krystalheart.com :: mars

Mars Synopsis / Episode guides

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | to be continued

Translated by laiou2002 of http://www.vicpower.net

Ling and Qiluo were walking on a sidewalk

"You must look very much alike. Otherwise, how can people mistake the two of you?" Qiluo said to Ling.

The two of them sat down on a roadside bench.

"We're twins." Ling said with a sigh.

"Aaah!" Qiluo.

"There's nothing usual about it. Why are you so surprised by it?" Ling asked Qiluo.

"Because it is difficult for me to image there's another person in this world looks exactly like you." Qiluo said.

"Is it?" Ling said.

"Let me show you the evidence." Ling said after pausing for a little while.

Ling pulled out his wallet and open it to show Qiluo a picture of him and his twin brother. Qiluo took the wallet from Ling and looked closely at it.

"You really look exactly the same." Qiluo said

"Don't we look so much alike that even you can't tell which one was me?" Ling said.

"Hold on." Qiluo said and started examining the photo very carefully.

"This one is you. I'm sure of it." Qiluo pointed to the one sitting in the back.

"How can you tell?" Ling said.

"When you smile, you arch your left eyebrow a little bit." Qiluo said.

Ling took back his wallet to look at the picture.

"Really? Even I didn't know about it." Ling said.

"What is your brother like? Is his personality similar to yours?" Qiluo asked while Ling was looking at the picture.

"Him?" Ling said, continuing looking at the picture after giving Qiluo a quick glance.

"Exactly opposite." Ling said as he put his wallet back into his jean pocket.

"He was very kind, but a little bit timid and coward. I'm very athletic whereas he got sick easily and had to see doctors. He looked mal-nutritious. Every time when he was bullied at school, he would cry and run home. I always had to avenge for him." Ling said, staring ahead.

"Where is he now?" Qiluo asked with a smile.

"He's dead." Ling said after pausing for a long time.

"You must be kidding. You just told the nun ...” Qiluo said.

"The nun looks like a nice person. I don't know if I'll ever meet her again in the future. There's no need to tell her the truth and make her sad." Ling said as he bent forward and looked dejected.

"Has he passed away for a long time?" Qiluo asked.

"Two years ago in the autumn." Ling said.

"May I ask why?" Qiluo asked with some hesitation. Ling didn't say a word.

"Ling...” Qiluo said. Ling still remained silent.

"Ling... What is it?" Qiluo asked worriedly.

Ling started hallucinating.

He imagined somebody jumped off a building and fell to the ground with a loud sound.

Ling's whole body shook when he imagined he heard of the loud sound.

"Ling, what is it?" Qiluo asked worriedly again.

Ling imaged people running and screaming. Ling turned to look at the body on the ground and the screaming people around it.

"So noisy! It's too noisy, so noisy!" Ling said.

"What's so noisy?" Qiluo asked.

"So noisy. Too noisy." Ling raised his hands to cover his ears as he imagined an ambulance arriving with the siren on the scene.

"Noise." Ling stood up and left. Ling fainted and fell to the ground.

"Ling. What's wrong?" Qiluo shook him.

"Help! Ling." Qiluo called for help and shook Ling.

"Why is this happening? What should I do?" Qiluo murmured.

Qiluo put her fingers under Ling's nose.

Qiluo started trying to resuscitate Ling by taking turns to compress Ling's heart hard and perform mouth-to-mouth breathing. After several repetitions, Ling started breathing.

"I thought you were going to die, just like my father." Qiluo said, sobbing.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I made you worried. I'm sorry." Ling said pantingly.

Qiluo helped Ling to sit up. Ling turned to look around and saw nothing happened at all, he started getting weakening again.

At night, Ling took Qiluo home.

"Are you okay” Qiluo asked Ling.

"You have asked dozen times already. I'm fine." Ling said.

"Promise me you'll go to a hospital to do a full physical exam." Qiluo said.

"Okay." Ling said.

"Here is your apartment. Please hurry home now. Otherwise, your mom would be worried." Ling said.

"Will you go to the school tomorrow?" Qiluo asked after walking for a few paces.

"Yeah." Ling said.

"Really?" Qiluo asked.

"You will see me for sure tomorrow at school." Ling said.

"Before, I hated to go to school, my mood turned sour whenever I was leaving for school. Before I left home, I prayed silently that no one would talk to me that day. But now, I like going there." Qiluo said.

"Qiluo, tomorrow you wear the same pant. Let's go for a ride after school." Ling said.

"Um..." Qiluo said.

"Bye Bye." Ling said.

"Bye Bye." Qiluo said. But Qiluo stayed put.

"What is it? Get in” Ling said.

"Can I watch you leave today? I want to watch until you get to the corner. Okay?" Qiluo said. Ling looked puzzled.

"I want to watch you leave. Every time you're out of my sight, it seems that I won't ever see you again." Qiluo said. Ling walked up and embraced Qiluo.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere” Ling said and kissed Qiluo.

Qiluo's voice-over: "Ling's lips are very warm, not icy any more. They are so warm, but why am I so worried?"

Next day at school

"Daye, Daye, is Ling coming to school today?" Two students caught up to Daye.

"How would I know? I'm not his keeper." Daye said.

"I'm in big trouble because of Ling. Everyone is betting if he will come today. I've already lost 2 thousand dollars." One of them said.

"Give me a break. You like to gamble. What's Ling got to do with it? Hurry up to the classroom." Daye said.

"Remember to tell me if he comes." The guy told Daye.

Daye saw Qiluo leaning against a post and waiting for Ling.

Ling arrived on his bike. Qiluo came downstairs to wait for Ling when she heard the loud motorcycle sound.

Ling stopped at the bottom of the stairs and took off his helmet.

"Good morning." Qiluo said.

"Good morning." Ling said.

Daye, who stayed to watch them, left.

Ling entered the classroom.

Daye knocked Ling from behind his back.

"Chen Ling." One student called him.

"Chen Ling. you've come back. Yeah. Yeah." Other student called him and clapped their hands.

"If you're still not coming back, I'll probably lose my shirt." One guy said.

"Wei. Qiluo has reformed you and made you come back, hasn't she?" Daye said.

"Otherwise, do you think I do it for you?" Ling said.

"Have you got a heart? When you don't show up at school, I always stop by the construction site to make sure you're okay. How could you say something like that?" Daye said.

"Okay. As a friend, I'm really not good enough. How about this, let me return this to you." Ling said and showed Daye the magazine he just pulled out from his backpack.

"Daye” One female student said. Daye immediately grabbed and hid the magazine.

"Even you're reading this kind of magazine!" the female student continued.

"Everyone, the latest issue." Ling said as he took out another magazine and slowly held up the magazine. Daye grabbed it. And some male students crowded around him.

Qiluo walked to her seat and smiled at Qingmei, who was sitting atop a desk and quietly watching the whole thing.

After the class

"Is that true? You've only kissed her. Is there something wrong with you?" Daye said to Ling.

"I don't have time to have this kind of jokes with you. I'm wondering if I'm degenerating. When I kissed Qiluo, I even though of ...” Ling said.

"You thought of me." Daye interrupted before Ling could finish it.

"I got nervous." Ling said.

"Wow. You got nervous even for something that. A walking sex organ has become prim." Daye said.

"Bull *-beep-*. I'm not a walking sex organ, but a sex organ with deep thoughts." Ling said.

Ling and Daye stopped when they saw Abin waiting for them.

"Are you coming to appeal?" Ling said to Abin.

"Are you always so unfriendly?" Abin said to Ling.

"If nothing, I'm going to the class." Ling said to Abin.

Ling and Daye started walking down the stairs. Abin grab Ling and put his arm around Ling's shoulder tightly.

"What I admire most in my life are people who are not afraid of me. Furthermore, you could really fight. So, let's be friends. Okay." Abin said to Ling and extended his palm.

"Let's be Friends? Sure. OK." Ling said and touched Abin's palm.

"Great." Abin said as he embraced Ling.

"Ha Ha." Ling laughed.

"How is your neck?" Ling asked Abin as Ling pointed to his own neck.

"Neck? It's fine now." Abin coughed and then said.

"That's great." Ling said.

"From now on, we're brothers." Abin said to Ling.

"Brothers. Yes, we're brothers." Ling said.

Abin embraced Ling tightly again.

"My name is Abin. How should I call you?" Abin said to Ling after he released Ling.

"You can call me Aling." Ling said.

"Not bad. Now we are all buddies." Abin patted and said to Daye.

The school bell rang.

"That...” Ling said.

"What?" Abin asked.

"It sounds like the bell ringing." Ling said.

"Isn't your junior classroom ..." Ling said and pointed his finger upward.

"I'm going to the class." Abin said.

"OK” Ling said.

"OK. Later on we still have chances to meet each other." Abin shook hands with Ling.

Abin left.

"How did you win over him?" Daye said to Ling.

"This guy isn't what he looks. He was so cool the other day when we fought. Who have though he would act like this?" Ling said to Daye.

Ling and Daye stopped again when they saw Cangze waiting for Ling.

"Why should I care? What a day?" Ling said, shaking his head.

Cangze took Ling to an isolated place to talk

Ling was pacing on an iron rack along the fence.

"Not bad. I've never thought our school has such a place." Ling said after he looked downward over the fence.

"I remember you once said that my painting had no feelings." Cangze said to Ling.

"If there's nothing special..." Ling said.

"What you said is true." Cangze interrupted Ling.

"I know my own capability best, but people around me don't think so. When I was five, I won a prize. Ever since then, they've thought I'm destined to become a painter. They've never asked me what I really want. They just assume themselves that I'm an artist who will glorify the family. For my future, I had no choice." Cangze said.

"Let's bygone be bygone. I'm not interested in your future at all." Ling said.

"You'll never understand the pressure I've to endure of living up to other people's expectations. It's something people as carefree as you can't understand. What will my next subject be? People are all watching it. People are all anticipating it. The most important thing is people are all watching and waiting for my failure. One little mistake, my future is gone." Cangze shouted.

"Is that right? It sounds that you live in great agony. But it doesn't matter. Next time when you can't paint, just steal other people's ideas." Ling said.

Ling walked past Cangze and left.

Ling eating potato chips and walking down the stairs with Qiluo

"Didn't you have something to say to me?" Qiluo asked Ling.

"There are too many people like Cangze. Someday they'll find out the world has cheated them. What the world demands them to chase after is usually the least important stuff." Ling said.

"How about you? What do you want to do most?" Qiluo said, taking a piece of chip from Ling.

"Riding motorcycles." Ling said.

"Are riding motorcycles really that fun?" Qiluo asked.

"It's just like your paining." Ling said.

"Who is that? It's very high. How did he get up there?" people were looking and pointing upward

Ling and Qiluo turned and raised their heads to look upward, too.

"It's very high. It's Cangze." Someone said.

Cangze stood on the edge of the rooftop.

"Ling, what is it?" Qiluo said as Ling dropped his can of chips and leaned forward.

"Ling!" Qiluo said, holding Ling when Ling fell down to the ground.

"Ling... Ling...” Qiluo said as Ling struggled to get up with her help.

"Ling! Ling!" Qiluo yelled when she saw Ling running upstairs after he got up.

Ling got to the rooftop.

"Don't come closer, otherwise I'll jump." Cangze shouted at Ling, his body wavering.

"You come down!" Ling yelled at Cangze. But Cangze didn't move.

"Go ahead jump if you have guts." Ling yelled. Ling started walking toward Cangze.

"What are you doing?" Ling shouted after he grabbed Cangze and pulled him down to the ground.

Ling started hitting Cangze really hard.

"Who do you think you are? Are you God? Are you God? Are you God? You son of *****. I'm sorry for you. You are irresponsible? You come down. come down. come down. Come down." Ling yelled at Cangze and kept on beating him.

Daye reached the rooftop and held Ling to stop him hitting Cangze.

"You can't beat him any more." Daye yelled at Ling.

"Ling." Qiluo called, arriving at the rooftop too.

"Ling, are you okay?" Qiluo said, crouching down next to Ling.

"Ling, look at me. look at me. Nothing happened." Qiluo said and pulled Ling's chin toward her.

Ling pushed Qiluo and Daye away and ran downstairs.

Ling was already riding away on his bike when Qiluo and Daye got outside the building.

"Ling..." Qiluo called after him.

"Daye, is Ling sick?" Qiluo asked Daye.

"Sick? What kind of illness?" Daye said.

"I don't know. Last time when we're out, he suddenly fainted and stopped breathing." Qiluo said.

"Stopped breathing?" Daye was alarmed. Qiluo nodded.

"There must be some reason that we don't know about. What can it be? Daye, do you know how Ling's younger brother died?" Qiluo said.

"What? Ling has a younger brother." Daye said.

Ling lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with images flashing through his mind - images of his mother, Sheng's jumping off a school building, him running upstairs to save Sheng.

Ling visited the psychiatric hospital he once stayed.

When Ling enter the hospital, there was some announcement over the loudspeaker.

"This is from the nurse station. Now is the time to take a break. All medical personnel please take your patients back to their rooms to rest. Thank you."

"Ling." Ling imaged some woman calling him and turned to look at the door.

Ling continued walking forward and saw a little girl sitting on the floor at a table.

"Ling. Why are you here?" The hospital president said to Ling.

"Yeah. To see how you're doing." Ling said.

"You look pretty good. Come. Have a seat." The hospital president said as he patted Ling.

"What's the matter? The little girl won't paint." Ling said.

"I hope at least we can get her to hold a pen. That would mean that she is half healed. But we still aren't making any progress. So, she will need long-term help. Painting is the best way to converse with one's own sub-consciousness. You were healed using the same method." The hospital president said, crouching down next to the little girl.

"As I remember, we might still have your paintings." The hospital president said, pointing at Ling.

Ling pulled a chair to sit backwards.

"It wasn't any painting at all. I was just splashing some colors." Ling said.

"Color is also a way to express emotions. Tell me the truth, why are you here? Has something happened?" The hospital president said.

"President, you lied to me, didn't you? I'm not healed at all." Ling said.

"When you just came here, you were in terrible condition. But with medicine and psychological treatments, you gradually returned to normal. It wasn't until we evaluated and determined that you had stabilized that we discharged you." The hospital president said.

"Psychological injuries are different from physical injuries. It's not about being healed or not. It's about how you overcome them." The hospital president continued.

"Even now, do you still think you killed your brother?" The hospital president asked Ling.

Images of Sheng jumping off the building flashed through Ling's mind.

Episode 4 (Part 2)

Teacher Shi' class.

Ling bent over his desk, sleeping. Qiluo was watching him.

Qiluo's voice-over: "Nobody knows what has happened. He won't say, none of us would ask. I'm so afraid that I may lose him, to the extent that I can't take it any more."

Qiluo shook Ling. Ling woke up abruptly.

"My ultimate goal is to win the championship in the world grand prix 500." Ling shouted out loudly. Everyone laughed.

Teacher Shi stopped writing on the board and turned to look at Ling.

"How about concentrating on studying first and then work on championship. If you keep on being this way, watch out you might not graduate." Teacher Shi said, pointing at Ling.

Ling sat down and looked at Qiluo.

"Why did you wake me up?" Ling asked Qiluo.

"Nothing." Qiluo said.

Ling went back to sleep.

Ling and Daye walked out the school building together after the class.

"Can I borrow the notes of the class we just finished?" Ling asked Daye.

"Why do you suddenly want to study hard?" Daye said as he took out a notebook from his bag.

"To keep me from dozing off, it's not bad to study once in a while?" Ling said.

"You weren't just dozing off at all. As a matter of fact, you were sleeping soundly." Daye said after giving his notebook to Daye.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I have to work late at night and race over the weekends. I'm dead tired." Ling said to Daye, holding the notebook in his hand.

Ling started flipping through the notebook.

"It's not here!" Daye said.

"Where?" Ling asked.

"It's from here until here." Daye said, turning pages for Ling.

"Wow! so many! How can one session cover so much? You're kidding. How about the part before this? Have these also covered? How come I don't have any recollection of them? I really have to borrow the textbook from you, Daye." Ling said.

Daye looked at Ling, remembering what Qiluo said, "Do you know how Ling's younger brother died?"

"What are you looking at?" Ling asked Daye.

"Ling, you...” Daye said.

Out of nowhere, Abin popped up and patted Ling's shoulder.

"Chen Ling. I've brought you some good stuff." Abin said and gave Ling a paper-bagged bottle.

"What is this?" Ling asked.

"Take a sip." Abin said.

Ling smelt it.

"You, rascal. You sneaked alcohol into school." Ling said, pointing at Abin.

"Take some sips. Take some sips. I heard you're going to race in Japan. Is that for real?" Abin said.

Ling nodded his head after drinking some from the bottle.

"Next month. It's an all Japan race." Ling said.

"Great. Can I go with you?" Abin asked.

"Okay, Daye and Qingmei are coming, too." Ling said, looking at Daye.

"Ah. the four of us can fly together to Japan." Ling said, looking at Abin.

"Okay." Abin said.

"How about this? I need some cheerleaders. The three of you can be my own team of cheerleaders?" Ling said to Abin.

"Okay." Abin said.

"You will have unlimited supply of sake there. And girls." Ling said to Abin.

"Okay. Bottom up." Abin said.

Ling and Abin walked away together.

Ling, sitting under a tree, studied hard and drank occasionally from the bottle.

"You drink alcohol at school!" Qiluo came over and stop in front of Ling.

"Can you lower your voice?" Ling said.

"What did the little sweetie teacher want from you? Did she tell you to stay away from me?" Ling asked Qiluo.

"No. Teacher Lili has nominated for an arts competition." Qiluo said.

"Really? Let me tell you, if you any prize, you have to take me out to dinner." Ling said.

"Actually, it's not important if I win any prize at all. I just want to paint you. Teacher Lili suggests you to be my subject. I'd like you to see yourself in my painting." Qiluo said.

Ling drank from his bottle of wine, without saying a word.

"Don't you want to?" Qiluo asked.

"No, it's not that. You can paint me anytime you want." Ling said.

Ling took Qiluo on his bike to visit Minggao and Xiangzi.

Xiangzi was sitting on a bike outside.

"Wei, where is Minggao?" Ling asked Xiangzi.

"He's inside." Xiangzi answered, gestured with her head.

Ling, Qiluo, and Xiangzi got off their bikes.

"Let me introduce her. Her name is Xiangzi. Don't think she's just a regular girl. She's also a racer rider. She is far more capable than many men." Ling said to Qiluo.

"This is Qiluo. We're classmates” Ling said to Xiangzi.

"Hello, Qiluo. This is the first time Ling brings a girl here." Xiangzi said as she shook Qiluo's hand.

"He must be a problem student in school." Xiangzi said after releasing Qiluo's hand.

"Wo. Indeed he's a little different from others." Qiluo said.

"It is because he was raised by wolves until he was six-years-old." Xiangzi said.

Ling, who was squatting down and checking his bike, heard of it and stood up.

"Wei." Ling said to Xiangzi.

"I'm just kidding. Let's go." Xiangzi said to Qiluo. Ling followed them.

Minggao happened to come outside.

"Minggo, my husband." Xiangzi said to Qiluo.

"Qiluo. Ling's girlfriend." Xiangzi said to Minggao.

"How are you? How are you? It's quite a trip." Minggao said to Qiluo.

Minggao came down to shake Qiluo's hand and tripped.

"I'm sorry. false leg." Minggao said and patted his right leg.

"How are you?" Minggao said as he shook Qiluo's hand again.

"How are you?" Qiluo said.

"Welcome." Minggao said to Qiluo.

"Why don't you take her inside to rest for a bit? Ling and I have some talking to do." Minggao said to Xiangzi.

"Let's go." Minggao said and gestured Ling to go with him.

Inside Minggao and Xiagnzi's place

"Would you like something to drink?" Xiangzi asked Qiluo.

"No. Thank you." Qiluo said.

Ling and Minggo stayed outside.

"This is the material for the all Japan race, such as racers, location, including the registration forms. Take a look at them." Minggao said as he handed a packet to Ling.

"Um..." Ling said.

"Ming-ge, I'm leaving." A guy said to Minggao.

"Are you leaving already?" Minggao said to the guy.

"Yeah." The guy said.

"Fine." Minggao said to the guy.

"Thank you. Bye bye." The guy said.

"Bye Bye." Minggao said to the guy and his friend.

Ling and Minggao sat down at the table.

"Don't rush." Minggao shouted at the two guys.

Inside Minggao and Xiagnzi's place

"Have some beer." Xiangzi said as she gave Qiluo a glass of beer.

"It's said that there are both angels and devils on racing tracks. My husband obviously caught the eye of a devil." Xiangzi said to Qiluo.

"Come. Have a seat." Xiangzi said.

"Don't you feel sad? Your most treasured one has been inflicted with that kind of injury." Qiluo said after both of them sat down.

"It's a lie if I say it's not painful. But what can I do? I happen to be in love with that kind of person. The kind of person that no one can guarantee he will still be alive tomorrow." Xiangzi said.

Outside Minggao and Xiagnzi's place

"Hey. The last time I watched video tapes of European races, I found some new technique of riding motorcycles. Their riders were kind of strange. Before making turns, they delayed the time to apply the brakes. By swerving the rear tire, they shifted gravity to make turns. If we make every turn using this method, we can save a lot of time during the course of a race." Ling said, gesturing to make his points while Minggo leaned forward to get some drink.

"Um.... We can save a lot of time. But we're already short of time. It takes a lot of time to practice that kind of technique in order to get the feel of it. Only then can you really learn it." Minggao said as he leaned back to his chair.

"Furthermore, the racer riders you see are world-class racers, but they seldom use this kind of technique. Do you know why? First, when you use this method, your whole front tire and braking system will be over-heated, which in turn will make the whole machine unstable. Secondly, when you use this method, the tires will be grossly deteriorated. At the latter stage of a race, tires will be almost worn out and may not even last the whole race. Besides, when you use this method, if there's any little mistake, you will fall badly. If you fall, we have nothing to go on. Don't even think about it” Minggao said and drank some of his beer.

Inside Minggao and Xiagnzi's place

"Have you ever seen Ling racing?" Xiangzi asked Qiluo. Qiluo shook her head.

"The way Ling races absolutely worth looking at. He's a born racer rider. He's already attracted a lot of attention at racing tracks when he was eight-years-old." Xiangzi said.

"Eight-years-old?" Qiluo was surprised.

"He was born with a talent. When he rides a bike, bike seems to become part of his body. Other riders love and envy the way he rides bikes." Xiangzi said.

"Have you known Ling for a long time?" Qiluo asked.

"Um...” Xiangzi nodded her head.

"Then, do you know Sheng?" Qiluo asked.

Xiangzi did not say a word.

"I know I probably shouldn't ask this, but I'd like to know more about Ling. Can you tell me what kind of person Sheng was?" Qiluo said.

"Their personalities were completely opposite. Sheng was very nice and very quiet, completely different from Ling. He loved to paint and enjoyed painting Ling the most. One time I asked him; wouldn't he feel like drawing himself when he painted Ling who looked exactly like him? He said that they weren't alike at all; Ling was full of aura. They were twins with completely different personalities but dependent on each other. I remember once when Ling had an accident at a race, Sheng cried so hard by his bedside and almost collapsed. He said if Ling died, he wouldn't be able to live on. I don't know why, but I always feel what Asheng said at the time wasn't just a sudden outburst of emotions, but was a fact. If there's no Ling. he doesn't even the strength to live on." Xiangzi said.

"Sheng committed suicide, didn't he?" Qiluo asked.

"Two years ago, he jumped from the rooftop of a school building in front of Ling. At the time, Ling tried all he could to stop Sheng but failed. On that day, Ling saw a dead body with a face exactly the same face as his." Xiangzi said.

Why did he kill himself?" Qiluo asked.

"There was no dead note. There's no true answer to it. We can only guess it was caused by school violence. Sheng was very different from Ling who is active and courageous. He was an introvert and afraid of strangers. He was very nice, nonetheless very fragile. Sheng's death was a big shock to Ling. Not long after Sheng died, Ling went crazy and broke all the mirrors. He collapsed and got into a frenzy state. He would faint suddenly and stopped breathing, entering the state of false death." Xiangzi said.

Qiluo remembered the two times Ling fainted.

"He couldn't even look at himself in the mirrors. Neither could he look at photos and paintings." Xiangzi continued.

Xiangzi sighed heavily.

"So his father got really worried and sent him to a psychiatric hospital." Xiangzi said.

"He was not worried at all." Minggao cut in as he came in through the door.

"Minggao." Xiangzi said as she stood up.

"His father didn't know what to do. So he sent him to the hospital and let the doctors deal with him." Minggao said as he walked inside.

"How can you say that? This is outrageous." Xiangzi said angrily.

"Is that right? His father was the one who was outrageous." Minggao said to Xiangzi.

"Think about it. What kind of father is he? When the little kids had just lost their mother, he sent the two brothers who were just 5- or 6-years old at the time to live with relatives in Los Angeles. They stayed there for eight years. During these eight years, he had never visited them, not even once. He had never called them. He's not qualified for being a father at all." Minggao said to Qiluo.

"Minggao, his father might have his own reasons for behaving like that. There got to be some reasons that we don't know about." Xiangzi shouted angrily at Minggao.

"Ling doesn't have a mother since he was little. Now he practically has lost his father. So his younger brother was his only relative. Do you understand? Who would have thought that his younger brother would leave him in such a manner?" Minggao said.

"Let me tell you. If anyone who can still be normal after such kind of experiences, that is what is call abnormal." Minggao continued after pausing for a moment.

"How could his father think he was out of his mind and sent him to a psychiatric hospital? His father should have been the one gone to the psychiatric hospital." Minggo drank some beer.

"Wei." Ling interrupted them.

"Do you guys have to speak so loud? I can hear every word of it from outside." Ling said, leaning against the door.

It was raining, Ling was alone inside at the place of Minggao and Xiangzi

Ling remembered him and Sheng when their mother died.

"Mom is dead. Will we be very lonely?"

"No. I'll always be with you."

"Really?"

"We were born together, so we die together, too."

"Um... It's a deal. We'll always be together.

images of the mother with the twins, Ling saw Sheng up at the rooftop, Sheng said something before he jumped.

It was raining, Ling looked outside the window.

Ling sat up from the couch, looking painful.

"Ling." Qiluo called him. Ling turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I ask you to model. In the end, it's forcing you to hurt yourself. I don't want you to model for me any more. I don't want to keep hurting you." Qiluo said.

"It's okay. It's you, I don't mind at all. I'm a little afraid, but I still want to see how I'd look in your painting. Previously, I always thought there was nothing to be terrified in this world. But ever since I met you, I've got a lot of things to be afraid of. Now what I'm afraid most is when you sit on the back seat of my motorcycle. I absolutely can't make any mistake; I can't lose you like that." Ling said.

Qiluo sat across from Ling and kissed him.

"You won't lose me." Qiluo said.

Qiluo and Qingmei shopping in a boutique

"You would look gorgeous in this jacket. Buy it." Qingmei said to Qiluo.

"No. I don't need it." Qiluo said.

"You don't need it? Aren't we going to Japan? Japan should still be quite cool now, you will need it." Qingmei said.

"I most likely will not go to Japan." Qiluo said.

"What? Ling will be racing in Japan, how can you not go?" Qingmei said, surprisingly.

"My mom won't let me." Qiluo said.

"Is your mother thinking that you will get pregnant by spending the night away from home?" Qingmei asked Qiluo.

"No. it's not like that. When I was little, my father died from some accident. The accident seemed to be related to some joy riding gang. So, my mother has always thought Ling is the same as they." Qiluo said.

"What did Ling say?" Qingmei asked.

"He could only say it didn't matter." Qiluo said.

"Qingmei, can you do me a favor? Go there and cheer Ling on for me. I think even though the motorcycle is super fast and noisy, he should still be able to sense the encouragements. Can you help me?" Qiluo asked Qingmei after pausing for a moment.

"Aren't you afraid that I might snatch your boyfriend away from you?" Qingmei asked Qiluo.

Qiluo smiled without saying a word.

"Forget it. I'll never be able to snatch him away." Qingmei said as he turned to put the jacket away.

"Let's go." Qingmei said to Qiluo.

At the Taipei airport

"Hurry up. The plane will take off in 20 minutes. Qingmei is already waiting inside. And you've just got here. Let me tell you. If I weren't nice and waiting here for you, you wouldn't even know where the boarding gate is." Daye said to Ling.

Ling and Qiluo were running.

"Hurry up." Daye said to Ling.

"How can he be so noisy?" Ling said to Qiluo.

"OK. You can leave now. Give me the stuff." Ling said to Qiluo.

"Ling." Qiluo said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine because I'm a genius. He He..." Ling said.

"Wear this. Didn't you say you won a championship wearing it?" Qiluo said as she took out the bracelet Ling gave her.

"This time it should still be able to protect you." Qiluo said, trying to put the bracelet on Ling.

"No. You keep it. This is yours." Ling said.

"Are you still worried? Then, just take anything from you and give it to me. Anything would be fine as long as it's yours." Ling said to Qiluo.

Qiluo removed her hair ribbon and untied it.

"I'll cheer you on here." Qiluo said as she tied the ribbon around Ling's wrist.

"Don't worry. I'll win the championship." Ling said as he clenched his fist tight.

"Bye Bye." Ling said after hugging Qiluo.

"Hurry up or we'll be late." Daye said to Ling.

"Okay. Haven't you tired of yelling yet?" Ling said to Daye.

Ling turned to wave good-bye.

At the Sugo racing circuit

Announcement: "No. 2 rider, Suzuki, one minute thirty-five seconds for the preliminary race. Next rider, please get ready."

"Excuse me, why are you here?" A worker asked Daye, who was crouching next to a bike and examining the bike.

"This is my pass." Daye said, showing him the badge.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" The worker asked Daye.

"I'm just browsing around." Daye said and stood up.

Announcement: "Next rider, please get ready."

"Daye, you speak Japanese, don't you?" Abin called when he saw Daye walking behind him.

"You see those show girls. Don't they look great? Can you go over to talk to them?" Abin said, pointing to the racing queens.

"Why don't you talk to them in English?" Daye said and continued walking.

"Hey, I don't understand the English Japanese speak. Please. Hurry up." Abin said, walking along Daye.

Abin bumped into Qingmei, who was staring at some man.

"Why are you staring at him?" Abin asked Qingmei.

"You two are really terrible. Ever since we're here, you two have been just doing this sort of watching." Daye said to Qingmei and Abin.

"That's right. Stop watching and drooling." Abin said to Qingmei.

Announcement: "Now rider is No. 61 Chen Ling from Taiwan."

"It's Chen Ling's turn to do the test run for the preliminary race." Daye said. The man whom Qingmei was staring at heard of what Daye said and turned to look at them.

"Yeah. Let's leave." Abin said. The three of them left quickly.

Minggao, Xiangzi, Daye, Qingmei, and Abin watching Ling race

Xiangzi timed Ling's speed when Ling rode past them.

"So fast." Daye and Abin said.

"How many seconds did it take?" Minggao asked as Xiangzi showed him the stopwatch.

Announcement, "No. 61 rider Chen Ling, one minute and thirty-nine seconds."

Ling stopped his bike.

Announcement: "Next rider, please get ready."

Ling pulled up his visor. Neither Minggao Nor Xiangzi looked satisfied.

Ling shrugged, sighed and shook his head.

At night, Minggao went through some documents

"Today his condition wasn't very good." Xiangzi said to Minggao.

"Um... He barely met the standard." Minggao said, still studying his documents.

"Was it because he hadn't raced for a long time?" Xiangzi said.

"Actually with his current skill level, he shouldn't have had any problem. I'm only worried that he might have been defeated by the pressure he put on himself." Minggao said.

"After all, he's still a very young kid. Stress can sometimes be a terrible thing. Do you think we should look for him to give him some psychological buildup?" Minggao said after thinking for while.

"Good. He probably is very depressed now." Xiangzi said.

Minggao and Xiangzi came outside the hotel.

"Is he around here?" Minggao asked.

"Yes. I heard it's in the direction of the middle court." Xiangzi said.

"One, two, turn. Wow." Ling, Daye, Qingmei, and Abin yelled.

"They're over there." Xiangzi said as she pointed at them.

"I finally got my chance. I haven't even won once for the whole night. You three are dead for sure." Ling shouted.

"Let a lousy guy got his chance. We're dead." Daye yelled.

"Don't talk those things to me. It's my turn to make the question." Ling said.

"I've got some bad hunch." Qingmei said, pointing her finger at Ling.

"The question... All guys present ... Ha Ha...” Ling started laughing.

"What is it?" Qingmei asked.

"Take out your precious thing." Ling said, laughingly loudly.

"Take it out." Qingmei said.

Xiangzi laughed when she heard of this.

"Why am I first?" Daye said. Qingmei clapped her hands.

Xiangzi shook her head.

"His nerve is really like superman. I don't see pressure has anything to do with him. Let's go." Xiangzi said to Minggao.

Xiangzi and Minggao turned to leave.

Next day early in the morning, Ling was running alone on the race track.

Ling stopped to feel the surrounding environment.

Ling started jogging again, with Minggao's voice-over in the background:

"Around the pine woods is the summit of the race track. After the summit, you will enter a straight stretch of track, about 700 meters. You can ride at speed as high as 280. This is a standard point for starting acceleration. But you have to be careful with the next corner. The track will become curvy with drastically-changing up and down slopes. If you arrive at the curvy segment at too high a speed from the straight segment without proper control, your bike will overturn. Many riders have accident at this turn. You have to be careful. You also have to watch other people. You must not be careless. Now we have reached the finish line. There's a small straight segment right before the finish line. Don't underrate this segment. This is a crucial point. Previously, there were some riders who thought they were doing great all the way were overtaken here by others."

In the pit

"I feel that if you are on the straight segment of the track..." Minggao stopped short and looked at Ling.

"Are you listening?" Minggao asked Ling.

"Yes. I'm listening. Don't be so serious." Ling said.

"What are you thinking?" Minggao asked Ling. Ling shook his head.

"I tell you. You have to remember one thing. When you think you've everything under your control, it's usually the time you'll make mistakes." Minggao said.

Qiluo lying in her room, her cell phone started ringing.

"Wei” Qiluo said after picked up her cell phone.

"Wei, Qiluo. It's me. What are you doing?" Ling said on the other end.

"I was sleeping. I'm going to school in a little bit. How about you?" Qiluo said.

"Here the race will start pretty soon. I'm getting ready to be on the track. Are you all right?" Ling said.

"I just dreamed of you in my dream." Qiluo said with a frown.

"Yeah. What did your dream of me?" Ling asked.

"I forgot it when I woke up." Qiluo said with a smile.

"How do you feel now?" Qiluo asked.

"Somehow I'm not very enthusiastic. All the people around me are riders. I get bored seeing them. If you kiss me now, maybe I'll be able to compete on the track right away." Ling said.

"But...” Qiluo said.

"Hurry up. The get-ready bell has just rung. Hurry up." Ling said.

"Wish you safe and sound." Qiluo said after kissing Ling over the phone.

"Bye Bye." Ling said and hung up.

Ling was on his way to the race track with Japanese announcement in the background.

Announcement: "All riders please get ready."

Announcement: "30 seconds to go."

"Where, where is Ling?" Qingmei said, looking into her binocular.

"The second one on the third row." Daye pointed to her.

Announcement" "All flaggers please leave the start line."

Announcement: "20 seconds. ... 16 seconds, 5 4 3 2” The go sign went on.

Announcement: "Now all the riders have rushed out simultaneously from the start line."

Qiluo sitting in front of her easel and looking at the clock in her room

"The race has just begun. Nothing matters as long as you're safe and sound." Qiluo said.

Qiluo started painting on her canvas.

Ling was racing on the track.

"How fast was the speed?" Abin asked.

"The fastest is 250. The speed was just only 220. The motorcycle used in an all Japan race is ST600. It takes only 5 seconds from 0 to 100." The man answered. Daye and Qingmei turned to look at him.

"Wow. How many laps are they going to ride like this?" Daye asked the man.

"Aren't you the one yesterday...” Abin asked the man.

"You are also a rider, aren't you?" Qingmei interrupted and asked the man.

"You're really good at making wild guesses." Abin said to Qingmei.

"It's true. I saw him in Ling's magazines. Get it through you head!" Qingmei turned to say to Abin.

"What she says is correct. Minggao and I were riders of the same period. At the time, he chose to be a free-lance rider whereas I chose to join a famous European motorcycle team. I'm here specifically for your friend." The man said to the three of them.

"Our friend?" Daye asked the man.

"No. 61 rider Chen Ling. The rider whom Minggao is training” Minggao’s friend said.

"One minute thirty-eight seconds. Looking good. He already ranks number 4." Xiangzi said.

"The three riders ranked before him are all very strong. It won't be easy to overtake them." Minggao said.

"Wow. You've got to be kidding!" Ling murmured, riding his bike.

Ling started speeding up and passes riders before him.

Qiluo started sketching on her canvas.

Announcement: "Now the first one to past the finish line is Chen Ling from Taiwan who represents Yamaha."

"Minggao, It's so wonderful." Xiangzi said to Minggao in the pit.

Daye, Qingmei, and Abin cheered on in the audience stand.

"How about that? Our friend is not bad at all, isn't he?" Abin asked Minggao's friend.

"Yeah. I started noticing him three years ago in the Super Bike race. He's a genius-type rider, but..." Minggao's friend said.

"But what?" Daye asked.

"I hope he can deal with those dirty racing tricks used by manufacturer teams." Minggao's friend said.

Announcement: "Here is the current result after racing for several laps. The leading No. 61 rider is almost catching up to No. 11 rider who fell behind him by almost one lap."

"Too bad." The man.

"What did he say?" Qingmei asked.

"They're talking about Chen Ling catching up to the rider who lag behind him for one circle." Daye said.

"I'm not asking about what the announcer has just said. What I mean is what he meant by too bad." Qingmei interrupted.

"That bike was deliberately falling behind to wait for the rider ranked first place. As long as the winner is not on his team, he will do all he can to interfere with the winning rider. Sometime he would even do some technical sabotage." Minggao's friend said.

Announcement: "Indeed No. 61 has caught up No. 11 rider before the finish line."

No. 11 rider deliberately leaned toward Ling and knocked Ling sideway to the wall.

Announcement: "What happened? Two riders accidentally collided with each other along the straight accelerating segment. No. 61 rider is push to the side and hit the wall. The rider who has just stopped because of the accident is No. 61 rider Chen Ling. At present, it's not clear what the current situation is."

Ling's hand was hurt.

Announcement: "No. 61 rider Chen Ling is now back to the track once again. It seems that he wasn't seriously injured. He has dropped from ranking number 1 to number 13."

Xiangzi and Minggao watched the TV monitor and saw Ling's hand bleeding.

Announcement: "He now has started once again. I hope the accident has not affected him too much."

Ling remembered his talk with Qiluo when she was painting him.

"Regardless how fast or how well I ride, I'll never be great. People who understand us know that we are trying to break through a certain limitation. But people who do not understand motorcycles, we are just a bunch of fools making loud noises. It's very difficult for me to describe to them how we feel about speed. For your mother, I'm no different than those people who killed your father."

Qiluo stopped painting.

"Don't talk like that. Actually I didn't much understand the world you're so fascinated with. But after I get to know you, I finally gradually understand that it's a very holy place. Painting is something you can do whenever you want to. Anyone can hold a brush and start painting, albeit simple and childish. But those people who are allowed to ride at high speed on racing tracks are the selected few. Only people who trade their lives are allowed to ride in those beautiful places." Qiluo said.

Ling racing on his bike with Qiluo's voice-over: "Riding in those beautiful places."

"What an incredible speed!" Minggao's friend said and sighed.

Minggao and Xiangzi were watching the overhead TV monitor.

"Now the real race has finally begun." Minggao said with a smile.

***************************End of Episode 4 ***************************