9, 38, 52, 69
80, 83
103, 193, 193
103 and 193, that's months in between
Three months, what does that mean?
It doesn't mean anything
Except that something is wrong
Something must have gone wrong in these three months
221, 243, 256, 281
aII the way up to 1460...
Up to Iast month, it wouId have been exactIy 1460 days
I have aII the numbers in my head
The date of every Ietter... what pattern Iies in this?
Forget it, I've entertained every possibiIity
A totaI of 54 Ietters in the past four years
No cIue whatsoever
No city, address, or teIephone number,
no ways of reaching him
AII I have are these Ietters
He writes about waking up Iate, being constipated
Watching a game aII night
How he can smeII the food from the restaurant next door
That's aII. Not a cIue of where he is
But he's out there somewhere
Know what I'd reaIIy Iike to do?
I'd reaIIy Iike to drag him out
Scream at him why don't you just die?
This is what I'd reaIIy Iike to do
I'd reaIIy Iike to do this
Why don't you stop reading the Ietters?
I've tried
How about moving away?
I won't
I need to curse him out Ioud
StiII the same city
Nothing has changed in four years
He is stiII hiding some pIace where I can't see
This city... or that...
I have once toId him,
if my parents disapprove our reIationship I'II stop eating
And wait for him
I didn't think I'd stiII wait for him when he disappeared
But the truth is, I've been waiting for four years
Ten bugs
It's caIIed the "MicroeIectrode Guided...
Stereo tactic Deep Brain Surgery"
They use stereo tactic technoIogy
To Iocates the nerve in your brain...
that attaches you to heroin
Then appIy microeIectrode treatment
Boom... it's gone
I was quite muddIe-headed around that time
After they destroyed 'the reward center' in my brain
they needed to Iet it recuperate...
before pIanting new nerves
As a resuIt, I became very forgetfuI
My head was quite messed up...
for awhiIe.
Then I got better and no Ionger reIied on narcotics
I feIt brand new
I toId them I was fuIIy recovered,
but they wouIdn't beIieve me
They stiII granted chiId custody to him
What a bunch of pricks!
Eh, what does he do?
281, 287, 302, 302
TeII me, what do these numbers mean?
They aII have 2 in them
OK. They aII have 2. You know this guy?
Take another Iook
Forget it
After they took away my baby, I have been crying for Iong time
Then I thought
I've got to seek heIp.
Or I'd never survive on my own
I didn't intend to teII you this
I wanted to taIk about something eIse
I've never toId anyone about it
I mean, what's the use of taIking about it?
True.
Nineteen
Got any singIes?
Got two
It's nineteen
I don't have any singIes either
One bug Iess, is that OK?
One bug Iess
Fine, wait for me then
Got change for a twenty?
No, no
Ok
Got change for a twenty?
No changes
Did you fuck up your head or something?
Over here. Hey, this way!
What about the change?
That cunning bitch! We take this for our change
I'm getting off after the bridge, can you drive?
Ok
You're here
It's me
Huo-Gui
I'm Shui-Tian
There's no bottom to a Iake
As there's no edge to a shore
What?
Its water remains neither wet nor dry to itseIf
As its rippIes never conjure the feeIing of soIitude
These rippIes surround rocks that are neither too big nor too smaII
Whispering softIy to their very own whispers
Just whispers...
What? Say that again?
Ahhhh
Somebody jumped off the bridge
Feifei, Feifei
Hey!
What shouId we do? What do we do now?
He shouId give us the tickets
Why did he jump?
He fucking jumped?
Did he see a cop?
There was a cop?
I need to find a toiIet...
Stop right there, you IittIe bastard
You Iooking for a toiIet?
You backing out on me,
You bastard dare to back out on me
Discount tickets for saIe Ambient
Did you see the car driver?
It was just happened, he was here.
something dropped from above then he ran away.
How did the guy faII?
I don't know, it aII happened in a bIink
Wait...
That, that guy
That guy?
Short hair
Feifei, come with me
You Okay?
You were driving... here they come
Does it hurt?
Your car?
You the driver?
I'II need to see your driver Iicense and car registration
TeII me what happened first
Can we do this Iater?
Sure
What's going on?
I don't have a Iicense, you go back and wait for me
Remember what I toId you?
Got it
I do exactIy as you say
So what's next?
Get a cab
Taxi, hey, taxi...
Get in. I owe you one bug anyway,
where to?
Never mind
SeriousIy?
Take this
My mother used to make me take it when I had a stomach ache
Cheap and works Iike charm, take two tabIets Water
It's aII right, I'm OK
Take it
I'm reaIIy fine
Just take it for god's sake!
Thank you
Where to?
We need to get to 40 Lake East Road
Lake East Road, I have to turn around then
What kind of pIace is it?
A pIace to buy pIane tickets
It's cheap fIying these days
It's onIy two bIocks away
I'II take you there
Wait a minute, we need to go to Mapu first
Mapu? That's far
I have a reIative there doing water heating business
I don't have enough money
He's got money for me
Fine, I'II take you there
You take over from here
Ok
I heard two peasants fIed the scene up there
Factory workers, I think
Take a Iook at this, we found this on him
"Dying is Iike fIying"
"It's much easier than Iiving"
"The seasons fIy through the fingers of time"
"Leaving behind it, hours of hesitation"
The guy's a depressed poet
CaIm down
Fuck! Fucking shit!
What now? What do we do now?
It's pretty cIear...
what happened.
You won't be abIe to drive your car for awhiIe
If you're worried about your... is it girIfriend?
If you're worried about her, maybe you ought to go back first?
We've got your phone number
Come to our precinct tomorrow
And we'II figure something out, OK?
Got a bump there
Huh
You aII right?
I am fine
You can go home first
Stop! Stop
What's your name?
My name is Shui-Tian
Shui-Tian. That's a nice name
First time in the city?
Here for a job?
I'm here Iooking for Xiao Xiang
Who's that?
My girIfriend
Where is she?
I have no cIue
How couId that be?
Her mother wanted her to be a hooker
She wouIdn't do it, so she ran away
I heard she's come to the city
But she didn't teII me, so I'm not sure
Why her mother wanted her to be a hooker?
Many girIs in her cIass were doing it
Served the guys working the mines
One day her mother brought home a man
He was aIso a miner
Her mother said to her
"You didn't pass the entrance exam"
"So no more schooI for you anyway"
"Your cIassmates are making money by the hundreds"
And she toId Xiao Xiang to sIeep with the man
Xiao Xiang raised bIoody heII and ran away
I've been to this town a coupIe times
CouIdn't find her
Someone toId me she came to the city
Her mother demanded ten thousand bucks from me
I give her the money...
and she'II Ieave me and Xiao Xiang aIone
I have the money now
AII I need is to find her quick
FeeIing better?
Much better
What's your Xiao Xiang Iike?
She's a tough cookie
One time she toId off the town chief's son
You caII that tough?
She shouId've toId off the town chief,
the viIIage chief, and aII those bastards
What's the use of teIIing off the son?
You upset?
No
Then teII me, is your Xiao Xiang pretty?
She was the prettiest in town
She's simpIy different from everyone eIse
UnIike the rest of the country bumpkins
What was she Iike then?
One time I said to her
Let's go to the city together
She then said to me: I've had the same thought
Another time
She went into town to pIay sIot machines
She didn't teII me, so I was a bit upset
She came back so excited
Boy that thing is super fun!
As soon as I heard that, I wasn't upset anymore
I think I know your Xiao Xiang
Huh?
I'm serious
There's this girI working in the restaurant cIose to where I Iive
A tabIe manager, quite pretty
She aIways taIked with her hands Iike this
PIease enjoy your food
This soup is super good
This spicy tofu dish is also superb.
You wanna try?
Oh c'mon,
what's your problem making me wait so long?
Was she Iike this?
Take me to her, please... I need to find her now
Get a hoId of yourseIf
So I tried taIking senses into them
But it's useIess.
Let me teII you, it was impossibIe
Some eight or nine of them came
And we got into a brawI
How couId I possibIy fight so many by myself?
Not possible
So I pinned one of them down...
and beat the shit out of him
I punched him once, twice, three, four, five times
I gave him a good dozen of punches
That motherfucker got scared shitIess
I dragged that piece of shit towards the doorway
AII the way to the gate
Boy, he was bIeeding Iike heII
I knocked him over with one shove
Don't move
What are you doing? What are you doing?
What the heII are you doing?
You IittIe bastard
What are you doing?
Bastard
Stop running, you IittIe piece of shit
My beIt, where's my beIt?
You don't want the money, is that it?
I do, I do
Do your fucking shit
Have you Iost your fucking mind?
You want that money? Then go find some dough for the pIane tickets
Our contact's dead
He jumped, we're on our own now
If we don't make it to Guangzhou today
Who's gonna give us the money? Huh?
If we don't make it today...
we're done for
We might as weII forget about the money. You stiII in or not?
Yes!
Do your fucking shit, IittIe bastard
You Iisten to me weII, you IittIe motherfucker
If you don't get a IittIe sense in that brain of yours
I'II finish you off with my own hands
Get over here! Get over here!
Take this, make her give some money
Just get enough for two pIane tickets
I won't give her a hard time as Iong as she gives us the money
Doesn't that make us robbers?
Stupid fuck, how eIse are we gonna get the money?
Get over there, taIk to her niceIy
AII we want is two thousand bugs, you hear?
TeII her that, and if she won't do it
I'II go give her a scare
Go
Take this! Take this
Go!
BeIt
You've got two thousand bucks?
We onIy need two thousand
I onIy made a few tens today
He's aIready taken them aII
We need to buy pIane tickets
Give us two thousand and we'II Iet you go
I'II go home and get it
I'II take you with me to get it
As Iong as you Iet me go,
the two thousand is yours
You mean it?
Of course!
She's agreed
ReaIIy?
Yes
Where's the money?
She says she'II take us home to get it
What did you teII her?
I said we need to buy pIane tickets
You dumb fuck!
What did you teII her that for?
She's going to teII...
the poIice everything!
You dumb fuck.
You'II be caught before you board the pIane
HeIp!
Somebody, heIp!
HeIp!
Uh
LittIe piece of shit
TeII her we are going...
with her to get the money
We wiII seII the car for the money instead
What about her?
What do you think?
What about Xiao Xiang?
Xiao Xiang... Xiao Xiang...
Fuck your fucking Xiao Xiang
You don't even know where your tomorrow is...
and you're stiII thinking about Xiao Xiang?
You reckon she's stiII waiting for you?
Go
Move the car, drive
That guy your boyfriend?
The one in the magazine
Trust me. You can never reIy on men
You shouId just dump the Ioser
Where's my magazine?
It got Iost
Get it back, you get it back for me
You go get it....
back for me
Let go of your hand
You go and get my magazine back
What are you doing?
Ahhhh
Ouch!
Wanna try again?
BeIieve it or not, I'II cut off your hand
Just drive
Go that way
Turn here
There's a gas station up ahead
Gotta get some gas or eIse the car won't move
We going?
Go
Dare to try again? Try then! You IittIe piece of shit
You think I Iike doing this kind of thing?
I need thirty thousand to get out of the Iawsuit
Without the money, I can't go home
I've been out for three years now
Haven't been home in three years, you get what I'm saying?
Fifty bugs of gas
Where you going?
I need to pay
Let him come get it
Fine
Ahhhh
What's wrong?
It's OK, not a probIem
What's wrong?
It's OK
Money
Mmm
Sorry
Stop the car
I said stop the car
Watch her
Is it reaIIy her?
The girI you mentioned, is it reaIIy Xiao Xiang?
I don't know
TeII her to wait for me
OK
You can go
He's coming
Swear you won't report on us
I won't
Hey
Hey, stop the car
Hey
Ahh
Darn
HeIIo, yes, yes
She's moved back with her mother now
I've met the guy she's been cheating me with
Even shook hands with him once
At first she denied, tried to bIuff it out
She didn't admit 'tiII I toId her
I was gonna kiII him
Is that him?
You wanna know how he died?
What's this?
Heroine
Where did you find these?
Dug them out from his anus
Sorry
It's OK
By the time we caught up with him he was aIready dead
The bags dissoIved inside him
It's extremeIy dangerous to carry
The stuff inside one's body for more than 24 hours,
The autopsy shows that...
this wasn't the case
He probabIy took some piIIs on the road
The chemicaI eIements dissoIved the bags
Which then took his Iife
I gave him the piIIs
He said he had a stomach ache
So I gave him a pain kiIIer
What about the other guy?
StiII aIive, we gave him some Iaxative
He dumped it aII out, totaI of 78 bags
He wants to see you
Who?
The younger one, name is Shui-Tian
We've interrogated him twice but the guy wouIdn't say a thing
He said he wouId onIy speak once he's seen you. Know why that is?
No idea
I don't want to see him
What's the matter?
I don't want to be reminded of the whoIe thing
I understand, but you've got to meet him
Why don't you go home and caIm down a bit
We'II make arrangements tomorrow
Fang Wen
Fang Wen!
Come over here, sit
Li Mi, you sit here
Press this button behind you if anything goes wrong
Did you see her?
Did you see Xiao Xiang?
Where's the magazine?
It's Iost. You didn't see Xiao Xiang?
Where did you Iose it?
Did you see Xiao Xiang or not?
I'm asking you where you Iost it?
You Iied to me
I didn't Iie to you
I reported to the poIice back at the gas station
How wouId I have known you'd Iet me go Iater?
I had no idea before then
You Iet me down
I had your word to find Xiao Xiang when I Iet you go
We had an agreement
WiII you heIp me find her?
Just teII her, her mother has aIready said yes
I'II go see her as soon as I got out of here
WiII you teII her that?
PIease, pIease
AIright
I don't want to Iie to you
You did spare my Iife
I have no idea where your Xiao Xiang is
I wouIdn't know how to find her
I made up that girI...
I toId you about
I mean, so many girIs taIk Iike that these days
How wouId I know which one of them is Xiao Xiang?
That's a Iie
No, it's not
You're Iying to me
OnIy Xiao Xiang couId taIk...
Iike that no one eIse
I Iet you go, and now he's dead
My money's gone. You can't Iie to me!
You made a promise, you can't Iie to me
Sit! Sit...
Who is Xiao Xiang?
What is this aII about?
He reIeased me
And I promised to find his girIfriend
But the girI I toId him about was just someone I made up
How wouId I know if she's Xiao Xiang or not?
Where's that girI at?
What girI?
The girI you toId him about
This can't be possibIe
Know where she is?
What's the deaI with this photo aIbum?
It's private
No private matters where I'm concerned
My boyfriend has disappeared
I put his photos in my car to show peopIe
I've been searching for four years and stiII haven't found him
AII his photos are cIipped to that magazine
They have Iost the magazine
What eIse wouId you Iike to know?
Wanna know who I sIept with in the past four years?
No one
I'm sorry
Are we here?
We've passed it
My wife cheated on me
Are aII of your staff here?
Yes, my joint is smaII,
onIy a few staff
TeII him we've found Xiao Xiang
This is the address and phone number
He won't get to caII
Get in the car
I don't harbor any bad intentions
This is mereIy a means to get him to taIk
Fair means or fouI
As Iong as it gets you what you want
You ever thought about the future?
What if he asked to see Xiao Xiang one day?
What wouId I teII him?
You think the guy has a future?
He carried more than 500 grams of narcotics in his body
Know what that means?
PIus, if aII means were feasibIe
We'd have gotten him to taIk aIready. Who needs you?
Sorry, haven't been in my own skin IateIy
I'm not trying to force you to do anything, this is for his own good
He'II come off better if he's abIe to provide vaIuabIe Ieads
Know what I mean?
Sometimes deception can be charity
I've been Iied to for four years
I don't see anything charitabIe about it
I don't fucking see it, either
I found her, she reaIIy is Xiao Xiang
This is her address and phone number
I toId her you've been Iooking for her
And that you wiII go see her very soon
Did you teII her how we met?
Uh
I toId her you took my taxi
Did you teII her I've been trying to find her?
What did you teII her?
Does she want to see me now?
What do you want to know?
Start from the very beginning. Leave nothing out
I met Huo-Gui...
in Marpu
I was Iooking for work, wanted to make some money
He toId me I couId make ten thousand bugs
Ten thousand,
I'd never seen so much money in my Iife
I wanted to make that money, so I foIIowed him
As soon as I got out of the car
I was bIindfoIded and taken to a deserted house
There I took in 78 bags
Then I was dragged out to the street
They toId us to get ourseIves to the city
Someone wiII give us pIane tickets to fIy to Guangzhou
And once we get to Guangzhou, aII we'd have to do is take a dump
And the money is ours
To teII you the truth, I got quite scared at the time
But Huo-Gui said everything wouId be fine
Who wouId've thought that when we got to the city
The guy wouId jump
HoId it there. Who did you say jumped?
The guy who was supposed to give us the pIane tickets
Where?
On the bridge, he crashed onto a car
That's when we dropped the magazine
I had no idea what was going on
The driver picked up the magazine and started to come after us
What driver?
The driver whose car the guy crashed on
- It him... - OK?
Enough, I'II see you out now
You can come pick up the forms next week
And bring them to your insurance company
Fang Wen, when did you get back?
You've been back awhiIe now, haven't you?
You've been hiding from me aII this time?
Who is she?
Hey, wait a minute...
What's gong on here?
It's got nothing to do with you
What?
Sorry,
I think this Iady has mistaken me for someone eIse
Fang Wen
Miss, you're confused
Confused?
I'd recognize you even if you got skinned
You're with her now?
Why didn't you teII me sooner?
Why did you write me aII those Ietters if you're with her?
Why?
TeII me! Say it!
Let go! Let go! Let go!
Watch it, I can cuff you up right now
I'm sorry,
I didn't mean to Iose it, I'm fine now
Hey, what's his name?
My name is Ma Bing
That's his name aII right
Hear that?
Where's the magazine?
I have it
Why didn't you say anything earIier?
No one asked me
You done here? Let them go if you're done
You can move the car
Thanks
You foIIow me
Hey, wait
Wait here a minute
Hey, bring me the fiIe on this case Iater,
I want to take a Iook
Hey...
How can you be sure...
he's the guy you been Iooking for?
WouIdn't you recognize your own wife?
Hey...
Have you gone mad or something?
I've been Iooking for him for four years
Have you tried Iooking for someone this Iong?
I can't find him now, he's gone
You go and find him for me, go find him
I'II kiII you...
if you don't find him
- You come with me - No
- Come - No
Come
Just a moment
This isn't his handwriting
Handwriting Authentication
Fang Wen,
I don't want anything from you
I know it's you
You don't have to be with me
But just teII me it's you
Just teII me, I won't staIk you
PIease just teII me it's you
Fang Wen
Day 83 "I'm pIanning on going back, Li Mi"
"I'II never become what they expect of me"
"I'II just have to settIe for being ordinary, I'm so useIess"
"Do you think I'm useIess? "
Day 221 "I'm about to go back, Li Mi"
"I think I am a better man now"
"I couId even picture the supermarket we'II own in the future"
"Can you forgive me? "
Day 430 "I am a changed man, Li Mi"
"Perhaps I've become the kind of man your parents wanted me to be"
"Who knows?"
"Yesterday I saw our hometown on TV"
"And I suddenIy burst out in tears"
"Are you stiII waiting for me, Li Mi?"
Day 708 "I want to teII you something, Li Mi"
"My wish aImost came true"
"This morning I went to the airport and bought the ticket"
"At that moment, I couId no Ionger resist my feeIings"
"SuddenIy I wanted to go back"
"I bought the ticket, went through the security check,
even reached the boarding gate"
"But in the end I came back out"
"Got a haIf refund for the ticket"
"Do you know how much I wanted to go back?"
Fine, I'II teII you this, I am Fang Wen
But I'm with someone eIse now
I don't want you anymore
I've said it, can you Ieave me aIone now?
I'm sorry
I apoIogize...
if I've mistaken you for someone eIse
You want to know what this is aII about, don't you?
I don't know any Fang Wen. AII I know is that you're Ma Bing
I'm going back to the shop
If you don't feeI Iike coming around anymore, don't come
They Iied to me
The handwriting authentication was a 70% match
From that moment on
The cop never took his eyes off him
They did a thorough check on Ma Bing's background
And found everything counterfeited
His ID, driver's Iicense, even his name
He's a man who doesn't exist
Shui-Tian mentioned during interrogation
The man who was supposed to meet up with them
WouId be sporting a pair of shades
They got into Ma Bing's room somehow
And eventuaIIy found what they were Iooking for
Huo-Gui Shui-Tian
Hai-Guang Jiang-Ming
AII was very simpIe
But I didn't know this at the time
Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!
Cheers! Cheers...
At Iast Fang Wen is now wiped out from my Iife
Oh, right, his name is Ma Bing now
Wait a minute. Wait Wait for me
September 4th
Qi
The new errand won't show
You screwed up once, you think they'd stiII trust you?
Wondering how I know everything?
I'm the one who keeps an eye on you
I see
They have me purchase whoIesaIe cIothing from Guangzhou as a cover
The cIothes are then brought to your shop
They give me a good commission
AII this is just a part of the arrangement
Yes
Hai-Guang
I did some caIcuIation back in the shop
Your commission comes out to be about eighty thousand bugs
I gave it to that girI, are you fine with that?
The money is cIean
TeII me, doesn't it hurt when you see her pain?
Forget it
The moment she recognized you, you couId no Ionger hide
Don't you reaIize it?
They're taking you out
On my way here, I kept thinking
If I toId you about it and ran away with you
WouId I be abIe to reIy on you?
You are stiII in Iove with her
Feifei
Do me a favor, if you run into her again
Don't teII her what reaIIy happened
Not a word
If I hadn't met her
I wouId've faIIen for you
Ahhhhh
- AII set? - Yup
OK
The tape
Li Mi
I finaIIy did it
Go and buy yourseIf a supermarket
Maybe I'II come back to you very soon
Or maybe I won't ever come back,
I have no idea
In case I don't make it back
This money is for you
No matter what happens
PIease don't worry about me, reaIIy
There's aIways a price to pay for everything, right?
So I don't regret anything
In case I reaIIy don't make it back
Just read the Ietters I wrote you
When you miss me
A totaI of 54 Ietters
That's aII for now
We feII in Iove in high schooI
Been together ever since
We were both Iousy students, neither of us got into coIIege
His two greatest passion?
Fantasy noveIs? And Ioving me
We were both mediocre peopIe, nobody paid much attention to us
We were both very depressed
The day we found out we didn't get into coIIege
We didn't meet up that day
After receiving the news
He went to a swimming pooI
And spent the whoIe afternoon there
Under the piercing sun, he cried for the first time
After that, he began his Iife as a taxi driver
Later on, he toId me
Having me in his Iife...
was the best thing that ever happened to him