In this chapter, the narrator explains that eating sweets causes a person's brain to secrete a chemical called dopamine, which is a "nerve-conducting substance" that can "directly affect peoples emotions" . He tells us that he wanted to apply to a middle school called "Liyang No. 2," but his mother told him about it the day before. He says that he tried to improve his scores in the subjects at the school, but his scores were too low. He wonders how much it takes for a student to give up on studying, since he likes it so much. He goes on to say that sheng is "acting weird" these days, and that he's been feeling "something wrong" since he came back from the war.