Goodbye, Xu Hu!

This collection of Chinese novellas presents two stories by the president of the Shanghai Writing Association address the question of how we must live with the past: Goodbye, Xu Hu! Twenty years ago, a man serving in the People's Liberation Army met his first love, the energetic and charming Xu Hu. In those two decades both their paths diverged until a chance meeting in a restaurant in Shanghai. As the man recalls his time as a young soldier he wonders whether he and Xu Hu can rekindle the flame of their past. No Explanation Is Necessary Lao Wei on the surface appeared to be an ordinary hospital janitor. However, after a chance sighting at a subway station a writer learns that this simple janitor is much more than he appears to be. After returning to the hospital the writer learns of Lao Wei's past, his triumphs and failures and his loss. Lao Wei has the power to change his current circumstances, but can he regain everything? Including that which was most important to him?