I am not Ximen Qing.

If you were to move a larger version of the Enchanted Bar to this open lawn, the seeds of the lost generation's spirit would sprout in China, creating a new generation of hedonistic punks! It would be a bit like young men and women eager to steal the forbidden fruit.

Ignoring the sunlight on the grass, when he and Yang Liu stood under a tall, straight tree with lush, dense foliage, listening to the cicadas chirping, the cicadas seemed like golden cicadas transformed from enlightened Zen masters. Even Zen masters practicing meditation could be tempted by Mara in the Surangama Sutra, leading to demonic possession. There was truly no place more tranquil for love than this poplar grove. The cicadas seemed like Zen monks in a mountain temple chanting the Lotus Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, Perfect Enlightenment Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra, and Avatamsaka Sutra. Love surged and intensified with the chanting; the more scriptures chanted, the purer the love became. Buddhist scriptures roared away the karmic forces of the world! Dependent origination and emptiness, those with deep feelings are more likely to understand their true nature. Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" truly captured the tide of love in the hearts of urban civilization.

Yang Liu wrapped her arms around the rounded branches of the huge poplar tree, just like a girl in love showing her anticipation. She closed her eyes and meditated on all of this, her chest rising and falling with her breath, leaping like a deer. She wore a simple dress, a black and white patterned gauze skirt, similar to her conservative beliefs. The neckline of the dress was relatively conservative, and her slender waist was bound by a pearl and white jade belt. She herself probably did not realize that her slender waist and pert hips perfectly divided her into the golden ratio of a goddess, the most perfect curves in the world.

The translucency of the fabric accentuated the white bodice, revealing supple, fair legs shimmering beneath the skirt. Her feet wore crystal shoes that sparkled in the sunlight, her neatly arranged toenails gleaming with a coral hue. The girl's beauty wasn't just focused on her face, eyebrows, lips, and eyelashes. She applied makeup, shaped her eyebrows, painted her lips red and white, her eyes clear as a deep pool, her eyelashes like crescent moons. The coral halos around her fingernails and toenails evoked the feeling of Zhang Ruoxu's "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River," a poem about the moon rising over the sea. Beauty is often a reflection in a mirror, a moon in the water, an illusion created by a mirror. Flowers under the moonlight, facing the moon in the void—what is beauty, really? Is it the spring river, the flowers by the river, or the moon above the river? It's just that capturing beauty is difficult; why not look for it? Why not discover sooner the subtle, understated, and hidden beauty of the willow? She was the true beauty, a hidden gem in the bustling city, an unmarried girl who discovered the beauty of the spring river with the bright moon, blooming flowers, and the rippling blue water. Zhang Sheng lamented his flawed aesthetic judgment—wasn't it a difference in beauty itself? He almost mistook Dong Shi for Xi Shi. Yang Liu's laughter was purely a clever diversion; firstly, she could fool Li Yu's persistent pursuit. Her alluring posture, leaning against the tree, was it seduction or provocation? Zhang Sheng finally came to his senses. Yang Liu was playing a joke on him. Yang Liu wasn't a girl who did whatever she wanted; she was simply enjoying the summer's red roses and the fragrance of lilies. She loved roses and lilies; Yang Liu had said these two flowers possessed the pure, intense scent of love. She was inviolable; she possessed a divine aura. Under the tree, he gazed deeply, his heart pounding, listening to the healing cicadas—a symphony of heaven.

What did you see? Are you scared?

“I saw the brimstone fire burning fiercely. It was terrible. Sodom, the city of sin, Gomorrah, a decadent city filled with promiscuity, it was you who brought me back to my senses.”

"No, she saved you,"

Did she save me?

"Yes, she simply can't face you anymore. Because she discovered you..."

"What did you discover about me? First, I don't have a girlfriend, I'm as pure as an angel. You're an angel, and I'm an angel too. Almost... you're so dignified, so beautiful."

"Don't hide it! Don't you want to know why she left without saying goodbye?"

“She’s afraid of me. That’s not her problem, it’s mine,”

“She can’t face you because she has to get married, understand? It’s not you, it’s her problem, it’s that she has to get married,”

"But my mistake was bigger, why didn't she just tell me?"

"She was afraid of hurting you, so I took her place, understand? You are free to choose your love."

"Really, can I really choose love freely?"

"Of course, you can't fall in love with every girl you meet in the future, that would be too terrible. Do you know the Book of Revelation?"

"The Book of Revelation sounds intense; it's a Hollywood blockbuster war film, and the war is fierce."

"That's right, why do you have to fall in love with every girl you meet? Is love like flowing water, never to be repeated? I know you all seem to have fallen for the same person, the same girl, like Su Daji from the Book of Revelation, a unicorn dragon, looking almost like a Qilin. You mustn't become Voldemort, even Satan is a unicorn. The devil is cunning and can use different forms. Of course, you're an exception. You couldn't possibly fall in love with Su Daji, otherwise, how could you like the ugly and old Xiao Huang? Xiao Huang has a man, she's had a man for a long time, about five or six years. You don't know much. She's actually not satisfied at all; her boyfriend has neither..." She's lazy and uncultured, but she has no choice; the deed is done. If she could escape her boyfriend's entanglement, she would definitely fall madly in love with you. You two are young, and you work with semiconductor chips and computers—high-tech stuff. In every aspect, you're a thousand times better than her boyfriend. Her boyfriend seduces girls everywhere and likes to gamble. She's argued with him a few times. Her age and lack of education are her most fatal weaknesses. She still has a conscience, understand? She quit and left the company. You don't have a girlfriend, and you've never been in a relationship, right? In my opinion, that's your unique advantage. Are there any boys these days who haven't been in a relationship?

"You've never been in a relationship, right?"

"This is their business, why should I tell you? Think about it, my cousin is so afraid that her younger sister will be deceived, she doesn't give me any extra free time at all. Apart from the weekly church service at Haitang Temple, I work from morning till night every day. You've seen it, this is my whole life, like Solomon's love poem. Isn't it beautiful?"

"It was so beautiful! It was completely different from what I expected. It was like a choir, even better than a concert. I'll definitely come again next time!"

"My cousin has such a good eye for people; she said you'd like to like the church."

Zhang Sheng still preferred the image of Yang Liu leaning against a large tree, her eyes slightly narrowed—at least there was a hint of allure there. The place was no longer tranquil; cicadas' chirping filled the sky, followed by flocks of magpies' sentimental cawing, sparrows' chattering, and pigeons circling low overhead. In the distance came the sounds of violins, pianos, chords, melodies, accordions, saxophones, and double-reed instruments. Something was definitely going on here, and only this place offered such a spacious setting. Finding a place to rehearse music in the city wasn't easy; renting a theater would be too expensive, and renting a venue at a school wasn't ideal. The cellist boy and the accordion girl played with abandon. The girl's innate artistic flair, combined with the boy's willpower, drew many couples to sit on the grass, listening to the heavenly sounds and feeling the romantic melodies. Music often ignites the flames and vitality of love most easily.

Zhang Sheng hoped to evoke a natural expression of love in Yang Liu, but Yang Liu seriously began recounting the story of Revelation. Her familiarity with the Old and New Testaments was truly astonishing, making her the object of his dream lover's fantasies. This fantasy began, just began, and was quickly extinguished. Any girl or young woman who is in love or overly infatuated with love would label her a great harlot. She would boast of her steadfast and spotless fidelity, as pure and innocent as white clouds, floating before the throne of God in heaven, believing that only red roses and lilies are worthy of her so-called love. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. She insisted that Zhang Sheng swear he had never been in a relationship. Zhang Sheng, however, suddenly recalled his childhood with Feng Jie, almost being subjected to Yang Liu's so-called curse and other such words of repentance. She was judging Zhang Sheng's sins. Zhang Sheng remained calm, refusing to admit to ever having been in a relationship. He was suddenly jolted awake from the romanticized notions of love in Solomon's poems. She was indeed a full pomegranate, an apple; her breasts were as full as a pomegranate, her hips as alluring as an apple's curves. It was surprising that someone so young and beautiful could so shrewdly speak of love only after marriage, and how the tragedy of modern people lies in prematurely indulging in forbidden love. She seemed no longer the charming young girl, but more like a nun in a convent. She even brought up a crucial question for young men and women: why do they like to spend money? To prove his love for her was pure, she offered to manage Zhang Sheng's salary, and then she mentioned her cousin's worries—utterly hypocritical worries, saying their monthly spending at convenience stores could pay two months' rent.

Zhang Sheng began to repent, not because of her revelation, but because he should have realized that in the moment Yang Liu was lost in her own world under the poplar tree, she at least had the thought of love. She was too repressed, using red roses and lilies to suppress it, indicating that she would inevitably be blinded by the fragrance of flowers. Why didn't Zhang Sheng take the initiative to come out and be with the landlady in the Love House? His attitude and demeanor towards beautiful women should reveal that men aren't the masters of women. She was his rib, a cunning current, calculating. Her outward beauty still had some advantages; for example, Miss Shi's love was like the surging waves of the sea, while Yang Liu's love was subtle, a hidden, unopened purse. He had to repent for love. Why hadn't sweet words reached her rose-like lips? She had already tasted love. He didn't have Bassanio's charm; Portia's little elephant was for his beloved. Look at the endless poplar grove. If he were to transform into a prince charming on a white horse in Venice, Italy, embracing her tenderly and sharing a deep, eternal kiss... But reality is the cawing of crows. Even the crows can't stand it; it's too hypocritical. Zhang Sheng understands that unless something real comes along, she simply won't believe he'll repent.

"What should we do? We're in trouble because of a girl,"

"How about letting her ride the evil dragon? Let's solve the problem in a way inspired by the Book of Revelation,"

"Isn't this problem even more serious? It's a matter of romantic relationships, dating and love, not marital infidelity. It doesn't rise to the level of doomsday judgment."

"That's a matter of freedom in love; she'll make her own choice, won't she?"

"But she has a natural talent for social maneuvering, you know?"

"Just say it. You're juggling multiple relationships."

"So they've probably all moved."

“That won’t do. My cousin insists that we have to stay in the old place and not move.”

"Why can't we move? Love shouldn't change because of moving."

"Moving in Beijing is a major event, and love needs fertile ground to grow; it hasn't matured yet. My cousin won't agree to it if we move."

“That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to move. It’s so comfortable living in the old place. But I always feel like it’s because of a girl. After waiting for a long time, I just felt something was wrong. You know, the strivers in Zhongguancun have a habit of leaving without saying goodbye.”

"You're not even asking for rent anymore?"

"Yes, the place wasn't nice, so we moved overnight, and didn't even ask for rent."

"You've encountered this before,"

"Of course, they ran away. Of course, we had to get out of there too,"

"What if our revenue drops by several thousand dollars?"

"Could it be? You invited me to church just for a few thousand in revenue?

"Are you insulting my character? Men can't be ignored. I don't want to repeat my cousin's tragedy. She worked hard to earn money, but her husband was secretly having an affair."

His lingering illusions were shattered. The willows weren't the willows of Bai Juyi's poems, nor the willows on the Grand Canal embankment during the Sui Dynasty. He should have gone to the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) or the Summer Palace's "Spring Dawn by the Lake." Those willows on the lake embankment were truly graceful and swaying, the lake surface shimmering, and the lotus blossoms like celestial flowers. He had imagined her as a Venus brimming with love, embracing his neck in warmth, then suffocating because the kiss was so intense that even breathing became abnormal. He suffered from oxygen deprivation, love-induced oxygen deficiency, and imagined the willow's cousin as the Virgin Mary.