Bye,Rabbit MonkNight.“Monk, slept?”“Not yet. I am waiting for your snores. ”“God. How would you spend those nights without me?”“Don’t worry. Try this one”, I handed him a tape. Rabbit inserted the tape into his recorder and turned it on. It was the record of his snores. “When did you do this?”“Last night.”“God. You spy! Know what, Monk? You should pay for my service. ”“Your service? You mean the noises you made?”“You can call it anything you like, but it does help to your sleep, right?”“O.K. Name your price. I hope it is worth a girlfriend. ”“God, couldn’t you be more creative?”“I am being creative. You know, it works.”“O.K. O.K. … I admit defeat. Anyhow, you still put my commission on your mind.”“Of course, for I still sense the smell of those dishes you treated me this evening.”“What if those smells disappear?”“No idea.”“You swindler. I regret having treated you that meal before you do what you promised.”“Yes?”“Yes.You are.”“Look at this one.” I turn over and hand him a slip of paper in which some items are written down. “ Pay attention to the one underlined by a red tick!”“Thanks, Monk!” Rabbit put on a big smile and gave it back to me. “You even made notes.”“Sure, for the sake of that meal. I haven’t had such a delicious meal for ages.”“You deserved it, Monk.”“Sure, what I will do is more than that.”“I hope so. Waiting for your good news.”“No problem. Better sleep now! Tomorrow morning, you‘ve got to get up earlier to catch the train.”“O.K. Sound sleep, Monk.”“You too, Rabbit.”A few minutes later, familiar snores sounded up from below. Classic Rabbit! No matter what is on his mind, he is always capable of falling asleep at one turnover. I soon went to sleep over his snores as I have been doing in the past three years. Me and Rabbit are roommates, what is more, we share one bed (I hope my words don’t make you associate with something like love affairs. There is nothing between us because we both are normal men and like pretty girls. ). The bed is a double-deck one, which is commonly used in most schools in virtue of space economy. I live on the upper floor and Rabbit lives under me. Before becoming roommates, we finished our college years in the same school. However, at that time, we didn’t know each other due to different majors. Then there must be something wrong with our heads, and we made the stupid decision to further our studies in our alma mater (Rabbit said so, and I partially agreed.). Low stipend, crowded bathroom, lousy meal and sky-high accommodation fee really make us suck. What makes it worse, Rabbit said, our children might suffer from such a long stay. I got lost at first. However, once he made his idea clear, I still agreed. His theory was nowadays, girlfriend is a luxury. In order to butter her up, you have got to frequent shopping centers, Mcdonalds, amusement arcades, cinemas and so forth. That is not all. When some western festivals or her birthday arrive, some big surprises are expected, for girls like romance. All these need time and intelligence, what is more, cash is another major ingredient. The former two can’t be challenges, for we are smart guys who have too much spare time to kill (Rabbit said so). But the last one is a real headache. Our school only offers a low stipend which is not enough to live from hand to mouth, much less extra money to amuse girls.“Know what, monk? I plan to finish my Ph.D. degree in an institute where, I heard, similar drawbacks in our school never exist. What do you say?” “That is not a bad idea!” Personally, I am willing to go along with Rabbit. Unfortunately, for some reasons, I have got to spend another two more years than scheduled. Anyhow, I gave my best wishes to Rabbit and my prayer worked: he passed the entrance exams with flying colors and then an interview with his advisor-to-be came. That morning, he dressed up like a groom and started off in royal spirits. At night, when I came back, Rabbit was lying in his bed and looked not that happy. “Buddy, how about your journey?”“I got bad news and good news.”“Good news first!”“My boss is quite satisfied with my today’s performance and brief me of some information. Know what, Monk? There are only two guys at one dorm which is well furnitured with toilet, balcony, bathroom.”“Lucky for you guys.”“My boss has 3 three grad students counting me. He promises me a good salary if I work hard.”“How much?”“Let me make it concrete! Taking out my expense on basic needs, I could afford two girlfriends.”“Envy you guys!”“That is not all. We have a free lunch every day, a pc connected to the internet and photocopy materials as we wish. O.K. Everything from soup to nuts.”“That includes a girlfriend?” “Oh, Monk! You got me there. There comes the bad news.”“What is it? I thought you should be happiest man.”“That is not the case. After the interview with my boss, he showed me around. Then I had the opportunity to see what my future colleagues look like. Guess what? Those students are quite older than me. My boss said most of them had working experience before they restart their studies.”“What does that mean?”“It means there is a fat chance to sport a girl in my age. ”“Ha-ha!”“Don’t make fun of me, Monk! I am talking it over with you.”“Sorry! I couldn’t help doing that. Couldn’t believe it: everything is done and then the quarry is lost! Ha-ha!”“There you go again. If you laugh again, you will get out of the window.”“O.K. what can I do for you? Do I need to put on a poster ? I bet some girls would show some interest.”“Be serious, Monk! Actually, I have got one on my mind.”“Yes? You guy, what dirty business did you do behind me?”“Not really. Do you know the female senior who is doing her practice in our institute?”“You mean the girl with short hair?”“Yes.”“Rabbit, to be frank, she is not so-called belle.”“Monk, I am not seeking a vase. Actually, we did some talks and her personality impressed me a lot.”“Nice guy! Then what can I do?”“Strive to approach her and promote me?”“Like a spy. But the point is whether you have any strongpoints worth to marketing?”“You jerk! I am wasting my breath. I’d better go get a veteran instead.”“Wait a minute. You know I could be smart and all I need is some stimuli.”“What stimuli? Should I go take some hot water?”“Don’t bother. A big meal is O.K.”“You are blackmailing.”“I hate the word ‘blackmail’. Stimuli is much better.”“O.K. Deal!”“Done!”The coming days after we two made that deal, I was tied up by sending off my classmates who left school after graduation. Some of them found jobs in this city and left their luggage in my care. I made a note to keep a record of the dates they proposed to take their luggage back and some essentials I need to handle. Among them, Rabbit’s requirement was included. What is more, a red tick was used to underline. Finally, it was time for Rabbit to say bye to me. He couldn’t stay any longer, for the deadline was due. The night before he left, he treated me a meal in the name of taking care of his potential girl. But deep in my heart, I know, even though that episode didn’t happen, he would do the same thing. After three years’ cohabitation (I don’t know if this is the proper word), we know each other too well. Morning.When I was sleeping, someone pulled my shoulder. It was Rabbit.“Monk, I am leaving. No snores disturb you any more.”“Good news! I think some well-wishing words are routine on this occasion.”“Yes?”“What do you think of this one? May you have romance in the train!”“This one is more creative. But it never happened. I hope you prayer works this time.”“Sure. Time is due. Go ahead!”“Bye. Monk, I will miss you!”“God! Be a man. Go ahead.”Rabbit turned away and opened the door. “Wait a minute!” I stopped him “Don’t forget to give me a call when you get home.”“You are caring, Monk. Take care.”“Bye, Rabbit.”