The narrator wakes up in the middle of the night and tells Mr. Lin that he wants to go to university. He tells him that he has to fight with him every day to stay on top of his studies. He also tells him about how hard it is to comb his hair. He says that his hair is getting longer and harder to comb. He asks why he hasn't come to class lately. Lin says that her family has hired a tutor for her. The narrator says that he doesn't understand why she would want to cut her hair, since it's easier to cut short hair than long hair. Lin tells the narrator that he's trying too hard and that he shouldn't have been so hard on his studies in the first place. He's not going to lose to the tutor, though, because he'll work hard with him.