sky and embrace the sun and the moon!” Damn it. Li Bai had stolen all his sentiments! 

He ran across the field and at the opposite end, saw two rows of buildings, one of which housed his lecture room ---They looked so grand and awesome!  Every year, the number of students who were accepted into the college would determine the number that would graduate.  He had been studying here for two years, and he would graduate in one more year. “As a semester four student,” Xu Kewei had remarked, “I have come to the age when it's time to find myself a girlfriend.”A girlfriend? Kewei had always been looking for the girl of his destiny but to no avail.  What was it about him?  He had always flirted with girls without giving them any chance to capture his heart. He did not believe in true love, infatuation, madness or any of that stuff.  Girls were girls.  They were the adjunct of daily life.  You should never be serious about them.  You would be doomed if you fell into their trap. Xu Kewei was ignorant of this danger.  Misfortune would befall him if he had a crush on someone.

　Gosh! He was the last one to enter the lecture room again.  The room was full of students.  Only God knows how many students take psychology as their minor.  While he was looking left and right for an empty seat, Xu Kewei jumped up from his seat and exclaimed, “Hi, Gao Ling Fung, I ‘ve reserved a seat for you!”

　　He strode over to his seat, tapped Xu Kewei’s shoulder and examined his face.
　　
　　“What’s wrong with you? Xu Kewei? After the semester break, you seem to have slimmed down again. Are you suffering from a broken heart?” he shouted, as if there were no one around them.  Many students turned to look at them.  Xu Kewei blushed feverishly.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Xu kewei growled under his breath. “I’ve not even dated anyone.  How on earth could I be suffering from a broken heart?”

　　　　“Don’t fume!” Gao Ling Fung sat down.  The warmth of summer made him feel good. The joy he had experienced on the way to the lecture room hadn’t yet worn off.  Once he was happy, he had a lot to say: “A failed relationship is the cause of a broken heart.  You haven't experienced that because you've never been in a relationship. However, whether you're in love or not, you will be beset by pain! Humans suffer a lot of pain because of love.  According to psychology, any one with emotions will suffer from pain. In this case, only a retard would be the happiest person in the world!”

　　“Gao Ling Fung！”Xu Kewei could not longer hold his tongue, the crimson on his face began spreading to his neck. “Cut the nonsense! People are glaring at you！”

　　Who is glaring at me？Gao Ling Fung cast his eyes around the room.  There were many people glaring at him. Some faces were familiar and some were not. Suddenly, the sight of something gave him a start.  He felt as if his heart hsd been struck by a heavy object --For a second his heart seemed to stop. He came into contact with a pair of eyes, that were so large, so silent and so full of naive curiosity---He looked squarely into them--For an instant, he could see nothing but dark, bright pupils.  The large eyes quickly closed, and evaded his gaze with a turn of the head.  Gao Ling Fung took a deep breath and sized up their owner. Wearing a fine cambric blouse, she had thin eyebrows, a straight nose, small lips and fair, delicate skin.  Her long hair, parted in the middle, hung lustrously to her bosoms .........He eyed her so petulantly that she bowed her head very low. He watched her for quite some time before he was interrupted by a chuckle coming from a short-haired, round-faced girl sitting next to the large-eyed girl.  She leaned over to her and said, “A guy is looking at you.”

　　

Gao Ling Fung shot the girl a stern glare. She cowered and stopped talking.  Gao Ling Fung could not help smiling.  Girls are like rabbits, he thought, they are attractive but timid.  What an interesting lot they are.

Many students shushed each other and scrambled back to their seats as Professor Lee entered the lecture room.  Gao Ling Fung sat upright and tapped his notebook with his pencil, looking at the famous professor. Because of him, many students had chosen psychology as their minor. Everybody said that he had a rich sense of humour and that no other professors understood students’ mentality the way he did.  Gao Ling Fung examined him with interest.  The professor, bespectacled with a grey moustache exuded a refined air of scholarly grace and wisdom.　　　

“Today is our first lesson,” Professor Lee said as he scanned the class with a smile. “It’s good that you've taken my course despite all your different majors.  I hope you will learn as much as you can from the course and put what you have learnt into practice. This way, you will understand the psychology of both sexes and the world will be at peace.”

The students burst forth in laughter.  Nobody laughed as loudly as Gao Ling Fung did.  He was always like that---unable to keep his emotions in check.  Every time he watched a comedy in the cinema, he laughed so loud that everyone would stop watching the movie and look at him.